Issuu

Daily

Herald

THE BROWN

vol. cxlviii, no. 111

since 1891

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

UCS elects undergrads for committee on Kelly protest Terra Laughton ’14 and Dakotah Rice ’16 were elected to serve on the seven-member committee By MAXINE JOSELOW SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Undergraduate Council of Students elected two undergraduate representatives to serve on the Committee on the Events of October 29th — a body tasked with evaluating protesters’ disruption of a lecture by New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly — at the Council’s general body meeting Wednesday night. Terra Laughton ’14 and Dakotah Rice ’16 prevailed out of 13 contenders to win seats on the committee. Amara Berry ’16 will serve as an alternate.

About 60 Council members and other students assembled in Petteruti Lounge to debate the merits of candidates, though only Council members could vote in the selection process. The committee will comprise two undergraduates, one graduate student and five faculty members, President Christina Paxson wrote in a community-wide email last week. In its first phase, the committee will determine whether the student protesters who shut down Kelly’s lecture breached the Code of Student Conduct and should undergo disciplinary action, Paxson wrote. In its second stage, the committee will seek to “address the broader issues of campus climate, free expression and dialogue across difference,” she wrote. » See UCS, page 2

The U. remains behind most peers in providing tuition assistance for employees’ children By KIKI BARNES SENIOR STAFF WRITER DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

Thirteen students vied for spots on the Committee on the Events of October 29th at the UCS meeting Wednesday night.

Mankiw discusses fiscal problems

Brown-Secure coverage to be improved

The former Bush adviser and author of ‘Principles of Economics’ spoke on current economic policy

In response to frustrations with the Brown-Secure wireless network, University Computing and Information Services will start work this week on expanding and improving wireless access across campus. “CIS has heard your feedback about wireless issues, including the coverage problems in residence halls, which started this summer when we upgraded the wireless network,” wrote Ravi Pendse, vice president for computing and

STAFF WRITER

inside

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so,” said N. Gregory Mankiw P’17, professor of economics and department chair at Harvard, quoting Mark Twain in a lecture to a full Salomon 001 Wednesday. His talk focused on problematic economic assumptions made by politicians in debates over the nation’s fiscal problems. Mankiw’s lecture, entitled “The LongTerm Fiscal Problem,” was hosted by Brown University Women in Business. Mankiw has written multiple economics textbooks used for courses at Brown, including the textbook used for ECON 0110: “Principles of Economics,” and he served on President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers. In his talk, Mankiw — who also advised former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign — argued against the idea that the United States “can substantially reduce health care costs in this economy without significantly reducing the quality of care.” The percentage of gross domestic product spent on health care has increased substantially to 17 percent and » See MANKIW, page 2

By TYLER DAELEMANS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

information services and the University’s chief information officer, in an email Monday to students living on campus. “(In) the upcoming weeks, the CIS network team will be visiting classrooms and residence halls to look for inadequate coverage and make adjustments if possible.” Pendse, who came to the University in September, said that in addition to comments he received from students, his own troubles with wireless access convinced him a problem exists. “After I came (to Brown), in my own personal use, and as I started talking to lots of students … it became pretty obvious and apparent that we have some serious wireless concerns and issues,” Pendse said. Pendse said the University

places too high a premium on wired connections through Ethernet cords and has neglected to accommodate the rise of more Internet-connected devices, such as smartphones and gaming consoles. “Over the years, wireless has become the primary network that people use. All of us are always on, always connected. We (only) use wired when we have to,” Pendse said. “We need to be sure we are providing not just adequate coverage but adequate capacity.” Though Monday’s statement only lists six non-residential buildings receiving improvements, Pendse said the list was not exhaustive, adding that testing has begun on the third floor of Emery Hall and that the network team will » See WIRELESS, page 2

In response to an ad hoc committee report, the University will increase tuition assistance for the children of employees by an amount proportional to percentage increases in University tuition starting July 1, said Provost Mark Schlissel P’15. But some faculty members believe the change is insufficient. “We’re pleased they’re indexing, but they do not go far enough,” said Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies Harold Roth P’17, who chaired the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. Schlissel announced the tuition assistance change along with decisions about retirement benefits and incentives at a faculty meeting last week. In 2002 under then-President Ruth Simmons, the Tuition Assistance Program was expanded to include all employees who have served four continuous years at Brown. The amount was set at $10,000 per child per year, equal to 36 percent of University tuition at the time, according to the committee’s report. » See BENEFITS, page 3

City bookstores persist in the face of electronic market Sellers say the intimacy of local bookstores will remain appealing despite alternatives like e-books By CAROLINE KELLY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When one thinks of bookstores today, it’s easy to draw parallels to record shops or VHS rental stores — quaint but thoroughly outdated relics of the past. But despite an industry upturned by digital technology, Providence’s independent bookstores have continued to thrive.

