Wednesday, April 6th, 2022

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 27

BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

UNIVERSITY NEWS

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Faculty vote in favor of new institute

Paxson talks on plans for ACURM recommendations

U. support of Ukrainian, Russian students also discussed at faculty meeting

Paxson also discusses Land Acknowledgement Working Group recommendations

BY ALEX NADIRASHVILI UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR Members of the University’s faculty and administration passed a motion at the April faculty meeting to establish the Institute for Biology, Engineering and Medicine — referred to as I-BEAM — effective July 1. The motion passed with 88% of the vote.

Vicki Colvin, professor of chemistry and engineering, outlined the missions of I-BEAM to the faculty.

These include exploring opportunities for “excellent academic research” at the intersection of biology, engineering and medicine; creating further partnerships with hospitals, clinicians, start-ups and established companies; fostering a diverse and inclusive intellectual community; and educating young researchers about the interface between these disciplines.

BY ALEX NADIRASHVILI UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR President Christina Paxson P’19 gave a tentative response to the February recommendations of the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management, which she said aim to “amend the University’s business ethics practices in response to a petition by the Scholars at Brown for Climate Action,” at the April faculty meeting Tuesday.

SBCA’s proposals ask the University to set minimum standards for its gift and business policies to stop Brown from doing business with organizations that perpetuate climate disinformation, The Herald previously reported.

ACURM — an advisory committee that evaluates the ethics of the University’s investment and business practices in accordance with its mission

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

At the meeting, Provost Richard Locke P’18 presented the University’s plans to double its research enterprise.

Colvin explained that the institute formed partially to better embrace intellectual opportunity, as “biology is, both in measurement and computation, becoming much more quantitative.” Addressing acute social needs, such as by exploring new approaches to problems of “equitable and effective healthcare,” also drove the vote, she added.

“We have an ability and capability now to think much more broadly about the kinds of scholars who could operate at this interface” of biology, engineering and medicine, Colvin said. “One of the biggest contributions of this institute will be bringing in people from physical

SEE INSTITUTE PAGE 3

and values — recommended in March that the University create a path for taking action against organizations that deny climate science, maintain its current gift acceptance policy and amend its business ethics policies to indicate its refusal to do business with organizations that knowingly undermine science.

Paxson said she tentatively plans to have the University develop a process for gift and grant acceptance that better reflects the University’s mission and values, protects academic freedom, fosters trust within the Brown community and does not politicize gift and grant acceptance or use business practices as an advocacy tool.

This will be done through the establishment of a provisional Due Diligence Review Committee which will be formed this semester, she said. This committee, which Paxson said could possibly be made up of the provost, the executive vice president of finance and administration and two faculty members from ACURM and the Research Advisory

SEE ACURM PAGE 4

UNIVERSITY NEWS

SPORTS

In-person ADOCH to return for class of 2026

Baseball no-hits Holy Cross in 3-0 win

Admitted students’ day offers in-person, virtual programming, food truck festival

BY JACK TAJMAJER SENIOR STAFF WRITER The University will host three days of the annual A Day on College Hill event in person for the class of 2026 on April 8, 13 and 22, Dean of Admission Logan Powell wrote in an email to The Herald. This year’s ADOCH marks the first time the event has featured in-person activities since 2019.

The event brings admitted students to campus to help them understand the undergraduate experience. In previous years, attendees stayed overnight in residence halls and attended campus events such as club activities, performances and panels, The Herald previously reported.

Faced with the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, over the past two years the University has turned to virtual programming dubbed the “Bruni-

verse” to allow prospective students to connect with the campus community remotely.

This year, Powell wrote that the University decided to host the event in person “based on the (public health) information and projections available in the fall.” The University is “requiring all students to sign a vaccination attestation form” to register, he added.

Students will not stay overnight in dorms this year, and instead will be given a choice of three identical daylong programs operating from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Powell wrote that participants will follow current University public health guidelines and that the majority of the University’s peer institutions are following similar procedures for their in-person events.

“Considering the equity of opportunity among admitted students, as well as the importance of the health and safety of the current campus community, we felt that day programming and virtual programming would best allow us to help prospective students get to

SEE ADOCH PAGE 2

Four pitchers combine to achieve feat with help from strong defensive performance

BY ELLERY CAMPBELL STAFF WRITER The pitching staff of the baseball team (6-14, 2-4 Ivy League) threw a combined no-hitter Tuesday afternoon in a 3-0 win over the College of the Holy Cross. Pitchers Bobby Olsen ’23, Charlie Beilenson ’22, Paxton Meyers ’24 and Jack Seppings ’25 all contributed to the performance. On offense, the Bears earned three runs in the second and third innings.

“Our pitchers every day preach attacking the hitters, and today we did a really good job at that,” Head Coach Grant Achilles said. “The energy in the dugout contributed to the energy on the field, and it showed.”

