Thursday, April 4, 2024

THE BROWN DAILY HER ALD

72% of faculty vote in favor of School of International and Public Affairs

Most of the faculty who spoke in favor of the School’s creation at Tuesday’s meeting were Watson-affiliated.

U. will now seek Corp approval, some faculty cite funding concerns

BY CATE LATIMER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Faculty approved a motion to convert the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs into a school at a Tuesday meeting, with 72% voting in favor. Pending approval by the Brown Corporation, the school will be officially established on July 1, 2025.

The next Corporation meeting is scheduled for May. agendas for the Corporation meetings are not made public prior to convening.

The vote came after a comment period, which included a town hall, for faculty to share thoughts and concerns about the

ADMISSIONS

establishment of the new school. The academic priorities Committee unanimously recommended and endorsed the school’s establishment, following a discussion of the motion in March’s faculty meeting.

The Faculty Executive Committee also voted prior to Tuesday’s meeting, approving the establishment of the school, but not unanimously. steven sloman, chair of the FEC and professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences, stated that the committee was cautious because of concerns that resources may be diverted from existing departments for the new school.

“This is a real concern because some departments already feel like they operate within the shadow of the Watson institute,” sloman said. “The university needs to clarify and be transparent about its priorities,” he added.

d oyle addressed this worry at the meeting. “i can say with complete con-

U. admits 5.2% to 2028

1,623 regular decision admits will join 898 admitted during early decision

BY OWEN DAHLKAMP AND TALIA LEVINE UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Brown University admitted 1,623 regular decision applicants to the class of 2028. Its overall acceptance rate for this cycle is 5.2%, the third-lowest in Brown’s history. This cohort is the first to be admitted since the supreme Court severely restricted race-conscious admissions practices at universities nationwide. These students join 898 others admitted during early decision in december, bringing the total number of admitted students this year to 2,521.

fidence that there will not be a division of resources away from other units to the Watson,” he said. “The Watson has a very robust budget.”

doyle also assured that other concerns previously raised by faculty — including operational issues, cross-listed courses, teaching responsibilities and voting practices — “can be clarified with consultation with the Watson leadership over the coming planning year.”

The FEC was also concerned about a “lack of clarity in the school’s intellectual mission,” according to sloman. “What new intellectual program will the school bring to Brown?” he asked. “The proposal focuses on Brown’s interdisciplinary character, but Brown, we believe, is unique in more ways than being interdisciplinary.”

Watson director Edward steinfeld, whose term ends June 30, stated at the meeting that the center’s mission is to

ARTS & CULTURE

MaThiEu GrECO / hErald

combine deep area expertise with more practical knowledge about policy. “We’re coupling those in courses that emphasize experiential learning,” he said.

according to doyle, “80% of the written comments we received were quite favorable,” with faculty expressing their “excitement about the vision for the school” and “praise for the multidisciplinary ethos of the Watson.”

at Tuesday’s meeting, faculty continued their discussion of the school’s creation with mixed responses.

Wendy schiller, professor of political science and upcoming interim director of the Watson, said she hopes the new school will be open to the entire Brown community, including “faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates who may not have always felt there was a place for

IFF unveils 2024 lineup

Lineup includes guest speakers Cynthia Erivo, Avantika Vandanapu

“Once again, we were humbled by the breadth of perspective and depth of talent in the applicant pool,” powell wrote in an email to The herald. “Though there were necessary changes to some aspects of the admission process, we remained focused on our core values and mission — identifying students from a broad range of experiences with demonstrated academic excellence and the potential to make extraordinary contributions to the Brown community.”

The herald received a breakdown of the admitted applicants by geography, first-generation status, type of high school and more.

This academic year, the university received 48,881 applications, its third-largest applicant pool ever. This marks a 5% decrease since last year, a dip that powell

acceptance rates for Brown’s dual degree programs both saw among their largest applicant pools. The dual undergraduate-medical program in liberal Medical Education, or plME, accepted just 76 of 4,251 applicants, and the Brown-risd dual degree program accepted 20 of its 953 applicants.

BY MANAV MUSUNURU CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Tuesday evening, the ivy Film Festival released its 2024 festival line-up — including guest speakers, advance screenings and exhibitions of student work. The festival, which is slated to take place from april 8 to 14, is the “largest student-run film festival in the world,” according to the iFF website. This year’s festival comes amid widespread undergraduate Financial Board budget cuts for student organizations, increasing “uncertainty about what resources (iFF) would have to bring guests and make the festival happen to (the) same capacities as previous years,” iFF co-director ana Boyd ’24 said.

The 2023 saG-aFTra and Writers Guild of america strikes also complicated

the planning process for this year’s festival, according to iFF co-director Maiya ramsaroop ’25. The conclusion of these strikes has set the entertainment industry back in motion, making it much harder to book guest speakers, Co-coordinator of the and screeners cha ’26 added that these events led to the organization prioritizing availability when booking guest speakers for the events.

The week-long festival will kick off on april 8 with guest speaker danapu — best known for playing Karen in the 2024 movie-musical adaptation of “Mean Girls.” The talk will be followed by an advance screening of “The Fall Guy” — an action/comedy film with a star-studded cast, including Blunt — at the Granoff Martinos torium.

On april 9, the festival’s programming will consist of a screening of “Good One” and a conversation with its director, donaldson.

ARTS & CULTURE

1 McGill students continue hunger strike for divestment from Israel

The strike for divestment, which began on Feb. 13, has no set end date. On March 23, one student was hospitalized. The university has not directly communicated with the strikers since March 18.

2 Ivy League increased federal lobbying spending by 12% in 2023

yale and Cornell spent the most on lobbying of the ivy league at $600,000 each. Brown and Columbia spent the least, at $220,000 each.

3 Michigan students demand divestment ahead of student elections

The pro-palestine protest follows the university’s release of a newly drafted policy that would prevent students and community members from participating in activities that disrupt university operations. activists expressed fears that the policy would prevent student protest.

IAPA FROM PAGE 1

them or that they could benefit from all the Watson will bring.”

schiller also noted that the increased infrastructure of converting the Watson into a school will advance foundation support for Brown faculty research and grant applications.

steinfeld spoke about his hope for the school to issue masters level certificates for

ADMISSION FROM PAGE 1

previously told The herald was “planned for and expected.”

With a smaller applicant pool, the university saw slightly higher acceptance rates than in previous years. For the class of 2028, 3.8% of regular decision applicants were admitted.

The university admitted approximately two-thirds of the prospective class of 2028 via regular decision and one-third via early decision.

The class of 2028 is the last class applying under a test-optional policy, which will end starting this summer. powell declined to provide the test score ranges for admitted students.

16% of admitted students are first-gen-

IFF FROM PAGE 1

Two screenings will take place at the Granoff Martinos auditorium on Wednesday. Organized by iFF’s New Media department, the first screening will be of the experimental film “last Things,” followed by a screening of “sing sing,” produced by a24.

On Thursday, director and producer doug liman ’88 will host a speaker event, and an advance screening of the horror film abigail” will conclude the day’s events.

Friday sees the screenings of two more films produced by a24: “Janet planet” and the upcoming thriller “i saw the TV Glow.” april 13 and 14 are primarily devoted to the display of student films, screenplays and projects.

The Granoff Englander studio will host

students in other Brown masters programs who may want to receive certification in additional fields, such as policy advocacy or humanitarian relief.

Most of the faculty who spoke in favor of the school’s creation at Tuesday’s meeting were Watson-affiliated.

Kevin Quashie, a professor of English, raised the concern that some departments were being overlooked and that there are “fewer robust opportunities through centers

eration, or the first in their family to attend college, a 2% decrease from the previous year.

The university also admitted a roughly equal number of students who were assigned male and female at birth — a methodology in keeping with federal reporting requirements.

The gender of applicants is recorded as a free response field, making students’ responses harder to quantify, powell noted.

The number of admitted rural students increased, with students from rural areas and small towns making up 9% percent of admitted applicants. This is a slight increase from last year, when only 8% of admitted students were identified as rural students.

The admitted students varied in their educational background with 58.1% coming

the New Media Exhibition on both days after the opening ceremony on saturday morning. Following this ceremony, there will be a live screenplay reading at the Granoff Kooper studio.

student submissions to this year’s iFF rose to over 220 submissions from over 20 countries, according to co-coordinator of the iFF programming department, Kayleen Vicente ’24.5. The selected submissions were strong in both their storytelling and technical aspects, according to Vicente. These films were then grouped into three official selection blocks — “limbo,” “undergrowth” and “reverb” — based on their themes.

