THE BROWN DAILY HER ALD
list of the top 10
Brown is tied with Columbia for the second lowest ranked Ivy at 13th
BY CATE LATIMER
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
after a year of sitting in ninth place, brown fell to 13th in the 2025 US News best Colleges rankings. it was the only school to fall out of the top 10 this year. the national rankings published by U.S. News and World report are based on a variety of metrics, including graduation rates and research output. more than half of a school’s rank is related to “how
earlier this month, the first sign that Brown did not retain a top-10 ranking.
successful an institution is at enrolling and graduating students from different backgrounds with manageable debt and postgraduation success,” according to the U.S. News.
brown returns to the same spot it held in the publication’s 2023 rankings.
Last year, U.S. News ranked the University ninth, the highest it has sat on the annual list since 1997. brown is now tied with Columbia for 13th, the second lowest ranking of an ivy League only ahead of dartmouth. both brown and penn dropped four spots, the most of any university in the top 20. the three top-ranked schools remain the same as last year, with princeton tak-
ing the top spot and mit and Harvard following behind. a leaked list of the top 10 schools was published by the daily pennsylvanian earlier this month, the first sign that brown did not retain a top10 ranking.
Last year, the publication made significant methodology changes, including adding first-generation graduation rate to its ranking calculations before taking it away for its 2025 rankings. besides removing first-generation graduation rates, the methodology remained largely unchanged.
brown continued to score highly in the publication’s other rankings. the University was ranked first for “writing in the
disciplines” and third for undergraduate teaching programs — the same position it occupied in last year’s rankings.
d espite falling from the top 10, brown fares better in the U.S. News rankings compared to college rankings from other publications.
the Wall Street Journal, which measures how well colleges set up their students for financial success, placed brown at 36th. this year, brown moved up 31 spots in the WSJ ranking, previously ranking as 67th.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2024.
Job cuts at the health system will save the company $6 million in FY25
BY TOM LI METRO EDITOR
Lifespan, the state’s largest employer and health care provider, laid off a fifth of its executive employees, the company’s leadership announced Friday.
the “restructure” hoped to “reduce executive overhead and streamline operations” via a “one-system, one-team approach,” said CeO and president John Fernandez in a statement obtained by the Herald.
these layoffs reduced executive positions by 20% and should save the company $6 million in the upcoming fiscal year, Fernandez added.
Streamlining executive positions and cutting costs “from the top” will allow the health system to “allocate more resources
directly to patient care and support areas,” Fernandez said.
the University announced expanded affiliation agreements with Lifespan in June, including the health system’s name change to brown University Health. the agreements also outlined brown’s plan to make $150 million in total contributions to Lifespan over the next seven years
Lifespan operates rhode island Hospital — the Warren alpert medical School’s primary teaching hospital — as well as Hasbro Children’s Hospital, the miriam Hospital and bradley Hospital. the health network also runs Newport Hospital, Gateway Healthcare, Lifespan physician Group and Coastal medical.
in Fy23, the health network employed over 17,000 workers, hosted almost 1,200 beds and conducted close to 38,000 inpatient and outpatient surgeries, according to Lifespan’s 2023 annual report.
in august, Lifespan announced its
Texts show police preparing for arrests amid negotiations
BY OWEN DAHLKAMP
SCIENCE & RESEARCH AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
Unlike pro-divestment encampments at peer institutions, brown’s demonstration last april ended peacefully. but as negotiations between student participants and University administrators were underway, brown and providence’s police forces were drawing up contingency plans which included a mass arrest of students, likely within days.
text messages obtained by the Herald show that before and throughout the weeklong encampment, the Chief of brown’s department of public Safety rodney Chatman and the Chief of providence police Oscar perez continually updated one another via text, sharing intel and offering logistical support.
after three days of negotiations, activists
on College Hill dispersed in exchange for a promise that the University’s Corporation would vote on a proposal to divest its endowment from companies associated with the israeli military at their upcoming October meeting.
“brown, like other universities concerned about the potential for escalation, responsibly explored options for a range of scenarios,” University Spokesperson brian Clark wrote in an email to the Herald. “as part of our fundamental commitment to protecting the safety of all brown community members, we anticipated and explored various options, coordinating as needed with external partners the same way we do routinely for major events or issues with potential safety impacts on our campus.”
“maintaining the safety and security of our campus and community was our top priority at all times,” Clark added.
perez’s media representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
CLiX, iSSUe 18
The three top-ranked schools remain the same as last year, with Princeton taking the top spot and MIT and Harvard following behind. A leaked
schools was published by the Daily Pennsylvanian
ELECTION 2024
WEEK IN ELECTIONS ELECTIONS
1
Trump lays out economic plan in Georgia speech
On tuesday, trump promised that as president he would “take other countries’ jobs,” impose 100% tariffs on mexican cars and slash manufacturing regulations, among other things, politico reported.
2
Over 100 Republicans endorse Harris and condemn Trump
in a public letter, 111 republicans, including former members of trump’s administration, formally endorsed Harris and called trump “dangerous” and wrote that he “promoted chaos,” per the New york times.
3
Recent swing state polls show close margins between Trump, Harris
recent polls shared by the New york times show Harris leading in pennsylvania, michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. trump leads in Georgia, North Carolina and arizona. Neither candidate has more than a two-point lead in any tossup state.
Get to know the election-result prediction model developed by Brown students
24cast.org uses machine learning to predict 2024 elections
BY EMILY FEIL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
the idea for 24cast.org began with a few friends trying to predict the outcome of the 2022 midterms on a whiteboard. Now, the group has dropped the whiteboard for something a bit more sophisticated: machine learning.
the model, created entirely by brown students and trained on election data from 2002 to 2022, runs 100,000 simulations daily to forecast the most likely outcomes of the 2024 presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections.
the website presents an interactive map that breaks down predictions by state. Users can see the two most likely outcomes — as estimated by the software’s simulations — as well as how the predictions have changed over time.
according to asher Labovich ’26, the founder of 24cast.org, the model uses over a hundred features, ranging from previous elections results to campaign finances and voting accessibility in each state, to make its predictions.
the methodology used by 24cast.org is fundamentally different from other predictive models, Labovich said.
While all of them use similar data — such as polls, past elections and expert ratings — traditional election forecasters determine the weight of each factor manually. instead, the brown team “uses machine learning from the get-go because we don’t want to make assumptions,” Labovich explained.
“rather than us determining what’s important, we let machine learning determine it based on the data that exists,” ariel Shifrin ’27, the team’s head of operations, said.
Labovich created 24cast.org to replace his past model forecasting the 2022 senate midterm elections, which was published on the brown political review website.
24cast.org is also affiliated with bpr , but uses a different approach from Labovich’s original election forecaster. “it’s an entirely new code … We believe it to be more accurate, more rigorous,” Shifrin said.
Methodology
the model uses mostly open source data, which can be found on the team’s Github.
“We’re trying to provide something that’s very transparent,” Shifrin told the Herald. 24cast.org’s methodology page describes computational methods used to achieve daily predictions and lists any changes made to the code. the website also displays the most predictive factors for every outcome that users can interpret.
“We explain how we get to our predic-
tions and provide something that no other model does, called Shapley values, that allow people to (see) exactly what factors contributed to each of our predictions,” Shifrin said.
Labovich told the Herald that a growing distrust of forecasting models resulted in the team’s dedication to transparency. Shifrin added that the team hopes their clarity creates a level of trust for users.
“For the last few elections, we’ve seen a lot (of people) lose confidence in these
election models because they feel that the people creating them have very clear political biases, or feel they’re skewing the data,” Labovich said.
paul testa, assistant professor of political science, noted that there are tradeoffs to “trusting an algorithm.” it “needs a lot of data to produce the results you would expect,” he said. but “elections are fundamentally a rare event.”
testa also noted that though the machine learning algorithm is data driven,
there will still be human input in the model. “the amount of work that went into getting the data set up, how to transform it; those are human decisions,” he said. “but that’s true of all forecasting.”
“What they’ve accomplished is really impressive,” testa added, saying the potential of the model for future forecasting is “really promising and interesting.”
Election day
On Nov. 5, 24cast.org will unveil the technology at an event, which will include student and faculty panels and field new election data from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. via a decision desk, according to Labovich.
Shifrin said that the team is currently working on increasing campus and community engagement with 24cast.org. “We’re working on developing a series of events to center the technology that we’ve built, and also bring people together at the confluence of politics and technology,” he explained. there are also plans to make the 24cast. org website a more interactive experience on election night. alex Wick ’25, the web operations lead, said that it will include a “needle-like feature” that displays which candidate is leading as data comes to the decision desk.
there will also be a way to view how the prediction model stacked up compared to the actual results. “i’m pretty excited about creating a cool, interactive, engaging way to see” how the model performed, Wick said.
CHLOe JOHNSON / HeraLd
On april 29 — the same day that negotiations began between University administrators and protesters — Chatman wrote to perez saying “we are going to engage in operations planning for mass arrests at some point today.” Chatman added that dpS had secured barricades.
He also wrote that “we’re not doing anything different beyond planning,” but added that he was aware the encampment “will likely need to end at some point this week.”
Chatman proceeded to offer perez an opportunity to include a representative of the providence police department to join a planning conversation.
perez then offered several representatives to sit in on the meeting before saying “we will need to prepare operations on our side.” throughout the negotiations, police action was not explicitly mentioned, according to protest negotiators isabella Garo ’24 and anila Lopez marks ’26. but, both said there was an implicit understanding that brown could leverage their law enforcement per-
FACULTY
sonnel.
“it was understood that they could use the police at any point,” marks said in an interview with the Herald.
Garo and marks said that University administrators repeatedly said, “we wouldn’t want something bad to happen, right?” throughout the negotiations. both of them interpreted this as a reference to police action. prior to the encampment, provost Francis doyle sent an email to the brown community stating that while an encampment itself is not an arrestable offense, “any encampments or offenses violating the law — including any point at which escalating circumstances dictate the need for encampment removal — may include law enforcement response and arrest.”
brown’s policy is echoed in the text message exchange. Chatman told perez the day before the encampment began that “brown leadership is expressing the preference of addressing the policy implications rather than law implications.”
So long as there was not “threatening, intimidating or actual violence,” he wrote, “we
will likely remain in a monitoring posture.” during the encampment, members of dpS swiped the student ids of participants. Students who had their id information collected were subject to the University’s student disciplinary review process, the Herald previously reported.
the text messages also show that brown dpS was aware that the encampment was set to be erected the night before students pitched the first tents. On the day before the encampment began, Chatman promised to send perez “encampment info that just came in.”
“they are planning for tomorrow morning,” he wrote. When the Herald reported on the start of the encampment on the morning of april 24, dpS members were present and swiping student ids.
the Herald was not able to verify what information Chatman obtained that allowed him to preempt the encampment.
the duo also continued to communicate throughout the duration of the encampment.
On april 27, the fourth day of the encampment, Chatman said that his office had not
UNIVERSITY NEWS
seen “the uptick in participants that was feared,” calling it “status quo.”
Chatman also sent a screenshot of an instagram post by the brown divest Coalition that invited outside community members to join their encampment, despite brown’s disallowance. perez responded, “let us know.”
“We were clear that we would ask unaffiliated individuals who came to campus to protest or counter-protest to leave, trespassing and arresting them as necessary if they did not,” Clark wrote, referring to instances of outside actors joining encampments at other schools.
approximately 180 students were contacted by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards about pending cases lodged against them over the course of the demonstration. Organizers said that, at peak participation, 112 students were part of the encampment.
“While our goal was to rely on appropriate codes of conduct to address violations of policy by brown community members, our response to the encampment could involve law enforcement and arrest if circumstances
warranted,” Clark wrote.
brown has arrested student protesters multiple times in the past year on trespassing charges. during two sit-ins in University Hall calling for divestment in November and december, a total of 61 students were arrested after being repeatedly advised they would be charged as trespassers if they did not terminate their sit-in. None of these students currently face criminal charges.
“it’s essential to highlight that arresting students is not an action that brown takes lightly, and it’s not something the University ever wants to do,” Clark said at the time.
brown’s protest and demonstration policy states that “protest and demonstration are a necessary and acceptable means of expression,” and that “protests or demonstrations that infringe upon the rights of others … or that interfere with the rights of others to make use of or enjoy the facilities or attend the functions of the University are prohibited.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 25, 2024.
