Thursday, November 30th, 2023

SINCE 1891

THE THE BROWN BROWN DAILY DAILYHERALD HERALD VOLUME CLVIII, ISSUE 49

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

WHAT’S INSIDE

METRO

Providence residents oppose demolition of Angell Street houses SEE PROVIDENCE PAGE 5

METRO

City to complete Brassil Memorial Park revamp by spring 2024 SEE PARK PAGE 5

SPORTS

Women’s basketball surges to victory against Monmouth KATY PICKENS / HERALD

Roughly 400 community members gathered on the Main Green Monday night for what Paxson described in a Sunday email as a “vigil for peace and healing.”

At vigil for Palestinian junior, crowd shouts Paxson off microphone amid calls for divestment Gathering follows Burlington shooting that injured three Palestinian-American students

BY KATHY WANG & NEIL MEHTA UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORS At a Monday night vigil at 4:30 p.m. for Hisham Awartani ’25 — a Palestinian student shot in Vermont this weekend in what police have described as a possible hate crime — students shouted President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 off the microphone and called for the University to divest its endowment from

companies affiliated with Israel.

Awartani sustained serious injuries after being shot Saturday in Burlington, Vermont, along with two other Palestinian college students — Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad. All three are in stable condition, though police have described Awartani’s injuries as the most severe. Burlington Police arrested a suspect Sunday, who pled not guilty to three charges of attempted murder.

Roughly 400 community members gathered on the Main Green Monday night for what Paxson described in a Sunday email as a “vigil for peace and

CAMPUS ACTIVISM

healing.”

While speakers’ comments ranged from condemnations of the shooting to political demands, they also highlighted Awartani’s character and values — a witty polyglot with a talent for archaeology and math who is intensely focused on others.

Paxson, in her remarks, condemned the violence.

“Although we don’t know the details yet, it is horrific that the mere fact that Hisham and his friends were being proud Palestinians—wearing keffiyehs and speaking in Arabic—that may have prompted the shooting,” Paxson said

in her speech.

“We can’t disentangle what happened to Hisham from the broader events in Israel and Palestine that sadly we have been dealing with for decades,” Paxson said.

“Sadly we can’t control what happens across the world and country. We are powerless to do everything we’d like to do,” Paxson began before students across the green began booing and loudly chanting “Brown divest,” and “shame on you.”

As the students protested, a group of

BY SAM LEVINE UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR The University requested Monday that Providence’s City Solicitor’s Office dismiss the charges against the 20 Jewish students who were arrested after staging a sit-in at University Hall earlier this month, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 told The Herald. The city has agreed to drop the charges, according to the University.

The students, who are members of BrownU Jews for Ceasefire Now, were set to be arraigned Tuesday morning on charges of willful trespass. They will still face the University’s disciplinary process, Paxson said. The students have been made aware that the charges have been dropped and that they are not expected to appear in

UNIVERSITY NEWS

‘A true asset to Brown and the world’: The legacy of Jennifer Bianco SEE BIANCO PAGE 7

POST-

SEE VIGIL PAGE 16

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Brown drops charges against 20 Community reacts to shooting Jewish students arrested in sit-in of Hisham Awartani ’25 President Christina Paxson cites ‘tensions on campus’ as factor in decision

SEE BASKETBALL PAGE 6

court tomorrow, according to a University statement.

“While we are relieved our peers are no longer risking criminal charges, this is far from the end of our fight,” JFCN organizers said in a statement.

The decision to drop the charges followed the shooting of three Palestinian college students, including Hisham Awartani ‘25, in Vermont Saturday evening. All three students are in stable condition, The Herald previously reported.

“My hope is it will help refocus attention on issues that are important to us as a community” instead of being “distracted by other things that are divisive,” Paxson said.

JCFN Organizers wrote that they “reject that our fight for divestment and ceasefire is a distraction from the issues that are important to this community. Our struggle is entwined with the Palestinian struggle for liberation: to divest is to protect Palestinian

SEE SIT-IN PAGE 3

Students, professors describe relationship with Awartani, reactions to attack

BY KATHY WANG & ANISHA KUMAR UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR & SENIOR STAFF WRITER Two days after he was shot and injured in a potential hate crime in Burlington, Vermont, students in ARAB 0500: “ThirdYear Arabic” sat at their desks as the voice of Hisham Awartani ’25 played over the speakers.

The class was listening to audio recordings Awartani had made in past semesters as course materials.

“It was not at all part of our curriculum. We were listening to some of his recordings just for hearing his voice, for hearing him talk about Palestine,” said Lecturer in Language Studies and Assis-

tant Director at the Center for Language Studies Elsa Belmont Flores, who teaches the class.

Awartani is one of three Palestinian students who were shot in Burlington.

The FBI is currently investigating whether Awartani and the two other students, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, were victims of a hate crime, as they were reportedly speaking Arabic and wearing keffiyeh at the time of the shooting.

The suspect, Jason Eaton, pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempted second-degree murder Monday. The three students are currently in stable condition.

Awartani was the most seriously injured and is immobilized after being shot in his spine, The Herald previously reported.

When Professor of Palestinian Studies Beshara Doumani spoke during a Monday evening vigil for Awartani, Doumani told the crowd that to describe how he was

SEE REACTIONS PAGE 3

SEE PAGE 8

ARTS & CULTURE

SEE PAGE 13

PAGE 2

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

TODAY WEEK IN HIGHER ED

1

WEEK IN PHOTOS:

NAT HARDY/ HERALD

Harvard and University of Florida add courses dedicated to Taylor Swift

KAIOLENA TACAZON / HERALD

Harvard and the University of Florida join the ranks of University of Texas, Arizona State University, Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley in offering courses about the superstar and her evergreen songwriting.

2

Top researchers end affiliations with Saudi universities due to ethical concerns

In May of this year, an investigation revealed that Saudi institutions attracted many of the world’s most-cited researchers in exchange for cash to improve rankings. Since then, 33 out of 109 of the world’s top researchers that were affiliated with Saudi Arabian universities have dropped their connections.

3

KAIOLENA TACAZON / HERALD

Jewish groups sue University of California over ‘unchecked’ antisemitism

Louis D. Brandeis Center and the Jewish Americans For Fairness In Education (JAFE) filed a lawsuit against the University of California system, University of California, Berekeley and school administrators over antisemitism.

They claim that student groups force Jewish students to go against their identities in order to participate in the groups

LILA QUINN / HERALD

THIS WEEKEND Midday Music Concert Friday, Dec. 1 12:00 p.m.

Sayles Hall

An Evening with Madeline Miller Friday, Dec. 1 6:00 p.m.

Macmillan Hall

Chamber Music and Applied Music Program Strings Recital Saturday, Dec. 2 7:00 p.m.

Grant Recital Hall

Women’s Basketball vs Johnson & Wales - Youth Day Toy Drive Sunday, Dec. 3 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Pizzitola Sports Center

NEXT WEEK Students of Color Brunch Sunday, Dec. 3 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

121 South Main Street

Brown Bhairavi Open Workshop Sunday, Dec. 3 2:00 p.m.

Barus and Holley

Conversations with Creators: Nina Tassler Monday, Dec. 4 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Granoff Center

Planetary Lunch Bunch: AGU Practice Wednesday, Dec. 6 12:00 p.m.

Lincoln Field Building

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SIT-IN FROM PAGE 1 students.”

The 20 arrested students refused to voluntarily leave University Hall on Nov. 8 until Paxson agreed to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and commit to divesting the University’s endowment from “companies that enable war crimes in Gaza,” The Herald previously reported.

“Neither our sit-in demands nor the demands of SJP and PSC have been met,” JFCN’s statement continues. “Our university has remained steadfast in its refusal to heed the most simple call from the students it claims to represent: to divest from companies profiting from the genocide in Gaza.”

Paxson noted that the decision was made based on current circumstances on campus and that the University does not

REACTIONS FROM PAGE 1 doing, Awartani responded in Arabic: “I am steadfast.”

It was “such a Palestinian virtue and cultural component,” said Visiting Lecturer in Language Studies Michelle Quay, who teaches the graduate-level Persian class Awartani currently takes.“It really shouldn’t have surprised us that Hisham turned out to be stronger than all of us.”

“With him being that steadfast, Quay told The Herald, “it inspires you to just also be steadfast.”

Belmont Flores described Awartani — a teaching assistant for Arabic and a student studying Persian — as a “very active presence” in the University’s Arabic and Persian programs and CLS. He frequents the center’s cultural activities and coffee hours, she said: “You name it, he’s there … way beyond what is expected from a TA.” The two worked closely last year when Awartani and several other TAs helped Belmont Flores develop course materials for Levantine colloquial Arabic — the colloquial Arabic spoken in Palestine — that “reflected (perspectives of) youth today in Palestine,” Belmont Flores said.

Awartani’s participation in the language and cultural events, as well as

PAGE 3

UNIVERSITY NEWS University to drop the charges against the

consider the decision a precedent. “I do want to stress that University Hall does not have 24-hour access, and we take trespass seriously and we will continue to do that in the future,” Paxson said.

Paxson described the choice to drop the charges as a move in hopes of getting “the campus to focus on things that are important to us right now,” referencing Saturday’s shooting in Burlington, Vermont that injured three Palestinian college students, including Hisham Awartani ‘25. All three students are stable.

“We are devastated and outraged at the hateful shooting of our Palestinian friend and classmate, Hisham Awartani,” reads the JFCN statement. “This violence so close to home emphasizes once more how important it is that Brown commits to protecting its Palestinian and Arab students

in this moment of rising Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hatred — not with empty words, but with divestment and calls for ceasefire.”

“The vicious attack against one of our students over the weekend is reverberating across campus,” a University statement read.“It has shaken some of our community members deeply, while others are struggling to process what this means, not only for our campus, but for this country and world that we all live in. There is so much confusion, fear and anger being felt right now that we feel this is a time to bring our community together and try to set aside issues that are exacerbating tensions and division on our campus.”

Following the Nov. 8 arrests, several student organizations on campus and hundreds of faculty members called upon the

arrested students. Alumni also criticized the University for the arrests, stating they set “a dangerous precedent and go against Brown’s long-held tradition of campus activism,” The Herald previously reported.

“We want to reduce tensions on campus, and certainly the attack on the students has helped to elevate tensions,” Paxson said.

In a campus-wide message shared Sunday evening about the Vermont shooting, Paxson invited community members to attend a vigil Monday afternoon. Organized by the University Chaplain’s Office, the vigil aimed to “bring our community together during this difficult time,” according to the message.

“Dismissing the charges against the students certainly won’t heal the rising

involvement with curriculum design,

They are sad. They are afraid.”

After learning the news of the attack, Hana Saadi-Klein ’25 described a feeling of “disbelief.” Saadi-Klein met Awartani last year in PRSN 0400: “Intermediate Persian Language and Culture.”

“I was just very, very devastat(ed),” Saadi-Klein said.

“I frantically messaged him on any platform I could to see if he was okay,” a student who knows Awartani wrote in an email to The Herald. The student spoke on the condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “Once he responded, I knew that he had survived, but I still feel very angry.”

Saadi-Klein noted Awartani is “a very curious, bright presence in class” — often the first to finish a test, about 20 minutes in.

“He’s always asking you about how things are,” Saadi-Klein said. He “checks in with people.”

“He is incredibly intelligent and very knowledgeable about many things,” the anonymous student wrote. “He’s just a really fun person to have a conversation with.”

Student emails asking about Awartani have trickled in since news about the shooting started circulating online, said Quay. “Even though I don’t have any

more information, really, than anyone else, everyone’s just searching for that reassurance,” she said.

“I admire and also worry about my students,” Belmont Flores said. “I admire the resilience in coming to class, prepared to learn about the Arab world, in Arabic, at a time when it just seems … really heavy to do so.”

The anonymous student criticized the University for neglecting to support “Arab, Palestinian and Muslim students until after a shooting had happened to one of our students, and we are 1.5 months past the start of the war.”

“I think that along with concern and worry, there was a lot of frustration and anger felt around campus,” they wrote.

During a Monday evening vigil — called by President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 in an email Sunday — students interrupted Paxson’s speech with signs and calls for the University to divest its endowment from companies affiliated with Israel and weapons manufacturing, The Herald previously reported. Protests resumed after the vigil, with students moving toward University Hall, calling for divestment and chanting “free Palestine.”

In a previous email to The Herald, Senior Vice President for Communications

has made him known among students studying Arabic. Belmont Flores used one of his written pieces as a class reading this year, she said.

“Through his TA involvement …

Hisham has really made Palestinian culture, Palestinian society (and) Palestine today three-dimensional for our students,” Belmont Flores said. “From putting into perspective what growing up under occupation means to youth today, to talking about why he loves being young in Palestine and the social networks in Palestine, to sharing music.”

“Putting all of this into the perspective that he was attacked in a horrible crime just for doing exactly that, wearing a scarf, speaking Arabic with his friends … it’s something that we’re all still grappling with,” she said. “And I don’t think we will (make sense of it). I don’t think we should.”

