Tuesday, October 24, 2017

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 92

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University enrolls students displaced by Hurricane María Up to 50 students from University of Puerto Rico offered enrollment for fall semester

By CELIA HACK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD

The move-in process for the Engineering Research Center is expected to be complete in December. The 80,000 square-foot building provides a community space and the infrastructure to conduct innovative research.

Engineering Research Center opens early Building features multifunctional commons area, stitches together several existing structures

By LYDIA DEFUSTO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Engineering Research Center opened Oct. 20, three months ahead of its predicted completion date. This week, the School of Engineering will

begin moving its staff, faculty and labs into the new building, said Jennifer Casasanto, associate dean for programs and planning. The move-in process is expected to be finished in December.

“Labs are more complex to move because the equipment needs to be taken apart and then reinstalled by equipment manufacturers,” Casasanto added.

The 80,000 square-foot building cost $88 million and includes a nanotechnology cleanroom, an advanced

U. orchestra performs under guest conductor Orchestra proceeds with concert despite conductor complications, performs rendition of Brahms

By LIYAAN MASKATI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Several challenges may have been anticipated for the Brown University Orchestra when conductor Brandon Keith Brown was relieved of his orchestra duties just one week before the first orchestra concert of the academic year.

But as the musicians delivered a masterful performance to a packed Sayles Hall Friday and Saturday night, it seemed clear that the abrupt transition in conducting duties had not hindered them.

Under the baton of guest conductor Daniel Harp, teaching associate in music, the orchestra plunged into Brahms’ Symphony No.1 in C Minor,

INSIDE

impressing members of the audience. “(Brahms’s First Symphony) is a great piece and (the orchestra) did a splendid job with it,” said Katie Byrnes ’21, a member of the audience on Saturday night.

The piece, which comprises four movements, was composed by Brahms over a period of at least 14 years, Harp noted before the performance. It is a manifestation of Brahms’ inner turmoil and the emotion that he was otherwise unable to express, Harp further explained. “Any time there is a break, or a lyrical moment, it reverts very quickly back to some kind of turmoil.”

Harp described the first movement as a “storm of emotion.” Following the “storm,” the second movement starts off innocently, almost like a love song, Harp said. But within four measures, the piece crescendoes. It seems as though “(Brahms) just can’t hold onto a simple motion for very long,” Harp explained. On the other hand, » See ORCHESTRA, page 2

imaging suite, a multi-functional commons and open-plan laboratories, according to a School of Engineering flier.

“We didn’t have any space in engineering or physics that could hold our entire community of faculty, staff and students,” she added. “Poster sessions, career fairs, all of that can happen in our commons. We’re just really excited (to) think outside the box about a flexible space that can do all of the things » See ERC, page 2

In the wake of Hurricane María, the University has offered to enroll up to 50 students from the University of Puerto Rico for the fall semester, said Chief of Staff to the Provost Marisa Quinn.

Tuition and fees, housing, transportation to the University and a meal plan are all covered for undergraduate and graduate students by the University, Quinn added. If needed, the students may stay through the spring semester.

The University will also offer positions to UPR faculty members as well as housing, she said.

“The University has a tradition of supporting communities that are affected by natural or manmade disasters,” Quinn said. The University similarly reached out to scholars affected by Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti.

At least 15 students have already arrived at the University, including Jennifer Mojica and Fernando Norat.

Ten more are set to arrive today, Quinn wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald.

The hurricane has left UPR, which has 11 campuses, in an even greater state of disrepair following significant budget cuts made last semester, Mojica said.

“I miss my friends. And I miss my family,” Mojica said. In Puerto Rico, she studied at the Mayagüez campus.

Her campus lacks significant educational infrastructure. Last spring, UPR campuses were rocked by strikes protesting funding cuts.

“We (haven’t had) a library since last semester when the strike happened,” Mojica said. “Now, we won’t have a library, because … the small part that was open got ruined. So how are we going to do research now? I don’t know.”

It is “looking very grim right now for the semester to be able to start normally” at UPR, Norat said.

The admissions office put out an application for UPR undergraduate students Oct. 11. In addition to the application, students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and be recommended

by UPR, Quinn said.

Graduate students and faculty go through a nomination process, often with recommendations from Brown faculty members who know colleagues that have been displaced or are unable to continue their research in Puerto Rico, Quinn said.

Academically, the University has » See HURRICANE, page 3

Poet Elizabeth Willis celebrates C.D. Wright Literary Arts department honors late Professor C.D. Wright, features readings from different poets

By TRISHA THACKER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The large photograph of poet and Professor of Literary Arts Carolyn “C.D.” Wright on the projector screen stood as a symbol to the grand impact of her writing as it was emphasized by esteemed poet Elizabeth Willis’ lecture on Oct. 18. The speech served to TRISHA THACKER / HERALD inaugurate the C.D. Wright Lecture Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Willis gave a moving and laudatory tribute Series, which, according to Literary to Literary Arts Professor C.D. Wright, who died in 2016.

