Monday, October 3rd, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Florida students process Hurricane Ian

Students describe difficulties contacting family, focusing on schoolwork amid storm

BY SAM LEVINE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Last Wednesday, Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida near the cities of Fort Myers and Cape Coral as a Category 4 storm, bringing winds of 150 mph and major storm surges up and down the coast. The hurricane left more than two million Florida residents without power and caused historic damage to coastal cities and inland communities throughout the state.

The storm’s strong winds and surges also destroyed important in frastructure on barrier islands and in coastal areas, complicating rescue and cleanup efforts and making it difficult for out-of-state family members to get in contact with their loved ones.

For five students from coastal cit ies in southwest Florida hit hard by Hurricane Ian, watching from Rhode Island proved stressful as their families braved a historically powerful hurri

cane down south. The Herald spoke with these students about the toll the hurricane has taken and how it has affected them from afar.

“You feel completely powerless to help them and you really want to but there is nothing you can do,” said Arjun Singh ’23, whose family rode out the hurricane at their home in Fort My ers. “It was absolutely terrifying.” Four days after the storm hit, Singh’s family was still without power or cell service, which made it hard to stay in contact.

For Singh, the scariest part of the storm was when the eyewall hit Fort

Myers on Wednesday. His texts and calls to family stopped delivering, and “that’s when the panic really set in,” he said.

Alex Ivanchev ’25 was unable to contact his family for nearly 12 hours Wednesday after they lost internet service during the storm. Ivanchev is from Venice, between Fort Myers and its northern neighbor Sarasota, and he said that a part of his home’s roof was torn off while his parents waited out the storm inside.

Women’s soccer grinds out 1-0 victory over Columbia

SPORTS Brittany Raphino ’23 scores only goal of match as Bears move to 2-0 in Ivy League play

BY NICHOLAS MILLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Managing just three shots on target, the attack of the women’s soccer team (7-2-1, 2-0 Ivy League) was far from its free-flowing best Saturday in their 1-0 victory against Columbia (5-3-1, 1-1) at Stevenson-Pincince Field.

But a moment of magic in the first half’s stormy conditions from forward Brittany Raphino ’23, combined with a strong defensive performance, allowed the Bears to grab a win in a hard-fought, physical game that had 27 combined fouls.

“I don’t think it was a great perfor mance,” said defender Kayla Duran ’23.

“But given the weather and knowing that Ivy League wins are hard to come by, we’re happy to have that win.”

The Bears began the game in a 4-4-

2 formation and struggled to main tain possession and switch fields, with both teams resorting to booting the ball down the left side.

But in the 18th minute, Head Coach Kia McNeill moved to a 3-5-2 structure. The additional midfielder, Evelyn Cal hoon ’24, allowed Brown to better gain a foothold in the game.

“I don’t feel like we felt very threat ened by their forwards necessarily, so just pushing an extra number up into the midfield allowed us to (put) a little bit more pressure,” McNeill said. “The team responded well to that, but I do wish we generated more off of that for mation change.”

Shortly after the formation shift, Calhoon took on an ambitious shot from more than 30 yards out. It was blocked down by a Columbia defender and landed for Raphino, who with her first touch fired a left-footed shot that nestled into the bottom corner.

The Bears still needed a sure-hand ed save from goalie Bella Schopp ’26 on a powerful Columbia header to enter the half with the lead intact.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Volleyball takes two Ivy wins over weekend in New York

SPORTS Bears defeat Cornell, Columbia in three sets each, securing first two wins in conference

BY ADIZA ALASA STAFF WRITER

The volleyball team (6-6, 2-1 Ivy League) grabbed road wins against Cornell (3-9, 1-2) Friday night and Columbia (3-9, 0-3) Saturday night.

Brown relied on consistent attacking and defense to handle each opponent in three sets.

Brown 3, Cornell 0

The Bears’ offense was hot Friday night, with Bruno hitting .406 in the win and .455 in the first set. Setter Cierra Jenkins ’24 guided the offense throughout the night with 38 assists, adding nine digs and five kills.

A kill by Jenkins and two Cor nell errors gave Brown control of the first set, earning them a six-point lead midway through the opener.

Brown ended the first set with a kill

by Kayla Griebl ’25 and two blocks and a kill by Beau Vanderlaan ’25 for a 25-16 victory, the Bears’ largest margin of victory in a set that night. Vanderlaan finished the game with nine kills.

After the two teams were tied at 10 in the second set, Brown pulled away, going on a 5-0 run triggered by kills from Kate Sheire ’24, Griebl and Jenkins. A joint block by Vanderlaan and Griebl followed by another block from Vanderlaan boosted Bruno’s run.

Cornell fought back to within two points, but Brown stretched its lead again, setting the score at 23-18 fol lowing a service ace by Jessie Gold en ’26. Two kills by Sophia Miller ’23 ended the set, with Brown prevailing 25-20.

