Thursday, April 18th, 2024

THE BROWN DAILY HER ALD

After funding crisis, what comes next for UFB?

KaiOlENa TaCaZON / hErald UFB leaders said the student group recategorization in spring 2022 was one of the most notable causes of its budget deficit this year.

UFB launches new initiatives, aims to increase student activities fee

BY JULIANNA CHANG AND LEAH KORITZ UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

This year, student groups faced restricted budgets after the undergraduate Finance Board aggressively spent its $1.2 million surplus in the 2022-23 academic year — leaving a $1.5 million gap between requested and received funding.

The herald spoke with outgoing uFB Chair arjun Chopra ’25 about the organization’s finances, responses to the budget crisis and what student groups can expect next year.

What caused the budget deficit? in 2022, uFB decided to spend down

CAMPUS EVENTS

a large portion of its surplus to increase student engagement. They had originally aimed to keep an available surplus of $150,000. But because of late invoices, the board needed to spend more than expected, leaving them with a forward balance of “pretty much zero,” Chopra previously told The herald.

With a small forward balance, clubs faced restricted budgets in 2023-24, The herald previously reported. in response to the budget cuts, uFB reduced spending in other areas like backend support — internal costs like Media services and Facilities Management — and safety, which increased from roughly $629,000 in 2021-22 to over $1 million in 2022-23. uFB subsequently plans to cut funding for these fixed costs from around $1.02 million in 2022-23 to $478,000 in 2023-24, according to financial projections shared at a March 5 town hall. Chopra was vice chair when uFB de-

Metro Boomin talks career, future projects

Music producer encouraged students to learn, improve their craft

BY SANAI RASHID SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On Tuesday, the Brown university lecture Board hosted Metro Boomin for a talk at salomon dECi leland Tyler Wayne, more famously known as Metro Boomin, is a record producer who has collaborated with hiphop and r&B stars such as Future, Travis scott and Nikki Minaj over the last two decades of his career. during the event, Metro Boomin discussed his rise to stardom and partnership with some of the biggest names in rap.

“i just love to make music. That’s all i want to do,” said Metro Boomin. “i’ve been like that since i started at 13.”

Born and raised in st. louis, Metro Boomin grew up listening to hip-hop and rap artists across the country —Tupac, Nelly, Outkast and Janet Jackson, to name a few — while making beats in his bedroom. he accredited his midwestern upbringing for his exposure to a diversity of artists from a young age.

“Music is regional, especially back then before the internet,” he said. “There were so many songs popping in California, and other places like New york, that we probably never even heard of. But being in the Midwest, being in the middle of everything, we caught some of everything. That’s why i like making so many different types of music.”

Metro Boomin discussed how his diverse love of music made him attracted to the rap scene in atlanta, a city that has

cided to spend down its surplus. he took over as uFB chair in fall 2023, when clubs first faced the reduced budgets.

We believed that “we need to do this massive stimulus in order to get people involved in clubs and get clubs to flourish as much as possible” after pandemic restrictions eased, Chopra told The herald in fall 2023, as clubs faced decreased budgets. “Now we’re in a situation where the stimulus was very successful, and we are in a belt-tightening era” in terms of money.

uFB financial statements released at the town hall illustrate how ballooning costs — combined with an intentional boost to club allocations — decreased the board’s surplus more than expected.

Between 2018 and 2023, undergraduates paid $143 per semester in tuition for the student activities Fund, which gave uFB roughly $2 million annually to allocate among student groups. during the pandemic, students did not pay two semesters of

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

activities fees over the four semesters in 2021 and 2022.

uFB requested that the university increase the semesterly fee to $168 for 202324, but the university only increased it to $150.

Before the pandemic, uFB aimed to maintain a surplus of $300,000 every year to safeguard against fluctuations in revenue. But in 2020, after receiving access to 12 years of historical data that the board previously did not have access to, uFB realized that they had unknowingly accumulated a surplus of over $1 million.

last school year, uFB increased student group allocations by $300,000 — 30% of the $1 million surplus — in hopes of giving more money to student groups following the pandemic, Chopra said.

But the board also saw a large increase in internal costs from roughly $629,000 in

Nepal ’25 talks UCS election, tenure goals

Nepal, who ran on divestment platform, received 63% of 1,408 votes

BY LEAH KORITZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Niyanta Nepal ’25, who will become the next president of the undergraduate Council of students after receiving 63% of 1,408 votes in the student Government association elections last month, made “divestment from apartheid” and increasing student input in university policies centerpieces of her campaign.

The herald spoke with Nepal about her hopes and policy priorities for her presidency.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

On past political involvement and the

What’s on tap in Rhode Island’s water system?

Brown dorm has break-in, personal items stolen

Men’s lacrosse narrowly defeats Princeton

decision to run for UCS:

Nepal: I was asked by a couple of people who have seen me lead in activist spaces if it was something that I would consider. I think that student government is not an avenue that we have tried to see as something that is representative of student activism and a platform for student activism. So upon those suggestions from other people, I thought it would be a good place as a senior to use the organizing experience I’ve gotten from the last couple years and also use my love for student government as a platform.

I have not gotten to participate in (SGA) much. I was involved as a first-year student in student government as a voting member and got to see how it was working from the inside, and how student voice was represented in those spaces.

I decided to invest a lot more of my time in

postspring weekend

WEEK IN HIGHER ED

1

Harvard to reinstate standardized testing requirement

in a suprise reversal from harvard College’s previous commitment to remain test optional through the 2030 admissions cycle, students will once again be required to submit either saT or aCT scores as part of their application.

2

Columbia student sues school after suspension for spraying protestors

The protesting students allege they were sprayed with a foul-smelling chemical, though the lawsuit claims the plaintiff had used a gag fart spray. The lawsuit alleges that the university violated Title Vi of the Civil rights act of 1964, which prohibits race, color and/ or national origin discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance, including higher education institutions.

3

USC’s valedictorian barred from speaking at commencement out of safety concerns

after pro-israel groups accused the valedictorian of antisemitic rhetoric, the Office of the provost announced she would no longer be speaking at the school’s commencement ceremony.

THIS WEEKEND

George Lamming: Literature, History and the Politics of Decolonization – A Tribute

4/19, 2 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Churchill House

Stephen Naron — Fortunoff Archive: Promise and Foreboding in the Digital Age 4/20, 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Watson Institute

Themes from the Philosophy of Paul Guyer 4/19 - 4/20, all day

Alumnae Hall

Breeze Against Wheeze 5K Race 4/20, 10 a.m.

Olney-Margolies Athletic Center

NEXT WEEK

Uncertain Futures: How to Unlock the Climate Impasse

4/22, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Watson Institute

Benjamin Wittes — Israel, Gaza and Implications for U.S. Foreign and Domestic Policy

4/24, 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Stephen Robert ’62 Hall

Dialectics, Diasporas and Solidarity as Praxis from South L.A. to Cuba and Puerto Rico 4/23, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

94 Waterman St

Cultural Humility and Working With Native Scholars & Communities, 4/25, 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

121 South Main Street

historically been ripe with upcoming artists in hip-hop.

“My mom used to drive me down to atlanta every month just to go down there and work with (OJ da Juiceman) when i was still in tenth grade,” he said. “he introduced me to Gucci Mane, and me and Future made our first song together when i was probably in eleventh or twelfth grade.” he later attended Morehouse College in atlanta after high school to be in the heart of the rap scene. But after a few months of staying in the studio until three in the morning, and having to wake up for class only a few hours later, he decided to drop out. “i wouldn’t get much done if i was trying to split the time between (music) and school, something that i wasn’t really passionate about,” he said.

“Music was really where my heart was and where i wanted to pour everything into,” he added. “i didn’t want to put my mom and dad into debt on top of that so once i dropped out, i went 1,000% with the music, all day, every day.”

since then, Metro Boomin has been behind more than a hundred Billboard hot 100 songs, according to the Grammy awards. he has also created his own record label, Boominati Worldwide, which backs current popular releases such as the spiderman: across The spider-Verse” soundtrack, and his continuing album trilogy “hero & Villains.”

When asked about working on the spider-Verse soundtrack, Metro Boomin said it was like “a blessing.”

“i didn’t want it to feel like a kid (album) or like a disney Channel (album),” he said. “i wanted kids to enjoy the songs, adults to enjoy these songs, your grandma and grandpa to enjoy the songs. all of the artists (on the soundtrack) were worried, saying ‘we can’t cuss,’ but i told them don’t approach it like that. Talk about a lot of the same stuff, but in another way.”

While Metro Boomin is iconic for the beats he has produced for artists, many fans know him for his producer tag that announces him as the creative mind behind

tracks like “low life” by Future featuring the Weeknd and “you Was right” by lil uzi Vert.

Now, Metro Boomin says his sound as an artist is so distinct, and his volume as producer is so large, that he does not need to use a producer tag on every song he helps create.

“i don’t ever want to force it,” he said. if there’s a cool pocket or spot for (the producer tag) to enhance the beginning or end of the record, i’m all for it.”

The moderator mentioned how without the producer tag, some listeners still do not recognize that Metro Boomin is behind some of their favorite tracks, such as “Congratulations” by post Malone featuring Quavo.

“i ended up in the studio with post Malone, and Quavo just ended up calling (me),” said Metro Boomin. “We were all in the studio watching the Olympics on the TV., with the volume off, and i said, ‘yo, whatever we make with all this in the room right now needs to sound as good as this (on the TV)’. so me, Frank (dukes), and louis (Bell) cooked the beat, post was writing all of his stuff, and Quavo was rapping to himself and it all just came together.”

“ i just love to collaborate,” Metro Boomin said.

Towards the end of the event, several students had the opportunity to ask Metro Boomin questions of their own. Two students who produce beats in their

personal time, gave him copies of flash drives with their work on it. as he talked about his faith, gaining recognition in the music industry and the use of a i. in rap, several students shared why they came to the event.

Jasmine Kamara ’27 was excited about “Brown bringing a Black pop culture figure to our school.”

“Especially because i think Black culture or parts of Black culture aren’t really pushed at Brown unless it’s in a predominantly Black space,” she said.

Matthew Gorman ’27 is a fan of Metro Boomin’s work and hip-hop in general. “i like the beats and the quick flow and lyrics of hip hop,” he said. “rap talks about important things going on in the world and

artists talk about real world problems.”

“Being a student of whatever it is you’re pursuing gives you a whole other edge,” said Metro Boomin. “i’ve studied and analyzed hip hop music in general since i could remember, but i never stopped. i ’m always hungry for more knowledge, looking back and asking what were they doing back then, how were they recording, and what keyboards and drum machines were they using back then.”

“When you’re in love with something it’s not really hard to be a student,” he said. “you never want to feel like you’ve got it all figured out.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 15, 2024.

Metro Boomin has been behind more than 100 Billboard Hot 100 songs.

METRO

ENVIRONMENT

Supreme Court case by Northeast fisheries may overturn landmark legal precedent

Case concerns fees related to fishing observers, which relies on Chevron deference

BY MEGAN CHAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On Jan. 17, lawyers representing two New Jersey and rhode island fisheries — loper Bright Enterprises and relentless inc. — petitioned the supreme Court to overturn observer fee policies set forward by the National Marine Fishery service to reduce overfishing.

The companion cases have invigorated national discourse on the legitimacy of the Chevron deference, according to Michael yelnosky, a professor and former dean at the roger Williams university school of law. This landmark legal precedent defers interpretations of ambiguous statutes to federal agencies instead of judicial bodies.

Typically, disputes over congressional statutes are settled in court, yelnosky said in an interview with The herald. But if the statute is “hopelessly ambiguous,” the Chevron deference allows federal agencies to reasonably interpret the statute instead.

The doctrine was introduced after a 1984 dispute over the definition for “sources” of air pollutants in the Clean air act, yelnosky said. in 2017, a Michigan law review article found that the Chevron deference was “one of the most cited supreme Court decisions of all time.”

lawyers representing both fisheries argue for an overturn of the Chevron deference. Currently, regional fishery management councils are permitted under the Magnuson-stevens act to “establish a system of fees” to pay observers, who are placed on commercial fishing vessels and collect a variety of important fishing-related data.

lower courts used the Chevron prece-

dent to defer the fee sizes to the National Marine Fishery service — and some fishermen say that these fees are becoming unsustainable.

Jason Jarvis, the board president of the North american Marine alliance and a commercial rhode island fisherman of 30 years, said these regulations require him to pay $700 per day, making fishing an increasingly expensive occupation. Various court documents, including petitions filed by the u s department of Commerce, state that these costs force fishermen to cede “up to 20%” of their annual returns.

The fishermen that Jarvis has spoken to “are not against taking an observer, but they’re against having to pay out-of-pocket,” he explained in an interview with The herald.