Arts Professor Cole Swenson, aims award for her book “One With Others,” knew C.D.’s work extremely well, and to “honor the memory of our deeply a MacArthur Fellowship and a mem- is also, herself, a well-known and exvalued colleague C.D. Wright, who died bership in the American Academy of cellent poet. We knew that she would in 2016, and to perpetuate the study Arts and Sciences. write a talk that was inventive, dynamic and circulation of her work.”

Invited by the Literary Arts Depart- and in every way worthy of C.D. and Wright was born and raised in Ar- ment to speak on the impact of Wright’s her work,” Swenson wrote in an email kansas and was the Israel J. Kapstein work, Willis discussed Wright’s style of to The Herald.

Professor of English and Professor of writing and the important influences Appropriately opening the lecLiterary Arts at Brown. Her honors in- in her work. ture, Willis discussed the concepts of clude the National Book Critics Circle “Willis is a prominent critic who » See WRIGHT, page 2

WEATHER

TUESDAY, OC TOBER 24, 2017

UNIVERSITY NEWS Changes in CS concentration requirements to allow for different pathways within department

ARTS & CULTURE Students, professionals perform improvisational dance, ‘setGo in Motion’

COMMENTARY Vilsan ’19: CareerLAB services need more career advisors, equal access to advising

COMMENTARY Thomas ’21: Professional athletes are normal people, capable of opinions, mistakes

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» ERC, from page 1 that our community wants to do.”

Besides lacking in community space, Barus and Holley, the former center of the School of Engineering, became increasingly technologically inadequate, Casasanto added. The ERC will give students and faculty members the infrastructure to do more innovative research.

The team’s vision was to create a building that would “be able to be flexible for the research that would be happening inside of this building over the course of its life,” said Michael Guglielmo, director of design and construction. “There were some innovative aspects that were incorporated within those labs to (enable) the future reconfiguration of the labs.”

The architects “created this Lshaped configuration that ultimately stitched Prince Engineering (Lab), the Giancarlo Wing and the original Barus and Holley structure altogether.

It all comes together (in the) new commons,” he added.

Dean of Engineering Larry Larson said the adoption of the integrated project delivery method, which allows the University, architect, contractor and subcontractors to collaborate on every step, was a factor that allowed for the early completion of the building.

“Rather than an adversarial process where everybody’s fighting with each other, we all teamed together at the beginning of the project,” he said. “Everybody really checked their egos at the door and worked very collectively and very productively.”

The ERC was the first project that KieranTimberlake, the building’s architecture firm, had built using the integrated project delivery method, said Rachel Stoudt, an architect on their team. “It was pretty neat for us

» WRIGHT, from page 1 beginnings and endings, both in life and in Wright’s work. She drew attention to the question of nativity in Wright’s writing and her practice of “tracing the branch back to the root.”

Willis extended this idea of beginnings by accentuating how Wright’s upbringing as a daughter of a court reporter and judge piqued her fascination with the law. She said that Wright is a “poet of the dictionary, and of the law and of the book.” She referenced Walt Whitman’s poem “Respondez!” from his 1855 collection “Leaves of Grass” to elaborate on how Wright’s work has the ability to talk back to power and advocate for a kind of disobedience.

MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD

The Engineering Resource Center features a nano-technology cleanroom, an advanced imaging suite, a multi-purpose commons and open-plan laboratories. Students convene on the steps of the recently-revamped Barus and Holley and discuss problem sets in the building’s new ambience. to be able to get feedback from (contractors and subcontractors) early on, which then affected the drawings and made (both) our drawings … and our building (design) smarter,” she added.

The collaborative nature of the building goes beyond the building process, said Maria Fernanda Lugo Bolanos GS, member of the Engineering Student Advisory Board. “We want to invite all of the community at Brown Another idea Willis evoked was the performativity of Wright’s language.

“What the poet does best is make the reader see,” Willis said. Wright’s language “doesn’t describe, but springs into action,” she added.

Louise Akers GS, a graduate student in literary arts, enjoyed Willis’s analysis, saying she “was interested in the way that she evoked the performativity of language, especially in terms of the scripture and law.”

Willis amused the audience by alluding to C.D. Wright’s love for particular lexicons of particular occupations.

She also entertained and showcased her poetic prowess through the quip dedicated to C.D. Wright: “I came, I saw, I Arkansas.”

to (use the new building), not only engineers,” Lugo Bolanos said. “When people from different backgrounds collaborate, magic happens.”

The Engineering Student Advisory Board will be hosting several upcoming events, including a Halloween movie night and a salsa dancing class, with the hopes of drawing University community members from all disciplines to the center, Lugo added.

These events will take place in the lobby, which is referred to as the “commons,” Casasanto said.

The ERC’s ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place May 24, 2018, Larson said. The ceremony will allow community members to celebrate the building and will feature several speakers, including President Christina Paxson P’19.

The new building “shows that

Brown really cares about engineering because they put all of this money and effort into this project, (which) will create a better learning environment for undergrad and grad students alike,” said Blas Lezcano ’18, member of the Engineering Student Advisory Board. “It’s kind of like a new beginning for the engineering department as a whole. I’m excited to see what is to come.”