The Bears continued their offen sive charge in the third set, jumping to a 4-0 lead. Later, Brown led 10-5 after two consecutive kills by Miller. Bruno maintained this lead throughout the set until a kill by Vanderlaan earned Brown a match point, and Jenkins fin

Project Main Green showcases live art

Interactive exhibition seeks to build community, spark conversation

BY RYA VALLABHANENI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A circle of artists stood painting on the Main Green for five hours Sunday. They were evenly spaced, with enough room to focus on their own work while still remaining fully aware of the person creating next to them. In the center of the circle always stood at least one musician, who rotated about every half hour. With the turn of each new song, the faces of a new group of students joined the crowd of spectators, watch ing and listening intently.

Project Main Green is a first-time event at Brown, organized by Man aging Director Ye Chan Song ’24 and Creative Director Namoo Song ’24. Yesterday, 14 musicians and nine vi sual artists sprawled out across the Green — all students from Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design — creating live art for anyone walking

across campus to see.

Namoo Song first got the idea for Project Main Green during orienta tion, when he spent a three-day pe riod painting in the heart of campus with friend Ye Chan Song by his side.

Several people who were intrigued by his work approached him, including Assistant Director of the Brown Center for Students of Color Frank Garcia.

The next day, the two had a fol low-up conversation in Garcia’s office.

Namoo Song presented his idea — an art exhibition focused on the process

of creation, rather than the end prod uct — and together, they began to sort out logistics. The BCSC agreed to help fund and budget the project, which meant that Namoo Song and Ye Chan Song could begin looking for student artists.

“I love talking to people with cre ative minds who have a passion for what they do, because that just puts the energy in me,” Namoo Song said. During the recruitment process, he

Commentary

Arts & Culture Arts & CultureSports

Review: Lizzo shined in Boston concert Friday night

2

Four teams secured wins this weekend, while football came up short Page 5

Vanderpool ’24: UCS is undermining democracy in student government Page 6

Review: “Heartbreak High” has good qualities but fails to deliver

8

COURTESY OF ROBERT KUPSAW

Arjun Singh ’23, whose family rode out Hurricane Ian at their home in Fort Myers, said he felt “completely powerless to help them.”

RYA VALLABHANENI / HERALD

The Brown Center for Students of Color helped fund and budget for Project Main Green, a first-time event at Brown.

Lizzo sparkles at TD Garden with show focusing on self-love, being yourself

BY REBECCA CARCIERI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

There are few performers who can arrive on stage in a sparkly green outfit with platform boots and greet an almost 20,000-person crowd with, “Hi bitch, did you miss me?” But for Lizzo, com manding an audience in this signature attitude is a breeze, and her latest “Spe cial Tour” Friday night performance at Boston’s TD Garden was no exception.

Over the past few years, Lizzo has distinguished herself by embracing love, body positivity and being un apologetically herself all while pro ducing endlessly catchy pop, hip-hop and R&B hits.

Lizzo’s Friday night set opened with “The Sign,” off her July 2022 album, “Special.” She continued the high-en ergy evening with “2 Be Loved,” “Boys” and “Rumors” before transitioning into a slower and more emotional part of the set.

One of the most moving parts of the evening was her performance of “Naked” dressed in a nude bodysuit. Lights with different designs were pro jected onto her body, and as the song finished, the designs changed into the words “My Body, My Choice,” to much applause from the audience.

Her show was divided into four sets, each of which was separated by a video of Lizzo telling the crowd a variety of messages. In one, Lizzo said that she

loves the audience; in another, she asked the audience to close their eyes and repeat a message to themselves — “I love you, you are amazing and you can do anything.” Lizzo was able to make TD Garden both an exciting party and a therapy session.

Throughout her show, Lizzo en gaged enthusiastically with the audi ence. She frequently shouted out to the crowd of fans, saying things like, “Hey

bitch, I see you!” and “Happy birth day, bitch!” to the shrieks and cries of adoring fans. Lizzo brought an insane amount of energy with over a dozen back-up dancers, whom she fondly re fers to as the Big Grrrls.

One of the many hilarious moments of the evening included Lizzo bringing out a cardboard cutout of her celeb rity crush, Chris Evans, dressed in a Boston Bruins jersey. She danced and

sang while holding him before throw ing him into the crowd with a breezy, “Bye bitch!”

A classically trained flutist, Lizzo recently made headlines by playing James Madison’s crystal flute on loan from the Library of Congress.

She showed off her talents again Friday night, proudly playing the flute — a different one, she assured the audi ence — multiple times throughout the

on a 5-0 run featuring three straight kills by Griebl. Columbia scored one more point before Sheire ended the set with a kill, earning Brown a 25-15 victory.

Bruno’s defense posed a problem for Columbia, as Brown had 13 blocks to the Lions’ two. Seven of those blocks came from Sheire, and Gabby Derrick ’25 was behind the other six. Off the net, Victoria Vo ’26 posted 19 digs for the Bears.