The official selection blocks will be screened on saturday at 6:30 p.m. and sunday at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.

or institutes or schools” for the humanities.

Kristina Mendicino, the chair of German studies and vice chair of the FEC, expressed similar concerns.

she said that she worries that the proposal “indicates a certain direction that the university is taking towards building these larger units, schools, centers and institutes when departments in the humanities that may or may not connect to them are struggling to have enough resources to thrive.”

from public high schools, 32.4% coming from private schools and 9.4% from parochial schools. These numbers have seen little variation over the past decade.

The top five intended concentrations for the class of 2028 are economics, computer science, engineering, biology and political science.

The admitted cohort also hails from around the globe with 96 different countries represented in the group. The top five are China, Canada, india, the united Kingdom and south Korea.

domestically, students from all 50 states and the district of Columbia, Guam, puerto rico and the u s. Virgin islands were part of the accepted cohort. The top states represented in the class of 2028 are Califor-

after the official selection screening on saturday, there will be an advance screening of “The idea of you” starring anne hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, followed by a conversation with director Michael showalter ’92.

On sunday, there will be two virtual guest speaker events with actress Cynthia Erivo and producer Jeff luini.

The festival will conclude later that day with an awards ceremony for featured student work.

doyle assured that he and president Christina paxson p’19 p’Md’20 have “looked very carefully at ensuring that departments weren’t going to be hollowed out” with the school’s creation.

“i think this is an opportunity to reshape what we’re doing and reshape some of the centers to be perhaps more humanities-facing than they have been,” schiller added, emphasizing that she wants to “talk to everybody” and create the infrastructure

nia, New york, Massachusetts, Texas, New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut, pennsylvania, Maryland and Georgia.

additionally, 65% of admitted applicants indicated an intention to apply for financial aid, a slight decrease from the 68% of the class of 2027 who did so.

With a tumultuous rollout of the new Free application for Federal student aid, the university has communicated to students that aid eligibility may be determined via the Css profile and federal tax returns, according to powell.

But when the university does receive a student’s FaFsa , “the components of the aid offer may change, but the total grant and scholarship funding will remain the same.” admitted students will head to College

that allows the school to be institutionally inclusive.

“We believe that a future school must rely on strong departments, but the departments will benefit from having a strong school,” doyle said, noting recruitment benefits for both faculty and students. “it’s a beautiful symbiotic relationship.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 2, 2024.

hill for the Office of admission’s annual admitted students day — a day on College hill — on april 12 and 19.

The university will also continue to review student veteran applications on a rolling basis which is expected to conclude in april. The population of student veterans on campus has doubled since 2019. regular decision accepted applicants have until May 1 to accept their offer of admission while early decision applicants are contractually obligated to join the class of 2028. Nearly two-thirds of accepted students joined the class of 2027 on campus last fall.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on March 28, 2024.

Tickets will be available in the coming days on iFF’s Eventbrite and social media pages. h

UNIVERSITY NEWS

LABOR

CC union introduces new clauses at third bargaining session

Union to discuss room and board coverage on Friday

BY GRACE HU SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The l abor Organization of Community Coordinators had its third bargaining session with the u niversity on March 15 over its first collective bargaining agreement.

This session focused on proposals for discrimination protection, discipline, grievances and no strike/no lockout clauses.

l OCC, which was formally recognized by the u niversity last fall, has spent this semester identifying bargaining priorities for a contract. a ccording to a nna r yu ’25, a member of l OCC’s bargaining committee, the union aims to have a contract in place by the next academic year.

a ccording to r yu, l OCC has introduced 12 clauses since the start of its bargaining sessions with the u niversity on Feb. 16. s ome clauses relate to job protections specific to the Community Coordinator role while others are adapted from contracts with the Graduate l abor Organization and the Teaching a ssistant l abor Organization that generally “cover (their) rights as a union,” r yu said.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT LIFE

“We hope that our negotiations and ultimate contract will help us all — r es l ife and CCs — in better serving our residential communities through more collaboratively-organized systems and dialogue,” she added.

“We are headed into our (fourth)

anticipating responses on some of our proposed articles from the u niversity,” said r yu.

a ccording to a l OCC i nstagram post, the session will center around compensation for CCs. s pecifically, r yu says that CCs plan to “present their proposed article on compensation that covers room and board,” which “touches on the core issue for union members.”

“ i ’m feeling hopeful for the weeks ahead,” she added. “a s we wait for response and get into more of the dialogue portions of the bargaining, i ’m holding a fair amount of hope in how these conversations will go and what will come of them.”

r yu credited her optimism to “the support from the CCs that (she) works with in the bargaining committee.”

session with l OCC and we continue to receive and review proposals as part of the collective bargaining process,” u niversity s pokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The h erald. “We continue to engage directly with union representatives as we work productively toward a fair agreement that ensures continued support for community coordinators.”

l OCC is currently waiting for the u niversity to provide feedback and counter-prposals in response to all twelve proposals. The fourth bargaining session between l OCC and the u niversity will be held Friday. “We’re

“Before being a part of this, i wasn’t really aware of union activity, especially on campus,” r yu said. “But learning more about what is possible with the union and building this community and seeing what other people care about have helped me realize how important this is to me, and hopefully, to all of us.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 2, 2024.

Brown Puzzle Club gears up for second annual puzzle hunt

Members hope to build on wildly successful inaugural hunt

BY GRACE HU SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Ready, set, hunt!

In two weeks, teams at Brown University and remote teams from across the nation will race head-to-head to solve puzzles written by the University’s puzzle club.

Brown Puzzlehunt 2024 is the Brown Puzzle Club’s second annual puzzle hunt. On the weekend of April 13 and 14, teams will solve a series of puzzles that build upon each other and progressively increase in difficulty.

“When you solve a puzzle, you unlock more puzzles,” said Nishka Pant ’24, one of the club’s founders and the general director of the hunt. “The goal of the hunt is to be the first to get to the end — to solve all the puzzles … and unlock the story that goes along with it.”

Each team that enters the competition pretends to be a novice detective group working to solve new cases — which come as a series of puzzles — that are passed onto their desk. The team that first finishes solving all of these “cases” wins the “Brown Investigation Bureau’s prestigious ‘Detective of the Month’ award,” according to the website.

The hunt features a diverse range of puzzles designed to appeal to different interests and niches, according to Lorenzo Mahoney ’24, a puzzle writer and organizer of the hunt.

“We’ve designed this hunt to be a relatively easy introduction to puzzle hunting for beginner teams, while also showcasing what makes puzzle hunts so fun,” the website reads.

Last year, Brown Puzzlehunt 2023

featured 248 teams, 652 participants and 1919 total solves, according to the website. Thanks to a successful hunt last year, the team is excited to create an even bigger and better puzzle hunt this year, according to Pant.

Despite last year’s supersized turnout, Brown Puzzle Club is one of the newest clubs on campus. The club emerged after a dinner discussion among a group of friends interested in puzzles, according to Pant.

“At our first activities fair, when we weren’t even a real club yet, we had 150 signups, which was quite crazy,” she said.

“We’ve really grown since the three of us had that off-hand dinner.”

The group began planning this year’s hunt in September 2023, with the combined efforts of the puzzle construction, tech and design, testing, and art and story teams, along with countless puzzle tests by general club members.

The diverse skill set of the developers

means that the club can bring unique perspectives to the puzzles they write.

“There’s a puzzle for everyone,” Mahoney said. “And if that puzzle doesn’t exist, you can write it.”

The one thing that all members appear to have in common is a love for puzzles.

“The reason I love puzzle hunts is because they show what we can make when we are not constrained,” said Thomas Gordon ’26, the puzzle construction

director for the hunt.

“Puzzles are the art of designing the experience of showing people interesting things,” Gordon added.

When developing puzzles for the hunt, it can be difficult to strike a balance between a puzzle that is too easy versus one that is too difficult, organizers said.

“A lot of puzzle construction works around this language of canning these ‘Aha!’ moments that you want the person to have,” said Orion Bloomfield ’24, one of the club’s founders and the hunt’s tech and design director.

This year, the Brown Puzzle Club aims to create a more accessible puzzle experience for students.

