Daily
Herald
THE BROWN
vol. cxlviii, no. 105
since 1891
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
Investing in city, U. to expand downtown Stakeholders hope to see the area revamped, but concern about campus unity remains By ALEXANDER BLUM AND DAVID CHUNG SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
Expansion in the Jewelry District will be a focus of the University’s growth
The third in a four-part series GREG JORDAN-DETAMORE / HERALD
Brown’s presence downtown — anchored around spaces like the Alpert Medical School — will grow under the University’s strategic plan.
over the next decade, based on the vision articulated in President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan. While
undergraduate teaching will remain based on College Hill, the proposed development of administrative offices, research buildings and graduate student housing in the Jewelry District demonstrates the University’s intention to play a leading role in revitalizing the neighborhood across the river. The project has attracted widespread support from local leaders, but given the Jewelry District’s current underdeveloped state, the success of these ambitious goals will require significant collaboration with government officials, private entities and other academic institutions in the area. The University’s commitment to a major project of urban renewal and transformation will shape the evolution of Brown’s physical campus and define the school’s relationship with its home city and state in the coming years. Brown in the district With the establishment of the I-195 » See DOWNTOWN, page 6
Poll shows mixed opinions on Ray Kelly, coal divestment A poll conducted by The Herald revealed shifting approval of President Christina Paxson By MATHIAS HELLER AND ELI OKUN UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORS
Roughly three-quarters of undergraduates do not support the protests inside List Art Center 120 that caused a scheduled lecture by New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to be canceled last week, according to the results of a poll The Herald conducted Monday. Despite opposition to shutting down
the lecture, strong majorities of students agree with protests outside the building and the circulation of a petition beforehand to prevent Kelly from coming to campus, the poll found. And in the wake of the Corporation’s decision last month not to divest the University’s endowment from large coal companies, student support for divestment has fallen, though it remains the plurality opinion. Though President Christina Paxson’s approval rating has risen slightly over the past month, the proportion of students who disapprove of her has increased threefold, from about 9 percent to near » See POLL, page 3
Do you agree with the following actions taken by student and community protesters surrounding the cancelled lecture by Ray Kelly last week? Circulating a petition beforehand to cancel the lecture: 8% 21% Disagree N/S*
71% Agree
*N/S = Not Sure
Protesting outside the building: 80%
8%
13%
Causing the lecture to be shut down via protests inside the auditorium: 13%
14%
73% JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD
U. begins to implement strategic plan initiatives Faculty members discussed plans to adapt financial aid, sabbaticals and internship support By KIKI BARNES SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The University has begun to implement proposals outlined in President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan after the Corporation approved the document at its Oct. 26 meeting, Paxson said at a faculty meeting Tuesday. Faculty members and administrators also discussed the University’s decision not to divest from coal companies, faculty benefits, a program for excellence in teaching and changes to the faculty rules and regulations before retreating to a restricted session so that faculty members could discuss recent events at the University. The University is moving forward with plans to recalculate financial need for international students each year, implement a new post-tenure sabbatical policy, boost support for student summer internships and Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards, create sophomore seminars that emphasize diversity, develop a laboratory for educational innovation and identify more focuses for future TRI-Lab projects, Paxson said. “These are things that we can do immediately,” she said. The post-tenure sabbatical policy will offer faculty members a sabbatical at full salary six months after » See FACULTY, page 2
Brown, Stanford unite to reach world finals in synthetic biology competition
By ISOBEL HECK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
“I’m not looking for the prima donnas,” said Lynn Rothschild, an adjunct professor of molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistr y and astrobiologist/evolutionary biologist at NASA Ames who helped advise this year’s Stanford-Brown iGEM, or International Genetically Engineered Machine, group. “We rise and fall as a team.”
inside
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
Brown and Stanford University have worked together as an iGEM team for the past three years, and the 2013 group qualified for the world championship at the North America Regional Jamboree in Toronto last month. Despite being locked out of their lab at NASA due to the government shutdown, team members rallied to present four projects to judges at the World Championship Jamboree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology this past weekend. Though the 2013 team did not win any special awards and were not finalists this year, “we have a reputation as one of the really strong teams,” Rothschild said. “We have the coolness factor.” » See IGEM, page 4
COURTESY OF LYNN ROTHSCHILD
Students from Brown and Stanford joined Lynn Rothschild, an adjuct professor of biology and biochemistry and astrobiologist/evolutionary biologist at NASA Ames, at her lab in California to design four projects.
BDS contracts
Behave, doc
Hate holidays
Dining Services workers are set to begin negotiations this week for a new contract
The Corporation approved a behavioral and social health PhD program last month
Enzerink GS unpacks the role of race in holidays in Rhode Island and the Netherlands
UNIVERSITY NEWS, 8
UNIVERSITY NEWS, 8
COMMENTARY, 11
weather
Though the iGEM team did not win any prizes this year, it will send a project on a space mission
t o d ay
tomorrow
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2 university news » FACULTY, from page 1
calendar TODAY
NOVEMBER 6
6 P.M.
TOMORROW
NOVEMBER 7
2:30 P.M. LGBTQ Dating Forum
Novelist Jamaica Kincaid to Read
Third World Center Formal Lounge 6:30 P.M.
Martinos Auditorium, Granoff 4 P.M.
“Left on Pearl” Screening
URC Forum
Smith-Buonanno, Room 106
Petteruti Lounge
menu SHARPE REFECTORY
VERNEY-WOOLLEY
LUNCH Vegan Chow Mein, Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta, Shaved Steak Sandwich, Vegan Brownies
Corn Chowder with Bacon and Potato, Italian Meatballs with Sauce, Vegan Great Northern Bean Casserole
DINNER Salmon Teriyaki, Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Tofu, Korean Style Marinated Beef, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
Parmesan Baked Chicken, Vegan Paella, Mixed Baby Mesclun with Honey Dijon, Oatmeal Bread
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receiving tenure — a change from the past, when they would receive 75 percent of their pay. The change will affect faculty members who received tenure on or after July 1, 2013, said Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12. Paxson also mentioned the Committee on Master’s Education and the Environmental Change Task Force as two groups that will begin to work toward strategic planning goals. She said the task force was “compelled to move forward quickly,” due to support on campus for additional methods to combat climate change. She said an Institute for Environment and Society is likely to be established in the coming months that will focus on issues of climate change among other relevant topics. At the October meeting, the Corporation also decided not to divest holdings from major coal companies, a decision that sparked controversy on campus. “The discussion was thorough and full,” Paxson said, adding, “It was not a slam dunk. We thought long and hard about it.” The Corporation did not conduct a vote to divest from coal, but instead came to a mutual agreement that divestment is not a wise goal for the University at the present time, she said. “We consider that matter settled.” Professor of Geological Sciences Timothy Herbert said he was “disappointed” with the Corporation’s decision, adding that “there is a need for
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
more leadership” at Brown. “We must chart a path,” he said. “I hope that the University takes this challenge on.” Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 spoke about administrative decisions regarding faculty benefits in response to a resolution written by an ad hoc committee on employee benefits in January. This year, a projected $96 million will be spent on faculty benefits, a number that increases every year, Schlissel said. But tuition assistance for University employees whose children attend Brown has remained stagnant at $10,000 per year per employee since 2002, he said. Schlissel said the best option for the University in addressing the issue is to index the number “to prevent further erosion.” Starting in January, the $10,000 annual tuition assistance provided for children of University employees will increase by a percentage equal to any increase in University tuition. Other options that the University considered but ultimately decided against were increasing tuition assistance by 36 percent, a percentage that accounts for inflation and increases in University tuition, and providing low-interest loans to tenured faculty members. Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies Harold Roth, who chaired the ad hoc committee, said indexing is “a step in the right direction,” but more improvements are needed. Roth said the Tuition Assistance Program currently covers 20 percent
of Brown’s tuition, a number that pales in comparison to the over 60 percent offered at peer institutions, adding, “Why not put that in the strategic plan as something we would be open to?” “We are unconvinced that it will make Brown a stronger University,” Schlissel responded, though, he said, “it’s not that these things aren’t worthwhile to ask for.” “I’ve never lost a faculty member because the TAP was $10,000,” Schlissel said. The faculty also passed three motions to amend the Faculty Rules and Regulations. The first motion added the dean and associate dean of the School of Public Health to relevant committees and boards of the University, such as the Graduate Council, the Tenure, Promotions and Acquisitions Committee and the Academic Code Committee. The second motion amended the membership of the Campus Planning Advisory Board to be consistent with recent staffing. The third motion revised policies regarding University committee members who take leave or sabbaticals during their tenures on the committees. The changes allow for the committee to decide on a one-semester replacement for the departing member, which would allow members to continue their terms when they return, as opposed to having to resign from the committee. Kathy Takayama, executive director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, gave a presentation on the center’s departmental peer teaching observation training. Established in 2012, the program involves professors observing and giving feedback on other professors’ classes within departments. James Valles, chair of the physics department and professor of physics, said five teachers in his department volunteered to participate in the training and observation. The training program works toward “breaking down the walls of the classroom,” a traditionally private endeavor, Valles said. “I’m pretty happy that now we have the words to talk about our teaching.” The program was discussed in response to the Faculty Executive Committee’s focus on excellence in teaching this academic year, said Iris Bahar, chair of the FEC. The voting and non-voting members of the faculty moved into a restricted section at the conclusion of the meeting to discuss “recent events on campus,” Paxson said. The restricted session was formed so that the members of the faculty could have a “private discussion,” Schlissel said.