“Like many members of our community, I am speechless. I’m deeply hurt. I am very, very angry,” Belmont Flores said. She described Nov. 27’s class atmosphere as “a new low” in recent weeks.

“There weren’t really words. It’s like nothing really needed to be said when we all knew what we were feeling,” she told The Herald. “Students are in shock.

tensions on campus from the ongoing violence in the Middle East — or the hurt and fear from Islamophobia, antisemitism and acts of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian violence,” the University’s statement reads.

“We really need to recenter ourselves as a community in being kind and respectful to each other,” Paxson told The Herald. “I hope that the vigil will help us move in that direction.”

“We will not forget the arrests or the way the University continues to fail to keep its students — especially its most vulnerable students — safe,” JFCN organizers wrote.

“The dropping of charges cannot be a distraction from the broader struggle for Palestinian liberation we join in.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 28 2023.

Cass Cliatt noted that Paxson and other administrators have conducted outreach with “students, faculty and staff over the past several weeks … in ways that are significant and important to directly commit to care and support amid the acknowledged increase in discrimination and threats of violence across the nation and around the world.”

“It would be an unfortunate misconception to believe that the only way university leaders can or should acknowledge Islamophobia, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and violence, and antisemitism is through messages to the full community, because our commitment to care for individuals and communities across Brown with direct attention has continued to take many forms,” Cliatt wrote.

According to Quay, some faculty were able to get in touch with Awartani on WhatsApp, through which Awartani responded with selfies. “He’s very funny. He makes jokes,” Quay said. “Good spirits. So that was a huge relief.”

Both faculty and students who know Awartani are planning potential visits to Burlington when the situation allows, both Belmont Flores and Quay told The Herald. “It’s an outpouring of support,” Quay said.

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PAGE 4

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

METRO FEATURES

Bouldering competition Rhode Island Ripper returns for second year

On Sunday, Lincoln Woods welcomed rock climbing enthusiasts from across the city for the second-ever Rhode Island Ripper, a bouldering competition organized by the Ladies Climbing Coalition.

Before last year, LCC had “never had an (outdoor) rock climbing competition in Rhode Island,” said Kristin Re, LCC executive director. Despite having to reschedule this year’s event twice due to the weather, Re persisted, recognizing the event’s ability to build community and introduce new people to climbing.

Heather DeSantis, gym manager for Rock Spot Climbing Peace Dale made sure to check out the competition.

“It was very easy to spiral into this lifestyle,” DeSantis said, recalling how she knew she “wanted to do this forever” after her first ever day of climbing. She started working at Rock Spot seven years ago so she would no longer have to pay for a membership, and “it just quickly became the only thing I did with my life,” she said.

The Ripper is one of many signs of rock climbing’s growing popularity.

There used to be only one climbing gym in Rhode Island; now, there are four, Re said. Even though the rock climbing community “has grown a lot over the past year,” it is still “really small and tight-knit,” she added.

The sport has been gaining popularity at Brown too. Every Sunday evening,

Bussey said he hopes the University continues to expand its support for the sport.

The University supports BCC through funding, which allows the club to cover transportation to Rock Spot for students every Sunday as well as provide discounted day passes. But “that doesn’t help with the other six days of the week where a student might want to climb,” Bussey explained.

BCC member Neal Klemba ’25 highlighted the development of an “on-campus training area” as one of the club’s hopes. “This would make the sport much

Re first became involved with the sport in college. “It changed my life. … Now all of my best friends and husband are rock climbers,” she said. Re described climbing as a “moving meditation,” with the focus being to “move your body and compete with only yourself.”

Re co-founded LCC in 2017 to “empower women and nonbinary climbers (and) create safe spaces and clinics for them to feel comfortable, learn and grow,” she said.

students gather under the Faunce Arch to join a night of climbing with the Brown Climbing Club.

Last year, the University sent BCC’s climbers to a USA Climbing competition, organized by the sport’s national governing body, for the first time.

“We’ve had people participating in local competitions for a long time, but what’s new for Brown is participating in the USAC collegiate division,” said Wells Bussey ’26, BCC social media manager.

more accessible as gym memberships are expensive and traveling to the gym is hard for many,”

Rock climbing community grows in Rhode Island, at Brown

BY CHINMAYI RAJARAM STAFF WRITER

he said.

Beyond Brown, rock climbing “gets more national attention every year,” especially after the sport was featured in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, said Heather DeSantis, gym manager for Rock Spot Climbing Peace Dale. “There are climbing competitions across the world but it’s the kind of thing that you only know about if you’re already into climbing,” she said. But being in the Olympics helped the

sport enter the “national spotlight.”

Rock climbing “was always a counterculture activity,” but recently it “has been creeping into mainstream culture,” Re said.

For DeSantis, rock climbing is “absolutely something that everybody should try.” At Rock Spot, she has seen every type of climber: “We have climbers as young as three and as old as 80. … We have had a woman climbing at our gym for two years. She started when she was 74, now she’s 76.”

“Everyone wants everyone else to succeed,” DeSantis said, immediately moving to help a fellow rock climber attempt the Ricky Raccoon climb. “C’mon Marissa, you’ve got it.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 27 2023.

AYSHA ALAM / HERALD

COLLEGE HILL, FOX POINT & THE JEWELRY DISTRICT

What’s the latest in the I-195 Redevelopment District?

Development continues 12 years after district formation, eight parcels still available

building would not be constructed, citing “recent risk factors” outside the developer’s control. The parcel remains open for proposals.

BY RHEA RASQUINHA METRO EDITOR

Parcels under contract Urbanica proposed a two-building, mixed-use development for Parcel 2, which received conceptual design approval in July. The design includes 130,900 square feet of residential space encompassing 171 units, along with 8,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Groundbreaking is anticipated to occur in 2024 following final design approval.

Developers D+P Real Estate and Truth Box first presented a design for a mixed-use development and corporate headquarters for Bank Rhode Island for Parcels 8 and 8A in June 2022. The design received concept plan approval in November 2022, though further design changes are needed before final approval. Groundbreaking is expected to occur in 2024.

Lot 2 of Parcel 9, which includes Phase 2 of the mixed-income housing development, was first proposed by developer Pennrose in September 2020 and received final design approval a year later 2021. Phase 2 received concept plan approval in November 2022 and final plan approval in January 2023. A groundbreaking ceremony for Phase 1 took place in July 2023. Phase 2 construction is slated to begin in 2024. The majority of residential units in both phases will be affordable housing units.

In April 2023, the University announced a newly proposed mixed-use development by CV Properties that would combine Parcels 14 and 15 with adjacent property owned by Brown. The three-phase project will include residen-

The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission was formed in 2011 after the relocation of over 26 acres of land formerly occupied by Interstate 195.

Developments have included a public park, hotels, apartments, stores, mixeduse projects and more. As several parcels of land continue to be developed, community members and business owners have expressed both excitement and concerns about the economic and neighborhood impacts of the ongoing projects, The Herald previously reported.

With significant development across the district, and in the broader Jewelry District neighborhood, The Herald mapped out the 21 parcels of District land, compiling proposal and construction updates from the last 12 years.

Available parcels Four proposals for Parcel 1A were heard at the Commission’s Nov. 15 meeting, including one from The Providence Flea, which currently leases the space to operate its market on Sundays. At the meeting, Commission Chairman Marc Crisafulli said that Providence Flea will have space to continue operating regardless of which proposal is chosen.

According to I-195 District guidelines, proposals will require a waiver from the 25-foot Urban Coastal Greenway construction setback, alignment with the College Hill National Register Historic District and a commemoration of the former Coin, Patriot and Doubloon

RHEA RASQINHA / HERALD

streets as well as unnamed riverfront gangways. No parking lots or garages will be permitted in the parcel.

Developers submitting proposals for Parcel 5, which also falls within the College Hill National Register Historic District, are encouraged by District guidelines to account for the area’s foot and bicycle traffic in their designs.

In 2018, three developers proposed projects that included Parcel 5. Post Road Residential proposed a luxury apartment building and retail space for Parcel 5 only, while Spencer Providence LLC proposed a combination of housing, retail, restaurants, a hotel and a grocery store across Parcels 2 and 5. Crown Holdings — a team under the Carpionato Group — proposed a wet lab, medical office space, upscale hotel, apartments, restaurants and a grocery space for Parcels 2, 5 and 6, which the Commission later deemed unviable.

Residential uses are not permitted on Parcel 27 and I-195 District guidelines recommend that proposals prioritize active ground floor uses, especially along Clifford Street.

Parcels 34, 35, 37 and 41 are four of

the five parcels in the West Side Highway District, which allows the greatest density and aims to promote both pedestrian activity and commercial and economic development. Specific recommendations from I-195 District guidelines include the prioritization of active ground floor uses and designs that engage pedestrian activity, such as through landscaping and “pocket parks.”

All four parcels have minimum building heights of six stories and maximum heights of 345 feet. During the final phase of construction at South Street Landing, Parcel 34 was temporarily leased as a staging site and has since remained open for proposals.

On Parcel 42, a three-skyscraper project was proposed in 2016 by the Fane Organization and approved in 2019. Due to increased costs, the original design could not be built and a new design was presented to the Commission in January 2023. Following design concerns from Utile, a consultant for the Commission, the group presented design updates in February.

But in March, the Fane Organization announced that the proposed luxury

tial units and ground-floor retail space, with laboratory and commercial spaces to follow. Following a presentation to the Commission, design revisions and public comment, CV Properties was selected as the preferred developer in May 2023.

Sold parcels Parcels 22 and 25 consist of several different lots, with Point 225 and the Aloft Hotel being completed on Lots 1 and 2 in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

The proposed life sciences building for Lot 3 received final design approval in January 2023, with Rhode Island State Health and the University being anchor tenants. Lots 4 and 5 are still under contract with no project details currently available.

Construction in Parcel 6 was completed in 2022 and includes the long-awaited Trader Joe’s — which opened in November 2022 — along with 61 mixed-incomwe residential units and commercial space. The Den Wine & Spirits and SHADES Pier Owptical have since opened in the retail spaces.

The Parcel 28 Emblem 125 development, which includes a 249-unit residential building and ground-floor retail space, was completed in 2022.

The 92-unit Chestnut Commons also features residential units over retail space and was completed in 2020 on Parcel 30. Parcels 31 and 36 were combined to form Johnson and Wales University’s Bowen Center for Science and Innovation. Groundbreaking for the academic space took place in 2015 and construction was completed in 2017.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 27 2023.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

PAGE 5

METRO

COLLEGE HILL, FOX POINT & JEWELRY DISTRICT

City to complete renovations on Brassil Memorial Park by spring 2024 Playground torn down in October, currently undergoing ‘comprehensive redesign’

that (Brassil) is going to be new,” Brouder said. “This is a precious park that we really love.”

BY HALEY SANDLOW SCIENCE & RESEARCH AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR Beloved by Providence families and Brown students alike, Brassil Memorial Park on the corner of Brook St. and Arnold St. is currently under construction, with a new playground expected to be completed in spring 2024.

The playground was torn down mid-October and is currently undergoing a “comprehensive redesign to revitalize this space,” according to Josh Estrella, press secretary for Mayor Brett Smiley’s office.

The redesigned park will include playgrounds for 2-5- and 5-12-yearolds, a paved area for ball play, seating areas and new fencing and gating, Estrella wrote in an email to The Herald. The redesign will also include “a custom log scramble, rain gardens to absorb stormwater runoff” and natural spaces for trees, shrubs and perennials.

The revitalized park will also include swings and slides, according to plans reviewed by The Herald. Since construction began in late October, some play structures have already been installed.

The city initially allocated fund-

ELSA CHOI-HAUSMAN / HERALD

The redesigned park will include playgrounds for 2-5- and 5-12-year-olds, a paved area for ball play, seating areas and new fencing and gating, Estrella wrote in an email to The Herald. ing for the park’s redesign in 2020, according to Estrella. Since 2021, the city has held numerous “community meetings” to inform the redesign.

Bénédicte Brouder, head of school at the nearby French American School of Rhode Island, told The Herald she was satisfied with that process.

FASRI has used Brassil Memorial Park as a recess area for “years and years,” Brouder said. “We have been lucky to be in conversation from the start with (the City of Providence’s Department of Parks), and we were

able to give our ideas as a school.”

Brouder’s feedback for the city has been primarily about safety concerns, but she said she appreciates the park’s trees and flat space to play soccer, both of which will remain for the spring. In the meantime, FASRI’s recess is being held at other parks in the neighborhood.

Although it will be a lengthy process, Brouder said the park’s redesign is “long overdue.”

Brassil is not the only park being renovated: By March 2024, the City

is expected to have completed renovations of 39 parks and greenspaces across every neighborhood in Providence, according to Estrella. Other parks are slated for construction in 2024, including India Point Park and the Paterson Park playground.

“Brassil Memorial Park is an important gathering space for our community, particularly for youth in this neighborhood and some of the amenities have not been updated in decades,” Estrella wrote.