EMILY DAVIES / HERALD

The University Orchestra performed under guest conductor Daniel Harp one week after Brandon Keith Brown was relieved of his conducting duties.

» ORCHESTRA, from page 1 he noted that the third movement is a beautiful intermezzo — carefree, away from the turmoil. A contrasting fourth movement that “seems philosophical — dark, full of destiny” followed, as Harp described. This movement ends with a dramatic, triumphant finale, proficiently executed by the orchestra.

Although Harp only began working with the orchestra as a conductor Tuesday, the musicians themselves had been practicing for the concert since the academic year began. Harp denied having faced any obstacles due to the unusual circumstances preceding the concert.

“The previous conductor was actually very effective in rehearsals,”

Harp told The Herald. “The reason that there was a change made was not musical, so that’s an advantage.”

“What we had to do was work together to figure out how I wanted them to play the piece,” he continued.

“I could not second guess the other conductor and try to figure out how he was doing it.” Fortunately, on account of Harp’s conducting experience and familiarity with the work being performed, this did not prove to be a demanding task, he said.

While it is uncommon for a transition in conducting duties to precede a performance, members of the orchestra agreed that the adjustment was seamless. Violonist Sara Shapiro ’20 expressed that she was thankful Harp was able to step in. “He’s doing a

fantastic job and making a really good situation of something that wasn’t so good before.”

Evan Browning ’18, vice president of the orchestra, shared a similar sentiment. It has been “a whirlwind of a week,” he told the audience before the performance began. But Harp’s “talent with music and willingness to engage with students” was what made the transition smooth, he said.

Harp was confident in the orchestra’s ability to execute a successful performance. “They’re playing very well,” he said before the concert of Friday. “It’s going to go beautifully.”

“Not everyone might play perfectly,” he added. “But mistakes don’t matter. It’s the grand scheme of things.”

NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

CS department changes degree requirements Alterations to simplify course selection, students mostly unconcerned by modifications

By KATHERINE BENNETT STAFF WRITER

The Department of Computer Science announced changes to the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science computer science degrees Oct. 11 in an email to computer science concentrators. The new requirements create pathways within computer science focused on sub-disciplines, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, systems, software principles, data, theory, security, visual computing, computer architecture, computational biology and design.

“The main reason (for the changes) was to structure (the concentrations) better, so that it’s easier for people to find their way through the curriculum,” said Thomas Doeppner, associate research professor of computer science and vice chair of the department. “In terms of what courses are necessary to complete the concentration, it’s not that big of a change.”

The current structure has students take pairs of related courses, which requires students to use a complicated table to determine which courses are related, Doeppner said.

In contrast, the new pathways will

help guide students through areas that may interest them using a sequence of introductory, intermediate and 1000-level courses that are divided into core courses and related courses.

Bachelor of Arts concentrators must complete one of these pathways and Bachelor of Science concentrators must complete two in order to earn a degree. “The total number of courses needed to complete a concentration is unchanged; it’s just how we’ve structured things,” Doeppner said.

Overall, the pathway structure aims to simplify the course selection process while providing guidance to students interested in certain areas of study, Doeppner said. “We’re really hopeful that this is going to make it easier for students to try to figure out early on what courses they’re going to be taking.”

Though the restructuring of the computer science concentrations was only enacted this year, the process of developing these changes stretches back three years. “We have a working concentration, so we didn’t want to do anything major to it unless we could really get consensus on it,” Doeppner said. “We presented a preliminary version of this to our concentrators last April. People had a few issues (with) it, but I think we responded to them.

There’s a fair amount of work in just putting together all of the supporting documentation … (in addition to) putting together what we call a concentration handbook that gives

advice to our faculty advisors.”

These changes were presented to current and prospective computer science concentrators in a meeting Oct. 18. During this event, students were given the chance to ask Doeppner questions about the new requirements and express their opinions about the changes made. Many students seemed relatively unconcerned about the new requirements and liked the pathway structure.

“I like the changes,” said Claire Chen ’20, a prospective computer science concentrator. “Because of my previous course load, these requirements are easier for me to fulfill. …

Before, it seemed like there wasn’t enough freedom, (and) this way seems much freer.”

“I looked at the requirements that they had when I was doing the intro track last year, and they seemed much more convoluted than this,” said Harold Triedman ’20, a prospective computer science concentrator. “At least with these requirements, they give you a clear pathway to (get) from starting to learn computer science to knowing one sub-discipline.”

“The changes really aren’t affecting me in any way,” said Anina Hitt ’20, president of the computer science departmental undergraduate group. “Everyone already kind of has their favorite area and this just kind of defines them. … The changes to the intermediate requirements give more flexibility. I’m happy about that.”

» HURRICANE, from page 1 reached out to faculty members, asking them if they would “be able to offer special courses so that students can come and do some intensive, creditbearing work towards their graduation requirements,”, Quinn said.

