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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 114

U. expands ADOCH to

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U. named best in nation for Brazilian studies Department noted

include early decision admits for collaborative, Two-day program split into two sessions, travel budget doubled to increase inclusivity By SARAH WANG SENIOR STAFF WRITER

When the class of 2022 reflects on their A Day on College Hill experience, they’ll have to clarify which one they’re talking about. ADOCH 2018 will be split into two programs, and for the first time in recent history, students admitted through early decision will be invited. ADOCH is set for April 15 and 16 and April 22 and 23, both following a Sunday to Monday schedule. Sunday will focus more on student life whereas Monday will concentrate more on academics with an “overview of the open curriculum, shopping classes, concentration fairs (and) panels,” said Student Coordinator Jardelle Johnson ’19. To make the events more accessible, the travel grant budget — which covers transportation costs for low- and moderate-income families — has also

doubled from $110,000 to $220,000, according to Dean of Admission Logan Powell. There has been a demand from early decision admits to attend ADOCH, Powell said. And with the expansion of ADOCH into two programs, “it also makes complete sense to invite early decision” admitted students to give “as many people as possible” the opportunity to attend, 2017 ADOCH coordinator Sophie Book ’18 added. “It is absolutely valid that they want to have the same experience that other students do,” Powell said. “It helps them meet their future classmates, and their excitement about Brown will also rub off on the students who are in the process of making the decision.” However, unlike regular decision students, early decision students will not have the option to stay in on-campus housing, Powell said. “We need to make sure we have enough hosting for the regular decision admits,” Powell added. “Depending on what the turnout is like this year, we leave open the possibility that in future years we would host early decision admits.” » See ADOCH, page 4

interdisciplinary approach to Brazilian issues By LYDIA DEFUSTO STAFF WRITER

Growing up in the United States, Fernando Guimaraes ’18, was never able to connect with U.S. history like his peers, many of whom had personal and familial ties to America’s past. Born in Brazil, “I could never find that emotional connection to what I was studying,” Guimaraes said. Yet Brazilian studies, especially with Professor of Modern Latin American History and Portuguese and Brazilian Studies James Green, “allowed me to develop that connection and … passion for my work.” Guimaraes’ experience is one of the Brazilian Studies program’s many success stories, as Brown was named the best place in the United States or Canada to study Brazil at the annual meeting of the Latin American Studies Association that took place in Lima, Peru, last summer, according to a press release from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. At the same conference, Green,

SAM BERUBE / HERALD

The Brazil Initiative has attracted several influential Brazilian speakers to the University, including former President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff. director of the Brazil Initiative, was University … (to) create a dialogue … voted the United States’ leading scholar about the complexities of Brazil and the of Brazilian studies, according to the ways people can understand (them),” press release. Green said. The Brazil Initiative is “an interdis“We have excellent scholars in key ciplinary effort to bring together schol- departments,” including sociology, ars and students who work on Brazil literature, history, public health and across the different departments of the » See BRAZIL, page 4

Panel talks Asian, Asian American identity U. lobbies against higher-

ed provisions in tax bill

Feelings of invisibility, lack of belonging identified as issues affecting Asian American mental health

BUCC discusses implications of proposed tax code, leveraging alums in lobbying efforts

By ERIC CHOI STAFF WRITER

Panelists discussed the implications of the invisibility of Asian and Asian American men for mental health and well-being at an event Tuesday. “We really wanted to address identity as a salient factor … in wellness,” said Aleta Bok Johnson, a coordinator of the event and a CAPS staff member. Identity plays a crucial part in mental health. “Asian American mental health in general tends to be … a very taboo topic within specifically the Asian American community,” said Lina Lalwani ’19, a coordinator of the event. Panelists discussed invisibility in terms of political contexts and personal ones as well. Robert Lee, associate professor of American studies, placed the dialogue in a historical context. He explained that part of the invisibility stems from the trade-off of social visibility and

INSIDE

By ANNA KRAMER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

TIFFANY DING / HERALD

Panelists at Tuesday’s event contextualized the mental health of Asian and Asian American men as a taboo topic. economic success. A number of panelists approached the issue by sharing personal stories as well. John Lee, a clinical psychologist,

shared how he hit a “dead-end” with Columbia’s psychological services while he was an undergraduate because they couldn’t understand the pressure from » See PANEL, page 2