“Anyone can come to kick off, look at the opening puzzles and have fun,” Gordon said. “We’re really trying to make the hunt as casual and (as) easy as possible for anyone, regardless of experience, to get into.”

For Senior Lecturer in Mathematics

Dan Katz, it’s also the “intentional ‘Aha!’ moment” that appeals to him when solving puzzles.

Katz, who participated in last year’s puzzle hunt, expressed excitement about this year’s event.

“I think the best way to get people interested in (puzzles) is to have something in their backyard,” Katz said in an interview with The Herald.

Like Katz, the hunt’s developers are also excited to see how this year’s event plays out.

“There’s not been a new event on campus in a very long time,” Bloomfield said. “So it’s very terrifying, but also so exciting to make something new and that’s, at its core, very unserious.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on March 31, 2024.

JaCK WalKEr / hErald

The Labor Organization of Community Coordinators, which was formally recognized by the University last fall, has spent this semester identifying bargaining priorities for a contract.

Celebrating Earth Month? 10 ways to touch grass this April

Explore these events about local environment, sustainability initiatives

BY TOM LI METRO EDITOR

As the Ocean State bids farewell to winter, the month of April — also known as Earth Month — presents Rhode Islanders with the opportunity to be more intentional about their sustainability practices. From river cleanups to seedling sales, statewide environmental organizations plan to host several unique climate-sustainability events this month — an opportunity for community members to touch grass, both literally and figuratively.

eco ri News is hosting a spring social at h urricane h ill Farm in Cranston on a pril 6 from 2:00-4:30 p.m. participants will have the opportunity to tour the farm, meet animals, win raffle prizes and learn about home composting.

eco ri News is a statewide news source focused on environmental and social justice reporting, according to its website.

h urricane h ill Farm is a “smallscale fiber farm” that aims to provide “affordable land access to women farmers.” The farm is r hode i sland’s only licensed breeder of l eicester longwoods, an endangered breed of sheep that was very popular with former p resident George Washington.

To make your Earth Month celebrations a truly breathtaking experience, try thinking outside of the box — or maybe outside of this world.

N asa r i s pace Grant will be organizing a viewing party for the a pril 8

partial solar eclipse on the Main Green from 2:00-4:00 p.m, The h erald previously reported. p rovidence expects to see 91.9% coverage. Event organizers will provide specialized telescopes and offer community members a safe viewing experience.

l ooking for some family-friendly fun? a udubon s ociety of r hode i sland is organizing a free family fun day on a pril 13. h osted from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the a udubon Nature Center

and a quarium in Bristol, the event will offer a craft table, nature stories, animal interviews and clothing patching workshops.

a udubon s ociety of r hode i sland hopes to preserve wildlife and bird populations through conservation, education and advocacy, according to its website. The group hosts a variety of programming, including summer camps, hikes and political advocacy efforts.

The City of p rovidence is also hosting a Wonders of Water Family Crafts and Movie Night on a pril 18 from 6:308:30 p.m. at the r oger Williams p ark Gateway Center. Fun for all ages, the night will feature workshops on reducing plastic waste, short film screenings and popcorn.

The City of p rovidence plans to host a selection of events centered around its Earth Month 2024 theme, “The Wonders of Water.”

For those who have a green thumb, the Eastern Conservation d istrict of r hode island is hosting its Native plant s eedling s ale on a pril 20. i nterested community members must order seedlings ahead of time from a catalog of r hode i sland native plants, then pick up their seedlings from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on a pril 20 at Greenvale Vineyards in portsmouth.

Community members interested in volunteering at the plant sale can do so at Greenvale Vineyards on a pril 19 between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Ever wondered what it would be like to ride one of the WaterFire gondolas? a t the City of p rovidence’s a pril 20 p rovidence r iver Cleanup, you can fulfill that dream and help tidy up the p rovidence r iver. p articipants will retrieve debris and other items from the river.

Craving academic discussion? Join a udubon for the “Transforming The l andscape audubon Native p lants and pollinators s ymposium” on a pril 20 at r hode i sland College. From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m, participants will hear from keynote speaker d oug Tallamy, professor and chair of the department of entomology and wildlife ecology at

the u niversity of d elaware, as well as local garden designers, organizers and representatives of the Ocean s tate’s scientific community.

For those looking to add some variety to your daily runs — or those who want some more incentive to start running — Eastern r hode i sland Conservation d istrict is hosting several “plogs,” which are group jogs in which participants also pick up debris. p log Tiverton will be on a pril 21 and interested participants should meet at Fogland Beach at 9:00 a.m. Newport p log and Chug is happening on a pril 25 and interested participants should meet at 6:30 p.m. at Fastnet p ub to plog and enjoy a drink afterwards. a pril 22 marks Earth d ay. Every year, Brown’s Office of s ustainability and r esiliency hosts Earth Week — a culmination of events during the week of Earth d ay. This year’s Earth Week will be from a pril 22 to a pril 26. l ast year’s events included a sustainability fair, movie screenings, workshops and panel discussions.

End off your last weekend of Earth Month with the Narrow r iver p reservation a ssociation’s Narrow r iver cleanup on a pril 27 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. interested participants will meet at Narragansett’s s prague Bridge parking lot and should plan to pick up litter along the roads, parks and parking lots in the area

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on March 31, 2024.

Flea Market relocates for 2024 summer season

Flea market will now be located on west side of 195 District Park

BY SANAI RASHID SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The move, announced last month, comes after the Providence Flea

market has used for the past 12 years — to developer Riverside

find the flea market even if they haven’t heard about the move, Tocco said.

The relocation is one part of The 195 d istrict Commission’s target to redevelop the former 195 land in p rovidence. The land comprises 26 acres of highway the city reclaimed in 2011 “to create a thriving neighborhood and innovation district that attracts investment and fosters economic growth,” Cromwell wrote in an email to The h erald.

The p rovidence Flea joins 12 additional projects either in progress or completed within the park that together contribute “$760M in economic activity” to the city, she added.

“There are lots of visitors who come and visit the flea and then may go off and have brunch on Wickenden street or, go across to the vegan restaurant for a coffee or shop along s outh Main s treet,” said Tocco. “The flea has a multiplier effect in the community — as far as the economic impact is concerned.”

such as free Wi-Fi for vendors, a new permanent food and beer pavilion nearby in the park and more portable restrooms for customers.

location, there will still be some vendors set up on the grass, but along the paved walkways visitors and visitors with physical disabilities can walk and be able to access the market.”

“This location will have more space and be a more accessible location,” Tocco added. “Before, mostly every (vendor) was on the grass at the flea on s outh Water street, which wasn’t completely accessible. Now, in the new

Beginning June 2, the market will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on s undays until s ept. 15. i n the winter months, the flea market will be held indoors at Farm Fresh ri on s ims avenue as usual.

i n any given summer, over 350 vendors participate in a rotating lineup to sell at the market every weekend, according to Tocco. s he is confident that the new location can accommodate just as many vendors as in previous summers, if not more.

“The close proximity to” the previous location is also “a big advantage” since it allows for customers to easily

“On a s unday, people are just so happy and fulfilled,” said Tocco. “ r egulars come back to shop and talk about what’s new, reconnecting with vendors after not seeing them for a whole year. The connections and the relationships are what really makes this flea special.”

rhEa rasQuiNha / hErald

“They should make a grill called manic pixie dream grill.”

“I think dyslexia lets me see beyond the standard modes of communication.”

1. Monster

2. Oatmeal raisin

3. Girl Scout

4. Clicker

5. The one you hesitantly give a mouse

6. The ones you accept from websites

7. Pizookie

8. Nick’s best

9. Smart

10. By New Jeans

“It is an indirect language that reduces and compresses large emotions into tangible pieces that can be contemplated and processed slowly, long after the event or people have moved through my life. It is often in this language that I can finally find understanding and expression for my slow, dimi-witted love.”

—Joyce Gao, “The Peripheral View”

“There’s something comforting in knowing another person, whether I know them or not, will read these words and understand me a bit better. Or perhaps they’ll read these words and not care, because honestly, why should I expect them to? There are just things, emotions, thoughts, glimpses, memories, feelings, images, tastes, smells, conversations, experiences that I need to write about. And they won’t leave me alone until they’re out. I can always breathe better afterward.”

