SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 7
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
UNIVERSITY NEWS
SPORTS
Salinas-Moniz to lead Sarah Doyle Center
Women’s fencing wins conference
Salinas-Moniz hopes to build on legacy of former Director Gail Cohee
Brown goes undefeated at both NFC events as part of 16-1 regular season
BY KAITLYN TORRES UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR The Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender announced its new director, Felicia Salinas-Moniz MA ’06 PhD ’13, Jan. 19. According to the Sarah Doyle Center’s newsletter, Salinas-Moniz worked as a graduate student coordinator for the center during her time as a doctoral candidate in American Studies. After her studies, she served as a coordinator, assistant director and senior assistant director for the center under Gail Cohee, the former Sarah Doyle Center director. “Part of what I hope to do in this position is to really build upon that strong foundation that was built by Dean Cohee and the generations of staff members that came before her,” Salinas-Moniz said. For Salinas-Moniz, the center is a site “for creativity and exploration.” She said that part of her role includes having conversations with students about what is happening both on campus and in the global community so that they can think about what they will do to create change after their time at Brown.
BY NICHOLAS MILLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF FELICIA SALINAS-MONIZ
Salinas-Moniz formally served as graduate student coordinator for the center while she completed her American Studies doctorate. Loc Truong, assistant vice president for campus life engagement, wrote in an email to The Herald that Salinas-Moniz has worked with the center for years and has “developed and honed her skills in managing a center.” He added that she is also a “collaborator” who has a deep understanding of issues relating
The University’s spring semester began amid a period of high transmission of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, forcing some students who tested positive for the virus to participate in the two-week “shopping period” remotely. In an announcement to the University community Jan. 14, Provost Richard Locke P’18 stated that “instructors and students should plan for the possibility that students may be absent from class for a variety of health and personal reasons.” The announcement advised students to “proactively contact their in-
SEE FENCING PAGE 2
Students embrace new social media app
Faculty accomodate students in isolation
BY MAI NEWBURY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
SEE CENTER PAGE 5
Team captain Anna Susini ’22 said the program exceeded its own expectations for this year. She said that because of the squad’s youth, small roster size and long COVID-19-induced break, the team had tempered hopes heading into the season. Ripa agreed that the team’s small roster — comprised of only eleven members — was a significant hurdle to overcome. “Everyone has to fence all the time, meaning that some people have to battle through injuries,” he said. Part of the reason for the team’s constricted roster was the program’s demotion to club status in May 2020 as part of the Excellence in Brown Athletics Initiative, which caused some fencers to leave the team and complicated recruiting efforts, according to Susini. The program was reinstated to
UNIVERSITY NEWS
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Transmission of COVID-19 on campus forces flexibility during shopping period
to gender and sexuality. Salinas-Moniz is currently looking for a new assistant director and hopes to find someone invested in both working with students and helping grow the center’s work.
The women’s fencing team finished 16-1 in its first regular season since being reinstated as a varsity team and won the Northeast Fencing Conference through its 12-0 performance at the two NFC events that it attended. The Bears also went 4-1 in the Brandeis Invitational, with its lone loss against Cornell. Rebecca Whang ’25 posted a staggering record of 45-1 in the sabre over the three tournaments, while Anika Breker ’24 and Sofia Yee-Wadsworth ’24 each collected at least 30 wins at the two NFC events in the foil and epee, respectively. The Bears also twice defeated Boston College, the 2019 winners of the NFC. “Everybody was really dedicated to the task,” Head Coach Alex Ripa said. “I was really impressed by their tenacity and determination.” For Casey Chan ’23, a former Herald staff writer who went 28-3 at the
NFC events in the sabre, the team’s success is the product of the steady, continuous growth of the program. “It’s not a cutthroat team at all. It’s never been like that,” she said. “That team culture and that team history has continued through the years, along with increased competition and a drive … to be number one in the NCAAs (and) Ivies.”