university news 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
» POLL, from page 1 28 percent. Ray Kelly A substantial majority of students expressed opposition to the stop-and-frisk policing practices Kelly has enforced in New York City. But most students disagreed with the actions student and community protestors took inside List that caused his lecture at Brown to be shut down. About 56 percent of students said they strongly opposed stop-and-frisk and 22 percent were somewhat opposed, while just 8 percent supported the practice. Close to 7 percent of students reported no opinion of stop-and-frisk, and another 7 percent indicated they were not familiar enough to answer. Around 71 percent of students agreed with protestors’ circulation of a petition beforehand calling for Kelly’s lecture to be canceled. Twenty-one percent disagreed with the petition action and 8 percent said they were not sure. The event was planned to be part of the Noah Krieger ’93 Memorial Lecture series hosted by the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions. Nearly 80 percent of students agreed with student and community activists’ protests outside List when Kelly was set to deliver his lecture, while close to 13 percent of students disagreed, and about 8 percent reported they were not sure. But nearly three-quarters of students — around 73 percent — disagreed with protestors’ actions inside the auditorium that shut down Kelly’s lecture. About 13 percent agreed with those actions, and 14 percent said they were not sure. “I think that trying to get the lecture canceled in the first place was definitely the most civil action,” Will Sano ’16 said, calling the petition campaign the best way for students and community members to express their concerns. “I do think the lecture should have gone forward, given that it had been formalized and scheduled.” Sano added he understands protestors’ perspective, but “I just don’t agree with their silencing of Ray Kelly,” he said. Misbah Noorani ’17 said she believed most protestors had strong feelings about Kelly coming to speak at the University, but she added that a “mob mentality” formed among some who protested inside the auditorium. Though student views on protestors’ actions surrounding the lecture correlated somewhat with race, majorities in every racial category disagreed with the protests that shut down the lecture. About 76 percent of white students disagreed with the protests inside the auditorium, compared to 55 percent of black students. Two-thirds of Hispanic students and 77 percent of Asian students said they disagreed. Roughly 90 percent of black students agreed with the protests outside List,
compared to 81 percent of white students, 77 percent of Asian students and 76 percent of Hispanic students. Support for protestors’ circulation of a petition before the lecture calling for Kelly’s talk to be canceled also had racial differences. Around 70 percent of white students and 71 percent of Asian students agreed with the petition campaign, compared to 80 percent of Hispanic students and 74 percent of black students. Coal A majority of students who expressed an opinion on the Corporation’s choice not to divest from coal companies opposed the decision. But the percentage of the student body favoring divestment decreased from 52 percent in The Herald’s previous poll, conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, to 44 percent in the poll conducted Monday. About 20 percent of students — the same share of the student body as last month — reported no opinion on the University’s decision not to divest. Paxson announced the decision not to divest the University’s endowment assets in a community-wide email Oct. 27, following last month’s Corporation meeting. Student opposition to divestment doubled since the previous poll. A combined 28 percent of poll respondents this week indicated support for the Corporation’s decision not to divest while just 14 percent of students surveyed in the previous poll opposed divestment. Opinions on divestment differed by gender, with 37 percent of males supporting the Corporation’s decision compared to 22 percent of females. About 50 percent of females disagreed with the University’s decision, compared to 36 percent of males. “I’m for (the University) not divesting because I’m from coal country,” said Rebecca Noga ’17, who hails from northeastern Pennsylvania. Collin Wiles ’15 said he disagreed with the Corporation’s decision but added that he felt Paxson could not be blamed for the decision. “I feel that the Corporation was responsible for the decision more than Christina Paxson” was, he said. Students who supported the decision not to divest generally felt students have at least some influence on University administrative decisions. But 73 percent of students who strongly disagreed with the divestment decision said they believe student voices and opinions have little to no impact on the administration. Paxson At the start of her second year in office, Paxson has become an increasingly polarizing figure on campus. The poll showed a steep rise over the past month in her disapproval rating, which jumped from about 9 percent in the previous poll to 28 percent this week. But the percentage of students who
RESULTS AND ME THODOLOGY Full poll results 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christina Paxson is handling her job as president of the University? 12.7% Strongly approve 34.8% Somewhat approve 24.2% No opinion 22.3% Somewhat disapprove 5.9% Strongly disapprove 2. How much influence do you think students’ voices and opinions have on administrative decisions at the University? 7.3% Significant influence 49.0% Some influence 35.9% Little influence 5.6% No influence 2.2% Not sure 3. Do you agree with the Corporation’s recent decision not to divest the University’s endowment assets from large U.S. coal companies? 9.5% Strongly agree 18.7% Somewhat agree 19.7% No opinion 22.1% Somewhat disagree 22.1% Strongly disagree 7.9% Not familiar enough to answer
4. Do you support the stop-and-frisk policing policies enforced in New York City under Police Commissioner Ray Kelly? 1.2% Strongly support 6.6% Somewhat support 7.3% No opinion 21.9% Somewhat oppose 55.9% Strongly oppose 7.1% Not familiar enough to answer 5. Please indicate whether you agree with the actions taken by student and community member protestors surrounding the canceled lecture by Ray Kelly last week. Circulating a petition beforehand to cancel the lecture: 71.2% Agree 21.2% Disagree 7.5% Not sure Protesting outside the building: 79.7% Agree 12.7% Disagree 7.7% Not sure Causing the lecture to be shut down via protests inside the auditorium: 13.0% Agree 73.2% Disagree 13.8% Not sure
Methodology Written questionnaires were administered to 863 undergraduates Nov. 4 in the lobby of J. Walter Wilson, the Sciences Library and the Stephen Robert ‘62 Campus Center during the day. The poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. The margin of error is 4.6 percent for the subset of males, 4.2 percent for the subset of females, 6.4 percent for first-years, 5.9 percent for sophomores, 7 percent for juniors, 5.7 percent for seniors, 4.8 percent for students receiving financial aid and 4.9 percent for students not receiving financial aid. All reported cross-tabulations are statistically significant. Numbers may not add up to exactly 100 percent due to rounding. The sample polled was demographically similar to the Brown undergraduate population as a whole. The sample was 55 percent female and 45 percent male. First-years made up 23 percent, sophomores were 28 percent, juniors accounted for 20 percent and seniors were 29 percent. Of those polled, 44 percent receive financial aid from Brown and 56 percent do not. Students reported all races with which they identify, with about 54 percent identifying as white, about 24 percent as Asian, about 9 percent as Hispanic, about 9 percent as black, about 1 percent as American Indian/Alaska Native, about 1 percent as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and 3 percent as other. University News Editors Mathias Heller ’15 and Eli Okun ’15 coordinated the poll. Herald section editors, senior staff writers and other staff members conducted the poll. Find results of previous polls at thebdh.org/poll.
indicated approval also increased slightly, from about 43 percent to 48 percent. The proportion of students with no opinion fell by about half. “She’s being very diplomatic, but she’s not being as sensitive to student needs as I would like her to be,” said Anna Zeidman ’15, who said she somewhat approves of Paxson’s performance. Black students were significantly less likely to approve of Paxson’s job performance: Less than a third expressed approval, compared to an average of 49.5 percent across all other races, including
a slim majority of white students. Male students approved of Paxson at a higher level — 54.3 percent — than female students, at 42.1 percent. Student influence At a university whose curricular distinctiveness and identity largely resulted from student mobilization in the 1960s, current undergraduates are split over how much influence their voices and opinions have on the University’s decisions — an issue some student activists have highlighted as a grievance about
the administration. Roughly half of poll respondents said students have some influence on administrative choices, but another 41.5 percent said their opinions have little to no influence. Only 7.3 percent believe students have significant influence. First-years were much more likely than students in any other year to say student voices have significant or some influence on the administration. And approval of Paxson was generally correlated with a belief in students’ ability to effect change.
Questions from The Herald’s undergraduate poll conducted a month ago: Do you support the conversion of multi-user bathrooms in residence halls to gender-neutral status? How much of a role should standardized test scores play in public high school graduation requirements? How often do you masturbate? What is your opinion of President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan? For the results of these questions and others, go to thebdh.org/poll.