Brown is searching for an inaugural Associate Provost of Artificial Intelligence
The new position will be filled internally by a tenured faculty member
BY RYAN DOHERTY UNIVERSITY NEWS AND SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR
brown is looking for a new administrative leader for artificial intelligence.
provost Francis doyle has reached out to faculty members inviting them to apply for a position as the University’s first associate provost of artificial intelligence via an email reviewed by the Herald. the position, referred to as apai, was first announced in late august.
the University hopes to announce the selection for associate provost in November, University Spokesperson brian Clark
wrote in an email to the Herald. the new position will serve as a leader on ai use on campus. the apai will collaborate with staff, faculty, administration and Corporation members to develop institutional policy and priorities on ai this includes working with faculty committees, evaluating research needs and communicating University policy to community members, according to the position description.
the apai will also lead a committee on ai in teaching and learning in collaboration with the Sheridan Center, Clark said, noting that the plans are still under development. the position will be filled by a currently tenured faculty member for a three year appointment. Half of the provost’s time will be devoted to the position, with the other half left for teaching, research and
other responsibilities.
“Faculty from all disciplines are eligible to hold the position,” Clark said. the University has seen applicants from the humanities, social sciences, life sciences and physical sciences, he noted.
the search committee is co-chaired by deputy provost Janet blume and associate professor of africana Studies Kim Gallon. its members consist of faculty and staff from various departments.
the new position follows similar developments at other universities. penn’s medical school appointed their first Vice dean of ai this april, and dartmouth has created a one-year appointment for a special advisor to the provost for ai
For the past year, the University has not prescribed standard guidelines for ai use in the classroom, leaving the details up
to professors. it is currently unclear how this new position may impact University ai policy.
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LIFESPAN FROM PAGE 1
acquisition of Saint anne’s Hospital in Fall r iver, m ass. and morton Hospital in taunton, m ass, for a total purchase price of $175 million. both hospitals were owned by dallas-based Steward Health Care System.
a Lifespan spokesperson clarified that the restructuring was “unrelated to the Steward Hospital acquisitions, or the brown University affiliation agreement,” in an email to the Herald. they declined to share the amount of executives impacted by the layoffs and their specific positions.
University Spokesperson brian Clark did not comment, redirecting questions to Lifespan.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 23, 2024.
RI Socialism Party calls on Sen. Reed to end aid to Israel at Tuesday rally for Lebanon
The rally drew around 100, including 50 Brown students
BY CIARA MEYER AND SOPHIA WOTMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITERS
On tuesday evening, about 100 community and student activists — including approximately 50 brown students led by the brown divest Coalition — gathered in front of Senator Jack reed’s (d-ri) office to support Lebanon following recent israeli military attacks on the country to target Hezbollah. throughout the israel-Hamas war, israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire. tensions escalated last week as israel weaponized exploding pagers to target Hezbollah, killing and injuring at least 32 people, including civilians, according to the bbC. On monday, israeli military attacks killed nearly 560 people and injured 1,800 in Lebanon, ap News and the New york times reported.
mica maltzman ’25, a bdC spokesperson, believes israel’s actions in Lebanon increase the “urgency” and “relevance” of the divestment campaign on campus.
“Whether in Gaza, the West bank or Lebanon, our University has continued to profit off of this death,” maltzman said. “it’s time to end this investment.”
as we march down today, i want you to remember that we have to stand together to dismantle the systems of oppression that exist,” arman deendar ’25 said at the bdC rally. “We stand in our fight for liberation.”
Student activists repeatedly chanted “shame” in response to statements about israel’s actions in Lebanon. as the group marched down College Hill to join the downtown rally, some students chanted “from palestine to Lebanon, israel will soon be gone.”
“We’re here today to join with the broader providence community and make our voices heard,” maltzman said. the rally in front of reed’s office was led by organizers from the rhode island party for Socialism and Liberation, better known as pSL. Speakers at the r i pSL rally represented several local activist groups including the palestinian Feminist Collective and Falasteen diaspora United r i
“the attack on Lebanon is a continuation of the attack on palestine,” said Jair perez, an organizer at pSL.
perez said that pSL wants reed and the
United States government to stop providing aid to israel. He noted that reed accepts donations from the electric boat Corp, a weapons manufacturer. “We must demand that our government stop all aid for the regime committing genocide in Gaza and launching terrorist attacks into Lebanon,” said peter Sentz, an organizer with pSL. eli Hadley, another pSL organizer, described Vice president Kamala Harris as a “liar” and criticized her claims of working toward a ceasefire, noting that the biden-Harris administration sent troops
into the region following the attacks on Lebanon. Hadley and other organizers called for the complete withdrawal of american troops from Lebanon and surrounding areas.
Loubna Qutami, a representative from the palestinian Feminist Collective, spoke about the history of israeli actions in Lebanon, arguing that israel’s current attacks stem from years of prior involvement in the region. the providence police department was present near the rally for its duration.
by the time the rally ended, nine police officers and five police vehicles were present. Officers directed protesters to stay out of the street.
after a man began chanting at the protesters, a rally attendee yelled at the man, “come here so i can beat you up.” a few minutes later, the man approached the protesters, at which point the police escorted him away.
“my hope is that (the protest) brings more people into the struggle, and more people see U.S. imperialism as a primary contradiction in the world,” perez said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2024.
These layoffs reduced executive positions by 20% and should save the company $6 million in the upcoming fiscal year, Fernandez added.
Community members pack stadium to support Rhode Island’s first soccer team
RIFC’s 10,500-seat stadium will open in Pawtucket in April
BY MAYA KELLY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
While a rainy Saturday night might have caused some to stay in, dozens of thundering superfans chose to pack b ryant University’s b eirne Stadium in support of r hode i sland’s first professional soccer team. Waving yellow and blue flags and banging on oversized drums, locals far and wide screamed “ole” for two
hours without pause.
While Smithfield, r i. has hosted the rhode island Football Club’s home-game spectacles since march, the team will soon find a new home. in just over six months, riFC’s 10,500-seat state-of-theart stadium is set to open at tidewater Landing in pawtucket. the project aims to create new job opportunities, boost local businesses and serve as a hub for community events.
riFC began its inaugural season in the United Soccer League earlier this year, making it one of two professional sports teams in the entire state. it joins the providence bruins, a hockey team based in the
state’s capital.
but unlike the pbruins, riFC is not “a minor League affiliate of a boston team,” brett Johnson ’92, chairman and co-founder of riFC, said. “this is rhode island’s team.”
Fans think so too. “this is rhode island FC so it’s our club, our supportive group, our fans, our true passion,” said ervin Vargas, president of riFC’s dedicated super fanclub rhode island defiance 1636, or “La barra bahia.”
Johnson first fell in love with “the ‘other’ football” — soccer — while working internationally after graduating from brown. He was so “hooked” to the sport, he began thinking about running a professional team. in 2016 he bought phoenix rising FC, a USL franchise in arizona. Following that team’s success, Johnson looked to expand.
His sights landed back on rhode island just as the state was set to lose its professional baseball team. the pawtucket red Sox had served as a hub among local community members and businesses for years before moving to Wecester, m a . and becoming the WooSox in 2021.
“We saw a community that was really starving for a heartbeat again,” said daniel Kroeber, co-founder of riFC. “at the very core, we want to bring the heartbeat back to pawtucket.”
rhode island is “a melting pot of people from some of the most soccer passionate countries that you’re going to find,” Johnson said. La barra bahia, for example, was founded “by a couple fútbol-loco latinos” in 2022, according to the website. Now, their members attend every riFC home game.
We “are going to be here every single game rain or shine. We love soccer, we love the team, we love everything that they’ve done so far,” Vargas said.
“it sometimes catches me a little off guard that we’re only a few months old and people are already painting team colors on themselves before games,” riFC president david peart said.
Coupled with Johnson and Kroeber’s dreams to bring a professional soccer team to the Ocean State was their vision for a trail blazing stadium for riFC. after raising private capital and public support in paw-
tucket and the greater rhode island area, Johnson and Kroeber officially announced plans for the stadium in 2019. the project is set to open next april.
t he stadium will also accommodate other sports, concerts and other non-sporting events, according to the project’s application to rhode island Commerce. the project’s application also included plans for a facility with multi-family residential units, restaurants, retail spaces and a parking garage north of the stadium.
the construction plan currently outlines over 400 multifamily apartments at a variety of rental rates, according to thomas Caughlin, director of communications for riFC. the facility also plans to serve as a venue for community events like farmers markets and festivals.
according to Kroeber, they expect the benefits of the state to go beyond a new community space — he wants the stadium to benefit “the whole ecosystem.” aside from direct job and housing creation, Kroeber also anticipates more indirect employment opportunities and customer boosts for local businesses.
“i’m very proud of what we’re doing in rhode island, the jobs we’re creating, the transformation we’re making in pawtucket and beyond,” Johnson said. “rhode island deserves a facility like this,” he added.
With the new stadium in sight, Vargas hopes that the “ ri FC becomes as big as the major clubs (fans) grew up watching,” he said. “ t he nonsense, the hooliganism, the craziness, the love and the passion that comes with it. i want us to be full force all the time and have the community be a part of it as well.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 23, 2024.
The investment also includes five new grants for local nonprofits
BY ABIGAIL DONOVAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
the City of providence will invest $870,000 in overdose prevention as part of the City’s ongoing Overdose prevention Strategy, mayor brett Smiley announced earlier this month.
Over two-thirds of this funding will be allocated to local nonprofits through five new grant opportunities, according to the City press release. Of the remaining investments, over $250,000 will go towards the country’s first state-authorized overdose prevention center, which is set to open in providence by the end of this year.
the announcement comes in the midst of a national opioid epidemic, which spiked in rhode island at the beginning of the COVid-19 pandemic, highlighted brandon marshall, professor of epidemiology and the founding director of brown’s people, place and Health Collective, in an interview with the Herald.
data from preventOverdoseri shows
a drastic increase in rhode island’s overdose-related deaths between 2020 and 2021, with numbers hovering around 430 deaths per year going into 2022. but in 2023, overdose deaths decreased by approximately 7% to 404 confirmed deaths — a shift marshall hopes is the payoff of overdose prevention programs and increased access to Naloxone, an overdose reversal medication. in the state, providence is one of the most overdose-impacted communities, marshall said. the city saw over 100 overdose deaths in 2023, one of the highest per-capita rates in rhode island.
beyond focusing on providence, solutions also need to address racial inequity in overdose deaths, marshall said.
“We know that black african-american rhode islanders are most heavily impacted by the crisis and continue to be,” he said.
“So although a decrease overall is encouraging, we need to focus on addressing some of these significant inequities in overdose deaths.”
Ensuring ‘comprehensive’ and ‘evidence-based’ solutions the five grant opportunities are drawn out of settlement funds from the 2021 National
Opioids class action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies.
according to emily Freedman, providence’s director of housing and human services, the grants’ creation was informed by current overdose data as well as community input.
“the City sought to enhance the impact of current harm reduction investments with programs that address substance use initiation, increase treatment complementation and support those entering and maintaining recovery,” Freedman wrote in an email to the Herald.
Grant applicants are required to utilize culturally competent approaches to ensure their proposals address communities disproportionately affected by the overdose crisis, Freedman added.
Stacey Levin, the director of recovery housing at rhode island Communities for addiction recovery efforts, said that she hopes the grants will fund an addiction-conscious low barrier housing program.
Levin also stressed the importance of systemic changes to reduce substance use among children — highlighting the need to establish stable home environments by tackling food and housing insecurity instead
of using resources on drug abstinence education programs.
“We need to make sure that families have what they need to provide for their children,” Levin said.
A first for the nation: Providence’s Overdose Prevention Center the quarter of a million dollars allocated to the City’s Overdose prevention Center will be used by project Weber/reNeW — rhode island’s largest center for harm reduction and recovery services — to launch the prevention center later this year.
according to OpC manager Claire macon, the center’s first floor will serve as a drop-in location providing access to food, laundry, showers, case management, support groups and HiV testing. Weber/ reNeW, which has been operating in providence since 2008, runs three other drop-in centers — two in providence and one in pawtucket.
the second floor will house the OpC, which will allow community members to administer their own drugs under the supervision of “judgment-free, stigma-free and respectful” staff who can intervene in the case of an overdose or other side effects,
macon said.
