SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 57
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Spring Weekend celebrates 67 Performers bring diverse musical skillsets to U. Spring Weekend artists years of star-studded legacy Spring gatherings date back to 1898, featured legends such as Ray Charles, R.E.M., U2 By ETHEL RENIA SENIOR STAFF WRITER
What began as an inaugural spring “Junior Promenade” in 1898 has since become Brown students’ beloved music-packed and (on good years) sun-soaked Spring Weekend. This year’s festivities mark the 67th anniversary of the event. Artists Young Thug, Princess Nokia, Empress Of and Cherry Glazerr are among the handful of performers who will join Spring Weekend’s star-studded legacy of artists that range “from Bob Dylan to Janis Joplin, U2 to R.E.M. to Elvis Costello to Bruce Springsteen to James Brown to, more recently, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Major Lazer, Vampire Weekend, M.I.A., MGMT, TV On the Radio, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, The Black Keys, Nas,” and The Flaming Lips, wrote Abby Schreiber ’11 in an email to The Herald. Schreiber served on the Brown Concert Agency, which organizes Spring Weekend, from 2007 to 2011 and acted as booking chair from 2010 to 2011. Though Spring Weekend officially began in 1950, the first record of a spring celebration at Brown dates back to 1898, The Herald previously reported in 1897. The Junior Class Committee met to discuss the possibility of a Junior Promenade, but while the
ARTS & CULTURE
represent broad cross-section of genres
idea was shut down that year, it resurfaced and was approved in 1898, according to Encyclopedia Brunoniana. Junior Promenade became Junior Week in 1901, which was designed with a longer and more varied program than the singular Junior Prom. The 1901 ancestor of Spring Weekend featured performances by the Mandolin club, the Banjo club and the Glee Club, The Herald previously reported. Following these performances, students gathered for an informal dance backed by the orchestra, a ball game with Andover College, special chapel services and finally the Junior Promenade itself, which was held in Sayles Hall. This tradition continued until World War II, when, in 1942, Chairman of the Junior Promenade Committee Steward T. MacNeill confirmed the prom “will be greatly modified from previous editions,” due to the ongoing war. In 1949, an All-Campus Weekend replaced the Junior Week and Promenade for one year. Mike » See SW HISTORY, page 2
By CONNOR SULLIVAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The 67-year-old Spring Week-
ARTS & CULTURE end remains an irrefutable highlight of the Brown experience. Culled from a variety of genres, each artist booked for Spring Weekend is sure to bring different displays of creativity to the Main Green this weekend. Princess Nokia There’s an extraordinary, almost transfixing quality to Princess Nokia’s hip-hop. Hailing from Spanish Harlem and the Lower East Side of New York, the artist essentially came of age clubbing with New York creatives. This background almost certainly informed her music — heady alternative hip-hop
and enchanting R&B seemingly created to soundtrack students’ transcendence of the earthly frame during Spring Weekend. With lyrics that wouldn’t be out of place in an ethnic studies class, Princess Nokia has actual conviction in her intellectualism and black feminism — tell your snapback wearing, Lil Dicky-listening roommate to stay home for this one. Empress Of Lorely Rodriguez, stage name “Empress Of,” was an early devotee to the cult of Icelandic pop star Bjork. And it shows quite evidently in Rodriguez’s own electro-pop, full of vocal undulations and ethereal instrumentation. Rodriguez’s music, like Bjork’s, carries a mythic quality — a secret to be kept in solidarity by the crowd. Her digital recordings might not translate perfectly to a live setting, but Empress Of ’s composed, hypnotic electro-pop is sure to provide Friday’s audience with a much-needed respite from the chaos of the weekend. Young Thug If Kendrick is the undisputed king of hip-hop, Young Thug is the rightful prince. After ascending to fame in 2014 with the single “Stoner,” Young Thug — best known by fans as “Thugger” — has enjoyed popular and critical acclaim for his esoteric, heartfelt and just plain fun trap rap. The artist’s distinctive brand of rap, full of swelling brassy beats and overall good vibes, is sure to be a hit at Spring Weekend. Brown students’ sharp humor has never betrayed their nonconformity and social conscience — a quality complimented by Young Thug’s playfulness » See PERFORMERS, page 3
Staff, faculty members navigate U., state parental leave policies
Lack of departmental flexibility, scheduled event times among concerns cited by new parents By ALEX SKIDMORE UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
When a staff member gave birth and returned to Brown a few weeks later, international students from countries with mandated paid maternity or parental leave, “were shocked” to see her on campus again so quickly, she said. The United States remains one of the few countries in the world without national leave for new parents, and Rhode Island is one of only three states in the country with paid leave for new parents. “We should be embarrassed” by the quality of parental leave, the staff member said, who recently gave birth and requested anonymity for fear of professional repercussions.
INSIDE
The University works to offer benefits for employees that exceed those mandated by federal and state law, said Jeffrey Jakulevicius, University Human Resources benefits compliance analyst. The policies are designed to meet the needs of new parents “one-onone,” said Director of Benefits Drew Murphy. At the University, separate benefits exist for faculty and staff members, but an overarching culture of apathy surrounding parental leave exists on campus, according to interviews with multiple employees. Taking leave If qualified, staff members can combine various federal and state benefits with University benefits,
Jakulevicius said. Federally, new parents who have worked at the University for at least 12 months are entitled to take unpaid leave to care for new children for up to 13 weeks under the Family Medical Leave Act, Jakulevicius said. Further, Rhode Island allows new parents four weeks of paid leave at 50 percent of their salary after taxes under Temporary Caregiver Insurance, and mothers can claim an additional six to eight weeks of income at 60 percent of their salary before taxes through Temporary Disability Insurance, he added. The University’s policy functions as a complement to these existing laws. All staff members may use sick or vacation time to compensate for lost earnings, Jakulevicius said. Additionally, if staff members have worked at the University for four years or longer, they are entitled to six weeks of full pay.
