SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 39
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
American Federation of Teachers approved by grad students as union affiliate Grad students next to organize card campaign in steps toward unionization By ROSE SHEEHAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
In the March 19-21 affiliation vote organized by Stand Up for Graduate Student Employees, graduate student voters selected the American Federation of Teachers as their union affiliate should unionization occur, according to SUGSE members. AFT was chosen on Tuesday night over the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. SUGSE members had previously told The Herald that the results of the affiliation vote would be announced after spring break. For graduate students to unionize, the union that they choose to affiliate with must organize a card campaign, in which a minimum of 30 percent of members of the bargaining unit must sign cards indicating that they want to join the union, Provost Richard Locke
said. The bargaining unit consists of graduate and undergraduate students who serve as teaching assistants and graduate research assistants, said Lubabah Chowdhury GS, a member of SUGSE. If unionization occurs, students included in the bargaining unit will pay dues as members of AFT and play a role in the negotiation of the union contract with the University, Chowdhury added. AFT will not file with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a unionization vote unless 65 percent or more of eligible graduate students have signed cards in the card campaign, wrote Joseph Skitka GS, a member of SUGSE, in an email to The Herald. Waiting for a supermajority of 65 percent to commit to joining the union should ensure a vote in favor of unionization, he added. The NLRB would then organize and administer the unionization election, Locke said. Several universities have negotiated pre-election agreements regarding logistics such as polling locations and the type of ballots used, he added.
HERALD FILE PHOTO
The American Federation of Teachers was selected by the Stand Up for Graduate Student Employees as the union affiliate of graduate student workers in the case of unionization. “A union is going to make it a lot easier for us to bargain for things that affect all graduate students,” such as healthcare, childcare and spousal support, Chowdhury said. As workers, graduate students have a right to form a legally protected,
representative body that the University must recognize and incorporate into its governance structure, rather than act as individuals or advocacy groups, which the administration has no obligation to recognize, said Anne Gray Fischer GS, a member of SUGSE.
Graduate students have legitimate concerns, and “I want us to work on those issues … regardless of whether or not there is a union,” Locke said. A union “isn’t actually going to be able to address some of the issues that students have,” he added.
Computer science professor Unearthed Fitzgerald story offers new insights Newly released story selected as Sloan Fellow Professor Tim Kraska to pursue research in democratizing data analysis tools By AILEEN SEO STAFF WRITER
For the fourth year in a row, a faculty member in the computer science department has received the Sloan Research Fellowship, which recognizes the work and promise of early-career scholars by awarding winners a twoyear, $65,000 fellowship, according to its website. Tim Kraska, assistant professor of computer science, was selected as a fellow for his work to make data more accessible “through the development of a new generation of algorithms and systems for interactive and sustainable data-driven discovery,” according to his research statement. “I think more people want to analyze data,” Kraska said. But “data scientists need year-long trainings in machine learning, statistics and data management, but not everybody has that.” Professor of Computer Science Ugur Cetintemel nominated Kraska for the award. The department can nominate up to three candidates per year and, in most years, this quota has
INSIDE
been filled, Cetintemel said. “We make an effort to make as many nominations as possible, as a shot not taken is a shot missed.” With the fellowship grant, Kraska hopes to continue with his project developing programs that allow non-experts without technical skills to analyze and visualize data sets. He is currently working on three interconnected projects, according to his research statement. The first project, a new program called Tupleware, allows everyday users to conduct common analytical tasks. He also works to develop Vizdom — a touch- and pen-based interface that allows users to visually test hypotheses and build complex models with minimal effort. Finally, Kraska is working to develop an Interactive Data Exploration Accelerator that will facilitate visual data exploration and integrate it into Tupleware. This year, the Sloan Fellowship received 800 applications from scholars across various fields and granted 126 fellowships, said Nathan Williams, Sloan’s communications manager. The foundation does not select the candidates and rather relies on three to four person committees composed of scientists in the field who consider factors like independent research, creativity and leadership, he added. Sloan gives the researchers leeway to » See SLOAN, page 2
touches on publishing industry, love, reveals new take on acclaimed author By ELIZABETH TOLEDANO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
“It fulfills all the requirements of fiction: it is one long sweet lie,” wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The I.O.U.,” a previously unpublished short story that came out posthumously Monday in the New Yorker . The quote comes from a conversation between two of the short story’s central characters — a fraudulent publisher and the man who his publishing house has publicly pronounced dead in its most recent nonfiction book. Here, Fitzgerald offers a taste of his self-aware sense of humor in his ability to poke fun at the publishing industry. According to the New Yorker, Fitzgerald wrote “The I.O.U.” in 1920 for fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. Fitzgerald dubbed many of his own short stories “trash,” sending these texts to publishers for fast-profit. By the time he wrote “The I.O.U.,” Fitzgerald had become fairly well-known, acquiring the means to focus on novel writing. He rescinded the initial submission of the story’s manuscript, claiming he planned to add some revisions before
ARTS & CULTURE
publishing. He then abandoned the story altogether and turned to writing the “The Beautiful and the Damned.” In 2012, Fitzgerald’s estate sold “The I.O.U.” to Yale, along with 14 other of his unpublished short stories, which will come out Apr. 25 in a collection called “I’d Die for You: And Other Lost Stories,” edited by Anne Margaret
Daniel. “The I.O.U.” revolves around a New York City publisher who recently released “The Aristocracy of the Spirit of the World,” an autobiography written by character Dr. Harden. The book recalls Dr. Harden’s communications with his nephew, Cosgrove Harden, » See FITZGERALD, page 2
WEATHER
THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017
NEWS Stephen Karam ’02 discusses Tony win, acting, playwriting experiences at Brown
NEWS Pussyhat co-creator Jayna Zweiman ‘01 returns to campus, speaks on Women’s March
COMMENTARY Wayland ’18: Beauty and the Beast retells timeless classic while adding humanizing nuances
COMMENTARY Jacobs ’18: Despite controversial legacy, David Cameron shows his commitment to open dialogue
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