SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 70
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
U. receives grant to fund master’s degrees Teach-in addresses
hurricane response
$1.675 million grant to support doctoral students earning master’s degrees in humanities
Angela Blanchard leads discussion on community responses to storms at Watson Institute
By JACK BROOK STAFF WRITER
Doctoral students can continue to receive master’s degrees in the humanities through the “Open Graduate Education Program” following a $1.675 million, five-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, announced Sept. 17 in a University press release. The Open Graduate Education Program, initiated in 2011 with a $2 million grant from the same foundation, allows doctoral students to pursue a master’s degree in any discipline to complement their studies. The goal of the program is to expand the academic and professional possibilities for doctoral students, similar to how the open curriculum allows undergraduate students to pursue multiple lines of study, said Associate Dean of Student Development Vanessa Ryan. A total of 72 students are enrolled in the program and a cohort of nine new students has started their master’s degrees this academic year, Ryan said. Applicants are selected based on how well their proposed graduate degree will complement their ongoing scholarship. “We’ve shown that this program is successful,” Ryan said. Students
By MELANIE PINCUS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
MARLIS FLINN / HERALD
participating in the program complete coursework for their master’s degree as well as their PhD in the same amount of time “it takes for an average PhD” or even less, Ryan said. “That’s stunning.” The grant is “a reaffirmation of the program, and that’s really important as we move it forward,” she added. Though the Mellon grant specifically offers funds for students in the humanities and social sciences, program participants studying the physical sciences are supported by the Graduate School as well, wrote
Dean of the Graduate School Andrew Campbell in an email to The Herald. This allows students from all disciplines to apply and participate, he added. “The expectations of students in the Open Graduate Education program are high, and we want to maximize student success,” Campbell wrote. Whereas doctoral students typically spend several years working as teaching assistants, the Open Graduate Education Program allows » See GRANT, page 3
While a torrential downpour drenched Providence yesterday afternoon, Angela Blanchard, president emerita of BakerRipley — a nonprofit that provides community programs in Houston and along the Texas Gulf Coast — held a teach-in at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs to discuss how communities respond to hurricanes and why residents remain in areas often threatened by the dangerous storms. Throughout her professional career, Blanchard, who served as a Social Entrepreneur in Residence at the Swearer Center for Public Service last spring, has helped coordinate relief and aid efforts during major disasters including Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey and Rita, she said. To start the teach-in, Blanchard played the music video for Zachary Richard’s “Laisse Le Vent Souffler,” which features Richard dancing and singing in strong rain and wind. The video reminded Isabela Karibjanian ’19 of the hurricane parties that would often occur in South Florida where she
grew up. “A storm is announced and you know everything’s going to shut down, and a lot of people choose to cope with that by throwing a party the night before the hurricane hits,” Karibjanian said. Later, Blanchard spoke about the challenges of responding to a devastating hurricane by pointing out weaknesses in the United States’ current emergency response system and the inaccessibility of affected areas following the storm. “The (Federal Emergency Management Agency) response system we use has not substantially evolved — it’s the same system we had before Katrina,” she said. When FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, Blanchard said that the U.S. government “buried it … beneath about 11 layers of bureaucracy.” “Since that time, we’ve seen a really drastically different and far more ineffectual response to disasters,” she added. Even if the United States possessed a robust federal emergency response system, “these slow-moving hurricanes that (pick up) all the warm waters of the oceans … pass over, sit on top of cities and drop that water on them,” would prevent emergency responders from entering the flooded regions, Blanchard said. Blanchard then shared with the » See TEACH-IN, page 3
Gubernatorial candidates set to debate Thursday evening VP of Raimondo, Fung, Trillo to Research offer different visions for grows office’s future of R.I. education, economy, infrastructure influence By DYLAN CLARK
Jill Pipher develops corporate partnerships, promotes communication about U. research
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The first gubernatorial debate in the race for the Rhode Island State House will take place tomorrow at the Bristol campus of Roger Williams University. Incumbent Democrat Gov. Gina Raimondo, Republican Mayor of Cranston Allan Fung and former Deputy Minority Leader Joseph Trillo, who is running as an independent, will take the stage at 7:00 p.m. Current polling from WPRI shows Raimondo seven points ahead of her closest challenger, Fung, with Trillo only receiving support from seven percent of the respondents. Eyewitness News reporter Tim White and reporter Ted Nesi will » See DEBATE, page 3
INSIDE
By CATE RYAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF KENNETH ZIRKEL
COURTESY OF SCOTT DEUTSCH
COURTESY OF KENNETH ZIRKEL
The first televised debate in the R.I. gubernatorial race will take place this Thursday at 7 p.m. It will be moderated by Eyewitness News reporters Ted Nesi and Tim White and anchored by Danielle North.