structors if they are unable to attend class” and instructors to “be flexible and support students with excused absences as they normally would.” Locke also asked instructors to develop plans for further accommodating student absences such as recording class using lecture capture, offering live Zoom classes and posting class notes online. “As the University is returning to mostly in-person instruction, we are constantly trying to balance the needs of both students and instructors, who might also have concerns about their own health and safety,” Dean of the College Rashid Zia ’01 told The Herald. “Shopping now in many ways, I think, is more accessible, as recordings and Zoom chats allow students to sort of be in two places at once.” “I’m hopeful that certain things like lecture capture will be used in the
With two-minute window to post, BeReal forces students to post candid look at their day BY EMILY FAULHABER SENIOR STAFF WRITER A new social media app has arrived on campus and is encouraging students to show off their unfiltered lives. Unlike classic social media platforms that can be curated and edited, BeReal users take an uncurated snapshot of their day no matter what they’re doing — whether they’re studying, partying or even using the bathroom. The app sends all of its users a synchronized notification at a random time of day. Then, users have a two-minute window to photograph whatever they are doing before their
SEE FACULTY PAGE 2
SEE BEREAL PAGE 3
Metro
Arts & Culture
Commentary
U. News
NOAA report reveals impending threat of climate change Page 5
Students launch new photography publication Page 3
Simon ’25: COVID-era resignations a sign for future of labor Page 7
VISA courses experience high demand, limited space Page 8
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TODAY
TOMORROW
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
FENCING FROM PAGE 1 varsity status in September 2020 as part of a court settlement, The Herald previously reported. But the demotion was an incredibly taxing process for members of the team, Susini added. “It was really brutal,” said Susini, who was elected captain a month before the demotion. “Everyone’s mental health was (already) in the garbage can” because of COVID, she said. “We were so burnt out from talking to newspapers … and lawyers … I had to let go of everything and make peace with whatever the outcome was.” The process also left lasting damage beyond the roster, particularly relating to fundraising from parents and alumni, according to Ripa. “There is … a sense of cynicism that we are going to have to overcome … I’ve heard from some donors who have said that they’re probably not going to be donating as a result of what went on and how it went on. It’s hard to hear,” he said. “We have to win back some hearts and minds … I see the team of athletes working really hard … and I feel they deserve support.” The men’s team, also demoted in May 2020, was not granted reinstatement, a sore spot for members of the women’s program. That “was really tragic because they have really strong members and, unfortunately, they didn’t have a chance to show their mettle,” Chan said. “I have no doubt that if they were able to compete at (the Ivy and NCAA tournaments) … they would blow a lot of other varsity teams out of the water,” Susini said. “That’s been really frustrating.”
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Members of the team say they have been able to find success this season despite a relatively small squad and the mental health toll from the pandemic. The team went nearly undefeated in its regular season, and will host the Ivy League Championships Feb. 12 and 13. Members of the team say that greater amenities and access to facilities could improve the team’s performance even more. Ripa is hopeful that greater recognition arrives with the athletic department’s new leadership. Vice President for Athletics and Recreation M. Grace Calhoun ’92 began her tenure in April 2021 after former Director of Athletics Jack Hayes stepped down in January 2021, The Herald previously reported.
“There’s a new breeze blowing,” Ripa said. “Athletics is really turning a corner. I think across the board in all the sports, you’ll start to see a renewed effort in terms of support.” This year, the women’s team will host the Ivy League Championships Feb. 12 and 13, an event that will likely be a tough test for the Bears. “A lot of the top fencers (are) recruited to the Ivy Leagues,” Chan said. “That means that this conference is
the hardest competition that we’ll face all year.” Susini added that Brown has fewer fencers and resources than any other Ivy League team they will face, but she remains optimistic. “In terms of talent, we have really, really strong fencers … who are more than capable of winning bouts,” she said. Additionally, in March, individual fencers will compete to qualify for the NCAA Championships — a feat which
Susini expects several members of the team to accomplish. Ripa praised the performance of the fencers amid the program’s challenges. “The team has done a great job of compartmentalizing their own frustration (and) their own cynicism,” he said. “It’s very commendable that they’re able to say, ‘Okay, (we have had) some bad breaks, but let’s keep going.’ ”
FACULTY FROM PAGE 1 future (and) that many of the supports put in place now will continue to make our community more accessible,” he added. Coco Kaleel ’24 began her fiveday isolation period at the Courtyard by Marriott Providence Downtown hotel on the first day of classes for the semester and described her experience as “stressful and very sad,” but relatively inevitable. “I knew I was going to get (COVID-19) eventually this semester,” she said. It’s “better to get it out of the way sooner.” “I’m a big fan of shopping,” Kaleel added. “I’m very indecisive, so that little extra time and flexibility helps me out a lot.” Kaleel went into isolation before she had the chance to attend any classes in person. “Between the chaos of moving myself here and then feeling sick — I was symptomatic — I didn’t get to go to any classes on Wednesday remotely either,” she added. The next day, Kaleel shopped classes online. “It kind of seemed like there wasn’t really a protocol for classes to be online,” she said. “Pretty much only the really big classes I was trying to attend were prepared with Zoom links.” Because of the difficulty of accessing these classes, Kaleel was unable to shop as many different classes as she normally would. She is planning to mostly take concentration requirements this semester. Visiting Assistant Professor in Education Studies Pierre de Galbert has had two students in isolation and one more who did not test positive for COVID-19 but was un-
DANA RICHIE / HERALD
Provost Richard Locke asked instructors to develop plans for further accommodating student absences during the pandemic, which may include making remote access available to students, recording lectures and posting notes online. able to attend class in-person due to COVID-like symptoms. “I teach two classes this semester that are very different in size, which changes how I work to accommodate students who are sick or otherwise unable to attend class in person,” de Galbert said. The larger of de Galbert’s classes is a lecture of about 65 students, whereas the smaller one is a seminar of 20. During the first week of classes, de Galbert offered a hybrid option for his larger class, which is also recorded, and he split his seminar into two even smaller sections, he said. “Last year in the spring, I taught hybrid the whole semester and that was quite challenging,” de Galbert said. “It is difficult to make sure that discussions happen the same way
with the same level of engagement in the room versus online.” “The bigger challenge for me is when students are not communicating, ” de Galbert said. “My fear is that I’m not able to notice which students might need additional support.” Assistant Professor of the Practice in Literary Arts Andrew Colarusso expressed similar concerns to those of de Galbert. “My shopping period meeting was via Zoom to limit an excess of bodies in physical space,” he wrote in an email to The Herald. “I also schedule Zoom meetings for each class, just in case.” Colarusso, like de Galbert, has experience teaching hybrid and online courses. “The literary arts department … has been very keen to
create inclusive and hybrid spaces when possible,” Colarusso wrote. “So much of the work we do in the literary arts department is in active resistance to forms of isolation and loneliness because art requires dialogue, connection, conjunction,” they added. COVID-19 has inevitably made this task more challenging, they wrote. Both Colarusso and de Galbert encouraged students in isolation to reach out to their professors. “Myself and all of the colleagues I speak to are more than happy to change deadlines and modalities to better support students,” de Galbert said. Zia echoed these sentiments. “The most important thing I would really recommend is communication with instructors,” he said. Students
also have the option to connect with a dean in student support services, he added. “It’s really important for everyone — isolated or not — to make sure they are registered for their courses for continued access to online resources,” he said. Kaleel also emphasized the importance of communication and continued vigilance for her peers who may be isolating. “Step one: move into whatever isolation housing you’re given. Step two: email all of your professors,” she said. “Also, if you are vegetarian or vegan, bring snacks, salt and hot sauce,” Kaleel advised. “The food is good, but I have been eating the same meal for the past week.”