“We have to have regulations, but (they’re putting more) burden on fishermen that are already burdened,” Jarvis said in reference to individual fishing quotas, another Msa policy that incurs large costs to fishermen. “That observer (could be) making more money than the crew or captain.”

“Our case just involves this one regulation … but the same kind of issues come up all the time in other areas of law,” said roman Martinez, who represented relentless inc. at the supreme Court earlier this year. “agencies have a role to play in our government … (but) we think that the court’s job is to apply its best judgment as to what the law means.”

supporters of the Chevron deference argue that courts lack the technical expertise and bureaucratic capacity to handle such complex cases. Martinez said that this was, in part, the reasoning for Chevron’s original implementation.

according to Martinez, most disputes are resolved without invoking Chevron, meaning an overturn will not significantly

upheave judicial processes. he believes that there are, however, “a number of cases in which agencies are stretching” beyond reasonable interpretations of statutes — like the fishery cases — that beckon scrutiny of the Chevron doctrine in its current form.

he also conceded that overturning Chevron will “make judges’ jobs harder,” but believes “that’s what judges are there for — (to) “be in the middle and figure out who’s got the better view of the law.” in this scenario, agencies could still contribute technical expertise to these cases, but would lack decision-making authority, he said.

andrew Mergen, an environmental law professor at harvard university and the faculty director of the Emmett Environmental law and policy Clinic, disagreed. Overturning Chevron would invite challenges to other regulatory frameworks, he said, which will “create a lot of instability” as judicial courts adapt.

Mergen expressed concern for urgent issues like climate change, believing a post-Chevron court may inefficiently tackle these problems. “i just don’t feel like time is on our side,” he said.

“i have no doubt that powerful interests representing polluters will attempt to bring new litigation to overturn important (environmental) protections,” said John rumpler, the clean water director at Environment r i. and Environment america. But he expressed uncertainty as to their legal prospects, funding for which has been linked to Charles Koch.

reflecting on his experiences as a Justice department attorney, Mergen said he thought that overturning Chevron would make agencies’ jobs “incalculably more difficult.”

“There’s a lot to criticize about (the) government … but we don’t realize how dependent we are on agencies,” Mergen

said. he worries that overturning Chevron may make formerly established regulations vulnerable to new challenges, which will further busy courts.

“it makes sense to accord (courts) some deference” due to their lacking expertise and political accountability, he added. “There’s reason to be concerned.”

The cases are largely expected to win over the majority-conservative supreme Court after loper Bright Enterprises previously lost in lower court rulings. “Chevron has become a major target (for) conservatives and those in favor of reducing federal regulation,” yelnosky added.

The doctrine was introduced in a unanimous ruling by a reagan-era supreme Court. “in 1984, the republicans didn’t like the courts, but they liked the executive branch,” yelnosky said. “Now they

love the courts, particularly the supreme Court,” he added, pointing to the court’s conservative majority.

“almost certainly, Chevron will not exist in its current form after they decide the case,” yelnosky added.

Mergen believes that Chevron will return, though in a different variation. “a lot of scholars say that out of the ashes, something like Chevron will emerge, because something like Chevron has existed for a long time,” he said. “i do think there’s some force to the idea, but it’ll take a little while.”

“There were a lot of things said (at the supreme Court hearings) that gave us cautious optimism,” Martinez said. he anticipates a final verdict to be made “sometime in June.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 14, 2024.

First U.S. utility-scale offshore wind farm begins operations off the coast of R.I.

BY SOPHIA WOTMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

This article is part of an Earth Month series exploring environmental issues, climate initiatives and community stakeholders throughout Providence and Rhode Island.

last month, south Fork Wind Farm — located off the coast of rhode island — began producing power, making rhode island home to the country’s first utility-scale wind farm.

The wind farm, which provides power to New york, is a joint venture between energy companies Ørsted and Eversource. This project followed the construction of rhode island’s Block island Wind Farm, which became operational in 2016 and was the first offshore wind farm in the united states. The Block island project powers roughly 17,000 homes, while the new south Fork project could power up to around 70,000 homes and businesses.

“Together, south Fork Wind, revolution Wind and sunrise Wind represent the start of a new era of american clean energy,” a Ørsted and Eversource joint venture spokesperson wrote in an email to The herald. “large-scale offshore wind is a game-changer for our environment, our economy and the future of american energy, and we are proud to be building that infrastructure here in the Northeast.”

as new offshore wind farms become operational, New England’s power grids will require adjustments to accommodate the new sources of clean energy.

“One (power grid) is the small distribution system that delivers electricity to homes and businesses,” Colapietro wrote.

“The larger regional power grid operated by isO New England … transmits larger quantities of electricity from nearly 400 generating resources.”

she noted that isO New England, while operating the regional power grid, does not “own or maintain any grid infrastructure, enact or set policy or handle retail electricity.”

revolution Wind will “complement existing energy sources to help ensure the area has enough power during peak hours,” create 1,200 jobs and supply electricity to more than 350,00 homes in the states, according to the project’s website.

in October 2023, the rhode island Office of Energy resources announced a memorandum of understanding with Massachusetts and Connecticut to coordinate offshore wind developments in the region. The document marked “the first nationwide agreement for offshore wind procurement collaboration among multiple

Ørsted and Eversource are also collaborating to build revolution Wind, a 704-megawatt offshore wind farm that will provide power to rhode island and Connecticut and is expected to become operational by 2025.

states,” spokesperson robert Beadle wrote in an email to The herald.

Community stakeholders have expressed concerns about the project’s development, The herald previously reported. some rhode island fishermen have stated they worry that the project will disrupt local ecosystems and navigation of waters.

last month, the joint venture’s sunrise Wind project, another wind farm, received its record of decision — a critical milestone in the farm’s approval process — from the u s department of the interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The project will also provide clean energy to New york state.

in an email to The herald, isO New England spokesperson Mary Cate Colapietro explained the organization’s role in addressing any necessary changes for integrating offshore wind farms into the power grid. The non-profit organization oversees electricity markets and manages changes to the power-grid system over time.

“a dditional power generators like offshore wind projects require robust transmission to deliver energy to where it is in high demand,” Colapietro wrote. “isO New England is working to adapt our system operations and energy markets so the grid stays reliable and prices remain competitive.” according to Colapietro, rhode islanders get their power from two interconnected energy grids.

The u s. Energy information administration reports that rhode island remains reliant on natural gas as its main source of energy. The state currently aims to reach 100% renewable energy by 2033. according to Colapietro, New England must “add almost twice as much new generation as it added in the last 25 years” to reach these goals by 2033.

“Offshore wind is a key component to meeting states’ ambitious renewable energy targets and transitioning our country to a clean energy future,” the spokesperson for the Ørsted and Eversource joint venture wrote. “We are encouraged by the overwhelming support for offshore wind we have seen across all sectors, and we look forward to continuing to build out this critical sector of our economy.”

This

Offshore wind to help state meet renewable energy goals

siTa paWar / hErald

What’s on tap in Rhode Island’s state water system?

State’s drinking water goes through rigorous testing; EPA raises standards

BY MAYA KELLY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

This article is part of an Earth Month series exploring environmental issues, climate initiatives and community stakeholders throughout Providence and Rhode Island.

From poland spring to dasani, smartWater to Fiji, consumers have a variety of options for quenching their thirst. regardless of the brand, around 58% of american adults find that bottled water tastes better than water from the tap, and a majority say they are concerned about contaminants in their drinking water.

But the Environmental protection agency’s safe Water drinking act hopes to make it safe for every resident to drink water straight from their tap. The herald spoke with state water agencies and suppliers to spill the secrets behind your water.

“residents can be sure of the safety and quality of our water thanks to our rigorous water testing,” Christopher hunter, a spokesperson for providence Water, wrote in an email to The herald. The Ocean state ranks sixteenth for air and water quality nationwide, according to u s. News.

about 60% of rhode island residents get their drinking water from the providence Water supply Board, supplied by The scituate reservoir. about 75% of the state population relies at least partially on similar freshwater reservoirs for its drinking water supply. The rest comes from groundwater sources. after testing, the water supply “gets moved around all over the place,” said robert schultz, Jr., the director of utilities for

Newport department of utilities. “you could be drinking water that’s all the way over from Tiverton in little Compton.” according to schultz, many factors can impact water quality, including wind direction, land development and topography. as rhode island’s population and economy continues to grow, we have to “minimize impacts” to water distribution, according to Christopher riely, forestry specialist for the

university of rhode island’s department of Natural resources science.

But ensuring the quality and reliability of the state’s water supply requires a “conservation-oriented development,” riley added, suggesting that denser development might protect the natural reservoirs which serve as the Ocean state’s primary water source.

after collecting raw water from these sources, the decontamination process is “actually pretty simple,” James decelles, chief engineer for the pawtucket Water supply Board, explained. The water goes through a clarification process and carbon filters prior to chemical treatment. Following this process, the treated water is pumped into the general distribution system, he said.

Throughout the entire process, the water is continuously tested. “We do more testing than i care to think about,” decelles said.

The testing process can include grab-samples and mechanized analyzers, along with trained operators overseeing every step along the way, schultz said. in 2022, Newport Water conducted more than 80,000 tests, according to their 2022 Water Quality report.

“ultimately, the water quality is exceptional (by the time) it leaves the plant,” schultz added.

But testing water quality is getting more expensive due to increasing federal regulations and test requirements, decelles said.

last Tuesday, the Epa set forth another

testing requirement for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances — artificial “forever chemicals” found in small doses in drinking water. The new regulation sets enforceable maximum contaminant levels at 4.0 parts per trillion for each chemical. according to decelles, these levels are the lowest testable quantities with modern-day technology.

“Back in the day, parts per million was a lot. We’re in parts per trillion now,” he said. schultz said an increase in the cost of testing will fall on water consumers. Trying to balance the need for strict regulations with the need to keep water bills affordable is difficult when “you have pressures coming from all different sides,” he said. according to schultz, water engineers are required to address certain topics and regulations, while also keeping general requirements and affordability in mind.

after all the testing is complete, “we put out a pretty darn good product,” decelles said. he added that tap water goes through far more vigorous testing and strict regulations than bottled water.

“Especially with all the other stuff we eat and drink, the least of my worries is the water,” decelles said.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 15, 2024.

Smiley’s FY 2025 budget pledges ‘no increases to taxes for businesses or residents’

Amendment would remove 30-day registration from state constitution

BY TOM LI AND AVANI GHOSH METRO EDITORS

providence Mayor Brett smiley announced a $598.6 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 at his Wednesday budget address to the providence City Council. This is smiley’s second budget proposal as mayor.

The proposal — a $15 million increase from his Fy 2024 budget — includes increases in funding allocations for housing, policing, public works, and climate infrastructure.

The balanced budget contains “no increases to taxes for businesses or residents,” smiley said at the budget address.

smiley’s proposal will also not rely on federal funding, as the “administration has shifted away from relying on one-time federal dollars for annual expenses,” press secretary Josh Estrella wrote in a press release shared with The herald.

Housing smiley allocated $29 million from the remaining american rescue plan act funds — the administration’s “largest commitment of arpa dollars” — to address the housing crisis in rhode island.

in his address, smiley said that he plans on further investing in the city’s affordable housing trust fund.

smiley also noted that, over the past year, the city has “invested in over 400 emergency shelter beds.” it has also “restructured regulations and zoning to incentivize new housing development” that has led to the creation of 800 new housing units in providence last year with 500 more underway.

Policing

The budget designates $227 million to public safety measures — a 7% increase from Fy 2024.

in the past year, “the providence police

have removed hundreds of illegal guns from community streets, confiscated over 200 aTVs and increased measures to combat speeding violations and excessive vehicle noise pollution,” according to a press statement from smiley’s office.

“Keeping providence safe means continuing to fund police academies until we can get back to full force while also investing in the men and women who are currently on the job,” smiley said in his address.

Both the budget and recently negotiated agreements with the Fraternal Order of police would expand funding for an additional police academy, which smiley believes will help address staffing issues.

last year, smiley also invested in the Family service of rhode island to pair police officers with social workers “to address nonviolent emergencies.”

additionally, the city “instituted a new pilot program through which EMs units are assigned bicycle details in and around downtown” last year so that medical personnel can more efficiently respond to emergencies such as opioid overdoses and mental health crises. Through Fy 2025 budget allocations, smiley hopes to expand this program, starting with Broad street.

Citing an 11% increase in non-emergency calls, smiley said that last year, “the fire department deployed a new unit called Mobile health 1, a mental health and non-emergency

medical response vehicle.” he added that the proposed budget would continue supporting the department and its initiative.

PILOT

The city of providence will also be receiving over $13.7 million via payment in lieu of taxes — referred to as pilOT — from higher education institutions and hospitals. This is a 90% increase from $7.2 million in Fy 2024.