—Danielle Emerson, “When Can I read Your Writing”

Baseball busts out the bats to earn series win over Harvard

Bears defeat Crimson 2012 in Sunday’s slugfest, first since 2009

BY LINUS LAWRENCE SPORTS EDITOR

For the first time since 2009, the Brown baseball team (7-15, 2-4 ivy) took a series victory over harvard (4-17, 2-4 ivy) in C ambridge. The Bears and Crimson split a doubleheader on saturday before Brown won a 20-12 offensive slugfest on sunday afternoon.

“Every conference series that you can win is huge, to gain in the standings and have the tiebreaker head-to-head,” Bears head Coach Grant achilles wrote in an email to The herald. “Our team played great defense and we got enough out of our pitching all weekend.”

in the series opener, Bruno jumped ahead with three runs in the fourth inning on rBis from Brady dever ’27, Nathan Brasher ’25 and andrew hanlon ’27. reliever-turned-starter Jack seppings ’25 put on a gutsy pitching performance for the Bears. The former World Baseball Classic taxi squad member held the Crimson to five scoreless innings, stranding eight men on base before surrendering a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. after the homer, with runners on first and second, seppings got a critical strikeout to escape the jam with the lead intact.

“as a team, we talk a lot about using routines to ground us in any situation, so it helped a lot (in) feeling confident and prepared in higher stress situations,” seppings wrote. “My defense has made plays for me all year so just trusting that they have my back is an extremely comforting feeling as well.”

WRESTLING

dever tacked on an insurance run for Brown with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, and rookie ryan Oshinskie ’27 fired three scintillating innings of relief — allowing no hits and two walks — to secure the save.

in the afternoon portion of the twin bill, harvard starter Callan Fang gave the Bears’ lineup fits — allowing two runs across seven innings and racking up 12 strikeouts — while three rBi hits along with a pair of two-run homers gave the Crimson a commanding 7-2 lead. Brown fought back with a three-run eighth to cut the deficit to two, but could not complete the comeback, falling by a final of 7-5.

sunday’s series finale was an offensive outburst from the outset. The two teams combined for 18 runs in the first three innings, as the Bears clobbered harvard’s pitching by scoring 12 runs on 10 hits and eight walks.

But after putting up with a nine-run top of the third, the Crimson answered back with a crooked frame of their own, scoring six runs off Brown starter santhosh Gottam ’25.

The Crimson continued to creep back throughout the middle innings, eventually striking for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to bring the score to 13-12 Brown.

Just when a potentially dominant Brunonian victory seemed to be slipping away, the Brown offense took charge, mounting a three-run, two-out rally in the eighth followed by a four-run effort in the ninth.

achilles highlighted the importance of the Bears’ continued offensive focus in the face of the Crimson comeback attempt. “despite letting harvard back into it on sunday, we extended the lead to put the game away late,” he wrote. “We

want to keep that unwavering calm that we showed despite their momentum for the rest of the season.”

“This team is never out of a game,” wrote second baseman Gunner Boree ’25. “We are going to fight ‘til the last out and do anything to win.”

By the game’s end, the Bears’ box score featured some truly dizzying numbers — the most significant of which may

“We have faced some experienced and challenging pitchers in preparation for the ivy season. Our hitters are leaning into their individual strengths, which allows them to yield more consistently productive results.”

The game also featured four-hit performances from Boree and designated hitter reece rappoli ’24, as well as a two-hit, four-walk display from rookie

despite suffering a 14-2 non-conference beating from Bryant on Tuesday, the Bears now enter this weekend’s match-up against princeton — their first home ivy series of the season — riding a wave of positive momentum.

“We are taking a high level of confidence into this weekend at home,” sep-

In

be their lineup’s 17 walks.

last season, Brown ranked seventh in the ivy league in walks, with an average of 4.08 per game. so far this season, the team ranks second, boosting that number to 4.86. as a result, Bruno has also gone from sixth to second in on-base percentage.

“We’ve shown not only better strike zone awareness and discipline, but also a more aggressive attack to our approach throughout the season,” achilles said.

catcher andrew hanlon ’27. Boree, who reached base in all seven of his plate appearances, currently sits third in the ivy league with a .479 OBp and fifth in the league with a .611 slG.

“

i’d attribute my success lately to sticking to my approach at the plate and trusting the scouting report our coaches put together so well for our team,” Boree wrote.

COurTEsy OF BrOWN aThlETiCs

pings wrote, “knowing that if we play to our standard we will be an extremely hard team to beat.”

“i can’t wait for the weekend,” Boree wrote. “i’m looking forward to a series win and enjoying the win on our own field.”

The series will feature a double-header beginning at 11:30 a.m. on saturday followed by a noon finale on sunday. all games will be available to stream on EspN+.

“Our team has been putting in an incredible amount of work and i believe we proved that this past weekend with the series dub,” he added.

Michael Joyce ’26 stuns with NCAA Championship appearance

Joyce returns to wrestling after four-year hiatus

BY DENNIS CAREY SPORTS EDITOR

last week, Michael Joyce ’26 competed in the NCaa Wrestling Championships at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. after suffering a shoulder injury that prevented him from wrestling for nearly four years, the 125-pounder leapt forward upon his return to cement his name in Bruno wrestling history.

“i’ve been training for those two tournaments my whole life; that being said, however, i didn’t necessarily expect it to be something i was going to do this season,” Joyce wrote in a message to The herald.

“i missed the first half of the season due to the fact that i was still recovering from shoulder surgery from the previous year.”

after spending years off the mat due to shoulder injuries and surgeries — which would lead to Joyce not being on the Bears’ original starting roster — Joyce would not only have to reclaim his wrestling talent but do so in a completely new weight class.

“at the beginning of the 2023-2024 season he was still practicing as an alternate for his shoulder,” assistant Coach Ty Walz wrote in a message to The herald. “as we

entered our season we had our other potential starting 125 (pound) wrestler go down with an injury.”

“We proposed the idea to Mike to start to progress down to 125” at the end of last year, Walz added.

after not meeting the target weight at one of Bruno’s first competitions in January, Joyce eventually cut down to compete in a meet against North Carolina.

“

d ue to him cutting a substantial amount (of weight) as well as not competing for a long time we didn’t really know what to expect from him as far as how he’d compete,” Walz wrote. “We were pleasantly surprised by him competing with a ton of heart and looking as prepared as he could be.”

and prepared he was: Joyce secured wins against Binghamton on Jan. 27 and a major decision against Bucknell on Feb. 17. he would ultimately win 8 and lose 8 through his first 16 matches as a Bear, the second-best record on the team, behind only Blake saito ’25, an ivy league post-season honorable Mention recipient.

But the Eastern intercollegiate Wrestling association Championships were fast approaching — and without a NCaa Championship qualification, Joyce’s first season as a Bear would end soon.

prior to the EiWa championships — where wrestlers could qualify to compete in the NCaa Championship — the Bears

as a team had only one single conference matchup win, emerging victorious against sacred heart on Feb. 24.

The high-stakes tournament did not begin well for Joyce. he was defeated in a crushing fashion and dropped into the consolation bracket in his first match, losing 14-4 to the university of pennsylvania’s Max Gallagher.

But Joyce refused to go down easily. in the day’s next matches against opponents from Franklin & Marshall and princeton, he would prove successful, nearly taking his third match — and second win — of the day by major decision.

“ he had closer matches with quality opponents throughout his short regular season but his EiWa performance really was the culmination of him believing in himself, his abilities and giving a tremendous amount of effort,” Walz wrote.

The two Friday wins put Joyce through to the consolation of four matches, which he would win by forfeit. Joyce’s hardest win of the day came against harvard’s third-seeded diego sotela in a nail-biting 4-3 decision.

“i think it was a combination of what i have sacrificed and what i was able to learn that positioned me over the course of the year, especially at the EiWa tournament, to win and qualify,” Joyce wrote. “i cut a significant amount of weight and put other parts of my life on hold to fully invest in my athletic pursuits this season.”

Joyce’s victory over sotela gave him a chance to wrestle for third place in the EiWa Championships. despite losing this third-place match, Joyce’s fourth-place finish earned him a bid for the NCaa Championships. Joyce would become the first Bear to compete in the NCaa Championships since 2019 and the 54th Bear in program history to compete at the national level.

h e was “ecstatic and somewhat stunned, qualifying for the NCaa national tournament has been the first in a sizeable list of athletic goals i have set out for myself, so to do it in my first year of eligibility felt great and is reassuring,” Joyce wrote.