The Office of the Dean of the College is helping to create students’ schedules, wrote Deputy Dean of the College Christopher Dennis in an email to The Herald. Many faculty members have offered to work with the UPR students on independent study projects in the event that existing University courses do not line up with the students’ UPR courses, he wrote.

Housing on campus is limited, so the University is now largely providing housing through faculty who live near campus or on a bus line and have offered to host students in their homes, Quinn said. Alums are also supportive of the effort and have offered to finance student travel expenses, help with winter clothing costs and host students if necessary, she added.

Professor of Africana Studies and American Studies Matthew Guterl is hosting Mojica, his mentee from the University’s Leadership Alliance Summer Research-Early Identification Program — a research program targeted toward underrepresented groups. They kept in touch afterward, and, when the hurricane hit, he knew he wanted to host her.

“I’m really impressed with what this administration is doing and very grateful to them given how difficult it is to establish communication and work out individuated curricula for each of the students who are coming, get plane tickets (and) find places for people to say,” Guterl said. “But it’s also

ANITA SHEIH / HERALD

Fernando Norat and Jennifer Mojica, who attend the University of Puerto Rico, will study this semester at Brown in the wake of the hurricane. a reflection of a failed federal response on some level. And a more robust response from the U.S. government might have forestalled the need for these kinds of institutional responses.”

When the University first decided to bring in students several days after the hurricane hit, they reached out to Deepak Lambda-Nieves, a former postdoctoral researcher at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs who now works in Puerto Rico and teaches at UPR. When he first heard about the effort, he immediately began working to put the Provost’s Office in contact with administrators at UPR. “Anybody who I knew was related to the education field … I was just telling

about this offer and making sure that it got to somebody’s ear where they would be able to make it happen,” LambdaNieves said. “I was literally trying to find any contact and make sure that this offer would not just wither away in the vine.”

Eventually, Quinn got in contact with President of UPR Darrel Hillman and “the wheels started turning,” Lambda-Nieves said. Other institutions, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Houston, offered to accommodate students as well.

“I was telling everybody, look, just follow Brown’s lead,” Lambda-Nieves said. “I know that they’re organized, I know that they’re leading on this effort.”

Brown University Community Council Tuesday, October 24 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Discussion of Brown’s Staff Campus Climate Updates from the President

Meetings are open to members of the Brown Community.

Meeting will be held in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, Kasper Multipurpose Room To learn more about the Community Council visit: www.brown.edu/about/administration/community-council

ARTS & LEISURE PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

‘setGo in Motion’ deconstructs improvisational dance

TIFFANY DING / HERALD

“setGo in Motion,” hosted by the Brown Arts Initiative and Fitt Artists Residence, featured improvisational dancing accompanied by percussion, piano and vocals. Advanced modern dance students performed in the first half, and the setGo ensemble, which featured several professionals that have danced together for about 10 years, performed in the second half.

Undergraduates, professional dance ensemble come together in experimental dance show

By ELISE RYAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Energy radiated from “setGO in Motion,” an improvisational dance performance put on by professional dancers and undergraduates and hosted by the Brown Arts Initiative and Fitt Artists Residence Friday night. Bodies moved independently and collectively across the black hardwood floor of the Ashamu dance studio. Footsteps, tambourine beats and jazzy piano notes reverberated through the room as gasps and laughs escaped from both audience members and performers.

Students, faculty and community members packed into chairs and floor cushions to watch both students and setGO, an ensemble of professional dancers, perform. The performance was split into two parts. For the first 30 minutes, advanced modern dance

students performed. For the next 45 minutes, the five-person setGo ensemble performed Contact Improvisation. Both groups were accompanied by percussion, piano and vocals performed by musician Greg Woodside.

Performing members of the setGO ensemble included Shura Baryshnikov, teaching associate in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performances Studies, Aaron Brando, Sarah Konner, Bradley Teal Ellis and guest performer Gabriel Forestieri.

The group, established under the name setGO in 2016, consists of “old friends that have been dancing together in a non-performative way” for about ten years, Konner said. In this performance, the ensemble decided to put energy toward “bringing our different forms of performance into one space for investigation,” Konner added.

SetGO in Motion marked the end of a week of improvisation workshops lead by setGO and other visiting performers. Nine classes were offered to undergraduate and MFA students along with events open to the wider Providence community. The classes revolved around questions of how to structure an improvised performance, as the workshops introduced many students were introduced to improvisation for the first time, Baryshnikov said.

“It’s a very slow and methodical process of bringing a group of dancers together and gaining … trust,” Baryshnikov said.

Konner described Contact Improvisation as a partner dance form created by dancer Steve Paxton in the 1970s. This dance method has grown and diverged into many different forms. For Aaron Brando, this art form relates to “a tuning of my awareness (when) moving within a space.”

“Improvisation is a huge spectrum,” Konner said. Even in choreographed dance, dancers must make conscious decisions, such as where their eyes should fall. On the other end of the spectrum, dancers are given full agency over their bodies within a designated space and time, she added.