The mix of federal, state and company policies can be “ridiculously complicated” for employees to navigate, said Lori Mihalich-Levin, a healthcare lawyer and expert on parental leave in the United States. An absence specialist within University Human Resources is dedicated to demystifying the leave policies, Jakulevicius said. At least 30 percent of staff members do not qualify for the University’s six weeks of paid leave, according to documents obtained from University Human Resources. The four years of service requirement could be difficult to redeem as many employees arrive at a company during their childbearing years, Mihalich-Levin said. Because the staff member had not worked at the University long enough to qualify for the paid leave benefit, she returned to work a few weeks after
giving birth because she could not afford to lose part of her salary, she said. The day she returned to work, she cried three times in her office because of the sudden separation from her newborn. But Christina Falcon, a former administrative assistant at the Watson Institute for Public and International Affairs, said her department was “extremely lenient” with her maternity leave even though she did not qualify for the FMLA and thus did not receive full compensation because she had not worked at Brown for 12 months or more. “The direct decision from my supervisor (to offer time off) really made an impact,” she said. Faculty members may choose to take leave under state policies or opt to take paid teaching relief from the University, which allows faculty members to be relieved of their teaching » See LEAVE, page 2
WEATHER
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
NEWS Six faculty members honored as part of inaugural research achievement awards
ARTS & CULTURE Murals in downtown Providence challenge observers, provide alternative perspective of city
COMMENTARY Friedman ’19: The U.’s policy on AP credit does not befit its progressive reputation
COMMENTARY Campbell ’19: Urban Democratic youth shouldn’t be blamed for Clinton’s failed presidential bid
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» LEAVE, from page 1 duties for one semester at full salary and have their tenure and promotion calendars pushed back, said Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12. Every faculty member has opted to use the teaching leave over the state and federal benefits “as far as I can remember,” said Associate Dean of the Faculty Anne Windham. “It’s good that the benefit is automatic,” said Associate Professor of Anthropology Jessaca Leinaweaver. But, the teaching relief “is not a leave,” so technically parents are expected to perform service for their department — for example, advise students or attend department meetings — during the first few months after their child’s arrival. Fulfilling these obligations as a new parent can pose a problem, Leinaweaver said. The policy is especially burdensome on female professors, because they are physically recovering from childbirth but still statistically perform more service for their departments, Leinaweaver added, citing an educational study published on the website Inside Higher Ed. No one “should have to turn their body inside out and give birth to a baby and go back to work two weeks later,” Mihalich-Levin said. Dartmouth and Penn offer similar policies, advertising teaching relief as the only flexible work benefit for
» SW HISTORY, from page 1 Handman ’51, co-chair of the first Spring Weekend committee, confirmed in a 1950 Herald article “that two name musical organizations will be playing on The Hill on the same night.” Spring Weekend had begun. The Spring Weekend of the fifties does not bear much resemblance to that of today. Spring Weekend featured an “Interfraternity Sing Trophy” that was won by Alpha Delta Phi April 27, 1953, The Herald previously reported. The Jabberwocks held a concert, followed by an informal dance with music provided by jazz musician Claude Thornhill and his band. The next day featured an afternoon of crew races, and on Sunday students gathered for a jazz concert — Dave Binder wasn’t around quite yet. “Spring Weekend began in 1950 but evolved into the weekend of concerts as we know it in 1960,” Schreiber wrote. In the 1960s, concerts and shows replaced the formal and informal dances. The New Orleans Jazz Doctors mark the first band to play at Brown in the modern version of Spring Weekend. The Brown Concert Agency was founded in 1960 — the acronym BCA was widely known as the Brown Christian Association before Brown Concert Agency came along. “Spring Weekend has kind of gone in waves — as opposed to one continuous evolution — where there have been many years that featured smaller acts or local bands, and there are also cycles where the BCA has been able to bring bigger national acts,” Schreiber wrote. In 1962, Ray Charles came to perform, followed by Ella Fitzgerald in 1965 and Tina Turner in 1972. Bruce Springsteen played at Brown April 16, 1974, The Herald previously reported. Tickets were sold for $10 each in an effort to make them affordable. “Tickets to all the shows will be within everyone’s budget,” said Brad Finley ’76, a
faculty members, according to their websites. But other universities offer some form of paid leave to new mothers in addition to teaching relief. At Harvard, they can receive paid medical leave for up to eight weeks after birth, and at Princeton, the benefit ranges from nine to 13 weeks of paid leave, according to their respective websites. At Brown, requesting flexible work arrangements or additional time off requires having “good relations with your department,” Leinaweaver said. Chair and Professor of Africana Studies Brian Meeks said he would approach the details of parental leave with “maximum flexibility,” but echoed that the day-to-day logistics would be handled by individual departments because they are not “in the immediate space” of the dean of the faculty. “Most (departments) don’t have formal policies” for new parents to promote flexibility, McLaughlin said. But, if faculty members have complaints, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty will intervene and mediate the conflict, he added. In Leinaweaver’s experience in the anthropology department, her colleagues were accommodating because “they are academically cognizant of how families are