The City Council voted in favor of these voluntary payment agreements in October 2023, The herald previously reported.

“This new pilOT agreement more than doubles” these institutions’ contributions to providence, smiley said. “They create thousands of jobs for providence residents, support hundreds of small businesses and provide educational and community benefits throughout our neighborhoods.”

he also noted that the city will receive “almost $450 million in contributions from these institutions over the next two decades,” which will go towards investing in schools, green spaces and infrastructure projects.

“When it comes to our largest nonprofit landowners, our colleges and universities are one side of the coin, (but) our hospitals are on the other,” smiley added, calling for local hospital networks such as lifespan “to come to the table with a meaningful contribution.” Public schools, recreational programs

Fy 2025 will mark providence’s largest financial contribution to the providence public school district in the last seven years. The administration plans to provide an additional $3 million to ppsd, increasing providence’s contribution to a total of $133 million. in 2019, the state government took control of ppsd following a Johns hopkins university study that found systemic educational shortcomings in the providence public school system. The takeover will continue until the 2026-27 academic year.

“When i ran for mayor, i pledged to oversee the transition back to local control,” smiley said.

The mayor noted improvements in educational accessibility, citing the city’s $400,000 contribution to 16 home-based childcare facilities. smiley also highlighted the opening of three “modernized” schools, adding that the city is in the process of constructing three more — a cumulative $240 million investment.

“These new schools will be true assets of twenty-first-century education,” smiley said.

The mayor’s budget also outlines $48,000 of additional contributions to recreational programs for public school students.

Public works, climate resiliency

The proposal also outlines a 4% increase in public works funding for Fy 2025 from $30.5 million to $31.8 million.

parking administration will receive $646,935

in city funds — a $49,000 increase from Fy 2024. in his address, smiley announced that “later this week, the department of public Works will be rolling out modernized parking meters throughout the city.”

a large portion of the public works budgeting aims to address recent flooding and severe storms resulting from climate change. “We must be ready to address the impacts of severe rain at any moment,” smiley said. “That means proactively investing in climate readiness infrastructure that protects our community.”

The proposal allocates an additional $150,000 to sewer construction, representing an 11% increase to $1.5 million for Fy 2025. it also outlines a 6% increase in environmental control funding from $15 million to $15.9 million.

“We are upgrading our stormwater and sewer infrastructure to be able to handle the increased volume of rainwater that we’re now seeing and projecting into the future,” smiley said. he also added that the city has set aside $3 million for improvements to the providence hurricane Barrier.

smiley also highlighted the city’s sustainability objectives. “in the last several months, i was proud to sign three pieces of legislation that will decrease our carbon footprint,” he said.

last month, the mayor signed a city ordinance requiring all city-owned buildings to reach carbon neutrality by 2040, The herald previously reported. While these actions seek to aid the city’s sustainability goals, the proposed budget outlines a $1.3 million decrease in sustainability funding from $7.2 million to $5.9 million.

smiley’s administration hopes that the budget will set providence up for success “not just in the next year, but in the next decade.”

“By continuing to bring in new businesses and residents, we will grow our tax base without increasing taxes, and we will continue to provide the highest level of city services,” smiley said.

public comment hearings regarding the budget proposal will be held on May 7 and June 4. The budget proposal holds a tentative adoption date of June 20.

ClairE diEpENBrOCK / hErald

Public comment hearings regarding the proposal will be held on May 7 and June 4. The budget proposal holds a tentative adoption date of June 20.

SPORTS

WOMEN’S CREW

Women’s crew crushes at Ivy Invitational, looks ahead to Big 10

Bruno wins ten of twelve races against Ivy opponents

BY GALEN GIBB STAFF WRITER

The Brown women’s crew team dominated at the ivy invitationals this weekend in a regatta that saw the team walk away with victories in 10 of 12 events. With this commanding performance, the Bears now rank fifth in the pocock Collegiate rowing Coaches association poll for the first time this season, asserting themselves as one of the best division i rowing programs in the country.

“after our races this weekend at the ivy invite, the team is feeling a mix of excitement and motivation,” Kayden Obsitnik ’24 wrote in a message to The herald. “seeing the tangible results of our dedication and hard work has been incredibly fulfilling for all of us. We’re all excited to keep the momentum going over the coming weeks as we face new competitors and challenges.”

despite the commanding win totals, the team got off to a rough start in the tournament, which was hosted by princeton. against a backdrop of light rain and gray skies on Friday, the Third Varsity squad finished under three seconds behind first-place No. 10 penn, while the Fourth Varsity boat, racing in the same event, trailed by more than 20 seconds.

MEN’S LACROSSE

But Bruno would win by the largest margin of the day just minutes later. led by coxswain Caitlyn roddy ’26, the B4 rocketed off the starting line to build a boat-length lead over all other shells less than 200 meters into the 2,000-meter race. The team cruised to the finish line with a time of 7:18.227, a comfortable 24 seconds ahead of second-place No. 15 rutgers.

“We had a good series of races on (the) first day of the ivy invitationals,” Coach John Murphy said in an interview with Brown athletics. “leading up to this race the team has been training hard, and we definitely saw progress since racing (on lake Carnegie) two weeks ago,” he noted, referring to an invitational at princ-

eton at which Brown only clinched one event.

The a4 and second Varsity teams fed off the momentum generated by B4, as both crews rowed to a 10-second advantage over penn and usC in their respective events. in the final event of the first day, the First Varsity Eight narrowly beat out penn by 2.4 seconds for first, posting a time of 6:14.873. Keanan Clarke, an EspN+ broadcast commentator who covers ivy league rowing, said “you often see Brown, certainly in the finishing stages of a race, (register) 40-41 strokes per minute” to outpace opponents at the end of every race. penn tried to replicate this strategy with little success. Trailing in the final 500 meters, they

surged forward in a final attempt to bridge the gap, but Bruno had deliberately conserved energy throughout the race to prevent the upset.

“in tight races, the ability to make strategic decisions on the fly is important,” wrote Obsitnik, the coxswain for the First Varsity squad. “as a coxswain, i need to be highly attuned to not only our own performance, but also the tactical changes and momentum shifts of competing boats.”

Brown would continue the win streak on saturday, only succumbing once in a head-tohead d4 matchup against rutgers.

The most exciting race of the day featured the C4 shell, rowed by freshman oarswomen ava lewis ’26, Ellie Graham ’27, Ella Bogue ’27 and Calissa snyder Cox ’27, with Fiona daly ’27 as coxswain. The team stayed neck-and-neck with rutgers for the entire 2000 meters, inching across the finish line a second ahead.

it’s “exciting for a coach (during) that first race and seeing who of the new freshmen really thrives on competition,” Murphy wrote in a message to The herald. “you can instill mental toughness in these individuals, help them face challenges and help them reach their goals and be successful.”

Next weekend, the women’s crew team will venture into unfamiliar territory to compete at the Big 10 invitational in sarasota, Florida. it’s a great opportunity to test our speed against some of the top rowing programs outside the ivy league,” Obsitnik wrote.

SPORTS

BY THE NUMBERS

7

After competing in USA Gymnastics nationals, seven gymnasts qualified for AllAmerica honors.

6

The sixth-ranked women’s crew team won 6 out of 7 races at the Ivy Invitational at Lake Carnegie.

18

The National Field Hockey Coaches Association honored 18 of Brown’s field hockey players, who were nominated by their coach after earning a minimum GPA of 3.5 for the fall semester.

Men’s lacrosse narrowly defeats No. 13 Princeton, lands first Ivy League victory

Bears win 13-12, snap three-game losing streak on Saturday

BY COOPER HERMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Brown (2-9, 1-3 i vy) pulled off an impressive win on s aturday, narrowly defeating No. 13 p rinceton (7-4, 2-2 i vy) 13-12. The Bears opened up a lumni d ay with six unanswered goals to fend off the nationally ranked Tigers and secure their first i vy l eague victory this season.

i t took the entire team and they brought it,” h ead Coach Mike d aly said in a statement to Brown a thletics. “ i am so happy for (the team) and the assistant coaches, as they have all stayed positive, fought to improve during some tough stretches and they found a way to win today.”

The Bears set the tone early on s aturday, putting pressure on the Tigers’ defense from the game’s first face-off. s pencer h ughes ’25 ignited Brown’s offense, scoring the first of his four goals less than two minutes into the game. “With Ben s candone (’26), a idan Mc l ane (’26) and Matteo Corsi (’25) dodging so well it opens things up for shooters, and that is where i thrive,” h ughes wrote in a statement to The h erald.

Just minutes later, Mc l ane followed up with a goal of his own — and his 23rd this season — to give Bruno a solid 2-0 lead.

h ustling downfield and distributing the ball into open spaces, p rinceton responded with offensive aggression of their own but found no success. Bruno goalie Connor Theriault ’24 stood strong, saving all four of the Tigers’ first-quarter shots.

a t the same time, Brown’s offense remained relentless. With 2:54 left, h ughes netted his second goal of the day, handing the Bears a promising 3-0 lead after one quarter.

Ben l ocke ’24.5 appeared unstoppable in the second quarter, augmenting Brown’s momentum and scoring three consecutive goals in the first 4:17 of the quarter to stretch the Bears’ lead to six. Finally, in the latter half of the second quarter, the Tigers showed signs of life. a t the 7:13 mark, p rinceton’s John d unphey netted a goal to end the Bears’ dominant run. d uring that play, Brown’s Trey Taylor ’26 was called for a slashing penalty that yielded the Tigers a promising extra-man opportunity, which p rinceton capitalized on merely thirty seconds later, shrinking the deficit by another point.

i n the final minute of the quarter, the Tigers displayed incredible resilience, rallying to stage a comeback.

d own 7-2, p rinceton’s Coulter Macksey capitalized on a Bruno turnover and scored a man-up goal at the 0:42 mark to bring the Tigers within four. a lmost immediately after, with 17 seconds left in the quarter, Tiger midfielder Tommy Brands added to p rinecton’s run to make it a 7-4 game at the half.

p rinceton’s s ean Cameron carried their momentum into the third quarter, scoring the Tigers’ third consecutive goal just two minutes into the second half, reducing the Bruno lead to just 7-5. a t the 11:08 mark, Tanner Burns ’25 terminated the Tigers’ run, scoring his fourth goal of the season to extend the Brown lead to three.

But only two minutes later, p rinceton’s offense fired back. Midfielder Tucker Wade navigated the Bears’ defense and netted a pretty goal to pull the Tigers back within two. Three minutes

later, Macksey added to the run, scoring a goal of his own that brought the Tigers to a one-goal deficit. Bruno’s lead quickly evaporated as p rinceton’s Colin Burns scored the Tigers’ third consecutive goal to tie the game with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

Brown appeared exhausted by the powerful p rinceton offense. But just as things seemed to be falling apart, the Bears rallied, opening the fourth quarter with three consecutive goals from Mc l ane and h ughes, providing Brown with a seemingly comfortable 11-8 fourth-quarter lead.

Nevertheless, the Tigers persisted, going toe-to-toe with the Bears. p rinceton’s Wade and Brown’s Ben s candone ’26 traded goals in the fifth minute of

the final quarter. Then, in the span of three minutes, p rinceton found an offensive spark and scored three consecutive goals to tie the game at 12-12 with 7:59 left. a media timeout brought both squads to the sidelines as the game’s dying minutes awaited.

The final minutes of s aturday’s contest transformed into a defensive battle, as both units aggressively hustled for ground balls and made hard hits. p rinceton and Brown both found opportunities to strike, but neither squad could find the back of the net. Finally, at the 2:24 mark, Brown’s Marcus Wertheim ’26 ended the scoring drought and scored the winning goal to hand the Bears a thrilling 13-12 victory.

“There’s no single key that won us

that game,” h ughes wrotesaid. “ i t took every guy on our team on the same page for 60 minutes. it took d ash (s achs ’25) winning faceoffs. Connor (Theriault ’24) saving shots. Our defense getting stops and our offense scoring goals. More than anything, it’s the belief in the locker room that with three weeks left in the regular season we have more to prove.”

Brown will continue i vy l eague play next s aturday against d artmouth (3-8, 0-4 i vy). The Bears will host The Big Green at s tevenson- p incince Field for s enior d ay, which will begin at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on E sp N+.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 14, 2024.

Marcus Wertheim ’26 scored the winning goal to hand the Bears a thrilling 13-12 victory.

postSpringWeekend 2024

Letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

I recently texted my friend about my deep yearning to travel to The Ice Cream Barn. Her response: “YOU SHOULD GO WHAT’S STOPPING YOU?!” It’s a fantastic question for which I really struggled to conjure an excuse. I do have a car on campus, and I do love ice cream, and I am not really sure what else I need to add to the equation to get to my desired answer. Still, I’m paralyzed by this overwhelming sense of April dread. It’s only in this fleeting moment between the dead of winter and the lackadaisical summer haze that I’m filled with equal feelings of wanting to do absolutely nothing and also wanting to do everything under the sun.