“a lot of our staff are people with lived experience, whether it be substance use, people who have engaged in sex work, people with HiV or people who have been incarcerated,” macon added. “the reality of a peer-led organization is that it gives us the capacity to build trust a lot faster.” the center specifically aims to combat the increased overdose risks caused by the presence of other chemicals in the drug supply, such as fentanyl and xylazine, macon explained.
“We have an incredibly toxic drug supply, and it’s not a street-level dealer issue,” Levin said. “the drug supply is killing people, not substance use,” she added. macon emphasized that there is no “one size fits all solution” to the overdose crisis, highlighting the disproportionate effects of the crisis on black and brown communities. to achieve this, organizations should consider the unique geography, demographics, drug supply and policing of various communities.
So far, macon says the community response to the center has been very positive.
“i think it’s the smartest move rhode island has ever made,” Levin said.
KaiOLeNa taCaZON / HeraLd
Vincent Zhou ’25.5 finally got his gold medal in Paris. What’s next?
The Olympic figure skater spoke on refelections of his career
BY MEGAN CHAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
after over two years of waiting, Vincent Zhou ’25.5 finally got his gold medal.
“What a way to cap off this whole saga,” Zhou said in an interview with the Herald. earlier this year, the international Skating Union imposed a four-year sanction on russian skater Kamila Valieva, who had competed in the 2022 Olympics team event, for anti-doping violations. Her disqualification resulted in the russian Olympic Committee, who had placed first, dropping to third. as previously reported by the Herald, the iSU subsequently declared team U.S.a and team Japan as the rightful first- and second-place winners. but it wasn’t until the paris Olympics — two and a half years after the initial games — that the athletes finally received their medals.
Zhou has since emerged as a vocal proponent of clean sport. in an open letter published last year, he criticized the lack of transparency surrounding medal reallocations and Valieva’s court proceedings.
“in the last two years, at many times, it’s felt like it’s just been me against the world,” Zhou said. “is no one else willing to speak out… to stand up for the good of sports?” the tumultuous aftermath follows his own bittersweet experience at the Olympics. Shortly before the men’s singles event, Zhou tested positive for COVid-19 and had to withdraw from competition.
it felt symbolic, then, when team U.S.a asked Zhou to lead the group onstage for the medal ceremony.
“i was like, whoa. this is really scary. What if i walk the wrong way?” Zhou joked. He had anticipated that someone else — one of the
CROSS COUNTRY
ice dancers or men’s singles gold medalist Nathan Chen — would be leading the procession instead.
but he “owned the role” nonetheless, walking out to a cheering crowd with the eiffel tower in the landscape. “it was very emotional for everyone,” Zhou said.
So now that Zhou has finally received the gold medal, what’s next?
Zhou is enthusiastic about skating shows, but has largely ruled out a competitive comeback. He is focusing on fulfilling requirements for his economics concentration this year, and hopes to make time for creative endeavors — like his poetry instagram account — amid all the work.
He talks about his future with excitement, but can’t help if some trepidation seeps through.
“i’ve got less than one and a half years in school now, (and) then i’m going to be in the workforce. that’s crazy,” said Zhou. “people that i grew up skating with… they’re getting engaged, getting married, they’re having kids.” though he was grateful to reunite with his figure skating family in paris, he noted the “mutual understanding that … we’re no longer the same people that we were two years ago.”
“i’m almost afraid nothing will ever capture the magic and the essence of our shared experience in the 2022 season,” Zhou said. “Life comes at you so fast … i don’t think people ever feel prepared for that sort of change.”
Figure skating has undergone a lot of change, too. Skaters like ilia malinin, who in 2022 debuted the first quadruple axel, have pushed the sport’s technical boundaries in radical ways. Zhou himself is part of this evolution, being the first person to land a quadruple lutz at the 2018 Olympics.
my experience with the rigors of training extremely difficult jumps has been a constant push and pull,” Zhou said. “i want to train more because i want to get better, but at the amount i am training at, i already have chronic pains (and) injuries.”
in recent years, competitive skating has increasingly prioritized technical achievements — how many quadruples you can perform in a program, for example — over performance and interpretation. this philosophy was partly responsible for Valieva’s rapid rise and fall: Her skating school allegedly trains young girls to accomplish groundbreaking jumps at the expense of wellbeing, skating technique and, seemingly, clean sport.
“Figure skating is inherently a balance between the two,” said Zhou. He expressed worry for young skaters who overextend themselves, emphasizing that though technical progress is important to figure skating, artistry is equally vital.
at 12 years old, Zhou underwent a knee surgery that kept him out of competition for two seasons. “i’ve been playing catch up (ever since). Nothing was ever the same again,”
he said.
“if i had to go back and tell my former self one thing, it would just be ‘take care of your knee,’” Zhou added. “you don’t need to sacrifice so much potential for an extra bit of practice.”
For Zhou, the changes need to start at an institutional level. “it’s common knowledge in skating that once you do quads, your (performance scores) magically start going up,” he said.
Zhou stressed the importance of matching actions to words: it’s one thing to speak about positive change, but it’s another to have judges, coaches and governing bodies actualize it.
amid all the uncertainty, Zhou appears most sure of himself when discussing his long-term dream: founding and running a skating school.
He explains that he wants to open a
skating school to “address all the pain points and issues” he’s struggled with throughout his career, including finding a good physical therapist to trust, identifying good and bad technique and navigating the financial struggles of not being able to afford skating. Zhou has also been open about his mental health struggles in the past, and hopes to wield his experiences as a tool for positive change.
i want to be able to help (skaters) remove (barriers) and help them focus on … becoming the best athlete and student and scholar that they can,” he continued.
according to Zhou, figure skaters tend to retire earlier than other athletes. though physical decline is a major component of this decision, it’s not the only one, he added.
“Once you hit a certain age where life starts to pick up more, your priorities start to shift,” Zhou explained. From a young age, figure skating requires an immense amount of time, energy, effort and money.
the end of this Olympic saga, it seems, also marks Zhou’s soft competitive retirement.
“i’m not ruling out a comeback, but i’d say it’s pretty unlikely,” he said.
it’s easy to look at Zhou’s career history and describe it as events that have happened to him: his knee surgery, his withdrawal from the Olympics and his postponed medal ceremony. but he’s turned his obstacles into accomplishments, and his failures into testaments.
Figure skating will continue to change in the next few years, with discussions about increasing senior category age limits to prevent athlete burnout and skaters like ilia malinin continuing to push technical boundaries. Like figure skating itself, Zhou plans to evolve, retool and accomplish new things in the coming years.
but from that stage in paris, he can finally take with him the long-deserved prize of an accomplishment worth celebrating.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 23, 2024.
Women’s cross country takes first, men’s second in season opener
Despite poor weather, the Bears opened the 2024 season strong
BY GUS BAILEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
the women’s and men’s cross country teams fought through tough conditions to finish first and second respectively at the Umass dartmouth invitational on Saturday.
the women’s team won their meet with 39 points, led by emily mrakovcic ’26, who finished second with a time of 17:34.27. On the men’s side, the bears secured a runner-up finish with 103 points, headlined by sixth-place finisher John ryan ’27 (25:10.32).
“i think our performance as a team today was really reflective of the culture and attitude we have been culminating the past couple of years,” mrakovcic wrote in an email to the Herald. “moving forward, i think replicating the positive attitude and open mind we maintained will help us continue to compete at a high level.”
Sebastien margetts ’27, who finished 17th in the men’s race, emphasized the challenge of succeeding despite the rainy and muddy conditions. “Last year, a race through horrid conditions like the ones at Umass would’ve probably broken me,” he wrote. “this year i was able to really hold it together basically all the way through.”
Both teams are looking to build on their success at their next meet, the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
mrakovcic said the team’s tight chemistry helped them overcome the bad weather. “in the hours leading up to the race, instead of stressing over the rainy and windy conditions, we had a lot of fun out there and really enjoyed each other’s company,” she wrote.
the women’s team had five runners finish in the top 15, with Olivia Fraga ’27 (17:35.06) coming in third. isolde mcmanus ’25 (9th, 17:53.31), morgan boonshaft ’28 (11th, 17:59.40) and Nimrit ahuja ’26 (14th, 18:07.75) rounded out the bears’ five.
“Finishing third in such a competitive field feels amazing and is a testament to the hard work i’ve put into Coach John
(Kenworthy)’s training,” Fraga wrote. “i’m excited to keep building from here and see how i can improve in the next race.”
Coach Kenworthy echoed Fraga’s positive sentiment. “it’s always nice to gain momentum early in the season,” he wrote. “When you’re racing against 300+ athletes, confidence can go a long way, so for us to get near the front of this race and run as a pack definitely gives us that confidence to continue those habits as meets get more competitive.”
Kenworthy stressed the positive impact of the team’s offseason training on their performance. “Cross country results are always about the quality of an athlete’s
offseason training,” he explained. “it takes weeks and months to lay down that foundation. While everyone is spread out across the country, it seems like the summer went really well on that front for many of the women.”
On the men’s side, ryan led the way, followed by m argetts (25:24.81), Sam Colton ’25 (20th, 25:28.06), John Farrell ’26 (25th, 25:34.81) and Justin Hickey ’25 (38th, 25:50.01). With all five finishing in the top 40, brown secured second place in the meet behind boston University.
Coach Collin Zeffer praised his team’s strong performance. “We are really celebrating our success, not just in our fitness but in how we are competing,” he wrote. “the athletes are more bought into our process and their teammates. When i watch these guys race, i see they are doing it for each other.”
“this was a big confidence booster for the races ahead,” margetts wrote. “the team is really shaping up well. if we stay focused and work through our weaknesses, moving forward, there should be some more exciting performances from this squad.”
r yan’s performance was especially impressive: it was his “first 8k race ever” due to a freshman season plagued with an injury. “i’m very happy to start the season off on a good note,” he added. both teams are looking to build on their
success at their next meet, the paul Short run in bethlehem, pennsylvania.
“moving toward the paul Short run, i think our team will continue our streak of working hard and focusing on what’s important while also having fun and enjoying the process,” mrakovcic wrote.
margetts thinks the team can build on this strong start and be even better moving forward.
“technically, we need to start stronger and feel more comfortable at race pace,” margetts wrote. “this team has had a lot of struggles over the past year and now we can take the thought into paul Short that nothing extraordinary has to happen for us to be competitive.”
the paul Short run “will be a great test against strong teams so we are hoping to take all of the great habits we’ve formed on prior race days and transfer them over to that next level of competition,” Zeffer wrote. He believes the bears are ready for that test.
“Our guys came in hungry to raise the bar of what it means to be a brown bear, and they are starting to bring a better version of themselves to the starting line,” Zeffer wrote. “it all starts now, and we hope to see it pay off in the postseason.”
Vincent Zhou has emerged as a vocal proponent of clean sport since receiving his gold medal.
WOMEN’S RUGBY
Rugby trounces American International College, extending win streak to two
The Bears moved to 2-0-1 after Friday night’s 38-21 home win
BY COOPER HERMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
the women’s rugby team crushed the american international College yellow Jackets 38-21 Friday, in what Head Coach rosalind Chou called a “team win.”
“We were able to see a lot of student-athletes rotate through the roster tonight and saw some resilient moments against a very physical aiC side,” Chou said in a statement to brown athletics.
Heavy winds and light rain made the first half of Friday’s contest a defensive showdown. the first minutes were filled with turnovers, scrums and dog piles as both sides struggled to bring their offense to life. Finally, at the 6:53 mark, brown’s Olivia baptiste ’26 did just that.
Genie dickens ’28 scooped the ball up and quickly punted it upfield right to baptiste, who perfectly executed a kick chase, landing on the ball and diving across the try line to give bruno a 5-0 lead.
“all week, we had been practicing our
FOOTBALL
chase as kicking has become a big part of our game plan this year,” baptiste wrote in a message to the Herald. “i know Genie kicks high, so i realized this was the perfect time to chase after it. Luckily, i got a bounce my way, and the ball landed in front of me, giving me the chance to dive on it and score.”
brown’s Julia murray ’26 followed the try with a successful conversion, extending the bears’ lead to 7-0.
but just as bruno seemed to be firing on all cylinders defensively, the yellow Jackets responded. at the 14:30 mark, aiC’s Naomi dodd made an incredible effort, sprinting past multiple brown defenders and diving past the try line to make it 7-5. dodd’s try was followed up with a successful aiC conversion that tied the game up at 7-7.
the bears were able to sustain their offensive momentum, as Nikki Lynch ’25 made an impressive dive on the ball, landing across the try line in a scuffle to extend the bruno lead to 22-7 at the 24:11 mark.