structured.” A faculty member who requested anonymity for fear of professional repercussions said she had trouble coordinating flexible work arrangements BCA representative, at the time. The 1985 edition of Spring Weekend came with a catchphrase and a theme, The Herald reported. That year’s “Bear on the Beach” kicked off with beach barbeque outside the tropical location of the Graduate Center Bar and ended with a midnight organ concert. The catchphrase “Take Life S/NC” was embraced in an effort to capture the spirit of the music festival, which showcased R.E.M. that year. Until 1991, Spring Weekend also served alcohol. Dean Forsberg, director of student activities at the time, “speculated that the (Brown Concert Agency) had decided not to serve alcohol because of cost and potential liability problems.” Though not quite the same but still in the spirit of binging, booze was replaced with a pie-eating contest on the Main Green. The ’90s welcomed artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Joan Jett. In 2009, BCA made the switch to electronic tickets. “Spring 2008 we were still selling paper tickets and students had to wait and camp out in Faunce and skip classes and totally disrupt their days and schedules for the chance to buy tickets,” Schreiber wrote. “Understandably this wasn’t an ideal system, and kids would get frustrated and upset because they’d waste a whole day and sometimes still not get a ticket.” This 119-year-old tradition of spring gatherings is furthered by the BCA’s continued efforts to bring upand-coming musicians to campus. As James Hinton ’10, who was on the board of the BCA in 2010 and helped book that year’s Spring Weekend, which featured MGMT, Major Lazer, the Black Keys and Snoop Dogg, said, “The idea is to try to get people who are on the come-up and not really trying to play the game that some of the bigger schools with much bigger budgets play, where they can get the most popular current set of artists that are blowing up the charts.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD with the chair of her department when she gave birth a few years ago. “There’s no consistent policy” to deal with workplace accommodations, the faculty member said. Having a reputation as a progressive institution “is a mandate” for the University to be “at the front of these social fights,” the faculty member said. Specifically, the University needs to implement more uniform benefits for all new parents that cannot vary by department, she added. Returning to work “The demands on women’s bodies continue for a year” after birth, the anonymous staff member said. For example, according to the human resources website, “the University supports and encourages the practice of breastfeeding” and will provide a private, locked space for employees who choose to pump breast milk during working hours. The anonymous faculty member did not have an office when she gave birth, so she was assigned to pump in a dimly lit storage closet, she said. The lock on the door was faulty, and another staff member walked in while she was pumping in the closet, she added. The occurrence was embarrassing and frustrating, the faculty member said. “Women are always caught in this double bind. … Society gives us so many instructions to breastfeed, but there are no mechanisms to do
so,” such as extended maternity leave through the nursing period, she said. To relieve new parents’ concern for day care costs — some of which have exceeded tuition at public universities — Brown offers a childcare subsidy for employees whose “total household adjusted gross income is less than or equal to $100,000 per year” and provides backup childcare for any employee, Jakulevicius added. Leinaweaver suggested the policy be extended to graduate students who are eligible to take advantage of the day care subsidy. The subsidy helps parents find adequate care after the University-owned day care closed in 2012, The Herald previously reported. When evaluating policy options after the day care closure, creating a new University-owned facility was deemed “too expensive,” McLaughlin said. Other campuses, such as Dartmouth, continue to offer a facility designed for children of university employees, according to Dartmouth’s website. The day care’s fees run on a sliding scale relative to a family’s income. Most employees interviewed took issue not with the day care subsidy policy, but with the University’s tendency to schedule some events after a day care’s normal operating hours, which typically end at 5 p.m. Employees are often forced to choose between “supporting colleagues” or “putting (their) child to bed,” the staff member said.
In spring 2015, Provost Richard Locke released a report that advised departments to schedule events at varying times to avoid “marginalizing or disadvantaging faculty members with young families.” “The guidance remains in place,” wrote Chief of Staff to the Provost Marisa Quinn in an email to The Herald. “It is very much aligned with our overall diversity and inclusion efforts.” This year, the faculty member’s department held a series of events that all started after 5 p.m. She could not attend and participate in any of the activities, she said. Similarly, the staff member worked to organize an event, which was ultimately scheduled after 5 p.m. Because of instances like this, new parents “are seen as an inconvenience” because they require additional logistical consideration, the staff member said. The anonymous faculty member and staff member both said they wished their colleagues would engage more with issues for new parents. It can be perceived as inappropriate to talk about having young children, the staff member said. Nationally, there is “a lack of normalizing of being a working parent,” Mihalich-Levin said. In the eyes of the staff member, policies that don’t properly accommodate new parents, especially new mothers, can “push them out of the workplace,” she said.
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Bob Dylan performed during the 1964 edition of Spring Weekend, shortly after the emphasis of the event transitioned from dances to live concerts.
KEIICHIRO KINOSHITA / HERALD
Rapper and singer-songwriter Tink kicked off 2016 Spring Weekend performances with a set that emphasized female empowerment before headliner Fetty Wap took stage to cap off the night.
ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 • PAGE 3
» PERFORMERS, from page 1 and defiance of sexuality and gender norms. But don’t laugh at the rapper’s often unintelligible lyrics. His set is Friday’s last, and, after the preceding two artists and a semester’s worth of darties, you’re guaranteed to be slurring your words more than Thugger. Cherry Glazerr Cherry Glazerr, a nascent indie rock and noise pop group with an inclination toward harsh sonics and visceral howls, may fail to appeal upon initial listen. But the group’s uniquely acerbic approach to indie pop deserves a chance, at least in a live setting. The outfit’s distorted guitar chords and vocal contortions will demand every ounce of your attention, granting their music an immediacy that’s tolerable if not enjoyable. You don’t have to be a head-banging adolescent to have a good time at Cherry Glazerr’s set. In compliance with the group’s exhortation of the ethos of rock and roll, just sit back and scream along, content to know your Organic Chemistry teaching assistant’s ears will probably start bleeding five seconds into the first song. AlunaGeorge Describing AlunaGeorge’s music as “left-field” would be like describing Brown students as “left-wing:” a fitting descriptor for sure, but one that
doesn’t go nearly far enough in addressing just how singular the music of duo AlunaGeorge — the amalgam of singer-songwriter Aluna Francis and producer George Reid — really is. “You Know You Like It,” the duo’s break-away single and a dorm party staple, is prototypical of the group’s arresting vocals and spacious instrumentals that create the effect of listening to an alien muse. Transported from the dance floor to the Spring Weekend stage, some of the magic of the act might be lost the moment audiences see Reid awkwardly arched over a keyboard. Good thing a smoke sheen will probably be obscuring him from the audience for the duration of the set. Erykah Badu Like co-headliner Young Thug, Erykah Badu is a veritable visionary — albeit one that sings with a more delicate and classically beautiful tonality. Badu, a Los Angeles-based R&B and neo-soul singer, makes music that is anything but contrived. Drawing predictable comparisons to other female R&B singers like Beyoncé and Ciara would be a grave mistake; Badu, rather, recalls D’Angelo in her lush and atmospheric music. The gorgeous and cool Badu, sure to aspire awe in audience members, creates a refined soundscape to get lost in — the perfect panacea for a weekend of unbridled hedonism.
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
AlunaGeorge, a London-based duo specializing in electronic music, and Erykah Badu are scheduled to perform Saturday while Young Thug will headline the Friday night lineup.
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NEWS
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Inaugural research awards recognize U. faculty members U. celebrates faculty achievement with recognition, monetary compensation By JONATHAN DOUGLAS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The University honored six faculty members for their research with the inaugural Brown Research Achievement Awards April 19. Various departments nominated a total of several dozen candidates and a panel of faculty members narrowed down the list. The winners, which included both senior and earlycareer faculty members, received a certificate from the University and a $5,000 award. The University has made great strides to improve the scale and quality of research in recent years and wanted to celebrate the success of that endeavor, wrote David Savitz, vice president for research and professor of epidemiology, obstetrics and gynecology, in an email to The Herald. “We see these awards as an opportunity to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the faculty as leading researchers,” Savitz wrote. “Their research accomplishments are central to their roles as educators and contributors to both the academic community at Brown and to addressing societal challenges.” Professor of Applied Mathematics Constantine Dafermos and Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice Vincent Mor won the Distinguished
Research Achievement Award, which recognizes faculty members who have contributed a variety of nationally recognized research while at Brown. Dafermos’ research has focused on nonlinear hyperbolic systems, an area of mathematics that helps explain how shockwaves work and bridges the gap between mechanics and partial differential equations. “It’s a very good idea for the University to try to celebrate research activities at Brown because there is tremendous research activity here,” Dafermos said. These awards help recognize individuals who create high-quality work and allow researchers from different disciplines learn about research in other fields, he added. Mor has worked extensively on improving the quality of care in nursing homes across the country. Analyzing national information about nursing homes, Mor has conducted research on identifying factors that can help improve the quality of care within these homes, such as the availability of doctors and nurses throughout the facility. Mor said he was honored by the recognition from the University and his peers, adding that he hopes to use the award to help fund a student for the summer. Professor of Computer Science Maurice Herlihy received the Research Innovation Award for his work in distributed computing, a technique for improving the speed of multicore processors, which have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. His work helped bridge the gap between software
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
Professors Tim Kraska, Constantine Dafermos, Joseph Braun, Susan Moffitt, Vincent Mor and Maurice Herlihy received their awards at a ceremony April 19. The awards honored both senior and early-career faculty. and hardware and has been adopted by a variety of companies, including Intel and IBM. Herlihy said he plans on using the award money to attend innovative conferences. Tim Kraska, assistant professor of computer science, Joseph Braun, assistant professor of epidemiology and Susan Moffitt, associate professor of political science and international and public affairs, were awarded the Early Career Research Achievement Awards — given to faculty members who have produced cutting edge research during
their few years at Brown. Kraska has focused on “democratizing data science” over the last few years, working to make data science accessible to everybody, not just those with extensive education and training. He has helped develop a variety of tools to make data science easier to understand and visualize. Winning the award “shows me that we are on the right track with our research agenda,” Kraska said. Braun has focused his research on a group of children in Cincinnati, tracking
individuals with low-level exposure to a variety of chemicals since birth. He is hoping to create a general profile of an individual with low-level exposure throughout their lifetime, tracking progressive changes in their health. Braun plans to bring more students into his research with the award and said he was honored to be recognized for his work from the last few years. The University plans on continuing the awards, though the categories and number of awards distributed may vary in years to come, Savitz wrote.