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
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ARTS & CULTURE
University students launch new photography publication The Optic aims to foster creativity, community among campus photographers BY LAURA DAVID ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR A group of student photographers and creators announced the launch of The Optic — a new campus publication — in an Instagram post Feb. 3. It was founded to serve as the University’s only magazine dedicated to photography. Founders Mason Lane Rudnick ’25 and Natasha Joukowsky ’22 said they decided to start the magazine after realizing there was a void in on-campus opportunities for student photographers. “Coming (to Brown) this fall, I was shocked to not find something like this because I immediately found so many talented people, whether they were photographers or just artists in general,” Rudnick said. “It felt like something was definitely missing.” Rudnick met Joukowsky at a Russian court-themed party, where she noticed Joukowsky taking photos of attendees and wanted to meet her. “It was definitely inspiring to see someone just capturing everything going on,” Rudnick said. Joukowsky began using film photography just over a year ago, she said. “A friend of mine gave me a camera as a Christmas gift and was like, ‘You should take some photos,’ … so I just took it upon myself to be all my friends’ personal photographer, and it was just so much fun.” Rudnick had a similar foray into the world of photography. After taking a few photography classes in high school, she began experimenting with the medium by coming up with shoot concepts using her friends as models. When Rudnick realized she wanted
to start her own publication, she knew she wanted to approach like-minded Joukowsky for help. As a senior, “she understands the dynamics of Brown (while) I’m coming in as a first year,” Rudnick said. After a few meetings, the two built a team of interested student creatives and launched a website with an initial selection of photographs. Among the works currently available on their website are photographs by Rudnick and Joukowsky, including those Joukowsky took at the Russian court party. Also included are photographs by Annabel Zimmer ’24, whose series “Savior” was published as The Optic’s first official feature. Zimmer joined The Optic after being approached by Rudnick and Joukowsky. “When they told me about it, I was ecstatic,” Zimmer wrote in an email to The Herald. “Sometimes it feels easy to get lost in (Brown). The role of The Optic should be to provide a spotlight for artists and, in turn, connect like-minded individuals.” Now, Rudnick, Joukowsky and the rest of the team are working with the Undergraduate Council of Students to become an official club, and they have released an interest form for students looking to submit photographs or join the publication’s staff. The founders also noted that they hope to take The Optic’s platform beyond its website by hosting events and photo exhibitions later in the semester, and they would like to provide opportunities for student photographers to sell prints and network with industry professionals. “What’s awesome about what we’re starting now is that it’s not limiting,” Joukowsky said. “We’re trying to attract the best of the best … because we know they’re here and we want people with visions and creativity. Just having (their) point of view is extremely important to us.”
COURTESY OF THE OPTIC
The magazine is meant to serve as the University’s only publication dedicated to photography and was founded to fill a void in on-campus opportunities for student photographers.
Join The Herald! Email herald@browndailyherald.com if you are interested in joining. BEREAL FROM PAGE 1 post is considered “late.” Until users post their own BeReal, they can’t see their friends’ posts. BeReal captures images from a phone’s front- and back-facing cameras simultaneously, offering a view of both the poster’s face and their surroundings. Founded in 2020 by French entrepreneurs Kevin Perreau and Alexis Barreyat, BeReal initially gained a foothold in France and only later expanded its user base to the United States, according to reporting from Mashable. The app is meant to showcase “life … without filters,” according to its description in Apple’s App Store. James Dahlen ’23 said he downloaded the app after seeing his friends get a notification at a party instructing them to take their BeReal.