The University is actively lobbying against the higher education-related portions of proposed tax reforms in the House and Senate, said President Christina Paxson ’P 19 at the Brown University Community Council meeting Tuesday. “There are a number of provisions in (the two bills) that are harmful to higher education,” said Albert Dahlberg, assistant vice president for government and community relations. Those proposals include an endowment excise tax in the Senate bill and elimination of the graduate student tuition deduction in the House bill, The Herald previously reported. The excise tax could cost the University between $3 million and $6

million, while the House bill’s elimination of the graduate student tax deduction could add another $20 million to that total, said Provost Richard Locke P’18.5. Other line items in the bill would also negatively impact the University, he added. The government relations team and the advancement office have pressed influential alums and Corporation members to direct lobbying efforts at senators and representatives from the states of Indiana, Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, said Steve Gerencser, assistant director of government relations. Gerencser’s office has also partnered with schools such as DePaul University and Wabash College to secure signatures for a letter to Sen. Todd Young, R-IN, he added. “A big part of our advocacy efforts (is) reaching out to Republicans,” since Democrats will most likely not play a role in the bill’s passage or failure, Gerencser said, adding that “alumni are very eager to get involved.” “We’re asking these senators to have » See TAX, page 3

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

NEWS President Christina Paxson P’19 outlines Univeristy’s response to proposed federal tax legislation

ARTS & CULTURE Orchestra to play pieces reflecting Russian history following turbulent beginning to semester

COMMENTARY Renshaw ‘20: Working mothers can offer children valuable support, inspiration

COMMENTARY Mulligan ’19: University should offer more courses centered on LGBTQ+ topics

PAGE 2

BACK

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TODAY

TOMORROW

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43 / 27

NEWS

PAGE 2 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Paxson denounces tax plan in community-wide email U. president among educators to mobilize against proposed federal legislation By EDUARD MUÑOZ-SUÑÉ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

President Christina Paxson P’19 outlined the University’s response to the GOP tax plan in a community-wide email Monday morning, criticizing the bill and explaining its negative impacts on the University. She wrote that the University has made substantial efforts to address “a number of alarming provisions related to higher education” and aspects of the bill that have “potential financial implications for members of our community.” The bill, entitled “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” includes sections that would prove detrimental to the University, such as sections that tax the endowment, she wrote.

Paxson wrote that elements of the bill “adversely affect efforts to make higher education affordable and accessible” and would decrease the University’s ability to fund expensive research efforts. The bill, passed by the House of Representatives, is currently under debate in the Senate. According to Paxson’s email, some aspects of the bill that would be especially harmful to universities have been eliminated from the Senate version. She attributed this to the “advocacy of thousands of students, faculty, staff members and alumni.” However, Paxson emphasized that detrimental sections of the bill remain, including a 1.4 percent tax on the net return on the endowments of private universities that have a value of $100,000 or more per student. This tax would cost the University between approximately $3.3 million and $6.6 million each year, she wrote, and “would set an alarming precedent for the tax treatment of nonprofit colleges and universities.”

She also added that though some damaging sections from the House bill were removed in the Senate version, they could still end up in the final bill. Harvard’s Provost Alan Garber wrote a similar letter to the Harvard community, in which he outlined concerns over the bill’s potential impact, according to the Harvard Crimson. He wrote that the section of the bill that taxes endowments would cost Harvard approximately $43 million next year. The presidents of the University of Michigan and Ohio State University published a joint column denouncing the bill. They wrote that the legislation “contains provisions that would make it harder for students to earn a college degree at a time in which the value of higher education has never been greater.” In closing, Paxson emphasized that she had met with government representatives from Rhode Island to communicate the University’s stance, and is working alongside the University’s

» PANEL, from page 1 his parents to succeed. He later became an investment banker but quit his job to become a clinical psychologist against the wishes of his parents. The parental pressure to succeed was a common theme during the night. Raj Thakkar, assistant adjunct professor of public service at New York University, shared how he struggled growing up with a lack of love from his father, but therapy and social entrepreneurship helped him overcome feelings of isolation. “Only later in life did I realize that

HERALD FILE PHOTO

President Christina Paxson P’19 emailed the community about the University’s efforts to counter potential changes to the tax code. Government Relations Working Group to push for reforms to the final bill. “I am heartened by the efforts of our Corporation members, alumni and friends who have expressed their concerns to Congress as well,” Paxson wrote. “As Congress continues to consider this

legislation, Brown’s senior leaders will provide updates on developments that would have a negative impact on students, faculty and staff or impede our ability to fulfill our mission.”