Following last week’s loss to Yale, Brown continued working in practice to make the improvements necessary to earn its two 3-0 wins, Sheire said.

“We put a really big emphasis on defense,” she said. “But really, I think we were working on our mindset and making sure that we were cohesive and had a better gel on the court.”

Sheire had 11 kills against Cornell and hit a career best of .688. The junior has hit .600 or better in four of her last six Ivy League games and posted dou ble-digit kills in both games over the weekend.

show. Watching Lizzo twerk in a sparkly dress following her third outfit change of the night, all while playing the flute, was a sight to see.

This is what a Lizzo concert entails: fun, excitement and things you would never expect. Her concert was a full 26song adventure that allowed fans to get lost in Lizzo’s messages of self-love and acceptance while dancing and shining underneath laser lights.

season.

Miller credits her back row team mates for setting her up for offensive success at the net. “I was just excited to play. I wanted to connect with my setter, Cierra Jenkins, and I think we did a great job of taking advantage of what we saw in Cornell’s defense.” Sheire said. “I was just happy to slam the ball as hard as I could.”

Head Coach Ahen Kim commended Sheire and Miller for their performances over the weekend. “Since day one of this season … they’ve been the anchor,” Kim said. “They’ve been in situations where they have been having to shoulder the offensive load for us.”

ished the game with a kill to complete the set 25-20.

Brown 3, Columbia 0

Brown carried its momentum from the previous evening to take on Colum bia, winning once more in three sets.

Jenkins again posted 38 assists, setting up hitters including Griebl — who fin ished the game with a season personal best of 13 kills — and Vanderlaan, who had 11 kills.

With the help of an early 4-0 run, Bruno jumped out to an 8-4 lead and

maintained its advantage throughout the first set. A kill by Vanderlaan and a block by Vanderlaan and Jenkins high lighted Brown’s run. Columbia kept the score close for the duration of the set, reducing the Bears’ lead to one point several times. But Brown capped off the set with kills by Griebl and Sheire for a 25-20 win.

The second set was the Bears’ most contentious of the weekend, with a 6-1 run by the Lions carrying Columbia to an 18-15 lead. Bruno cut the Lions’ lead down to one point twice before facing a set point while down 24-20. Brown fought back with a 6-0 run to

overtake Columbia and take the set 26-24.

The set-winning run started with a kill by Griebl, followed by a block by Sheire and Vanderlaan then another kill by Vanderlaan, setting the score at 24-23. Two consecutive kills by Griebl earned Brown a set point, and Vander laan ended the set with a kill.

The Bears took the third set to win the match, coming out with another early 6-0 run to go up 8-3. The two teams traded runs, but Bruno’s early lead gave them the advantage through out the set. The Bears increased their lead to 19-14 later in the set and went

Despite her impressive individual performances, Sheire said her focus was on supporting her team. “My mindset going into (the Cornell game) was just really determined,” Sheire said. “We always try to run our sys tems. I was really just looking for open shots and trying to contribute in any way I could.”

Miller had another strong offensive showing over the weekend. She led the Bears with 12 kills against Cornell and added nine against Columbia. The se nior has posted double-digit kills in a team-record of seven games this

Kim, like Miller, attributed the suc cess of his best scorers this weekend to the passers and defenders surrounding them. “I thought this weekend was really a great job from our passers,” Kim said. “The game came a lot eas ier because so many people around (Sheire and Miller) did such a good job creating much easier looks for them offensively.”

Although Sheire and Miller play po sitions on opposite sides of the court, Kim noted that the duo works well together. “When Kate gets going, it makes Soph’s life a lot easier; when Soph gets going, especially from the back row, it makes Kate’s life a lot eas ier,” Kim said. “When they both can get going, it kind of snowballs into just really, really spectacular hitting percentages.”

The Bears will continue their onthe-road play next weekend as they take on Dartmouth Friday at 7 p.m. and Harvard Saturday at 5 p.m.

Twerking, flute solos, cardboard Chris Evans defined Friday night’s performance

REBECCA CARCIERI/ HERALD

The show featured songs from Lizzo’s July 2022 album “Special,” as well as some of her other hits such as “Good as Hell” and “Juice.” Lizzo brought energy to the stage, frequently calling out to the audience throughout the show.

VOLLEYBALL FROM PAGE 1

COURTESY OF NICK DENTAMARO / BROWN ATHLETICS

Both Kate Sheire ’24 and Sophia Miller ’23 came out of both games with nine or more kills, contributing to the strong offensive showing for the Bears this weekend.

HURRICANE FROM PAGE 1

Students also shared the harrow ing experiences of family members who weathered the storm along the coast. Kate Kupsaw ’24.5 said that her grandfather, who lives in Fort Myers, had to evacuate his home after it began to flood, wading through four feet of water to reach his neigh bor’s home.