“The notification came up and (everyone) started shouting (at the party). They showed me the app and I took a scroll through it and downloaded it,” he said. He said it’s “an oddly reassuring thing to see” that most of the time, his friends are not doing anything special. “People aren’t lying about what they’re doing,” added Becca Ward-Diorio ’23, who said she downloaded the app after hearing her friends talk about it. She finds using the platform “fun” so far, though she said she is still picking up its nuances, such as a feature that allows users to react to their friends’ posts with selfies. She also added that the front-facing photos catch her “off-guard.” Still, she noted that she only follows her friends on the app, so there’s “no one (she’s) trying to show off to.” If there were to be changes made to
the app, Cecile Schreidah ’24 said she would want the ability to take videos, while Dahlen said he would want to better curate his feed, putting his close friends at the top. All three students interviewed by The Herald said they felt BeReal would never replace bigger photo-based social media apps like Instagram or Snapchat. BeReal “just kind of earned a spot in my suite of social media rotations,” Dahlen added. BeReal has engaged college ambassadors at campuses across the United States to expand its user base in the country, according to Schreidah, who says she was personally recruited by the company as an ambassador. BeReal declined to comment on its growth or recruitment on college campuses in an email to The Herald, though the BeReal website features a
page describing a paid college ambassador program. Schreidah said she was contacted by an ambassador for the app via Instagram direct messages in June 2021. The ambassador encouraged Schreidah to promote BeReal at Brown through monetary incentives: For every person she referred to the app, she would receive $30. Every person who downloaded the app and sent a review to Schreidah would in turn receive $50. “I thought it was a scam,” Schreidah said. Still, Schreidah thought it was worth a try, so she made a list of people to reach out to on campus and posted about the incentive on her Snapchat story. Schreidah then sent out a standardized message to those who expressed interest instructing them how to download the app and to send a review to her.
“I only recruited (about) ten students,” she said. Those ten students received a Venmo or PayPal transfer of $50 from BeReal, according to Schreidah. After about a month of work, Schreidah said she stopped serving as an ambassador for the app and promptly deleted it. Few students were using it at the time, and even those that did have accounts typically forgot to post. After the lack of interest over the summer, Schreidah said she was “really shocked” that the app has become a “huge” trend on campus. Still, she refuses to redownload it, citing how much time she spends on social media already. “I feel like all these apps kind of have an expiration date,” Schreidah said. “After a while, kids might get kind of used to it.”
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
METRO
R.I. State Climate Summary addresses warming, sea level rise Report from NOAA helps state actors prepare, adapt for climate change BY JULIA VAZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its State Climate Summaries for 2022 last month. The Rhode Island report — written by climate researchers Jennifer Runkle and Kenneth Kunkel — predicts unprecedented warming, extreme precipitation events and sea level rise that could cause coastal flooding and erosion in the Ocean State by the end of the century. But Rhode Island officials say they are working to adapt in the face of the impacts of climate change. According to the report, the state recorded its highest number of days above 90 degrees over the past several years, while the number of cold nights appears to be trending downward. The planet “is warming, it has been warming. The last two decades have been the warmest in the history of climate records,” Kunkel said. He also highlighted the impact of sea level rise for a coastal state like Rhode Island — namely, more frequent and intense floods. Created to supplement the National Climate Assessment, which had its latest iteration published in 2018, State Summaries provide a more efficient source for state officials to develop and coordinate policies, according to Kunkel. “The idea is to provide easily (digestible) information for the state,” he said. Kunkel added that the reports are aimed not at the scientific community but instead at local governments, the private sector and the general public. “We are trying to convey information to a very wide spectrum of our citizenry, so (the reports) are written to be fairly accessible.” Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Baylor Fox-Kemper also explained the role of State Summaries in policy formation. “Focusing on Rhode Island alone has a potential political importance to the state government that other climate reports would
MARLOWE PODY / HERALD
not have,” he said. The report can also help identify Rhode Island’s best options for tackling the immediate consequences of climate change, Fox-Kemper added. “Rhode Island is not a major emitter worldwide, but we can do our part and have a stronger negotiating position with other states in New England and … the federal government to put stronger reductions into place.” For Fox-Kemper, the report is also an “awakening to the people of Rhode Island that we are in for a very substantial sea level rise by the end of the century.” He added that, since Rhode Island cannot stop global emissions on its own, it is crucial that the state undertakes climate adaptation efforts as well as mitigation measures. “These changes are probably going to come whether Rhode Island does this or not, so we can save lives by thinking of ways to adapt using this information at hand,” he said. The report notes that, due to local conditions, the Northeast will see more sea level rise than the global average. In a low-emission scenario, global sea level is projected to rise one foot by 2100. In the most extreme conditions, the increase