On Monday, I gave into the pull of the Main Green and split my attention between football, Canva, and chitter-chatter with my closest friends and all the adjacent folks that crossed our path. This central hub of campus has cast some kind of magic spell that’s keeping me around, existing within the Brown ecosystem, and loving every second of it. In a few days, if this spell has not reached you yet, I invite you to let it overtake you and guide you on adventures around the niches of campus that you haven’t visited in a while. After you’ve finished your exploration, come to the Main Green and celebrate the festivities. And if you need a little help to get in the spirit, post- has got you covered.

We’re coming to you this week with an extra special edition, full of memories, games, and anticipation for the weekend. As you are curating your concert fits, check out Tabitha, Klara, and Alissa’s piece about the beauty and community of sharing clothes, a wonderful alternative if you haven’t had the chance to go shopping yet. To get you excited for the main event, we have Kathy’s reflection on Weston Estate and the funny moments when music meets you at just the right time. And what’s Spring Weekend without the times shared between your friends? Check out Elijah’s poem on the party before the Party!

In moments of respite between all the excitement, we’ve also got some great games for you to puzzle over with your community. Coming in live for the first time, post- is debuting our first Connections board. Share it far and wide and see if you can figure out the links between the words. As a challenge for the brave amongst you, we are also sharing a Spring Weekend Bingo Board full of fun, harrowing, and inevitable events for you to check off the weekend list.

Finally, as the weekend winds down and you grow wistful about the ticking clock, we share with you some memories from post- past with a previous Spring Weekend experience and a classic Top 10. To top it all off, you’ll learn to make all spring weekends special in Kimberly’s piece detailing a spring weekend now past that she shared puzzling with her friends.

With my final editor’s note of the semester, I want to leave a few notes of thanks. Thank you to all the wonderful writers and incredible illustrators who have contributed this semester to make this magazine everything it is. Thank you to all our editors, head illustrators, and social media and layout teams for keeping us afloat week in and week out. A special thank you to all of the managing editors for helping make this special edition a reality with your wonderful pieces! And an extra to all our superb seniors on the editorial team for all the laughs and love you have given us: Eleanor, Jack, Addie, Kelsey, and Kimberly (our beloved post- ghost), good luck in your next chapter and keep a copy of post- with you wherever you go! Finally, one last thank you, for a text I received in response to my weak excuse not to go The Ice Cream Barn: “no is not an answer, we have too little time at brown.”

Let the weekend suck you in and enjoy the time we’ve got left before we wrap up the semester. And if you find a minute to step away from it all, I hope you share that time with a copy of post-.

Springing into the weekend,

Joe Maffa

spring weekend connections

by Klara Davidson-Schmich

the sisterhood of the traveling pants

by Klara Davidson-Schmich, Tabitha Lynn, & Alissa Simon

Illustrated by Hannah Zhang

Our sophomore year, we lived in a Grad Center suite right next to the tower’s entryway. Nestled between the entryway and our suite, there was a shelf labeled with a paper sign marked “TRADING POST.” For the first few weeks, the shelf was dotted with old biochem textbooks and broken hangers, discarded with little regard for what would happen to them after. None of us can quite remember when it changed—when, by some mystery girl’s hand, the textbooks became going-out tops, and the hangers were replaced by leather jackets. Magic crept into the trading post, and when it did, it became the first thing any of us looked for when getting home. Over the next year, we frequented the trading post almost religiously; we awaited the days when one of us would come home to a trash bag full of seemingly brand-new clothes, eager to try them on with each other and decide what we would leave behind for other lucky residents and what would make its way into our budding communal wardrobe. The following is a list of some of our favorite finds, in no particular order:

1. Red leather jacket. A cool night in Lisbon, a bookstore bar—white baby tee and low-rise jeans. Then, changing hands days later, a passion fruit mimosa and a long walk home.

2. Celestial mesh top. Spring Weekend—a blue rain poncho paired with orange sunnies. Remi Wolf, Ethel Cain, JID.

3. Blue lace corset top. Purchased at the Fashion @ Brown Spring Fair with only days to spare before Spring Weekend. See-through, baby blue, guarded from the weekend’s fateful rain by a massive leather jacket.

4. Pearl button Reformation top. A birthday party, too many drinks, a stroll along Benefit Street, arm-in-arm.

5. Tie front black mesh top. Perhaps too sheer to be worn in the daytime—but so cute it hardly mattered. One year later, worn in a group Halloween costume, knee-high boots a size too big—digital photos capturing every moment.

6. Lace-up black corset. In a Governor St. basement, the Valentine’s Day concert amidst a sea of pink and eyeliner winged to the sky. Later, transformed by a black blazer and a stack of flashing rings.

The end of the spring semester came in a rush of magnolia blossoms and final papers and clothes strewn across the carpet as we sorted through our shared treasures. There was a strange, gentle sadness we felt every time we passed the trading post that May, keenly aware of the days whittling down until the spell would be broken. And still, we mediated which top would live where over the summer, knowing it didn’t really matter since everything would come home in the fall. In that sense, it was easy to leave the trading post behind.

Spring Weekend is sneaking up again, and there are new clothes in the bucket. Though we gave up the trading post along with our residency in Grad D, the spirit of the communal closet remains, filled now with the hard-earned fruits of hours spent digging through yard sale bins and swiping through Savers racks. Though the magic of the trading post was too good to last, there’s something special about building up our communal closet, to search for things that will be shared and worn and tried on with a million di erent outfits.

There is so much joy to be had in getting ready with your friends, in finding the perfect top to go with your favorite borrowed jeans, in taking the perfect picture for you all to gush over later.

What better time to try this out than Spring Weekend? Ask your friend to borrow that gorg top she wore out last week, and o er one of your own in exchange.

Purpose is hard to come by in the winter. But in the spring? And on the weekend? It's easy to find purpose on spring weekends. From here on out, the G-Cal populates itself. This weekend, it is Yves Tumor, and last weekend, it was Brown Puzzlehunt. Serendipity had brought newfound acquaintances from the Sex Power God party to the 2nd Annual Puzzlehunt, expanding our team from 6 to 15. It seems the saying about Brown is true: Thrill-seeking daredevils come for the mankinis but stay for the Blue’s Clues cameo.

At noon on Saturday, we waited out technical di culties by snacking and meeting the friends of friends. In our home base on the second floor of Salomon, it was clear that having a good time was on the forefront of everyone’s minds. Many had put aside their DL assignments, taxes, illness, and in my case, writing this vignette, to be fully present in that little bubble of child-like wonder, suspended in time.

hunting for clues,theeschewing blues

by Kimberly Liu Illustrated by Kimberly Liu

With the puzzles varying in type and di culty—the easiest of which was to read (and reread) a 5,000 word story (no less than 14 times) to retrace a murderer’s steps, and the hardest of which was to not eat the orange Starburst tantalizingly placed in a Ziploc bag labeled “DO NOT EAT”—the team organically devolved into subgroups as people took the lead in di erent puzzles that captured their personalities and expertise. For me, a good three hours was spent on solving the murder of a chess-automaton builder through backwards deduction in the aforementioned 5,000 word story. The God of the Labryinth (purposely misspelled), was written entirely from scratch by a Puzzlehunt writer, and is a brilliant reference to one of Borges’ stories in Ficciones on the life of the fictitious Herbert Quain. The prompt hints that the easy solution provided in the story is purposefully misleading, and a careful reexamination allows readers to crack the hidden code and deduce for ourselves the true murderer. Next to me, my teammates poured their hearts into uncovering the secret message within TikTok cat videos.

In the short lulls between puzzles, I couldn’t help but look around the room and have my suspicion confirmed: Nothing feels better than hard work rewarded by accomplishment, with friends old and new, in a sun-soaked space touched by distant jazz music from a festival on the Main Green. The hum of the room that afternoon was punctuated by elated exclamations of triumph and the sudden declaration that one was in dire need of a bathroom break but just couldn’t break away from the task on hand.

It was well past dinner time when we realized we were famished. The sun had long since set and a purifying fluorescence lit the room. For someone who couldn’t shake the yoke of inauspicious stars that placed her in Orgo in senior spring, I wondered how it was possible I didn’t need more than just a bathroom break in eight hours, but require a solid two hour nap, multiple recesses for snacks, and a few YouTube videos to watch lectures back to back.

Now I won’t point fingers at who came up with the idea to pull an all-nighter, but at 8:00 a.m. when we emerged from the back ramp of Salomon onto the sun-bathed Ruth Simmons quad after being locked-in for 20 consecutive hours, we exited as winners. We saw Brown anew in the crisp morning light. Warm wind rained little pink petals down on us as we set o for Louis. The little bubble was about to be popped, but before it did it had delivered us squarely into spring. We admired the flowers on our little walk to breakfast, remarking repeatedly that these beautiful blossoms surely weren’t here the day before.

bingo board

Squat over a portapotty toilet seat

Go to Jo's

Pervasive smell of weed

Take a photo with a performer

Go to Spring Weekend

Sing the wrong words to a song

Shout aimlessly for your friend who can't hear you

Hide something in your clothes

Get into a shoving match with the crowd

Get free food

Get sick

Drink straight from a water bottle filler

Add a song to your playlist right after hearing it

notes on collisions

by Katheryne Gonzalez Illustrated by LULU CAVICCHI

I first heard “Pears” by Weston Estate the summer between senior year of high school and freshman year of college. No longer compelled to fill my schedule with volunteer shifts at the hospital or community college classes to pad my college applications, each day blended hazily into the next. This abundance of free time was initially liberating, but—me being obsessed with schedules and lists and all things structured—this lull in activity soon led to introspection that I was not equipped to handle at the time. Every book I’d read, every movie I’d seen, and every podcast I’d listened to depicted college as the place for reinvention and self-discovery. While I didn’t want to build my entire personality and lived experiences from scratch, I did worry that I would not be a perfect fit with the peers I would meet come September.

In that liminal space between who I believed myself to be and who I desperately wanted to become, I turned to music for comfort. Since I had long been listening to the same artists and rotation of albums, I hoped expanding my music taste would be a catalyst for other changes in my life. So, I traded in my Apple Music subscription for a Spotify one and proceeded to make playlists like my life depended on it. I assigned myself artists and albums to listen to as if they were homework assignments. I religiously listened to suggested songs from my Discover Weekly playlist. I wanted to curate playlists for every possible mood and experience I could think of, from rainy days, to flights, to childhood nostalgia.

It was through that process of constant discovery that I, on an early morning drive to the beach with my dad, first heard “Pears.” I hate to use the word serendipitous lightly, but that’s truly what it felt like to find it upon shu ing my suggested songs. Windows down, salty breeze flowing in, and the July sun overhead, the mellowness of the first few guitar chords perfectly captured the scene around us. I knew I had struck gold when my dad—a man who prefers music from his youth so strongly that I’ve curated a playlist titled “father approved” for when we’re together—turned the radio up and bobbed his head along. It didn’t matter that I didn’t personally relate to the lyrics, nor that my dad didn’t understand them. I thought of Collision Theory in chemistry, where molecules need to collide with su cient energy and at a specific orientation in order to produce an e ective collision. The song met us at that precise space, resonating with our ephemeral selves in that exact moment. And I’ve often found that the best music does just that. It surprises us and flips a certain switch in our brains that we can’t quite pinpoint. Whether it’s the poetic nature of the lyrics, the richness of the melodies, the textures in the production quality, or simply the context in which we hear it, the best songs transform us ever so slightly upon every listen.

Looking back on that memory now, I am grateful for who I was that summer. I still collide with her every now and then—when I read in the morning light, in my footprints in the

04/25/19 — Vol 23, Issue 23

how many shots can we fit in twenty minutes

i’m not feeling it. potent poison pesters too long on my heart go down please there’s plenty of time to learn the lyrics we’ll soon sing sloppy

we know one song.

by Elijah Puente

feeling friendly flirty fearless have we met before what’s your name?

slurred speech giddy gait cannot wait your fit ate we are late!

02/25/22 — Vol 29, Issue 2

first love

by Siena Capone

My first Spring Weekend, we all dressed… ambitiously, to say the least. Not enough clothes for the still-chilly April weather, but hoping desperately that dancing would make up the difference. The event had a near-mythical significance on campus, and since my favorite artist was performing, I piled my hopes high, anticipating the date that we would all gather on the Main Green and open our hearts to Mitski opening hers. The day of, the crush of the crowd was terrifying, but I felt the lightest I’d felt in ages—not even the tallest man could smother my joy while watching Mitski on stage. Because it really was all it had been cracked up to be. I’ll always remember, in the days after, how two muddy pairs of shoes sat

ARCHIVES

An overview of the Watson Institute, from then to now

From “think tank” to potential school, explore history of the Watson

BY RYAN DOHERTY AND CATE LATIMER UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On april 2, faculty approved a motion to create a school of international and public affairs, marking the next step in a continued push to develop Brown’s graduate program. The Corporation — the university’s highest governing body — is expected to vote on the motion this May, according to a proposed timeline shared by provost Francis doyle in March, though Corporation meeting agendas are not released to the public. as deliberations continue, The herald reviews the Watson institute’s history from its inception to today.