The setGO ensemble decided in this performance to focus on “deconstructing space” and “demystifying the process a bit for the dance audience,” Brando said. “Improvisation can be challenging to watch,” he added.

In the first performance, the audience carefully watched undergraduates move across the room. Later, as setGo performed, the ensemble moved fluidly together and in smaller groups to the beat of Woodside’s music, which changed tempo and mood frequently. Dancers lifted each other into the air unexpectedly, balanced on limbs, and sank into to the ground.

At times, a performer was called to report to the audience their emotions or what they were noticing in that frozen moment. In a conversation with the audience after the performance, the setGo ensemble explained that this call was one they used to clarify their process.

The ensemble’s performance ended with all five dancers gathered around Woodside’s piano, their limbs and torsos close together, bodies and music intertwining. Brando grabbed Woodside’s sheet music in his teeth as the music escalated. The eyes of audience members, including the undergraduates who had danced before them, remained glued to the ensemble until the music stopped and the lights went up.

Following the performance, as dancers took in gulps of air and water, audience member Poom Pipatjarasgit ’21 said, “I found the performance to be very interesting, free-flowing and organic.”

Artist Nick Cave screens film, lectures on aesthetic choices ‘Up Right: Detroit’ film offers look into Cave’s aesthetic choices of sound, color

By CINDY ZENG SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Nick Cave, a contemporary artist known for his wearable sculptures called Soundsuits, was the inaugural speaker for the Brown Arts Initiative’s Warren and Alison Kanders Lecture Series. His presentation saw a full house at the Martinos Theater in the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts last Wednesday, when he was joined on stage by the curator of his last

installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Denise Markonish.

The presentation began with a 30-minute screening of Cave’s film, “Up Right: Detroit,” which offered an introduction into the type of sculptures and work that Cave has been doing with Soundsuits. As ambient, sententious music plays, the audience sees several ordinary Detroit citizens transform into colorful and opulently Soundsuit-adorned individuals, who exit an abandoned warehouse and make their way into the city.

The lecture series is “designed to serve as a catalyst for open dialogue about the impact of contemporary art on our world,” said Butch Rovan,

the faculty director of the Brown Arts Initiative, who was involved in planning the Kanders Lecture Series.

“Up Right: Detroit is a short feature film conceived by Nick as an act of initiation and a preparation of the mind, body, spirit and selfhood,” Rovan said. “In the film, the participants undergo a metamorphosis by being costumed in Nick’s elaborate sound suits, re-entering the city transformed.”

After the screening, Cave and Markonish discussed Cave’s path into the art world, his creative process and the meaning behind the MASS MoCA installation called “Until,” which was an enormous and monumental warehouse that did not contain a single

one of the Soundsuits that Cave is known for but rather attempted to simulate the experience of “stepping into the belly of a Soundsuit,” Markonish said.

“The most important thing is how do you create a show that can stand as a sort of installation by itself without any sort of performance activity whatsoever,” Cave said, adding that the next step is to consider how the space “open(s) itself up for performance intake.” Over the course of 10 months, approximately 10 performers used the space in which Cave’s exhibition was held as a stage for public debate and performances.

Cave’s exhibition and previous work in Soundsuits ask questions of

police brutality and social justice.

“The work that he’s showing was … very topical. It’s very much geared towards a particularized sentiment based around police brutality and issues surrounding ongoing treatment of African Americans in society,” said Theodore Lau ’19.5, who attended the lecture. The Soundsuits were meant to make “the person entirely racially ambiguous, so that they could … exist in a post-racial sphere or bubble.”

“I really wanted to hear what he had to say about (his work), about his formulation, about his opinions on the issue (of police brutality), (and) how he was then thinking about articulating those into the show,” Lau said.

TODAY

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PAGE 5

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Pizza: Spinach and Feta, Bacon Chicken Ranch, Pepperoni, Poke Bowl JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Chicken Pot Pie Bowl, Make Your Own Grilled Cheese

Soup: Organic Black Bean, Turkey Sausage and Kale

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Chicken Noodle Soup, Caesar Salad Bar, Pork Vindaloo, Sloppy Joes, Brownie

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VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

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sudoku

Light casts into the window of Barus & Holley’s Engineering Research Center, signaling a bright future for the University’s newly-renovated Department of Engineering and its new Hazeltine Commons.

Q U O T E O F T H E D AY

“I came, I saw, I Arkansas.”

— Elizabeth Willis, poet and Pulitzer Prize winner

See WRIGHT on page 1.

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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Word before dark or hours 6 Black Friday event 10 Prefix with fall 14 Where towels are the usual attire 15 Nice price?

16 Rob of “Parks and Recreation” 17 *Ten times the seller’s cost, say 19 Actor McGregor 20 “All My __ Live in Texas”: George Strait song 21 Pre-A.D. 22 Waiters take them 24 Comes down hard 27 Come to terms 28 Tin alloy 31 “__-ho!”