Kupsaw originally hails from San ibel Island, a barrier island of 6,500 people off the coast of Fort Myers that saw extensive damage from the storm. Her father returned to the island after evacuating to Miami and told her that most of the island was “unrecogniz able,” Kupsaw said.

Floodwaters climbed from 10 to 12 feet based on the marks her father observed on houses, she said. There were four fatalities on the island as a result of the storm, City Manager Dana Souza told the press.

“I’m not sure exactly who those people are,” Kupsaw said, “and if I

know them.”

A stretch of the causeway that connects the island to the mainland is also broken, while houses across the island face severe water and wind damage. According to Kupsaw, her family might not be able to return to the island for anywhere from six months to a year and a half.

Alyssa Steinbaum ’23, who is from Sarasota, said that witnessing the hur ricane from so far away felt strange and confusing. Steinbaum noted how bizarre it was “seeing pictures of the damage to places I (knew) growing up.”

Ivanchev agreed, noting that “there’s some level of separation that makes me feel like this just isn’t real,” he said. “Because I’m not really expe riencing it first-hand.”

Steinbaum said she wishes she could be in Sarasota to help her family get everything “back in order” after the hurricane and “to volunteer or donate blood … or do something that could help more directly.”

Singh also said he wished he could be back in Fort Myers to help his mother take care of his elderly grandparents. He will fly home next weekend and plans to participate in rescue and cleanup efforts with some of his hometown friends, he said.

Logan Szittai ’24 hails from Naples, south of Fort Myers, and days after the hurricane touched down, his family still did not have access to strong cell service at their home. He has spent the past days acting as his family’s connection to the internet — sharing updates about Naples over the phone and helping them with tasks like rebooking a flight for his sister.

“Whenever they need serious in ternet access … I’m on it,” Szittai said.

All of the students interviewed agreed that it was difficult to focus on their schoolwork as the hurricane touched down back home. Singh said that he struggled to focus in his classes, as he was “glued to the news” coming out of Florida for sev eral days.

Ivanchev also found it difficult to stay present in his classes as the storm passed over Venice. “I couldn’t really fo cus as much” on schoolwork, he said. “In the back of my mind, I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s a hurricane literally barreling through my city, and I really can’t do anything about it.’ ” Ivanchev spent last Wednesday trying to reassure himself that everything was fine, even though he had no way of contacting his family for confirmation.

Szittai said that he struggled to bal ance his schoolwork with the stress of staying in contact with his family throughout the storm. He had to ask for a handful of extensions on assignments, but said that his professors were largely accommodating of his situation.

All students from the state of Flor ida received an email from the Uni versity that offered them assistance through Student Support Services. Student support deans can “serve as a sounding board, help to explore op tions and connect you to resources and help figure out next steps” in the

wake of Hurricane Ian, wrote Katie Boin, senior associate dean and di rector of Student Support Services, in the email, which was reviewed by The Herald.

All of the students interviewed said that they appreciated the gesture from the University. Kupsaw spoke with Student Support Services over the phone, and said that they were “really understanding and very gen erous in the accommodations they are giving us.”

But despite the University’s support, the extreme nature of the hurricane is hard to process or navigate, Kupsaw said. Most of her classmates at Brown have never experienced anything like this, she said, so they “can’t really grasp the intensity of it.”

Kupsaw recommended donating to relief efforts as a means of supporting her community and others across Flor ida. “It would be major for my commu nity,” she wrote in a message to The Herald, “as these efforts will be ongoing for months.”

SOCCER FROM PAGE 1

In the second half, the Bears kept the ball in Columbia’s half for long stretches, but fluid attacking play was elusive.

“It was pretty congested centrally at times,” McNeill said. “We needed to get the ball out wide and get better service into the box.”

The Bears had seven corner kicks in the half, one of which led to a powerful Raphino header in the 69th minute that went wide, but the team could not create consistent chances to add to their lead.

“I think we could have capitalized more on our corner kicks. (That’s) defi nitely going to be a focal point going into practice this week,” McNeill said.

Still, outside of a cross that Schopp misjudged in the 85th minute, Columbia made few threats at Brown’s goal, al lowing the Bears to hold on for the win.

“We didn’t come out like we want ed,”Raphino said. “It tells a lot about a team when you can have not such a good day and still get the three points.”

The Bears will next face their tough est tests yet in the quest for a third straight Ivy League title in a game at Princeton (7-4, 1-1) next Saturday and a match up home against No. 25 Harvard (7-0-2, 1-0-1) on Oct. 15. Ranked behind Brown at third and second respectively in the Ivy League preseason poll, the Tigers and the Crimson also joined Brown in earning NCAA tournament berths last season.

Both teams dropped points in the opening week of Ivy League play, with Princeton losing to Yale 1-0 and Har vard drawing against Penn 1-1.

“We’re in the driver’s seat right now; we can control our own destiny,” McNeill said. “There’s not a lot of Ivy teams that can say that.”