Beilenson, who earned the win pitching four innings in relief, said that he felt that energy when he stepped out on the Murray Stadium field to pitch against Holy Cross. “It was a combination of putting together

Arts & Culture

Commentary

U. News

“Jazz Jams” return to the Underground, provide performance space Page 2

Bahl ’24: Performative social media activism fails the people it advocates for Page 6

Lit arts concentrators discuss registration, requirement challenges Page 7

COURTESTY OF DAVID SILVERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY VIA BROWN ATHLETICS

The Bears’ win against the College of the Holy Cross Tuesday followed the team’s 9-4 win against the Crusaders March 20. everything we’ve worked on this entire year, our coaches leading us exactly to this point,” he said.

When the Bears last faced Holy Cross March 20, they won 9-4, but today’s win made history. At the time of publication, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Tim Geer was unable to list the most recent

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no-hitter pitched by the baseball team.

Olsen started for the Bears, giving up no hits, one walk and no runs in three innings pitched. The Bears’ hitters took advantage of Olsen’s early dominance, scoring all their runs in the innings that he pitched. In the bottom

SEE BASEBALL PAGE 3

DESIGNED BY ASHLEY CAI ’25 DESIGNER

GRAY MARTENS ’25 DESIGNER

BRANDON WU ’24 DESIGN EDITOR

JULIA GROSSMAN ’23 DESIGN EDITOR

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

ARTS & CULTURE

Return of Underground’s ‘Jazz Jams’ creates space for musicians Student organizers host biweekly sessions for musicians of all experience levels

BY DECLAN JOHNSON STAFF WRITER By day, the Underground of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center serves as a meeting place for students interested in cheap coffee and high-decibel, trendy music. But every other Wednesday night, the Spotify playlists are paused and tables are pushed to the side to make space for jazz aficionados, casual fans and everyone in between.

Paused while campus COVID-19 restrictions were in effect, “Jazz Jams” were revived in the fall by students eager to foster an open performance space for student musicians, said Alejandro Ingkavet ’24, one of the series’ organizers and social media director at The Herald. Drawing crowds that fill the Underground, the events have been part of a broader on-campus reintroduction of live performances post-pandemic, he added.

“In one night, you’ll have about 20 to 25 musicians swapping in and out,” Ingkavet said. “This is a really important place for anyone interested in jazz.”

True to the spirit of jazz music, the events have a loose structure and plenty of room for improvisation. The songs performed, which are suggested beforehand via Google Forms, come from a selection of well-known jazz standards. Then, the stage is opened to any musician who wants to perform, Ingkavet said. A typical song features up to 10 musicians playing a variety of instruments. According to DJ Pennix ’25, a frequent “Jazz Jams” performer, one musician even managed to play the

flute, bass, pocket trumpet and clarinet in a single solo.

The events’ open structure allows space for new instruments, performers and costumes, Ingkavet added.

“A lot of clubs have open jazz jam nights, and we’re replicating that in some way,” Ingkavet said. “But because the events are student-run, everyone feels more free in their ability to perform.”

For some student performers, “Jazz Jams” provide an opportunity to step outside the norms of jazz performance in a low-stakes environment.

“Last ‘Jazz Jams,’ I performed ‘Bella Notte’ from ‘Lady and the Tramp’ in a goat costume,” said singer Emma Giventer-Braff ’23. “People thought it was a hoot because it was lighthearted and funny. If I did that during jazz combo, I’m sure the jazz directors would give me an evil eye.” Formal jazz combos take place within the University’s Jazz Band program, according to the Music Department website.

A palpable sense of community also contributes to the openness of the event, Pennix said. That community, which brings together students interested in jazz from all class years, was crucial for Pennix in the fall during his first semester on campus. After performing at similar events in high school, Pennix was struck by Brown students’ support for all levels of musicians.

“No matter what you would do, (the crowd) would always cheer for you and make you feel like you belong there,” Pennix said. “Beginners would come and experiment in front of a crowd.

And they didn’t feel like they needed to prepare or have a certain level of talent.”

Often, when the set list runs out, one student will begin to play a lick and other performers will gradually join, Pennix said. The end result, he

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added, is a space where “even people who were scared to go up for the planned set list were able to solo in the end.”

Given the low-stakes nature of the events, Giventer-Braff said “Jazz Jams” tend to create a relaxed atmosphere

among the crowd. When she attends these events, she alternates between doing homework on her laptop and singing on stage. That environment makes “Jazz Jams” unique both on campus and in the greater world of jazz music, she said.

ANDREW DING / HERALD

The University turned to virtual programming for prospective students, dubbed the “Bruniverse,” because of COVID. Virtual programming will still be offered for admitted students who can’t attend ADOCH in person. “speak about their experiences (and) share advice (and) wisdom and the reasons why they chose Brown as their home.”

Events from past ADOCHs, including an overview of the Open Curriculum, a student organizations fair on the Main Green and opportunities for socializing, will return this year, Powell wrote. The University will also host a food truck festival on Brown Street with a “variety of local Rhode Island truck options, as well as a Del’s Lemonade stand,” he added.