4 science & research » IGEM, from page 1 All hands on deck Six students from Brown and seven students from Stanford were selected for the 2013 team this past February. Gary Wessel, professor of biology and the advisor for Brown’s contingent of the team, said team leaders take special care in selecting students from different academic backgrounds. “Having that extreme diversity adds a lot of fun to the team,” he said. “One of the aspects that is really exciting (about iGEM) is that anyone can actually do it,” said Simon Vecchioni ’13, a co-captain. One member from Stanford is a communications major, another studies biology and history. Nguyen Le ’16 applied as a first-year with little experience in the field, but quickly became emersed with more experienced applicants who joined the team, Wessel said. After team members are selected in February, they meet about once a week, Wessel said. When the semester ends, the students travel to Rothschild’s lab at the NASA Ames Research Center in California, where they work throughout the summer. “The opportunity to work in a team is special,” Wessel said. “The iGEM concept really is a team concept.” Even though the group combines students from two universities, they “really become one team,” Rothschild said. When the team members from Brown and Stanford saw each other in Toronto after being apart since the summer, outsiders would have thought they hadn’t seen each other in years, Rothschild said. Sophia Liang ’15 and Trevor Kalkus, a senior at Stanford, said some of the best experiences at iGEM were outside of the lab. Kalkus said one of his favorite parts of the summer was camping in Yosemite National Park with members of the team. Liang said when the team first
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
arrived in California, they were unsure of their living situation and some of the team members ended up staying in a mobile home. It was “a great bonding experience,” she said. “I sincerely had a great time living in a mobile village.” Space mission Rothschild said having three institutions — Brown, Stanford and NASA — working together is “unusual.” Working at NASA is a great opportunity for the students because they are exposed to life outside of academia and to researchers and students from around the world, she said. Rothschild said iGEM “requires a lot of time and a lot of love.” While NASA was not originally enthusiastic about hosting the iGEM team, they are now realizing the benefits, she said. “Especially for me as a foreign student from Vietnam, the idea of working in NASA is truly thrilling,” Le said. Alissa Greenberg, a human biology and history major who graduated from Stanford in the spring, said iGEM is also an opportunity to be very handson. While she had “zero practical lab experience” before iGEM, the team is “at liberty to pursue any kind of project within reason that we want to.” Wessel also described the program’s immersive nature. “Normally we learn by reading books and papers … synthetic biology is the opposite. Your job is to design new things,” Wessel said. While most teams only focus on one project, “this is a superstar group of 13 students who did four projects,” Rothschild said. The first project, ‘BioWires,’ involves the construction of a one-atom thick wire that uses a strand of DNA as a structural template. The second project sought to create a bio-brick — a readily usable piece of DNA — which the team hopes will fight antibiotic resistance. Project three, ‘De-Extinction,’
COURTESY OF LYNN ROTHSCHILD
The Stanford-Brown iGEM team could not finish all of its desired experiments at the NASA Ames Research Center because of the government shutdown, but the team still presented its work at the world championship. seeks to bring ancestral genes back to life. The final project adds onto the 2011 Stanford-Brown iGEM team’s PowerCell, which releases fixated nitrogen and sugars in space so that bacteria can survive and replicate in the environment. The last project is particularly exciting because it will be launched on a 2016 German space mission and the 2013 iGEM team focused on preparing the project for space, Rothschild said. The show must go on The 2013 iGEM team faced unique challenges due to the government shutdown, Rothschild said. After the regional competition in Toronto, the team was ready to do more experiments but was locked out of the NASA building. One of Rothschild’s graduate
students was able to go into the building for 15 minutes, during which she emailed people asking what they needed and gathered as many samples as she could. But not all of the experiments could be taken, and the shutdown impacted which tests were finished in time for the World Championship Jamboree, Rothschild said. Greenberg said the experience made the team aware that a lot of science is only possible because of more powerful, larger institutions like the federal government. Even without all of their experiments completed, the team presented at the World Championship Jamboree this past weekend. The team was judged on six components, Wessel said, which consist of a 20-minute presentation, a website, a poster presentation, outreach to the community, the
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number of BioBricks a team created and its actual research projects. “In the past years there has been a ‘sweet 16’ which we made, but this year they didn’t list it,” Rothschild wrote in an email to The Herald. But the fact the team made the world finals “is still pretty impressive,” she wrote. “I want (the students) to just have a ball,” Rothschild told The Herald. “I want to give them the joy of science.” Kalkus said his favorite part of being at the competition was seeing teams from all over the world come together. “It’s a conglomeration of people united around science,” he said. Vecchioni pointed to the satisfaction in making it to the world finalists as a team. “We all started this together and we all finished this together,” Vecchioni said. “We came full circle.”
university news 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
Exclusive: David Corn ’81 discusses investigative reporting in Q&A An alum who helped uncover footage of Mitt Romney shares insights on journalism and politics By MATHIAS HELLER UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
Presidential campaigns are often most remembered for video clips or soundbytes that come to define candidates’ personas for voters. During the 2012 campaign, Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was plagued by a video of himself speaking at a private fundraiser about his belief that 47 percent of Americans were “dependent upon government” and paid no income taxes. The comment caused a flurry of negative coverage, and many political analysts have called the incident a pivotal moment of the election. The reporter who helped bring this story to light, David Corn ’81, is the Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine, an MSNBC commentator and a seasoned veteran of many national campaigns. The Herald recently talked with Corn about the 2012 campaign, investigative reporting and his time at Brown. The Herald: You were instrumental in breaking the “47 percent” story about Mitt Romney. Can you
talk about how exactly that news got revealed? Corn: I’d spent weeks and weeks digging into Mitt Romney’s investments when he worked at Bain, and I’d done a series of stories on a subject that very few people had looked at, and I discovered that he’d been investing in companies that had been outsourcing jobs to countries with lower wages and lesser labor standards. Because I was doing that, I was always … chasing ledes, and I came across a video that was posted anonymously talking about a trip he made to a Chinese company that I thought was involved in some of these investments. ... We eventually tracked down the original poster of that video. ... He agreed to talk to me and send me the full video, which had no further information on his overseas investments but did have the 47 percent comment. So it was because I had been doing investigative reporting on a subject area that many reporters were ignoring that I was able to reach a position where I discovered that great scoop. Some have said the revelation of that news — shortly after Romney had picked up some momentum from the first debate — was the key moment in the fall campaign and ended his chances of being elected. Do you agree? It’s hard to tell because we don’t
know what would have happened without the video. One thing to consider when thinking about the role of the 47 percent video … is the penetration and the length of the story. Pollsters for both the Obama campaign and the Romney campaign told me that all the independent voters — who often are low-information voters — whom they were talking to in focus groups knew about the 47 percent video and had an opinion of it. It became a water-cooler conversation topic that almost everyone knew about instantaneously. That doesn’t happen that often. Most importantly, it became part of a news cycle for a week or a week and a half. ... What happened with the 47 percent video is that it really threw the Romney campaign off (its) game plan for a week and a half to two weeks. It sucked up a lot of (the campaign’s) energy, attention and perhaps most importantly, opportunity. Much of political journalism today seems tied up in the world of 24/7 commentary on cable and fastpaced digital formats. As someone who’s worked for a long-established magazine but also for MSNBC, do you think this shift has been detrimental to high-quality reporting? The information technology we’ve seen over the past 10 to 20 years and the impact on journalism is completely a double-edged sword.