could be as high as eight feet. “We have only seen about nine inches so far, but we are already seeing consequences for salt marshes and low-lying places around Rhode Island,” Fox-Kemper said. If sea levels increase by four feet, which is the intermediate emissions projection, areas without flood protections — such as Barrington, Central Falls, Harwick, the Port of Providence and more — will suffer from massive changes, he explained. “Places will have to be abandoned and infrastructure for the state will have to be rebuilt.” In response, the state government has created tools to mitigate the impact of sea level rise. In an email to The Herald, Laura Dwyer, public educator and information coordinator for the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, highlighted initiatives such as STORMTOOLS, the Coastal Hazard Application and the Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan, also called Beach SAMP. These resources can help users assess, understand and educate themselves about the potential risks of inundation with water at specific addresses. Beach SAMP specifically “aims to im-
CA L E N DA R
prove the coastal resiliency of cities and towns throughout Rhode Island to the threats of erosion and flooding caused by storm events or sea level rise,” according to its website. SAMP was developed “using up-to-date research and expertise from a wide range of public and private sectors.” In addition, Governor Dan McKee has taken steps to fund the security of areas at high risk from climate change. Beyond the $150 million investment in climate change policy proposed in his fiscal year 2023 budget — which includes a series of measures that can mitigate the impacts of sea level rise — he proposed a green bond on the ballot in November, according to Michael Healey, chief public affairs officer for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. “That green bond includes, among other things, $16 million for the Municipal Resilience Program administered and financed by the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank,” Healey wrote in an email to The Herald. “This matching grant funding stream helps local communities restore and improve resilience of vulnerable coastal habitats, river and stream floodplains and infrastructure.” Fox-Kemper also emphasized the
importance of continuing to prioritize and expand policies to aid vulnerable communities navigating the impacts of climate change in Rhode Island. “There are many studies that show that affluent communities have an easier time adapting,” he said. “It is the communities in Rhode Island that do not have those resources that we should be most concerned about.” This prioritization means building up the state’s climate resilience on every front, from investing in infrastructure and restoring wetlands to addressing the social structure itself, “making sure our insurance policies are affordable and accessible,” Fox-Kemper said. Despite the need for immediate local action, Kunkel said that one state alone cannot solve climate change. “Everything goes into the common atmosphere and you are stuck with the decision of all your global neighbors,” he said. While every action helps build a more sustainable future, Kunkel noted, “it is going to take decades to get to a point in which we are not increasing greenhouse concentrations in the air, even under the best circumstances. So, one has to prepare for certain changes, and that means strong actions to adapt.”
COVID -19 AT BROWN JAN. 27 TO FEB. 2
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
CROSSWORD
Answers: Shopping Period (Feb. 7) BY HENRY BLOCK PUZZLES EDITOR
CENTER FROM PAGE 1 She added that the work of the center is rooted in bell hooks’ definition of feminism, in which the movement’s goals are to end sexism, exploitation and other forms of oppression rather than focusing on empowerment alone. The goal of the center is to look at gender “in complicated ways” while also allowing all students — regardless of gender identity — to feel affirmed, she said. The center is looking to do this through its collaboration with the LGBTQ Center on supervising the newly revised Women, Gender and Sexuality Peer Counselor role, which emphasizes the centers’ “nuanced approach around gender,” she said. The predecessor to the role, titled Women Peer Counselors, was formerly a part of the Office of Residential Life. Currently, Salinas-Moniz is working with students in preparation for Women’s History Month, when the center plans to bring in speakers who are examples “of the type of scholarship that we like to highlight at Sarah Doyle,” she said. She also said she works closely with the Sarah Doyle Center’s cousin centers — the LGBTQ Center, the Brown Center for Students of Color, the Undocumented, First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center, the Global Brown Center for International Students and the Office of Military-Affiliated Students. She hopes that through the collaboration of these centers, “students will have multiple homes” on campus. Sage Morgan-Hubbard ’05, assistant director of the BCSC, has collaborated with Salinas-Moniz on various
5 programs such as the Women of Color Reception, as well as organizing guest speakers for the Third World Transition Program. Morgan-Hubbard said that Salinas-Moniz can “make an impact for all students at Brown” since the center is for all gender minorities and those “thinking through issues of gender and belonging.” Truong added that Salinas-Moniz will work with departments within the Division of Campus Life, including Counseling and Psychological Services, BWell Health Promotion and ResLife. Salinas-Moniz is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of American and Ethnic Studies and most recently taught a sophomore seminar titled “Race, Class and Girlhood.” She said that outside the classroom, she enjoys speaking with students on research interests that intersect her own. She said she has done work on “Latinx literature, girlhood studies, women of color feminisms and popular culture.” She also published an article in the “Feminist Teacher,” a publication focused on the “practices, theories and scholarship of feminist teaching” which Cohee edits. Her piece focused on Chicalit, which she described as “chick lit” written for and by Latinas. Looking forward, Salinas-Moniz hopes to meet more students, faculty and staff whose work intersects with that of the Sarah Doyle Center. Morgan-Hubbard said that Salinas-Moniz is thoughtful and “really thinks about every person from graduate students and beyond.” “I’m really interested in just getting to meet people,” she said. “That’s one of my favorite parts of this role … building relationships and making connections.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