COURTESY OF TAMAR KRIETMAN / BROWN ATHLETICS

Head Coach Kia McNeill changed up Bruno’s formation in the first quarter from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2, strengthening the offense against the Lions. Still, the game proved to be a close and physical contest with 27 fouls between the two teams.

ART FROM PAGE 1 met with over 30 Brown and RISD stu dents, emphasizing that diversity was a priority.

“I tried to look for people who did very different things,” Namoo Song said. He wanted to create an exhibi tion with “no limitations, complete freedom and no regulations,” allowing the artists “to decide what they want to do.”

Part of this desire for artistic free dom stems from Namoo Song’s own work. He spent last summer abroad in Europe, traveling alone and creating street art.

The event exhibited visual art of various mediums and styles. Some students used acrylics; others opted for spray paints. Many pieces veered toward abstraction, but a couple were more realistic.

Musicians similarly covered a di verse array of genres. There were clas sical pianists, violinists, solo artists and full bands. Some students rapped while others freestyled. A few even formed a mariachi band.

Visual artist Onaje Grant-Sim monds ’24 continued working on a series he started this past summer at the event. His work seeks to “visu ally represent the mind on canvas,” he said. Generally, these paintings all involve the superimposition of land scape features upon a more abstract, poetic piece.

“It feels like the landscape’s tear ing apart to reveal the abstract world,” Grant-Simmonds explained.

“With this piece of work, I have nothing really conceptual or intellec tual in mind,” he added, in reference to the piece he created Sunday. “I more just want to make a painting that feels good and that’ll make me feel good — and that reflects the festive nature of this event.”

Namoo Song and Ye Chan Song also sought a diversity of perspectives through three different videographers.

“There’s just so many things to look at,” Namoo Song said. “So many different perspectives.”

Videographer and RISD student Lucas Xie Lubang wanted to highlight how the various art forms present in

the exhibition interact.

“My film is going to explore the relationship between music and vi sual art, and how they influence each other,” he said. “Specifically, I will focus on the parallels and contrasts of both groups of artists — body language, facial expressions, man nerisms.”

Both Ye Chan Song and Namoo Song emphasized the importance of includ ing different groups of people — even beyond artists — in the exhibition.

“The audience is part of the act,” Namoo Song said. “It’s not an isolat ed event, nor is it a concert where there’s a barrier between the audi ence and the artists. The audience is going to be able to get almost faceto-face with, basically next to, the performers.”

The set-up of the circle on the Green left substantial empty room in the center, which was populated with a few chairs. Audience members were encouraged to move into this space, weaving in and around the artists as if they were a part of the exhibition themselves.

Ye Chan Song said he hoped that the proximity between the audience and artists would open a dialogue. “The painters, while they’re paint ing, have all the time in the world to talk to and interact with people,” he said.

Coming from a non-artistic back ground, Ye Chan Song explained that he was sort of like an audience member himself. More than anything, this project has given him a sense of community — which he seems eager to share.

“I’ve just come to realize the pow er of art to really unite people,” Ye Chan Song said. “That feeling of be ing a part of something larger than oneself.”

Both Ye Chan Song and Namoo Song expressed their gratitude for all of Proj ect Main Green’s community members.

“I was really fortunate to meet a lot of kind and generous people during the process,” Namoo Song said.

In addition to funding from the BCSC, Namoo Song and Ye Chan Song were able to obtain supplies at a highly discounted price from an art store in

downtown Providence. They both noted that community partners like Jerry’s Artarama, who provided discounted canvases, and Media Technician Louis Oppenheimer, who helped organize musical equipment, were fundamental to the event.

As for the future of Project Main Green, the event did not end with the artists packing up for the day. There will be a three-week exhibition of their completed work opening up immedi ately in the BCSC. There will also be a reception for all of the artists, and likely an outdoor screening of the three completed films later in the semester, the founders said.

“This is only the beginning,” Na moo Song said. “The reason why we named it Project Main Green is be cause we’re going to be doing Project River, Project Boston, Project New York City.”

“We’re trying to build this commu nity up from the ground with all these different people,” Namoo Song said. “And a community isn’t something that you just begin and end. It’s something that’s everlasting.”

TODAY’S EVENTS

Algorithmic Amplification of Politics on Twitter 12:00 PM 164 Angell Street, 3rd floor

Military Medicine and Military Effectiveness 4:00-5:30 PM

Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street

TOMORROW’S EVENTS

The US-China Relationship in a New Era 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Zoom

Pre-Law Advising: Duke Info Session 7 PM - 8 PM Zoom

Health Careers Advising: Appli cant Seminar #1 4:00-5:00 PM Smith-Buonanno Hall, Room 106

Presidential Faculty Award Lecture 5-7pm

Stephen Robert Hall, True North Room

Iran Protests: Gender and Au thoritarianism 2 PM - 3PM Zoom

Men’s Soccer vs Northeastern 7:00 PM Stevenson-Pincince Field

SPORTS

Weekend sports: Field hockey triumphs as football falls in Gov. Cup

Field hockey, volleyball earn wins over weekend as other teams see mixed results

BY PETER SWOPE SPORTS EDITOR

The field hockey and volleyball teams led Brown Athletics through a successful weekend, each securing a pair of wins for Bruno. The women’s soccer, wom en’s rugby and men’s water polo teams also added victories to round out the impressive weekend slate.