It’s given journalists like myself tremendous opportunities to expand our reach and to compete. Those of us who work for smaller outfits now can break stories, and, more importantly, win attention for those stories as much as anybody working for the New York Times or the Washington Post. ... But the cost of all this is that we live in a nanosecond by nanosecond news cycle where things come and go so fast that it’s difficult to have a deep and disciplined discussion about a matter. ... Everybody’s sort of racing like chickens with their heads cut off to one story and then racing back. With the availability of 24/7 media, every little wrinkle or hiccup in any given story becomes completely magnified but often overly hyped and exaggerated. You see things like the IRS scandal or Benghazi. There’s so much chest-thumping and foot-stomping that happens immediately that gets a lot of attention because the media are working in real-time and the deeper story that may take a couple hours or even a day or two lags behind, and by then, the political contours of a story have already been established. You may have heard about the Oct. 29 event on campus when a group of protestors interrupted New York City Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly during a talk he
was set to give, causing the talk to be cancelled. Were there any similar events where protestors shut down a talk during your days at Brown? What was big when I was in school was the divestment movement in South Africa. Lots of students would protest or sit in to make a point that Brown as a societal leader should join the movement in making sure money was not invested in companies that were doing business with the apartheid regime in South Africa, a racist regime. ... There might have been demonstrations that blocked entrance-ways or (disrupted) meetings, but I don’t remember anyone being fully shut down. But I’m of two minds with these sorts of things. I like the idea of letting people talk, but then having as much protest around it and as much dialogue afterwards and during, because if you’re going to have a controversial speaker, I’d want to make sure you’d have time to challenge that speaker and have other views conveyed at the same time and at the same event. ... If you can beat an opponent with an argument rather than silence them, you usually are going to end up better in the long run. But I fully understand the energy and commitment that goes into protest activity, civil disobedience and the like. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Debate aims to increase student political involvement Speakers discussed topics including the U.S. government shutdown and national poverty By KHIN SU CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rebecca Mears ’15, president of the College Democrats of Rhode Island and Justin Braga ’16, chairman of the College Republican Federation of Rhode Island, engaged in a public debate Tuesday to discuss topics ranging from the recent U.S. government shutdown to national poverty. The event marked the first time in over five years that the heads of the two organizations debated publicly. Organized a year before the 2014 midterm elections, the hour-long event aimed to encourage student political involvement and awareness, Mears and Braga said. “Debate Night in Rhode Island” attracted a large audience in Salomon 101, including gubernatorial candidate and Mayor of Cranston Allan Fung. About 200 students from Brown, Providence College, Roger Williams College and University of Rhode Island attended the event, as did multiple faculty members. Mears said she was excited to see youth get involved in a student-organized political event. “We’re out there to show that these issues do pertain to students,” Mears said. Braga said he hoped “that people will be able to walk away and see that
Republicans support those who live on the margins of society.” He added that he realized he represented a minority political viewpoint on campus and hoped to draw more people to support the Republican Party. “I’m excited to get out there and show people what my party stands for (and) what I stand for as a person,” he said. The debate began on a lively and playful note, with moderator Ted Nesi, a political correspondent for WPRITV, asking the audience about their news habits and joking about being shouted off stage in reference to the recent controversy around Ray Kelly’s presence on campus. Once the debate started, the tone became serious and high-spirited. Braga said both Republicans and Democrats shared the blame for the government shutdown in Washington. But Mears took a more aggressive stance, attributing the $24 billion costs and 800,000 workers furloughed last month to the Republicans in Congress. She expressed the need for compromise between the two parties. On the topic of policy addressing poverty reduction, Mears said she would like to see greater efforts to make health care more affordable, reassess minimum wage and increase investments in human capital. Mears expressed discontent with the current focus on welfare as a means of addressing the issue of poverty. “We expect them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when they don’t have any boots,” she said. Braga said the issue was personal,
relating it to his experiences in an inner city high school in which he had classes with students who were homeless. He advocated the need for a “social safety net” for people like his father, who lost his job during the economic recession. Braga called for a focus on education, increasing economic opportunity and building more comprehensive prison reforms through youth courts and juvenile programs. “(Democrats) will continue fighting the war on poverty but the Republicans will win the war on poverty,” Braga said. Mears said Braga was fighting for the right reasons, but reaching the wrong conclusions. “If you want to get people to climb up the social ladder you have to provide the ladder,” by raising minimum wage, Mears said. Braga, in response, said raising minimum wage is like “pulling the ladder out from under people who are trying to get up.” Nesi then steered the conversation toward policies meant to spur economic growth in Rhode Island. Braga suggested some solutions to combat Rhode Island’s unemployment rate — the third highest in the country — and to ameliorate the business climate, including eliminating or reducing substantially the state sales tax, ending corporate welfare by cutting corporate taxes and building a stronger education system to produce a stronger workforce. Mears disagreed, arguing that the high corporate tax rate is countered
by tax incentives and tax breaks. In addition, she said the high sales tax is balanced through sales tax exemptions for food, clothing and medicine. She shared her own ideas of how to increase economic growth in Rhode Island, which included increasing investment in infrastructure to create more jobs, improving the business climate and investing in education and human capital to retain college students within the state through student loan credit. “They come here for four years, they learn and they leave. It’s sad,” Mears said. The debate became more heated during the topic of gun ownership and the second amendment. Braga called for states and municipalities to prevent gun violence by employing armed guards at schools to protect students. “The only people who should have a gun in a school are the police who are there to help them,” Braga said. Mears, on the other hand, said she believed having armed guards would only increase the number of arms on a school campus. “The easiest way is not always the best way,” she said. Mears called for a universal background check before purchasing a gun, adding that 90 percent of Americans supported this policy. This is significant, she said, because “we can’t even get 90 percent of Americans to agree that we landed on the moon.” In addition, she said she hoped to see a limit to the amount of ammunition purchased and innovative technology to increase safety and security
for the owners of the gun and for those around them. Mears and Braga also discussed education and the role of standardized tests such as New England Common Assessment Program in Rhode Island Braga said standardized tests are a necessary graduation requirement because they ensure that the people who are “the future of our workforce and our country” are truly prepared for college. “We cannot go back to the dark ages anymore,” where diplomas were handed out to just about everyone, Braga said. But Mears said the NECAP exams were never meant to be used as standardized tests, but as a means of ranking students against one another. “The test is the wrong test to give,” she said. Mears advocated improving the quality of public schools so that students will not have to narrow down their choices to private schools and charter schools. Braga said it is important to put efforts into improving charter and private schools to promote school choice. “Don’t give a blind check to public schools,” he said. “Make them compete for those dollars.” Mears, in response, said, “Children’s education should not be subject to market whims.” Regardless of their differing opinions on current political issues, Braga and Mears both expressed mutual respect and admiration for each other, and both received nearly equal applause at the end of the debate.
6 university news
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
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Employees and students who work in buildings now based in the Jewelry District like the Office of Continuing Education described a culture of separation from the University’s College Hill campus. Herald file photo. executive vice president for planning teaching might not fit well in the area, as well as one of Simmons’ senior ad- Carey said. Redevelopment District Commission visers. When the School of Engineering and the 2011 relocation of the Alpert Limited space in the Biomedical needed additional laboratory and Medical School downtown, the city’s Center left administrators without “a research space to support a growing hope to transform the Jewelry District lot of obvious choices,” Spies said. “We faculty and student body, the Jewelry into a center of intellectual, technolog- do lose something (by expanding off District was tapped as a potential locaical and entrepreneurial activity con- of College Hill), but it is more than tion for expansion. verged with the University’s interest offset by what we gain.” But a University study conducted in increasing its presence in the area The University has invested more with design and planning firm Sato accommodate Brown’s growth. The than $200 million in the district in saki Associates last year found that commission was created to revamp the past decade, initially leasing real given the high degree of collaboration the land made available when the in- estate to raise money but gradually across departments at the undergraduterstate highway was redirected by a repurposing those spaces for Brown to ate level, moving any undergraduate construction process begun in 2004. use, said Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, ex- teaching downtown would disrupt Paxson’s strategic plan calls for ecutive vice president for planning and Brown’s educational and academic developing a “vibrant mixed-use en- policy and co-chair of the Committee work, Carey said. vironment” in the Jewelry District that on Reimagining the Brown Campus “What they found was that stuincludes spaces for medical education, and Community. Carey said he sees dents in engineering are just as much research, administrative, residential Brown as becoma part of this campus and retail functions. This continues ing “a positive and the campus com“We don’t want a project launched under former and contributing munity as any other to develop two President Ruth Simmons’ Plan for neighbor” through major,” said Larry Academic Enrichment, which envi- its involvement in Larson, dean of the campuses that sioned a gradual buildup of Brown’s this part of the city. school of engineering. are separate and presence in the district. That vision The UniverMoving the School distinct.” focused initially on medical and life sity plans to move of Engineering “out science research facilities but eventu- more academic of that community” Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 ally branched out to additional aca- and administrawould “do damage to EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR demic and administrative functions. tive functions that this great, interactive PLANNING AND POLICY The University first ventured into “can do well outculture we have at the area in 2004 with the acquisition side College Hill” Brown,” he said. of 70 Ship St., which now houses Med to the district, Carey said. The Office Some local stakeholders expressed School laboratories and supports life of Continuing Education is currently disappointment in the choice not to science research. The University pur- housed at 198-200 Dyer St., and the move the school downtown. chased the Med School’s current home Admission Office moved to the space But “no one questioned the deciat 222 Richmond St. for office space earlier this year. The University owns sion,” Carey said. in 2004 before overhauling the build- and leases buildings in Davol Square ing in 2009. to house Computing and Information Making the connection “One of the things it came back Services and administrative functions As Brown increases its presence to was the limitations of the exist- for the Med School. in the district, administrators intend ing campus,” said Dick Spies, former But functions like undergraduate to connect the area with College Hill to keep development from “fracturing the University,” said Iris Bahar, Timeline: Development in the Jewelry District professor of engineering and co-chair of the Committee on Reimagining Sept. 30, 2003: University acquires 70 Ship Street the Brown Campus and Community. Oct. 11, 2003: Corporation approves Strategic Framework for Physical Planning “We don’t want to develop two as a guide for future physical planning and development campuses that are separate and distinct,” Carey said. Jan. 5, 2007: University acquires seven Jewelry District properties, including The notion that “the Jewelry Dis222 Richmond St., future home of Alpert Medical School trict will be the area for graduate Apr. 26, 2010: University begins renovating 222 Richmond St. for the Med School students, and College Hill will be for undergraduates” is incorrect, Paxson Aug. 15, 2011: Med School’s new building opens Jan. 30, 2012: Ship Street Square, a plaza across the street from the Med School, opens to the public March 2012: As a result of the Providence Core Connector study, RIPTA’s Board of Directors selects a streetcar as the preferred alternative for a new transit line connecting College Hill and the Jewelry District May 1, 2012: Office of Continuing Education moves to 200 Dyer St. May 17, 2013: Admission Office moves to 200 Dyer St. Sept. 5, 2013: Federal government rejects Providence’s request for $39 million toward the streetcar line