In the year since Professor of Mathematics Jill Pipher was named vice president for research, her office has undergone a series of developments including the creation of the Office for Industry Engagement and Commercial Venturing, headed by Executive Director Daniel Behr. Pipher has also participated in research advocacy efforts in Washington and worked to give faculty members » See PIPHER, page 2
WEATHER
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
COMMENTARY Blatteis ’19, Pettit ’20: Thoughtful framing of housing conversations critical as R.I. faces housing crisis
COMMENTARY Editorial: Renaming of J. Walter Wilson to honor Page, Robinson is commendable decision
COMMENTARY Flynn ’20: Rational evaluation of issues should outweigh emotional responses in shaping perspectives
COMMENTARY Aman ’20: University housing policy that keeps juniors on campus needs to be reformed
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TOMORROW
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NEWS
PAGE 2 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
» PIPHER, from page 1 the resources necessary to realize their investigative aspirations. Within the many departments in the Office of the Vice President for Research, the University has focused on developing the Office for Industry Engagement and Commercial Venturing. “The launch of this office is part of Brown’s expanded commitment to translational research,” Pipher said. Behr and Pipher assumed their posts around the same time last year. In the 14 months since Behr came to the University, his office has worked to “help accelerate the flow of innovation from lab to market,” Behr said, adding that they essentially bridge the gap between Brown’s research community and companies that may be interested in further developing scholars’ work from an entrepreneurial perspective. The office works closely with the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, but it specifically focuses on helping faculty pursue potential commercialization when the University has ownership over the intellectual property from their research, Behr explained. When working to form partnerships with companies and funding sources for these commercial pursuits, Behr said his colleagues often hear from industry representatives that they like working with University-affiliated projects for two reasons: The academic atmosphere offers an “ingrained culture of convergence of disciplines” and emphasizes undergraduate research on campus. Students can get further involved in the sort of commercial partnerships Behr advances
through programs like the Hyundai Visionary Challenge, as The Herald previously reported. “There are faculty whose research, with a little extra help, could produce new technology and products that would be profoundly important to society, and we want to help them make that leap,” Pipher said. The University can help researchers get a patent, form a startup company or establish a corporate-sponsored research agreement. Beyond aiding faculty and student researchers as they interact with the corporate world, Pipher’s first year in office has also been characterized by an emphasis on “communication and advocacy about research,” she said. Pipher travels to Washington frequently — roughly once a month. There, she meets with federal agency program officers and interacts with congressional delegations and policy committees. “It’s an important part of my job to advocate for research in general,” Pipher said, adding that federal program officers have visited Brown’s research facilities and met with faculty for the same purpose. Her work to further promote communication about research on campus includes a new annual research magazine, “Impact.” The office also shares research efforts on its Twitter account. To physically centralize collaboration between the various offices Pipher oversees, the Office of Vice President for Research and its affiliates relocated to the South Street Landing buildings in the Jewelry District of downtown Providence, which welcomed staff starting in October last year. Though Pipher splits
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD her time between that location and University Hall, she said the move has been good for the office, which previously saw different teams working from multiple locations on campus. “It’s a wonderful working environment,” she said. These teams have also seen some growth in numbers during Pipher’s time in office. Through her efforts to achieve “operational excellence,” new staff have been hired to help with grant administration and research management support, on top of adding a few members to Behr’s team, she said. Next week, Pipher will give a presentation at the Transforming Research conference hosted in part by Associate Director of the Carney Institute for Brain Science Christopher Moore. The conference, held last year at Johns Hopkins University, comes to the University this year to grapple with the “science of science” by discussing the criteria through which research is evaluated and how scientific success can best be achieved, among other topics, Moore said. Transforming Research will bring together professionals from various disciplines including publishing and library science for lectures and breakout discussions over two days. Pipher hopes the University can promote “a research environment that’s really driven by our best shared values, societal benefit of research, ethical conduct, generosity and inclusion.” “My goal is to make sure that Brown has all the infrastructure necessary to do the cutting edge research that it is doing and can do more of,” Pipher said, who serves as vice president for research until 2020.