People’s Climate Mobilization to take place Saturday at R.I. State House Rhode Island becomes 50th state to organize sister march on 100th day of Trump administration By SHAYNA TOH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Rhode Island Student Climate Coalition will host a sister march April 29 at 11 a.m. at the Rhode Island State House as hundreds of protesters gather for the People’s Climate Movement in Washington. The march follows the 2014 People’s Climate March in New York City, which called on world leaders to take more action fighting climate change. The mobilization represents a large coalition bringing “different environmental and social justice groups across the state together for a more effective environmental movement,” said Jon Gewirtzman ’17, an RISCC organizer of the event. The march also comes on the heels of President Trump’s March budget proposal, which would cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 31 percent. In the past, he has also called global warming a hoax created by the Chinese. “Donald Trump is a threat to the future of our planet, the safety of our communities and the health of our families,” reads a statement on the march’s website. Trump’s campaign promise to pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate action is proof that “his administration doesn’t really appreciate how big of an issue climate change is,” said Sarah Lettes ’19, a RISCC member and organizer. “We’re not just fighting for a
healthier climate and cleaner air,” Lettes said. “What we’re marching for is (also) jobs, injustice and an economy that’s more fair and more locally driven.” While traditional environmental organizations such as Save The Bay and Audubon Society are expected to attend, movements that center on other social issues will also make an appearance. The list of speakers includes Adnan Adrian
Wood-Smith, the University’s associate chaplain for the Muslim community and president of the R.I. Council for Muslim Advancement, and Michael Araujo, executive director of R.I. Jobs with Justice — a worker’s advocacy organization. “All these people are affected by local environmental issues and climate change, and we’re all here fighting regardless of what movements we’re already plugged into,” said Lauren Maunus ’19, an RISCC event organizer.
Members of RISCC were approached by J. Timmons Roberts, professor of environmental studies and sociology, and asked to spearhead the movement after Rhode Island was left as the only state without a planned march for April 29. The organizers hope the mobilization will put pressure on both national and local governments to take action against climate change. “There’s a lot of division within Trump’s advisors on whether or not to move along with (the Paris Agreement),”
ELI WHITE / HERALD
J. Timmons Roberts, professor of environmental studies and sociology, asked members of RISCC to spearhead the movement in hopes that the state could be the final state to hold the march.
Lettes said. “Hopefully this march will be one more force to push them towards action rather than backing away,” she added. On a local level, the RISCC hopes the march will show a large backing for environmentally-friendly local legislation, such as the Energize R.I. Act, which prices carbon to reduce emissions and is now in its third year of legislation without passage. The RISCC aims to elevate the voices of Rhode Island citizens in the march and wants to put high-schoolers and middle-schoolers at the forefront because “they’re the ones who are going to be here a long time,” Lettes said. “This is their community.” Kaylynn Polley, a senior at Rocky Hill School, is scheduled to speak at the march Saturday. Polley, whose interest in environmental science was sparked when she volunteered at the Save the Bay Exploration Center in Newport two years ago, has been contacting other high schools and community service clubs to spread the word. “The younger generations are the ones that can be the most passionate about (climate change) because this is our future,” Polley said. Beyond the mobilization on Saturday, RISCC hopes to get involved with the other movements taking place across Rhode Island, including an upcoming march for labor rights and justice. “A lot of what we want to achieve aligns with those goals because the forefront of climate change action should be social justice,” Lettes said. “We want to make sure people are connected to those efforts.”
TODAY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
from behind the tv
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Pizza: Mushroom’s Revenge, Spicy Sausage and Garlic, Miss Maple JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Mac and Cheese, Honey Chicken Club, Quesadillas
Beef Chili with Beans, Hearty Country Vegetable Soup
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Chicken Cutlet Parmesan, Honey Citrus Vegetables, Oven Roasted Tofu, Swiss Fudge Cookies
Lemon Sesame Chicken, Meatloaf in Mushroom Sauce, Spinach, Key Lime Pie
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Steak and Pepper Fajitas, Refried Beans, Corn and Sweet Pepper Saute, Swiss Fudge Cookies
Chopped Sirloin Patty, Corn Pudding, Braised Rainbow Swiss Chard, Sunflower Bread
sudoku
ELI WHITE / HERALD
Ian Maxtone-Graham ’83, a former editor of The Herald, spoke with senior fellow in international and public affairs Ted Widmer about his experience as a screenwriter for shows such as “The Simpsons.”
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“We had talent, but we were inexperienced in writing air-tight contracts. And we made one simple mistake —
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we trusted a politician.