he essentially just projected a lot of his pressure that he felt from his father onto me,” Thakkar added. Thakkar also felt rejected because he didn’t grow up with role models who resembled him, he said. “I hated how Indians and all Asians were just nowhere to be seen on TV and (in) the press,” Thakkar said. “Why are we invisible?” Jason Yoon, a 2001 Rhode Island School of Design graduate and avid baseball fan, explained how he was “always predominately interested in sports writers” and how this intersected with his interest in Asian American masculinity. Yoon was able to explore his own

identity by painting portraits of Asian and Asian American baseball players. “I was really drawn into the mental health discussion,” said Tin Dang ’18, who attended the event, adding that he appreciated Lee’s insight on the model minority myth as an alienating factor. But Dang said he was “slightly disappointed” that the panelists didn’t go into more detail about the mental health issues that impact Asians and Asian Americans as a group. The panel was coordinated by Counseling and Psychological Services and the Brown Center for Students of Color’s Asian/Asian American Heritage series.

NEWS

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017 • PAGE 3

» TAX, from page 1 a conversation with Senate leadership … and ask that the endowment tax be removed from the Senate version,” he said. “The Senate version is more preferable to us” because the graduate student tuition assistance exemption and other deductions would remain in place, Gerencser said. The Senate Budget Committee voted to move the bill to the Senate floor for consideration Tuesday evening, Gerencser said, adding that a full vote will most likely occur sometime Thursday or Friday. The House and Senate have two options in order to finalize a bill for President Trump’s signature. If the Senate bill passes, they could meet in conference to reconcile the two bills, or the two houses could agree that senators will amend the bill on the floor and then send it back to the House for approval, Gerencser said. “We’re waiting to see what happens with the Senate bill,” because there will be another round of advocacy if the two bills move to reconciliation, he added. If any of the higher educationrelated provisions remain in the final bill, “it will be very difficult for us” to fill the gaps, Locke said. While the University has begun to reduce the yearly endowment payout to ensure fiscal responsibility, the process could

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

President Christina Paxson P’19 spoke at the Brown University Community Council meeting Tuesday, covering how the University is working with powerful alums to fight potential changes to the federal tax code. regress to compensate for the deficits said. loans from all financial aid packages, BUCC members also voiced their that the bill would create, he said. Paxson also addressed the admin- which “would apply to all domestic as approval for the new South Street land“If it seems that we can’t change the istrative move to South Street landing well as international undergraduate ing administrative building. “Being at actual provisions, we’ll work to change and the Brown Promise initiative at the students,” she said. “I’m very optimistic South Street landing with colleagues the effective dates … to give us more end of the meeting. that we’ll be able to meet this goal and really makes you feel like you are part time to work things out,” Gerencser Brown Promise aims to eliminate go no-loans starting next year.” of a larger enterprise,” Dahlberg said.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FALL PRIZES 2017 The Barbara Banks Brodsky Prize for Excellence in Real World Writing - $800 Awarded to a full-time junior or senior enrolled at Brown. Submission may come from the spectrum of nonfiction: literary journalism, memoir, or narrative based on travel, science, history, or cultural critique. Submission of brief essays or one longer essay should be limited to 3,000 words. ~~~~~~~~~~~

The Barbara Banks Brodsky Prize in English - $800

For the best essay on 20th-century literature in English by a junior or senior. ~~~~~~~~~~~

David Rome Prize - $250 For the best lyric essay by a currently enrolled undergraduate. This form includes essays written in poetical or experimental forms that emphasize artfulness. ~~~~~~~~~~~

Arlene Rome Ten Eyck & Peter H. Ten Eyck Prize - $250 For the best essay on literary theory by a currently enrolled undergraduate. ~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose Low Rome Prize - $250 For the best poem or poems by a currently enrolled undergraduate.

Entries must be submitted online at: Barbara Banks Brodsky Prizes: http://brown.edu/go/brodsky-prize Rome Prizes: http://brown.edu/go/rome-prize

by 3:00 pm on Tuesday, December 12, 2017. *NO HARD COPIES OR LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED* *ESSAYS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED AN ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AWARD ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ADDITIONAL AWARDS.