“We’re pretty excited by the fact

FASRI students aren’t the only ones with a connection to the park — Brown students have made use of the park’s jungle gyms and play structures too. Cottrell van Wingerden ’24 had used the former “squiggly structure” for a 10-person game he and his friends called “bone breaker.”

“The goal is to get your five players to the other side of the structure without anyone falling off before the other team,” van Wingerden told The Herald. “It’s quite a physical game.”

The game originated during van Wingerden’s first year at Brown, during the summer semester with no clubs and “too much time on our hands,” he said. Van Wingerden and his friends would play at night, each player in a designated position that drew inspiration from the “Harry Potter” sport of Quidditch.

Van Wingerden said the group always planned to play one more time during senior year, so it was “too bad” when he walked past the park one morning to see it had been torn down.

“It was a nice playground before but it wasn’t the most advanced, so it will be cool to see what they do with it,” van Wingerden said. “I would love it if they put another version of that structure back in there.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 26, 2023.

COLLEGE HILL, FOX POINT & JEWELRY DISTRICT

Providence residents hold ‘vigil’ to oppose demolition of Angell Street houses Three 19th-century houses are expected to come down in coming weeks

BY HALEY SANDLOW SCIENCE & RESEARCH AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR A group of Providence residents gathered Monday afternoon to protest the demolition of three historic houses on Angell Street.

Just east of Brook Street, 209, 211 and 217 Angell Street stand across from the Wheeler School. They were expected to be demolished as early as Tuesday. Currently, there is no proposal to replace them. All three houses are owned by 217 Angell Street Investments II LLC — a newly registered company that has offered no indication as to what might replace the homes, the Providence Journal reported. More than 50 Providence residents gathered across the street from the light green, yellow and blue houses Monday calling, among other messages, to “say no to demo.”

“With no development plans in place, the demolition and subsequent empty lots here will leave a massive hole and scar in this neighborhood,” said Ward 1 Councilor John Goncalves ’13 MA’15, who helped organize the gathering. “Demolition of these properties in these housing units with no plans is a travesty to the community, especially in light of the housing crisis that we face.”

The houses’ expected demolition

comes after a years-long saga of proposed demolition and community opposition. Former owner Edward Bishop submitted two proposals — one in 2020, the other in 2022 — to demolish the houses in order to build a 5-story “boutique hotel.” Both proposals were rejected, and the houses remained. But last week, demolition returned to the docket, initially set for Nov. 13.

After neighborhood residents saw demolition notices taped to the houses’ front doors, the city placed a “stop work” order on account of a lack of a long enough notice — seven days are required between a posting and demolition. The Department of Public Works must now approve the work permit, the Providence Journal reported.

“We’re significantly disappointed with the loss of these three houses, especially with the housing crisis in the city (and) with no plans to have a renewed construction on site,” Rick Champagne, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, told The Herald. “Every unit counts.”

Residents at Monday’s gathering, which organizers called a “vigil” to “contemplate the houses’ passings,” condemned the expected demolition.

Chris Tompkins, a local resident, said he was “embarrassed” that there is no legal recourse for demolition in a city that prides itself on its preservation efforts.

The houses are not in a historic district, meaning their owners may demolish the houses. But speakers

HALEY SANDLOW / HERALD

Marisa Brown, executive director of the Providence Preservation Society, speaks to a crowd of around 50 Providence residents about the histories of 209, 211 and 217 Angell St., which were built in the 19th century. noted that preservation is about more than landmarks or famous homes.

“Preservation is about the fabric of the city,” said Vincent Buonanno ’66, president of the Mile of History Association.

209 Angell St. was built in the 1850s, while 211 and 217 were built in the 1890s.

209 was once an office for Seebert J. Goldowsky, class of 1928, a surgeon who taught at Brown and wrote a number of books, according to Marisa Angell Brown, executive director of the Providence Preservation Society, who spoke Monday.

The house was also once occupied

by Don McClure PhD’70, professor emeritus of applied mathematics, who said his company owned the

building from 1998 to 2014.

“We brought it back to life,” McClure said at the gathering, speaking about his work to restore the home.

“It has some beautiful architectural features.”

217 Angell St. was built by John Howard Appleton, class of 1863, a professor of chemistry and prolific author. The home was then owned between the 1930s and 1950s by George Metcalf, class of 1913 and later a University trustee, according to Angell Brown.

“Preservation is obviously about history, but it is also increasingly about the future,” Angell Brown said, noting the carbon emissions that come from demolition and new construction.

Goncalves noted that expanded notification on demolitions and taxation on vacant lots may be “on the horizon” in the Providence City Council. He added that the Council needs “to look at expanding historic district overlays.”

Multiple people at the “vigil” said they were frustrated at the ease with which developers can demolish homes like the ones on Angell Street.

“It would be a shame to see these buildings that could easily be restored and used for decades” torn down, Joanna Doherty, a PPS trustee, told The Herald.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 21, 2023.

PAGE 6

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

SPORTS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Women’s basketball surges to victory against Monmouth COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Brown overcomes 17-point deficit, Kyla Jones ’24 named Ivy League Player of the Week

BY LYDELL DYER STAFF WRITER On Sunday, the women’s basketball team (4-3) faced the Monmouth Hawks (2-4) in West Long Branch, N.J. In a game that tied a career mark for Kyla Jones ’24, the Bears overcame a 17-point deficit to clinch a 59-58 victory.

“Our mindset remains unwavering,” forward Ada Anamekwe ’26, who recorded a season-high 12 points, wrote in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics. “We display an enormous (amount) of heart when embracing the underdog role. That is the difference between other teams and Brown women’s basketball. We are a team that is infused with heart, grit and toughness.”

Brown’s late offensive stand was

spearheaded by a 34-point performance from Kyla Jones ’24, tying her career-high point total in a game.

“I think staying aggressive is what helped me be so effective,” Jones wrote in a message to The Herald.

Jones’s performance earned her Ivy League player of the week honors.

From the onset of the game, Jones played with intensity, rebounding the ball and driving down the court to score the first points of the day for Brown less than three minutes into the game. In a quarter that featured only layups, the Bears announced how they would conduct their offense — with 50 of 59 points scored in the paint. After a combined four layups from Alyssa Moreland ’26 and Jones, the Bears entered the second quarter down 11-8.

Though the Bears’ offense began to find its rhythm in the second quarter, Monmouth’s did the same. In its best scoring quarter of the day, the Hawks recorded 25 points, pulling away from Brown 36-22 by the half.

“This team has great self-belief,” Head Coach Monique LeBlanc wrote to The Herald. “They accept challenges and always believe they can figure things out.” Coming out of halftime, “the message was that we needed to find a solution and find a way” to win.

It got worse before it got better for the Bears. An early three by the Hawks set Brown behind 17 points — the largest margin of difference in the entire game.

“Whenever we get in large deficits, we come together as a team and have an honest conversation about what we think is going wrong on the court,” Jones wrote. In addition to addressing mistakes, the Bears “play like the score is 0-0.” According to Jones, it helps them “focus on just playing good basketball rather than feeling like (they) need to hurry and make a comeback quickly.”

Over the course of the third quarter, the team did just that. In the face of what could have been a blowout,

Anamekwe shone, going on a personal six-point run. With seven rebounds total and four steals, Anamekwe also used the opponent’s mistakes to her advantage, capitalizing on costly turnovers.

“The success of our offense hinges on executing the small but vital tasks that contribute to our overall achievement,” wrote Anamekwe.

“Our offensive prowess is driven by our efficiency on the defensive end. … Above all, securing rebounds is paramount.”

Ending the quarter with a flourish, a turnaround jumper by Jones helped the Bears pull within five points.

Brown outscored Monmouth 19-13 in the third.

Hitting their stride in the fourth, the Bears’ offense dominated. Less than a minute into the quarter, Jones traversed the court to score a layup, beginning an eight-point run as Brown pulled to within two points: 51-49. Though the Hawks scored, the Bears remained focused, going on

another eight-point run. This time, all eight points were scored by Jones, enabling the Bears to claim a 57-53 lead.

With two minutes left, Monmouth rallied, scoring twice to reclaim a 5857 edge. Now in the final stretches of the game, Jones once more took matters into her own hands. 45 seconds before the end of regulation, she made a second-chance layup to put the Bears up by one — a precious lead they defended until the clock ran out.

“We are a team that can get it done by any means,” Anamekwe wrote after the last-minute victory.

“Whatever it requires of us, we will give it our all.”

The Bears will stay on the road, and are set to face Bryant University in Smithfield on Wednesday before returning home to play Johnson & Wales University on Sunday.

This article originally appeared online at www. browndailyherald.com on Nov. 28, 2023.

MEN’S HOCKEY

Men’s hockey finds mixed results in beginning of season St. Louis ’26 leads country in goals per game, overtime losses cloud Bears’ record

BY NICHOLAS MILLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER Hockey season is back, and the Brown men’s hockey team (3-6, 2-5 ECAC) — relying on a fresh class of first-years and transfers — is looking to make a jump in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, where Bruno hasn’t finished above seventh since 2005. But a month into the season, results have so far been mixed for the Bears.

With nine goals in nine games, forward Ryan St. Louis ’26 is currently leading the nation in goals per game, while his linemate Max Scott ’27 is 14th in the NCAA in points per game, with three goals and nine assists. But partially because of a defense that has allowed an average of 3.56 goals per game, which ranks 54th of 60 Division I programs, and three overtime losses, Brown enters December three games below .500.

“I believe we have the right guys in the room,” St. Louis said. But “some games we just beat ourselves.”

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Since the Bears’ three overtime losses each count for a point, Brown is currently tied for second place in the ECAC. The Bears are a young team: St. Louis and Scott are among several players in their debut seasons at Brown whom Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94 has relied on. St. Louis, who is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis, originally began his hockey career at Northeastern University and then spent last season in the United States Hockey League, the country’s top junior league, before arriving at Brown this year. In his second game, he recorded a hat trick on just three shots in a 7-2 win over Stonehill College (0-14, 0-5 NEC) and then followed that performance with

a goal in six of his next seven games.

Scott, who recorded four assists in the game against Stonehill, is leading the team in points and shots and has also won 56% of his faceoffs.

“Max Scott and Ryan St. Louis are players that do everything right and approach their games in a professional manner,” Whittet said. “Max does everything hard with a high compete level and is extremely detailed in his game.

Ryan is extremely gifted offensively and has that instinctual knack to always be in the right place at the right time. …

They are only scratching the surface of

what they ultimately will be as players.”

“The start of my Brown career has been great,” Scott said. “I have been building chemistry with my teammates every practice and game; this has enabled me to be successful throughout the start of the season.”

Playing with Scott and linemate Ryan Bottrill ’26 “has definitely made hockey easier,” St. Louis said. “We are starting to get more chemistry on the ice and understanding each other’s tendencies. I believe there is still more we can do to help our team win more games.”

The Bears fell to Yale (2-7, 2-5 ECAC) 3-2 in overtime in their season opener in late October before beating Stonehill and Colgate University to move above .500. But since then the Bears have suffered crushing losses to top10 teams Cornell (5-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) and Quinnipiac University (9-4-1, 5-01 ECAC) and close overtime defeats to Princeton (3-4-1, 3-2-1 ECAC) and Clarkson University (6-5, 3-1 ECAC).

Most recently, Brown defeated St. Lawrence University (3-10-1, 1-3 ECAC) 2-1 before falling to College of the Holy Cross (7-6-2, 3-6-2 AHA) 6-3 last Friday.

Since the Bears’ three overtime

losses each count for a point, Brown is currently tied for second place in the ECAC, but Bruno has played more games than any other team besides Yale.

“The start to the season has seen its positives in terms of growth of a very young team,” Whittet said. “We have taken some major strides playing consistently to our identity as a program and that identity is based on relentless work ethic, grit and playing with a chip on our shoulders. When we play to that identity the wins have come and when we get away from that it becomes much more difficult to succeed.”

The Bears will next take on Long Island University Friday and Stonehill again Sunday before facing a difficult run of opponents in Northeastern University, Merrimack College and Providence College.

“This team has tremendous potential. Will we have adversity to battle through? Of course we will,” Whittet added. “But I am confident that this team will respond to those challenges and emerge as a program that is on the rise in the ECAC and in the NCAA.” This article originally appeared online at www. browndailyherald.com on Nov. 29, 2023.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OBITUARY

PAGE 7

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Jennifer Bianco’s lasting legacy of mentorship, care at Brown, beyond Friends, colleagues share impact of Bianco’s energy, commitment to students

BY RHEA RASQUINHA METRO EDITOR When Ryan DePasquale officially accepted a position at Brown as a financial aid counselor, he called Jennifer Bianco, an associate director of financial aid, who “immediately screamed with excitement.”

Her reaction “made me feel immediately valued and even more excited about my decision,” DePasquale, now an assistant director of financial aid, wrote in an email to The Herald. Bianco’s “outlook on life and how to treat people will leave a lasting impact on the rest of my life.”