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told The Herald. “The idea is to maintain College Hill as the academic core of the University … for undergraduates as well as graduate students and the faculty.” The Point Street Bridge serves as a major route between College Hill and the Jewelry District, and plans are being formulated for a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge across the river on old I-195 foundations, Carey said. Paxson said the University will need more frequent shuttle services, especially at night. Rerouting of RIPTA bus services may be a logical step forward, Bahar said. No formal negotiations on this project have begun. Ideally, RIPTA would construct a streetcar offering rail-based service connecting College Hill to downtown — including the Jewelry District — and Upper South Providence, said Amy Pettine, RIPTA special projects manager. The streetcar would improve the mobility of college students and other public transit users, but the “primary objective is economic development,” Pettine said, adding that permanent rail systems attract business, people and investment to cities. But “the streetcar is a longer-term project” that will not move forward until it can be funded, Pettine said, citing the federal government’s rejection of a grant application from the city to help pay for the railway. Though Providence Mayor Angel Taveras expressed support for the proposal in the economic development plan he released in March, “a lot of things are competing for (his) attention,” Pettine added. The University has endorsed “creating a more user-friendly city,” and linking College Hill and the Jewelry
District would require collaboration between RIPTA and Brown’s shuttle service, Pettine said. While the shuttle’s schedule is flexible, its capacity could be overwhelmed if the proposed expansion brings more people to the Jewelry District, she said. The satellite Those who find themselves spending more time in the Jewelry District struggle to remain connected to College Hill while building another community. “There is a river and a hill” separating the neighborhood from College Hill, said Karen Sibley MAT’81 P’07 P’12, dean of continuing education. The Office of Continuing Education moved off College Hill February 2012, after the University determined that there was insufficient space to accommodate growth in its programs. Sibley identified differences in the environment, the inability to “run into colleagues” during lunchtime and her awareness of being removed to a degree from the main campus. “I have my life down the Hill, and I have my life on the Hill,” said David Gonzalez ’14, who works in a Jewelry District-based laboratory. The district is unlikely to become a true “satellite campus” until people have a reason other than work to spend time there, Gonzalez said, adding that he would never go to the Jewelry District if his laboratory were not there. But the plan’s proposals to create a community downtown could benefit medical students, who spend more time in the Jewelry District because of their studies. “It’s great to be building a medical » See DOWNTOWN, page 7
This four-part series examines the broad impacts President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan could have on the University and its implications for the next decade. Read it online at: thebdh.org/ legacy. Monday: Monday’s story compared Paxson’s strategic plan to that of former President Ruth Simmons, analyzing how developments on and off College Hill have affected the ambition and scope of Building on Distinction. Yesterday: Tuesday’s story examines the financial strategies the University may use to support the strategic plan’s proposals and endeavors while assessing how financial realities determine what projects Brown can undertake. Today: Today’s story explores how Building on Distinction could shape Brown’s presence in the Jewelry District, looking at the effect that presence may have on academic culture and the broader Providence community. Thursday: Thursday’s story analyzes how the strategic plan could impact Brown’s status as a “university-college,” navigating tensions between the liberal arts and preprofessional programs, humanities and sciences, and undergraduates and the Graduate School.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
university news 7
DOWNTOWN, from page 6
but will be responsible for marketing the apartment-style housing units to science community,” said Honora Bur- graduate students in return for the nett MD’15, president of the Medical developer’s investment, Carey said. Student Senate, adding that additional Paxson announced earlier this research facilities in the Jewelry Dis- year that the University is considertrict would be coning working with CV venient for medical Properties and local “I have my life students. public universities down the Hill, and to renovate the DyAllison Kay MD’15 also exI have my life on namo House, a forpressed enthusiasm mer power plant in the Hill.” for the idea of a the Jewelry District “medical campus,” that has been unused DAVID GONZALEZ ’14 citing the proposed for years. expansions’ potenDynamo House tial to help “build Brown’s research could house a University of Rhode name.” Island and Rhode Island College joint Further developing the neighbor- nursing education center through a hood could improve its appeal to stu- partnership with the University, said dents, Gonzalez said. William Gearhart, vice president for “There’s no draw to the area,” and it administration and finance at RIC. is definitely possible to “make students He called the partnership “mufeel like it is a little more part of their tually beneficial” and said it would home,” he said. serve as an “economic stimulus” to Though it would be positive to the district and the city. make the area “a little more gentriWith half the building housing fied, a little more revitalized,” it is im- nursing programs, the other half portant to do so without losing the would have University administrative Jewelry District’s “industrial charm,” and faculty functions, though Carey Gonzalez said. Given the area’s key said Brown does not immediately need role in Providence’s history, he said such space. Dynamo House offers aphe hopes the University respects the proximately 250,000 square feet of Jewelry District’s legacy even as it ex- space, about three times larger than pands its presence. Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center. “I don’t want it to be obvious that Carey said a decision will need you’re on Brown’s campus,” he said. to be made this year on moving forRegardless of how the expansion ward with these projects. Given the ultimately develops, Gonzalez said he estimated $206 million price tag for thinks “the average Brown student is the renovation of Dynamo House, not going to be affected at all.” challenges remain, but the University Land regulations determined by remains excited about the process, the I-195 Commission and city of- he said. ficials will likely “set the tone” for “It would free up some space on the Jewelry District’s transition to a College Hill that we need to develop mixed-use area and must foster pri- next year and would also help us vate-sector investment, said Daniel transform the Jewelry District into a Baudouin, executive director of the thriving economic hub,” Paxson said. Providence Foundation The I-195 Commission decides to The economic ripple whom it sells the land, and though the Though some local stakeholders local market will likely not support a continue to voice concern over the significant retail presence, Brown’s ex- University’s property tax exemption — pansion will probably create potential which, as Brown expands into the Jewfor commercial growth, he said. elry District, could result in the city losing direct tax revenues — positive Engagement and regrowth economic externalities from Brown’s From the start, “the notion of involvement in the neighborhood greater engagement with the commu- could outweigh those issues. nity around us” fueled the University’s The expansion of administrative interest in the Jewelry District, Spies offices and graduate housing units said. Downtown development would alongside present research facilities provide more space for the University can provide a valuable foundation for and allow it to better integrate with revitalizing the Jewelry District and the city and the state. overcoming opposition to the Univer“There’s always room for growth,” sity’s physical growth by those critical said Henry Sachs, chief medical officer of Brown’s tax exemption, said Arthur of Bradley Hospital, which collabo- Salisbury, president of Jewelry District rates with Brown on medical research. Association. University facilities could comGov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 plement the hospital’s work, he said. said disagreement over the Univer“They have some bench research tools sity’s tax-exempt status will not sigthat we don’t have on the clinical side nificantly affect its expansion into of things.” the Jewelry District. City leaders and The University is currently iden- school administrators signed an agreetifying and promoting partnerships ment in May 2012 detailing a plan for that could increase Brown’s presence the University to pay $31.5 million to in the area at minimal cost. Officials the city over 11 years in lieu of prophave been in talks with Richard Galvin erty taxes. ’79 at Commonwealth Venture PropThe economic relationship beerties about constructing a graduate tween the city and the University is student housing complex at a site cur- “a careful balance,” said Laurie White, rently occupied by a surface parking president of the Providence Chamber lot, Carey said. of Commerce, adding that she thinks The building, which would house Brown “will be able to see eye to eye” 250 to 300 postgraduate students, with the city as the neighborhood dewould have retail space and a 600- velops further. spot parking lot beneath the building, The Herald previously reported. ‘Waiting for development’ Brown is not making any financial Bahar characterized the Jewelry contributions to the development District as “a piece of land waiting for
SAM KASE / HERALD
The University built Ship Street Square, a public plaza adjacent to Alpert Medical School, with hopes of bringing cultural revitalization to the neighborhood alongside its academic and institutional investments. development.” “There is a ton of undeveloped opportunity in the Jewelry District,” including about 20 acres of land owned by the I-195 Commission, said Colin Kane, chairman of the commission. Given space limitations on College Hill, Chafee said the University is “making good decisions” to expand its presence downtown. The city welcomes such growth, he said. But the land is “not earmarked for the University,” and the commission is “not compelled to sell to the lowest common denominator,” Kane said. Given the Med School’s relocation and the potential growth of activity around Dynamo House, Carey said the neighborhood is cultivating a campus
community feel, with Richmond Street serving as a “spine of development.” But in developing the neighborhood, administrators must balance the planning of commercial, academic and residential spaces, Bahar said. As the population reaches a “critical mass,” the area will attract entities such as retail businesses and artistic ventures, she added. The new developments are taking root in a “very strategic location in the heart of the city, which is very promising to the future,” said J. Vernon Wyman, assistant vice president for business services at URI. Stakeholders in the Jewelry District’s expansion will be focused on how their partnership projects and
investments unfold in coming years. “What we’re looking for is to see that area develop … to provide a variety of economic and other benefits to the citizenry,” Gearhart said. As Brown expands its presence in the city, the shape and character of its academic programs may change as well — particularly the University’s graduate programs. The final story in this series will examine how Brown’s academic emphases could change under Paxson’s strategic plan, paying key attention to tensions between graduate and undergraduate programs, prioritization of the liberal arts and professional studies and the conception of Brown’s identity as a “university-college.”