For submission details, please visit http://brown.edu/go/english-prizes-fall

Display ad for BDH to advertise Department of English fall prizes To run on Wednesday, November 29 AND Thursday, December 7,

NEWS

PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

» ADOCH, from page 1 Early decision admits had previously been invited until 2008, when the Office of Admission decided to shrink the program, The Herald previously reported. These changes come after evaluating student feedback and conversations with Provost Richard Locke P’18.5 and others within the Admission Office, Powell said. The previous three-day ADOCH caused many admitted students to miss too much class time and was not inclusive for those who could not attend ADOCH’s one-time program. The Office also wanted to make the program more “manageable and enjoyable for current students” and “improve and increase the interaction between … prospective students and current students,” he added. The shorter, two-day programs will keep “core events” such as open houses, President Christina Paxson’s P’19 welcome address and meals on campus, Powell said. However, more events will have to run concurrently within the shorter time frame, he added. Changing the format of ADOCH

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

was “completely necessary” due to increasing attendance, Book said. “Our planning team has really embraced the new format,” she added. ADOCH will be more structured than in previous years to make sure students get the information they need to decide whether they want to matriculate to the University, Johnson said. Unlike in previous years, students will be placed into “units” to provide them with a built-in network of students, she added. In 2017, 705 admitted students attended ADOCH, Powell said. With the increase in the travel grant budget and the invitation of early decision students, Johnson hopes ADOCH attendance will reach around 1,000 to 1,200 students spread over the two programs. By doubling the travel grant budget, Powell hopes that it will “be possible to cover every student who represents or comes from a family who would need this assistance.” In previous years, the Office had to make the “painful choice” of deciding who would or wouldn’t receive assistance in the form of a travel grant.

COURTESY OF JAMES GREEN

Director of the Brazil Initiative James Green has studied the country for his entire academic career and lived there for eight years. He helped bring ex-presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Dilma Rousseff to campus.

» BRAZIL, from page 1 ALEX SKIDMORE / HERALD

Africana studies, Green said. “A person who wants to study Brazil in a holistic way can come to Brown and get that.” The Brazil Initiative organizes weekly lecture series, film festivals and international conferences to promote understanding of Brazilian issues, he added. “It’s always a good thing to go to the events to see what people are studying,” said Mateus Lima Gomes ’18. But the Brazilian Studies program has not only received domestic recognition. After the two former Brazilian presidents Dilma Rousseff and Fernando Henrique Cardoso visited Brown, major Brazilian newspapers printed stories which Andre Pagliarini GS said bolstered Brown’s reputation. Cardoso even served as a visiting professor for five years after serving two terms as Brazil’s president, Green said. The Opening the Archives project, a collaborative effort between Brown and the Universidade Estadual de Maringá in Brazil, also garnered attention in

Brazil. The project has digitized 10,000 U.S. State Department documents relating to Brazil from the 1960s and 70s and made them available to everyone online, according to its website. When Pagliarini was in Brazil, the project was “all that people would talk about,” he said. The strength of the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, which focuses on language and literature, also contributes to the University’s recognition. “We were able, through the years, to develop a strong unit made up of people who are recognized not only as teachers but also as researchers in the field of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies. We were able to attract very good students, both as concentrators and later on as doctoral candidates,” said Luiz Valente, professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies and comparative literature. According to Valente, the main reason the department is so strong is that its “modus operandi has always been collaborative. … We (have) always

worked well for the benefit of the unit.” Patricia Sobral, senior lecturer in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies also emphasized the department’s unity. “This collaborative piece to … our pedagogy really allows everybody to feel as though they’re part of a larger community.” The University’s location also enhances its ability to promote Brazilian Studies. “We’re located in an area where there’s a lot of Brazilians and a lot of Portuguese-speaking people,” Guimaraes said, noting Providence’s plethora of Brazilian and Portuguese restaurants and supermarkets. Green thinks the future of Brazilian studies at Brown is tied to Brazil’s current political climate. “Brazil is passing through, I think, the worst moment in its history,” due to a severe economic crisis, revelations of corruption amongst politicians, low presidential popularity and a general cynicism among Brazilians, he said. Green said he sees the University serving as a platform for debates about Brazil’s future.