Bianco passed away on Dec. 30, 2022 at age 39, leaving behind a legacy of mentorship, support and care for colleagues, students, families and the Brown community. Bianco came to the University in Oct. 2018 “with extensive experience in financial aid,” wrote Dean of Financial Aid Sean Ferns in an email to The Herald.

Bianco received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Tampa and an MBA from Nichols College in Massachusetts, according to an obituary written in her honor. She worked in financial aid at Nichols for over eight years, serving as director of financial aid before coming to Brown.

At Brown, Bianco was a supervisor and mentor to most of the office staff, Ferns wrote. She cultivated relationships

with different departments and students across campus and transformed “the customer service experience for students, families and the community.”

Carissa Pereira, an assistant director of financial aid, described Bianco as “truly the best boss you could ask for” in an email to The Herald. With the same “at-home” and “at-work” personality, she was approachable, inclusive and easy for students and families to talk to, Pereira wrote. She recalled receiving messages from students extending condolences to the office after Bianco’s passing, with many saying “Jen is the reason I am here at Brown.”

Bianco also advocated for her employees: She was “100% there for you both in times of need and in celebration,” Pereira wrote. “She had this amazing way of making you feel better

about yourself after any interaction you shared with her … (and) supported your personal pursuit of happiness above all.”

With a “bright personality,” “infectious laugh” and “good energy,” Bianco “made it easy to feel at home in her presence,” Pereira wrote. “She was a true warrior.”

Bianco “was like the sister I never had,” Matt Davis, an assistant director of financial aid, wrote in an email to The Herald. Davis suffers from an autoimmune disease and recalled how Bianco would check in daily on how he was doing. They would “sit and talk, laugh and sometimes just cry together.”

Bianco “had a way of making you feel special,” giving everyone her “100% undivided attention,” Davis wrote. “She just emanated positivity and love for others.”

Even after her passing, Bianco has been a source of strength for Davis.

He remembered working late on one particularly tough day where he “went to her office and sat there in the dark and just talked to her.”

“I really felt her presence that night and it helped me,” Davis wrote. “Her light still shines on all those who knew her.”

When Gracie Cruz, an assistant director of financial aid, first met Bianco, she was taken aback by her vibrant energy. But after a few months, “we found that we had so much in common in both our work and private life that it was easy to build a friendship,” Cruz wrote in an email to The Herald. “It was like we’d known each other for 20 years.”

“Her acceptance towards others was contagious, and that’s just one

of the things that I loved about Jen,” Cruz wrote. “She loved and accepted everyone regardless of the situation.”

Bianco was also “the life” of office retreats and parties, Cruz recalled.

When she told Bianco that she was expecting her third child, Bianco “was as genuinely excited for me as though she was my closest family member,” Cruz wrote.

Bianco’s energy, laugh, patience and “love for dance, people and her family” are remembered fondly by Cruz. “Jen was a true asset to Brown University and the world.”

“Jen made you feel like you had been friends with her your whole life,” DePasquale wrote. “She was someone I felt comfortable with and trusted very early on because I knew she genuinely cared about me as a person and wanted the best for me.”

DePasquale admires how much Bianco valued her relationships within the office and the “infectious energy” she showed up with each day, regardless of what she was going through. “She was so supportive and always had your back no matter what,” he wrote.

Beyond her legacy at Brown, “our hope is that she be remembered as an even better mom to her two children, wife, daughter, sister, friend and overall an extraordinary human being,” Ferns wrote.

“She changed my outlook on life. …

She changed everyone who met her,” Davis wrote. “Jen left a light in this world that will never diminish.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 27, 2023.

UNIVERSITY HALL

Brown sees 2.2% increase in net assets, 2.7% return on endowment in FY23 Gifts, pledges during FY23 total over $400 million for third consecutive year

BY RYAN DOHERTY SENIOR STAFF WRITER The University saw a 2.2% increase in its net assets, which are valued at $7.7 billion, during the 2023 fiscal year, according to the University’s annual financial report. The report, shared in a Nov. 16 Today@Brown announcement by President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20, includes information on the University’s financial statements, fundraising, investments and research.

“The increase of net assets was driven by $308 million in gifts to the endowment and capital projects and investment performance of 2.7%, offset by the endowment return appropriated,” the report reads.

The endowment also saw a 2.7% return and yielded $241.3 million to the University, which “supported approximately 16% of Brown’s annual operating budget,” Paxson wrote in the report. She referred to this growth as “noteworthy” in the face of “geopolitical uncertainty and sustained inflation.”

“This underscores the importance of careful stewardship of the endowment to ensure it will be available to support the University for genera-

tions to come,” Paxson added.

As of June 30, 2023 — the end of the University’s fiscal year — the endowment was valued at around $6.6 billion dollars and has seen a $75 million growth since FY22. The endowment is still valued at less than its peak in FY21, when it saw a market value of around $6.9 billion.

“A short-term view would — accurately — identify the following two years as an unproductive stretch during which the portfolio has failed to grow at the necessary replacement rate to preserve the purchasing power of the endowment,” the report reads.

“A longer-term view would — also accurately — accede that by not relinquishing the windfall gains of FY21, the endowment’s project of maintaining and growing as a financial resource for Brown’s mission of scholarship and research remains on track,” the report adds. “It is the longer-term view that carries more import.”

In recent weeks, the University has faced increasing challenges from community members to investments tied to the endowment. The 20 students affiliated with BrownU Jews for Ceasefire Now, who were arrested Nov. 8 after staging a sit-in at University Hall, called on the University to divest from “any company that profits from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land,” a demand pre-

LILA QUINN / HERALD

The University raised $423.7 million in gifts and pledges during fiscal year 2023, with support from over 33,750 donors.

In fiscal year 2022, the University raised $476.1 million in gifts and pledges. viously examined in a 2020 report from the now-defunct Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies. Last week, the Undergraduate Council of Students also called on the University to “initiate a conversation among administration, students and faculty about divestment.”

The University’s operating expenses increased by 8.6%, totaling $1.28 billion dollars in FY23. Salaries, wages and benefits expenses grew in addition to non-compensation expenses, which

include “increases in subcontracts for research, along with increases in study abroad programs,” according to the report. Expenses related to graduate student support fell by 2.4%.

In FY23, the University raised $423.7 million in gifts and pledges through the support of over 33,750 donors, according to the report. In FY22, the University raised $476.1 million in gifts and pledges, making FY23 the third year in a row in which the University raised over $400 million. The University raised $335.2

million in cash, a 7.4% increase from last year.

Alumni contributed 65% of all new pledges and contributions. The University’s BrownTogether campaign reached $3.8 billion in total donations at the end of FY23, nearing its $4 billion goal. As of November, $3.922 billion in donations have been collected, according to the BrownTogether website.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 26, 2023.

Places That Should Be Spotify

“Is it called a grandfather clock because it looks like he’s swinging his penis?”

1. Santa Claus, IN 2. The Bermuda Triangle 3. Six Flags Great Adventure 4. Pound Town 5. My room 6. Your room ;)

“I’m an avid notdoer. I hate doing shit so much.”

Sound Towns 7. Bikini Bottom 8. Providence, RI 9. Whoville 10. Cupertino, CA (this is a call to action for Apple Music for next year, xo)

1

Leftovers

by Will Hassett

Across 3

2

4

3

Some cash or gum

5 Dark meat alternative to 3D

7

5

Commands a ship

8 American golfers grp.

Down

7

1

With Carta, royal charter circa 1215

2 And so on abbr.

3 Feathered limb 4 U.S. federal org. home

8

to customs and immigration agencies

6 What a rabbit might do EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kimberly Liu

“Perhaps building a home means, instead, freely giving pieces of ourselves away, leaving them in the unexpected corners of the world.

And maybe we cannot ever truly build homes anyway. Only places we call home.”

—Kaitlan Bui, “In the Places We Once Called Home 12.3.21

“On nights I’m feeling particularly sentimental, it feels cruel that the conventional life path is set up this way: carefully knitting ourselves into the fabric of a place, only to be asked after a set amount to extricate ourselves and start again.”

—Siena Capone, “Anyway, Don’t Be a Stranger” 12.2.2022

Section Editors Emily Tom Anaya Mukerji

FEATURE Managing Editor Klara Davidson-Schmich

LIFESTYLE Managing Editor Tabitha Lynn

Section Editors Addie Marin Elaina Bayard

Section Editors Jack Cobey Daniella Coyle

ARTS & CULTURE Managing Editor Joe Maffa

HEAD ILLUSTRATORS Emily Saxl Ella Buchanan

Section Editors Elijah Puente Rachel Metzger

COPY CHIEF Eleanor Peters

NARRATIVE Managing Editor Katheryne Gonzalez

Copy Editors Indigo Mudhbary Emilie Guan Christine Tsu

SOCIAL MEDIA HEAD EDITORS Kelsey Cooper Tabitha Grandolfo Kaitlyn Lucas LAYOUT CHIEF Gray Martens Layout Designers Amber Zhao Alexa Gay STAFF WRITERS Dorrit Corwin Lily Seltz Alexandra Herrera Liza Kolbasov Marin Warshay Gabrielle Yuan Elena Jiang Will Hassett Daphne Cao

Aalia Jagwani AJ Wu Nélari Figueroa Torres Daniel Hu Mack Ford Olivia Cohen Ellie Jurmann Sean Toomey Emily Tom Ingrid Ren Evan Gardner Lauren Cho Laura Tomayo Sylvia Atwood Audrey Wijono Jeanine Kim Ellyse Givens Sydney Pearson Samira Lakhiani Cat Gao Lily Coffman Raima Islam Tiffany Kuo

Want to be involved?

Email: mingyue_liu@brown.edu!

post–

Want to be involved?

Email: mingyue_liu@brown.edu!

november 30, 2023�7

PAGE 10

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

COMMENTARY

Gupta ’25: Going the (long) distance: Navigating relationships apart As students begin to embark on the journey of love, many might find themselves wrestling with the challenges of a long-distance relationship. Perhaps your partner is studying abroad or post-graduation plans take them to a different corner of the country. No matter the circumstance, long-distance is a daunting task that requires thoughtful navigation. This week’s column offers guidance on maintaining a healthy, thriving relationship despite the miles that may separate you and your partner.

The pre-departure rendezvous Before your partner jets off to their new home for their semester abroad or post-graduation plans, have a pre-departure rendezvous. Maybe it’s a private romantic dinner filled with laughter, shared memories and perhaps a tear or two (it’s good to be honest about how you feel; this isn’t going to be easy!). Maybe it’s a big blow-out party with all of your friends and favorite foods. No matter what suits your relationship, keep in mind that this isn’t a goodbye forever; it’s a “see you later.” Leave them with a token of your love, perhaps a letter or a trinket, to remind each other of your commitment to one another during difficult times.

Communication is key In any relationship, communication is the cornerstone of a sustainable and healthy connection.

In long-distance relationships, this becomes even more crucial. Technology, while no replacement for in-person, face-to-face time together, is a valuable instrument that can help bridge the physical gap.

Leverage voice messages and texts to keep each other updated about your lives. Ensure that you’re not just sharing the details of your day but also maintaining an emotional connection that tran-

scends physical distance. Maybe try turning a FaceTime call into a virtual date: cook the same dinner, play a virtual board game or form a mini book club.

And don’t underestimate the charm of receiving a handwritten letter or care package; gifts can be a great way to express your love. Establishing a routine for communication can help both partners feel more connected and provide reassurance that you’re actively engaged in each other’s lives.

Setting expectations Long-distance relationships require clear expectations and shared goals. Before your time apart begins, have an honest conversation about your expectations regarding communication frequency, visits and the overall trajectory of the relationship.

Establishing a shared vision can provide clarity and prevent confusion in the future. Knowing that both partners are committed to making the relationship work can be a powerful motivator.

Planning visits While it may not always be possible due to academic or financial constraints, planned visits are a unique aspect of long-distance relationships. Unlike the impromptu encounters that are common on a college campus, these visits become cherished milestones. Having a future date to look forward to can provide a sense of excitement and anticipation.

These visits allow you to create shared memories and experiences, reinforcing your bond and offering a break from the challenges of distance.

Solo adventures Being physically apart from your partner doesn’t mean you have to put your life on hold.

Embrace the independence that comes with being

“ Sitting around waiting for your reunion is not productive for yourself or the health of your relationship.

in different locations. Sitting around waiting for your reunion is not productive for yourself or the health of your relationship. Instead, use the time to focus on personal growth, pursue individual interests and strengthen your sense of self. Encourage your partner to do the same. Trust one another and be honest about your experiences and emotions while apart.

Building a support system Long-distance relationships can be emotionally taxing, and having a support system can make a significant difference. Cultivate strong friendships to ensure that you have a network to rely on. Being surrounded by friends who can provide emotional support may help fill the void that physical distance creates. We can sometimes get tunnel vision in a relationship and forget the importance of our friendships. This is a great time to change that. Invest in your platonic connections, because they can be just as rewarding as your romantic ones.

In conclusion

While the challenges of a long-distance relationship during college or after graduation may seem overwhelming, they are not insurmountable.