— Bonnie Lee Turner, muralist R
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ACROSS 1 Money under a mattress, e.g. 6 Poses a question 10 Hired rides 14 Singer Lena 15 Apt name for a windstorm? 16 Hollywood celeb 17 Cyclone center 20 Spotted 21 Pitcher’s mistake 22 Feral no more 23 Adds highlights at the salon 25 Sources of storage chest wood 26 Roy Orbison hit featured in a Gere/Roberts film 31 By surface area, second-largest Great Lake 32 Rent-a-car choice 33 Apply daintily 36 Ladder rung 37 Taj __ 39 Gospel singer Winans 40 Needing no Rx 41 Late-night Jay 42 Coffees, in slang 43 Exerciser’s motto 47 Shipping container 49 Inaugural pledge 50 Sarandon of “Thelma & Louise” 51 Channel for business types 53 Magna __ laude 56 Debtors’ documents suggested by the sequence of the first words of 17-, 26- and 43Across 60 50-and-over org. 61 1,000 meters, briefly 62 Hindu guru 63 Loch of legend 64 “By Jove!” 65 Extremely pale DOWN 1 Her, subjectively 2 Hot Wheels and hula hoops 3 Region
4 Flower that usually blooms in winter 5 Playboy founder, for short 6 Thunderstruck 7 Bellow in a library? 8 Spock’s captain 9 Photog’s camera choice 10 Large, noisy insect 11 Starters of the first race? 12 Silly mistake 13 Winter coasters 18 Help illegally 19 List components 24 Japanese money 25 Spiral shape 26 Too-too 27 Sci-fi’s Jabba the __ 28 Forerunners 29 Search engine name 30 Appalachian state: Abbr. 34 Berry in modern diet supplements 35 Oscar category word 37 Chow __ 38 Picnic pest
39 Reliable moneymakers 41 Téa of “Tower Heist” 42 Scribble (down) 44 Postal purchases 45 Drink named for a Scottish hero 46 Like some nighties 47 Channel for political types 48 Psychic glows
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51 Forensics team members: Abbr. 52 The Big Easy acronym 54 The Beehive State 55 Kid’s enthusiastic “I do!” 57 Compete in a slalom 58 Clandestine govt. org. 59 Admission in a confessional
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Custom Airbrush Hats 12:00 P.M. Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center
Liber Brunensis Yearbook Sales 12:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson Lobby
Brown Formula Racing presents: Rhode Warrior 4:00 P.M. Barus and Holley Lobby
Saleem Ashkar in Concert 7:00 P.M. Granoff Center, Martinos Auditorium
TOMORROW Engineering Seminar: Biomedical Engineering 9:00 A.M. Barus and Holley, 190
BEARtalk: “Understanding Muslims” 12:00 P.M. CareerLab, 1st floor
Fire: A Biography 4:00 P.M. IBES, 130
Oluwo Falokun Fasegun Lecture 6:00 P.M. Manning Chapel
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Time to revisit our AP exam policy ANDREW FRIEDMAN staff columnist Congratulations to the 2,722 students — of a record 32,724 applicants — admitted to Brown for fall 2017. It is no surprise that Brown (which accepted a record-low 8.3 percent of applicants this year) and the other Ivy League universities have become increasingly selective over the past decade, as many Ivies are refusing to increase their class sizes despite rising domestic and foreign demand for an elite undergraduate education. It is also no surprise that Ivy-hopeful high school students continue to engage in a brutal arms race to take the highest possible number of Advanced Placement courses, both to improve their weighted GPAs and to look more appealing to elite universities. The number of high school students participating in the AP program has steadily increased over the last 60 years. Yet, despite its pervasiveness in the admission process, AP classes are increasingly being dismissed by elite universities for course credit. Many universities are now reconsidering their AP credit policies in light of renewed debate over the rigor of the AP program. Hakan Tell, associate professor of classics at Dartmouth, told the New York Times in 2013, “The psychology department got more and more suspicious about how good an indicator a 5 on the AP Psych exam was for academic success.” As a result, Dartmouth began requiring students requesting credit to take a condensed Psych 1 final. The results: “Of more than 100 students who had scored a 5 on the AP exam,
90 percent failed the Dartmouth test.” According to the Wall Street Journal, the biology and chemistry departments at Penn have expressed similar concerns that “students who used their AP scores to skip introductory courses fared worse in upper-division classes than those who took the full sequence at Penn because they weren’t as well-prepared.” Colleges reacted differently to the findings. In 2014, Dartmouth began refusing to count AP credits across the board for graduation. Penn, on the other hand, still accepts AP credits for class credit if the student earns
According to Brown’s website, “Advanced Placement exam scores are not eligible for course credit.” Though students may “enroll in higher-level courses … AP credit will not increase your course credit total.” In other words, students have to stay at Brown for the full four-year term, even if they could meet graduation requirements early by utilizing AP credits. The Herald has criticized similar Brown policies that prevent accelerated graduation in the past, thus far to no avail. In preventing students from graduating early despite possessing AP course credits that ful-
is becoming less and less affordable, and the value of a college education — relative to the debt incurred to acquire it — is being called into question. According to CNNMoney, the average student leaves college with $34,000 of debt, which is 70 percent more than it was 10 years ago. Coupled with Brown’s policy that prevents accelerated graduation, the University’s current AP policy basically mandates that all students must pay the University $272,424 within four years ($68,106 annually) in order to graduate. This requirement strains the financial aid system and
Brown maintains the strictest AP credit policy in the Ivy League. Though Brown is definitely not alone, it seems counterintuitive that the Ivy League’s supposedly most progressive university enforces the Ivy League’s least progressive course credit policy.
a 5 on the AP exam. Harvard is still using the “advanced standing” system it established before the recent wave of studies, but public statements by Harvard administrators seem to contradict actual university policies: Although William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions at Harvard, called AP tests among the “best predictors” of success in 2009, Harvard still refuses to accept any APs unless students have taken a minimum of eight AP classes. Brown was an early proponent of this trend: It is one of the few schools that has traditionally refused to provide class credit for APs outright.