8 university news
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
U. to establish behavioral and social health PhD program The program will depend on current public health faculty members and will include up to 16 students By SARAH PERELMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Corporation approved a new doctoral program in the Behavioral and Social Health Sciences during its meeting at the end of last month. The program will welcome its first class of up to four doctoral students next fall, said Professor and Chair of Behavior and Social Sciences Christopher Kahler, with about four additional students entering the program each year. The program will reach its full size — 16 students — after four years, he added. The program has an “applied focus,” and students will conduct research at centers including the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies and the Institute for Community Health Promotion, Kahler said. Research is such a critical component of students’ studies that it will seem they “have a department home and a center home,” he added.
Doctoral students will be eligible to receive their degrees after about four years, he said. The first two years will be relatively “class-heavy” and allow students to explore advanced work in topics ranging from biostatistics and epidemiology to intervention and research techniques. The next two years will be primarily devoted to research, he added. The department has been expanding course offerings over the last several years, so most required courses will be drawn from current offerings, wrote BSHS Graduate Program Director Kate Carey in an email to The Herald. “There is one new course on the PhD curriculum that has not yet been offered: an advanced proseminar on behavioral and social sciences interventions that will be added to the curriculum when we have a cohort of second and third year students,” Carey wrote. “We have not had a doctoral program that is focused on persons who want to have careers in … behavioral and social health interventions,” said Terrie Wetle, dean of the School of Public Health. “We’ve always seen this hole in the fabric where we wanted to fill.” “This is a way to build on that set of
coursework and educational activities that we have in the master’s program and take it all the way up to the doctoral level,” Kahler said. The School of Public Health’s masters program was approved in May 2011, The Herald previously reported, and the school entered its third year of operation this fall, Wetle said. Carey, a professor of behavioral and social sciences, has past experience in curricular development and research about prevention and risk reduction techniques to address alcohol and substance abuse in college-aged students, Wetle said. Existing faculty members will run the program, and it is unlikely additional faculty members will be hired in the next several years, Kahler said. Most accepted students will have completed a master’s in public health degree, though a master’s is not a formal prerequisite, Kahler said. Completion of a master’s will give students a leg up since they will have already completed research and advanced coursework in public health, he added. Faculty members in the School of Public Health have been planning the program for more than six years and
included provisions for it in a previous five-year strategic plan for the school, Wetle said. Many of the University’s faculty members have a strong passion for researching interventions that could diminish the effects of alcohol and addiction on public health, so the focus of the program matches a strength of the department, she added. When initially crafting the program proposal, faculty members examined the doctoral programs that the top 15 schools of public health in the country already offer to determine the demand for this sort of program, Kahler said. They discovered that only around five schools — including Johns Hopkins and the University of Pittsburgh — offer analogous programs. Once the proposal was formed, faculty members presented it to the Graduate Student Council for suggestions and, ultimately, approval. The bulk of the proposal remained the same, though the name was changed from “Program in Behavioral and Social Sciences” to “Program in Behavioral and Social Health Sciences” to provide more clarity about the focus of the program, Wetle said. The proposal passed the Faculty
Executive Committee and the Academic Priorities Committee with few changes, except to clarify the proposal, before going before the Corporation for a vote, Kahler said. The program’s approval has garnered “enthusiasm,” and some potential applicants have already called the department, Wetle said. The creation of the school of public health has helped generate excitement about the program, Wetle said. “The more national visibility we have (through the school), quite frankly, the better the applicant pool” of both prospective students and faculty members, Wetle said. Faculty members said the program will provide good opportunities for undergraduates. “We anticipate that the presence of doctoral students will create even more opportunities for undergraduates in public health and other concentrations to gain research experience and mentoring,” Carey wrote. “In the School of Public Health, PhD students do TA courses, so the pool of potential TAs will grow.” Applications for next fall’s class can be submitted online through the graduate school from now until Jan. 5, Wetle said.
Dining Services to press for improved pay and benefits in negotiations Under new union representation, Brown Dining Services workers will seek increased staffing By MADELEINE MATSUI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Brown Dining Services workers may begin negotiating a new labor contract with the University this week after more than two months of delays, said Karen McAninch, business agent for the United Service and Allied Workers of Rhode Island. BDS employees’ most recent contract expired October 2012, and administrators and workers have continued to abide by the expired contract’s terms over the past year, wrote Ann Hoffman,
director of administration for Dining Services, in an email to The Herald. BDS employees’ switch to new union representation has delayed negotiations over a new contract, administrators and union representatives said. Dining Services workers voted last year to switch union representation from the Service Employees International Union Local 615 to the USAW because they believed USAW, a smaller, locally based union, would better advocate for their priorities, McAninch said. The switch to the new union caused a holdup in the commencement of new
contract negotiations because of a series of elections to select BDS workers’ representatives in the USAW, McAninch said. The recent federal government shutdown further delayed contract negotiations by slowing down the certification process by which USAW received approval from federal regulators to represent Dining Services workers, McAninch said. Union leaders also chose to postpone negotiating with the University out of respect for Manuel Gomes, a Dining Services employee who died last month, McAninch added. “The game plan is to get going as soon as possible,” McAninch said,
adding that she hopes negotiations will begin this week. “Most contract negotiations are usually completed within a month, but this might take longer because we are a new union, and the list of issues people have brought to my attention is relatively long.” Staff members will seek to advocate for higher wages and having more employees assigned to certain shifts to ease understaffing issues, union leaders and student activists said. The Student Labor Alliance started an online petition last month advocating for Dining Services workers’ labor concerns to be addressed, wrote Beilul Naizghi ’16, a SLA member, in an email to The Herald.
The petition calls for “a fair contract with a living wage, good health benefits and an end to understaffing” and has received about 750 signatures, said Chance Dunbar ’17, a SLA member. Dining Services workers “are trying to mobilize more support and are ready to be more vocal about these issues,” Dunbar said. SLA members will complement the petition by creating a collection of photos and written stories about Dining Services workers, Dunbar said. Activists also plan on submitting their petition to University administrators to demonstrate “solidarity” with staff members during the negotiations, he added. Union organizers and student activists highlighted wages as a top priority for the negotiations. Dining Services staff members who have worked fewer than 15 years are currently paid $12.52 per hour, and those who have worked more than 15 years are paid $17.61 per hour, McAninch said, adding that all workers last received wage increases in October 2011. Though union negotiators will advocate for a higher wage, they have not yet set a specific target for a wage increase at this point, she said. Union negotiators will also try to persuade the University to address employees’ concerns about the number of days worked yearly, McAninch said. Most Dining Services workers currently do not work full-time year-round due to winter and summer breaks, she added. “We hope to increase the number of folks working 52 weeks a year” by persuading the University to hire more employees to assist with summer activities that require Dining Services assistance, McAninch said. Events that occur when students are not on campus often are understaffed, she said. Union negotiators will also seek to increase health and pension benefits for BDS workers, McAninch said. Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration, declined to comment on the negotiations while they are underway.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
BDS’ use of rennet, cage-free eggs draws mixed reactions A new list of subingredients posted online includes the controversial product rennet By RILEY DAVIS STAFF WRITER
Though Brown Dining Services has implemented several changes this semester in favor of more animal-friendly practices and better accomodations for students with dietary concerns, questions persist over some posted ingredients — such as the food byproduct rennet — that some students said the University should more clearly publish and classify. This semester marks the first time BDS has posted sub-ingredients for dishes served at the Sharpe Refectory and Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, a change administrators said is meant to help students with allergy issues and other dietary concerns. BDS has also transitioned to purchasing only “100 percent cage-free” eggs in response to student efforts to convince the University to adopt more animalfriendly policies regarding food in dining halls, wrote Gina Guiducci, administrative dietician for BDS, in an email to The Herald. The move to use only cage-free egg products came as a result of the University’s 2009 commitment to the Real Food Challenge, a campaign for colleges and universities to transition their food budgets to purchase more sustainable and animal-friendly products, Guiducci wrote. “Cage-free eggs have been a focus of those efforts from the beginning,” she added. Brown Vegetarian Society members expressed enthusiasm for the University’s shift to cage-free suppliers, adding that they have been pushing for this change for nearly five years. “I’m happy we made the transition,” said Stephanie Haro ’16, a Brown Vegetarian Society co-leader. “It’s better than what we were buying before.” But Haro said determining whether the suppliers the BDS uses are genuinely cage-free remains difficult because many suppliers do not post the details of their animal policies on their websites. Listing sub-ingredients online has “been a priority for the department for some time, but software upgrades that recently became available made it possible,”
Guiducci wrote. Posting sub-ingredients in meals at the Ratty and V-Dub online required BDS to assign a staffer to collect nutritional data from food producers, distributors and other parties involved in BDS food preparation, Guiducci wrote. But posting the sub-ingredients online has led to concerns from some students about BDS’ use of rennet — a cheese byproduct that occasionally is derived from animal stomach enzymes — in some dishes labeled as vegetarian. Though most rennet comes from non-animal alternatives, BDS does not verify whether the rennet used in its dishes comes from animal or non-animal sources, Guiducci wrote. No more than 11 percent of cheese products in the United States contain animal-derived rennet, Guiducci wrote, citing a study by the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research. “The FDA does not require food producers and manufacturers to provide this information on food labels, so we do not have the information available,” Guiducci wrote. Some students voiced surprise and concern over the fact that BDS does not check whether rennet used in its dishes comes from animal or non-animal sources. “I would expect better from them,” said Jana Foxe ’16. “They should be conscious of the fact that there are vegetarians out there who don’t want to consume any kind of animal products at all.” Others said they were unaware of the presence of rennet but were not surprised the eateries do not check the source of the substance in dining hall dishes. “I’m vegan, but I’m not surprised this kind of thing came from Dining Services,” said Adam Horowitz ’16, a Brown Vegetarian Society co-leader. “There’s a lot of vegan dishes that they serve that have honey, which doesn’t make them strictly vegan.” Horowitz said he went off meal plan after his first year at the University because he found the labeling of vegetarian and vegan dishes in on-campus eateries to be unreliable. Other students with dietary restrictions said they have never encountered a problem with BDS. Abid Haseeb ’16, who subscribes to the Kosher/Halal meal plan, said he has never encountered any problem with the preparation of his food. “I’m pretty satisfied with the fact that (the Kosher/Halal meal plan) even exists,” Haseeb said.