With effective communication, trust and a shared vision for the future, couples can not only survive but also thrive long-distance. Remember that distance is just a physical obstacle, and the emotional connection you build can withstand that. Stay committed, stay positive and most importantly, stay connected.

If you have questions about sex or relationships that could be discussed in a future column, please submit questions to an anonymous form at https://tinyurl.com/BDHsexcolumn. Anusha Gupta ’25 can be reached at anusha_gupta@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

This column originally appeared online at www.browndailyherald.com on Nov. 26, 2023.

Simon ’25: There’s more to educational equality than meets the eye Few topics that compel discourse quite like public education. Whether about book bans or science curricula, conversations surrounding K-12 classrooms lay bare our greatest hopes and deepest inadequacies as a democratic society.

We tend to think about the great inequalities of the American public education system in terms of economic resources — for instance, which schools have access to arts programs, newly-renovated buildings and full-time faculty. A great deal of research has been dedicated to tracing the outcomes of public schools in neighborhoods of different socioeconomic statuses and the effects of federal grants on education — deservedly so. But money is only one part of the picture. The great disparities in school governance — how parents, students and community members are able to participate in decision-making processes at their local schools — are often ignored. This is particularly true in Providence, where many families and community members currently face dire threats to their ability to self-govern due to a state takeover. To fully understand and combat inequality in public education, we must attend to the inequalities in how schools are governed and whose voices are prioritized — here in Providence and nationwide.

It is a fact long recognized that the education system in the United States is shaped by community wealth. Since property taxes remain the primary mechanism for funding public schools, there are severe disparities between schools in high- and low-income neighborhoods, despite state and federal endeavors to close these gaps.

These discrepancies also map onto racial lines — an EdBuild study in 2019 found that, nationally, predominantly white districts receive $23 billion more in funding than nonwhite districts.

But, perhaps unexpectedly, the effects of unequal funding can ripple beyond classroom materials and renovations and onto the exercise of local democratic power. To understand why, we

Currently, the Providence Public School District is under the control of the Rhode Island Department of Education. This is the result of a school takeover initiated by the state in 2019 following the publication of the infamous Johns Hopkins University review. The report documented “deep, systemic dysfunctions” in the district. As part of the takeover, RIDE transferred

governance: They manage the budget, appoint superintendents and review performance. As former superintendent of Metro Nashville Public Schools Shawn Joseph noted, “You can’t have equity in school districts without the support of the school board.” School boards can also serve as “launching pads” propelling community members into future careers in city- or state-level

most of the school board’s power to a state-appointed commissioner. For decades, takeovers have been deployed across the country — usually in low-funded, low-performing districts — to boost student performance and outcomes. But the practice has recently faced intense public scrutiny. There is good reason for the controversy. There is little to suggest that takeovers actually improve academic achievement in public schools: A joint study by Brown and the University of Virginia concluded there is “no evidence that takeover generates academic benefits.”

Even more concerningly, research increasingly shows that takeovers, such as the one unfolding in PPSD, are disproportionately deployed in low-income communities and communities of color — even when controlling for academic performance. This is particularly alarming because school boards have historically served as a key

politics. The school board, more than anything at the federal or state level, is the basic unit of the democratic system. And threats to their integrity should be understood as threats to all forms of democratic participation — as well as an unduly imposed limit on the political power of low-income communities and communities of color.

It is true that takeovers often bring an influx of funding to struggling schools and can raise expenditures per student. But these benefits are compromised when they are controlled by the state rather than the families most directly affected by education policies. When there is interference in the traditional channels of community governance and deliberation — particularly when this interference is applied unevenly — it becomes a question of equality.

However, community voices in Providence have not disappeared just because of the state

need look no further than Providence’s own public schools.

site of political power for Black and Latine residents. These bodies play a crucial role in school

takeover’s reduction of the school board’s power. In fact, grassroots advocacy by student-led

“ The school board, more than

anything at the federal or state level, is the basic unit of the democratic system.

groups such as Young Voices and Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education and parent organizations such as Parents Leading for Educational Equity has proved influential in the fight for educational equity in Providence. These organizations work to uplift the voices of community members who feel disempowered by the current system — especially in the wake of the state takeover. Their goal, as described by Young Voices, is for students and community members to “have a seat at the table in all decisions that affect their lives.” Administrators at RIDE and state politicians would do well to heed their demands.

As a self-described “vital anchor institution in the city,” Brown must also live up to its commitment to Providence schools. The University’s support of PPSD often comes in the form of financial investment — whether through voluntary payments to the city or the Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence. However, in addition to these monetary contributions, the University has the power to shape ongoing research into the effects of various school governance models through the Annenberg Institute, which is dedicated to “understanding the causes and mitigating the consequences of educational inequality.” It is here that the University must study and platform efforts by local activists to re-center communities in the governance of their schools.

This column is part of a series of opinion pieces about the impact of wealth and inequality on politics that receives financial support from the Stone Initiative on Inequality. The Herald maintains editorial independence over the published work.

Alissa Simon ’25 can be reached at alissa_simon@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

This column originally appeared online at www. browndailyherald.com on Nov. 21, 2023.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

PAGE 11

COMMENTARY

Bahl ’24: Philanthropy isn’t enough — billionaires need to do more The “billionaire” has become an essential character in American pop culture. Whether we admire them, envy them or villainize them, it is difficult to deny the vast power that their wealth grants them. However, there is little consensus on how billionaires should best exercise this power for the benefit of society. While philanthropy is gaining traction amongst billionaires, it doesn’t truly address the root causes of wealth inequality. To push beyond bandaid solutions, we must call on billionaires to turn away from disingenuous philanthropy and instead ground their work against inequality in a more profound understanding of their systemic privilege.

While monetary donations can have positive impacts — funding is an important part of effectively addressing issues from food insecurity to educational inequality — these impacts will remain limited if most billionaires continue to leverage this type of philanthropy for their own reputational benefit. The dollar amounts that billionaires choose to donate may look high relative to most people’s financial situations, but they represent a tiny fraction of what most billionaires are capable of giving. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many billionaires saw their net worth multiply several times over as the value of tech stocks soared. However, few sought to scale up their philanthropic endeavors in tandem with their personal wealth, even at a time when most of the country was suffering unprecedented financial insecurity. Despite these trends, we are led to view billionaires as decidedly generous. Just recently, Jeff Bezos generated significant buzz over his $100 million donation to wildfire recovery efforts in Maui. Yet, few articles mentioned that this sum is less than 0.1% of his net worth or that Bezos had already spent $78 million on an estate in Maui two years prior. Failing to establish the positionality of billionaires falsely inflates perceptions of their altruism, ultimately enabling and incentivizing them to use philanthropy as a publicity move.

This is especially dangerous when we consider that many philanthropic pledges and do-

nations do not ever reach any purported recipients, instead providing billionaires themselves with financial gains while the tax system (and taxpayers themselves) loses billions of dollars that otherwise would contribute to public services. Even famously philanthropic billionaires like Bill Gates and Jack Dorsey put their money into donor-advised funds, which provide tax breaks without ever guaranteeing that money goes towards charitable work. The entire concept of a donor-advised fund, which is only increasing in popularity, further encourages donating as a performative act rather than to drive impact.

Even when philanthropic donations do reach

So if not philanthropy, then what do we want from billionaires? At a basic level, they must understand the massive level of privilege embedded in their wealth. Regardless of any individual’s IQ or business acumen, their money has been won within a society built upon the labor and exploitation of the less wealthy.

An individualistic donation is one-way, drawing a bright line to separate the donor from the recipient. However, this creates a false boundary between billionaires and the less wealthy even though billionaires’ financial success is inextricably tied to the same system that has exploited others. Any meaningful form of giv-

“ The wealthy hold the resources

and decide where and to whom they should be allocated. By nature, this approach fails to challenge the structural issues that lead to wealth inequality in the first place.

their intended recipients, they often come with a savior narrative that reinforces power dynamics between the giver and the receiver. When donors are highly isolated from their recipients, the act of donating is superficial and hierarchical: The wealthy hold the resources and decide where and to whom they should be allocated. By nature, this approach fails to challenge the structural issues that lead to wealth inequality in the first place. Thus, philanthropy from billionaires is not only lacking the altruism that must ground any fight against wealth inequality, but it also fails to get at the underlying causes of this divide in the first place.

ing back should acknowledge this, fostering a sense of solidarity and shared responsibility within communities of donors and recipients.

Mutual aid networks are one such avenue for giving back. As opposed to traditional philanthropy, mutual aid emphasizes collaboration. Rather than viewing themselves as benevolent saviors separate from those whom they are trying to help, billionaires should engage in genuine partnerships with communities affected by inequality. Listening to the needs and aspirations of these communities paves the path to a shared decision-making process. If we prioritize individuals coming

together and leveraging their diverse set of resources to address collective needs, we could build systems that equitably support everyone.

And billionaires are an important part of making sure this new system is implemented. They can personally ensure that their own expansive pursuits of profit do not require the exploitation of workers or the depletion of natural resources. Commitments to fair wages, ethical labor practices and sustainable business models are a real way to substantially contribute to a reduction in the wealth gap.

Beyond these business practices, billionaires could exercise their enormous political influence to advocate for policies that promote economic justice. This could involve pushing for progressive taxation or fairer labor laws. By using their platforms to amplify the voices of those advocating for systemic change, billionaires can shape a more just society.

I truly believe that capitalism can coexist with principles of social responsibility, but only if those who benefit most from the system are active in their efforts to address its intrinsic flaws. Billionaires must move beyond the limited scope of philanthropy and embrace a more holistic approach to addressing wealth inequality. This involves a deep understanding of privilege and a willingness to challenge the very systems that have allowed their wealth to flourish. Billionaires need to collaborate with the less wealthy as equal stakeholders in our society’s future if we are to bridge the deep and generational economic divides that plague us today.

This column is part of a series of opinion pieces about the impact of wealth and inequality on politics that receives financial support from the Stone Initiative on Inequality. The Herald maintains editorial independence over the published work.

Anika Bahl ’24 can be reached at anika_ bahl@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

Aizenberg ’26: Bike helmets are not enough to keep cyclists safe In 2018, the World Wildlife Fund claimed that, by not using plastic straws, we could “help change the future for our oceans.” They were certainly addressing an important problem, but plastic straws constitute only a fraction of overall plastic pollution. The only viable way to mitigate plastic pollution is with international laws and policies that promote the reuse of plastic materials and production of new environmentally sustainable plastics. Though replacing plastic straws is a good first step, it is ultimately a band-aid solution for a large-scale problem. This brand of marketable “solutions” is all too common. Much like how nixing plastic straws sounds good but does little to address the scale of plastic pollution, bicycle helmets are easy to promote but do not really prevent cycling accidents or deaths at large. To actually make biking safer in the United States, we need societal and governmental changes.

To be clear, I am not against wearing a helmet when biking. Helmets have been found to reduce serious head injuries by 60% and face injuries by 23%. They make cyclists more visible to drivers, especially if your helmet is a bright color, and can protect from hazardous weather. Lab tests have reaffirmed the efficacy of helmets, at least in direct collisions with the top of one’s head and the ground.

Yet, on a societal level, helmet use does not correlate with reduced overall bike injuries. People often have to cycle in inherently dangerous environments like busy roads, where they face such a large risk that helmet usage only has a marginal impact on their safety. Paradoxically,

roads and intersections can pose increased dangers for helmeted cyclists, as drivers tend to give less space to riders wearing helmets when overtaking them. Helmeted cyclists also tend to take more risks, likely because they feel safer, which offsets some of the benefits of wearing a helmet.

Because of the many variables involved in car-cyclist collisions (the driver’s level of caution, the

be grounding our bike safety strategies in a larger system that can protect everyone.

These safety mechanisms are far more effective than just helmet wearing. Designated bike lanes make cyclists safer, forcing drivers to respect cyclists’ place on the road. These lanes are especially effective when they have physical buffers like curbs or cones instead of just painted

“ Like getting rid of plastic straws,

helmet usage is ineffective because it is a piecemeal solution to a societal problem.

road surface, the car’s speed), some manufacturers do not technically even design helmets to mitigate the injury risks of getting hit by a car.

At a big-picture level, individual bikers should not be solely responsible for their safety when biking. Though they can take precautions by wearing a helmet and avoiding especially busy roads, they cannot control traffic, road conditions or the actions of others around them. Only a broader governing structure and a shift in our societal biking practices can do that. We should

white lines. Beyond adding bike lanes, local and state governments should implement reduced speed limits in high-risk areas and add bike traffic lights. Cities can even build car-free zones into the grid and convert low-volume streets into bicycle boulevards.