fill graduation requirements, Brown maintains the strictest AP credit policy in the Ivy League. Though Brown is definitely not alone, it seems counterintuitive that the Ivy League’s supposedly most progressive university enforces the Ivy League’s least progressive course credit policy. It is obvious that this policy levies unfair financial burdens on low-income students, as The Herald’s editorial (“Remove barriers to early graduation,” Oct. 13, 2016) stated last fall: “Taking an extra year to earn a degree of equal merit and hiring appeal is a luxury that some students cannot afford.” We live in an era when college
is unfair to low-income students who shouldn’t be forced to take extra classes to satisfy a purely administrative requirement. It is also hypocritical for Brown to place such a value on APs in the admission process while simultaneously dismissing them in the academic process. This can create unprecedented amounts of stress for high school students: In New Jersey’s West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, for example, 68 percent of AP students “reported feeling stressed about school ‘always or most of the time.’” Yet, despite the amount of attention the APs receive
at the high school level, the curriculum is almost trivialized at the college level. At elite universities, the AP system has become just another proxy for admission, not a legitimate way to earn credit for college classes. Brown, Harvard, Dartmouth, Duke and other universities that maintain similar policies have, in a way, perverted the original intent of the AP curriculum — to give exceptional high school students a chance at more challenging coursework — by acknowledging it exclusively in the admission process. Brown’s policy also runs against the open curriculum and the idea of a liberal education. Accepting APs would allow for more flexibility in selecting courses, which is one of the main reasons why students choose Brown in the first place. According to Brown’s website, “the open curriculum ensures you great freedom in directing the course of your education.” This seems facetious in light of the underlying fact that the “academic journey” of many Brown students is hampered by its restrictive AP policies. It is clear that the AP system is in need of profound change to better prepare high school students for college-level classes. But since the College Board has been unsuccessful in revising the AP curriculum in the past, universities must adapt to the current reality. Given the many advantages of accepting AP curricula for course credit, Brown should ease its AP course credit policies so that its academic requirements are as liberal as its ethos.
Andrew Friedman ’19 can be reached at andrew_friedman@brown.edu.
Avoiding cities won’t solve politics VAUGHN CAMPBELL staff columnist In the wake of the 2016 election, numerous articles were written placing at least part of the blame for Hillary Clinton’s defeat on America’s urbanites — simply for living where they do. City-dwellers, the logic went, were essentially self-gerrymandering, diminishing their political impact by living in high-population states like New York or California with fewer Electoral College votes per capita. This evaluation correctly assesses the structure of the Electoral College but fails to adequately consider the impact of cities on our political culture. As many of us graduate and look to move out into the real world, most of us become the exact educated liberals addressed in articles that criticize young, urban Democrats such as “Go Midwest, Young Hipster.” This argument — which urges young liberals who seek to have political impact in elections to move to rural areas that aren’t already blue — should not sway any of us. The main basis for this position is accurate: High-density areas are represented poorly in an electoral system that starts every state with at least three votes. A New York voter has one-
fourth of the electoral power of one living in Wyoming. Yet, the fact that we live within a flawed system is no reason to ignore the myriad benefits that cities bring to society. Firstly, cities offer many incontrovertible and relatively apolitical benefits to their residents. High density allows for efficient and accessible public transit, which both lowers the environmental impact of those living there and increases access for those who want to forego driving. Apartment buildings are far greener
liberalizing forces in American politics. Yes, now it seems as though liberals are flocking to cities to be with like-minded individuals. But why are cities liberal in the first place? This, too, can be seen as inherent to urban life. Exposure to people who have other viewpoints is one of the single most impactful determinants of a liberal perspective. Cities themselves — by exposing their inhabitants to a greater diversity of people — work to make their inhabitants more understanding and tolerant. The fact that liber-
If we want America to become a place more accepting of different identities, we should be promoting migration to places with high density and diversity, not discouraging it. than homes. Cities are job creators, as a single block might hold numerous small businesses. Politics cannot change these realities. Regardless of what this or any other administration does, regardless of even your own politics, the positive impact city-dwellers make to the environment and the economy are inherent simply to living there. Yet more importantly, the argument that liberals should move away from cities to have their votes count ignores the fact that cities are
al people go to urban areas isn’t the whole picture; living in an urban area can make people more liberal. If we want America to become a place more accepting of different identities, we should be promoting migration to places with high density and diversity, not discouraging it. Finally, when choosing a place to live, the electoral power of a place crosses so few people’s minds that the discussion is more than a moot point. Is the system slanted to give more power to those living in small states? Yes, ab-
solutely. Should we demand that young people hamper their job prospects by moving to a small town where the economy centers around a single industry, rather than trying their luck in New York or Los Angeles? Of course not. Should we blame this problem on liberals looking for a nice place to start their lives? No. If you really need to place blame, New Hampshire — which worked to create a system where small states have considerable power during the drafting of the Constitution — might be a decent place to start (though at this point you’d be better off looking toward the future). Young Americans are steadily becoming more urban. Of all the things that could stop this trend, the Electoral College doesn’t have a chance. If you want to move to a rural area after Brown, that’s fantastic: Don’t let me stop you. But rather than repeatedly trying to game the current electoral system by convincing more young progressives to find small towns in Indiana appealing, we should focus our efforts on making the system more representative of a future — and increasingly urban — America. If a system doesn’t work for a nation with cities, it’s better to reform the system than to do away with cities themselves.
Vaughn Campbell ’19 can be reached at vaughn_campbell@brown.edu.
ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
LILLY NGUYEN / HERALD
Ranging from a melancholic portrait of a man to a serene ocean scene, colorful murals liven up the facades of shops, restaurants and other buildings along Washington Street.