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

a wa r n i n g s i g n

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Pepperoni, Spicy Sausage & Garlic, Mushroom’s Revenge Pho Bar, Poke Bowl JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Chicken Dinner Bowl, Rodeo Burger, Quesadilla Station

Beef Chili with Beans, Hearty Country Vegetable Soup

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Beef Stew, Red Flannel Hash, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake

Orange Teriyaki Haddock, Herb Rice, Roasted Summer Squash, Pumpkin Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Beef Carnitas, Hot Corn with Zucchini and Tomato, Rice Krispies Treats with M&Ms

Grilled Chicken Cilantro, Siena Roasted Couscous, Fagioli Soup, Anadama Bread

sudoku

ROSE CARRILLO / HERALD

A stop sign on the corner of Prospect and George Streets was vandalized to include the word “driving,” leaving community members to speculate over its origin and meaning, potentially commenting on car pollution.

c r o s s w o rDd

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Beavers’ projects 5 Eat on the run, as a sandwich 9 Dainty drinks 13 Thick-furred dog 15 Opera that premiered in Cairo in 1871 16 Make ribbing with needles 17 Ski lodge mugful 18 Febreze target 19 Wine bucket, e.g. 20 Shot from the side 23 Bygone full-size Ford 24 Federal air marshals’ org. 25 __ Nashville: country music label 26 Cosmetics mogul Mary Kay 29 Physics particles 32 Celeb with all the answers 34 End of Ali’s memorable boast 37 Green Hornet’s driver 38 Habit wearer 39 Sack lead-in 42 Diner’s cell app 47 Like cheerleaders 49 __ majesty: high treason 50 Scheming 51 Legal ending 52 Lamb’s pop 54 Billy’s bleat 56 Makeshift radio antenna 62 Valentine’s Day deity 63 “Modelland” author Banks 64 Scrabble’s blank pair 66 Respond to hilarity 67 “A likely story” 68 Bridge bid, briefly 69 Netflix rentals 70 So-so grades 71 Agts. who might use the starts of 20-, 34-, 42- and 56-Across

DOWN 1 Gallantry-incombat mil. award 2 Per 3 Very small: Pref. 4 Island seating 5 Brit’s joint 6 Hitchhiker’s hope 7 Get a pound pooch, say 8 Coffeehouse specialist 9 Satirical miniature 10 Officeholders 11 Fillmore’s successor 12 Bolt in the buff 14 Full-figured 21 Superstar search show, to fans 22 Atkins no-no 26 Pose 27 RR stop 28 “Get lost” 30 Simone of jazz 31 Hard head? 33 “__ mouse!” 35 Bleak film genre 36 Suffix with differ or defer 40 Pioneering ISP

41 Meddle 43 Jardin du Luxembourg, par exemple 44 Utterly confused 45 West Point inits. 46 Primitive shelter 47 Wanted poster offer 48 “Foundation” author 53 “It could happen”

ANSW R

55 Gerontologist’s concern 57 Gets the wrong total, say 58 Branch locale 59 Small business owner’s figurative array 60 Ne or Na 61 Artist Magritte 65 George W., to George H.W.

O S

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

“It’s a warning about controlling the press, controlling the arts; it is really a cautionary tale of the kind of totalitarian ideology that can infiltrate a democracy.

”

— Daniel Harp, interim conductor of the orchestra

See orchestra on page 8.

calendar TODAY NOVEMBER MARCH

Global Health Lecture 12:00 P.M. Alpert Medical Building, Lecture Hall 170

Sophia Beal, “Brazilian Literature” 5:30 P.M. 159 George Street, 102

Sophomore Slump Open Forum 6:30 P.M. Smitty B, 106

BOLT Leader Information Session Number 2 7:00 P.M. J Walter Wilson, 502

TOMORROW

ADHD Support/ Conversation Group 12:00 P.M. J Walter Wilson, 411

Wellness at Brown!: Restorative Yoga 12:00 P.M. Hillel Chapel

Dirt Palace at the Wedding Cake House 12:00 P.M. Nightingale-Brown House

You Can Sing: Weekly Shape-Note Singing 5:00 P.M. Steinert Hall

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017 • PAGE 7

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Thank you, Mom, for working all the time LENA RENSHAW staff columnist When I was in pre-K, each parent was responsible for bringing in some sort of treat once per school year for the entire class. Hard at work at the nearby hospital, my mother, a practicing pathologist for many years, completely forgot about this parental duty by the time my day rolled around. Remembering just a few hours beforehand and not having the time nor the know-how to bake, she ran to our local grocery store, bought a few boxes of cookies, threw them in some containers, shook them around a little bit and passed them off as homemade. My mom always finishes telling this story by reminding her listeners that she was one of only two working mothers in my pre-K class — and that was why she couldn’t be as involved. However, by pursuing her career throughout my childhood, my mom did more for me than she could ever have done by staying home. Broadly speaking, the choice between having a career and being a loving, caring parent is a false one: Working professionals — specifically, working mothers — are just as capable of raising bright and well-adjusted children. My mom, like many other working mothers, sometimes feels guilty