To accommodate students who can’t make it to in-person programming, the University will also be “offering a wide variety of virtual events and engagement opportunities” throughout April,

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ADOCH FROM PAGE 1 know Brown,” Powell wrote.

Planning meetings for ADOCH began “in the summer of 2021,” he wrote, and the University “felt confident” that it could host the event in person due to “the success of in-person events happening on campus during the fall of 2021.”

“Through the entire planning process,” he explained, “we have kept a close eye on … COVID case trends.”

Janek Schaller ’24, a tour guide and student ambassador, said he felt “fairly comfortable with the measures.” He noted that prospective students have already been a “constant” on campus through tours this semester.

Tour guide Olivia McClain ’22.5 said she thought hosting students in person was “a bit more risky” than she would prefer, but added that the University was “much more experienced” in making public health decisions.

Benjamin Connor ’22, another tour guide, said he felt “pretty comfortable with people coming here in large groups at this point,” but understands the discomfort the event might create for others.

Powell noted that the University wanted to “maximize the amount of time current students and admitted students have to interact.” The majority of planned sessions feature current University student panelists who will

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Powell noted. Those events include a virtual address from President Christina Paxson P’19 and virtual editions of many in-person events, according to Powell.

“We recognize that not all admitted students will be able to attend ADOCH in person,” Powell wrote. “This virtual element will allow students and families to engage with the Brown community from their homes. … We have been able to reach so many more admitted students and their families with engagement opportunities in the Bruniverse than was previously possible.”

Claire Brown ’22, a University tour coordinator, said she believes this year’s ADOCH will be better than previous

years — both virtual and in-person — because the programming options are “a little more spread out” and “everyone is kind of starved for interaction.”

Schaller, who described his own ADOCH experience as “kind of a chaotic time,” similarly thought that this year’s ADOCH would help give students a “more complete look at Brown.”

The University will also sponsor a group of students with financial need to attend the final ADOCH session on April 22, Powell added. The students will be offered transportation and overnight accommodations.

Powell noted that the students involved in the planning of the most recent in-person ADOCH in 2019 have graduated. This year, the University

The environment at “ ‘Jazz Jams’ is more authentic jazz. Jazz combo is jazz music, but jazz is best in a relaxed setting. I want to dance — that’s what jazz is,” Giventer-Braff said. In the Underground, “it wouldn’t be out of place to do so.”

asked “current student ambassadors and tour guides to participate in multiple events throughout the month of April including both in-person and virtual offerings.”

He emphasized that faculty and staff will also play a large role in virtual offerings so that prospective students can connect with the entire University community.

Brown said she chose to participate in an event because she enjoys “talking to prospective students and admitted students especially” and thinks “it’s really fun to be able to see that … the sort of spirit of Brown is living on.”

She also noted that input from ADOCH student leaders was encouraged in the event planning process, including on which topics student panels should cover.

“They’ve given us a lot of detail about what we’re doing,” McClain added.

“We hope that offering a combination of both in-person days and virtual events over the course of April will allow admitted students and their families many opportunities to truly experience what Brown is all about, meet the students, faculty and staff and help them make the most informed college decision possible,” Powell wrote.

“I’d just ask that everyone is very friendly and kind,” McClain said. “This is such a special place and we’re very lucky to get to experience it.”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

INSTITUTE FROM PAGE 1 sciences more broadly, biology more broadly, as well as medicine, together under the umbrella” of I-BEAM. Supporting Ukrainian, Russian students Provost Richard Locke P’18 discussed the University’s recent efforts to continue its support of both Ukrainian and Russian students in light of the Russia-Ukraine war. The University, in communication with these students, has worked toward providing them with ongoing “trauma-informed advising and therapy,” as well as financial support.

“The University is unequivocal about its support to our students in the case of financial hardship as a result of this crisis,” Locke said. The University is working with the Office of Financial Aid and student services teams in the College, Graduate School and School of Professional Studies to support students financially impacted

BASEBALL FROM PAGE 1 of the second, Reece Rappoli ’24 singled and Nathan Brasher ’25 hit a double to send him home, making the score 1-0.

In the bottom of the third, Ray Sass ’23 singled to left field and stole second base. From there, Brasher hit another double to plate another run for the Bears, making the score 2-0. With

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS by the war, he added.

The University also offered “admission to 13 undergraduate students who have Ukrainian citizenship and whose residency is declared in Ukraine,” Locke said. “We communicated to them earlier than the other (students admitted through regular decision to the class of 2026) so that we could begin the visa process and make sure that they understood that they had a safe place to come.”

Locke also advised faculty members to attend an upcoming roundtable discussion at the Sheridan Center about “how we can support our international and international-identifying students.”

The University aims to share its plans for expanding research enterprise with the Corporation at its May meeting and begin the architect selection process to construct new research infrastructure by the end of the semester, Locke said.