On the first day of the NCaa tournament, Joyce lost to Michigan state’s Tristan lujan, dropping to the consolation bracket. Joyce then dropped his match to California Baptist’s Elijah Griffin, ending his tournament run and his first season wrestling for Bruno.

“i definitely feel like i slightly underperformed at the NCaa Championships,” Joyce wrote. “a lot of factors probably contributed, but it’s just as likely that i simply had a bad day while my opponents had good ones.”

despite a disappointing tournament appearance, Joyce has many more years to wrestle as a Bear, and after starting off his first season in a new weight class — and finding a national bid along the way — his career shows promise.

“looking forward to next year’s season, as i mentioned previously, i feel as though a number of factors will come together to make me more prepared and competitive,” Joyce wrote. “i am also excited about what is likely to be the state of the team all the way throughout our roster and prospective starting lineup, which looks to be the strongest it has been in many years.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 2, 2024.

the series opener, Bruno jumped ahead with three runs in the fourth inning on RBIs from Brady Dever ’27, Nathan Brasher ’25 and Andrew Hanlon ’27.

SPORTS

LACROSSE

Women’s lacrosse bested by No. 16 Yale, snapping three-game win streak

Bears fall 10-5 in heavyweight Ivy League battle against Bulldogs

BY COOPER HERMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

after wins against the university of Massachusetts at lowell, Columbia and stetson, No. 16 yale snapped the No. 23 Bears’ three-game win streak with a 10-5 loss. saturday’s contest in New haven was the Bears’ second game against a nationally-ranked opponent and their third in-conference game. scoring four unanswered goals to start the game, yale buried Brown into a hole that the Bears were never able to climb out of.

“yale’s zone was aggressive and high pressure, making it hard to find openings,” Greta Criqui ’25 wrote in a message to The herald. “(They) were very effective on defense, packing their zone, and making shots difficult to come

SOFTBALL

by,” she added.

after two quick goals from yale’s ashley Kiernan and sky Carrasquillo, the Bears found themselves down 2-0 after one quarter. Just a minute into the second quarter, Kiernan struck again for the Bulldogs, flawlessly slinging the ball into the Bears’ goal and extending the yale lead to three. yale continued to mount their lead, as Carrasquillo scored her second goal of the day, putting the Bears in a tough spot.

Finally, at the 8:02 mark of the second quarter, Brown’s Mia Mascone ’24 offered a response to the Bulldogs’ run with a goal that shifted the momentum in Bruno’s favor. The remainder of the second quarter was a defensive clash, with both teams exhausting themselves to prevent a goal. With just a minute in the quarter left, Criqui inched the Bears closer to a comeback, scoring a goal that brought them to a two-point deficit.

“i made a high-to-low cut, caught a great pass from (Mascone), and then had to spin to shoot,” Criqui wrote. “The goalie didn’t

have a chance to read my stick on the turnaround shot.”

after Criqui’s promising goal, Brown headed to halftime in a good position to make a comeback. To the Bears’ misfortune, yale came out of halftime hot.

Bulldog midfielder Fallon Vaughn scored an unassisted goal just 90 seconds into the third quarter. her teammate, attacker Chloe Conaghan, added to the yale run minutes later with a goal that extended their lead to 6-2.

later in the third quarter, Brown halted the yale run, with a goal by Julia Ford ’24 bringing the game to a three-point match. “it was a free position (shot) that was drawn by the other attackers occupying their defenders to draw a three-second call,” Ford wrote. “The goalie was standing high on the crease, so i faked and finished.”

despite many promising opportunities, the Bears never managed to find a consistent offensive rhythm to spark a comeback. “The biggest challenge was creating more offensive

momentum to get quality possessions that lead to good looks,” Ford wrote. “We just needed to capitalize on the opportunities that they gave us.”

To end the third quarter, yale’s Fallon Vaughn scored her second goal of the day to increase the Bulldog lead to 7-3 — a lead that rapidly grew. Just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, yale’s Taylor lane fired the ball behind the Brown defensive unit to make the lead 8-3. and just three minutes later, Vaughn scored her third goal of the day, which sent the New haven crowd into a thrill as the Bulldogs held a dominant 9-3 lead with just minutes to go. in spite of the deficit, Bruno remained strong and fought back. Freshman midfielder Beth anderson ’27 spearheaded a late effort, scoring her fourth goal of the season to bring the Bears to 9-4. and just minutes later, with 4:14 left, Ford netted her second goal of the game to pull the Bears to 9-5. “Mia (Mascone) drew two defenders to her and then passed me the ball up top, so the zone opened up for me

to drive through,” Ford wrote.

While Brown remained aggressive in hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback, the time left proved insufficient as the clock ran out. With 0:46 left in the game, yale’s Jenna Collignon scored the final blow to finalize the Bulldog lead at 10-5.

“yale was able to convert on a few more plays than us,” Criqui wrote. “(Our) defensive unit played really well. i wish the offense could have scored a few more,” she added.

despite saturday’s struggles, according to Criqui, the Bears “are ready and looking forward to” their next challenge: ivy league rival dartmouth (6-4, ivy 0-3). Brown will host the Big Green at 2 p.m. this saturday at stevenson-pincince Field. The game will be televised on New England sports Network.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 2, 2024.

Women’s softball defeats Harvard 2-0 on Sunday

Bears split weekend triple header with two losses, one victory against Crimson

BY LYDELL DYER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Over the weekend, the women’s softball team (7-15, 2-4 Ivy) took on the Harvard Crimson (12-12, 3-5 Ivy) in a three-game series. After a disappointing doubleheader on Saturday, in which the Bears lost 3-0 and 5-3, the team rallied on Sunday, upsetting the Crimson 2-0.

Coming into this weekend’s matchup, the Bears were 1-2 in conference play. Last week, as the rest of campus embarked for their spring break jamborees, the softball team drove to New Haven to kick off Ivy League play against Yale. By the end of the game, Yale pulled away 4-3. Brown seemed ready to meet a similarly ill fate in the second match-up, and the team’s three runs were unable to contest

Yale’s four. Threatened by the prospects of a sweep, the Bears clawed their way back in the final contest, taking home a 7-6 victory.

On saturday, the softball team looked to rewrite the narrative and move past its early ivy struggles.

“Our team is mentally tough,” pitcher alexis Guevara ’25 wrote in a message to The herald. “We don’t allow errors to snowball, and we don’t allow losses to spill over into our play … We learn from the past, and we focus on the game at hand.”

But saturday did not offer the solutions the Bears were looking for. in the first bout, harvard shut Brown out 3-0.

The second game saw Brown’s offense revived. after two runs by Brianna rodriguez ’24, the Bears claimed a 2-1 lead. But two harvard home runs in the fifth quickly flipped the script. despite a late run scored by liv Kam ’26 in the sixth inning, Brown’s struggling offense was unable to contest the Crimson, and the Bears fell 5-3.

The team stayed optimistic heading into sunday’s series closer. “We are all competitors,” Guevara wrote. “None of us need much motivation to avenge a loss. it’s in our nature to compete and try to win every game.”

With the sun shining on a warm sunday afternoon, the Bears welcomed the fresh start. Guevara — who earned First Team all-ivy honors last season — spearheaded the offensive, throwing a complete shutout in a pitch-perfect game. her 56 season strikeouts rank third in the ivy league, and she has a league-fourth earned run average of 2.57.

The Bears came out blazing in the first inning. Jasmine hsiao ’26 — whose 23 hits and .359 batting average lead the Bears’ batting statistics — was first to take the plate.

On her first attempt, she hit a single, and after a sacrifice bunt by lily Berlinger ’26, she made it to second base.

as the leadoff hitter in this series, it is my job to set the pace of the game,” hsiao wrote. i “see a lot of pitches and communicate what i’m seeing to the rest of my teammates.”

a walk by laurel Moody ’25 set the stage for two potential Brown scores. With the possibility of claiming an early lead, rodriguez took to the bat, and after delivering a vicious hit that split two harvard defenders in the deep outfield, hsiao and Moody both scored.

On sunday, “i think everyone saw firsthand what our team can do,” wrote Guevara. “in all three games, our

hitters were barrelling up the ball, and it was great to see those at-bats pay off in the first inning to get ahead of the Crimsons.”