that she wasn’t home more when I was younger. In a major study, Harvard researchers found that working mothers “often internalize social messages of impending doom for their children.” Many harmful stereotypes about working mothers — including the ideas that they don’t pay enough attention to family, they are unreliable or their children end up resenting them — specifically

with my mother, her absence didn’t severely damage me. It didn’t even come close. She had her own career to focus on, one that she had put decades of work into and was passionate about. She was still a meaningful part of my life: She’d cook dinner and eat with me, take me to birthday parties on weekends and work so that I was able to have food on the table, wear new clothes each school year

equality as being raised by a working mother.” Her findings, which hold true across 24 countries, demonstrate that women with working mothers are more likely to have jobs themselves and earn higher wages than women whose mothers stayed home full-time. In addition, children of women who work more than 35 hours per week are more likely to pursue higher education. Further,

The choice between having a career and being a loving, caring parent is a false one: Working professionals — specifically, working mothers — are just as capable of raising bright and well-adjusted children.

reinforce this feeling. It’s time these antiquated ideas come to face reality. It’s true that many of my fondest childhood memories are with a caregiver I had for many years — not my mother or my father — and I spent a lot of time reading, watching Cyberchase and playing Club Penguin alone. While it might have been nice to do many of these activities

and eventually go to the college of my choice. Studies have shown that having a working mother can actually benefit young girls. According to Kathleen McGinn, a Harvard Business School professor who has conducted research about working mothers, “there are very few things that have such a clear effect on gender in-

there seem to be no differences in behavior among teenage children of working mothers versus those of stay-at-home moms. A study by Silvia Mendolia, an economics lecturer at Australia’s University of Wollongong, found that a mother’s decision to work has no effect on her teenage children’s self-esteem, likelihood of dropping out of high school,

satisfaction with life or propensity to smoke. It seems that children of mothers who work a lot actually turn out just fine. Of course, there are plenty of scenarios in which having a stay-athome parent makes complete sense. My parents were lucky enough that they could afford childcare for me, but many are not. Having siblings can add to the equation (I’m an only child), and some children have certain needs that make it necessary to have a parent at home. However, in my mother’s position, continuing to work after I was born was the best choice she could have made for me. Often, people say that they stopped working or worked less because they had their child’s best interests at heart. That’s exactly the reason my mom kept working so hard. My mom inspires me so much. She’s extremely competent and has achieved so much in a male-dominated field. It’s no surprise that working mothers are role models who motivate their children to follow suit. My mom exemplifies so much of what I hope to be, and I’m so thankful that she continued to work. Watching her work hard and pursue her passions is what inspires me to work hard and pursue my own.

Lena Renshaw ’20 can be reached at lena_renshaw@brown.edu.

Brown should increase LGBTQ+ course offerings CAROLINE MULLIGAN staff columnist Earlier this month, California approved textbooks that include LGBTQ+ history for use in public schools for grades K-12. I’m enthused to see California addressing this material because in high school, I generally had to aggressively search to find people like me in the curriculum. LGBTQ+ voices were almost entirely absent in my elementary and middle school education. I assumed that when I got to Brown, that reputed bastion of progressivism, I would have an easier time finding LGBTQ+ topics in my education. I was wrong. Brown has a reputation for being a campus friendly to LGBTQ+ people, and in a lot of ways, it is. But very few courses focus on LGBTQ+ subjects, leaving room for considerable improvement as Brown goes about implementing the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan in the curriculum. According to The Herald’s poll data from the last two years, about 20 percent of students identify as not heterosexual. (The Herald has not collected data specifically about transgender identity.) LGBTQ+ people aren’t taught our stories growing up — the history we’ve made and the books we’ve written. We deserve a chance to learn our heritage, to learn who we are. To see if there really is a lack of LGBTQ+ content in Brown’s classes, I searched course descriptions for keywords relating to gender and sexuality in Brown’s online course catalogue. The search covered all semesters for the 2017-18 school year. I did not include canceled courses. My results are below: “lesbian:” 2 courses “gay:” 3 courses