‘80s: Not-so-humble beginnings

Watson traces its history back to 1979, when Brown launched the Council for international studies “to explore solutions to the major global issues of the day, foremost of which was the possibility of a nuclear encounter between the united states and the soviet union.”

But in 1980, Thomas J. Watson Jr. ’37 had an idea. Then the u s. ambassador to the soviet union, Watson invited then-university president howard r swearer to visit Moscow to discuss the creation of a “‘think tank’ at Brown university, where scholars and practitioners could work together on nuclear strategy and u s.-soviet relations, and develop policy proposals for dealing with them,” according to the Watson institute’s website.

This vision culminated in the Center for Foreign policy development, which was officially incorporated in 1982. Mark Garrison, who was a minister counselor in Moscow and deputy to Watson, served as the Center’s founding director. Watson chaired the board of advisors, and swearer served as the board’s only other member. according to a 1981 herald article, Watson was “funding the center’s activities from his own pocket.”

The Center largely focused on u s.-soviet affairs throughout its early years.

in 1985, swearer announced during Convocation that Brown planned to create the institute for international studies, combining

AWARDS

programs and centers under one umbrella. The institute was approved by the Corporation in May of that year.

“The institute will help provide administrative and support services for international programs at Brown,” swearer said, according to The herald archives. “it will help shape faculty development in this area and provide some direction and funds for scholarly research and publication.”

The institute was inaugurated in 1986, with ceremonies that saw former u s president Jimmy Carter and former senator William Fulbright visit College hill.

at the inauguration, Carter spoke to the pressing political issues of the time, including arms-control negotiations, the war in Nicaragua and sanctions against south africa.

“The most important thing we can do as a nation is to impose rigid and punitive sanctions on the government of south africa,” he said to a crowd of 5,000. “But in the absence of action in Washington, it is the responsibility of great universities like Brown … to uphold the moral standards of our nation,” he added, calling for divestment.

at the time, the institute’s associate director abbott Gleason told The herald that the institute was born out of undergraduate pressure, citing increased enrollment in foreign studies courses and the 1985 Third World protests.

Gleason emphasized that the university’s

creation of the institute did not represent a shift to become a primarily research-oriented institution, as “Brown ought not undertake programs that cannot be rooted centrally in the College,” Gleason told The herald in 1986.

A gift and a new name in 1991, two years before he passed away, Watson donated $25 million to the university, prompting the Brown Corporation to express its gratitude by voting for then-Brown president Vartan Gregorian to rename the institute in honor of Watson. along with his previous contributions, Watson’s gift made him the largest university donor at the time, according to a 1991 herald article.

at this time, the institute was directed by president Emeritus howard r swearer and was associated with nearly a dozen groups and projects, according to the 1991 article. swearer stated that Watson’s “support for academic programs has given Brown a deeply rooted dedication to higher education with an international scope.”

in 1997, the expanding institute began to plan for a move that would combine its programs, then spread across five locations, into one building. The ceremony for the groundbreaking of the building, located at 111 Thayer street, took place in May 1999.

Watson’s expansion

in 2002, 111 Thayer street opened its doors. it continues to house the Watson institute to this day.

Between 2005 and 2012, the institute had six directors.

in 2012, president Christina paxson p’19 p’Md’20 came to Brown with a priority of “strengthening Watson and using Watson to strengthen allied departments.” Notably, paxson previously served as the dean of princeton’s Woodrow Wilson school of international and public affairs

The institute expanded, increasing its program offerings and launching a fifth-year Master of public affairs program in 2014. This program prepares students to be public policy leaders, analysts and advocates in both private and public sectors, according to the program’s website. The program began its first recruitment cycle in 2017.

at the time, the curriculum included graduate classwork, work experience and a Global policy Experience abroad, a 2017 herald article previously reported. Today, the curriculum consists of graduate classes and a policy-in-action project.

in 2015, the Watson institute’s name was changed to the Watson institute for international and public affairs. The institute received a $50 million gift which was used to fund the construction of a new building and expand the institute’s “faculty and initiatives aimed at deepening the university’s impact in addressing some of the world’s most vexing policy challenges.”

“a central theme of the university’s strategic plan and our comprehensive campaign is ‘creating peaceful, just and prosperous societies,’ and these resources help position Watson to lead in this area,” paxson said when the donation was announced.

$25 million of the gift was used to fund the creation of a new 20,000-square-foot Watson institute building — now stephen robert ’62 hall, colloquially known by students as ‘New Watson’ — to accommodate additional faculty.

That same year, the university’s Operational plan for Building Brown’s Excellence included hopes for the institute to become a “top five school of its kind in the u s.” in the 2018-2019 academic year, the university conducted a study to determine the feasibility of converting the institute into a school.

Between 2012 and 2015, the Watson institute raised $80 million and hired 13 new faculty members, The herald previously reported.

Two Brown University students win Truman scholarship

Scholarship recognizes leadership, commitment to public service

BY JAMES MA STAFF WRITER

a lexandra Mork ’25 and Jay p hilbrick ’24.5 won the h arry s . Truman scholarship this year, making the u niversity one of six institutions in the u nited s tates with multiple recipients of the scholarship. Truman s cholars receive a $30,000 scholarship for graduate school and gain access to special programming to help make them better public servants. The scholarship — granted to 60 undergraduate students this year across the u nited s tates from a pool of 709 applicants — is awarded based on “outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence,” according to a Truman s cholarship Foundation press release.

Both Mork and p hilbrick said they were “very surprised” when they won the scholarship.

p hilbrick said that Joel s imundich p h d ’17, the u niversity’s assistant dean of fellowships, called him and Mork

to his office “under the pretenses of debriefing the scholarship interview.”

When they arrived, s imundich, alongside p resident Christina p axson p ’19

as faculty and building space expanded, the Watson institute shrunk its concentration offerings in 2019, combining development studies, international relations and public policy into one concentration called international and public affairs, the herald previously reported. The concentration would offer three tracks: development, security, and policy and Governance.

While initial reactions to the change were mixed, iapa became an incredibly popular concentration, with 121 students completing it in 2023. students appreciated the concentration’s flexibility, and Watson director Edward steinfeld cited closer advising relationships and more seminars as reasons for the change in a 2019 herald article.

in 2023, a proposal to create a school of international and public affairs was drafted and received feedback from faculty at a March meeting. That fall, doyle and steinfeld co-chaired a task-force to address comments.

Today: The Watson Institute’s Next Steps pending Corporation approval, the school is predicted to open in July 2025 after a yearlong planning period.

“We’re much bigger than we used to be,” Wendy schiller, incoming interim director of the Watson institute, said, explaining the reason behind the conversion to the school. “We have a masters in public affairs program, and we really want to build around that using the Brown faculty and raising its profile externally.”

it’s just a next step in the evolution of Brown being a more influential player in the policy sphere,” she said. her hope for the future is that “the school will bring us greater public external recognition for the high-quality people that we have at Brown and for the high-quality work that they’re doing.”

schiller said she hopes that faculty and students will feel “welcome in the new school and really believe that it fits in with Brown’s core mission.” doing so, she said, will lead to a school that informs “policy choices both in the united states and internationally.”

“it’s just a next step in the evolution of Brown being a more influential player in the policy sphere,” she said. her hope for the future is that “the school will bring us greater public external recognition for the high-quality people that we have at Brown and for the high-quality work that they’re doing.”

p ’M d ’20 and d ean of the College and p rofessor of Engineering and p hysics r ashid Zia ’01, congratulated them on winning the scholarship.

r eflecting on the application and nomination process, Mork, a political science and history concentrator, said she was interested in the scholarship because of her passion for civil rights law. The application consists of several short answer questions, such as plans for grad school, leadership experiences and public service experience, she explained Mork has volunteered with the l awyers’ Committee for Civil r ights under l aw as a hotline operator advocating for voting rights. s he also worked with the Center for Justice in r hode i sland to improve access to education in the state.

The scholarship finalists go through an interview with past Truman scholarship winners, which determines whether or not they win the scholarship. a ccording to p hilbrick, he did four to five mock interviews per week with faculty, friends and past winners to prepare. Mork also emphasized that the u niversity was “incredibly supportive.”

a ccording to p hilbrick, the scholarship is particularly valuable, as the joint J d / p h d programs he hopes to pursue are quite expensive.

“ i also look forward to the networking opportunities and access to special hiring agents in the federal government that the scholarship provides,” he added.

p hilbrick, an applied math-economics and computer science concentrator, said that his interest in leveraging evidence-based economic policy to raise people’s living standards — particularly in retirement support and worker benefits — motivated him to apply. i n the past he has advocated for retirement savings plans in r hode i sland and conducted relevant economic research at yale l aw s chool.

JuliaNNa ChaNG / hErald

ARTS & CULTURE

REVIEWS

Dev Patel fuses action, cultural commentary in ‘Monkey Man’

BY AYANA AHUJA STAFF WRITER

in “Monkey Man,” dev patel’s highly anticipated directorial debut, Bollywood and hollywood action stylization are unified and transformed into a refreshingly new story. Quick, vibrant and often claustrophobic shots are paired with sweeping views of the cityscape as the story of a monkey-masked fighter unfolds. “Monkey Man” infuses the action genre with a unique cultural richness, extensive social commentary and themes of overcoming grief.

Film addresses multitude of issues with realism, emotional weight CO

The film opens with a flashback of Kid (dev patel) as a child. disguised under a monkey mask — inspired by his mother’s tales of hanuman, the hindu monkey god — Kid finds a way to make money by losing fights at an underground boxing club. unsure what exactly Kid’s motivation or purpose is, we watch him steal Queenie Kapoor’s (ashwini Kalsekar) wallet and talk himself into a job at her luxury brothel. utilizing wit, bribes and charm, Kid moves up within the brothel, working in proximity to rana (sikander Kher), a man he clearly dislikes. Throughout this narrative, images of a preachy, untrustworthy guru by the name of Baba shakti (Makarand deshpande) are showcased on billboards and television screens.

right off the bat, “Monkey Man” embodies the hustle culture of india in its

The film intertwines elements of India’s culture and structural social issues with the universality of confronting grief.

cinematography through head-spinning camera work. When Kid spikes rana’s cocaine, the resulting police chase scene recalls the infinitely capable hero surrounded by the lively music and dance-like choreography characteristic of Bollywood films. Concurrently, the chase produces a hollywood-like spectacle and a certain depth of realism in Kid’s rage, though the feeling’s origin is still cloudy at this point of the film.

Kid finds himself rescued by alpha (Vipin sharma), the keeper of a temple that serves as a safe congregational space for trans women. With alpha’s aid, Kid experiences a hallucinogenic trip that forces him to confront the trauma of his mother’s death.

Finally, the periodic imagery of Baba gains some significance: When Kid was

a child, Baba enlisted the corrupt police chief rana to displace the villagers in Kid’s home and acquire the land. Kid’s mother is able to protect him and ends up beaten, raped and killed by rana who sets her body on fire.

The film intertwines elements of india’s culture and structural social issues with the universality of confronting grief. The montage of Kid working out is

reminiscent of any classic action movie, prepping the audience for impending climactic revenge. Kid not only undergoes an emotional reckoning where he fights for the marginalized — highlighted when he earns a win in the boxing ring to raise enough money to save a temple — he also comes to terms with his trauma, using it as motivation to avenge his mother’s death.

patel has spoken about the numerous issues that almost halted the production of this project: the COVid-19 pandemic, several injuries sustained by patel during action scenes and Netflix’s distributional uncertainty on how indian audiences would receive the film, to name a few. in fact, one scene was even filmed on patel’s own cell phone. That grit and passion vigorously permeate “Monkey Man,” immediately capturing audiences’ attention and begging for their investment in everything that the film is.

This investment is partly due to the sheer volume of themes, issues and emotions addressed in “Monkey Man.” From challenges indian trans women face and land displacement to abuse of religious power, sexual exploitation and corruption, one might think “Monkey Man” is attempting to do too much. instead, patel imbues the action genre’s beauty and entertainment factor with newfound depth, realism and emotional weight in tackling issues rarely confronted so pointedly in indian cinema. yes, “Monkey Man” aggressively entertains, but the film also enlightens.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 15, 2024.