This is “perfectly aligned with our strategic plan and our mission … to develop and also disseminate knowledge,” Locke said. “It strengthens the cutting edge research that’s taking place here.

It strengthens the education mission that we’re doing here. And — given our research that we hope to translate into all sorts of new cures, therapies, inventions, etc. — it’s actually good for society as well.”

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Faculty research Locke presented the University’s plans to double its research enterprise in the next five to seven years by supporting existing research projects, increasing the number of scholars conducting research and both increasing and improving research space at the University.

CCC report Besenia Rodriguez, deputy dean of the College for curriculum and co-curriculum, presented the College Curriculum Council’s annual report, which was made available to faculty in advance of the meeting.

The CCC is a group of faculty, stu-

dents and administrators tasked with overseeing the undergraduate curriculum.

The report announced CCC’s approval of a new undergraduate concentration in Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies, as well as a new subject code NAIS to “highlight those courses and … simplify the process for students interested in doing deeper study in that area,” Rodriguez said.

The report introduced new concentration tracks that have been added to the Economics and Social Analysis and Research concentrations. It also announced the creation of a new undergraduate certificate option in Migration Studies. There is also a set of guidelines under review with the Graduate Council regarding fully-online courses.

The CCC also decided to remove measures previously in place that prevented students from receiving both academic credit and compensation for “any given work experience that has a learning element,” Rodriguez said. This could allow teaching assistants at the

Brasher on second, Rappoli contributed a double of his own that brought Brasher home, giving the Bears a 3-0 lead over the Crusaders.

“Offensively, I think we’ve made a lot of adjustments,” Brasher said.

“Coach Achilles has helped each player out, … talking about what pitches we’re looking for and when,” which Brasher said “is the best thing for hitters.”

In addition to big hits, defensive contributions from Brasher and other Bears were important in the no-hitter, Achilles added.

“Brasher made a great play down the left field line,” Achilles said. He also noted a defensive play made by Derian Morphew ’23, who hustled in the outfield to catch a line drive on the run and kept the no-hitter intact.

“Today was about pitching and defense together,” Achilles said.

The Bears did not score again after the third inning, but Beilenson, Meyers and Seppings all took the mound following Olsen and ensured that the Crusaders did not hit for the entirety of the game.

According to Achilles, the strong performance from the pitchers as well

University to earn academic credit for their work and give students with higher financial need the ability to pursue programs such as Brown in Washington.

In the coming months, the CCC hopes to work on “simplifying and easing” the policies under which the council reviews courses, said Dean of the College Rashid Zia. This could include allowing faculty to autonomously increase enrollment limits in their courses and providing a more streamlined process for offering summer classes.

Under recommendation from the Nominations Committee, the faculty also approved the appointment of Mary-Louise Gill, professor of classics and philosophy, for a one-and-a-half year interim position on the Faculty Executive Committee for this semester and the 2022-23 academic year.

The meeting also featured moments of silence for the passing of Albert Dahlberg, professor emeritus of medical science, and Talbot Page, professor emeritus of economics and environmental studies.

as from the offense and defense is a culmination of the Bears’ work this season and offers a positive sign for games to come. The team is excited to “take today’s momentum into the weekend,” he said.

“You want to be playing the best baseball at the end of the season,” Achilles said. “I think our team is heading in that direction.”

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

ACURM FROM PAGE 1 Board, respectively, would “conduct reviews as needed … (and) make recommendations to (the president) and (the) Corporation.”

Paxson also aims to establish a committee that will work over the summer to finalize plans for a review process.

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Professor of Applied Mathematics Govind Menon PhD’01 summarized the March 18 Faculty Commons held to discuss the recommendations.

“While there is complete consensus on the need to prevent science misinformation, … there are fundamental values at stake, in particular academic freedom and the ethics of science,” Menon said. “Pragmatic challenges include the need to distinguish between gift and grant policies and the need to develop fair processes that ensure high ethical standards for funding without compromising the smooth functioning of the University.”

Paxson presented her preliminary reactions to the recommendations she plans to discuss with the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, despite not requiring its approval for acceptance.

One of Paxson’s concerns about

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ACURM recommended that the University take action against organizations that deny climate change and ​​ refuse to do business with organizations that knowingly undermine science.

ACURM’s recommendations was its exclusion of faculty funding from restrictions under a proposed gift and grant acceptance policy — which was part of an effort by ACURM to protect academic freedom. “The boundary between what is and isn’t faculty (research), and what should or shouldn’t be protected by academic freedom, is blurry,” she said. “Having one ethical standard for one thing

and another for another within the University doesn’t make much sense to me. Anything we do, I think, has to apply to all gifts and grants regardless of purpose.”

“Our mission is to advance knowledge and understanding. So science disinformation — which is defined as knowingly spreading false information with the intent to deceive or mislead — is not consistent with our mission,”

CA L E N DA R

Paxson added.

Paxson suggested that “to the best extent practical, … we’re not going to do business with organizations that directly support science disinformation defined in this way.”