While the rest of the game featured brief offensive flurries — a stand-up triple by Berlinger in the third inning and a dara English ’24 stand-up double in the sixth — no more points were scored. in the seventh inning, rodriguez ended the game with an impossible diving catch, her body contorting as she stretched her arm out, perfectly horizontal to the ground. The Bears left the match-up ahead 2-0.

“Brianna had a huge impact on the series,” hsiao reflected. “she had centerfield on lock-down, robbing home runs, and making diving plays. she also came through on offense as well, her double scoring both me and laurel won the game for us on sunday.”

The Bears will face dartmouth next on saturday in hanover, New hampshire. The three-game series will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will be streamed on EspN+.

“The goal for our team for the remainder of the season is to win and make it to the ivy league playoffs,” hsiao concluded. “We are on the right track and i am optimistic about our future ivy series.”

ARTS & CULTURE

Beyoncé celebrates personal narrative, Black music in “Cowboy Carter”

Album follows singer’s controversial country performance in 2016

BY MANAV MUSUNURU CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” the singer wrote in an instagram post, emphasizing an important distinction that gestures at the true brilliance of her eighth studio album, “Cowboy Carter” released on March 29. rather than taking a more traditional approach to country music, Beyoncé showcases unparalleled versatility throughout the album, exploring different genres. she effortlessly weaves together stories of her lived experiences with an exploration of her family’s ancestry and the Black roots of country music. The final product is a 78-minute-long celebration of Black culture and music that beautifully tells the story of not just one family but the shared experiences of Black americans fighting against the erasure of their contributions to music and history.

While sonically the new album completely pivots from the house-inspired sounds of its prequel, “renaissance,” both albums tackle a similar theme at their cores: the reclamation of genres with roots in Black culture and music. similar to how she pays homage to the queer Black musicians who laid the foundations for house and disco music in “renaissance,” Beyoncé highlights the Black roots of country music throughout “Cowboy Carter.”

Beyoncé’s newest foray into country music comes after intense criticism for the 2016 performance of her country-inspired single, “daddy lessons.” after performing the song with the Chicks at the Country Music association awards, country music fans criticized the performance online, claiming that Beyoncé should not be welcomed into the genre. But, rather than succumbing to the pressures of those who aimed to stop her, Beyoncé fought back, releasing “Cowboy Carter” and reminding fans that the true roots of country music lie in Black culture.

The album, which takes the format of a radio broadcast by a fictional radio station, begins its 27-track run with “aMEriiCaN rE-

QuiEM.” during this track, Beyoncé makes the first of several references to the hostility she has faced within the country genre, despite her southern roots and upbringing in houston. “used to say i spoke too country / and the rejection came, said i wasn’t country ‘nough,” she sings.

On the folk tune “BlaCKBiird,” Beyoncé collaborates with young Black country artists Tanner adell, Brittney spencer, Tiera Kennedy and reyna roberts. a cover of the Beatles’s “Blackbird,” the inclusion of the song reinforces Beyoncé’s goal of emphasizing the influence of Black americans on the album. according to paul McCartney, the song was inspired by the Civil rights Movement in the american south. after “16 CarriaGEs,” which tells the story of Beyoncé’s childhood and life in the public eye as a teenager, the first of several spoken interludes interrupts the flow of music. after a series of songs, country icon Willie Nelson introduces listeners to the KNTry radio station, welcoming them to “The smoke hour” and introducing the album’s lead single, “TEXas hOld ’EM,” which serves as a love letter to Beyoncé’s home state, Texas. “BOdyGuard” — a track that revolves around Beyoncé’s protective tendencies around her lover as she likens herself to the synthetic fiber Kevlar — rounds out the next section of the album, before an-

other spoken word interlude by dolly parton. in the aptly named “dOlly p,” parton consoles Beyoncé as she grapples with her husband Jay-Z’s infidelity. parton compares her husband’s song “Jolene” to Jay-Z’s “Becky” by stating, “just a hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same.” in the following track “JOlENE,” Beyoncé takes a strong stance against the fictional character Jolene. although the melody sticks to the original song, Beyoncé’s powerful cover of “Jolene” has significant lyrical changes. instead of pleading with Jolene to leave her and her husband, Beyoncé warns Jolene to stay away from her husband, singing, “i can easily understand / Why you’re attracted to my man / But you don’t want this smoke, so shoot your shot with someone else.” Beyoncé then showcases her impressive vocal abilities with a hauntingly beautiful rendition of “Caro Mio Ben” — an italian opera standard — partway through the track “dauGhTEr.”

in a spoken-word introduction to the next song, “spaGhETTii,” linda Martell, a pioneer for Black country artists, alludes to the barriers Black musicians face within country music. Martell explains, “in theory, (genres) have a simple definition that’s easy to understand / But in practice, well, some may feel confined.”

The track is a departure from the primarily country and western sounds of the rest of

“Cowboy Carter,” reminding listeners that this isn’t any album — it’s a Beyoncé album. The hip-hop-inspired track, featuring a guest appearance from the rising country/hip-hop artist shaboozey, snaps back at critics who doubt Beyoncé’s musical talents.

a string of love songs follows Martell’s interlude. Burgeoning Black country artist Willie Jones appears on “JusT FOr FuN” — a track about living life for the fun of it. Meanwhile, artists Miley Cyrus and post Malone feature on “ii MOsT WaNTEd” and “lEVii’s JEaNs,” respectively.

The album then ventures into flamenco music with the aptly titled track “FlaMENCO,” after which another spoken-word introduction by linda Martell plays, reminiscent of late-night talk shows. Martell introduces the track “ya ya,” a celebration of Black artists that transports listeners to Chitlin’ Circuit venues, spaces where Black artists could perform in the segregated south. The theme of reclamation continues in this song, as Beyoncé repeatedly spells out “B-E-y-i-N-C-E,” her maternal family’s actual surname, which also appears on the sash Beyoncé wears on an alternative cover of the album.

The reference to this surname is one of the most integral parts of the album. When Beyoncé’s mother, Tina, was born, a misspelling

in her birth certificate caused her surname to be spelled “Beyonce.” hospital staff refused to fix the mistake, informing the family that they should feel lucky that Tina, a Black child, even received a birth certificate. With this reference, Beyoncé sheds light on the intense historical mistreatment of Black americans — a pattern of injustice which even robbed them of their own names. similar to how she exposes the Black roots of country music, Beyoncé unveils her own family’s history, reclaiming a name that is rightfully hers.

after a remixed sample of “Oh louisiana” by Chuck Berry, Beyoncé slips back into romantic themes with three interconnected tracks: “dEsErT EaGlE,” “riiVErdaNCE” and “ii haNds ii hEaVEN.” parton then returns for “TyraNT,” requesting “Cowboy Carter” to “light up this juke joint.” The initially acoustic track quickly gains a beat produced by d a Got That dope. The old-timey fiddle tune in the background complements the modern hiphop beat, creating a surprisingly pleasing — yet unlikely — blend of genres.

“sWEET hONEy BuCKiiN’” — a track split into three parts — features a second guest appearance by shaboozey. after opening up the first part, “sWEET,” with an interpolation of “i Fall To pieces” by patsy Cline, Beyoncé slows down the tempo for the all too short “hONEy.” in the song’s final part, “BuCKiiN’,” Beyoncé addresses her lack of a Grammy award for album of the year by rapping, “a-O-T-y i ain’t win / i ain’t stuntin’ ‘bout them / Take that shit on the chin / Come back and fuck up the pen.”

The album concludes with “aMEN,” which includes a repetition of the introduction of the opening track. as the album restarts and “aMEriiCaN rEQuiEM” begins, listeners hear Beyoncé sing “Nothing really ends / For things to stay the same, they have to change again,” informing them of the everlasting barriers Black musicians face. The cycle of erasure and discrimination has never disappeared; it has only reinvented itself. however, the release of “Cowboy Carter” could help pave a path for Black artists to overcome impediments to their success within country music.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 1, 2024.