‘The Idea of You’: Anne Hathaway’s rom-com renaissance falls flat

BY ROSE FARMAN-FARMA STAFF WRITER

it’s been a while since anne hathaway has graced us with a classic rom-com, so i was intrigued to watch her return to the screen as the female lead of a forbidden romance. d irected by academy award-nominated director Michael showalter, “The idea of you” tells the story of a 40-year-old single mother, who accidentally finds herself caught in a passionate secret love affair with a 24-year-old pop star. a glorified One direction fanfiction, the film can be enjoyed if you embrace its unabashedly Wattpad-esque plot.

IFF advanced screening, film lacks depth of Showalter’s previous works CO

a n adaptation of the book written by robinne lee, “The idea of you” was screened on saturday in advance of its scheduled release for May 2 as part of this year’s i vy Film Festival. a fter the movie, s howalter attended a talkback hosted by iFF.

The story begins with h athaway’s character solène reluctantly taking her teen daughter to Coachella and stumbling into hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the heartthrob lead singer of the boyband august Moon. Their dynamic is instantly flirtatious and he shamelessly pursues her, tracking her down after the performance and swindling her into a date. due to their age difference, both their social circles and the media find their relationship scandalous, leaving solène torn between her

reputation, family and heart.

in the talkback, showalter explained that drama and comedy feel the same to him. “The idea of you” certainly had an original comedic tone, playing upon the characters’ age differences to make the age gap funny rather than creepy. solène is laughably unimpressed by hayes’s youthful suave “moves,” instead being attracted to his maturity and genuineness. One perfect example of their endearing banter is when he passionately texts her that he “can’t get that kiss out of (his) mind” as she lies on the couch watching TV and

replies: “Who is this?”

The film also offered some incredibly touching mother-daughter moments and subtle feminist messaging. showalter carefully used the media’s brutal lampooning of solène as a “cougar” to pinpoint the hypocrisy of judging women who have relationships with younger men. This critique develops gradually throughout the film, drawing a grim contrast between the social acceptance of s olène’s ex-husband’s marital affair with a younger woman and the internet’s outrage towards the relationship between

solènes and hayes.

another interesting directing choice that showalter pointed out was his decision to make the score of the film mirror the relationship of the couple” with half of the songs being more “contemporary and boy-band like”’ and the other half featuring slightly older female singer-songwriters, like Fiona apple.

But several plot points felt so cookie-cutter and cheesy that they were almost satirical (think flashing colored lights over a montage of their romantic European getaway). The film’s tone kept shifting

volatilely from incredibly irreverent to so emotionally sincere making it hard to distinguish what scenes were meant to be taken seriously. he’s a troubled hot British singer with daddy issues (who the writer claims is totally not inspired by harry styles) and she literally reads a book at Coachella? h ow much more fanfiction can you get?

“ i was finding it funny which bits you were laughing at,” s howalter said when addressing the audience. indeed, the auditorium was constantly filled with laughter — but not always in the way the film seemed to have intended.

showalter described the film as “his ‘Notting hill,’ just the other way around.” perhaps it is Gen Z’s cringing aversion to sincerity that is partially responsible for the “death of the rom-com” so frequently described by film critics. has there been a generational shift in what we find romantic, or have we just seen too many of these tropes before?

The film definitely suffices as a comforting watch to laugh at with your friends over a bowl of ice cream, but considering the quality of anne hathaway’s past romcoms — such as “The devil Wears prada” and “love and Other drugs” — i couldn’t help expecting just a little bit more.

“The idea of you” was certainly an enjoyable experience — but, compared to showalter’s past award-winning romcoms like “The Big sick,” it felt surprisingly shallow.

Compared to Michael Showalter’s past award-winning rom-coms like “The Big Sick,” “The Idea of You” felt surprisingly shallow.

Cynthia Erivo discusses acting journey at Ivy Film Festival event

Erivo discusses her breakthrough, representation in theater

BY MANAV MUSUNURU STAFF WRITER

On sunday afternoon, actress and singer Cynthia Erivo — best known for her portrayals of Celie harris in the Broadway musical “The Color purple” and harriet Tubman in the film “harriet” — gave a virtual talk at the 2024 ivy Film Festival.

iFF members ailsa Kokoricha ’26 and lulu Cavicchi ’25, an illustrator for postmagazine, moderated the discussion at the Granoff Martinos auditorium, followed by an audience Q&a session.

Throughout the talk, Erivo detailed her career in theater and her later transition to the screen. When she was young, she liked “the idea of being able to tell different people’s stories, become different people and use (her) imagination,” which motivated her to pursue acting, she said.

Erivo said that her “‘raison d’être’

students and learning about their needs.

during the audience Q&a session, Oluwasiji soetan ’25 asked Erivo how she explained to her parents her decision to pursue acting. in response, Erivo advised attendees to follow their dreams, adding \ that those who live for others will eventually “end up looking for something that makes (them) feel whole.”

“you cannot keep living for everybody else,” Erivo said. “it is impossible to sustain.”

hearing “how grounded she is, how much she’s committed to always working on her craft and always making sure that she’s staying creative” was inspirational, soetan told The herald.

Other attendees asked Erivo about her experiences at rada and the process of filming her upcoming movie “Wicked” with ariana Grande.

The role of harriet Tubman was difficult because “there’s nothing recorded of her … only written and photographed,” she said,

after graduating from the royal academy of dramatic art, which is commonly abbreviated as rada , Erivo first played Celie harris in a production of “The Color purple” in london, before reprising the role on Broadway. according to Erivo, theater and film were much more separated in london, but in the united states she found that Broadway was much more integrated with the film industry — allowing her to transition to on-screen roles more easily. While she plans to venture into producing and directing due to her “curiosity for creativity,” she said she is still unsure if she will venture into screenwriting. later, Erivo explained her creative process when portraying historical figures, such as harriet Tubman and aretha Franklin.

forcing her to use her imagination and draw inspiration from the sources that she had. she added that she had used her own experiences being short to build her portrayal of Tubman, opting to use a low-pitched voice to convey strength, rather than playing into the assumption that shorter people have higher-pitched voices. Erivo also added that she “listened to a lot of (aretha Franklin’s) music and watched a lot of her interviews” to learn more about Franklin’s development as an artist while

preparing to portray her in the television series “Genius: aretha.”

When discussing representation and identity, Erivo said that her “raison d’être … is to make sure that there’s always space for other people.” she formed her production company, Edith’s daughter, to “create spaces for other people who haven’t had the chance to be in the business.” and as the new vice president of rada , Erivo plans to expand her mission to increase representation in education by connecting with

Erivo “has been a huge inspiration to me for so many years,” said Teniayo-Ola Macaulay ’25, an aspiring Nigerian actress who is also from England, in an interview with The herald. “The advice that (Erivo) gave us is something i will take with me as i get into my career,” Macaulay added.

The ivy Film Festival concluded later on sunday evening with their last official selection screening followed by an awards ceremony.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 14, 2024.

‘SING SING’ explores power of theater in prison system

BY SANAI RASHID SENIOR STAFF WRITER

We don’t see his face, but we hear him. in the opening scene of “siNG siNG,” Greg Kwedar’s new a24 film, lights of midnight blue paint the back of divine G’s (Colman domingo) figure as he reads lines from “a Midsummer’s Nights dream.” as an inmate at sing sing Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in upstate New york, divine G’s world stops at a razor-wire fence. as the camera pans to his face, the pride in his eyes shines through, as if theater has now opened up a third world for divine G: One where he can be a king, a lovestruck hero or simply a man unafraid in a boundless universe. “siNG siNG” follows a theater troupe who frees themselves from the reality of incarceration through the production of a play. Based on the real-life program and friendships made in rehabilitation Through the arts — an organization dedicated to helping people in prison through the arts — the film features a cast of formerly incarcerated actors and rTa alumni alongside hollywood powerhouses like domingo and paul raci, who plays Brent, the program director in the film.

On Wednesday, ivy Film Festival hosted an advanced screening of “siNG siNG” as a part of their annual week-long programming.

coming of age sour in the long run.

“ i ’m a gangster, that’s my destiny and that’s what’s waiting for me on the outside,” divine Eye tells divine G after rehearsals one day. “sometimes i think i might as well stay here since everyone i know is here,” he adds.

“Then,” divine G sighs, “they got you if you think you belong here.”

in a society where one’s record defines them after prison — never allowing one to forget their past — rTa offers an opportunity for incarcerated individuals to put their pasts behind them for a moment and live in the now with one another.

“i feel like the inclusion of formerly incarcerated people into the film was poignant and powerful,” said amiri Nash ’24 after the screening. “The scoring is so important. The writing is so important. and it’s all these little pieces that make something super grand and immersive.”

For amani diallo ’27, “siNG siNG” beautifully portrayed the lives of incarcerated individuals instead of glorifying the system of incarceration.

While divine G seems like the leading man of the film’s theater troupe, it soon becomes evident that he is not the only actor bringing change inside the walls of prison.

in a captivating sequence where director Kwedar superimposes scenes of inmates auditioning for their respective roles — clips of tear-filled soliloquies, husky declarations and contagious giggles — audiences begin to see the joy experienced by each man through their relationship to theater.

Before rehearsal begins one day, Brent sits the inmates in a circle and instructs

The film, set to be released in u s. theaters later this summer, shows that there is immense creativity and community spaces for joy, peace and celebration even in the painful experiences of incarcerated individuals.

them to get out of their heads, close their eyes and imagine their most “perfect place” for a minute.

in this moment, as the camera pans to each man’s face, a more subtle story is told. divine G’s most perfect place is eating icees in the summertime, d dan’s (sean dino Johnson) is cutting the lawn in his backyard and for another inmate, it is dancing with girls in his neighborhood. Blaze’s (Jon-adrian Velasquez) finds bliss in watching the hudson river ripple with his mother — now, Blaze says with tears in his eyes, she watches him from the other side.

“you guys are becoming actors just by being real and vulnerable with each other,” says Brent. “This isn’t something most guys get to do.”

Over 70% of the New york state prison population is made up of Black and hispanic individuals, according to the 2023 data report by The New york state department of Corrections and Community supervision.

This fact is reflected in the cast of siNG siNG,” made up largely of Black and hispanic men. Throughout the film, some inmates refer to New york neighborhoods where violence, drugs and crime made their

“it makes me proud to go to Brown, where we are active in the prison archives system,” diallo said. “We have the archives of Mumia abu-Jamal and … are using our privilege to give voice and a platform to people who don’t otherwise have it.”

“i’m going to think about the people who are still inside, who are still doing plays over and over and over again” after walking out of the theater, said diallo. “and i’m going to think about the people in prison who don’t have those resources, and don’t have the opportunity to perform and use art to do any of that.”

Film based on real-life program Rehabilitation Through the Arts

The film is based on the real-life program and friendships made in Rehabilitation Through the Arts, and features a cast of formerly incarcerated actors, RTA alumni and Hollywood powerhouses.

CAMPUS SAFETY

Brown University dorm has break-in, personal items reported stolen

Student found two people stealing personal items from dorm

BY RYAN DOHERTY AND AVANI GHOSH UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND METRO EDITOR

Two individuals were reported breaking and entering into an Everett- poland dorm room on sunday evening and stealing a student’s personal items, according to an email from the d epartment of p ublic s afety sent late s unday night. The student returned to their dorm as the individuals were still in the room.

The individuals claimed to have a firearm, but no weapon was shown. a fter leaving the dorm, the individuals were seen running downtown on Benevolent s treet, according to dps

The individuals may have gained entry by pretending to be students, wrote r odney Chatman, vice president for campus safety, in an email to The h erald. h e added that “it’s essential to remain vigilant and avoid letting unknown parties into residential buildings.”

The student notified dps at approximately 8:15 s unday evening. a ccording to records from the p rovidence police d epartment obtained by The h erald, the incident happened between 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. i tems stolen included a laptop and a pair of shoes.

d etectives from the Bureau of Criminal i dentification and i nvestigation attempted to track the laptop’s location using the student’s cell phone, but “to no avail.”

The report also states that there were “several items that did not belong to either of (the students) and were possibly left behind by the suspects who had entered their room” including a gold ring, a knit hat, a jacket and two red solo cups. These items were swabbed

for possible d Na evidence and will also be submitted to the r hode i sland d epartment of h ealth.

Chatman wrote, “there is no evidence at this time of an ongoing threat to personal safety; however, Brown dps has increased patrols in the area to offer greater visibility of security staff and to continue to ensure the security of the residential spaces at the u niversity.”

“ s taff from various offices at Brown are offering support and resources to the students who were impacted by this

incident, both directly and indirectly, as we remain focused on guarding student safety as our foremost priority,” he added.

l

ily young ’27, a current resident who lives on the floor where the incident happened, told The herald that “although i didn’t see it happen, knowing that something like that happened so nearby while i was in the building was definitely scary … it was concerning that something could happen in what is supposed to be a safe space and home environment.”

s he added that community coordinators “have reminded us that we all need to be extra careful about locking our doors.”