“We had good momentum to start the game with (baptiste’s) really awesome try. as they began to catch on to our system, we always tried to do a new play or try things we usually don’t do in a game in order to catch them off guard, which seemed to work at times,” Lynch wrote.
murray knocked in a fourth conversion to give the bears a commanding 24-7 lead with 20 minutes left in the game.
Just eight minutes later, Lynch struck again. Grabbing the ball after a scuffle between both teams, Lynch sprinted toward the yellow Jackets’ try line and made an impressive leap, extending the lead to 29-7.
after murray nailed the conversion, the bears had a dominant 31-7 lead with little time left on the clock. minutes later, Cathey scored her second try of the game, running through yellow Jacket defenders to extend bruno’s advantage.
Just as the yellow Jackets seemed to be controlling the bears’ offense, aiC made a crucial mistake, giving away a penalty kick and yielding bruno a 10-7 lead at the half. the second half of the game, in contrast to the first, was flushed with offense. Shortly into the second half, akilah Cathey ’25 powered through a dense yellow Jacket defense, falling across the try line to extend the bruno lead to 15-7 at the 10:36 mark. Cathey’s goal was followed by another successful murray conversion, making it 17-7.
“i believe our team got a surge of ener-
gy and excitement. it was a great full team effort to start the game off and wrap it up with a win,” baptiste wrote.
With an assertive lead and just minutes left, the bears made hefty substitutions.
aiC was able to capitalize, scoring a few tries and conversions that shrunk the deficit to 38-21. but to the yellow Jackets’ dismay, time ran out on their comeback effort.
“the game was really exciting,” wrote Lynch. “there were times where we had to adjust better, but overall we successfully
completed our goal.” the bears’ first ivy matchup will be on Saturday at noon against the princeton tigers (1-2-0). Saturday’s contest will be held at the West Windsor Fields in princeton, NJ and streamed on eSpN+.
“everyone contributed to the team win and we are excited for our first ivy matchup next weekend,” Chou said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 23, 2024.
Football flies high in last weekend’s season opener against Georgetown
The Bears defeated the Hoyas 26–14 behind a stellar defense
BY LYDELL DYER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
One play is all it took for the bears to proclaim that they are back and better than ever. On the b ears’ first offensive play, quarterback Jake Willcox ’24.5 shocked the Hoyas’ defense, taking to the air and delivering an 87-yard touchdown strike.
it’s true to our identity that we’re going to take shots,” Willcox said in an interview via b rown a thletics after the game. “ it’s a good (indication) of what we have coming for the rest of the year: we want to be on the attack.”
a ttacking is exactly what the b ears did on that defining opening possession. Solomon m iller ’26 caught Willcox’s throw 24 yards down the field, slipping past his cornerback. a t that point, it was a footrace between m iller — who is currently ranked third among b rown’s all-time fastest 60-meter runners — and the Georgetown safety. Needless to say, it wasn’t much of a race.
“We’re always looking to try to use the talents of our players,” Head Coach James perry ’00 said. “Jake is an experienced player. He saw Solomon down the sideline and threw a beautiful ball. From there, it was just a great play from Solomon. that was a terrific way to start the game.”
Saturday afternoon marked the football team’s (1–0) long-awaited return after ten months away from competitive play. Facing a well-prepared Georgetown team (2–2), which already had three games under its belt, the bears prepared themselves for a fight. Following a dominant offensive performance in the first quarter and a shutout by the defense in the second half, b runo secured a 26–14 point victory in their season opener.
“it was definitely time to get back on
Saturday afternoon marked the football
the field,” senior captain isaiah reed ’25 said via b rown a thletics. “We’ve been practicing a long time and it was finally time to go against a team wearing a different color. We’ve been waiting for that and we were ready for this day. We came out and we competed. i look forward to doing it again next week.”
On their second offensive possession, the b ears stayed true to their lethal air attack. a fter a series of first downs in which the offense methodically chipped away at the 70-yard stretch of field ahead of them, b runo was ready to pounce. Luring the linebackers into the box with a play-action fake, Willcox delivered a 45-yard bomb down the middle of the field. With a defender on his back, wide
receiver mark mahoney ’24.5 had his work cut out for him. but standing at 6’5” and 240 pounds, m ahoney was more than ready to rise to the challenge. Lunging forward to grab the ball, m ahoney secured the touchdown and advanced the b ears’ lead to 14–7.
t he second quarter featured b rown and Georgetown trading scores on three straight possessions. r elying on triedand-true kicker Christopher m aron ’25, the bears came away with two field goals, while the Hoyas scored a touchdown. Still, it was brown who stood tall, leading 20–14 at halftime.
When play resumed, the defense came out with a taste for blood — playing a shutout half and virtually guaranteeing
the bruno victory. Flying off the left end on the Hoyas’ first possession, Quincy e utsay ’25 pummeled the Georgetown quarterback, forcing a fumble in the process. Winston Jordan ’25 was there to scoop it up, creating a second turnover for the defense following a leaping interception by Nevaeh Gattis ’26 earlier in the first.
yet the defense was not done. during their next appearance, they continued to wreak havoc on a floundering Georgetown offense. Looking to gain some easy yardage, the Hoyas’ quarterback threw a hitch along the sideline; but even relatively safe routes are not guaranteed when reed, a 2023 First team all-ivy selection, is on the field. Flying downhill, r eed
deflected the ball into the air, and safety t im m alo ’25 showed off his excellent footwork, toe-tapping the sideline and coming away with the interception.
“We want to be an elite defense,” reed declared. “We want every offense to have to fight for every yard, for every touchdown, for every point that they get. i feel like we did that today. We were able to get off the field a lot. We were able to create turnovers. We can build on this and we’ll have a great defense all year.”
With a stellar performance from their defense, it was up to b runo’s offense to capitalize. With five minutes to go in the third, the b ears launched a methodical attack. t his time, it was the ground game that overwhelmed the Hoyas’ defense, and over the course of the 61-yard drive, three separate runners — Stockton Owen ’25, Qwentin b rown ’26, and Willcox — each moved the sticks. Capping off the drive was Jordan d elucia ’25, who punched the ball in from one yard out and cemented the 26–14 victory.
“ t here’s tons to be proud of,” perry said after the game. “We knew we were playing a very good team on the road, and i’m very proud of the effort of the kids.” b ut according to perry, what makes the group stand out is that they “are hungry to get better. e ven the defense — they played exceptionally well in the second half against a very good team, but they’re still trying to get better.”
With one victory under their belt, the bears will take on Harvard on Saturday at home. t hough the annual rivalry game is sure to be tough — with Harvard having won the last twelve matchups — the b ears are eager for the challenge in front of what’s sure to be a packed and rowdy crowd.
“We’re going to keep it rolling,” Willcox announced. Let’s “string a couple of victories together.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com
Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
I feel more visible than usual this week. Every year, around this time, it's the same; I imagine this must be what grizzly bears feel like when they emerge from their secluded dens, the chirping birds and floating butterflies welcoming them back into the world.
On Monday, I celebrated my 22nd birthday, feeling all of those happy, free, confused, lonely sentiments that have been discussed at length before. “How was your birthday?” I get asked, anywhere from one to seven times for the next few days at least. I struggle to answer that question. It contained a few small joys—the free loaf of bread from Seven Stars Bakery, my particularly quick load of laundry. It contained a few moments of discomfort: the anxiety of hosting, unexpected texts from those whose last reply was to my wishing them a happy birthday. And however one characterizes that singular feeling of being sung to, of unease and love and raw, unadulterated visibility.
This week in post-, our authors are thinking about visibility too. In Feature, our writer reflects on living through the transition from physical to digital media and the age-old battle between generations. Meanwhile, our Narrative writers are exploring what it means to be back on campus, as one thinks about how her environment has altered her sense of self while the other shares musings from the seclusion of the Quiet Green. In A&C, one writer talks about the price of fame and Chappell Roan’s difficulties with her recent rise to stardom. Conversely, our other writer considers a recent internet trend of crushing on animated characters, a pattern that some may hope stays unseen. Rounding us out in Lifestyle, one writer shares her relationship with her eyeliner, and all the unwanted eyes that come with that, while the other just is trying to get herself together for the start of this year. Make sure to also catch the crossword this week; one which plays with one of our other five senses.
I find that post- writers often do a terrific job of making me—and hopefully all of you—feel seen. They have a unique, non-intrusive way of patting me on the back, the way it feels to engage in small talk with an old friend and have it flow just how you remembered. It’s the feeling that you really do contain the multitudes that you like to think you do. What a special feeling that post- creates for me, a feeling I hope you immediately understand when you pick up the latest issue of postthis week.
In the public eye,
Joe Maffa Editor-in-Chief
“It’s a hazy, remote memory in my mind, but it’s there. The lingering song of a raunchy salsa band wafting through the streets. The wandering stray dogs with matted fur. The white cross of the stone cathedral. Each direction births a new recollection, unwieldy and uncertain, yet unmistakably there.”
— Laura Tamayo, “Exile” 09.30.2022
charcuterie
by Will Hassett
with honey, a sidekick for 2D
“But home isn’t a place you find, is it? It’s a place you build. On this strange and beautiful campus, I still feel fragile and leaky. I cry so often. But I feel it sometimes, eating with somebody outside on a sunny day, learning to dance in Sayles, going on walks by the river— little glimmers of hope.”
— Anonymous, “First Year Blues” 09.28.2023
COMMENTARY
Editorial: Our peers have protected campus diversity. Brown needs to take notes.
On Sept. 6, b rown student inboxes were slammed with disappointing news: t he racial profile of the Class of 2028 was significantly less diverse than in years prior.
While education experts had already warned of drops in diversity as a consequence of the recent Supreme Court decision to ban race-based affirmative action, the data still came as a blow. We can point our fingers at the Supreme Court, but b rown is also a culprit. peer universities in the ivy League preserved the diversity of their incoming class by reforming their admission policies. b rown failed to do this internal work, and the diversity of the first-year class plummeted as a result. moving forward, b rown admissions officers need to prioritize robust recruitment programs, re-mandate a test-optional policy and engage in creative problem-solving to produce new solutions.
b rown is not alone in its struggle to retain campus diversity in a post-affirmative action world. tufts and mit also saw significant drops in the enrollment of b lack students. a mherst too recorded a notable 8% drop in b lack admissions. t he SCO t US decision made an already challenging admissions process even more difficult. Universities are now responsible for striking a careful balance between preserving student diversity — which lies at the heart of many institutional missions and carries invaluable benefits — and ensuring legal compliance with race-neutral admissions. Colleges are likely still trying to figure out what that balance might look like.
yet there is only so much grace we can give
brown when some of its other peer institutions hit the nail on the head. at princeton, black enrollment dropped by less than one percentage point while the Hispanic population dropped by
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hanced recruitment programs, test flexible policies and the use of the Opportunity atlas, co-directed by professor John Friedman of brown’s economics department. this last change espe-
As the picture of college admissions comes into sharper focus, Brown needs to start flexing those kinds of creative muscles if we want to reverse the drop in Black enrollment we saw this year.
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only 1%. at yale, the incoming freshman class had an increase in Hispanic students while its proportion of black students was the same as the year prior. if both schools were able to emerge, seemingly unscathed, from loss of affirmative action (and delays with FaFSa), there is no reason why brown could not have achieved similar results. promptly after the ruling, yale announced new admission strategies. Changes included en-
cially presents a particularly important intervention into the admissions process that brown could replicate. as Friedman previously explained to the Herald, incorporating data on a student geographic background (including economic mobility trends, incarceration rates and degree attainment rates) “provides a new and more direct way for admissions officers to understand the advantages or barriers that students faced because of the neighborhoods in which
Valdes ’27: On finding a cure for apathy
i once took a tour of the Centre pompidou led by an older man, about fifty or so, with small blackened teeth and old clothes that snowed ash. He led us past every Chagall, d uchamp, Herring, and de Kooning in favor of the lesser known artists of the expressionist movement. i n a cadence vaguely resembling that of Slavoj Žižek, he asked us: “What, of the primary colors, is the deepest?” to which the murmuring consensus of the tour group was blue, then red, then yellow. He rejected this, and proceeded to evade further discussion by talking about the invention of paint tubes. t he museum suddenly felt more like a dumpster than a vault — i was wading through unanswered questions and the metabolic byproducts of human emotion. We hang them up for each other.
t he idea of a vain search for meaning made me think of when i first read J. d . Salinger’s classic “Franny and Zooey.” Franny, an intellectually precocious, self-absorbed college student under mental duress, becomes obsessed with the Jesus p rayer — “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me” — and what it means to “pray without ceasing.”