If implemented, a policy in line with Paxson’s statement would extend beyond ACURM’s recommendations by applying to all scientific disinformation beyond climate change denial,

but would not apply to organizations that support “opposition to science or science policy, … (as) these concepts are very broad, and they’re not very well-defined,” she said.

The President’s report, during which Paxson addresses the faculty and administration at the meeting, also summarized the recent Land Acknowledgement Working Group recommendations, which include: the establishment of a formal University land acknowledgment, a group charged with drafting “a piece of real scholarship on this issue,” a memorial on campus planned with the Narragansett people and more educational opportunities for local tribal youth.

A formal response to these recommendations will be released by the President in the coming weeks. “It will come out soon because I would like to be able to have a land acknowledgment that we can actually use at Commencement,” Paxson said.

Paxson also awarded five faculty members the President’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Governance: Kenny Breuer ’82, professor of engineering; Harold Cook, professor of history; Tamar Katz, associate professor of English; Melvin Rogers, associate professor of political science; and Sharon Swartz, professor of biology and engineering.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

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SPORTS

Casey Chan ’23 finishes 12th at NCAA Fencing Championships Chan makes AllAmerican team for performance in sabre

she was able to compete.

BY NICHOLAS MILLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER Fencer Casey Chan ’23 finished 12th among 24 competitors in the sabre at the NCAA Fencing National Championships held March 24 and 25 in South Bend, Ind. Chan’s placement earned her an honorable mention on the All-American team.

Chan, a former Herald staff writer, qualified for the national championships after finishing fifth at the NCAA Northeast Regionals earlier in March.

She also qualified for the national championships as a first-year student in 2020, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before

“I’m really thankful for the opportunity to go this year,” Chan said. “I was just hoping to put up a good fight and fence (to) the best of my ability and I really think that’s how I performed.”

Chan finished in the middle of the pack by most metrics, winning 12 of her 23 matches and winning and losing 91 touches in all of her bouts

combined.

She struggled in the beginning of the event, going 1-6 in the first round.

“I wasn’t mentally ready,” she said. “I wasn’t in it.”

But she quickly recovered, posting a 3-1 record in the following two rounds, and beginning the second day with a 4-0 record in the fourth round.

During her undefeated showing in the fourth round, Chan defeated

eventual NCAA champion Elisabeth Tartakovsky of Harvard and third-place finisher Nora Burke of Columbia.

Chan said she had a different mentality to begin the second day, helping her avoid a repeat of her slow day-one start.

“I wasn’t nervous in any way,” she said. “After that first day, there’s nothing that I really had left to lose.”

Despite a 1-3 final round, Chan’s performance in the middle rounds was enough to earn her 12th place and All-American honors.

Captain of the women’s team Anna Susini ’22 said it was “amazing” to watch Chan compete and praised her character as well as her fencing prowess. “Casey is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met,” she said. “She’s a gold-standard human being.”

Now that she has experienced the tournament once, Chan hopes to improve

GRAY MARTENS / HERALD

on her performance next year.

“I’m hoping to use this experience to be more mentally prepared,” Chan said, mentioning that her ultimate goal is to make the top four at the NCAA Championship.

Head Coach Alex Ripa is aiming even higher for Chan. “I’m really looking forward to this next season when I feel like she’ll make it and she knows what she’s up against,” he said. “I do believe she could win” the NCAA Championship.

Ripa also hopes that next year, more members of the team will join Chan at the national championships. “I think people like Casey who have these amazing accomplishments absolutely inspire people to do more,” he said. “I think we’re going to see more and more of Brown fencing make their way to the national championships as we build the program.”

Looking to the future, Chan’s primary motivation is to further elevate her teammates. “I’m hoping a lot more of us can make it next year,” she said.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

Bahl ’24: The pitfalls of self-centered online activism The first time I really saw “social media activism” in action was during the wave of Black Lives Matter protests in May 2020. I was just getting used to the new virtual status quo brought on by the pandemic when, overnight, nearly every online platform I was active on was saturated with media about the murder of George Floyd. This surge of online discourse falls under the umbrella of social media activism — and it can be extremely powerful.

However, while social media and the internet can be a means of empowering and mobilizing the masses, they can also amplify empty sentiments and oversimplified messages on the same scale. While social media could very well be the next major frontier for activism, it can only live up to its potential if we recognize that we too often interact with it in a mechanical, self-interested way. We need to move past these habits and think critically about whose voices really deserve to be centered in online discourses.

Most people I know consume more on social media than they create — consider how many TikTok videos you scroll through per day versus how many you post. The same logic applies to many people’s habits regarding Instagram posts, Snapchat stories or even LinkedIn announcements. Unless you’re some sort of influencer, I’d guess that you’re consuming far more content than you produce. Although social media helps connect its users to others and their perspectives, much of this supposed connection is one-way and entirely on the terms of the user, who can just swipe past content they don’t enjoy. Social media users will only connect with the perspectives they want to.