Julia Holter explores human body on new album “Something in the Room She Moves”

The beautiful art pop record is aqueous and intricate

BY JOHN SEXTON STAFF WRITER

inspired by her newborn daughter, singer-songwriter Julia holter’s sixth studio album, “ s omething in the r oom s he Moves,” abounds with childlike playfulness. holter, who began recording her dazzling new record while pregnant at the start of the COVid-19 pandemic, wasn’t consciously trying to make an album about motherhood, but her pregnancy inevitably writhed its way into her music. in fact, in the bright, buoyant and belling “Evening Mood,” holter samples a recording of her own ultrasound.

appropriately, the ambient pop opener, “sun Girl,” is a sort of sophisticated nursery rhyme. “sun may, some girl / sun maze, some girl / Outrun, dream day / dream day, guess game,” she dreamily coos, the melody bobbing up and down. The record’s unusually pristine production shines through the

most on this track, making the song shimmer. “sun Girl” is an impressively mixed euphony of flute, bass, piccolo, mellotron, keys and percussive flourishes.

halfway through the opener, the nursery rhyme corrodes into an instrumental passage with devastating bass along with squeaking saxophones and bagpipes. songs on “something in the room she Moves” change drastically without warning and revert back just as fast. “sun girl, sun girl / sun may, some girl,” holter begins again.

holter’s fourth album, “have you in My Wilderness,” constituted a quintessential art and chamber pop record that greatly expanded the singer-songwriter’s exposure. But her 2018 follow-up “aviary” renounced earworms and catchy hooks in favor of intricate, dense compositions. “something in the room she Moves” is similarly complex and demands much attention from listeners. her rich melodies are still there, but they often need to be excavated from the lush soundscapes that holter crafts around them. Though art pop is the easiest way to classify the music, the record also features moments of jazz, rock

COurTEsy OF dOMiNO MusiC

As a whole, the album is reminiscent of the age-old maxim that we’re made mostly of water.

and psychedelic folk.

in addition to evoking childlike play on her album, holter attempted to create “a realm that’s waterlike, fluid, evoking the body’s internal sound world,” according to a post she made on instagram. sampling her ultrasound was an easy way to achieve this, but the record in many other ways is aqueous and bodily. The music at times rumbles like an upset stomach; synths

bend and pulse like blood racing through arteries. The instrumental track “Ocean” sounds as though it could soundtrack an undersea episode of “planet Earth,” or even the body’s own subterranean activities. The album as a whole is reminiscent of the ageold maxim that we’re made mostly of water.

The album momentarily relinquishes its aqueous atmosphere with the song “spinning,” where a propulsive beat and

synth drive the song forward. holter’s lyrics are abstract — a recurring phenomenon on the record. “Taping all the reruns every night / The porpoise is clear,” she sings. puns, wordplay and fantastical imagery collide; holter isn’t interested in offering listeners any explanations. “When you’re fish / you’re terrific,” holter sings. Fans of holter’s music know that the singer likes to conclude her records with a sad and cryptic closer — a signature of hers. “Who Brings Me” is a worthy addition to her catalog. “Who brings me? / Who carries me along / With the algae and the foam?” holter asks over lamenting strings and a clarinet. The childlike atmosphere holter begins the record with is replaced with maturity, pensiveness and even sublimity. she answers her questions as she repeats “you” over and over at the end of the song. it’s unclear to whom she is referring: maybe her child, her lover or perhaps even the human body itself, carrying her along. This

March 31, 2024.

COurTEsy OF parKWOOd ENTErTaiNMENT

Rather than taking a more traditional approach to a country album, Beyoncé instead showcases her unparalleled versatility in a broad range of genres throughout “Cowboy Carter.”

ARTS ON CAMPUS

VISA 1250 introduces students to traditional, alternative bookmaking forms

Course explores books as vessel for interests through workshops

BY RYA VALLABHANENI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

home to many of Brown’s special collections, the John hay library offers a haven for thousands of books on campus. But beyond the hay’s archives and floor-toceiling stacks, what else goes on inside?

The making of books themselves.

Every Monday and Wednesday afternoon, “Visa 1250: art of the Book” meets in the hay’s Walter Feldman Book arts studio. according to its syllabus, the class covers the basics of “designing, printing and binding books by hand.” across several projects throughout the semester, students are invited to explore both traditional and alternative formats of bookmaking, “including graphic design, papermaking, letterpress printing and bookbinding.”

Course instructor andre lee Bassuet, adjunct lecturer in visual arts, uses a broad definition of book arts. “it’s not just about books as you conceive it, but more as a sculptural art form,” she said. her class makes a range of book forms, from typical codex books to one-sheet letterpress projects, culminating in a final project for which students produce two editions or versions of a book in any concept or medium.

“art of the Book” is offered as Visa 1250 during the spring semester and Visa 1240 in the fall. students can enroll in both sections, as each course covers different projects.

although Bassuet has only been teaching “art of the Book” since last year, she fell in love with book arts while taking a summer class at rhode island school of design while an undergraduate student at New york university.

“i had just come back from a study abroad in italy and i wanted to make a memory book, a memento,” she said. “i came and just fell in love with it. in one week we covered so much.”

Bassuet’s class covers different methods of printmaking, such as lego letterpress, polymer plates and hand typesetting. she described the class as time-intensive,

meeting twice a week for a total of eight hours and requiring students to complete about six projects for the semester. “it takes a lot of discipline and production management skills to meet these projects on time,” she said.

To help students cope with the workload, one of the first projects Bassuett assigned this semester was a collaborative poetry chapbook — “Food for Thought” — which required each student to bring in a poem of their choosing.

if you borrowed a living poet’s poem, then you had to contact the poet themselves to get permission,” Bassuet said. she explained that getting writers’ permission to reprint their work was part of the learning process.

“Food for Thought” student cover options on collaborative poetry book. From left to right: Emma hsiao, Camille leung, ines sawiris. Courtesy of andre lee Bassuet another project students are currently working on is the #areyoubookenoughchallenge, which invites book artists across the globe to post their work on instagram, following a monthly theme prompt. students are required to create and post a project for either March’s theme, “Edge,” or april’s theme, “Typography.”

“it’s a learning experience to be able to put your work out there, as well as to see the very different ways of how artists

interpret these themes,” Bassuet said.

Emma hsiao ’25, a student currently enrolled in the course, is currently working on a flipbook with cutouts that allows viewers to see the ocean’s edge for the instagram challenge.

“For me, it’s about the process,” hsiao said. “Being able to put the papers down, glue them to the covers, make a cover, glue the covers together. i love working with my hands, and this class is a great way to do that.”

although hsiao is taking Visa 1250 to fulfill one of her visual art concentration studio requirements, she recommended the course to students both within and outside of the department. “it’s for people who like to assimilate their interests into something else, because books are a vessel for things, so you can put whatever you want in them,” she said.

Emma donnelly ’25, another student in the class, also recommended the course, describing it as unique among the Visa department’s upper-level studio classes that mostly focus on printmaking and drawing.

“you get to use a lot of new tools that you haven’t been able to in other classes,” she said, citing the guillotine and printing presses as examples. like hsiao, donnelly has found space for her other passions in book arts. “i’m interested in math, so i’ve figured out a way

to work with text and angles in a way that’s more numerical-oriented,” she explained. When “thinking about (making) adhesives for the books, you have to match the right ratios depending on what materials you’re using.”

“My class this semester is a good mixture of half Visa concentrators, half outside majors,” Bassuett said. For all students, Visa 0100 is a prerequisite to taking the course. “i want to know that they have had experience concepting, have had experience meeting art deadlines, have some experience in some sort of artmaking,” she added.

although shopping period can be over-

whelming, Bassuett said that students who stick with the course are generally able to secure a spot. “They’re all here because they take the class seriously, and they’re all working really hard on their projects. i’m really proud of them.”

“art of the Book” is being offered again as Visa 1240 in fall 2024. until then, students will continue to experiment with different ways of engaging and creating books beyond traditional notions of the art form, while proving Bassuet’s point: “anything can be a book.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on April 1, 2024.

Andre Lee Bassuet giving hands-on instruction on coptic binding to Jocelyn Chu and Rei Guo.

“Food for Thought” student cover options on collaborative poetry book. From left to right: Emma Hsiao, Camille Leung, Ines Sawiris.

Activists discuss University, Corporation ties to fossil fuel industry at teach-in

Sunrise members reiterate calls on U. to cut ties with fossil fuel industry

BY ETHAN SCHENKER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Members of the climate advocacy group sunrise Brown reiterated calls for the university to cut social and financial ties with the fossil fuel industry at a Wednesday teach-in.

During the teach-in, which drew roughly 20 attendees, presenters discussed findings from the group’s 2023 “Dissociate Now” report, which investigates the University’s ties to “fossil fuel-affiliated and climate disinformation-affiliated organizations.” Sunrise organizers also discussed Brown Corporation members’ alleged ties to the industry, which they argue represent “a huge issue in terms of the influence of who is making decisions about Brown.”