Franny is criticized by her brother, Zooey, for her motive in becoming obsessed with the prayer, as he accuses her of misunderstanding its importance. She says to Franny, “ t he religious life, the Jesus p rayer, is not meant to be used as a defense against the world, but as a way of fully entering it with more compassion and understanding, not less.”
i think everyone at b rown should read “Franny and Zooey.” i t is very easy to believe that what you do is unimportant, and to use your wonderful brain and your favorite philosophical cronies to chew on ideas and ultimately evade assigning them meaning for the fear of undermining their complexity. a lthough it seems fruitful, this is ultimately apathy and it is easy. i t
is much harder to truly “pray without ceasing:” to never shy away from identifying the purpose in what you do.
in the face of a search for meaning, there is the constant fear that there is none. i f you scroll through the comments on you tube channels that explain experiments in quantum mechanics, you will be convinced of the fact that we are all very scared of this being true: amateur poets and bad scientists gushing over how two photons being linked across vast distances must prove that we
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who was furiously punching numbers into e xcel. He had a memory foam neck pillow and excellent quarterly endings. t here was nothing fire and brimstone about him on the surface. Here at b rown, we love to scoff at the idea of a nine-tofive desk job, of an “average” life. We are smart enough to believe we are above the mundane, but maybe we are not smart enough to understand that we have no right to decide what actually is mundane. i see how this e xcel Warrior is scrutinizing his screen like it’s a religious text. His
Not defining your motivation through intellectual escapism and then struggling with a feeling of purpose or identity is like being an army that has fired its marching band.
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are all connected, that we can communicate with inanimate entities. How we all live in a simulation, and heartwarming tales of how a commenter and his wife took shrooms a couple months ago and were talking about this “exact thing.” a s humans, the draw of being able to relate to a photon, even if it is a gross misunderstanding of the science, is that there is a way to prove that we have purpose under the guiding light of empiricism.
On a nine-hour plane ride i sat next to a man
posture is immaculate. He doesn’t need quantum physics. m aybe he is finding the elusive “purpose” we dream of with every digit he enters and he is better than us for it. m aybe.
p ray without ceasing.
it means to never stop confronting God and meaning. it means to hold the e xcel Warrior in silent reverence instead of contempt, to comment on p hysics but awesome’s video and say “Have you ever been in love before? Greetings from b razil!”, to beg the parisian man for a concrete
they grew up.” While brown has pursued numerous other measures, such as partnering with community organizations and HbCUs, it has not publicly disclosed the use of any such geographic data, which could present a new avenue of not just recruiting but contextualizing applicants in the absence of race.
the issue of diversity in our post affirmative action climate requires creative problem solving, exemplified by peer offices of undergraduate admissions. as the picture of college admissions comes into sharper focus, brown needs to start flexing those kinds of creative muscles if we want to reverse the drop in black enrollment we saw this year. to be certain, the true effects of these policies are bound to remain a bit opaque for at least a couple years. but that shouldn’t negate the fact that other institutions seemed to have gotten something right while brown faltered. University leaders should not wait for the numbers to shake out to pursue creative and aggressive strategies to preserve campus diversity — it won’t be long until a new round of applications reaches their tables.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board and aim to contribute informed opinions to campus debates while remaining mindful of the group’s past stances. The editorial page board and its views are separate from The Herald’s newsroom and the 134th Editorial Board, which leads the paper. This editorial was written by the editorial page board’s members Paul Hudes '27, Paulie Malherbe '26, Laura Romig '25, Alissa Simon '25 and Yael Wellisch '26.
answer, or at least his opinion. it is the opposite of apathy.
i often resented my parents for having come from nothing and become successful and done the whole a merican d ream thing because i knew i would never have a choice but to live up to the sacrifices that they made for me. textbook. b ut i ’ve learned that that is a beautiful thing. i have had the pleasure of meeting people who have never felt they had to do anything, people who are immune to any kind of a sense of duty, and they are miserable! t hey have had the freedom of choosing their life, discerning what they “want” and “do not want” to do, and although this seems enviable, they have been robbed of a valuable impetus and fallen into the trap of apathy. a nd it’s funny, because i ’d like to say, “Well, just pick the thing that does the most good,” to which i ’m met with a pretentious murmur of, “Well, i don’t really believe in prioritizing good because it’s just hard to define what that really is.”
Not defining your motivation through intellectual escapism and then struggling with a feeling of purpose or identity is like being an army that has fired its marching band. you are on the worst museum tour of your life.
So define good for yourself. Get it wrong! p iss off p lato. redefine it. p iss off Kant. b ut i ’ve realized that Zooey was undoubtedly right: it isn’t enough to retreat into the comfort of cleverness and ambiguity if the ultimate goal is to find fulfillment, we must at least try to define meaning. p raying without ceasing is no burden, it is an invitation to a fuller life.
Camila Valdez can be reached at camila_valdes@brown. edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
CAMPUS LIFE
Renovated Andrews House reopens as new interdisciplinary learning hub
The building now hosts the Cogut Institute for the Humanities
BY SANAI RASHID SENIOR STAFF WRITER
brown’s Cogut institute for the Humanities hosted a dedication ceremony for its new home in the renovated andrews House this thursday.
at the private event, president Christina paxson p’19 p’md’20, institute director amanda anderson and affiliated faculty spoke of how the new hub will foster opportunities for discussion, collaboration and community within the world of humanities.
Located at 13 brown Street, andrews House housed the africana studies department for two years before it was reconstructed in 2023. even earlier, the building had been used for Health Services.
“i’ve already spoken to two people who said that they remember living in this building with mononucleosis,” paxson said.
“i have to say this makes a much better humanities institute than a health center.” andrews House was built by architect Ogden Codman, Jr. in 1900 as a winter
home for textile magnate alfred m. Coats. afterward, the building was briefly used as the rhode island governor’s mansion.
When brown purchased the property, it served as the Faculty Club before becoming an infirmary in the 30s. at the event, paxson spoke of the importance of a community hub for interdisciplinary learning.
“through studying the humanities, we develop the habits of mind, critical thinking, deep reading, productive dialogue, and
the ability to hone our sense of what we value and what we want our place in the world to be,” she said. “and that’s the kind of work that i hope happens here.”
prior to the ceremony, the Herald toured the building to learn more about the property’s history and how the renovation seeks to create a new future for cross-humanities study at brown.
When one first walks into the establishment, the marble floor, high ceilings and white spiral staircase set it apart from most buildings on campus.
On the first day of class, ava pellagrini ’26 thought the first floor resembled “a museum.” pellagrini currently takes a postcolonial literature class with professor Olakunle George in the building.
“it was gorgeous,” she told the Herald.
When the building was built, “architecture was sort of elaborate and ornate,” said Gregory Kimbrell, the institute’s communications manager. but, “at the time this building was (actually) considered stripped back and going back to the basics,” he said.
“before brown rewrote everything the building used to be, they wanted us to recognize it for what it was,” said Catie manning ’25, who researched much of the history people now know about andrews House last semester under damien mahiet, director of academic programs at the Cogut institute and a lecturer in Humanities.
manning and her colleagues used the archives at the John Hay Library and newspaper clippings to trace back the history of the building.
according to Kimbrell, one of the main goals of the renovation was to “restore the building to what it had been like before the infirmary” while updating it to the needs of brown students and faculty.
For example, the first-floor ballroom — which entertained dignitaries in the time
of the governor’s mansion — now serves as the premiere event space for scholars at the institute.
Next door, what used to be a dining space is now a reception room, Kimbrell explained. the room is also used to host weekly seminars for the Cogut institute’s undergraduate fellowship.
On the second floor, visitors can find several centers and initiatives that reside in the institute — including the Center for the Study of the early modern World and the new Center for environmental Humanities.
a kitchen, a library and the building’s largest seminar room reside on the third and final floor of andrews House.
according to anderson, the communal spaces have been drawing students already.
“We were concerned about creating community, and making it a place where people would want to gather, would want to study, would want to hang out,” she said.
Outside the building, Kimbrell pointed to the green space, which used to be a parking lot. Now, the area has an accessible ramp and benches for all to sit on. “a big part of this was to make this space feel
more like a part of brown,” he said. daniel Newgarden ’25, an undergraduate fellow at the institute, is enjoying the new space and the opportunities the fellowship has provided.
“the environment has been really wonderful for having a cohort of people, both at the undergraduate level and then across the university — graduate, postdoc and Faculty Fellows,” he said. “it’s a rare kind of intergenerational group … where we are all using the same kind of grounding philosophy of humanistic inquiry.”
For anderson, that is what the institute is all about.
“brown has such dynamic humanities scholars, and it has such a strong tradition of being strong in the humanities,” said anderson. the events, lecture series and seminars “where we have a two-hour conversation” she said, “is like my church.” the center’s new permanent home at andrews House might be just one of more changes to come for cross-humanities at brown. “the goal is eventually to offer a graduate certificate, a concentration, or both,” Kimbrell said.
Brown sees uptick in admission yield after last year’s lows
Around 65% of students admitted to the class of 2028 enrolled at Brown
BY OWEN DAHLKAMP UNIVERSITY NEWS AND SCIENCE AND RESEARCH EDITOR
a fter tens of thousands of applications are evaluated and admission decisions are sent out, b rown’s Office of Undergraduate a dmission waits to see how many students take them up on their offer. i f too many students accept, it creates logistical headaches for the University. b ut too few, and b rown may be unable
to fill classes and lose out on potential sources of tuition.
i n this year’s balancing act, 65% of students who were admitted to b rown’s class of 2028 enrolled. Commonly called the yield rate, this percentage is slightly higher than that of the class of 2027.
a total of 1,725 new students joined brown this fall out of the 2,639 that were admitted.
118 applicants were admitted from the waitlist, according to a ssociate p rovost for e nrollment and d ean of Undergraduate a dmission Logan powell. Of those offered a spot from the waitlist, 86 matriculated. i n recent years, b rown has admitted anywhere between two and
300 waitlisted students, the Herald previously reported.
the first-year class saw a 40% drop in black enrollment and a 29% drop in Hispanic student enrollment compared to last year. in response to these new numbers, powell reiterated brown’s commitment to racial diversity and said that “race-neutral strategies to encourage outstanding and increasingly diverse incoming classes will remain our priority moving forward.” the University also says that it has been and will continue to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision outlawing race-based affirmative action.
a pproximately half of the incoming class is determined through its early deci-
sion application process, which requires applicants to attend the University if they are accepted. t his process inflates the yield rate, because nearly all students accepted in the early process enroll at brown. 898 students were accepted early to the class of 2028.
after examining the policy last year, brown’s ad Hoc Committee on admission policies decided to maintain early decision applications, saying that students enjoy the benefit “of knowing where they will attend college without the stress and uncertainty of preparing multiple applications over many months.”
they also highlighted the benefit for the University: “ b rown determines the
composition of roughly half of the incoming class at a relatively early date.” t he committee acknowledged that the early decision application pool “is less diverse than the (regular decision) pool in terms of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status,” adding that it is also less likely to contain applicants from historically underrepresented groups. polling conducted by t he Herald has also found that those who apply early are more likely to have legacy status, attend private high schools and receive no financial aid.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 22, 2024
COU
At the private event, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20, Institute Director Amanda Anderson and affiliated faculty spoke on how the new hub will support humanities at Brown
ARTS & CULTURE
FEATURE
Junior’s exhibit documents the erasure of Providence’s Chinatown neighborhood
“The Move on Chinatown,” appeals to memory and physical legacy
BY HENRY MCDONALD CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Sep. 20, three panels were installed on the windows of trinity repertory Company on empire Street, the same street where providence’s Chinatown used to exist. this display is a visual portion of “the move on Chinatown,” curated by aidan Choi ’26, a literary and visual arts creative who has been working on this project since his freshman year.
the project features historical drawings and texts about the “move” that happened to Chinatown in 1914, focusing on how displacement affects communities, Choi told the Herald. “i want folks to think critically about the neighborhoods that they’re from: why did they live there before? What happened to them?”