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» DEBATE, from page 1 moderate the debate which will be hosted by Danielle North, anchor for Eyewitness News This Morning, as reported by WPRI. Though the questions in the debate have not been released to the public, there are various issues that could arise. The three candidates offer different perspectives on the future of Rhode Island. One of Raimondo’s major campaign goals is to grow the free tuition program Rhode Island Promise, as The Herald previously reported. The plan currently gives in-state students who meet certain requirements free tuition for two years at the Community College of Rhode Island. Raimondo hopes to extend the two years of free tuition to both the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. Additionally, Raimondo has proposed universal pre-Kindergarten by creating about 70 new classrooms over the next five years, as reported by The Herald. Estimates show that the Rhode Island Promise could cost approximately $35 million, according to the Providence Journal, and Raimondo has said the expanded pre-K program would cost approximately $15 million per year. Fung referred to Raimondo’s preK proposal as a “political Hail Mary,”
according to the Providence Journal, while Trillo expressed concern over public spending while the state faces a budget deficit, The Herald previously reported. The state currently faces a deficit of $158 million projected for the 2019 fiscal year, according to WPRI. Fung plans to make Rhode Island “the land of startups and small businesses,” according to his campaign website. To accomplish this goal, Fung proposes waiving first-year fees for start-ups and ensuring that licensing, permits and incorporation fees are the “lowest in New England.” Additionally, Fung’s platform suggests increasing school safety by putting a resource officer in every school. His campaign plans to reign in “overspending in other departments,” to fund this aim. Moreover, Fung plans to create an Office of the Inspector General to reduce waste, inspect for fraud and put term limits on state legislators. Trillo’s campaign website lists a slew of policy positions, which include reducing taxes, reducing the size of the state government, increasing infrastructure spending and stopping the construction of the Burriville natural gas power plant. Trillo, like Fung, has also prioritized the need to make Rhode Island friendlier to small businesses.
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
» GRANT, from page 1 participants to substitute teaching work for classes fulfilling their master’s degrees. “The program provides them with additional stipends that allow them to be relieved of other obligations that might take away from their training,” Campbell wrote. Students in the program have the opportunity to choose their own combination of degrees, Ryan said. “We are looking for students where the master’s (degree) will add something new to their PhD studies.” Martin Uildriks GS is pursuing a dissertation in the archaeology department and completing fieldwork in Sudan. However, he’s also been spending time in the Center for Information Technology, working on a master’s degree in computer science. “I like to think of my combination (of degrees) as putting computer science in archaeology but also (as) putting humanities into computer science,” Uildriks said. “What I’m trying to do is use computer science to create my own tools with archaeological questions in mind.” For example, Uildriks’ final project for a class in web applications and design involved designing a museum-oriented archaeological database, he said. Doria Charlson GS completed her master’s degree in history in 2017
while working on her dissertation analyzing migrant labor through dance studies in the Theatre and Performance Studies department. The addition of a history degree heightened the academic credibility of her work, she said. “My dissertation is a historically grounded dissertation,” Charlson said. “I needed to know what a traditional historian would do. … I’m interested in what is being excluded or occluded by previous research methods.” As a result of the renewed funding and the success of students like Charlson and Uildriks, the Open Graduate Education Program will continue to expand to allow more PhD students access to master’s degrees in different departments, Ryan said. With the additional funding, Ryan said she hopes to offer professional development training to build a supportive community as students adjust to new departments and disciplines. “The Open Graduate Education program is a signature program for the Graduate School and is leading the way in showing that interdisciplinary training is possible in graduate education,” Campbell wrote. “We anticipate that it will pave the way for other complementary ways for students to pursue studies in other areas.”
TED ORBEN / HERALD
President Emerita of BakerRipley Angela Blanchard, former Social Entrepreneur in Residence at the Swearer Center for Public Service, stressed the importance of cultivating empathy when responding to natural disasters.