33 Homeric war epic 34 *Green labyrinth 38 Dynasty known for porcelain 39 Sleepiness inducers 40 Draft animals 41 *Groundbreaking desktop publishing software 43 Golfer Sam 44 Less than zero 45 Competes in a bee 46 Where dos are done 49 How the rain in Spain falls on the plain 51 Warning to a pest 53 Once named 54 Slangy morning drink 57 Provo’s state 58 Some buried treasure, or what are literally found in the answers to starred clues 62 Top-notch 63 Lake near Lake Ontario 64 College big shots 65 Ivan IV, for one 66 “Das Kapital” author 67 “The King” of golf, to fans

DOWN 1 1968 U.S. Open champ 2 Imitation 3 Harbor towers 4 Hydrocarbon suffix 5 Spoke absentmindedly 6 Spending outing 7 Genesis craft 8 Actress Lucy 9 Former Montreal player 10 *Fundraising receipts 11 Dinghy propeller 12 Conscious (of) 13 Uptight 18 Excellent server 23 All-night party 24 *Child star’s parent 25 Maria __, former queen of Hungary 26 Passover meal 28 MTV’s “__ My Ride” 29 Director Kazan 30 Chicken morsel 32 Justice Dept. heads

34 Hooey 35 It may follow a Salchow 36 Intensity 37 Conclusions 39 Prohibition 42 Revealing skirt 43 Dieter’s sweetener 45 Dagger of yore 46 Powerlifter’s move 47 Roadsters, e.g.

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48 Rainforest vine 50 Back-of-the-book reference section 52 The opposition 54 Stapleton who played Edith Bunker 55 Luxury hotel 56 In __: actually 59 Nest egg letters 60 Movie set VIP 61 Pol. neighbor

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Financial Aid and Study Abroad 12:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 440

Broader Impacts Workshop 12:00 P.M. Sciences Library, Science Center

Build Your Social Confidence 12:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 512

Effective Interviewing 8:00 P.M. CareerLAB

TOMORROW Flu Clinics for Students 9:00 A.M. The Underground

Quaker Meeting for Worship 12:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 409

31st Annual Katz Lecture 4:00 P.M. 121 South Main, 245

Concentration Fair 7:00 P.M. Sayles Hall Auditorium

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017

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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Revamping Brown’s career services FABIANA VILSAN staff columnist Every year, Brown attracts some of the brightest students from around the world — in part due to its promise that Brown students often find rewarding and successful employment opportunities upon graduation.

While Brown does have an excellent track record and has recently enhanced its career services, it can still improve its hands-on advising and targeted job placement programming that would appeal to the entire student body. It is no secret that Brown admits a disproportionate number of students from the highest income percentiles, and Brown cannot claim to be a value-added institution if it relies on students’ privileged backgrounds to propel their careers. Especially during the busy fall and spring recruiting seasons, Brown students could benefit from an expanded career counseling division that dedicates enough time and resources to address each individual students’ specific needs.

Career counseling appointments at Brown, particularly in the early weeks of the fall and spring semesters, are booked weeks in advance.

This substantial demand is no surprise given that CareerLAB currently only has four career advisors for a

student body of approximately 6,600 people. By comparison, Harvard offers nine career advisors for its undergraduate student body of about the same size, and Penn has 14 counselors for a student body of 10,400 students. Although Brown students continue to enjoy excellent employment opportunities, it is clear that we are at a disadvantage when it comes to the availability of personalized counseling services. Brown’s career counselors are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful when you can snag an appointment, but they have no way of

fall 2016 poll. It might be the case that high-income students have the means and connections necessary to secure jobs without career services. But if that is the case, Brown cannot take full credit for its post-graduation statistics. Admitting students that have guaranteed spots at big-name brands upon graduation says nothing about Brown’s ability to mold and prepare students to become successful professionals. Among Ivy Leagues, Brown ranks sixth in social mobility — the proportion of students from the bottom 20 percent who attain incomes in

same way it approaches academic advising. Upon arriving at Brown, all freshmen are matched with academic advisors and Meiklejohns. Many students find this one-on-one mentorship incredibly useful. In contrast, the process of accessing CareerLAB’s services is purely voluntary and takes a hefty amount of student initiative, not to mention that it can be intimidating for low-income students. Brown students could benefit from a more structured career advising program to help them reflect on their professional ambitions in

To remedy the current unequal access to advising and professional opportunities, Brown should approach career development in the same way it approaches academic advising. providing truly customized advising to each student in 30-minute intervals. We cannot expect one counselor to act as a personal mentor for thousands of students. Brown should try to follow its peer institutions’ example and rectify its shortage of counselors.

Further, the number of Brown students that actually use CareerLAB programming is surprisingly low. Of non-first generation students, only 33 percent reported using BrownConnect to obtain a job or internship offer, according to The Herald’s

the top 20 percent. If career counselors are unavailable, you learn to do without and use personal connections instead. A system that assumes students have their personal connections to fall back on obviously disadvantages students from low-income backgrounds, who don’t have those connections — and undermines the University’s stated goals of increasing its students’ socioeconomic diversity.