“What communities are you impacting with your presence here? that’s a question that brown, itself, can reckon with,” he added.
Choi first interacted with the history of providence’s Chinatown during his freshman year, when he visited an exhibit titled “Seeing providence’s Chinatown” with a
class. at that exhibit, Choi met his soonto-be mentor Jeffrey yoo Warren, a 2023 Library of Congress innovator in residence who served as his advisor on the project.
“i didn’t know there was a providence Chinatown” back then, Choi said.
Choi submitted his project idea to be represented in the brown arts institute’s inaugural iGNite Series. thea Quiray ta-
gle, a scholar of asian american and visual studies and an associate curator for brown arts institute and the david Winton bell Gallery, was an advisor for Choi’s project.
according to Quiray tagle, Choi was the only undergraduate student to receive an iGNite grant among a “competitive” pool of students, faculty, and community member applicants. He was chosen “for the strength of his project and how dynamic
it was,” in addition to “a deep community-engaged component,” Quiray tagle said. in meeting yoo Warren, Choi asked to be a part of his community project that used archival images to virtually reconstruct Chinatown.
“He allowed me to look through his newspaper research,” Choi said. “i came into this with already a legacy and foundations of work” by yoo Warren and others.
Going through “1,500 newspaper articles, census records, business directories,” the empire theatre’s productions stood out to Choi with its theater productions. but, tthe theater was built to “raise the property value of the neighborhood — to drive the Chinese out,” he said. “the opening play of their regular season was the ‘King of the Opium ring.’ it fed every single anxiety of the time.”
in Choi’s window display, a historical advertisement in the far-right corner lists the acts and features of that performance, all of which reinforced feed into harmful anxieties.
On dec. 13, 1914, the providence Sunday Journal released an article titled “Chinatown on the move” — with drawings of it repurposed on Choi’s display to reveal the true nature of this “move.”
“Who did? What did? What happened? the Chinese would not have just moved themselves, and if they did, why wasn’t it recorded?” Choi said.
the rearrangement of people — the “move” from Chinatown — displaced other residents of providence, and it is this community-damaging aspectnature that Choi emphasizes throughout his project and study.
“displacement never happens in isolation,” he said.
“this project actually is doing the work of creating a different kind of community, even before it’s seen by the public,” Quiray tagle told the Herald. it “is about community (and), talking about the erasure of historic Chinatown, even from memory as well as from an actual place.”
Choi’s project will end with a community conversation and celebration on Sep. 28 at the providence public Library, featuring a discussion with artists, scholars and community members, as well as additional displays and an educational zine created by Choi.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 25, 2024.
‘A Different Man’ offers twisted commentary on societal expectations
BY GABRIELLA WRIGHTEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
at its core, “a d ifferent man,” written and directed by aaron Schimberg, is a children’s story. From the first day of school, students learn some basic tenets to live by: treat others the way you want to be treated, use your words to solve a problem, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. these basic — yet challenging — ideas set the stage for Schimberg’s jarring and nightmarish tale. at first glance, “a different man” is primarily about accepting our inherent physical traits. the film revolves around edward (Sebastian Stan), an aspiring actor with neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes tumors to grow beneath the skin and — in his case, largely affects his face. aside from his condition, edward’s life is average. yet no matter where he goes, he feels he is being watched, examined and judged, believing all his fellow New yorkers gawk at his appearance. but the truth is that this is New york City — nobody really cares. Craving escape from the humiliation, staring and criticism he believes plague his
COUrteSy OF a24
life, edward undergoes an experimental drug procedure to reverse his condition. this procedure creates a stark “before and after” both in edward’s life and the film’s narrative — venturing the film into the gory and absurd. in an extended sequence of blood, skin and pus, backgrounded by swelling eerie music and screams, edward’s face becomes that of the recognizable Sebastian Stan. He finally becomes professionally successful, gains some “friends” and gets into a relationship, in the loosest
sense of the word. enter Oswald (adam pearson), an actor with the same condition whose life mirrors edward’s goals. beneath the surface, Oswald is as different from edward as you can imagine — funny, charismatic and bubbly — even sporting an uplifting british accent. Quickly, viewers learn that edward could have been like Oswald all along. His procedure has made no “real” difference — he is still himself: awkward, timid, slouching and hiding behind a mask.
“a different man” is built on this type of contrast — horror and humor, violence and kindness, wonder and disgust. Schimberg taps into the part of the human brain that can’t help but laugh — uncomfortably or not — at what’s different and unexpected. this is why the dynamic between the actors undoubtedly works: together, pearson, bright and warm, and Stan, angry and depressed, give the film the energy it needs to sustain its simple premise. alongside actress renate reinsve, who plays edward’s
neighbor ingrid, the pair make it easy to love and hate them both. Oswald’s kindhearted, joyous nature is simultaneously endearing and annoying to any normal, semi-cynical person, while edward is as infuriating as a so-called protagonist can be without losing the audience. even so, it becomes increasingly difficult to follow the film logically after Oswald’s introduction. the inquisitive, analytical viewer has more questions by the minute, most of which will not be answered by the film’s end. Violence and gore go from being subdued and thematic to more shocking and humorous, though this may be proof of how Schimberg effectively captures the chaos of edward’s brain. yet, once the audience lets go of logic and embraces the absurdity, these overdramatic and sprawling events only emphasize the childlike morals embedded in the film since the beginning. edward’s frustration at his perceived humiliation boils over at the prospect of what his life could have been. the idea that one’s dream life was in reach, if only one had broken out of their shell and taken it — in Schimberg’s world, that’s enough to make anyone become a different man.
Film humorously warns of the dangers of beauty standards
Aaron Schimberg taps into the part of the human brain that can’t help but laugh — uncomfortably or not — at what’s different and unexpected.
CAMPUS LIFE
After a divisive Spring Weekend, what’s on the table for 2025?
Brown Concert Agency is allowing students to weigh in on the planning process
BY BENICIO BEATTY STAFF WRITER
Last year’s Spring Weekend — a one-day concert featuring five acts — left many students dissatisfied. this spring, brown Concert agency hopes to change that.
On Sept. 9, bCa launched a campus-wide survey to gather student input on preferred festival format, number of artists and genre of performances. in the survey, bCa acknowledged the negative feedback on “the concert’s format (and) lack of popular and accessible music” they received last spring.
bCa will announce the concert’s length by mid-October, a bCa co-head told the Herald. the artist lineup will be announced in the spring, as it traditionally has been.
What does the budget look like for Spring Weekend 2025?
this year, the concert’s estimated total budget is $680,000, a roughly 68% increase from last year’s budget that puts a two-day festival back on the table, according to the agency.
two years ago, bCa had an overall concert budget of $550,000, the Herald previously reported. approximately 60% of this budget, or $350,000, was allocated to paying for artists.
but last year, the overall budget was reduced to $405,000, with only around $150,000 for the final artist budget.
this year, bCa will have an estimated artist budget of $325,000 for a two-day concert with four to six artists, or $400,000 for a one-day concert with three or four artists. the difference reflects staffing costs that nearly double for each day, according to the survey.
an estimated 40 to 50% of this year’s bud-
PERFORMANCE
get will go to mandatory costs such as security, tents and staging.
“We’re affected by inflation just like every other operation at brown,” Vincent moroz ’25, another bCa co-head told the Herald. in recent years, bCa has seen “about a 5% to 10% increase in production costs, artists costs and agent percentage.”
at this price point, what types of artists can bCa secure?
in the form, bCa told students that a twoday concert with four to six artists would look similar to the lineups in 2022 and 2023. if this option is selected, concertgoers can expect to see headliners with popularity levels comparable to artists like Smino and ari Lennox or Jid and remi Wolf, who performed in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
a single-day concert would have an artist budget that is roughly $75,000 higher than a two-day affair. the concert would include three to four artists, and would likely feature a more popular headliner, akin to Omar apollo or baby Keem.
Students who spoke to the Herald shared conflicting opinions on the decision. “i feel like a lot of the student body would prefer a ‘big name’ headlining artist, which may be reactionary to last year’s concert,” alex Green ’25 said in a message to the Herald. “i personally prefer a two-day festival because it would appease more people with genre diversity and give us more time to spend with our friends.”
He also noted that having a “bigger” artist “doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to be a better performer.”
but other students said they valued the genre diversity that a two-day festival would feature. “there are more opportunities for (bCa) to get someone i like,” Sophi aronson ’25 said, adding that they hope this Spring Weekend will feature more women rappers — talent that they say has made past concert
lineups strong.
Other students see greater value in the bigger budget of a one-day concert. “i think two days is great, but i would prefer the budget to go towards fewer bigger artists rather than more artists,” ben Otoadese ’25 said, adding that he imagines having one popular headliner with a few small openers.
many first-year students, who have yet to experience a Spring Weekend concert, also filled out the survey. “i really do like the idea of featuring more up-and-coming artists, but i agree that having more niche artists can be disheartening to people who are looking forward to a bigger concert,” Caroline Cordts ’28 said. Cordts enjoys the music of Conan Gray and big thief, two acts that she thinks would balance artistry with popular appeal. the results of the survey will not necessarily determine the final decision, bCa said, but the aggregate data will help inform the agency’s decision-making process.
in addition to students’ opinions on the ideal concert format, each artist and genre submission will be entered into a spreadsheet and tallied. “We can see how many times an artist has been requested,” said tanya Qu ’25, one of the agency’s co-heads and a four-year member of the student organization. “the sheet is something that we do look at when contacting artists.”
in addition to the survey, a year-round suggestion form is available on the bCa website.
“We’re reminded about how hard it is to appease 8,000 undergrad students,” Zike said. “everyone wants different things, and that’s why we’re trying so hard to get students’ information.”
the survey is set to close monday.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 22, 2024.
A dramatic musical comedy about Providence Place Mall opens with first show
“One Providence Place” was co-written by a Brown professor
BY CAMPBELL LOI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
a dramatic musical comedy about a hidden apartment in providence place mall immersed audiences in a mid-2000s urban legend during the show’s opening on thursday.
“One providence place: a mall musical” opened at aS220’s black box theater for its first show in a two-weekend run. the original show was created by mariah min, assistant professor in brown’s english department, as well as providence-based creatives ayla ahlquist and tina Wolstencroft.
the show explores grief, family, friendship and — of course — the largest mall in rhode island.
the play follows a young artist named riley who discovers an empty space behind a vending machine in the providence place mall. She decides to convert it into a small apartment with her friends, seeing the effort as both an art installation and a secret safe haven to escape from the troubles of the outside world.
Spanning from 2003 to the friends’ eventual eviction from the mall in 2007, the musical explores a broad array of both comedic and dramatic themes as riley grapples with the recent loss of her mother
Spanning from 2003 to the group’s eventual eviction from the mall in 2007, the musical explores a broad array of both comedic and dramatic themes
and an increasingly strained relationship with her sister.
much of the plot is based on the true story of a hidden apartment built in providence place in 2003, but Wolstencroft explained to the Herald that only loose inspiration was taken from the actual incident when writing the script, and their resulting musical is not meant to be completely representative of real-life events.
the musical is the first project that the three collaborators — known professionally as “the Harpies” — have produced as a collective, and it is also the first time any of them have created a fully original work of musical theater. according to min, the collaboration had been years in the making, stemming from a mutual background in
local improv comedy.
“because improv is so ephemeral and so light on its feet, we always wondered what it would be like to collaborate on something more structured, more involved and planned out,” she told the Herald. When ahlquist brought the story of the makeshift apartment in providence place to min and Wolstencroft about a year ago, they saw the concept as “something that we could really work with” and began drafting a script, min explained.
Upon finalizing the script in may, the Harpies hired composer avi david to write the music for the show. they held auditions and began rehearsals soon after.
“Our composer has been creating songs in lock-step with the rehearsals, so some-
times we would have songs being sent to us a couple days before,” min said.
“it’s definitely been interesting not learning something with sheet music and going off of recordings,” said Christina Smith, who plays riley in the musical. “early on, we were just kind of chanting the lyrics because we didn’t know what they would sound like, but it was exciting once a new song was ready and you could finally hear the orchestration.”