The volleyball team (6-6, 2-1 Ivy League) dominated against a pair of Ivy rivals, defeating Cornell (3-9, 1-2 Ivy) Friday before going on to beat Columbia (3-9, 0-3 Ivy) Saturday, with each victory coming in three sets. Kate Sheire ’24 was one of a number of Bears with strong performances, recording double-digit kills in each victory.

Field hockey (8-2, 1-1 Ivy) also picked up a pair of wins this weekend, defeating conference rival Dartmouth (3-7, 0-2 Ivy) on the road Friday before taking down Wagner University (5-5, 1-0 NEC) at home Sunday. Brown won each game 2-0. Goalkeeper Jodie Brine ’23 recorded seven saves across the a pair of saves.

The Bears attempted more shots and NWPC) Sunday. Leo Berkman ’23 and Il throwing a trio of interceptions in the

ciation Regionals over the weekend. Bruno recorded a number of strong performances led by Ali Benedetto ’24, who qualified for super regionals by winning three consecutive singles

COURTESY OF DAVID SILVERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY / BROWN ATHLETICS

The men’s soccer team faced Columbia Saturday, coming out to a 0-0 draw. The team will play at home against Northeastern University on Tuesday and against Cornell on Saturday, searching for their first win in Ivy League play this season.

Vanderpool ’24: Where is our democracy?

After a tumultuous student council election last spring, another article concerning the Under graduate Council of Students is likely the last thing this campus wants to read. Yet UCS trou bles continue to plague the University — this time, in a matter that affects all Brown stu dents, our ability to engage in democracy and our voice in Brown’s student government is at stake.

I have been a general body member of UCS since fall 2020 and have been involved in the Equity and Inclusion, Campus Life and Health and Wellness committees through the years. However, recent actions by UCS administra tion to dissolve the UCS general body in favor of “town halls” have put my standing within the body in question. Even more important ly, the dissolution of the general body impacts how other students can engage in free speech, limiting their access to discussions with invit ed members of administration and stifling their representation by general body members who advocate on their behalf.

In the spring, the normal UCS elections went to a runoff after a constitutional discrepancy prompted the Student Government Association to prematurely declare winners for several rac es. The runoff resulted in new winners in two races: president and chair of campus life. These events naturally may have increased the pro pensity for the student body to distrust UCS, as voiced by several members of the body last se mester. The next UCS endeavor this fall should have been aimed at increasing transparency, trust and engagement with the student body.

However, the new UCS administration chose not to prioritize this goal. Instead of develop ing models of engagement between UCS and the student body to promote democratic values, the new UCS town hall model and revisions to its code of operations instead promote the ex

act opposite. In my experience, our town halls historically haven’t seen great attendance. But more importantly, picking this model came at the cost of dissolving the UCS general body, the student body’s best tool for advocacy and de mocracy.

For those unaware, the general body played an important role as an intermediary between the student body, student government and Uni versity administration. In previous semesters, general body members proposed and voted on

er, in order to present or speak at any of these town halls, groups or individuals must sign up using a Google Form a week in advance. Addi tionally, in this new model, the opportunity for UCS members to engage in democratic process es is lost because UCS members are no longer enfranchised. In the general body model, mem bers would typically vote on measures; in town halls, that’s no longer the case. The same goes for their historic abilities to spontaneously propose motions and speak on individual mat

Instead of hearing the candidates speak at a general body meeting, the executive board were the sole individuals who spoke with the can didates and subsequently voted on filling that position. The executive board is composed of just 17 people, several of whom are appoint ed directly by the president and vice president, not elected by the student body. With just 17 individuals voting in this special election, UCS has established a problematic precedent where significantly fewer votes than previously need ed can fill positions. Unless changes are made within UCS, future elections, pieces of legisla tion and resolutions may well be decided by a select group of students on the executive board.

Our pathways to hold student leaders ac countable are slim, thanks to the closure of general body meetings and the newly privatized UCS executive board meetings. While I doubt the intention was to stifle democratic input, eliminating platforms for airing differing opin ions, legislation and resolutions certainly has negative impacts on accountability. These ac tions shouldn’t be tolerated by the UCS mem bers or the student body.

legislation, spoke during meetings and voted in internal elections.

Prospective general body members had to receive 20 signatures from their peers to be come voting members of UCS. In my experi ence, this pushed interested individuals to build a platform around their ideas and ask for buy-in from their peers before they could hold a gener al body position. I believe it created a represen tative and engaged system that helped all stu dents have a voice in student government.