» TEACH-IN, from page 1 attendees several “leadership lessons” to coordinate effective disaster responses. In her first lesson, Blanchard said that individuals responding to a disaster like a hurricane should understand that no one “bigger, better, stronger (or) faster is coming” to the rescue, making it necessary to take initiative to help others. “What you see is your job,” she added. Providing relief following a hurricane often required responders to improvise and “to know which rules to break,” Blanchard said. In a shelter that BakerRipley set up at Houston’s NRG Center for individuals displaced by Hurricane Harvey,
“we broke ... almost all of (the rules),” Blanchard said. When caring for individuals affected by a hurricane, Blanchard said it was critically important for shelter providers to create “some dignified way for people to be in a shelter.” Following Hurricane Harvey, BakerRipley worked toward that goal in part by referring to “people only as guests or neighbors” and by making announcements in 16 different languages, she added. Throughout the teach-in, Blanchard stressed the importance of cultivating empathy when preparing for and responding to natural disasters. “As I was working with some students … who were thinking through
policies that we should have in cities for both how we dictate to people what they should do and then what we do once they’re displaced, I wanted the starting place always to be empathy,” Blanchard said. She added that it is important “to actually (be) able to put ourselves in the place of the individual who has to make these decisions with an incomplete and changing set of facts.” Manny Gorotiza ’19.5 said the teach-in left him feeling “somewhat hopeful,” referencing an image Blanchard shared of the number of volunteers who showed up to help following Hurricane Harvey. “There are good people around. That’s a good thing to think about,” Gorotiza said.
MEAL PLAN
changes
STEP ONE:
Choose a Meal Plan.
REMINDER:
T DAY THE LASEA L PLAN
TO MAKE M EDNESDAY, CHANGES IS W
SEPT. 2 !
VIEW OPTIONS AT BROWN.EDU/FOOD
• You can ADD a new Meal Plan at any time during the year • You can make one CHANGE per semester. Fall deadline is 9/2 • Meal Plan CANCELLATIONS for the whole year are due by 9/2
STEP TWO:
Let us assist you!
EMAIL DINING_SERVICES@BROWN.EDU OR CALL 863-3343 WITH QUESTIONS
• Changes can only be made in person weekdays from 9:00AM to 4:00PM at the Brown Dining office located at 144 Thayer Street (Sharpe Refectory).
brown.edu/food
ROBERTO SIMANOWSKI
1984: On Surveillance, FOMO and the Pleasure of the Screen Wednesday, 26 September 2018 at 6:30 pm Pembroke Hall, Room 305 for details visit: 172 Meeting Street, Providence brown.edu/cw/events
This talk is sponsored by Literary Arts at Brown, with additional support from the Cogut Institute for the Humanities, the German Department and Modern Culture and Media.
COMMENTARY PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
The need for fair and ethical housing — for all JACQLYN BLATTEIS & NATHANIEL PETTIT op-ed contributors
In his Sept. 16 op-ed, José Soria ’19 called for “the creation of an undergraduate and graduate student coalition that can help protect the rights of students as tenants with their respective landlords.” As members of Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere, the studentrun housing and homelessness organization, we were pleased to see Soria help begin an important conversation about housing in Providence. Soria hit the nail on the head with his observations — Providence rents are too damn high, landlords can be greedy and no one in a position of power looks out for renters, leaving them to fend for themselves in an unforgiving market. As students ourselves, we know that Soria’s proposal makes complete sense. But as individuals who, through HOPE’s combination of direct service and advocacy work, engage with folks experiencing homelessness every week, we believe that expending energy on such a coalition is a misallocation of limited resources, effort and time. Providence — like so many cities in this country — is in the midst of a massive housing crisis. Soria observed that the rent he pays is three to four times what online resources suggest it ought to be — an experience familiar to many students. Undoubtedly, greedy landlords hoping
to take advantage of students are a part of this. But to come to a more complete conclusion about why rent in Providence is so high, we, as Brown students, have to look past the Van Wickle gates; for this is not a problem that only impacts us. In fact, to a certain extent, it is a problem for which we share part of the blame. According to HousingWorks RI’s 2017 Fact Book, “more than one in two renters in Rhode Island are
how much landlords can increase the rent from year to year. Additionally, in Rhode Island, it is perfectly legal for landlords to deny potential renters who use government-issued housing assistance. But there’s also the simple fact that Rhode Island has failed, and continues to fail, to invest in affordable housing. While neighbors like Massachusetts and Connecticut annually spend $99.72 and $76.98 per capita, respectively,
lived in Fox Point, but with the expanding demand of housing from Brown students and faculty, and consequent rise in property value, little remains of this community. Many a time, while on Nighttime Outreach, we have often heard older folks talk about how they once called the East Side home, before the rise of Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design forced them out. Granted, the actions that result-
As residents of a state deeply entrapped in a housing crisis, we should be critical about how we frame our housing conversations on College Hill and beyond.