SHIRLEY LEUNG / HERALD
BDS does not verify whether the rennet used in its dishes comes from animal or non-animal sources. The FDA does not require food producers and manufacturers to provide this information on their food labels.
comic Eric & Eliot | Willa Tracy
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
Have a merry, racist holiday SUZANNE ENZERINK opinions columnist
I’ve always fancied a certain similarity between my new home of Rhode Island and my old home, the Netherlands. The founding stories of both certainly emphasize a tolerance that was far ahead of their times: Just as the Netherlands offered refuge to the persecuted pilgrims and Huguenots who would later travel to the Americas, Rhode Island remains inextricably linked to Roger Williams and the “distressed of conscience” who questioned both the validity of colonial charters vis-a-vis native peoples and the intolerant state churches of other colonies. How ironic, then, that it is this little state and my little country that continue to celebrate archaic holidays that are, at the very least, racially and culturally insensitive. The Netherlands is extremely protective of its Sinterklaas day, a popular children’s holiday and a variation on Santa Claus. This national celebration makes a public spectacle out of minstrelsy, as Sinterklaas’ helpers are not elves but Black Petes — usually white Dutchmen in blackface with golden earrings, Afro wigs, red lips and broken Dutch accents. Since 1975, Rhode Island has been the only state in the United States still to celebrate Victory Day each August to commemorate the U.S. victory in the Pacific theater of World War II. Often referred to as V-J day, it is an official holiday for state employees. Traditions are important to preserve, but when they become conflated with racism, xenophobia or ethnic hatred, they should be unequivocally and immediately abolished. The Black Pete debate is nothing new, but it grew to unprecedented heights last month when an adviser to the United Nations, University of the West Indies Professor Verene Shepherd, called for an investigation of the custom. Over 2 million Dutch men and women signed a Facebook petition protesting Shepherd’s initiative. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Sinterklaas is not a matter for
the government, and that “Black Pete ago to make Sinterklaas more inclu- natory, as it suggests that the lives of and in many other countries. happens to be black, there is noth- sive, failed to charm the masses, and the Japanese civilians were somehow Black Petes have to go. Victory ing I can do about it.” This fallacy all municipalities voted to return to worth less than those of others. Re- Day has to go. But this doesn’t mean casts the holiday as a local, private exclusively black Petes within a few marks like those of the veteran indi- that Sinterklaas as a celebration of decision, rather than the national years. cate that Victory Day, too, is inextri- Dutch identity cannot persist. The and publicly funded holiday it truly The case of Victory Day is no less cably linked to notions of national United States has numerous federal is. The main argument for keeping interesting but has been discussed at superiority. and state holidays to commemorate Black Petes is that they are a tradi- length by Rhode Island Public Radio The idea that holidays are some- the sacrifices made for freedom by its tion, distinctive of Dutch culture, over the years. how not governed by rules of com- servicemen and women. These kinds and that they have nothing to do “I don’t think (the Japanese) have mon sense or inclusivity because of holidays form an important part with racism. According to those es- any right to tell us they don’t like they are supposed to be “fun” is ex- of each country’s national fabric. If pousing this line of V-J day because we actly the reason why there are peo- we strip away the offensive elements, argument, Black won the war,” they ple who think it’s cool to wear Tray- these celebrations can truly come to “There are thin Petes are black bequoted a veteran von Martin/George Zimmerman represent the entire population. lines between cause they fell as saying. The dif- duo outfits for Halloween. There are through chimneys ficulty here lies in thin lines between tradition and blatradition and full of coal while name especially. tant racism and insensitivity. Many Suzanne Enzerink GS can be blatant racism and the delivering presents. There were thou- practices that seem innocent or part contacted at suzanne_enzeriinsensitivity. ” Obviously, this does sands of civilian of a national heritage continue to nk@brown.edu, and will hapvery little to explain casualties in Hiro- reinforce disparities between varipily send links to photos of the the lips, the Afro and other racialized shima and Nagasaki. To coin this a ous social groups. This is the case in Dutch protests to anyone who characteristics. “victory” is insensitive and discrimi- the United States, in the Netherlands cares to see them. But hundreds of the Dutch have seized the debate as a vehicle to air their profoundly racist sentiments. When a popular Dutch singer, Anouk, voiced her support for eradicating the Black Petes from the holiday, she received death threats and was told she “and her own Black Petes” — Anouk has a black partner and several mixed-race children — should go back to their “country of origin.” Each of these comments received several thousand likes on a popular social media network. In the Hague, dozens of protesters, many of them in blackface, surrounded a dark-skinned Papua woman who was there to call attention to the United Nations’ neglect of atrocities committed in West Papua by Indonesian colonizers. Without even asking why she was there, they pushed her around and yelled racial slurs at her. They assumed that because of the color of her skin, she was A A N C HA L S A R A F there to antagonize them. While the vast majority of Dutch people condemns such racism and prides itself on equality, it is clear that the Black Q U O T E O F T H E D AY Pete’s existence enables the persistence of racial stereotypes that feed the opinions of this intolerant mi“They come here for four years, they learn and they leave. It’s sad.” nority. In addition, the insistence on keeping Petes black points to more — Rebecca Mears ’15 a widely-shared racial — if not racist — assumption. “Rainbow Petes,” See debate, page 5. which were introduced a few years
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commentary 11
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
Free inquiry, not conformity, is our mission SCOTT LLOYD guest columnist
Prior to the Ray Kelly incident, Zach Ingber ’15 expressed his concern that the Brown community does not adequately take “conservative” ideas seriously. He claimed that the campus makes it difficult for conservatives to express opinions without immediately being cut down by liberal dogmatists, and felt that this attitude belies the Brown mission statement to “preserve knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry.” (“Free speech at Brown?” Oct. 21). In response, Matt Breuer ’14 chided him for being “naive.” He agreed with Ingber that conservatives don’t have much of a voice here, but said condescendingly — and a little too honestly — “It’s too bad that conservatives at Brown feel lonely or underappreciated, but that is the nature of attending an overwhelmingly liberal university.” In short, conservatives don’t belong here (“Clearing the air: Free inquiry at Brown is alive and well,” Oct. 24). Breuer has confirmed Ingber’s point. The “liberalism” that pervades the University is not the free inquiry Brown’s mission compels it to preserve. It is actually a spirit of conformity that rejects anyone whose line
of thought breaks from the short list of acceptable speech. How is it possible to discuss important public policy issues while silencing key but unpopular viewpoints? A Brown student should be able to give shape to and voice ideas, so long as they align with his understanding of what is ethical, moral and true. Unfortunately, many academics see dissenters as evil and anti-progressive. For example, Daniel Carrigg GS misleads his readers stating that a “fundamental tenet of economic conservatism” is one that advocates “tax cuts for the wealthy and retirement benefit cuts for the middle class” as a spur to economic growth (“A deepening divide in the Democratic party,” Oct. 24). This is a straw-man fallacy. No fiscal conservative would ever advocate such a policy. Economist and Reagan adviser Milton Friedman favored broad-based tax cuts as the best cure for economic stagnation because, as he argued in a 2000 interview, “it enables the ultimate consumer — the ultimate individual, you and me — to decide how the money should be used.” A 10 percent tax cut across all levels would benefit everyone equally. Wealthier taxpayers would receive larger rebates than others because, under a progressive tax system, they pay more in taxes. Only by a calculated distortion could this be construed as a “tax cut
for the wealthy.” By falsely demonizing Rhode IsSimilarly, a fiscal conservative land conservatives and their mowould not advocate for “retirement tives — and irrationally champibenefit cuts for the middle class.” oning liberals as economic saviors Rather, a true fiscal conservative de- — Carrigg has sidestepped any real mands accountability and that pub- debate on the choices available to lic debts, including those considering pension funds, be the problem of pen“The spirit of funded first before sion reform. Thus, ‘liberalism’ that other projects. any proposal for reRhode Island’s form based on tax pervades the state legislature, cuts as a way to fix University is not dominated by the pension probthe spirit of free Democrats since lem is casually cast 1935, has inadeaside without beinquiry that is quately funded the ing considered. We Brown’s mission state pension fund. are left with a false In 2011, Gina Raidichotomy and a to preserve. It is mondo, the state’s of false choices actually a spirit of set general treasuramounting to worse conformity that er and a possible and way worse. Democratic canIn this liberalrejects anyone didate for goverly biased environwhose line of nor, held a series of ment, the young town hall meetings conservative intelthought breaks making this very lectual is constantfrom the short same point. She ly lectured, poohlist of acceptable noted that the state poohed, ignored retirement board or denounced by speech.” had deliberately the voices of “liboverestimated the rate of return on eralism.” No one will engage him in pension investments, and that the proper debate because, without any state had repeatedly balanced the rational analysis, his ideas are autobooks by refusing to make any con- matically dubbed extremist, idiotic, tribution to the pension fund at all. cold-hearted, sexist, homophobic If a private investment firm did what and racist. With such epithets hurled the state did, somebody would be led at a student daily, one’s sense of freeaway in handcuffs. dom to pursue rational inquiry is
greatly diminished. So, what is a conservative Brown student supposed to do? Give up his sense of morality? Abandon his principles? Accept bad ideas as good? Give in to get ahead? Exactly the opposite. Guided by their values and desire for truth, conservative students should be more assertive in defining and shaping their ideas. Nonconformist ideas and beliefs should not be merely tolerated, made politically taboo or mockingly toyed with. Students should think deeper, reject indoctrination and question their presumptions and premises. The Ray Kelly incident served as a case in point that minority opinions here are simply not respected. The majoritarians at Brown need to respect minority opinions and promote the spirit of free inquiry. As the father of liberalism, John Stuart Mill, put it, “If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”
Scott Lloyd is a Brown staff member and believes Rhode Island should have zero sales taxes.