UCS administration announced the town hall model in a campus-wide email on Sept. 6 and wrote that they would “open Q&A sessions for the public to voice concerns or ask ques tions of each of our representatives.” Howev

ters. Voting power on UCS now belongs exclu sively to the executive board, which continues to meet regularly, deliberate and vote on items in closed sessions.

Eliminating general body meetings removes the chance for individuals to voice their dis senting opinions with the agency to make a change. Even important checks and balances, like recall petitions, can no longer be presented by those not on the UCS executive board. The most valuable privilege that the Brown stu dent body enjoyed — the advocacy and action of their peers — has been lost.

Recently, the chair of campus life position became vacant, according to a Sept. 12 email from SGA, necessitating an internal election.

I’m calling upon the UCS executive board to reopen its meetings to the public and reinstate general body meetings. The Brown student body deserves the opportunity to contribute to and shape its own representation, and the ac tions I’ve called for would support democratic values paramount to our society. After watching the disastrous spring elections unfold, I will not sit idly by as democracy on our campus is fur ther eroded — and neither should you.

Christopher Vanderpool ’24 can be reached at christopher_vanderpool@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to let ters@browndailyherald.com and other opeds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

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“The most valuable privilege that the Brown student body enjoyed — the advocacy and action of their peers — has been lost.”

Sender ’25: U. wants to be a good neighbor. It should act like it.

Brown pitches its campus as one set in “the heart of Rhode Island’s vibrant capital city,” boasting its ostensibly active membership in the Providence community. University initia tives across the city — such as commitments to local schools — are certainly commendable, but they also epitomize a kind of top-down al truism, where an institution hands out charity without fully understanding who it’s helping. This kind of patronizing giving becomes more troubling when examining Brown’s direct inter actions with the local community, which make it clear that the University sees itself more as a superior than as a partner. If Brown truly wants to be an integrated member of the neighbor hood, it must be willing to do the hard work and become a true urban ally of the city and College Hill.

One story in particular emerges as a demonstration of Brown’s tendency to dictate that Providence bend to the University’s needs. The story of the Brook Street Residence Hall is one that has been highly publicized by Univer sity sources, other local news sources and in this paper. The central theme of this story has been Brown’s consistent inability to appease the concerns of members of the Fox Point and College Hill neighborhoods. In 2021, these community sentiments were laid bare when Councilman John Goncalves ’13 MA’15, the Fox Point Neighborhood Association, College Hill Neighborhood Association, Mile of History As sociation and Providence Preservation Society collected around a thousand signatures on a petition asking Brown to consider the architec tural congruity of the project with the neigh borhood, to preserve historic homes on the site and to add retail space. Perhaps Goncalves and the community groups put it best in the petition when they correctly pointed out that “Brown proclaims itself a champion of historic preservation,” but failed to preserve two his toric homes on the site. The underlying senti ment from the community stakeholders is that Brown is not committed to its principles, and therefore community members cannot trust the University to act in good faith.

Of all the suggestions offered by commu nity members, the only concrete one taken up by Brown was the addition of retail space. One must question the University’s true in tentions for this move — while the local com munity also raised concerns about the archi tectural and historical preservation impacts of the project, students made clear their dis appointment with the site’s impact on local shops such as Bagel Gourmet and East Side Mini-Mart, treasured institutions for Brown

look at the Brook Street Project Plan reveals that the University only considered local “in stitutional” architectural context, such as sur rounding University buildings, when designing the new dorms. In other words, Brown is build ing the Brook Street dorms to look like Brown, not the surrounding community. No consider ation is given within the plan to the residential architectural context in the neighborhood. In addition, a request in the aforementioned peti tion to decrease the height of the project so it

the Brook Street dorm plan, but these meet ings were clearly not enough to address all concerns. Active and continuous engagement is the only way to ensure that the concerns of those impacted by a project are heard at an early enough stage to be met. One can hardly wonder why there exists a great deal of friction between College Hill and its namesake college when the community gets no real seat at the table during the development of their neigh borhood.

This does not have to be the case. The Uni versity and the community have some goals in common. One key point of agreement is that more dorms will relieve some of the housing pressure on the surrounding community. This is where Brown can really shine, so long as it is willing to do the hard work and find ways to achieve common goals that satisfy all stake holders. On Brook Street, Brown pushed to add more dorms, but did so without the Fox Point community — ultimately spawning more dis trust with locals than good feelings.

students. It would make sense if Brown felt greater pressure from its student body than the community — but it is also possible that Brown’s decision was entirely decoupled from stakeholder concerns, instead being based in economic logic. Rent from popular business es would provide additional revenue for the University. Still, there is no guarantee that a favored shop such as East Side Mini-Mart will be the occupant of this new retail space, and it remains to be seen if the tenant of the space will best serve the community. Offering to add retail space should not be seen as a genuine olive branch from Brown, but an empty gesture to a long-exasperated community.