housing cost-burdened, meaning they are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.” At the lowest end of the income scale, this figure jumps to a frighteningly high seven in ten renters. Why is the rent so high? There are many reasons. For one thing, Providence, unlike many of its regional neighbors, lacks any legislation that would limit or “stabilize”
on affordable housing, Rhode Island spent just $8.46 in 2016. Still, this framing of the housing crisis excludes an integral piece of the problem: Brown University. Over the past several decades, Brown’s increasing physical and societal footprint in Providence has dramatically reshaped much of the East Side. Not long ago, for instance, a thriving Cape Verdean population
ed in these displacements happened long before the current cohort of students arrived in Providence, but the fact remains that we are part of an institution that significantly impacts the Providence housing market, and not necessarily in a positive way for the community. When we, as Brown students, talk about housing, we often have the luxury of framing our conversa-
tion in terms of Keeney Quadrangle versus Pembroke or on-campus versus off-campus. But the reality for far too many of our neighbors is much starker. None of this is to say that the University shouldn’t reevaluate its own housing policies, as Soria suggests. It’s without question that these prices are far too high and that they place a tremendous burden on many of our students and their families. However, as residents of a state deeply entrapped in a housing crisis, we should be critical about how we frame our housing conversations on College Hill and beyond. When we consider ways to address these problems, solving them from the comfort of our campus will not suffice, for any effort taken solely by the University will fall short of addressing the roots of the problem. Instead of exclusively looking out for our own self-interests, HOPE believes that Brown students should look for ways in which we can throw our tremendous weight — a product of both our privilege and the virtues and skills that helped us get into this school — behind efforts that support community organizations who have engaged in this work for decades and will continue to do so, long after many of us leave Rhode Island.
Jacqlyn Blatteis ’19 and Nathaniel Pettit ’20 are codirectors of HOPE. They write on behalf of the HOPE leadership team and can be reached at jacqlyn_blatteis@brown.edu and nathaniel_pettit@brown.edu.
TINA YANG / HERALD
TODAY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
umbrella-land
menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Pizza: Assorted Roasted Mushroom, Spicy Sausage and Garlic Po’ Boys JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Pasta Night Mac and Cheese Bacon Burger
Broccoli and Cheddar Soup, Beef Chili With Beans
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Gyro Sandwiches, Syrian Bread, Balsamic Roasted Onions, Fried Veggie Burgers
Five Spice Pork with Soba Noodles, Sesame Ginger Baby Carrots, Roasted Brussels Sprouts
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Saturday Night Jambalaya, Crinkle Cut Fries, Glazed Carrots, Hamburgers
Roasted Chicken Breast, Vegetables with Tofu Stir Fry, Purple Pasta with Beet Butter
sudoku
DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD
Students took cover under umbrellas as they braved the torrential downpour on College Hill yesterday, one of the first days of autumn, navigating the Main Green to get to their next classes.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
crossword
“I like to think of my combination (of degrees) as putting computer science in archaeology but also (as)
”
putting humanities into computer science.
—Martin Uildriks GS
See grant on page 1.