Smith added that though the rehearsal process was quite different from her previous experiences in theater, she enjoyed being able to act in a production that is fully original. “actually having a hand in creating this character … that’s been the most rewarding part of it,” she said.
this creative liberty is evident in the script’s more magical elements, such as the mall security guards reporting to an anthropomorphic walkie-talkie. most notably, the mall apartment itself is personified; accompanied by balloons, whimsical lighting and an electronic musical motif, the “mall hole” speaks and sings to riley throughout the show, providing her both literal and metaphorical refuge as she navigates her emotions.
min added that the setting of the show also allowed for the Harpies to explore many aspects of american society. From mentions of Ken Jennings and Saddam Hussein to plot points involving blackberry phones, the musical is replete with references to early-2000s culture.
it was interesting for us not to just directly reproduce the story and dramatize it, but to kind of think about what the act of creating an apartment inside the mall could say about other aspects of personal and social life,” she said.
“One providence place” will have one more weekend of performances before closing on Sept. 29.
“i just really want people to feel something, whether they’re super happy or they relate to the grief aspect,” Wolstencroft added. “there’s just so many different themes.”
“We really genuinely were so bowled over by how great the music was and how impressive the cast was,” min said. “i can’t wait for the cast to then see how their work is being paid off (and) i hope people really have a good time at the show.”
min noted that the Harpies plan to continue working together on future projects, and stressed the importance of engaging with the local arts and community theater scenes — especially for brown students.
“even with a busy academic or extracurricular schedule, if you have a little time to venture outside of College Hill, see what’s going on in the city,” she said, adding that she strongly encourages students to “take the full advantage if they can of local events, the independent arts (scene) and what rhode island has to offer.”
MEDICAL SCHOOL
PLME students make up one-third of Brown’s medical school
How do other medical students fit in at Warren Alpert?
BY CLAIRE SONG SENIOR STAFF WRITER
brown’s program in Liberal medical education stands out for allowing high school students to apply to the Warren alpert medical School for a combined undergraduate and medical school program, but that drastically impacts the composition of brown’s medical school.
around one-third of Warren alpert students were admitted in high school through the pLme, according to a Herald analysis. but only around 2% of the medical school’s body are non-pLme brown students.
around 150 students matriculate into Warren alpert annually. the pLme program has a competitive acceptance, usually around 2.4%, which works out to around 50 first-years per class. there were 144 matriculants to the md class of 2028 from 53
different colleges and universities, according to Warren alpert’s admissions office.
Jake Glueck md’26, who matriculated to Warren alpert through the pLme, described going to medical school as a smooth transition, as he was already “somewhat familiar” with a good portion of the class. it was easy to “stick with the
people he already knew,” he said.
Glueck said he “felt there wasn’t as much intermingling between pLme and non-pLme students as there could have been.”
maria Guerrero ’21 md’26, a non-pLme third-year student, said there were only four non-pLme brown undergraduate stu-
dents in her class including herself. but Guerrero did not feel “any differences with the pLme students,” she said. “everybody is just trying to get through it.”
Some students at Warren alpert take “non-traditional” routes into medical school. Justin Wyda md’26 attended Washington University in St. Louis for undergrad then worked as a teacher before entering medical school.
“i was pretty committed to trying out being a teacher,” Wyda said. “but i was also thinking in the back of my head that i really like science and medicine, which motivated me towards medicine.”
While such a large portion of the medical class are pLme students, Wyda believes brown balances it well by “taking a lot of non-traditional students.”
“there are more ‘hardcore medicine’ students who knew they were going to be a doctor since 12 years old, and then there are people with different perspectives from various careers, priorities and interests,” Wyda said.
but some students think there’s a lack
of representation from non-pLme brown students at Warren alpert. Kyoko Saito ’24, a pre-medical student applying this admissions cycle, says she does not know any non-pLme brown students attending Warren alpert.
Warren alpert admissions denied the Herald’s request for the number of nonpLme brown student applicants and matriculants by year.
d espite the numbers, students described finding an inclusive community at Warren alpert.
Wyda said that, while the school focuses on training good physicians, it also emphasizes “finding balance and making sure you’re as healthy as possible.” He said that while there was some competition among students, the environment was “not cut throat” and rather was “very collaborative.”
Guerrero said one of her biggest concerns was going to a medical school with an overly competitive environment. Warren alpert, she said, has been “very social, with everyone supporting each other’s achievements.”
Health Careers Advising gets new look, resources following years of criticism
HCA hopes to streamline processes that students said were insufficient
BY KATE ROWBERRY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
pre-health students at brown rely on Health Careers advising for everything from first semester course selection to support during the application process to medical school and other health-related programs.
but for years, HCa had a poor reputation among students, the Herald previously reported. in both 2016 and 2022, students cited insufficiencies with the advising support on campus, emphasizing a lack of appointment availability and difficulties in securing necessary application components from HCa in a timely manner.
Now, updates to HCa’s resources and student support could change that.
in the past two years, HCa has made a number of updates to their advising process that Ginger Fisher, assistant dean of the college for pre-professional advising, believes will “support students in their journey to a healthcare career,” she wrote in an email to the Herald.
during the 2015-16 school year, 258 students applied to medical school from the University, according to the association of american Colleges’ website. Sarah taylor, a senior teaching associate and academic advisor, told the Herald at the time that HCa was “severely under-resourced” to meet the advising needs of pre-health students on campus.
due to the small size of the HCa staff, she said, pre-med students who were also biology concentrators turned to the biology department for advising support.
in 2016, HCa was led by George Vassilev, former associate dean of the college for pre-professional advising, whom students said was largely unavailable for support. One student interviewed at the time referred to Vassilev as “more the bouncer at a club” than an advisor.
pre-health students interviewed in 2016
also highlighted the HCa committee letter as a source of stress in the application process.
prior to starting the formal application process in June, students had to complete the HCa dossier, which “is essentially a rough draft of the application to medical or dental school,” Fisher wrote. in 2016, students submitted a draft of their personal statement and activities list as part of the dossier.
applicants had to then complete an interview with the HCa committee, who would write an individual committee letter informed by each student’s interview and application materials. HCa would ideally submit the committee letter to the students’ american medical College application Service portals before the applications closed in September.
but some students noted that their letters were sent as late as early October, which they believed negatively affected their chances of admission. a few of these students speculated that an applicant’s perceived likelihood of acceptance to medical school influenced how quickly the HCa submitted their committee letter, as medical schools do not consider an application until all materials — including the letter — have been submitted.
Six years later, students interviewed by the Herald in spring 2022 echoed these same concerns.
“i think to some extent, (people) have to kind of come to terms with understanding that their committee letter might not come at the earliest date possible, and it’s kind of out of their control,” Lang Liang ’22, who had just applied to dental school, told the Herald at the time.
Students also expressed that advising appointments — both for committee letter interviews and for individual meetings — had limited availability, making it difficult for them to seek support throughout their pre-health journeys.
in the past two years, HCa has undergone a number of changes in both staffing and the advising process.
in august 2022, Vassilev departed from the University. His role was temporarily
filled by allan tunkel, who was named the new health careers advisor expert in residence for the 2022-23 academic year. that fall, HCa made the decision to replace the committee letter after “reviewing data from other schools and much discussion of the role of the committee letter,” wrote Fisher, who arrived in January 2023 to serve as the assistant dean of pre-professional advising. in the place of writing a committee letter for each prospective applicant, HCa now compiles a packet of letters for each student. the packet includes a cover letter explaining brown’s open curriculum, as well as any letters of recommendation that students have requested from faculty or supervisors.
a main reason the HCa transitioned towards utilizing letter packets is because the committee letter process “created a significant amount of stress among students” and was perceived by students as “very evaluative,” Fisher wrote, noting that student-advisor relationships also benefit from “a much more relaxed environment.”
a dditionally, the time that used to be allotted for writing HCa committee letters can now be spent on advising ap-
pointments with students to discuss their dossiers with an advisor to strengthen their application.
Students are also able to meet with an advisor for a mock interview, in which they will receive “immediate feedback so that they can improve their interviewing skills,” Fisher wrote.
Still, these advising appointments are “in short supply,” pre-health student Zoe Siegel ’25 wrote in an email to the Herald. isaac Jin ’27 said that there are limited time slots to meet with the advisors. but he was able to schedule an appointment with tunkel and received helpful advice about resources and clinical experience. in the last two years, HCa has also created a Google Classroom that professional health school applicants join in January before they apply. the Google Classroom organizes the resources and information applicants need and enables the HCa to set up advising meetings with students and compile their letters of recommendation.
this past august, HCa launched an updated version of their website with informational sessions on careers in healthcare and application processes. the new website “is actually what i
would have loved to have” while an undergraduate, said alum Saradha miriyala ’23, who applied to md/phd programs this cycle, in an interview with the Herald. She said she wished there was more “specialized” support for students applying to md/phd programs and other non-md professional schools.
according to Fisher, the Health Careers peer advisor program has “really taken off in the last two years.”
as HCpas, a team of seven upperclassmen host open hours to “handle most of the first years’ (and sophomores’) questions and overwhelming feelings” while the advisors assist the upperclassmen with their medical school applications, peer advisor Samira Lakhiani ’25 said. “as a pre-med, you not only need advising, but you also need community,” Lakhiani added, noting that HCpas host events to help build community among pre-health students.
b eing a pre-health student can be “just kind of challenging” and can involve a “culture of gatekeeping,” peer advisor mmesoma Nwokolo ’26 said. “Our job is to quiet that noise and help students focus on their passion.”
UNIVERSITY NEWS
ADMISSIONS
The battle over affirmative action is far from finished, triggering new legal threats
Experts can’t agree why Brown’s freshman class is less racially diverse
BY OWEN DAHLKAMP
SCIENCE & RESEARCH AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
When the Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that colleges and universities could no longer employ race-based affirmative action, administrations nationwide scrambled to interpret a dense, 237-page ruling that would dictate the future of the admission process at their respective institutions.
a little over a year since the decision, the consequences are beginning to materialize, but in dramatically different ways. brown has seen a substantial decrease in the share of black and Hispanic students. the composition of first-year classes at other peer institutions, such as those at yale and princeton, remain largely untouched.
this discrepancy has sparked a firestorm in the world of college admissions, reigniting a familiar question from anti-affirmative action advocates that may have legal consequences: how did some colleges maintain racial diversity without race-based affirmative action?
according to a Herald analysis of publicly disclosed admission policies, there are few differences between the policies brown implemented in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision compared to its peer institutions. but the outcomes are vastly different.
at brown, president Christina paxson p’19 p’md’20 and associate provost for enrollment and dean of admission Logan powell assured the campus community that they would explore every possible avenue to maintain racial diversity while complying with the justices’ ruling. in the past year, they have focused on recruiting a diverse applicant pool in part by expanding partnerships with community-based organizations serving underrepresented students, hiring additional staff focused on community outreach, traveling
with historically black colleges and universities on recruitment trips and more.
despite this, brown is on a path to become less racially diverse. Other schools have implemented similar measures and maintained their racial diversity.
While princeton has not disclosed nearly as many initiatives following the Supreme Court’s ruling, yale has published an extensive list of measures they took for the class of 2028’s application cycle.
this list mirrors the policies that brown has implemented — from targeted recruitment to expanding partnerships with community-based organizations. One of the major discrepancies is yale’s use of “place-based data.”
a tool dubbed “Opportunity atlas” has allowed yale to understand the economic mobility of an applicant’s neighborhood.
John Friedman, the co-director of Opportunity insights, the organization which created the atlas, told the Herald that the platform “provides a new and more direct way for admissions officers to understand the advantages or barriers that students faced because of the neighborhoods in which they grew up.” Friedman, who is also the chair of brown’s economics department, has conducted extensive research on college admissions.
if colleges could increase applications for students coming from low-opportunity areas, evaluate those applications in the context of opportunities available to those students and support those students accepted to attend,” Friedman said, “colleges would expand not only the diversity of their students’ backgrounds but also the equality of opportunity for children broadly.”
beyond economic mobility indicators, the Opportunity atlas also provides racial data of children in specific neighborhoods using data from the U.S. Census. it is unclear whether yale employs this feature, and yale did not respond to the Herald’s multiple requests for comment.
When asked, brown University Spokesperson brian Clark did not disclose whether
the University uses this tool.
What are the experts saying?
beyond these measures, experts in college admission have struggled to suggest alternative strategies that could protect the diversity these institutions seek.