Downtown murals add character to creative capital Art off Washington Street pushes boundaries, tells stories, paints cityscape with vivid colors By ELIZABETH TOLEDANO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A few blocks off College Hill, Providence’s story pours into the streets through murals, which form a tangible fabric for the city that extends beyond Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design and onto downtown streets. Walking down Washington Street, pedestrians encounter a series of murals on building facades and across various avenues. These murals, integrated with shops, restaurants and galleries provide another way of looking at a city known for its smokestacks and industrial buildings. “Using public art in urban design, we can help encourage people to slow down a little bit, to go out and explore the city a little and see what treasures they can find,” said Yarrow Thorne, founder and artistic director of The Avenue Concept, Providence’s first program designed to support public art. Standing in a parking lot off Washington, two immense murals dwarf passersby. One depicts a melancholic man sitting at a table decorated with a checkered cloth and staring at a floating ring. Titled “She Never Came,” the mural by artist BEZT depicts a man waiting to propose to his girlfriend — who never showed up to dinner. The artist painted a portrait of Nick Platzer, the mural curator for The Avenue Concept and an advisor to Thorne, Thorne said. BEZT decided he did not want to do a self-portrait and Platzer joked that he should paint his face instead — which the artist took seriously, allowing Providence citizens the opportunity to see a giant Platzer painted on the wall. “It’s pretty awesome,” Platzer added. “It’s definitely an ego-booster.” The other mural, facing the man, portrays a little girl wearing her backpack entering a door into a “crazy mushroom fantasy world,” Platzer said. Painted by Natalia Rak, Polish muralist and then-fiancée of BEZT, the mural faces “She Never Came,” contradicting the more melancholic work with its array of bright pinks and purples. After the installation of these two murals
downtown, local businesses noticed a rise in sales, Platzer said. A couple of blocks away lies perhaps the most formidable of downtown mural endeavors. Shepard Fairey, a RISD graduate known for his ubiquitous “HOPE” portrait of former President Barack Obama, painted a tribute to Providence that illuminates the city’s landmarks in bold shades of red, black and white. “Providence Industrial” depicts a rugged and foreboding cityscape, paying tribute to Providence’s eclectic architecture. The piece was commissioned in 2010 by AS220, an organization that seeks to create a space for freedom of expression, said Shey Rivera, artistic director of AS220. Adjacent to Fairey’s piece is another mural designed by Aaron Peterman and commissioned by AS220. This work contains an excerpt from the poem
“Ode to Censorship” by Latinx performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña, set against a dark backdrop. The bold colors play with Fairey’s mural, highlighting an artistic edge interlaced with the industrial aspects of the city through the lyrics’ glorification of a romantic alternative lifestyle. Gómez-Peña’s “work centers around the border — borders meaning ethnicity, geographical, gender, everything … like the borders of human (and) post-human,” Rivera added. “We thought it would be great to push the boundaries of the city a little and have that messaging up to inspire people to take risks.” Nearby, “Three Waves for Coastway” by Amy Bartlett Wright depicts a serene ocean scene, highlighting Rhode Island’s relationship with the coast. Further down Washington Street, a series of murals decorate the space between Central High School and Classical High School. For Platzer, these murals have
accomplished a personal goal. According to The Avenue Concept’s website, he was expelled from Classical High School for doing graffiti. But Platzer had always thought about painting the tower between the two schools, he said. Years later, he managed to accomplish this goal in a professional setting when The Avenue Concept hired Mike Shida to paint the smoke tower. In the surrounding courtyard, murals create an imaginative backdrop for the school environment, featuring subjects from the depths of the ocean to the outskirts of space to abstract combinations of geometrical shapes. On an alley off Westminster Street, a block from Washington, a particularly odd mural provides an unconventional juxtaposition of the old and new. On a backdrop of a historical scene of 1800s Providence, two fully-90’s-clad characters stand cross-armed, defacing the otherwise fairly traditional mural. Legend had it that the unpaid artists
LAURA FELENSTEIN / HERALD
plastered their images to the originally commissioned piece, said Minio Pinque, who works at Big Nazo, the gallery which currently hosts the mural. Bonnie Lee Turner, who painted the mural with her partner of the art duo The Art of Life confirmed the story of the mural in an email to The Herald. “The question is: Why did we paint ourselves into the mural 13-feettall, scowling and holding our paint brushes?” she wrote. “Well, this is one of those odd little stories that often find their way into art history books. While not as horrible as Caravaggio killing his opponent over a dispute in a game of tennis, or as tense as Pope Julius whacking Michelangelo with his cane,” the mural has its own, vibrant history. Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, then Mayor of Providence, had been involved in a disagreement with the Police and Firearms Unions, who had commissioned the mural. He refused to provide further funding after The Art of Life had already done extensive research in the community and begun work on the mural, she wrote. “We had talent, but we were inexperienced in writing air-tight contracts. And we made one simple mistake — we trusted a politician,” Turner wrote. Instead of painting over the mural entirely when they didn’t receive compensation for their work — a prospect the team considered — Turner and her partner decided to paint themselves on top of the original mural in order to honor the relationships they had built and the work they had put into the process. “It turned out to be a good thing,” Turner wrote. Aside from the massive murals around Washington Street, various independent murals, city projects and other forms of public art are scattered throughout the city. AS220, specifically, has facilitated projects with youth-artists in the city. Similarly, The Avenue Concept is currently planning a new mural in Providence. “I firmly believe that when you walk into a city and there’s artwork all around, that’s a very big indicator that the city is progressive, that people care about it, that there’s activity happening and that people are invested in the betterment of the city,” Rivera said.