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Event Planning 101 Make Up Session 12:00 P.M. Kasper Multipurpose Room
Macro Seminar: Gerard Padro 4:00 P.M. Robinson Hall, 301
Visual Arts Concentrator BBQ 4:00 P.M. List Art Building, Terrace
Black Heritage Series Welcome Back Dinner 5:30 P.M. Sayles Hall
TOMORROW Engineering Seminar: Biomedical Engineering 9:00 A.M. Barus and Holley, 190
Women and Technology Meeting 12:00 P.M. Sciences Library, 520
Reading: Novelist Chris Kraus 5:30 P.M. McCormack Family Theater
How to be Human in the Age of Algorithms 6:30 P.M. MacMillan Hall, 117
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
C EY H U N F I R AT
EDITORIAL
U.’s honoring of Page, Robinson important step On Saturday, Sept. 22, during the University’s 2018 Black Alumni Reunion weekend, President Christina Paxson P’19 announced the renaming of the heavily frequented, six-story administrative building formerly called J. Walter Wilson to Page-Robinson Hall. Portraits of the two eponymous alums — Inman Edward Page, class of 1877, and Ethel Tremaine Robinson, class of 1905 — already greet students entering the building. We commend the University for its decision to memorialize the extraordinary achievements of Page and Robinson and, in so doing, celebrate the courageous efforts of students of color to build a more inclusive, more just Brown. Page and Robinson broke barriers at
Brown. Page, born into slavery, was one of the University’s first black graduates; Robinson was the first black woman to graduate from Brown. Both had distinguished records as undergraduates: Page spoke at Commencement; Robinson graduated with honors and won the Class of 1873 Essay Prize. And both became educators later in their lives. The renaming of J. Walter Wilson after these two alums represents a meaningful acknowledgement of the University’s past and its indebtedness to student activists over the years who have fought for diversity and inclusion at Brown. As Bernicestine McLeod Bailey ’68 P’99 P’03 put it in a University press release, “We have a history here — a notable history — and it is something
that should be celebrated and recognized by the whole community.” Indeed, the names of buildings are serious reflections of an institution’s values: the principles and beliefs that undergird the intellectual and sociocultural life of a community and animate that community’s members. (To be sure, James Walter Wilson, the professor of biology and champion of life sciences research at Brown after whom the Brown St. building was named in 1962, remains a beloved figure at Brown.) The University’s decision to rename J. Walter Wilson takes on added salience in this present moment, as debates on college campuses about university buildings and their namesakes continue to rage. In 2016, Yale renamed
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one of its residential colleges, Calhoun College — originally named after John C. Calhoun, an American statesman from South Carolina who staunchly supported slavery and states’ rights — when students of color argued that the name made them feel disrespected, alienated and hurt. (The college is now named after Grace Hopper, a pioneering computer scientist.) A year earlier, in 2015, students and faculty members at Clemson University began advocating for the renaming of Tillman Hall, an iconic building on campus named after Benjamin Tillman, the virulently racist former governor of South Carolina. Page-Robinson Hall offers the Brown community space for sustained self-reflection and ongoing
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conversations about historical erasure and future possibilities for racial justice. We hope that, for coming generations of Brunonians, the renamed Page-Robinson Hall will be a source of enduring inspiration — to build on the courage of its namesakes and carry on the unfinished fight for true justice and equality on College Hill. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19, Rhaime Kim ’20, Grace Layer ’20, Mark Liang ’19 and Krista Stapleford ’21. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 • PAGE 7
Learn to look beyond the sensational JAMES FLYNN ’20 staff columnist “The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic,” Joseph Stalin was reputed to have said. This (likely misattributed) quotation still bears a certain eeriness by its connection to the 20th century dictator, whose regime bore responsibility for millions of deaths by ethnic cleansings, executions and famines — and ultimately, the statement is eerie because it is true. We evaluate issues on the basis of their emotional salience, which more often than not biases our perception of them. This is a well-documented phenomenon in psychology: the availability heuristic is the mental shortcut whereby people overestimate the importance of examples that are vivid and readily available to them. Everyone knows the kinds of stories that are guaranteed to make headlines: The deadly terrorist attack and the most recent mass shooting. These stories engender more empathy and more anger than other, more pervasive issues. The media endlessly relates their vivid narratives, their horrific details and their clear-cut bad guys. But this leaves public outrage with a blind spot for the victims of the more commonplace and widespread tragedies. To evaluate issues clearly, we must look beyond the stories and instead at the numbers. We ought to give due weight — alongside our empathic
responses— to the statistical significance of the stories that make headlines, for the sake of the systemic issues that rarely do so. Compare the perceived threat of terrorism with deadlier risks looming incessantly over all of us. Defense against terrorism, according to Pew Research, has remained for most Americans a “top policy priority” every year since 2001 — 73 percent of U.S. adults thought so in 2018, with more agreement on this than on any
deaths per day. To be clear, these are not fair comparisons to make. The issues could not be more disparate and could not require more disparate types of policy interventions — apples to oranges. But terrorists capture the American imagination because they make for catchy headlines and for compelling outgroups. It is beyond the scope of this article to urge a reassessment of the billions spent on fighting and protecting against terrorism. But if one wants to under-
only about one-tenth of one percent of homicides in the United States. More recently, the Gun Violence Archive, a joint initiative of the New York Times and Reddit, estimated that 358 mass shootings took place in 2015. While this number is shocking, it is also important to keep in mind that homicides in 2016 accounted for 11,004 deaths. For a decade, guns in these homicides have annually killed between 10,000 and 15,000 people. Moreover, in 2016 alone, guns used
We ought to give due weight — alongside our empathic responses— to the statistical significance of the stories that make headlines, for the sake of the systemic issues that rarely do so.