“ i n order to make sure our students stay safe, we’re working with r esidential l ife, Facilities Management and other campus partners to review best practices with students for maintaining safety in residential settings,” Chatman wrote.

“Essential safety guidance includes locking dorm room doors, never admitting unknown guests into the building, never propping open exterior doors, ensuring that students swipe their own Brown id card when entering a residence hall (no “tailgating”), and immediately reporting any observed suspicious activity to Brown dps ,” he added.

a ccording to an email from dps sent Tuesday night, there will be increased “public safety, sworn and civilian personnel.” dps officers will also perform “exterior building checks to identify any doors that have been propped open or locks that are malfunctioning/disabled.”

dps officials asked anyone with information to contact p rovidence police or dps at 401-272-3132 and 401-863-3322, respectively.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 15, 2024.

Women faculty discuss informal advising, service to Brown community

University report finds service load mostly falls on women’s faculty

BY KATE ROWBERRY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The u niversity’s Task Force on the s tatus of Women Faculty’s a pril 2023 report found that women faculty feel their service to the Brown community is “undocumented and, as a consequence, underappreciated.” s ervice responsibilities include informal student mentorship, advising and serving on departmental committees, among others.

The report outlines findings on topics related to women faculty’s working conditions, The h erald previously reported. its recommendations were generated based on data analysis, as well as conversations with and anonymous feedback from current and former Brown faculty.

The task force cited a 2017 paper by Cassandra Guarino and Victor Borden, which concluded that “on average, women faculty perform more service than male faculty in academia.”

“ i think women faculty are more likely to serve as informal mentors, helping students with life challenges that they may face during their college years,” political s cience p rofessor Katherine Tate wrote in an email to The h erald. But Tate noted that “some male professors have a ton of students seeking their advice” as well.

Guarino and Borden’s paper concluded that “women are more likely to volunteer for service or that they are less likely to refuse requests to perform service,” which may contribute

to the difference in service load experienced by female versus male faculty.

Jan Tullis, a professor emerita of geological sciences, said that “there’s been a tendency over time … for women students to feel more comfortable coming to me as an advisor … especially about personal things, but also (about) academic things.”

s he also noted that this trend was especially evident when fewer women pursued careers in s TEM. h aving a female role model in the field does “make a difference” for other women hoping to pursue similar careers, Tullis added.

a lex l ee ’25 has been informally mentored by Visiting a ssistant p rofessor of East a sian s tudies Ellie yunjung Choi as a first-year student in her course E as T 0534: “ patriots, Communists, and Traitors in Modern Korea” and since then as a teaching assistant.

Choi has “become this lifeline to the broader community (of Korean a mericans) that i didn’t know i could

have,” l ee told The h erald.

i really appreciate being able to have someone to talk to about not just academic, but personal stuff,” he said. “ p rofessor Choi has helped serve both as a mentor (and) as an outside resource to help me understand just how to be at Brown.”

“That’s a relationship that i haven’t really been able to find anywhere else,” l ee added.

Brenda r ubenstein ’07, an associate professor of chemistry and physics, said it is “hard to enumerate” how much time she spends on informal mentorship, but estimated that she dedicates a few hours every day to advising undergraduates and even more hours to advising graduate students.

Kevin Kim ’25, who has been a student in two of r ubenstein’s courses and now conducts research in her lab, wrote in an email to The h erald that he “was really inspired by her commitment to teaching” in C h EM 0330:

“Equilibrium, r ate and s tructure.”

“When i joined her lab, i had no

idea how to conduct research,” Kim wrote. “ i can say that most of my progress and growth as a researcher and student is owed to p rofessor r ubenstein’s guidance and support.”

r ubenstein frequently assists students seeking fellowship and career advice. s tudents also approach her about “family issues, health issues, work issues” and experiences as women and minority students, she said.

“ i ’m okay with” doing more informal advising, r ubenstein said. “But at the same time, that’s something that maybe my male colleagues are not dealing with.”

rubenstein noted that, in her experience, “some male colleagues actually view the informal mentorship that we’re doing as nursing or babying or mothering.”

But “ i actually take it with pride,” she said. “ i f you consider (my informal mentorship as) mothering the students, that i ’m actually helping them,

i think that’s a good thing.”

“ i ’m always happy when students come to me for mentorship and advising. i t’s one of the best parts of my job,” said Nell l ake M a’97 p h d ’22, lecturer in English. “a t the same time, i think the u niversity could value that contribution that i ’m making more explicitly.”

Women faculty’s “undocumented service” load may limit the amount of time women faculty can dedicate to research and cause them to remain as associate professors longer than men, the task force report reads.

a ccording to u niversity policy, faculty are asked to complete the Faculty a ctivity r eport annually to document “their teaching, research and service in

the prior chronological year.”

When filling out the document, “it’s very hard to say what counts (and) what doesn’t count” as formal advising, r ubenstein said.

a ccording to the task force report, “there is no comprehensive central database at Brown that captures department-level service across the u niversity.”

There is “a lot more emotional labor” required in these positions, r ubenstein said. “ you get no credit for any of those kinds of activities” because they are often not tracked by Brown.

Women faculty “help put a human face to the campus,” Tate wrote. “We don’t have a system in place to reward that type of service.”

a press release from Oct. 19, 2023 outlined the u niversity’s plans to address the task force’s findings. a team to implement the task force’s eight recommendations is currently co-chaired by d eputy p rovost for s trategic i nitiatives Janet Blume and d ean of the Faculty l eah VanWey, The h erald previously reported.

The 10 members of the implementation team “have been meeting regularly since the fall and are nearing the end of our work,” with plans to share recommendations in the spring, Blume wrote in an email to The h erald.

Editor’s Note: The data used in the Task Force on the Status of Women Faculty’s report uses a gender binary of male and female. The Herald understands the limitations of this binary in representing the experiences of gender-diverse faculty.

Pawsitively purrfect: meet the furry celebrities strolling on campus

Pets bring emotional support, social opportunities to Brown students

BY MAYA NELSON SENIOR STAFF WRITER

When Bailey p hoenix ’24 entered their sophomore year at Brown, the COV id -19 pandemic was in full swing. “ i t was very rough,” they said. “ i started struggling.”

d espite being 13 years old, Winter is still “very spry for her age” and loves making human friends, though she holds “disdain” for other dogs, p hoenix said. When a dog three times her size came by to say hello during p hoenix’s interview with The h erald, Winter disinterestedly retreated to her on-the-go bed for a nap.

d uring their walks together around the main green, p hoenix said Winter loves being the cen -

a t home, their dog Winter would attend to them during moments of distress. “ s he would do everything to distract me, licking my face,” p hoenix said. Winter has become “interconnected with my mental and physical health,” even attending p hoenix’s sessions with their therapist, they added.

When sophomore fall rolled around and things still weren’t looking any better, p hoenix thought of a possible solution: bringing Winter to Brown. a fter spring break of the same year, Winter was finally approved and able to come to Brown.

s ince then, p hoenix’s time at Brown has become “so much better.” The two of them have developed a “symbiotic relationship,” p hoenix told The h erald.

“On days when i don’t want to get up, i have to take the dog out,” p hoenix said. “ i have medications, but she has medications too. … i will not let her suffer.”

ter of attention — something that encourages p hoenix to be social.

“ s he’s everyone’s emotional support animal,” said p hoenix.

For many students at Brown, pets help to relieve academic and personal stress. a fter his freshman year, Noah u rrutia ’25 decided to adopt his cat Merlin who, like his wizard namesake, is a “curious guy full of whimsy.” u rrutia registered Merlin as an emotional support animal with sas at the beginning of his sophomore year, and the two have shared u rrutia’s dorm ever since.

“ i couldn’t really think of being in college without him,” said u rrutia. “ i t’s always good to walk back (to your dorm) and see someone who’s happy to see you.”

Merlin, a “very, very smart” and “well behaved” cat who prefers the indoors, meowed in protest when it started raining during our interview outside. But u rrutia still takes him outside for a walk once a week.

“When he’s not in the bag, i ’ll carry him on my shoulder and he just sits there like a parrot,” u rrutia said.

u rrutia noted that he wished more students were aware that they can bring their pets to Brown. For both u rrutia and p hoenix, the process involved obtaining a letter from a psychologist affirming the benefit of an emotional support animal, followed by the completion of disability verification and accommodation forms with sas

“ i think for a lot of people who have issues with anxiety or loneliness or homesickness, this is a very good way to feel connected to your home,” u rrutia told The h erald.

For students without emotional support needs, off-campus housing makes bringing a pet to Brown easier. Together with his girlfriend, r ichard Glebocki ’24 cares for a one-year-old pug-terrier crossbreed (who Glebocki said he suspects is really a pug-staffy) named p hoenix in their apartment.

While dog sitting over the summer, Glebocki and his girlfriend “fell in love” with the idea of adopting a dog of their own, he said. This winter break, they visited the p rovidence a nimal r escue l eague and found p hoenix. The result has been

has stumbled upon an unlikely solution: walking the dog of p resident Christina p axson p ’19 p ’M d ’20.

s widler is the official dog-walker for Cooper, paxson’s poodle. “ i have to say (his name) in an a merican accent — otherwise, he won’t respond,” said s widler, who is from l ondon.

d uring his freshman year,

to meet so many new people.”

s widler noted his gratitude for the opportunity to become closer with p axson and her husband. “ i t humanizes the often pedestal image of the president,” he said. “ s he’s a woman of the people, she has a dog and she has a student walk it.”

Cooper’s favorite treat is a Blue

something “amazing.”

Walking around the main green has allowed both Glebocki and p hoenix to “make a lot of friends,” Glebocki told The h erald.

“ i t’s very, very social being a dog at Brown,” he added. “ h uman friends, dog friends, it’s all very easy.” p hoenix, who displayed a penchant for licking my hand as i typed interview notes, is “beloved across campus.”

While walking p hoenix around campus, Glebocki loves witnessing people’s reactions to her, he told The h erald. “ you watch people’s faces turn from a very intense, focused state ... and just instantly light up,” Glebocki said.

But some students are unable to live off-campus or register for a service animal. Nathan s widler ’24

s widler took p axson’s class titled “Economics of h igher Education,” which featured an end-of-seminar dinner. d uring a luckily-timed “loo break,” s widler ran into p axson’s husband, who sat with Cooper. i t just so happened that they were looking for someone to walk him.

s widler had no prior dog-walking experience. “But i looked up how to walk dogs, asked a bunch of my friends how to do it and they basically said it was very simple,” he said.

For the past three years, s widler and Cooper have been walking biweekly loops around the Main and Quiet Greens together. “ i really love it when people come up to me and ask if they can pet him,” said s widler. “ i t makes my day and i get

r oom sandwich. h e “salivates whenever he sees one,” s widler said. Winter shares a similar fondness for dining hall goodies, particularly the i vy r oom’s bacon. Both Glebocki’s pug-terrier p hoenix and u rrutia’s cat Merlin are content with more classical pet treats, enjoying false rawhide bones and catnip, respectively

s widler is currently searching for someone to fill his dog-walking position post-graduation. “There is no current next in succession,” said s widler. “ i ’d be happy to field all loads of interest.”

Maya NElsON / hErald

Bailey Phoenix ‘24 with dog Winter.

Noah Urrutia ’25 holding cat Merlin. Maya NElsON / hErald

Richard Glebocki ’24 and pug-terrier Phoenix.

Nathan Swidler ’24 walking President Christina Paxson’s dog Cooper.

2021-22 to over $1 million in 2022-23, according to financial statements shared at a March 5 town hall. Those internal costs — for example, safety expenses and Media services — cut into the remaining 70% of the surplus.

Those increased costs coincided with a 2022 change in how student groups are categorized, changing their eligibility for funding. Because of the change, roughly twice as many student groups could request supplemental funding from uFB in 2022-23. plus, the number of student groups on campus overall increased by 33%, according to Chopra.

ricky Zhong ’23, the uCs student activities chair in 2022, told The herald at the time that the primary goal of the recategorization was to make uFB funding available for more student groups, especially in light of the “substantial uFB surplus.”

“Because we have more mouths to feed,” Chopra added, “everyone is getting a little less.”

What’s in store for student groups in 2025?

uFB has also made a number of changes that will take effect next school year, Chopra said, including a new categorization that will sort groups into four categories instead of the traditional three.