This means that when tragedy strikes or serious political issues inevitably arise, we are so accustomed to our particular social media

behaviors that we end up inadvertently centering ourselves even in far-reaching issues. Thus, even while social media becomes a forum for people to engage with these issues, most of the activism that happens there is insular, performative and fails to spark real change.

For example, take the #BlackoutTuesday trend of May 2020. At best, it was a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement

social media users effectively appropriated the movement’s social media presence — maybe to assuage their personal guilt or better their political standing in the eyes of their followers. In the process, they diluted the conversation that is one of the movement’s primary purposes.

To me, calling this behavior activism when it is really just outright selfishness is a total mischaracterization. I say this because there was

“At the end of the day, good social media activism is only possible when it is on the terms of the people it affects.”

where allies posted blank black squares on their Instagram feeds. However, this activity clogged hashtag feeds used for activism and drowned out posts that attempted to disseminate important educational materials — action items that could tangibly help the movement and provide time-sensitive protest updates. In fact, even prominent activists openly criticized the trend and its harmful consequences. I agree with them — to me, #BlackoutTuesday served individuals who wanted to demonstrate performative allyship with the Black community without taking any productive action to further the Black Lives Matter movement. Whether or not they meant to be destructive, these millions of

actually meaningful social media activism happening at the same time about this issue. I genuinely learned from the unprecedented volume of posts and infographics that were shared on online platforms — I found out where to donate, books I could read to educate myself on Black history and protest locations in my area. While there is certainly an emotional burden that comes with such engaged and impassioned discourse on social media, useful and informative posting makes a significant difference.

I think our question going forward should be, “How can we preserve the impact of social media without turning activism into something performative?” I believe the answer lies in how

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we view our relationship with social media. We cannot afford to be mindless in how we interact with it. While it may seem like your TikTok For You page has no real-life use, the way that each of us chooses to engage with our social media content can define the conversations around political issues. We could squander our power as social media users to bump black squares and self-indulgent fads, but I believe we should instead challenge ourselves to promote discourses of real value. This means pausing to digest the content we encounter, boosting perspectives that contribute to topical conversations rather than inserting our own voices just for the sake of it and, most importantly, remembering that social media is a collective experience.

Today, I think we’ve gotten better at fostering this kind of social media activism than we were two years ago. In the midst of the current political crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the content I’m seeing on social media appears to have a healthier balance between raising awareness, voicing support and providing actionable information on how to help. Of course, this is partially due to the nuanced differences between the two social media movements, including their cultural, geographic and historical contexts. Yet, it would also seem that we have a growing understanding of the limits of social media activism. At the end of the day, good social media activism is only possible when it is on the terms of the people it affects — not focused on the outside commentary of those who just want to seem “woke.”

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

7

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

Public Health Research Day 2022 highlights student, faculty work School of Public Health commemorates National Public Health Week with conference

BY JARED ZHANG SENIOR STAFF WRITER The School of Public Health hosted its annual Public Health Research Day Tuesday in Alumnae Hall. Undergraduate, master’s and doctoral participants as well as representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Health presented 73 different posters showcasing their work in the field of public health.

“It’s really exciting that we get to share what our students are working on (with) the community. It’s nice to be able to highlight all the public health work that’s happening here in Rhode Island,” said Melissa Clark, associate dean for education, professor of health services, policy and practice and professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

“We’re really proud of our students, and it’s great that we can finally be back in person presenting our work.”

The Herald spoke with four partici-

pants about their experiences presenting their posters.

On her poster, Rebecca Kirby ’22 examined resistance to the antimalarial drug artemisinin.

Using discarded samples from a previous national survey, the research team studied dried blood spot data to characterize mutations in resistance to the drug and determine the prevalence of malaria parasites in Rwanda, she said.

“This is really important for global health because malaria has a really significant burden. It caused over 600,000 deaths last year,” Kirby explained. “Mutations have been shown to cause resistance against artemisinin combination therapies, which is the current mainstay against malaria. If this were to spread into Africa, that could threaten decades of public health gains.”

Kara Rofé GS looked at the pre-exposure usage of prophylaxis — an antiviral medication that can preemptively reduce the risk of contracting HIV — in transgender and gender-nonconforming adults in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“Transgender and gender-nonconforming people are disproportionately impacted by HIV, but not enough of

them are taking PrEP,” Rofé said. “I want to find out why they aren’t taking PrEP and what subgroup of people are taking PrEP.” Using a survey of 600 transgender and gender-nonconforming people in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, researchers found that those who did not access HIV prevention services, those who engaged in condomless sex and those who lacked a history of STIs did not commonly use PrEP, Rofé said.

Abigail Gulchin ’22 examined the interactions between prenatal opioid exposure and postnatal depression.

Using survey data and behavioral assessment measurements, the research team found that infants with prenatal opioid exposure from mothers with postnatal depression had more externalizing and internalizing problems as well as lower cognitive scores than infants with prenatal opioid exposure from mothers without postnatal depression, Gulchin said.