“bisexual:” 0 courses “trans” (used specifically as an abbreviation for “transgender”): 3 courses “transgender:” 0 courses “queer:” 7 courses The terms “gender” and “sexuality” had around 140 and 60 results, respectively. I don’t mean to dismiss those numbers, as I’m sure many of those classes do include LGBTQ+ topics. However, I hes-

ing Small States in,” showed up in my search because it listed the following as topics of discussion: “issues in governance, migration, climate change, food security, sports and culture, gender and sexuality, among others.” Gender and sexuality are two topics among many, not the focus of the course. Another issue is that talking about gender or sexuality isn’t the same as talking about LGBTQ+ subjects. HIST 0522O: “The Enlightenment,” in-

LGBTQ+ people aren’t taught our stories growing up — the history we’ve made and the books we’ve written. We deserve a chance to learn our heritage, to learn who we are.

itate to place much weight on them. It’s also worth mentioning that the courses listed for specific identities are not exclusive of one another — the two courses that contain “lesbian” in their description are also two of the three courses including the word “gay.” Actually reading some of the descriptions for courses whose descriptions include “gender” and/or “sexuality” drives home the point that these subjects aren’t central to the material being covered. The description for DEVL 1803R: “Bring-

cludes “gender relations” in the list of ideas that the readings cover, but examining gender relations between men and women does not imply that LGBTQ+-related material will be addressed. “Gender” and “sexuality” are therefore not necessarily indicators of LGBTQ+ content, let alone a course actually centered around these identities. It’s reasonable to conclude, then, that at Brown, one of those liberal havens where students are supposedly being indoctrinated with radical ideas, there

are very few LGBTQ+-focused courses, at least for 2017-18. I don’t believe that LGBTQ+ topics are so niche that asking for their inclusion is unreasonable. The history department can have courses as specific as HIST 1820B: “Environmental History of East Asia” and HIST 1977B: “Feathery Things: An Avian Introduction to Animal Studies,” yet there are no courses which are dedicated to LGBTQ+ histories. In the English department, there are two courses in the 2017-18 year about J. R. R. Tolkien, but not a single class dedicated to LGBTQ+ literature. In fairness to the English department, they have previously offered a course called “Queer Relations: Aesthetics and Sexuality,” which of course included LGBTQ+ authors. But what they haven’t offered, at least in the time I’ve been at Brown, is a course not bogged down with theory: with Butler and Barthes, and sentences that stretch on for miles while explaining some convoluted academic idea that has no applicability to real life — I’ve never seen a course that just explores LGBTQ+ writing in a way that’s accessible for folks who aren’t English concentrators (or for those like me, who just aren’t into theory). It’s frustrating to have to continue to build space for the content I want to study. I include LGBTQ+ content in many of the final papers or projects that I complete for classes that aren’t specifically LGBTQ+-related. But it would be nice if there were more classes dedicated to subject matter that’s central to the identities of many Brown students, and which is increasingly relevant as LGBTQ+ people become more and more visible to a society that has historically excluded us.

Caroline Mulligan ’19 can be reached at caroline_mulligan@brown.edu.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Orchestra concert to feature Russian composers

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Entitled “The Russian Connection,” the orchestra’s concerts on Thursday, Nov. 30 and Friday, Dec. 1 will feature three pieces from different eras in Russian history.

After tumultuous start to semester, orchestra comes together to play pieces with ties to Russian history By SOPHIA GRACE CARTER STAFF WRITER

Despite a recent and abrupt change in leadership, the Brown University Orchestra sounded cohesive and melodic while rehearsing in Sayles Hall Monday evening for their upcoming concert. Entitled “The Russian Connection,” the concert will feature three pieces reflecting both stable and volatile eras in Russian history. When creating a concert repertoire, Daniel Harp, teaching associate in music and interim conductor, considers the history behind each piece and develops a theme for the

evening. With his emphasis on historical setting, Harp said he hopes his musicians not only learn their music but “live with it and make it their quest to understand its tone.” With three pieces by composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky and Dmitri Shostakovich — composed in vastly different time periods yet connected through a shared Russian history — the program is an ambitious undertaking. Each piece embodies the epoch in which it was written. Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky, as Romantic period contemporaries, wrote during imperialist Russia, a relatively stable

era. Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet,” composed in 1869, is based on William Shakespeare’s play. Mussorgsky’s “The Khovansky Affair,” an opera, was written in the 1870s about political upheaval in 1682. The most contemporary work in the trio, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D minor, was composed in 1937 in Soviet Russia during the height of Josef Stalin’s purges — and the music reflects it. “The first two pieces are sweet and romantic, but Shostakovich’s symphony is dark and heavy, almost like you’re bearing this intense burden as you listen to it. But that’s the orchestra’s favorite style of music to play,” said Irene Tang ’19, concertmaster.