Perhaps the best way to prevent cycling accidents is to encourage more people to cycle. Biking is much safer in large groups, since groups are easier for cars to spot and more difficult to speed past. Furthermore, drivers who also bike

tend to be more respectful and safe when sharing the road because they understand how cyclists feel. This is why the Netherlands, which has more bikes than people, is one of the safest countries to bike in – even though it has a very low helmet-wearing rate. A counterintuitive but effective way to nudge more people to bike is to not mandate helmet use. Some view these mandates as an annoying deterrent to biking. Others even interpret them as a caution against cycling, given that few other leisure activities have government-mandated protective gear. Dallas and Tacoma have both repealed their mandatory helmet laws for this reason.

Like getting rid of plastic straws, helmet use is ineffective because it is a piecemeal solution to a societal problem. Without laws regulating plastic manufacturing and usage at a broad level, plastic pollution will continue to worsen; likewise, without increased road protections for all cyclists, they will continue to sustain road injuries too often No amount of helmet-wearing will change this — it should be seen as the last line of defense for a biker. To quote English barrister Sir Edward Coke: “Law is the safest helmet.” Instead of acting like a helmet is protection enough, we need to shield bikers from road accidents with concrete measures at the government level.

Benjamin Aizenberg ’26 can be reached at benjamin_aizenberg@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

PAGE 12

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

ARTS & CULTURE TV REVIEW

Nathan Fielder goes deeper down the rabbit hole in ‘The Curse’ Comedian’s newest work brings cringe, absurdity to psychological thriller series

BY FINN KIRKPATRICK ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR It started off oh, so simply — Nathan Fielder, a graduate of one of Canada’s top business schools with really good grades, would go into struggling businesses and implement out-of-the-box ideas to hopefully get them out of whatever rut they had found themselves in.

While the businesses were real, Fielder’s ideas were anything but serious, part of a docu-reality comedy series both created by and starring the Canadian actor and comedian.

That show, “Nathan For You,” ended in 2017 and was followed quickly by “The Rehearsal,” a project that leaned further into the absurdism and mind-bending merging of fiction and reality that “Nathan For You” only partially explored.

Those two shows, utilizing intense audience discomfort as their primary

weapon, solidified Fielder as one of the most innovative comedic minds of our time. In a Fielder show, cringe is inevitable, but his most recent project, “The Curse,” takes these feelings of discomfort to impossible heights.

The fully scripted show follows Asher (Fielder) and Whitney Siegel (Emma Stone), a couple developing an HGTV show about revamping a small New Mexico town while struggling to conceive a child. The locals soon find their tactics problematic and the couple tries desperately to save face. In one weak attempt to do so, Asher gives a girl selling soda in a parking lot a hundred dollars as the show’s cameras are rolling but quickly takes back the money after getting the shot. As a result, the girl “curses” Asher and the couple becomes paranoid that they could actually be cursed.

As a completely scripted series, it would make sense for “The Curse” to feel somewhat different from “Nathan For You” and “The Rehearsal.” But in reality, the show is just a further step down the line of Fielder’s absurdist world. Fielder, as a result, has risen

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Everything Nathan Fielder does, within the television screen and outside of it, is part of some absurdist fever dream that may or may not mean something. above all of his individual projects to become something of a comedic enigma, who plants himself in different high-concept worlds as essentially the same individual following varying degrees of scriptedness.

Now, with the release of his first completely fictional project, Fielder’s real-world persona is as elusive as it

has ever been, most recently exemplified by a bizarre interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” where Fielder insisted that he had been playing a character in all of his previous public appearances.

The interview added another oddly shaped puzzle piece to the overall riddle of “What exactly is Nathan Fielder trying to do?”

Even only three episodes deep, “The Curse” is the most puzzling of Fielder’s shows — mainly due to its near complete ditching of comedy.

Instead, the show opts for a narrative more akin to a psychological thriller with the occasional awkward chuckle here and there.

“The Curse” can be a tough watch if you are not prepared to be deeply unsettled every minute you sit watching it, but breaking through that barrier unveils the deeply disturbing genius of one of the greatest creative voices walking on Earth today. Nothing really makes sense in Fielder’s world, and it’s best that it stays that way. His work is a force to behold in all its strange and cringe-inducing glory, even if it is likely to turn off most audiences.

“The Curse” is a work that must be watched in release order to be understood and now that the show is in its early infancy, it’s the perfect opportunity for all viewers to hop on the train and learn what this curse truly is.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 26 2023.

FILM REVIEW

Aesthetic thriller ‘Saltburn’ bites off more than it can chew Emerald Fennell’s sophomore film provocatively explores wealth, status, deception

BY NED KENNEDY SENIOR STAFF WRITER Emerald Fennell’s 2023 film “Saltburn” is an aesthetically rich tale of wealth, status and manipulation. While entertaining and gorgeously shot, the film ultimately falls into the trap of devoting more attention to aesthetics than substance.

Cut to Oxford, early 2000s: A nerdy teen, Oliver (Barry Keoghan), proclaims in his freshman year tutorial that he has read all 50 of the suggested readings from the summer book list. His instructor is aghast. It’s hard to believe that Oliver has undertaken the feat, most likely because he hasn’t at all.

“Saltburn” starts with a lie, the first of many throughout the film.

“Saltburn,” which draws inspiration from Evelyn Waugh’s 1945 novel “Brideshead Revisited,” begins amidst the chaos of orientation week at Oxford. The elite of Brasenose College socialize on the green by day and frequent pubs together by night. All the while, bookish Oliver quietly studies and passes the time with his socially inept acquaintance Michael (Ewan Mitchell). A tangible sense of privilege shrouds these early scenes of college life — the social and material excess of the in-crowd emerges in contrast to Oliver’s purported upbringing.

Oliver’s parents are said to be drug addicts, negligent and removed from their son’s life. It’s on these grounds that Oliver strikes up a relationship with Felix (Jacob Elordi), a handsome aristocrat and fellow classmate. Oliver kindly lends his bicycle to Felix one day when Felix gets a flat tire on his way to class. They strike up a friendship shortly thereafter and become a quirky duo. It quickly becomes clear that the

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“Saltburn” possesses considerable similarity to the social-satire films that have recently dominated festivals. Class commentaries have established themselves as a trendy genre; “Saltburn” is, unfortunately, a bit derivative. friendship provides Felix with an antidote to his bourgeois guilt.

Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer with his family at Saltburn, their Versailles-esque estate in the English countryside. The mansion is as pompous as Felix’s family: Rows upon rows of portraits hang, rich sunlight seeps through velvet curtains and an elaborate hedge maze is squarely placed in the backyard’s center. Saltburn’s eccentric inhabitants, Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) and Sir James (Richard E. Grant), Venetia (Alison Oliver) and fellow Oxford classmate Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) accept Oliver into their home with some degree of pity.

His presence is an invitation for them to feel less guilty about their decadent lifestyle. He provides a real-world depth that lies in contrast to their surface-level existence.

Before long, Oliver’s stay at Saltburn becomes complicated by personal truths brought to light. His bond with

Felix is found to stand on a foundation of lies, compromising their friendship and putting Oliver’s tenure at Saltburn in jeopardy. The second half of the film takes an unexpected course, tracing the breakdown of the family spurred

by Oliver’s deceit.

Trailers for the film left room for audiences to interpret the extent to which “Saltburn” can be considered a queer film. While the dynamic between Oliver and Felix is not explicitly queer, with their relationship failing to ever culminate in a romance, the film’s treatment of desire gestures toward the presence of a quieter form of queerness at work.

“This is a film entirely about desire, and that desire takes every conceivable manifestation,” according to Fennell.

Characters in the film not only desire each other but also a decadent lifestyle.

This aforementioned desire is manifested through sex, although sex itself is often presented as a means to an end

within the film. Pleasure isn’t a sexual catalyst in “Saltburn” — a desire for power is. Sex is conceivably a means through which those at Saltburn can assume power over others. For example, when Felix’s sister Venetia seduces Oliver in the garden outside of his window one night, Oliver takes it as an opportunity to establish psychological control. Oliver similarly uses sex in the film’s later half to establish power over Felix’s cousin Farleigh before he is forced off of the estate.

It is clear that Oliver desires Saltburn’s decadence more than he desires those around him — as an aesthete, sex is indeed utilitarian. The overbearing presence of bodily fluids in the film — blood, vomit, spit and semen — further contributes to the film’s characterization of sex as brutish and strategic.

It’s the means through which Oliver is able to continue crafting his web of deception.

An aspect ratio of 1.33:1 presents

the film in a narrow frame — similar to looking at a painting. The unique aspect ratio yields the sensation of peering in, too. We, like Oliver, are outsiders meant to observe the cinematic beauty and peculiar characters of Saltburn from a removed perspective.

While the film is thoroughly entertaining, its downfall lies in Fennell’s tendency to spell out the narrative.

Though a tangible sense of tension builds throughout the film, it doesn’t really amount to anything. Fennell holds our hand through the film’s climax, painstakingly explaining each development and linking events that need not be linked — leading the builtup tension to deflate like a balloon.

“Saltburn,” with its ambitious focus, ultimately bites off more than it can chew. The film simultaneously attempts to explore Felix’s relationship with Oliver, serve as a class commentary and probe the mind of a compulsive liar. But all of these subjects are only partially explored, none are investigated to fruition.

“Saltburn” possesses considerable similarity to the social-satire films that have recently dominated festivals.

Class commentaries have established themselves as a trendy genre; in order to stand out, new films of the genre need to present a fresh perspective.

“Saltburn” is, unfortunately, a bit derivative. It doesn’t possess a unique perspective, making it indistinguishable from other works — “Triangle of Sadness,” “Knives Out” and “The Menu” — released in recent years.

“Saltburn” is most notable for its aesthetic, though the film’s narrative unfortunately lacks uniqueness and mistreats suspense. It is a thoroughly entertaining watch, but it’s not something that will stay on this reviewer’s radar forever.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 27 2023.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

PAGE 13

ARTS & CULTURE

FILM REVIEW

‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ revives dystopian genre Film provides interesting backstory to the Games, lives up to expectations

BY DAPHNE DLUZNIEWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER The citizens of Panem have returned to the big screen in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

Adapted from Suzanne Collins’s 2020 prequel novel to “The Hunger Games” trilogy, the latest installment of the movie franchise was released Nov. 17 and has led in North American box office sales since its premiere. The movie explores the early days of the Games and the rise of the infamous Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) before he became president of Panem. The impressive cast also features Viola Davis as Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul, Peter Dinklage as the Games’ inventor Casca Highbottom and Hunter Schafer as Snow’s cousin Tigris. The plot aims to uncover how and why the Hunger Games are the way they are but achieves much more in the process: It offers a striking commentary on the preservation and deterioration of morality and the desperation that drives human nature.

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The decision to shift the focus of the film from the Games to the behind-thescenes in the Capitol offers a fresh perspective from the previous four movies.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a lengthy two-and-a-half hours long, yet the film successfully holds the audience’s attention throughout. The story is divided into three parts: “The Mentor,” “The Prize” and “The Peacekeeper.” At the beginning of the film, viewers get a deeper glimpse into Snow’s formative years. Bright and charming, Snow is recognized by his professors and peers as one of the best students in the Academy, the Capitol’s most elite educational institution. He dreams of attending university after graduation but, despite the outward facade of wealth he attempts to dis-

play to his fellow classmates, he and his family are penniless and unable to pay the tuition on their own. His only hope is to win the Plinth Prize, a hefty scholarship awarded to the Academy’s most deserving pupil.

But this year, winning the Plinth Prize is not as simple as achieving the best grades. Because support for the Games has dwindled over the past 10 years, those in the Capitol have decided to establish a mentorship program connecting the Academy students with tributes, and the mentor who does the best job transforming their tribute into a star is promised the Plinth Prize.

Much to Snow’s dismay, he is assigned Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) from District 12, which is historically the

intriguing. Blyth’s skills truly shine in the third part, where he offers a stunning performance of his character

least successful in the Games. Baird’s quirky attitude and odd penchant for singing make her stand out amongst the stronger, colder tributes. A performer at heart, Baird’s voice and sincerity prove to be an indispensable tool not only for winning over the Capitol crowds but also for aiding her survival.

The second two parts follow Snow’s struggle to protect Baird in the Games and the aftermath of his efforts. Though the Games anchor the plot, the movie hones in more on the Capitol’s decisions behind the scenes and Snow’s character development. The decision to shift the focus of the film offers a fresh perspective from the previous four movies and prevents this latest installment from being redundant.

Without beloved main characters like Katniss Everdeen or Peeta Mellark, fans were uncertain that the film would hit the mark. But despite the absence of these iconic characters, audiences are sure to still be captivated by this film’s central characters, particularly Blyth’s noteworthy portrayal of Snow.

Throughout the movie, his ability to capture the duality of Snow’s conniving yet compassionate nature is

unraveling into the evilness that fans have seen in President Snow from the earlier movies.

Zegler’s embodiment of Baird’s eccentric nature is also entertaining, but it is her vocal talent that shines the most in the film. One of the riskiest moves, though it is also in the book, is the incorporation of singing throughout the film. But what could have turned the film into a corny dystopian musical ends up becoming a powerful aspect of the film. The songs elevate the impact of each scene and become one of the most memorable parts of the film when supported by Zegler’s astonishing voice “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” certainly had high standards to live up to — in 2021, the series was one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time. But by employing subtle parallels to scenes in the earlier films and maintaining the originals’ aesthetics, the movie preserves the quality of the others, making it a successful addition to “The Hunger Games” universe.