“It’s so important to study this because it’s a very under-researched group. You already have so much stigma against mothers who have opioid use disorder, … and you also have (a) stigma against depression,” Gulchin said. “These (people) are so stigmatized

JARED ZHANG / HERALD

The conference showcased 73 research posters from students and Rhode Island Department of Health representatives. and need to be encouraged to get help for themselves and for their infants.”

Arielle Desir ’22 MPH ’23 studied the impact of institutional racism on the contemporary fertility rate of Black women in South Africa.

The research team examined existing literature on fertility rates among Black women and contraception use to see how institutional racism contributes to the fertility rate of Black women in South Africa, Desir explained.

“We have to understand the ongoing

impact of apartheid and its legacy on South African women as it relates to their housing, environmental injustice, income inequality, education and access to contraception,” she said. “All these factors are connected.”

Beyond getting to speak with attendees about their research, presenters also had their posters reviewed by faculty judges. The judges will award prizes to projects in the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral student categories April 14.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Literary arts concentrators cite requirement, class size difficulties Students detail challenges getting into classes needed for concentration

gested that the University increase opportunities for students to enroll in creative writing workshops within the department.

“I think it’s better to have (work-

BY STELLA CHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER While Emily Tom ’25 knew she wanted to study literary arts when entering Brown, she found that constraints within the department made the reality of pursuing a concentration in literary arts challenging. Ultimately, to ensure she could get into required courses with small class sizes, Tom declared her concentration in literary arts more than a year earlier than the University requires.

According to the Brown University Bulletin, literary arts concentrators must take ten courses, including four creative writing workshops and six classes in reading and literary research.

Among these ten courses, six must be taken directly through the Department of Literary Arts.

Within the department, introductory and intermediate creative writing workshops have a maximum enrollment of 17 students, and advanced workshops are capped at 12, Gale Nelson, academic program director and senior lecturer in literary arts, wrote in an email to The Herald. Some determine enrollment based on a writing sample.

“There are, I believe, six to seven seats reserved in every class of 17 for lit arts concentrators which means that almost half of those seats are going to people who have already declared,” Tom said. “So it would be a lot easier if I could just declare my concentration now as a first-year and then know I can get into the classes that I need to fulfill my concentration requirements.”

“If I came into Brown undecided and then in my junior or sophomore year

ASHLEY CHOI / HERALD

decided I wanted to do something in lit arts, it would be a lot more difficult,” she added. “I don’t know anybody in any other concentration who’s had to declare (early) because they feel like if they don’t, they won’t be able to get into the classes that they need.”

Some literary arts concentrators told The Herald that being required to take courses with enrollment caps has lead to uncertainty during shopping period, when students interested in taking literary arts workshops must wait to find out if they have been accepted into certain classes. Even when rejected, many continue to attend courses for the remainder of shopping period in the hopes that a spot will open up.

“Shopping period is somewhat overwhelming and inconsistent,” Olivia Booth ’24 wrote in an email to the Herald. “Not everyone who wants to take the classes, especially workshops, ends up being able to take them because they’re not … taken off of the waitlist until weeks into the semester, when

substantial time and work has been put into other classes.”

“It’s difficult to schedule lit arts classes and coordinate other classes because for the vast majority (of literary arts courses), you don’t know whether or not you’ll be able to register until relatively well into the semester, while almost every other department is on an earlier timeline,” Booth added.

Marielle Buxbaum ’24 said she found it surprisingly easy to enroll in a literary arts class as a first-year during the summer 2021 semester, when firstyear students made up the majority on campus. But during the subsequent fall, Buxbaum faced more difficulties, getting into just one literary arts course, which she did not want to take because it was taught virtually.

“I was planning on being a lit arts and theater concentrator, but I was taking theater classes and other classes but no literary arts. So I was a bit concerned I wouldn’t be able to finish in time,” Buxbaum said. “This semester, I am in

a literary arts class, but I wasn’t sure if I would get in and I really felt like, ‘Okay, at this point, if I don’t get into one of the literary arts classes I really like, then I’ll just drop the concentration.’”

Booth wrote that because the literary arts department is “super lenient” with which courses fulfill the reading and research requirement, she did not have many reservations about being able to complete her concentration.

“There are a lot of cross course credits, so you can take courses in English and comparative literature and still get credit for the literary arts” concentration, Tom said. But throughout her first semester, Tom noted that she was confused over which courses could count toward the concentration, which caused her to worry.

Booth recalled a similar sense of anxiety during her first year at the University. “I was definitely nervous about being able to get into enough workshops to complete the concentration.”

Booth, Buxbaum and Tom all sug-

shops) be small because you can get better guidance from professors and you can have more time for each student to share their work,” Buxbaum said. But “I think there should be more classes and more sections of each class.”

Nelson wrote that the department is already taking steps to increase the number of workshops offered. “This year, we were able to offer five additional introductory workshops — spread among poetry, fiction and digital/ cross-disciplinary (fields) — and two extra intermediate-level special topics workshops,” he wrote.