other policy priority. But the threat of terrorism is comparatively insignificant for Americans. On Sept. 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks killed approximately 3,000 people. During the next 15 years — from then until Dec 31, 2016, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office — 85 attacks in the U.S. met the criteria for acts of domestic terrorism, and these killed a total of 225 people. In 2016, by contrast, heart disease, the leading cause of death, killed 635,260 people. In that year alone, car crashes killed 37,461 people, with an average of 102
stand the biggest threats to the welfare of the majority of Americans, one ought to resist the flashiness of current headlines and stories in the media and instead ought to put the issues in perspective. Also consider the comparison of America’s problem of mass shootings in particular with that of guns in general. Paul Bloom, Yale psychologist and author of the controversial book “Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion,” made the point in 2013 that mass shootings in the previous 30 years had accounted for
in suicides killed 22,938 people, after a gradual rise annually over the last decade. Of course, the United States has a huge epidemic of mass shootings, especially in comparison with any other developed nation. It is also important to acknowledge that mass shootings disproportionately affect black Americans, as the Guardian reported — a reality that is obscured by looking at death tolls in just numbers. But the media’s disproportionate emphasis on mass shootings when you consider the number of fatalities that result from suicides and homicides
skews our understanding of America’s gun problem. It is in the media’s nature to cover the sensational, and I am taking no stance here on the policy interventions that should be drawn from these statistics. I am saying only that to understand the nature and the extent of the problem of guns, we have to look at the numbers. It might be argued that emotionally salient events such as terrorist attacks and mass shootings carry with them a psychological burden that cannot be quantified — that people want to feel safe as much as they want actually to be safe, and that those two are not the same. As a result, these threats can loom large and preoccupy our minds. It goes without mention how naive it is to wish that statistics could move people in the way that an emotive story does. But the widespread and growing popularity of movements such as effective altruism — which encourages rational giving so as to help the greatest possible number of people — does give me hope that rational evaluation can indeed influence people on a large scale. By all means, we should follow our hearts or listen to that feeling in our gut; but, as we do, we have to keep the numbers in mind for the sake of perspective.
James Flynn ’20 can be reached at james_flynn1@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
Give rising juniors off-campus permission REBECCA AMAN staff columnist Complaints about off-campus permissions for rising juniors aren’t new. For example, in 2017, The Herald reported that many students thought the process was a hassle and faced pressure from landlords to sign leases before receiving permission to live off campus. Ultimately, this frustrating process leaves some students locked “into a lease” and “also responsible for living on campus,” according to Kate Tompkins, former associate director of programs for the Office of Residential Life. The fact that we need to request permission to not pay for on-campus housing — and pay a $400 fee if we do live off-campus — has always seemed slightly ridiculous. This situation reached new levels of absurdity this summer, when I realized I had friends both in the summer assignment lottery for on-campus housing — meaning they would be assigned housing and possibly placed with people outside their group because of a lack of available
rooms — and in the off-campus permission appeals process. This uncertainty led to extremely stressful summer experiences for several of my close friends, as they waited to find out where they would be living this year. Granting off-campus permission to all juniors who apply
rently, the ResLife website suggests that priority is given to rising seniors who apply for off-campus permission). It’s unclear why Brown’s housing policy leaves some students waiting for on-campus housing and others waiting for off-campus permission:
lottery, it seems to be a sizable figure, too large to be explained by these factors. Any reasons that explain the current system certainly aren’t effectively communicated to students. Some might argue that granting permission to all juniors could result
In short, granting off-campus permission to all juniors would greatly reduce the stress experienced by rising juniors planning to live both on- and off-campus.