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daily herald science & research THE BROWN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
SCIENCE & RESEARCH ROUNDUP
BY KATE NUSSENBAUM, SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR
Nanoparticle research may spur development of alternative fuels
CORRINE SZCZESNY / HERALD
Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy Anna Aizer studied welfare primarily from between 1911 and 1930, when the U.S. government sponsored its first welfare program directed at single-mother families.
Lecture outlines long-term welfare effects Compared to rejected applicants, recipients show benefit throughout their lives By VI MAI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Children who receive welfare may have better educational, economic and health outcomes later in life, said Anna Aizer, associate professor of economics and public policy, at a lecture at the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions Tuesday afternoon. Aizer began the presentation, attended by about 60 students and faculty members, by talking about the various short-term effects welfare can have on families with financial difficulties, such as improving children’s
educational attainment. She then presented her research methodology, which included analysis of various governmental data sets. Aizer focused her research around data from the Mothers’ Pensions program between 1911 and 1930. The program was “the first U.S. government-sponsored welfare program for single mother families with dependent children,” Aizer said. Aizer compared two groups of children whose mothers had applied for the cash transfers — those who were accepted and those who were rejected because the government determined they had “enough,” money, Aizer said. She added that she found evidence of racism within the pension program and chose to focus her research efforts on Ohio, as data from there were less affected.
Her research found that “acceptance into the program increases the probability of the children’s survival to age 70 by 10 to 20 percent and age 80 by 9 to 15 percent,” Aizer said. She added that the children whose families were accepted to the program received more years of education and consequently earned higher incomes later in life. Children whose families were rejected usually ended up in orphanages and tended to die younger. Based on these findings, Aizer concluded that welfare has significant long-term impacts on health and human capital. One of the attendees, Angelica Meinhofer Santiago GS, a PhD candidate in economics, said she enjoyed the talk. “It is the first project to look at the long-term effect of cash transfers, which makes it innovative,” she said.
Software teaches children to manage allergies The computer game presents children with realistic scenarios related to their peanut allergy By STEVEN MICHAEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A computer game developed to help children learn to control their peanut allergies is being tested in a pilot trial led by Elizabeth McQuaid, research associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Alpert Medical School and a staff psychologist at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. The project is a collaboration between McQuaid’s research group at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and Virtually Better Inc., a company that creates health care software. The game guides children through three scenarios that children with allergies often experience in school cafeterias, McQuaid said. One of the scenarios involves the child being bullied because of a food allergy, a situation that has been reported by students, she said. After completing the scenarios, children gain access to other games such as reading food labels to see if they contain peanuts and playing a matching game with pictures of
children experiencing a specific symptom of an allergic reaction, she said. Children also earn points in the game, which can be used to buy items for a virtual aquarium, McQuaid said. As part of the pilot trial, McQuaid and her team will visit 32 families with children ages 8 to 12 in order to solicit feedback on the computer game, McQuaid said. The number of children with allergies has increased over the past decade, with 6 to 8 percent of the population now affected, McQuaid said. She added that the game focuses on peanut allergies specifically because they are common and because children are unlikely to outgrow them. While resources are available for parents of children with allergies, there fewer resources are specifically for children, and those resources tend to be passive materials like pamphlets, said Josh Spitalnick, vice president of research and director of clinical services at Virtually Better. “Software is known to have success in achieving behavior modification in general, and the area of food allergy should be no different,” wrote Russell Settipane ’80, an allergist and clinical associate professor of medicine at Alpert Medical School not involved in the game’s creation, in an email to The Herald.
The interactive computer game is “not just providing education, which it does — it’s providing the chance to practice real life skills in a safe way on your computer,” Spitalnick said. McQuaid said with about half of the trial complete, reaction from parents and children has been positive. “Parents feel that it fits a need,” McQuaid said. “We hope it sparks a conversation between parents and children.” McQuaid emphasized that the software should not be seen as an alternative to seeking medical treatment, but rather should be used to supplement food allergy management. “As much as I can accomplish in advising a child to avoid certain foods, there is always room for improvement,” Settipane wrote. Spitalnick said the researchers’ next steps include expanding the scenarios in the game to encompass situations such as birthday parties, sleepovers and restaurant dining and to develop games for other allergens. Researchers will then test the effectiveness of the software in a randomized clinical trial — the same type of study used to test medications, Spitalnick said. If the clinical trial goes well, Virtually Better may sell the computer game directly to families and school districts.
University researchers have found that gold nanoparticles can help convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, according to a University press release. The research was led by Professor of Chemistry Shouheng Sun and Wenlei Zhu GS, a PhD candidate in the chemistry department and was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society Oct. 24. Carbon monoxide is more useful than carbon dioxide in that it can play a part in the development of alternative fuels, according to the release. Previous research found that gold could play a role in converting carbon dioxide, but University researchers discovered that by reducing the size of the gold into tiny particles of eight nanometers, they could most efficiently catalyze carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide. “Because we’re using nanoparticles, we’re using a lot less gold than in a bulk metal catalyst,” Sun said in the release. “That lowers the cost for making such a catalyst and gives the potential to scale up.”
Fifth graders come to campus for volcano demonstration Students from Vartan Gregorian Elementary School descended on campus on Halloween to learn about geology. The fifth graders spent the morning hearing from students and professors in Brown’s geological sciences department. “They loved it,” said Shannon Barata, a teacher at the elementary school, in a University press release. “Lessons like this really fill the gaps in our science curriculum.” The day ended with a demonstration of a volcanic explosion, led by Associate Professor of Geological Sciences Alberto Saal and Bill Collins, a technician in the geological sciences department, according to the release. Saal and Collins filled a trash can with water before dropping a bottle filled with liquid nitrogen into it, causing water to erupt in a volcano-like explosion. “Our goal is to inspire and educate the next generation of scientists and engineers,” said Karen Haberstroh, assistant professor in the School of Engineering, in the press release.
Solar Decathlon team designs ‘Techstyle Haus’ A team of students from Brown, the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt in Germany have designed an eco-friendly dwelling they have dubbed “Techstyle Haus” as part of the international Solar Decathlon competition. The team was selected to compete last December after submitting a proposal, The Herald previously reported. Since then, team members have been using their €100,000 seed money to create a livable, energy-efficient building they can display in France in July, according to a University press release. In order to create a house light enough to ship to France, the team decided to craft it out of synthetic fabric. More than 50 Brown and RISD students are involved in creating the house’s design and materials, according to the release. “We want our exhibition site to teach people about all the different parts of the house and what their functions are,” said Eliza Brine ’15, a team member, in the release. “This is about educating people and moving the building industry in a direction we want it to be going.”