To remedy its current unequal access to advising, Brown should approach career development in the

the same way that they benefit from academic advising to help them reflect on their academic passions. At Northeastern University, this idea is put into practice. Northeastern matches students with career advisors with whom they can meet regularly to discuss anything from job searches to salary negotiations. The university also offers students courses that teach them how to best prepare for the application and interviewing process. Brown students could make use of the extensive and

customized advising similar to what Northeastern offers.

Brown can and should pride itself on its post-graduation statistics, and the recent transition to Handshake demonstrates the University’s continued push to improve its career development services. CareerLAB’s recent efforts to target students who could most benefit from career counseling is also admirable, as first-generation students can be matched with employers interested in hiring first-generation students through BrownConnect. But unless CareerLAB broadens its appeal among the larger student body and bolsters the resources it has to accommodate their needs, it will remain a tool that a minority of Brown students use. (Despite the career center’s efforts to reach out to first-generation students, only 24.4 percent of them reported using BrownConnect.) Revamping CareerLAB won’t be easy or cheap, but to truly be a value-added institution, Brown must put its money where its mouth is when it comes to actively helping students pursue their career goals.

Fabiana Vilsan ’19 can be reached at fabiana_vilsan@brown.edu.

Athletes are people, too QUENTIN THOMAS staff columnist Athletes are a lot like superheroes. Millions of people around the world watch sports and marvel at the seemingly otherworldly abilities of athletes. When you watch Serena Williams win her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open while pregnant or Simone Biles defy gravity with her floor routine, it becomes increasingly easy to think of these incredible athletes as only that: athletes. But, because their abilities have projected them to celebrity, the human impulses of athletes are often questioned in interesting ways — like whether or not they should exercise the right to self-expression afforded to them by the Constitution. Sports as a form of entertainment distance athletes from their ability to be fully human. As such, we as a society need to reconsider how we see athletes: not as mere sources of entertainment, but as human beings.

I love sports. Watching people do what they do best is incredible from a fan’s perspective.

You feel like you’re with your favorite team as you ride the rollercoaster of emotions, whether it’s the elation of a game-winning three pointer, the anger at a questionable yellow card, or the agony of blowing a 25-point lead. However, we’re presented with and consume sports in a way that allows us to define an athlete by their abilities, not by who they are as a person. I know that it’s not the responsibility of ESPN or Fox Sports to assert the fact that athletes are, in fact, human beings with thoughts and opinions. I like to hear commentators focus on the game or match they’re covering and offer expert analysis, nothing more and nothing less. But keeping the purpose and expectation of sports entertain-

ment in mind, it’s important that we collectively remember that our favorite athletes are just like us in a lot of ways — capable of political opinions, vulnerabilities and errors in judgement.

Making athletes out to be superhuman is a nice sentiment and serves as a testament to their skill, but it also opens the door to unreasonable expectations. My fellow columnist Bryce Campanelli ’18 wrote a few weeks ago about why athletes deserve a political voice, arguing against the idea that athletes should just “stick

engage in inappropriate behavior. That behavior should be criticized and punished accordingly. But if we expect athletes to be emotionless, hyper-competitive and devoted solely to their sport, we inhibit their ability to serve as role models and change agents — and, in the process, we hurt them. Athletes face a higher risk of depression and mental illness, partly because of the pressure to win. Take it from the greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, who nearly committed suicide three years ago. “For

When you watch Serena Williams win her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open while pregnant or Simone Biles defy gravity with her floor routine, it becomes increasingly easy to think of these incredible athletes as only that: athletes.

to sports.” Sayings like this reflect the negligence I’m referring to — our inability to recognize that athletes are human. If a tennis player double faults to lose a break point to their opponent, it’s understandable if they get upset and break their racket out of frustration. Similarly, if an athlete is upset about what’s going on in their country and society as a whole, they should feel free to express this kind of frustration as well.

To be sure, athletes can make mistakes and

the longest time, I thought asking for help was a sign of weakness because that’s kind of what society teaches us,” he told USA Today. “That’s especially true from an athlete’s perspective. If we ask for help, then we’re not this big macho athlete that people can look up to.” The suffering of professional athletes trickles down to collegiate athletes, half of whom endure high levels of anxiety. Having to be a glorious, victorious athlete full-time isn’t just stressful — it can seri-

ously harm your well-being.

International competition illustrates the positive role athletes can play in society when we free them from suffocating, narrowly defined expectations. Every four years, countries send their athletes to compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Politics aside, when your country experiences success, the whole nation can be brought together. Monica Puig won Puerto Rico’s first ever Olympic gold medal last summer, completing an improbable run to win the women’s singles in Rio de Janeiro. As part of the hurricane relief effort in Puerto Rico, Puig has raised more than $130,000 to help victims of the storm. If Puig heeded advice to “stick to sports,” she would have sat idly by as her home continued to suffer. Sometimes, there’s just no question that athletes should be active members in society — it’s absolutely necessary for them to get involved and not simply “stick to sports.”