Votta GS: Don’t leave behind the immunocompromised In March 2020, right before the United States began to shut down due to COVID-19, I woke up so sick I could barely stand. My joints were inflamed, and my throat felt like it had been mangled by barbed wire. When I looked at it in the mirror using my flashlight, the deep crimson color I saw did not reassure me. Neither did the intense chills I felt rippling through my body, though my digital thermometer told me I had no fever. I emailed professors, arranged to be in class virtually — so that I wouldn’t miss out on important meetings — and made myself some hot tea with honey, which I choked down with difficulty. By the time Brown suspended classes and moved to remote learning, I had already been at home, sick and then slowly recovering, for two weeks. I had already been granted the accommodation of virtual learning that we would all soon participate in as COVID-19 ravaged the globe and made gathering in person dangerous. As someone with several chronic illnesses — of which that episode represented just one — a world with COVID-19 has made living with my illnesses worse. I, and others who are immunocompromised, have had to endure intense uncertainties and live with fears beyond the worries of people without these issues. We are “less likely to receive care, and more likely to die.” These words have haunted me since I first read them two years ago in The Seattle Times, when COVID-19 was new and I did not yet know that my isolation — and the accompanying loneliness and depression — would become seemingly never-ending. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently said on Good Morning America that “the overwhelming number of deaths — over 75% — occurred in people who had at least four comorbidities,” adding that “really these are people who were unwell to begin with and yes, (this is) really encouraging news in the context of Omicron.” Walensky insisted her remarks were taken out of context and that the whole statement discussed how a recent study found that only a tiny percentage of fully vaccinated people became severely ill and died from
COVID-19. Of this tiny percentage, she continued, the majority had several preexisting conditions. Context has done nothing to reassure anyone with a chronic illness or disability, however. Vaccinations do not offer the immunocompromised the same level of protection they do for the rest of the population. Because of this,
nursing homes and other high-risk settings, until after at least 10 days.” How, if someone is asymptomatic, are we to tell whether they are still contagious? How, too, are they to tell who is and who is not immunocompromised? Our unwellness is not always visible. The entire burden of keeping ourselves safe and alive falls on us. The only way for us to be safe is to remain in
“Though we are as anxious to return to ‘normal’ as everyone else is, normal remains an impossibility for millions of immunocompromised people.”
we have had to remain more cautious than many others. We have had no respite, no period of leaving a mask at home, of feeling safe in restaurants, schools or even visiting friends and family. We have continued to treat COVID-19 as the serious threat it was perceived as in the early days. We must keep up this vigilance because the institutions and systems that are supposed to protect us have only considered us in terms of our deaths. This is a void of care. A void of care through health care rationing that has in some cases discriminated against people with disabilities. A void of care through the refusal of so many Americans to follow basic precautions like masking and distancing. And a void of care through the new isolation guidelines that state that on day five, a person may go out as long as their symptoms are gone, without confirming that they are COVID-negative. These guidelines instruct to “avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease, and
isolation forever, rendering us even more invisible than before this pandemic. In COVID-19’s early days, universities like Brown appeared to put the health and safety of the entire community first. Campuses shut down, learning happened remotely and staff worked from home. In the two years that have followed, we’ve seen advances in treatment for COVID-19 that can mitigate the severity of infection outcomes, learned how to take precautions that minimize the risk of spread and developed vaccines that reduce the risk of infection for most people by 95%. While it may be safe for most people to return to campus and participate in life as usual — with the addition of a few precautions — the same cannot be said of people who live with chronic health conditions. This is why it was deeply upsetting to see that in Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey’s Jan. 12 communication outlining Brown’s plans for students to return to campus this
spring, there was no mention of disabled or immunocompromised community members at all. Last semester’s petition to work and study remotely — a form I only learned existed from another disabled student — I can no longer find on the SAS website. Our presence at Brown has been erased, and along with it our unique needs during this pandemic. To be rendered invisible by Brown has immense repercussions for immunocompromised community members. For instance, in Carey’s communication, he discusses how highly transmissible Omicron is, while minimizing its effects as most commonly “mild” — a debatable categorization. If we simply follow the precautions outlined in the communication, Carey indicates severe illness on campus will be minimized. Since Brown has decided to stop publishing positivity rates, we are no longer equipped with the information we need to make an informed decision about our personal risk on campus. These plans fundamentally exclude people who are immunosuppressed. The result is that people like me with immunity issues have become increasingly isolated and alone, disconnected from communities and relationships that once enriched our lives and provided us with stability and a sense of belonging. We’ve lived with constant uncertainty, fear and anxiety that public health policies have done little, if anything, to assuage. Though we are as anxious to return to “normal” as everyone else is, normal remains an impossibility for millions of immunocompromised people. As long as our existence is ignored and devalued — and until policy and care centers take into account our unique vulnerability — the world is an unsafe place where isolation remains the only option.