And Brown failed to accommodate the community’s other requests, such as asking the University to incorporate architectural forms in accord with the area’s unique character. A

would better mesh with the surrounding com munity was ignored.

This drama played out over a year ago. Since then, both buildings have begun to rise above the streetscape — it is far too late now to rethink the Brook Street project. Their super structures drilled into place and their exteriors rapidly being completed, it seems these edific es are well on their way to being monuments not to Brown’s connection with the Fox Point community, but its continued antagonism.

This general refusal to meet the commu nity where they are speaks more broadly to how Brown fails as an urban campus. Prop er urbanism, the kind which ensures devel opment is fair and responsive to local needs, should require complete community engage ment at every step of the process. Brown has said it met with community members about

This saga should serve as a lesson for the University going forward: Truly engaging the neighborhood is the path to finding solutions which satisfy everyone. Rather than simply holding 13 public meetings Brown should bring someone from the community onto the design team at the very start of all new proj ects. This person should have actual power on the team so they can ensure new develop ment is for the community, not just in it. While the benefits to Fox Point of such an arrange ment are obvious, the University would bene fit greatly from being a good neighbor. Brown should pride itself not only on what it gives to Providence, but how the institution actu ally works with Providence. By bringing more voices to the table, the University can actually demonstrate its commitment to doing so.

Gabe Sender ’25 can be reached at gabriel_ sender@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and other op-eds to opinions@brown dailyherald.com.

“One can hardly wonder why there exists a great deal of friction between College Hill and its namesake college when the community gets no seat at the table during the development of their neighborhood.”

Heartbreak High: A show that struggles to go anywhere

BY LIVIA GIMENES STAFF WRITER

Teens in the 2000s looked to acclaimed foreign shows such as “Skins,” “Skam” and “Degrassi” to portray the com plexities of teenage life, as do teens now with “Sex Education.” In spite of some struggles, the Netflix reboot of the ‘90s Australian show “Heartbreak High” aims to add itself to this category by introducing coming-of-age and ro mance themes through a slew of unique characters and their interactions.

In the show, protagonists Amerie (Ayesha Madon) and Harper (Asher Yas bincek) create a “sex map” — a detailed graph of all the hook-ups and relation ships at their school — which gets ex posed to the student body. “Heartbreak High” zooms into their falling-out and their subsequent relationships with other characters involved in the map, who are later forced to attend a man datory sexual education class called “Sluts.”

The sex map, which was not a part of the original ’90s show, helped mod ernize the series and introduce a unique and realistic story device. The only issue is that by the third episode, the map becomes largely irrelevant to the show’s plotlines. The show’s focus instead di verges to the sex ed class, attempting to use that setting to address important issues of teen sexuality.

In this domain, “Heartbreak High” flops, especially when compared to its counterparts. It tries to be upfront and honest about sex as in “Sex Education,” but the result lacks a spark — instead,

scenes making fun of sex ed classes end up highly dependent on slut-shaming. As an audience member, it’s hard to believe that the sex ed class would be comprised mainly by students involved in the sex map.

But after putting aside this unbe lievable plot point, the show is able to shine. While the characters tend to appear exaggerated and loud, they re main uniquely themselves and capture the essence of Australian teenagers in a way that resonates with international audiences.

The way the characters approach

their sexuality is also refreshing. The show is not defined by important – but often overused – plot lines about inter nalized homophobia and traditional coming-out stories. Instead, characters approach their sexuality in a very natu ral way. While these themes are integral to some characters, like Darren (James Majoos) and Ca$h (Will McDonald), other characters like Dusty (Josh Heus ton) and Sasha (Gemma Chua-Tran) are more focused on other aspects of their relationships. This is not only refresh ing to see on screen, but it’s also one of the best ways the show stays true to its

Gen Z audience.

And most characters, even the show’s side characters, are well-de veloped. Characters such as Quinni (Chloe Hayden), Darren and Ca$h — some of the show’s best person alities — are not only charming and funny, but also flawed and nuanced. Their stories are told step-by-step and with such care that audiences really understand the complex na ture of these teen characters. Quinni’s storyline dealing with autism while also being in a lesbian relationship, as well as Darren’s relationship with his

formerly homophobic dad, are great examples of this.

“Heartbreak High” has recently been greenlit for a second season, which means the show definitely has potential to find its footing in its characters and still explore complex themes in a more nuanced way. When “Heartbreak High” tries to take inspiration from newer shows to discuss more modern issues, it does not always succeed. But the char acters are interesting and captivating in the same way that the characters of “Skins,” “Skam” and “Degrassi” reso nated with their audiences.

Reboot of ’90s Aussie show delivers slew of interesting characters with nothing else

COURTESY OF NETFLIX MEDIA

Characters in “Heartbreak High,” Netflix’s reboot of the ’90s Australian show, approach their sexuality in a refreshing and realistic way, allowing the show to resonate with its Gen Z audience. The show attempts to join the ranks of acclaimed foreign coming-of-age stories such as “Skins.”