MUSIC REVIEW

PinkPantheress establishes musical voice with debut album Singer leaves behind internet persona, introduces polished themes, dream-like sounds

Hayao Miyazaki shines with ‘The Boy and the Heron’

Hirokazu Kore-eda chronicles childhood in ‘Monster’ READ IT ONLINE BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

THIS WEEK Shape Note Singing Nov. 30, 6:00 p.m.

Steinert Center

Timestead: Improvised Trio Concert Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.

Grant Recital Hall

The Nutcracker Dec. 1, 8:00 p.m.

Alumnae Hall

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 29 2023.

catchiness to “Heaven knows,” solo tracks where PinkPantheress has room to explore more complex emotional issues are the album’s stand-out gems.

She further spotlights the shedding

BY ISABEL HAHN SENIOR STAFF WRITER Rising U.K. pop singer and producer PinkPantheress released her debut studio album, “Heaven knows,” Nov. 10.

An embellished extension of the shy bedroom beats from her teenage years, “Heaven knows” showcases PinkPantheress stepping into her fully realized musical persona.

For longtime fans, witnessing the drop of “Heaven knows” is nothing short of heartwarming. When the singer first started posting short homemade demos from a faceless TikTok account in 2020, the internet was quickly captivated by her sweet and ephemeral sound. Viral hits like “Pain” and “Just for me,” despite being just over a minute long, featured wistful lyrics of young love and longing layered over pulsing breakbeats. With the eventual 2021 release of her debut mixtape, “to hell with it,” PinkPantheress’s fun-sized catalog remained alluring but left much up to the imagination with fans eager to see her grow into her impressive potential.

“Heaven knows” is PinkPantheress’s answer to these hopes. Moving out of her teenage bedroom and into a professional studio, she reveals an enhanced sound that is undeniably more polished but still maintains the charm that made her earlier tracks memorable. In a Billboard interview earlier this year, PinkPantheress revealed her desire to graduate from the internet girl persona her TikTok fame had assigned her. “Heaven knows” meets this goal, showcasing her ability to write and sing pop music for general audiences that stretch far beyond online niches.

The first track of the album, “Another life,” immediately intrigues with a spooky,

STELLA TSOGTJARGAL / HERALD

vampiric organ sequence, complimenting PinkPantheress’s lyrics about a lover who is so dismissive that they seem soulless.

In addition to its dramatic melodies and breakbeats, “Another life” features Afrobeats rapper Rema, producing a unique synchrony of vocals from the two.

PinkPantheress’s experimentation with a variety of musical moods and sounds is by far the most enjoyable part of her debut album. Following the darker aura permeating “Another life,” sunny guitar strumming underlines the lovesick track “True romance” as well as the twinkling drumbeat backing up “Mosquito.”

While previous themes of unreciprocated love and dreamy yearning persist in these newer songs, their amped-up production quality and longer track lengths allow PinkPantheress’s vulnerable sentiments to flourish further. In the chorus of “Mosquito,” she sings: “‘Cause I just had

a dream I was dead / And I only cared ‘cause I was taken from you / You’re the only thing that I own / I hear my bell ring, I’d only answer for you.”

With her previous collaboration with Ice Spice in “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” being a massive hit, seeing how PinkPantheress’s signature style fares with other artists is another highlight of “Heaven knows,” which contains four features total. Her track with U.K. rapper Central Cee, “Nice to meet you,” has an infectious energy and the duo displays an endearing and addictive chemistry together. Here, the affection PinkPantheress shows throughout the album is challenged by the acts of infidelity that Central Cee boasts about in his verse — “But it weren’t one time, it was four or five”— creating an interesting imagined scenario of a back-and-forth lover’s quarrel.

While the features bring a special

of her easily replicable internet-girl label in “Internet baby (interlude),” repeating the line “I am not your internet baby” in a sultry, robotic tone. In the delicate, fairy-esque “Ophelia,” she alludes to the tragic character Ophelia from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to express her sorrow over a violent, all-consuming crush. “So tell me, what did I do to deserve you killin’ me this way? / I can’t lose my life like this, I’m still fighting,” she sings, her voice gradually becoming more distorted to replicate the feeling of drowning.

The subsequent song, “Feel complete,” also employs a combination of sweet instrumentals layered behind melancholic themes. Over a nostalgic beat, PinkPantheress sings about being hurt by a lover struggling with substance abuse.

Throughout the latter half of the album, we see heavy tracks like “Feelings” and “Capable of love” adorned with soft, whispery vocals and angelic sonic backdrops, seemingly acting as masks that PinkPantheress dares listeners to look through to understand what lies behind the shiny curtains of her mind.

With her debut album, PinkPantheress makes it clear that she has come a long way since her days of anonymously releasing snippets of music online and that she doesn’t plan on returning. A perfect sonic blend of the new popstar persona she has grown into and the authentic self that her fans fell in love with years ago, “Heaven knows” invites us to follow PinkPantheress into the new soundscapes she plans to dream up.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 27 2023.

PAGE 14

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

ARTS & CULTURE

MUSIC REVIEW

Searows works through bittersweet nostalgia with haunting new EP COURTESY OF SEAROWS

‘End Of The World’ offers somber vocals, acoustic style to create gloomy ambiance

BY DAPHNE DLUZNIEWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER Indie-folk artist Searows released his EP “End Of The World” on Nov. 10. Wistful and nostalgic, the EP’s songs serve as vignettes of a life once forgotten. Though the EP lacks a certain sense of dynamic liveliness, it’s still an enchanting body of work — complemented by Searows’s signature ability to create music that elicits listeners’ deepest emotions.

While many of the tracks have a distinctly similar sound — acoustic, slow and despondent — they all form a cohesive collection of self-reflective and beautiful pieces.

Released as a single July 25, the EP’s first track “Older” masterfully captures the terrifying feeling of growing up.

The song is a lengthy seven minutes, but time seems to fly as listeners get lost in the swirl of emotions and serene instrumentals. The track introduces the rest of the EP with a stirring sense of longing — a theme that seems to weave its way through the rest of the work.

“I have more than enough” follows.

Searows’s voice and the song’s instru-

mentals make the track sound like a part of Phoebe Bridgers’s discography, especially with its sorrowful aura and haunting imagery. The song, though moving, does little to set itself apart from other work in the genre. The next track, “Collector,” also has a similar atmospheric sound and guitar accompaniment. The lyrics themselves are simple and brief, but listeners looking for a peaceful tune to lull them into calm will certainly feel at peace with the airy vocals and slow tempo.

The record takes a more eerie turn with “Funny.” Both lyrically and musically, the song is one of the most poignant tracks on the EP. Searows wrestles

with survival and existence as he sings: “Funny how you rearrange / How your mind begins to change / Hold yourself a little tighter in the arms of your old age.” The chorus is the most captivating part of the song, full of hypnotic harmonies and swelling instrumentals.

The EP’s title track is next, its soothing melody providing a breath of fresh air after the heaviness of “Funny,” despite the song’s gloomy subject.

Searows describes how confronting the end of the world makes him want to reconnect with someone from his past and admits, “I saw the end of the world last night / I ran to you.”

The EP closes with “I Can and I

Will.” The verses are stripped down simply to a soft backing instrumental and Searows’s voice, emphasizing the more complex segments in between.

Still, the song’s lethargic pace provides somewhat of an uninteresting conclusion to the record. That being said, the outro of the song, while brief, does offer listeners somewhat of a compelling and climactic ending. In this way, the closing track is reflective of the EP itself — musically ethereal but somewhat unremarkable.

This article originally appeared online at www.browndailyherald.com on Nov. 26, 2023.

Anime Video Game Ensemble marches to beat of own drum AVGE members seek to promote community through video game, anime music

BY KATE BUTTS CONTRIBUTING WRITER Many student artists quickly find their niches in Brown’s thriving performing arts scene — which includes everything from a cappella to musical theater and numerous styles of dance.

But students still manage to expand the University’s creative arts community. In spring 2022, some felt a need for a new approach to classical music — creating the University’s Anime Video Game Ensemble.

The group, consisting of one large ensemble and several smaller ensembles, plays music exclusively from anime and video game soundtracks.

Ryan Lee ’26, arranging chair and a percussionist and pianist in AVGE, explained that twice a semester, members listen to excerpts from suggested songs and vote on their favorites.

“Since our club is completely student-run and we play music that’s voted on by club members, we have to arrange our own music every semester,” he said.

This process is no small feat, said

Johann Dizon ’24, who conducts the large ensemble and is one of the club’s founders. He explained that while many student groups buy the rights to music or scores, AVGE tailors the pieces they select to their own ensemble. That way, members “can still participate even if the original score or digital song did not include” their instrument, he said.

The club’s set this semester includes music from “Super Mario Galaxy” and Castle in the Sky, a Studio Ghibli movie.

Though AVGE has grown quickly — now boasting 66 members, despite starting with only six in spring 2022 — the club works hard to maintain a democratic structure, Dizon said. AVGE votes on almost everything, from what kinds of songs they play to what they’d like to see the club do moving forward.

“We’re able to get everyone’s input,” he said.

At her first AVGE meeting, Emma Hsiao ’25 suggested a song that won a vote. She recounted thinking, “Okay, well now I have to go to rehearsal.’”

AVGE prides itself on being “a serious but also relaxed club that anyone can join,” according to Dizon, and it has a commitment to welcoming members of all abilities.

“We want to make (the club) as accessible as possible,” Dizon said, as well

as “educate our own members on music theory, music education and arranging and writing music.”

Co-founder and violinist Richard Dong ’25, head director of the smaller ensembles, also emphasized AVGE’s inclusivity. “Our club goal has always been to accept everyone of all musical backgrounds, all instruments — and make sure everyone can play the part they want to play,” he said.

As the club quickly outgrows its current performance space, it hopes to hold a concert in the main hall of the Lindemann Performing Arts Center.

“The main hall would be a perfect way to accommodate both the performers and our audience,” Dizon said.

Dong also said he hopes to increase the club’s engagement with other groups on campus and “the performing arts sphere in general.”

AVGE will host two concerts in early December that will include a collaboration — the club’s first — with Gendo Taiko, a contemporary Taiko drumming club. According to Dizon, one of the songs the club plans to play from “Genshin Impact” contains a number of East Asian folk instruments, including the Taiko drums.

Hsiao described the Taiko drums as “bring(ing) the (song’s) fullness to

COURTESY OF RICHARD DONG

The Anime Video Game Ensemble seeks to bring together performers from a variety of musical backgrounds to play anime and video game music. life.” Hsiao is also excited to use a real typewriter as a sound effect in another piece during the concert.

The attire for the concert reflects the club’s mission of being both serious and fun, with members having the choice to dress in black and white concert attire or in cosplay, Dizon said.

“AVGE is serious about the music we

play, but we also play a really different genre of music that’s not as appreciated within the greater community,” Lee said. “Everyone’s really passionate about spreading anime and video game music.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 21, 2023.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

ACADEMICS & ADVISING

PAGE 15

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Beyond the Van Wickle gates: Students share views on grad school Students reflect on grad school plans, pressures to pursue post-grad education

BY ELIZABETH HIRSCHFELD STAFF WRITER Within 10 years of graduation, 80 percent of Brown students will have pursued some form of graduate school or professional study.

The Herald spoke to five undergraduate students about whether they plan to attain a graduate degree. While some students said that they plan to attend graduate school immediately after graduation, others hope to wait a few years before doing so.

“For the kinds of jobs that I would want down the line, law school or a (Masters of Public Policy) would make it a lot more feasible for me to advance to the level that I’d want to,” said Rebecca Blumenthal ’25, who plans to attend graduate school but has not decided when or for what kind of program.

Similarly, Michelle Zemlyak ’24 said that her plan to attend medical school will allow her to reach her professional goals. Graduate school, she said, “is a chance to actually be able to apply my knowledge more and get closer to a career that I actually want to have.”

But Zemlyak added she still had to decide whether graduate school would be a worthy investment. “Graduate school is more time and more money, aside from already these four years at Brown,” she

DANA RICHIE / HERALD

Anna Brent-Levenstein ’25 said while she is confident she will apply to law school, she is curious about other graduate school options after taking history and sociology courses at Brown. said.

Anna Brent-Levenstein ’25 said while she is confident she will apply to law school, she is curious about other graduate school options after taking history and sociology courses at Brown.

“Ultimately, I think that the classes that I’ve had on the law are still the most interesting to me (and have) reoriented me back towards law school,” Brent-Levenstein said.

Adam Lalani ’26 wrote in a message to The Herald that he has “no idea” if he wants to attend graduate school but

would like to gain “experience (in his) industry before going.”

Dena Salliey ’24 said her experiences at Brown made her “more aware of the graduate school path (she) want(s) to take” but also wished her desired program path had “been made more clear at the beginning” of her studies.