Athletes are human. If you’re a fan of an athlete only until their existence makes you the least bit uncomfortable, you should question whether you’re truly a fan or just a spectator hungry for a win. There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with the opinions of others. You don’t have to agree with the way some athletes might choose to live off the field, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to have opinions and be complete people. We admire these people immensely, so why would we want to restrict them from participating in society as agents for change or making any kind of positive impact? Yet, that’s essentially what happens when we place unreasonable parameters on what athletes can or can’t do.

Quentin Thomas ’21 can be reached at quentin_thomas@brown.edu.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017

Journalists talk societal discontent toward media in Trump era

MIKAELA CARRILLO / HERALD

David Corn ’89 P’21, the D.C. bureau chief of Mother Jones, Benjamin Domenech, publisher of the Federalist, and Sabrina Siddiqui, political reporter at the Guardian, discussed the difficulties of covering the Trump administration. The journalists said they have to prove themselves trustworthy to the public and must be diligent about fact-checking.

Three journalists discuss difficulties of covering Trump administration in era of ‘fake news’

By JACKSON WELLS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In “Trump vs. the Media: The Challenges of Covering the President,” three journalists from different publications came together to discuss the challenges journalism has faced since the election of President Trump. During the panel Monday night in the Friedman Auditorium, the journalists discussed their experiences covering the Trump administration and the broader impact of Trump on journalism and society.

The panel began with David Corn ’81 P’21, the D.C. bureau chief of Mother Jones, introducing the other two speakers: Benjamin Domenech, publisher of the Federalist, and Sabrina Siddiqui, political reporter at the Guardian. Corn noted the coincidence of Domenech sitting to his right and Siddiqui to his left, as the former works for a conservative-leaning publication

and the latter for a liberal-leaning one.

But, Corn noted, “In Washington, ideology is not what divides people anymore.”

Corn first brought up Trump’s frequent use of the term “fake news.” What Trump really means when he says this is, “I don’t like this,” Corn said. Trump will paint the media that he disagrees with in a negative light to antagonize them, he said. He described this sort of behavior to The Herald as “the actions of an authoritarian.” Trump is mostly concerned with maintaining his image in front of the public, which makes sense for a TV star; however, Trump does not have any appreciation for the media’s responsibility to hold those in power accountable, he said.

Domenech also pointed out Trump’s tendency to find a particular piece from a media outlet that he paints as fake, and then extending it to accuse an entire news outlet, creating distrust amongst readers. Trump does this because of his narcissism, and because he loves to fight with those who claim to purvey truth, Domenech said.

Siddiqui agreed with Domenech’s analysis, noting the White House’s use of terms such as “fake news” or saying

that “facts no longer matter” when they disagree with media organizations. With previous administrations, a news agency could make mistakes and it would not make much of an impact.

But under the current administration, the White House will attack a false claim by an outlet “like never before,” Siddiqui said.

Corn said that, more and more, people are tuning out of the news and considering a headline or a 10-second video an adequate source of news, which the Trump campaign capitalized on during the presidential race. Siddiqui added that people currently only seek out media that align with their own viewpoints. Domenech added that the Trump administration is constantly sending out new information of varying degrees of importance, which the media subsequently picks up unfailingly.

Domenech outlined two frustrations amongst Trump supporters: They believe he can’t focus and can’t keep his promises.

The panel agreed that many Trump voters had abandoned their ideals to support him. They voted for Trump because, to them, he was a new line of defense. Siddiqui agreed that the

culture war viewpoint drove Republicans to vote for Trump. Corn added that Trump had exploited the politics of resentment toward certain groups and issues, such as race, immigration, the economy and the exclusion of evangelicals from popular culture.

Corn brought up the issue of trustworthiness and the unusually high number of lies coming from the White House and asked Siddiqui how she covers this political environment. She said that people can become distrustful of the media if they believe they are lying or following an agenda. She added that news organizations need to be immensely diligent in fact-checking and that news organizations must figure out exactly what matters and should be covered.

Corn raised the question of whether or not the media has properly covered Trump, as publications are often accused of bias. Television does not do an effective job as a news source and often draws people to small issues that do not matter in the long run, Domenech said. Siddiqui pointed out a network’s incentive to be a ratings-seeker rather than a provider of the most important news, which leads them to cover these

ultimately unimportant “shiny objects.”

Both agreed that print news is currently doing a better job than television at covering the critical issues. “It is more important not to be objective, but to be accurate,” Corn told The Herald.

After briefly giving advice to potential journalists and providing a bit more background into their careers, the panelists took questions from the audience. One audience member asked how to divert attention away from the “shiny objects” and toward the more important news stories. Siddiqui said that it is important for journalists not to lose sight of what is important and to devote resources to reporting the real news. Like other workplaces, newsrooms also face challenges in recruiting a diverse staff. A change could help in this regard, she added.

In the past, news sources had less of an ability to figure out who was reading what, which led to more balanced newspapers, Corn said. But today, publications produce whatever leads to higher ratings, creating inequity to replace the balance that had previously existed. People should support the media they read in whatever way they can, he added.