Amanda Votta GS can be reached at amanda_votta@brown.edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
7
Simon ’25: The Great Resignation may harm workers “Sorry, we’re short-staffed.” Over the past two years, I’ve heard those words countless times, seen them on signs in cafes, bookstores, even doctors’ offices. They’re words I’ve said myself, leaving customers waiting at the door while I scramble to balance hostessing and serving pizzas at the same time. Through supply chain shortages, health risks for front-line workers and inflation, COVID-19 has strained industries in the country, causing intense burnout and revealing systemically poor workplace conditions that long preceded it. The fallout from the pandemic is causing millions of American workers to quit en masse in a wave of two-week notices known as the “Great Resignation.” Since April 2021, about a fifth of the U.S. workforce has left their jobs. In November alone, 4.5 million people resigned. These resignations are especially high in the hospitality and service industries. Still, people in every sector of the economy, from retail to tech, have also been calling it quits. In business journals and news articles alike, the Great Resignation has been characterized as a turning point for American workers — a widespread demand that employers provide higher wages and greater benefits in order to attract and retain employees. But I fear that the dominant narrative surrounding the Great Resignation obscures the more troubling reality of the COVID economy — one where the wealthy have consolidated their power in a way that spells trouble for workers in the future. The Great Resignation has become a buzzword of the pandemic era, and there’s good reason for the fascination. In stunning numbers, employees are challenging salaries, benefits and the notion that they are beholden to their employers. In what has been described as a “shift in sentiment and attitudes” toward a more sustainable work-life balance, the conditions of the pandemic have sharpened worker grievances in a way that is causing people to
not only quit but also organize. Unionization
ments to quit, strike or boycott in response to
actually getting much worse. Billionaires glob-
efforts and labor organizations are gaining both
lacking wages and conditions may be better
ally amassed $3.6 trillion in 2020 while over
visibility and momentum — public support of
publicized now, but they aren’t a definitive win
100 million people fell into extreme poverty.
unions is at its highest in over 50 years. Large
for unions or workers at large — actual mem-
Likewise, massive corporations like Amazon
corporations like Starbucks are facing mount-
bership in unions continued to decline in 2021.
have flourished over the past two years while
ing pressure from employees to raise salaries.
Additionally, many of the reasons for resigna-
countless small and mid-sized companies have
These trends aren’t just unfolding in traditional
tion are less empowering than the storyline
suffered and, ultimately, shuttered. The consol-
workplaces but also in academia. At Columbia,
of a “nationwide awakening” would suggest.
idation of wealth and hiring power in the hands
graduate students underwent the longest high-
For instance, resignations are not distributed
of corporate titans is alarming. A concentrat-
er education strike in recent memory. And on
equally across gender. Women are leaving the
ed economy is a less competitive economy for
Brown’s campus, reports of outdated facilities
workplace at twice the rate of men. These de-
employers, meaning wages could likely become
and understaffing exacerbated by COVID led to
partures aren’t isolated; they’re often due to
less competitive as well. If COVID-19 continues to constrict the number of employers in the job market, it’s difficult to imagine that employees would have the leverage to negotiate for in-
“The Great Resignation, in all its complications, reveals the kind of forces that will shape — for better or worse — the job market we are likely to inherit.”
creased benefits, fairer hours and decent working conditions. I raise these points not to downplay the recent accomplishments of labor movements, nor to discourage people from seeking to redefine their professional lives, but rather to urge against complacency with the state of the economy and the opportunities we have to participate in it. Students in particular should pay attention to these dynamics. The Great Resignation, in all its complications, reveals the kind of forces that will shape — for better or worse — the job market we are likely to inherit.
an advocacy movement calling for better con-
pressing material factors that disproportion-
COVID-19 has made clear the value of every-
ditions for Brown Dining Services workers last
ately affect women, such as an inability to pay
day labor in coffee shops, hospitals and hotels.
fall. The sentiment that workers deserve better
for child care. Many of the people being consid-
But recognizing the value of that labor does not
is driving both organized protest and individual
ered part of the Great Resignation are actual-
mean enough is being done to protect it. We
resignation. There’s a kind of catharsis in saying
ly mothers who feel that they have no options
have to also recognize and resist the more in-
“I quit” in particular. It’s an acknowledgement
besides leaving work. It’s a trend that reveals
sidious forces at work.
of personal ownership over our jobs and lives in
more about the deep failures of the country’s
a time when so much is horribly, terrifyingly out
welfare system than about any particular lever-
of control. But the scope of that control is not
age or self-actualization on the part of working
entirely clear.
women.
Alissa Simon ’25 can be reached at alissa_
While there has undeniably been a shift in
American workers may be shifting their own
simon@brown.edu. Please send responses
the way we conceptualize labor, the Great Res-
career trajectories, but their power in the grand
to this column to letters@browndailyherald.
ignation is hardly the simple, power-to-the-
scheme of the economy has not improved. In
com and op-eds to opinions@browndaily-
people story promoted by the media. Move-
fact, wealth inequality in the United States is
herald.com.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
8
UNIVERSITY NEWS
VISA concentrators face shopping period, registration difficulties Students describe low space, huge demand for classes within department BY RYA VALLABHANENI SENIOR STAFF WRITER For most students at Brown, shopping period marks an eventful start to the semester. Chemistry students get to drop into poetry workshops, English concentrators visit language classes and engineers try playwriting. But for Visual Art concentrators, the process has become a source of anxiety. “It’s actually pretty difficult,” VISA concentrator Rena Jiang ’23 said in reference to shopping period. “This year, when I shopped (VISA 1320:) ‘Painting II,’ the cap was 12. There were maybe 20, 25 people there.” Harshini Venkatachalam ’23 had similar feelings. “As a VISA concentrator, I have found it a little bit stressful,” she said. “I wasn’t able to get into any classes during preregistration.” In preregistration for VISA students, seniors have an advantage because of their early registration time, and only a few seats are saved for underclassmen and declared concentrators, according to Department Chair and Professor of Visual Art Leslie Bostrom. “I think a lot of the problem is that preregistration lets in a random assortment of students instead of letting the professors decide who deserves to be in the class,” VISA Departmental Undergraduate Group leader Sylvia Atwood ’22.5 said. Jiang emphasized this sentiment. “I kind of wish that VISA concentrators would get a little bit of priority,” she said. She explained that the current shopping process is one in which “most of the time you kind of have to keep showing up to class, beg professors (and) get lucky.”