Presenters began by discussing the history of advocacy for fossil fuel divestment at Brown — they traced its origins to the creation of the group Brown Divest Coal in 2012. The event shifted to discussing the University’s current relationship with the fossil fuel industry. The University announced in 2020 that it had sold more than 90% of the fossil fuel holdings in the endowment and would phase out investment in the industry.

According to the group’s February 2023 report, Brown-affiliated authors have published 63 journal articles since 2010 “with funding from the world’s fifty largest oil and gas companies.”

The Wednesday teach-in echoed a similar case for dissociation from the fossil fuel industry at an Advisory Committee on University Resources meeting in late January. At that meeting, the group advocated for dissociation, the adoption of a fossil-free career policy and for the

University to offer faculty a fossil-free retirement plan — the three demands that the group had originally listed on a memo to ACURM in April 2023.

After discussions with Sunrise leaders, the Center for Career Exploration said it would no longer invite fossil fuel companies to host on-campus recruitment events but did not publicly alter its recruiting policies, The Herald previously reported. The University also added a “fossil-fuel free” mutual fund option

to its retirement plan offerings in late December.

Presenters also drew attention to incoming Chancellor Brian Moynihan, who is CEO of Bank of America.

The bank, speakers noted, is “one of the top five funders of the fossil fuel industry.” A 2023 report from Banking on Climate Chaos, a climate advocacy initiative, found that Bank of America was the fourth-largest funder of fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement.

“If the person who is in charge of the Corporation is so deeply tied to the fossil fuel industry and is personally invested in those financial ties,” a presenter argued, these ties would create a “huge problem in terms of wanting to move Brown in the direction of dissociating and divesting from fossil fuels.”

“The University’s leadership shared with the Brown community in March 2020 that the Brown University Investment Office had made the decision to halt investments in fossil fuel extraction companies,” University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald. “This has not shifted or changed. Brown remains firmly committed to confronting the realities of climate change.”

Clark did not address specific claims about Moynihan’s ties to the fossil fuel industry.

Maddie Connery ‘27, who recently joined Sunrise’s strategy committee, said she attended the teach-in to better understand the organization’s advocacy efforts.

“It definitely informed my perception of the DIRE campaign and why people approach it with such urgency,” Connery said, referencing Sunrise’s ongoing “Dissociate-Respect” campaign. “It definitely makes me feel a little bit more frustrated. I wasn’t aware of the explicit ends to which Brown is still connected with the fossil fuel industry.”

Brown Debating Union members reflect on successful competitive season

Students cite positive team culture, inclusivity as factors behind accomplishments

BY ANIYAH NELSON UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

Mac Hays ’24 knew he wanted to join the Brown Debating Union well before he first arrived on campus.

hays, who has been debating competitively since his freshman year in high school, wasn’t enthusiastic about the activity when he initially got involved and learned about the workload involved. But after he began competing, hays says he was “hooked.”

“honestly, a part of the reason (that) i applied to Brown was (because of) the fact that it had a debate team.”

according to the student activities website, the Bdu was initially established in 1824, making it the second-oldest debate group at an american college that’s active today.

The Bdu primarily competes on the american parliamentary debate association circuit, which offers competitors two kinds of tournaments known as case debate and motions debate.

Case debate occurs when “the government teams bring their own topics, and opposition teams learn the topic as the round begins,” whereas motions debate occurs when “the tournament sets pre-written topics, and each team has 15 minutes to prepare their assigned side,” according to the apda website.

Each team is composed of two competitors and Bdu sends these teams to compete at tournaments that take place throughout the competitive season, which typically lasts from august to april. like hays, Bdu president James afford ’26 has also been doing debate for several years.

“The reason i did (debate) was mostly to improve my English and my confidence speaking in front of crowds,” he said. “i’d often be very nervous doing debate, but i started to really enjoy it and get better at it over time.”

While the Bdu’s results have been “historically strong” according to hays, this season has been particularly successful.

Currently, Bdu has multiple competitors ranked inside the top 10 “speakers of the year.”

This individual ranking measures which debaters have earned the most speaker awards throughout the season.

This list includes hays and his debate partner Gabe ritter ’25, who are also currently ranked as the fourth best “team of the year.” This ranking is determined by the number of elimination rounds that a team advances to throughout the season.

andrew Monteith and perry Beckett are currently ranked the third-best “team of the year.”

Monteith and Beckett are currently seniors at Bates College, though were able to re-affiliate with Bdu after their program dissolved in February 2024. Their team engaged in a collective resignation in light of “broad equity concerns,” The Bates student newspaper previously reported. according to afford, apda allows students to re-affiliate with a different school in “exceptional circumstances,” allowing Monteith and Beckett to compete on behalf of Brown instead.

Out of all of the teams in the league, the Bdu is ranked second on apda’s “club of the year” list. This list measures competitive success using a

points system, with better results corresponding to a higher number of points.

“The whole club (has) been working pretty hard to get points in,” afford said. “Every time anyone (advances) in an event, they’re earning points toward our team.”

hays added that several teams also found success at the North american debating Championship.

“i think (this was) one of the first years where we’ve had three partnerships get to those elimination rounds,” he began. “We had two auto-qualify to nationals with sufficiently high placements there which was awesome.”

Though hays emphasized the team’s results, he added that competitive success isn’t the sole priority of the organization.

“We are (also) in it for the social aspects, for the educational aspects and just how exciting and fun it is to do this activity with each other,” hays said.

“The circuit that we’re on attracts a crowd of people who have incredible minds, are good at sharing their thoughts, (are) creative, but (are) also just kind to each other in ways that i don’t think are ubiquitous across all debate formats,” he added.

Mary Clarke ’26, who serves as Bdu’s vice

president of recruitment and training, also echoed hays’ sentiment about the debate community.

“Of the student organizations that i’m in, Bdu has the strongest and most consistent connections with students across schools,” Clarke said in an interview with The herald. “it’s so great to be able to meet other people from other schools who are (pursuing) entirely different fields of study who are from entirely different places.”

Clarke also echoed the importance of inclusivity in fostering a successful competitive environment.

“When you create that environment where everyone feels good and happy about doing (debate), it is easier to be less stressed about what’s happening and to be more focused on genuinely learning from it,” they said.

“i would say (that) the culture that we have that allows us to do things like that and to prioritize everyone’s comfort in the debate is why we’re doing (well) right now,” Clarke added.

Bdu’s Vice president of apda administration Marcelo rodriguez parra ’26 also cited the recruitment structure as one of the reasons why Bdu is so accessible, noting that the organization doesn’t “cut” any of its members, meaning that anyone can compete.

rodriguez parra, who is an international

student from peru, described the language barrier as one of his primary challenges when joining Bdu

“i’ve only debated in spanish ever and i didn’t have any English-speaking debating experience, so i probably would not have passed any of those tryouts,” he said in an interview with The herald.

rodriguez parra added that the organization’s financial accessibility has also been crucial.

“i get to go to all of these beautiful colleges in the Northeast for free,” he said. “The funding that we receive generally allows us to … support every single one of our members.”

Moving forward, rodriguez parra, who is also a Bonner Fellow in the swearer Center, plans to help expand Bdu’s impact in the providence community.

“Being able to meaningfully engage with the rest of providence and rhode island communities is something that should be at the center of our (work) next year,” he said.

rodriguez parra specifically cited the rhode island urban debate league, which “provides a vibrant and dynamic platform for students to refine their critical thinking and communication skills,” reads the riudl website.

“For example, coaching or making sure that we are able to assist them with the academic resources that we do have could be really helpful … particularly when it comes to engaging with … underfunded schools on this side of providence,” rodriguez parra said.

as hays prepares to graduate from Brown, he expressed his hope for the organization moving forward.

“i really think the most important thing to me for the future of the Bdu is getting more people involved from diverse experiences, backgrounds and perspectives,” hays said. “i found success in apda, not just in terms of competition, but in terms of finding a space for me that is very welcoming, empowering and incredibly fun.”

The BDU primarily competes on the American Parliamentary Debate Association circuit, which offers competitors two kinds of tournaments known as case debate and motions debate.

COurTEsy OF BrOWN uNiVErsiT y

Presenters began by discussing the history of advocacy for fossil fuel divestment at Brown — they traced its origins to the creation of the group Brown Divest Coal in 2012.