“I feel more confident in what I want to study and when I want to study for graduate school but it’s slightly different than what I thought I would do when I first got” to Brown, Salliey noted. “I think I would have made some different

decisions if I had known that my graduate school plans weren’t possible in (the University’s) undergraduate setup.”

The students also reflected on whether there is pressure at Brown to continue one’s education.

Blumenthal said that she speaks with friends about graduate school often. “In junior year, we’re starting to think about the future,” she said. “It definitely is a much more prevalent conversation topic than I’m used to,” she said.

According to Brent-Levenstein, graduate school can seem a necessity to

achieve career goals in the humanities for many, leading to competition. “There’s just a lot of fearmongering about how, if you were to apply to jobs with just an undergraduate English or history degree, you wouldn’t get them,” she said.

Zemlyak said that she discusses graduate programs with friends in a non-competitive manner. “I don’t think there’s a pressure,” she said.

Lalani felt similarly, writing that there is “not really” a pressure to apply to graduate school among his friends.

“Med school is often a topic of discussion among premed friends but, aside from that, (there is) not really” discussion of graduate school, he added.

But Lalani noted that “the academic freedom of Brown let (him) explore other career paths that don’t necessarily require grad school.”

Salliey added that she decided to take an extra year before applying to graduate school after discussing post-graduate plans with friends.

“It felt less isolating knowing that other people were delaying their graduate studies or doing different things or even just applying later than they initially planned,” she said.

While navigating the application process for graduate programs can be stressful, Zemlyak said that she has leaned on her peers for support.

“We are just trying to use each other as a sounding board,” she said.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 26, 2023.

ACADEMICS & ADVISING

Undergraduate students reflect on experience in graduate level courses Undergraduate students describe interest, challenges in 2000-level courses

BY MIRA WHITE SENIOR STAFF WRITER Scrolling down far enough under any concentration on Courses@Brown, students might encounter 2000-level courses — graduate level courses — for which they are not technically eligible. Still, many undergraduate students take graduate courses to use for their undergraduate degree or simply out of interest.

Cedric Sirianni ’25, a computer science concentrator, took CSCI 2390: “Privacy-Conscious Computer Systems” this fall. He registered for the class because of his interest in computer systems and the course’s professor, Assistant Professor of Computer Science Malte Schwarzkopf.

Although the course is graduate-level, Sirianni estimated that only 40% of the class consisted of graduate students. “There’s so much to learn from people with more experience and knowledge,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.

For the computer science concentration, undergraduates are encouraged, but not required, to take 2000-level courses for which they have satisfied prerequisites, according to Brown’s Computer Science pathway website.

Students who have taken

2000-level courses at Brown told The Herald that gaining a spot required little work. They emailed professors in advance of registration, and were given override codes and permission to join the class.

Although Sirianni found the material challenging and at times overwhelming, he noted that professors and TAs understand that students are at various levels.

Mason Zhang ’25, who has also taken multiple graduate-level courses, agreed.

“It was definitely intimidating at first to be surrounded by graduate students, but as we got to know each other we had many interesting discussions,” Zhang wrote in an email to The Herald.

Zhang, who is double-concentrating in computer science and philosophy, has taken four graduate courses in total — two in philosophy, one in comparative literature and one in computer science — and he said he’s not done yet.

He added that he has taken graduate-level courses for multiple reasons, whether it was to experience a class with a certain professor or challenge himself in a seminar format. The amount of undergraduate students has varied across each course, but class composition has typically ranged from half to all graduate students.

“Grading is a secondary focus in many graduate courses; the emphasis is on learning, and in so many ways you get out what you put into the

course,” Sirianni wrote.

For the course CSCI 1810: “Computational Molecular Biology,” another section is offered for graduate students — CSCI 2810: “Advanced Computational Molecular Biology,” according to Sorin Istrail, professor of computer science and computational and mathematical sciences.

Istrail’s students in the graduate-level course are required to complete all of the undergraduate material in addition to a project designing new software. Although the course is open to undergraduate students, “very rarely are there undergraduate students that request to be considered for the graduate credit,” Istrail

wrote in an email to The Herald.

Istrail described his “pipeline of brilliance,” where he encourages students to take certain undergraduate courses in computational biology, eventually working their way up to a graduate course.

“Exceptionally strong students need challenges to learn more and such graduate credit projects are the right way for them to advance their knowledge and experience,” Istrail wrote.

Both Sirianni and Zhang said they plan on taking more graduate-level courses but have not yet decided on attending graduate school.

“Having graduate students as

peers helped me increase the thoroughness of my work, but it also didn’t change my fundamental interest in the topics,” Zhang wrote.

“Being able to talk about term paper ideas was very interesting, as some graduate students brought a lot of expertise and passion.”

For students interested in advancing and expanding their studies, the University further offers a concurrent degree program that allows students to combine their last year or two of undergraduate study with graduate study.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 28, 2023.

ASHLEY CHOI / HERALD

PAGE 16

UNIVERSITY NEWS

VIGIL FROM PAGE 1

protestors hung a banner from Faunce reading “Brown invests in the Palestinian genocide.”

Paxson left the lectern before concluding her remarks. Later Monday evening, the Office of the President posted her full speech online.

The next scheduled speaker, Professor of Palestinian Studies Beshara Doumani, who had visited Awartani in Burlington with Vice President for Campus Life Eric Estes, read a message from Awartani to the crowd: “It’s important to recognize that this is part of the larger story. This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum,” Doumani recited. “As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict.”

“Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army,” Doumani continued reciting, met by cheers and applause from attendees.

“The soldier who shot me would go home and never be convicted. I understand that the pain is so much more

a vigil held a month ago. “There is no respite for us.”

“One of our classmates was shot,” Ashhab added. “What will it take for Brown to respond?”

Protests for divestment resumed after the vigil concluded, with hundreds

tection of students, an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the divestment of our endowment from weapons manufacturing companies,” organizers for the group wrote in an email to The Herald.

In an email to The Herald, Senior Vice President for Communications

viduals and communities across Brown with direct attention has continued to take many forms,” Cliatt wrote.

Amanda McGregor, a spokesperson for Brown, noted in an email to The Herald that activism plays a “healthy and important role” on campus but not

real and immediate because many of you know me, but any attack like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine.”

“This is why when you say your wishes and light your candles today, your mind should not just be focused on me as an individual, but rather as a proud member of a people being oppressed,” Doumani concluded.

After sharing Awartani’s statement, Doumani reiterated students’ calls for divestment.

“If Palestinians had to hold vigils every time our people were massacred, we would be bankrupt from buying candles,” said Aboud Ashhab ’25, a friend of Awartani, quoting his statement at

remaining outside Faunce, going towards University Hall calling for divestment and chanting “free Palestine” until just before 6 p.m.

“As reported by the College Hill Independent, Palestinian students and their co-strugglers shared testimony with President Paxson over five weeks ago detailing incidents of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian attacks on campus and nationwide,” a news release from Brown Students for Justice in Palestine read.

“However, Paxson ignored these concerns about safety and waited until now to even acknowledge the rise in discrimination, hate and violence.”

“We continue to demand for the pro-

Cass Cliatt emphasized outreach from Paxson and other administrators with “a multitude of students, faculty and staff over the past several weeks … in ways that are significant and important to directly commit to care and support amid the acknowledged increase in discrimination and threats of violence across the nation and around the world.”

“It would be an unfortunate misconception to believe that the only way university leaders can or should acknowledge Islamophobia, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and violence, and antisemitism is through messages to the full community, because our commitment to care for indi-

a definitive one: “Protests, demands and petitions shine a light on issues but they don’t in themselves drive decisions.”

“Our direct engagement with members of our community regarding issues is where solutions come from,” McGregor wrote.

“We remain steadfast and unwavering in our commitment to care for our community,” she wrote. “The University’s focus right now is providing care in all the ways that we can to Hisham and his family, and to all of our students, faculty and staff at Brown.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 27 2023.

CAMPUS ACTIVISM

Brown community members join JFCN for Main Green gathering

Speakers discuss next steps after dropping of charges, continue calls for divestment

BY TOM LI & JULIA VAZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER & METRO EDITOR

Tuesday morning — when 20 Jewish students arrested at a Nov. 8 sit-in were scheduled to be arraigned until the University dropped charges against them — roughly 150 community members assembled for a gathering organized by BrownU Jews for Ceasefire Now. In front of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, members of JFCN, Brown University Palestine Solidarity Caucus and Brown Students for Justice in Palestine shared personal stories, reflected on the arrests of 20 JFCN members and called on the University to divest from companies affiliated with Israel.

Before Brown requested that the City Solicitor’s Office drop charges Monday afternoon — canceling the arraignment — JFCN had planned to organize community members to attend the scheduled arraignment according to a Nov. 27 Instagram post that was later updated after the charges were dropped.

The students were arrested and charged with willful trespass during a Nov. 8 sit-in at University Hall. At the sit-in, students demanded that the University call for a ceasefire in Gaza and that President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 “support a divestment resolution in the next meeting of the Brown Corporation.

At the Tuesday rally, attendees held signs that read “Not In Our Name,” “Ceasefire Now,” “Jews Say No War on Gaza” and “Divest Now,” among other messages.

Members of JFCN invited attendees to sit down around the Campus Center steps to discuss the implications of the dropped charges and “how to move forward,” said Lily Gardner ’26.

“We’re excited that we don’t currently have to be at the courthouse,” she added.

“It’s a good day.” “ ‘Charges dropped is not a triumph; it is a prerequisite,’ ” said Edie Fine ’25. “We remain steadfast in our condemnation of a university that would seek police detainment on their students for peacefully protesting.”

Fine quoted from the University’s statement on dropping the charges: “There is so much confusion, fear and

COURTESY OF BROWNU JEWS FOR CEASEFIRE NOW

In front of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, members of JFCN, Brown University Palestine Solidarity Caucus and Brown Students for Justice in Palestine shared personal stories, reflected on the arrests of 20 JFCN members and called on the University to divest from companies affiliated with Israel. anger being felt right now that we feel this is a time to bring our community together and try to set aside issues that are exacerbating tensions and divisions on our campus.”

“We will not be set aside,” Fine said.

“We reject this narrative that we are in this fight at the expense of the Brown community.”

University Spokesperson Amanda McGregor previously wrote in an email to The Herald that “the students were arrested Nov. 8 for refusing to leave University Hall, where their presence after operating hours posed security concerns, not for the content of their protest.” Paxson emphasized that despite dropping the charges, the University did not consider the decision a precedent.

Speakers also addressed the shooting of three Palestinian college students last Saturday in Burlington, Vermont.

Kinnan Abdalhamid, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Brown junior Hisham Awartani ’25 sustained serious injuries, The Herald previously reported. All three are in stable condition.

JFCN speaker Rafael Ash ’26 led the group in song and prayer dedicated to “Hisham, his friends and the lives lost in Gaza.”

“I thank Hisham for teaching us life and integrity and love even from a hospital bed,” said Sherena Razek GS, an organizer with Brown PSC. “We have much to learn from him.”

“The University administrators tell us that this issue is barred from us, that this doesn’t impact us,” Razek continued.

“But a student at Brown was shot. Is that proof enough that this does impact us?”

“We join over a decade of calls for divestment from companies materially supplying the Israeli occupation,” she added. “The university has ignored these calls, arrested student protesters, and perpetuated a false narrative of necessary institutional neutrality while materially investing in genocide.”

Independent human rights experts from the United Nations have warned of the “risk of genocide” in Gaza due to Israel’s military response following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.

Razek said she met with Paxson,

Awartani and 10 other students five weeks ago. “We said, ‘This mass dehumanization of Palestinian life will come back and it will get us personally.’ ” “The president and other University leaders have engaged with a multitude of students, faculty and staff over the past several weeks — and continue to do so — in ways that are significant and important to directly commit to care and support amid the acknowledged increase in discrimination and threats of violence across the nation and around the world,” Senior Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt previously wrote in an email to The Herald. monique jonath ’24 called on fellow Jewish students — especially white Jewish students — to “use your position to be explicit … and to remember the importance of working in coalition with those whose identities and experiences differ.”

“As it relates to statements and petitions and online demands,” McGregor previously wrote in an email to The Herald, “the University remains committed to engaging directly with stu-

dents, faculty and staff who are in touch with the University to share their ideas or concerns, and we do so routinely.”

“Brown leaders have met with many student groups in recent weeks to listen to and address concerns, and we will continue to do so moving forward,” McGregor added.

Professor of Comparative Literature and Modern Culture and Media Ariella Azoulay also joined the gathering.

“It was inspiring to listen to those dissident Jewish students reclaiming their place in this world as Jews and drawing on Jewish histories and memories which are longer than those Zionism created, in order to struggle for the right thing — free Palestine,” Azoulay wrote in an email to The Herald.

“We can never afford to be depoliticized and we can never depoliticize actions in the past,” Ash said. “We will do well in retrospect … In 20 years, I’m sure there will be a library (archive) about all of us.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 27 2023.