The department is offering 18 introductory level workshops this year, “none of which require a writing sample,” as well as 19 intermediate and advanced workshops, “of which six allow for concentrators to register without a writing sample,” he added.

Despite the challenges, Tom encouraged all students to explore classes in the literary arts department. “It’s a really great experience for anyone, no matter your concentration,” she said.

“So if there’s any way it could be more accessible, not just to concentrators, but to all students, that would be really cool.”

Nelson advises those who are interested in trying literary arts workshops “to take a methodical and wide-open approach.”

“Take part in as many (course registration) lotteries as possible,” Nelson said. “This past year, we added sections after the registration period ended, so lotteries for those sections were filled” after initial registration was held.

“The more widely you apply,” he added, “the more likely you are to find yourself on a class list.”

8

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Deval Patrick discusses intersection of media, political divisions Former Massachusetts governor delivers lecture at Stephen Robert ’62 Hall

BY ANIYAH NELSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick called for political unity in a conversation with Jeff Robbins ’78, visiting assistant professor of the practice of political science, in Stephen Robert ’62 Hall Tuesday afternoon. He also called out racial and economic divisions, as well as the media, for helping to stoke division in the U.S. Patrick, who was raised on the South Side of Chicago and who attended Harvard for both his undergraduate and law degrees, served as governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the state’s first Black governor. He briefly ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 and currently serves as a professor at and co-director of the Harvard Kennedy School for Public Leadership as well as a senior advisor at the investment firm Bain Capital.

After an introduction from Robbins, the event’s host and moderator, Patrick reflected on his work and experiences as a politician.

Patrick served as the governor of Massachusetts during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, and he recalled the need to bring the community to-

gether in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.

“There was a whole business of recovery and how you hold the community together when the instinct has been in this country” to turn on “everybody who looks like” the perpetrator, Patrick said.

“How you get a community to turn to each other in times like that rather than on each other, I think, is really, really important,” Patrick added.

He then recalled a “great piece of advice” he received from his chief of staff at the time regarding the public updates on the manhunt for the bombers. “When you get up and give these updates, … call out the acts of grace that people are showing completely voluntarily,” he said.

Moving into a discussion about the broader division within American politics and civic life, Patrick said he believes that it is, in part, due to racial divisions.

“Like it or not, there are a different set of expectations, still, for Black leaders in higher office,” he said, reflecting on the Obama administration.

But the differences aren’t just racial or isolated to the public-facing world of politics, he said. According to Patrick, the pandemic exposed a lot of “unfinished business” in regards to economic divisions and inequality, specifically in regards to a lack of economic mobility.

“The American dream has vanished,” he said. “It’s always been hard

LEON JIANG / HERALD

Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick emphasized that the country is less divided than it may seem. for folks from my old neighborhood (in Chicago), but it’s pretty much gone for everybody now.”

Patrick also cited “the machine,” a phrase he used to refer to the media, as one of the contributing factors to political and social division in the U.S. Responding to a question posed by Robbins about the “exceptional appeal” of saying “outrageous” things, Patrick noted the effect of the media in reinforcing ideologies.

The media “spreads (outrageous things) because the machine captures so much personal information about you, much of it without your knowledge,” he explained. “It sends to you what the algorithm has decided you want to hear.”

While Patrick said he believes that the media has played a role in fostering

division, he also believes that the scale of division may actually be smaller than the public perceives it to be.

“If you actually get out and talk to people … I think we are less divided than we think we are,” he explained.

“The thing that troubles me the most is not just that we are divided, but that it was so easy to divide us, and I think it’s so easy to divide us because we don’t know each other.”

Although he acknowledged the reality of this division, he also struck a more hopeful tone, describing recent activism such as the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 as “incredibly encouraging.”

“I think there is some good that has and can come out of where we are right now,” he said. “Look at the crowds who showed up in the streets

after George Floyd. Everywhere — big cities, small cities, rural communities all around the world — increasingly diverse in every way, overwhelmingly peaceful.”

Patrick also offered a simplified version of what he believes is the ideal relationship between politicians and the media.

“I would like for the fight to not be between the candidate and the news source,” he said. “I would like for the engagement to be between the candidate and the voter.”

Patrick concluded the conversation by referencing the role of grassroots campaigns — the style of campaign he employed in running for governor — in creating that engagement.

“We, in politics, are doing a lot to develop relationships with outlets and sources to deliver our message, and we spend a lot of money on that,” he said. “We could spend a fraction of that money building relationships with people in neighborhoods … and learn a ton about whether the agenda we’re pushing is actually the agenda that matters to people.”

Tommy Whiteley ’22, who attended the discussion, praised Patrick’s outlook.

“I think that he is indicative of a brand of politics that’s dying in America that’s predicated on civility and generally treating the position with respect and a lot of humility,” he said. “Hearing him iterate all of that in person was really meaningful.”