would reduce the length of the summer assignment list and allow more students to secure their housing situation earlier in the year without worrying about being forced to pay for both on- and off-campus housing. In short, granting off-campus permission to all juniors would greatly reduce the stress experienced by rising juniors planning to live both on- and off-campus. (Cur-
Somehow we seem to simultaneously have a surplus and shortage of on-campus housing. Is the University keeping rooms empty for transfer students? Is there a large number of mismatches between housing groups and available room configurations? I don’t know the number of students in summer assignment, but based on the number of students I personally know who waited in the
in more empty rooms and lost revenue for the University. Yet no other Ivy League schools require students to live on campus after their first two years. If peer institutions can make their budgets balance without requiring some juniors to live on-campus, so can we. Furthermore, the University shouldn’t force students to pay for housing they don’t want. Instead of
forcing students to live on campus, the University should improve dorm quality and reduce the cost of room and board so students actually want to live there. The University renovated Minden Hall and the Vartan Gregorian Quad, created a lounge in Graduate Center E this past summer and plans to improve Hegeman Hall and Machado House next summer. These renovations are a good start, but more work is still needed to make living on campus an attractive option for upperclassmen. While the University thoughtfully designs academic policies to limit unnecessary stress in students’ lives, this logic seemingly does not apply to University housing policy, as the current system clearly creates a great deal of stress and uncertainty. If the University truly cares about student well-being, they should consider allowing all juniors who apply to live off-campus.
Rebecca Aman ’20 can be reached at rebecca_aman@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
COMMENTARY THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
If I put my fingers in my ears, will dissent disappear? EMILY MILLER opinions editor What do the firing of a former Secretary of State, the hiring of an FBI director, the possibility of an onset of nuclear war with North Korea and the conspiracy against a Russian leaker have in common? They are all announcements that some U.S. citizens cannot access via President Trump’s Twitter feed. For reasons including dislike and distrust, Trump has blocked many U.S. citizens from accessing, replying to and reposting the tweets and retweets on the President’s profile. These actions are not only unacceptable and inappropriate from the man leading our nation, but they are questionably legal. Unfortunately, the framers of our constitution did not foresee the technological revolution that would take place 200 years hence and could not lay the ground rules for discourse on public and Presidential social media profiles. However, they gave important protections to U.S. citizens regarding the freedom of speech and participation in public forums. This issue may seem cavil; however, it has consequences much wider-ranging than the touch of a finger, crossing into the realm of a constitutional foray. If, for instance, the President blocked every dissident who voiced disapproval, leaving him in a digital echo-chamber of Fox News and “patriots,” would his self-imposed ignorance impinge on the First Amendment rights of citizens to “petition to
the government a redress of grievances?” For the President to put his fingers in his ears to block the many contrary voices in contemporary society would at very least fall outside a bevy of institutional norms cemented over 200 years in a democracy prioritizing healthy discourse and debate. But what
tweets, has established his feed as a public forum. The Department of Justice, looking to explain or qualify the President’s rash online statements, describes the President’s tweets as “official statements of the President of the United States.” Are Trump’s blocking tactics violating the rights of these barred individu-
Trump’s ego-challenged defenses are more than just “Sad!” — they have profound policy implications leading further down the slippery slope of silencing democratic discourse.
does the Constitution say if Trump seeks to block expression by only a few dissenters? The Supreme Court has upheld in numerous cases that citizens have a right to participate in and take full advantage of public forums, which does not necessarily have to be a physical space. Trump, through the nature of his
als from participating in a designated public forum? Some see clear constitutional violations and have challenged Trump’s right as “Tweeter in Chief ” to block users. The Knight First Amendment Institute sued the President for a violation of the First Amendment on behalf
of seven plaintiffs whom Trump had blocked. In May of 2018, a federal judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. After over a week of hesitation, Trump unblocked these specific users. However, he continues to block many other users, from ordinary citizens to a Veterans organization with thousands of followers itself. Seeking the last word, Trump’s Department of Justice has appealed the case citing “uncharted waters” and dangerous implications for the First Amendment. Obviously, Trump has not respected the judge’s ruling that he cannot both keep his Twitter as a public forum for official statements and block those whom he finds abrasive to his ego. Yes, it is possible for someone to circumvent one of Trump’s digital hurdles by logging out of their account and ghost-auditing Trump-World’s latest tweetstorm. But to Trump, their silence would remain golden. This is the opposite of what our constitution envisioned. Even in this other dimension which Trump has created, citizens have legal rights to access public forums and to engage with their public officials. Trump’s ego-challenged defenses are more than just “Sad!” — they have profound policy implications leading further down the slippery slope of silencing democratic discourse.
Emily Miller ’19 can be reached at emily_miller@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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