According to Bostrom, who has taught at Brown since 1988, the department is “just exploding with concentrators right now.” This past semester alone, 25-30 students chose to declare VISA, taking even Bostrom by surprise. Bostrom wrote in an email to The Herald that high levels of class demand lead to what she called “a bottleneck effect.” Older students who couldn’t take classes due to pandemic restrictions now find themselves competing for seats with younger students, she explained. Bostrom added that the department “can’t stuff classes right now.” COVID-19 procedures are forcing professors to maintain a commitment to size caps, and studio spaces simply cannot physically accommodate all those working in them, she said. Jiang said that while shopping “Painting II” — a course where every student needs a painting space — “there literally just wasn’t enough space in the studio to support all of the students.” The lack of seats available is also a result of faculty shortages, according to Atwood. Bostorm also mentioned Brown’s earlier decision to “reduce humanities professors down to three courses a year … took seven courses off our docket.” The concentration’s foundational courses, namely VISA 0100: “Studio Foundation,” can be particularly hard to get into, according to students. Competition between aspiring VISA concentrators and students simply looking to take a general art class at Brown often makes this gateway course a point of major frustration. When Venkatachalam wanted to take VISA 0100, she didn’t get in through the lottery and had to shop several sections in the hopes of getting a spot. When Jiang shopped the course during her freshman year, she described the room as being at roughly “150% capacity.” Even for students who have man-
ASHLEY CHOI / HERALD
aged to complete the gateway courses, registration struggles still ensue for concentrators. Though concentrators said that course requirements do ultimately get filled, their completion can occur in a last-minute manner that leaves some students scrambling. “I have, I think, four or five classes that I need to do next year,” Venkatachalam said. “Some of it is probably on me, but some of it is definitely because I don’t always want to try and try and try to get into classes.” Atwood added that “there are VISA concentrators who are juniors who are just now taking a VISA class for the first time since their freshman year when they took VISA 0100.” There are other options available when it comes to satisfying upper-level studio requirements, such as taking classes at the Rhode Island School of Design or opting for an independent study project — which Jiang is current-
ly doing. “It’s a really good way to get around not getting into classes,” she said. The issue is less about meeting requirements and more about getting into the courses she wants to take, she added. As a result, VISA concentrators said they must be persistent shoppers. “You have to be there,” Yolizbeth Lozano ’22, another VISA DUG leader, said. She added that professors are typically receptive to emails from prospective students and are “very accommodating and willing to make a space for you.” The issue, she explained, is less a result of professors’ willingness to take on additional students but rather limitations on physical studio space with pandemic restrictions in place. Though concentrators do get some priority during regular registration — “that’s part of our obligation,” Bostrom added — the recent “explosion” of VISA students makes that advantage less
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valuable. Atwood also expressed concerns about the difficulty of enrolling in VISA classes for non-concentrators. “I think there’s a disconnect between the ideology of the departament in that art should be for everyone and it should be something that everyone gets to build into their schedule,” Atwood said. She mentioned that many students who took and enjoyed art classes in high school but don’t necessarily want to concentrate often find themselves unable to continue their artistic studies in college. In a Feb. 4 meeting, VISA faculty gathered to discuss the department’s high-demand and low-availability issues. In order to offer more courses, Bostrom wrote that the department needs “more faculty and more space.” “We have been asking for ‘dirty space,’” Bostrom wrote. These “dirty spaces,” Bostrom explained, are places “where you can do sculpture, printmaking, charcoal drawing and other messy things.” “I will be asking for that again,” she added. Bostrom has already managed to add an extra drawing class and plans to request another section of VISA 0100 from the University as well. Going forward, the department has also decided to make concentrators its primary concern. “We have so many concentrators who cannot get into classes that we decided we have to prioritize them in registration for the fall,” Bostrom wrote. Non-concentrators will still be allowed into VISA classes, but their registration status will largely depend on them showing up on the first day of class. Although she acknowledged that there is no perfect fix in which everyone who wants to take a University art class gets to do so, Bostorm wanted to “emphasize that the University is responsive.” Lozano, Atwood, Venkatachalam and Jiang spoke of their appreciation for what the department has done for them and other concentrators. “Even though shopping and getting into the classes brings a lot of uncertainty, I still really like being a VISA concentrator,” Venkatachalam said. “And I really like all the classes I’ve taken so far.”