These pieces, while telling a musical history of Russia, have greater implications in the context of U.S. politics, Harp said. “As I listen to Shostakovich’s music, I hear it as a warning about political upheaval and the suppression of ideas that were pervasive in Soviet Russia,” he said. “It’s a warning about controlling the press, controlling the arts; it is really a cautionary tale of the kind of totalitarian ideology that can infiltrate a democracy.” Since their last performance in October, the orchestra has seen a lot change — and an upheaval of their own. When Harp stepped in to replace former conductor Brandon Keith Brown after his sudden departure from his position, he not only

had to quickly assemble the repertoire for the upcoming November concert, but also had to reunify the fractured orchestra. The orchestra recruited new students and urged musicians who left during Keith Brown’s brief tenure to return, according to Orchestra President Katie Rademacher ’19. As the University searches for a permanent conductor, Rademacher is optimistic about the future of the orchestra. “We’ve all moved on,” she stated. “We’ve grown a lot closer, moods have been really high and we are (playing) really fun and exciting music. There will not be a dull moment in this concert.” The concert will be held Thursday, Nov. 30 and again Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. in Sayles Hall.

‘Hell on Earth’ prompts discussion of Syrian civil war Sebastian Junger speaks on filmmaking process, whether civil war might have been prevented By ROSE SHEEHAN SENIOR REPORTER

Sebastian Junger discussed the documentary “Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS,” which he wrote, narrated and co-produced and co-directed with Nick Quested, following a screening of the film Tuesday at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. “Hell on Earth” focuses on Syria’s descent into civil war and the rise of ISIS. The discussion centered on the making of the documentary, how the civil war might have been avoided and the possibility of a similar conflict occurring in the United States. Because filming for “Hell on Earth” began at a time when entering Syria was “a death sentence,” Junger and his colleagues sent cameras to Syrians still inside ISIS territory, he said, adding that refugees fleeing to Turkey and groups fighting inside Syria “self-documented” their experiences. Junger and his colleagues also conducted interviews in the Kurdish areas of Northern Iraq, “which were actually, for a war zone, fairly safe,” he said. ISIS material included in the film — such

as propaganda and raw footage — was accessed online through a “backdoor portal,” he added. The civil war occurred because Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad was forced to choose between implementing democratic reforms, which Junger said would have eventually resulted in his death, and fighting against those who demanded reforms. At this juncture, a “third option” offered by the international community to Assad or a leader in a similar position might have forestalled the outbreak of war, he added. This third option would theoretically allow the leader to step down and enter exile in a country of his choice while guaranteeing the protection of his family and the preservation of a certain amount of his material wealth, Junger said. “At that point, I don’t care about justice, I care about human life,” he added. “There’s no devil worse than 500,000 dead.” When the leader abdicates, a stabilization force comprised of international representatives could enter the country and “introduce democratic processes” by setting up “a representational government that includes all the different interests,” Junger said. “It might not work, … but it also might work,” he added. “If the alternative is civil war, unfortunately we are forced to contemplate some pretty extreme remedies.”

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In the panel Tuesday night, filmmaker Sebastian Junger predicted that a civil war will not occur in the Unites States because citizens can express their unrest through democratic institutions, such as the court system. The Syrian civil war could continue for as long as 50 years, Junger said. A similar conflict in the United States is unlikely because “in a Western democracy, there is legal recourse,” Junger said. “The reason people take to the streets in countries like Syria … is because they actually don’t have other recourse,” he added. “They cannot petition the government legally, they cannot bring a case to court, they cannot

charge their politicians with corruption and see them go to jail.” During President Trump’s tenure, which Junger described as “an attack on our democracy,” opponents of the administration have fought through legal processes and “in court rather than on the streets with guns,” he said. The Trump presidency “has triggered responses that are enormously democratic,” Junger added. “It’s like an

immune system in the democracy that is counterattacking the attack.” Because of the American media’s preoccupation with Trump’s activities, comparatively little attention has been paid to international issues such as the Syrian civil war, Junger said. “Until this country sorts itself out and lands on its feet, I don’t think international news stories are going to affect it that much,” he added. “There’s a fight at home now.”