Catharine bond Hill, the managing director of college consulting company ithaka S+r, is encouraging institutions to recruit more lower income students. “When looking at the outcomes for schools that have reported their data, there is some suggestion that schools that have done better on low-income students … have also done better on racial diversity,” Hill said. brown has repeatedly said that they are working to increase recruitment of applicants and enrolled students from low-income backgrounds.
Hill’s firm is also advising schools to eliminate legacy preferences and standardized test scores in admissions. brown decided in march to require test scores for the foreseeable future, claiming that their data suggests “unintended adverse outcomes of test-optional policies in the admissions process itself, potentially undermining the goal of increasing access.”
“Students from less-advantaged backgrounds are choosing not to submit scores under the test-optional policy, when doing so would actually increase their chances of being admitted,” the committee said.
administrators have also said they will seek public input on legacy preferences in admissions following the committee’s report, but have not provided a public update since making that commitment in march. Students for educational equity, a brown-based activist organization, has called for the end of legacy preferences.
richard Kahlenberg, an expert in college admissions and director of the american identity project at the progressive policy institute, said that colleges should be “giving a leg up in admissions to socioeconomically disadvantaged students and increasing financial aid.” brown practices need-blind admissions,
a policy that states “applicants’ ability to pay for their education will not be a determining factor in the admission decision.” but experts have suggested that this opens the door to using class conscious-admission policies that do not disadvantage lower-income applicants, the Herald previously reported.
Legal threats despite the implementation of these policies, brown has been met with a less diverse first-year class than other institutions who have relied on similar policies. to some, this is an indication that colleges who have maintained racial diversity — such as yale, princeton and duke — are in violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
in letters obtained by the Herald, president of Students for Fair admission edward blum alleged that these three institutions’ “racial numbers are not possible under true race neutrality.” SFFa’s lawsuit against Harvard and the University of North Carolina resulted in the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling outlawing race-based affirmative action.
in his letters, blum requested that these colleges “identify the new, substantial race-neutral alternatives” that they implemented, threatening litigation if they refused to do so. “Without that information, SFFa will conclude that (they) are circumventing the Supreme Court’s decision,” blum wrote. they “are now on notice.”
in response to this letter, Frank tramble, duke’s vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, said that “duke University is committed to compliance with the law. We value every student and are excited to welcome another outstanding class.” either yale nor princeton responded to a request for comment.
When the case was being considered by the Supreme Court, these three schools filed an amicus brief in support of Harvard and UNC. they claimed that maintaining racial diversity without affirmative action would not be possible, a fact blum highlighted in his letters.
during the litigation, Harvard presented several simulations showing that without affirmative action, no alternative measures would supplement the loss of racial diversity. despite this, yale and princeton seem to have maintained racial diversity while still claiming that they adhered to the Court’s decision. blum is skeptical.
in his opinion, Supreme Court Chief Justice John roberts explicitly outlawed the use of “race for race’s sake” in college admissions, but roberts created an exception: “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise.”
this allowed colleges to consider an applicant’s racial background if they chose to discuss it in their application essays. roberts made clear that universities could not simply use this information to establish a new form of race-based affirmative action.
brown — along with yale, princeton and dozens of other highly-selective colleges — added new essays to their applications that asked students to talk about their background without directly implicating their race. a new essay required for admission at brown asks students to “share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the brown community.”
“Our goal was to provide applicants ample opportunity to detail their talents, skills, experiences and ideas as they sought a college education that best fits them,” Clark, the brown spokesperson, said in a statement to the Herald. He added that some applicants to the class of 2028 used this essay to focus on their identity while others focused on other experiences, ranging from “the impacts of climate change and global conflict on their lives, to personal experiences and work in their own communities.”
yale and princeton did not respond to multiple requests for comment about how similar essays are considered in their application review process.
in the coming years, “brown’s admissions team will expand on previous measures and implement additional race-neutral strategies to encourage outstanding, diverse classes of first-year undergraduates,” Clark said. “the Office of College admission continually evaluates the success of its outreach efforts to learn which are the most effective, and it will explore ways to build on initiatives that helped promote diversity among applicants and incoming students.”
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Regular decision applicants say Brown was their top choice. Why didn’t they apply early?
Experts discuss economic disparities between early and regular decision
BY TALIA LEVINE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
many high schoolers whose top college choice is brown will apply under its binding early decision program, which has a higher acceptance rate.
but 35% of students who applied in the regular non-binding cycle also said brown was their top choice, a Herald poll found. Why didn’t these students apply early?
many experts told the Herald spoke to said that uncertainty around financial aid was a major factor.
Since 2001, brown has used early decision to lure applicants with a promise of early admission. but such practices have caused socioeconomic disparities within the applicant pool. Last spring, a University committee recommended that brown maintain a binding early decision program despite some opposition, the Herald previously reported.
the committee acknowledged that the early decision applicant pool “is less diverse than the rd pool in terms of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status; students who apply ed are less likely to be from historically underrepresented groups or be low income, first-generation or international applicants.” but they also said that such a program benefits the University, as it allows brown to determine “the composition of roughly half of the incoming class at a relatively early date.”
the early decision students, who are now contractually obligated to attend the University, are unable to learn of their official financial aid package until after they are accepted and commit to attending.
“if finances are not an issue at all, then a student can almost always end up applying early decision if their top choice offers it,” said Sara Harberson, CeO of college consulting firm application Nation and a former penn admission counselor. but most families are not in that position. Families “are nervous committing to one college” without being able to compare various financial aid awards, she said.
Last winter, during the school’s second-most competitive early decision round in history, the University admitted 14.4% of its early-decision applicants. these students make up over half of the class of 2028.
in a poll of first-years conducted by the Herald, nearly 60% of respondents who were admitted early said they were not receiving any financial aid. Over half of the students who enrolled from the regular decision pool reported financial aid covering some or all of their costs.
eric Sherman, a college admissions counselor at ivyWise and a former admissions officer at Columbia, shared that some students applying to universities are deterred from applying to universities under a binding early admission plan because of the “sticker shock of the total price of college.”
Sherman noted that this is a concern even for schools that guarantee to meet an admitted student’s full financial need, such as brown.
Cathleen Sheils, the senior associate director of college counseling at Solomon
admissions and the former director of admissions at Cornell, told the Herald that while it’s difficult to guarantee what the specific financial aid package will be, it is possible to have some sense of the range.
“most financial aid offices, within reason, will talk to people,” Sheils said. Students and their families are often able to determine the range of financial aid they wouldwill receive through tools the university provides.
brown offers multiple financial aid calculators that are frequently updated, which can give students of their cost of attendance.
Sheils said there is often no discrepancy between the financial aid for early and regular applicants.
but some students and their families may want to compare regular decision aid packages, she said, as there are very few schools that offer exclusively need-based aid. most colleges and universities in the U.S. offer merit aid, which is not dependent on an applicant’s financial need. brown and many other highly-selective institutions do not.
For Sheils, access to information about higher education is one of the key barriers to applying early for students from less wealthy backgrounds. “When i was at Cornell, i heard from several students that they were surprised with the aid package, that they had always heard that privates and ivies are too expensive,” she said.
“When a year of college can be more than your family makes in a year, it’s completely overwhelming,” she added. “i was a first-generation college student at Cornell, so i know firsthand.”
“Students who are able to apply early
decision and get in early decision are oftentimes students who can just imagine the cost of college as a number” and not a burden for their family, said Nick Lee ’26, the co-president of Students for educational equity.
at the same time, the University will fully cover the cost of tuition and room and board for families with “incomes of less than $60,000 per year and assets less than $100,000” according to the University’s financial aid office website.
Lee noted, though, that for students in the middle, not knowing what college will cost is a big deterrent to applying early.
the Herald’s first-year poll data for the class of 2028 showed that while around half of students admitted early decision attended public schools, over 60% of students admitted regular decision attended public schools.
Harberson believes part of the reason private school students are more likely to apply early is that their high schools typicallytraditionally have stronger college counseling programs.
at traditional private day schools and boarding schools, “most college counselors have college admissions experience … at a fairly selective or sometimes highly selective institution,” Harberson said. these counselors are aware that when a student applies early decision, their chances of admission increase. but many public high schools do not have similar opportunities for their students, according to Harberson.
“most counselors at public high schools have caseloads of hundreds of students that they are responsible for, whereas i was a counselor at a private high school and was responsible for about 40 students a year,”
Harberson told the Herald.
Haberson added that additionally, many counselors at public schools do not have the experience in college admissions that private school counselors traditionally have.
Lee believes that at private schools, there is a cultural expectation that students will apply to their top choice school in an early decision cycle.
He noted that the early decision pool often includes many student-athletes and students with familial ties to a school, which already gives them a statistical advantage in the admissions process. polling conducted by the Herald has confirmed this discrepancy.
When asked about paths towards more equitable admissions, Sherman emphasized the importance of eliminating “unearned advantages,” such as legacy admissions and priority recruitment of athletes, particularly in sports with high participationentry costs.
Shiels believes that the way to reach underrepresented students is to lean on resources outside of a student’s traditional guidance counselor. She pointed to community-based organizations, religious organizations and other trusted advisers that can help support a student on their path to college.
Harberson believes it’s integral for colleges to reframe how they recruit and evaluate applicants, advocating for one, nationally-designated deadline.
“Having one deadline could transform this process,” she said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2024.
A lack of communication from UFB caused troubled club finances, students say
UFB’s chair said she wants to rectify communication issues
BY LEAH KORITZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Last spring, brown’s Questbridge student group — one of hundreds of clubs receiving its annual funding from the Undergraduate Finance board for 2024-25 — was given $517.73 in annual funding, one-third of its annual funding from the prior year.
the club, facing disrupted programming from the tighter annual budget, gathered 584 signatures in a petition to UFb for more funding. it sent the petition to UFb last spring, but didn’t hear back until two weeks ago.
Questbridge and several other student clubs faced a similar issue this semester after
UFb changed its funding structure. Now, clubs get less money up front and can apply for supplemental money as needed. UFb mentioned the change in an email to clubs, but multiple club organizers said they felt the communication was insufficient.
UFb Chair, Naomi Ledell ’26, inherited these concerns when she took on the role at the end of last semester, after being a UFb representative during the 2023-24 school year. She says a lack of adequate communication from UFb about the process could have caused the issues, and she wants to fix them.
Last year, board members “stopped taking UFb and their responsibility as seriously” Ledell said, attributing the issues to “burnout” among board members.
“i really do want to rectify the situation that everyone’s been left in,” she said. “i hope that UFb can continue to work with everyone in a satisfactory way.”
Still, Ledell stressed that UFb funds are not unlimited, and “some requests … need to be scrutinized.”
UFb now splits funding for most clubs into three different buckets: baseline, supplemental and annual. all student groups recognized by brown can receive baseline funding up to $200. most can apply for annual funding, meant for large-scale events, like conferences and publishing costs.
the revamped system also offers large supplemental funds, which intend to compensate for smaller annual funds. roughly half of the clubs at brown, including Questbridge, are eligible to receive supplemental funding. UFb hopes these funds help cover socials, dinners and other one-off programs.
Last year, UFb did not clearly explain that clubs could apply for supplemental funding on top of annual funding, said Ledell. “i personally was shocked about how many clubs
just weren’t told this.”
Still, she said it’s the responsibility of clubs to stay aware of funding processes and other requirements. because of the large number of clubs — over 400 — she said it isn’t possible for UFb to keep tabs on every group.
“We did not know we were eligible for supplemental funding until very recently, when the new UFb Chair reached out and explained that we can appeal a second time to try to receive supplemental funding,” said Ochoa, Questbridge brown’s former president. “Up until then, we were in limbo and had no idea what to expect going into this year.”
recently, Ledell met with Questbridge and permitted them to reapply for annual funding, which UFb will then vote on whether to accept.
FirstGens@brown also received a reduc-
tion in their annual funding. in an email to the Herald, mia mira ’25, head of the club, wrote that she wasn’t aware that clubs can apply for supplemental funds until the Herald contacted her.
the new system introduces challenges with event planning, mira said. it’s difficult to plan for an event without knowing if funding will be granted down the line.
Julia byrne ’25, president of the advocacy group Circle of Women — which is only eligible for baseline funding — told the Herald that the $200 is “quite modest.”
She continued, “Of course, any amount of money is helpful for operations, but for a fundraising club that plans events, funding is vital for us succeeding in our core mission.”