The new system allows uCs’s student activities Committee to decide whether a student group fits into category one — and thus only receives baseline funds — or category two, which receives access to slightly more funding, according to Chopra.

uFB will determine if a category two group can be moved into category three — where they receive baseline funding and all other additional funding from uFB — based on factors including

the Activist Coalition and other spaces, and didn’t get to invest as much into student government. But the UCS presidency was an opportunity to get involved my senior year; I thought that would be awesome.

Nepal is the former president of students for Educational Equity and is currently a leader of the Brown activist Coalition, which comprises student groups like sEE, climate advocacy group sunrise Brown and students for Justice in palestine.

as sEE president, Nepal called on the university to increase its investment in providence and end legacy admissions.

On running on a broader political platform, and the power of the UCS presidency to effect political reform:

Nepal: I think that it is kind of undeniable how much the campus right now has been a political state. We’ve all been forced to think about the University’s complicity in what’s going on in the Middle East, specifically as it relates to Palestine.

That being said, there was a very specific reason I decided to run on a political platform. It seemed that there was a lot of pushback from administrators when asked to listen to student voices and hear the over 2,300 signatures on a petition calling for (divestment). All of this suppression and ignoring these voices called for a broader movement that shows that (a large portion of the) student body wants this movement to be represented.

a petition calling on the university to “publicly condemn the genocide,” protect students from doxxing and harrassment and “divest the endowment from israel and the military-industrial complex” has accumulated 2,372 signatories. The petition was organized by Brown’s branch of students for Justice in palestine and the Graduate labor Organization’s palestine solidarity Caucus.

in an ongoing case before the united Nations international Court of Justice, south africa alleged that israel is enacting “acts and omissions” that are “genocidal in character … (against) the palestinian national, racial and ethnic group,” the BBC previously reported.

Nepal: I was on hunger strike for eight days.

“consistency and growth” of group membership and event scale, Chopra said. The full qualification metrics can be found in the uFB handbook.

uFB also created a new category four for a select number of groups — like the Brown Concert agency — that “receive a single lump-sum in lieu of individual budgets,” according to the handbook. Beyond their lump sum, category four groups cannot request supplemental funding throughout the year.

The new category does not indicate “a group’s entitlement to any higher amounts of funding,” the handbook said. lump sums are for groups that cannot submit “line-item based requests” due to complexities such as “high degree of variability” or “a legally enforceable need for confidentiality.”

“uFB leaders have attempted to work with saO and the uCs student activities Committee” to change the categorization system since 2022, Chopra wrote in a message to The herald. “Only after exhausting all of our options by attempting to work with our partners in uCs, did uFB move forward with the decision to take-over part of the re-categorization system.”

“This was a choice that was made with a great deal of care and input from our advisors in saO as well as members of the student activities Committee,” he added.

The Board also rewrote its handbook that included policies that were “a little arcane,” according to Chopra. For next school year and this spring’s budget decisions for next semester, the new handbook will apply, which requires funding requests to fit one of their eight budget types — ranging from publicity to inventory, event and travel. requirements for these types “change slightly depending on a group’s category,” according to the handbook.

I by no means wanted to use (the war between Israel and Hamas) to leverage my platform, but I saw it was asked of me to run for this position by pro-Palestine student activists, and I see it as being a tool to continue amplifying student voices. As it comes to continuing to uplift this platform, UCS is one of the main places where students are in direct contact with administration, and that’s something that we have not been in a position to really leverage yet.

Nepal was one of 19 students who participated in an eight-day hunger strike in February, which called on the Brown Corporation to consider divesting from companies “associated with human rights abuses in palestine.”

paxson has repeatedly declined to bring a divestment resolution to the Corporation, the university’s highest governing body. in an interview with The herald in February, paxson said she would “fast track” a divestment proposal submitted to the advisory Committee on university resource Management, or aCurM, which considers such proposals.

The university has repeatedly stated that it does not directly invest in weapons manufacturers, and that it selects external investment “managers whose values are aligned with the Brown community,” according to the investment Office.

participants in the hunger strike said submitting a proposal to aCurM offers “an untenable timeline given the urgency of the crisis in Gaza,” strike organizers previously told The herald.

On priorities as president:

Nepal: There is one thing I want to do right off the bat: reinstate open meetings.

I think that UCS’ transparency and ability to engage with the broader student body has been difficult.

I want to reinstate the ability for any student to be a voting member with 20 signatures and to be able to come to these open general body meetings and participate in UCS as a member. I think that level of buy-in is super important for people to believe in the power of student government again.

in fall 2022, former uCs president ricky Zhong ’23 announced that public general body

Chopra said that travel costs will be scrutinized at a higher level going forward. When making funding decisions, uFB will continue to consider each event’s cost per person and not fund food unless absolutely integral to the event’s purpose, he added.

uFB will also launch a pilot program that sets aside funding for student groups to host events during spring Weekend, starting next year. according to Chopra, groups that host events during spring Weekend right now include BCa, the Class Coordinating Board and Greek organizations. But in the past, more groups hosted events during that time. “i think that a greater diversity of events is beneficial to everybody,” Chopra said.

additionally, uFB has been working to increase the student activities Fee by 33% to $400.

in October of 2022, uFB requested a $50 per year increase in the student activities fee — a total of $336 — The herald previously reported. But the Board was only granted a $14 increase, bringing the sa fee to $300 for this school year.

But according to Chopra, Brown’s sa fee is still much lower than that of peer institutions. stanford’s student activities fee is $208 per quarter — amounting to $624 per year — and Columbia’s is $1,696 for the academic year.

Chopra added that unlike other peer institutions, Brown does not allow endowment funds to directly support student groups, which takes away another avenue of funding. “We started from a very disadvantageous position” compared to other similar schools, he said.

uFB’s 2024-25 proposal was reviewed by the university resources Committee, which included the increased fee in its recommendation to president Christina paxson p’19 p’Md’20, according to Chopra. paxson will then either propose the increase to the Corporation — the

meetings would be replaced by town hall meetings open to the public, The herald previously reported.

in prior years, students could join uCs as a general body member by collecting 20 signatures in their support. in 2022, uCs removed its general body, instead hosting town halls open to all students. The change was made without some e-board members’ prior approval, The herald previously reported.

Nepal: Outside of that, the number one priority I listed on my campaign and my platform was divestment. I feel like the ongoing situation in Gaza creates pressure for the University to divest immediately, so to continue putting pressure on administration for that is definitely a priority.

in a message to The herald, Nepal said that the “increasing death toll in Gaza” and Brown’s refusal to divest makes the university “complicit in the ongoing genocide.”

Nepal: With admissions policies, UCS is also in a position where we’re able to host town halls, increase transparency with (administrators) and with students and have more dialogue.

In regard to the legacy decision, allowing UCS as a platform (and) giving opportunities for students to really say what they want to see the outcome of that decision to be — whether that be to end or keep legacy — UCS could spearhead that, in terms of opening up space for those dialogues.

Nepal has previously criticized legacy admissions. she said the practice “has no place in our university” as part of a spring 2023 rally for sEE, the educational equity campus group. in her uCs candidate statement, Nepal wrote that she prioritized “equitable admissions policies.”

Nepal: I also think there’s a lot of really cool campus priorities, like bringing milkshakes to Jo’s.

I don’t want to diminish or take away from any of those. And I want to dedicate myself to also keeping up that work and maintaining the work of Mina and others before her.

in a message to The herald, Nepal said she plans to maintain programs like free menstrual product distribution.

On supporting students who agree and dis-

university’s highest governing body — or reject uFB’s proposal and recommend a different budget.

But Chopra said that the increase will only “get us back to normal.”

although the university did not meet last year’s fee increase proposal in its entirety, Chopra said it is likely that administrators will approve the $100 increase, as the additional $100 has already been accounted for in next year’s cost of attendance displayed on the Bursar’s website.

in the past, uFB refrained from pushing too hard for fee increases in hopes of maintaining a strong relationship with administration, Chopra said.

“i’m personally proud of the relationships that we’ve developed” with the administration, Chopra said. But “if we don’t get this fee increase … uFB will not be able to do what it has done in the past.”

Chopra said he is not concerned about a negative student response to the fee increase in their tuition. in a survey sent out to all financial signatories, 79.7% of students surveyed supported a fee increase.

“uFB has been informed by senior members of the university Finance team that an increase in the undergraduate student activities Fee would have no net impact for students on financial aid” because it will not affect students’ expected family contributions, Chopra wrote in an email to The herald.

Even with this potential increase, Chopra said uFB has “no idea” exactly what the budget will look like in the coming years.

But Chopra anticipates that uFB will be able to allocate $2.4 million to student groups next year — $400,000 more than was allocated last year. “We did do a lot of cost cutting this year, and that’s no small feat,” Chopra said. “But

agree with divestment:

Nepal: I want general body meetings to be something where people can come in and talk about (divestment). I want to make sure that all students are being heard in equal proportion. What that means is when we have students that are concerned about threats of antisemitism, I want that to be heard in the same proportion as students that are worried about anti-Arab sentiments or anti-Islamic sentiments.

On divestment from Israel:

Nepal: Part of the reason why I use the language of apartheid is because Brown has historically divested from South African apartheid. So I want this idea that a university should not be invested in anything that has to do with apartheid. Christina Paxson has regularly used the language of, “this is too political for us to divest.”

I don’t see how it’s not too political for us to then stay invested in something like apartheid. But right now we’re focused on something specific, and that is Israeli apartheid. I think that with this advocacy, we can set a precedent for other situations that the University has no place in that.

in a message to The herald, Nepal clarified that she believes the university should “never be invested in systems that carry out apartheid and genocide.”

amnesty international and human rights Watch have both characterized the israeli government’s treatment of palestinians as “apartheid.” a March 2022 united Nations special rapporteur’s report reached a similar conclusion. some groups, including the anti-defamation league, contest this characterization.

On equity in admissions:

Nepal: I was president of Student for Educational Equity for a while, and there have been a lot of campaigns that preceded Students for Educational Equity that have been demanding test-optional policies for good and that have demanded getting rid of legacy as a consideration, because if you’re looking for socioeconomic diversity in your student body legacy, legacy students are not where that exists.

So when we’re talking about equitable admissions practices, we’re also talking about admissions practices that make Brown more representative

we also are looking at a $700,000 increase in revenue” from the sa fee increase.

projections shown at the board’s March town hall predicted that the board will have $0.00 in their starting cash balance before revenue next year. But Chopra said that he is “100% certain that we’re not going to go into next year with $0.00.”

“When we make the projections for next year, we always expect the worst case scenario,” he explained. Chopra said his updated predictions anticipate that some money will be left over for additional spending next year.

“We’re in a very, very good position next year,” Chopra added. “Next year will be the year where uFB is able to allocate the most funds directly to groups, and significantly more funds than in the past year.”

But Chopra emphasized that “a crisis like this very much could occur again” if future chairs fail to increase the student activities fee or enforce cost-saving initiatives.

preventing a future budget crisis “should be and (is) our number one, two (and) three priority,” he added. “Everything else comes after that.”

Naomi ledell ’26, incoming uFB Chair, wrote in an email to The herald that “uFB has been working to gradually increase the student activities Fee to keep up with inflation, as every year presents us with rising costs. To maintain an appropriate level of funding we can provide students, we must keep pushing to continue our upward trajectory.”

i totally get it: students are saying that this year was a total shit show, (and) how do you trust that next year?” Chopra said. “i have absolute faith that all of the things that we have set up this year are going to reap massive rewards next year.”

of the world that we live in. I want UCS to be a platform where we can engage in discussions about that, talk about what the general student take is on that and figure out how we want to move forward with holding the University accountable to actually listening to that general student take.

On student input in meal plans:

Nepal: I know that this is something that UCS is already doing, and I want us to make sure that I continue amplifying a lot of the work that’s already been done. Brown has done a good job of implementing the Halal and Kosher kitchens (in the Sharpe Refectory), but I think that there’s more that can happen with it. UCS gets the chance to work with Dining Services and continue saying, “hey, this is what we’ve heard from students. This is what the desires are like — what do we need to make this happen?”

On her hopes for the year:

Nepal: Whenever I come into these spaces, I honestly hope that my effect is that I’ve created a caring and empathetic community that creates an environment where students feel like they can come and be a part of something that feels safe.

In addition to that, I hope that my impact is creating a place where you don’t have to be apolitical (to engage with the student body). I think that there are going to be challenging things to navigate, and I would be naive to say otherwise. But it’s something that we totally are capable of doing in an institution like this, which has been built on a foundation of student activism.

I hope to be a genuine representative of the people that decide to come and contact me and see me as that liaison between (administrators), and I hope that I represent them in a way that feels correct to how they came to me and the vulnerability that they pressed with me.

On her reaction to the election:

Nepal: I am super excited about it. I didn’t get my hopes up before, (because) I knew that I was running against someone who’s very, very qualified as well. I was shocked to find out that I won. I never thought I’d see the day where I could say that I was UCS president.