FEATURE

A tale as old as time Though many of Providence’s

bookstores have operated for decades, the fluctuating nature of the bookstore business usually keeps it from becoming boring, owners and employees said. “We get a lot of really cool people who come in here — I’d say that’s one of the coolest parts for me,” said Erin Waters, an employee at Symposium Books. “You get to talk to a lot of different personalities, people with different backgrounds.” “The highlights are meeting all the people who come in and getting to see all the books,” said Michael Chandley, owner of used bookstore Cellar Stories. But he also acknowledged the difficulty of staying competitive financially. “The challenges are all the » See BOOKSTORE, page 4

LAUREN GALVAN / HERALD

Competition with the Brown Bookstore did not contribute to the closure of Symposium Books’ Thayer location, said owner Scott McCullough.

post-

Taveras talks

Boldly brave

Mother london, movie musicals and mental health

Mayor Angel Taveras discussed Latinos’ roles in politics last night

Adrik McIlory ’11 shares his vision for the University moving forward

INSIDE

CITY & STATE, 5

COMMENTARY, 7

weather

By ABIGAIL SAVITCH-LEW

Computing and Information Services will bolster the network in areas of weak coverage

Finances constrain employee benefits

t o d ay

tomorrow

49 / 33

56 / 36

2 university news » WIRELESS, from page 1

calendar TODAY

NOVEMBER 14

7 P.M.

TOMORROW

NOVEMBER 15

8 P.M. Implementation of the ACA

Stand Up and IMPROVidence Show

Brown RISD Hillel 8 P.M.

MacMillan 117 11 P.M.

Brown Unheard Acoustic Showcase

The Best Dance Party Ever!

The Underground

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH Cheese Ravioli with Pink Vodka Sauce, Green Peas, Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, Fire Braised Pork Shoulder Sandwich

BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Swiss Broccoli Pasta, French Fries, Italian Green Beans, Rice Krispie Treats

DINNER Pasta Bean Bake, Texas BBQ Brisket, Turnip and Carrot Puree, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Carrot Cake

Pot Roast Jardiniere, Vegan Mediterranean Stew, Broiled Stuffed Tomatoes, Fried Rice Bowl with Ham

sudoku

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, November 14, 2013

Los Angeles Times Puzzle c r o sDaily s w oCrossword rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Moll’s leg 4 Word after fire or power 9 Like some wedding dresses 13 Biblical priest who trained Samuel 14 Zellweger et al. 16 Together, in music 17 Architect’s add-on 18 *Make it not hurt so much 20 Tre times due 21 Bark relative 22 IHOP array 23 *Marching order 26 Type of cranial nerve 28 Role for John Cho in “Star Trek” 29 Jets and others 31 __ nutshell 32 Mex. neighbor 34 Motor extension? 35 At any time 36 *Has unfinished business with the IRS 40 Spot on the tube 41 Good buddy 42 Play about Capote 43 Ran across 44 Film critic Jeffrey 46 Long haul 49 __ de Chine: light fabric 51 *Entice with 54 Eggheads 56 Govt. surveillance group 57 PTA meeting site 58 *Sagacious 60 __ out: barely make 61 Aleutian island 62 Faunae counterparts 63 Grassy area 64 Harness part 65 Yeats’ “The Wild __ at Coole” 66 Many AARP The Magazine readers: Abbr. DOWN 1 Silly sorts 2 Strike zones? 3 Social setting

4 Mr. Holland portrayer 5 Put on again 6 Hip joint 7 Author Harper 8 Conversation opener 9 Drink à la Fido 10 Capable of change 11 Cookbook categories 12 Nikkei Index currency 15 Lacking the required funds 19 Winged god 24 Turned around 25 Opponents of the ’60s-’70s New Left 27 Golf, for one 30 Simpsons creator Groening 33 “Eight Is Enough” wife 35 Bedroom community 36 Orthodontic concern 37 Ride the wake, say 38 Awakenings 39 Some auction transactions

40 “Movies for movie lovers” network 44 “Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?” speaker 45 Isabel Allende title 47 Stands for things 48 Any of the top 25 NFL career scoring leaders 50 Song of praise

52 Egyptian dam 53 MLB team, familiarly (and what’s missing from the sequence found in the answers to starred clues?) 55 Bad check letters 58 Card game for two, usually 59 “What are you waiting for?!”

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

xwordeditor@aol.com

11/14/13

slowly expand the network across campus. “Once (our) proof of concept works, we will do the same thing for all the other buildings,” Pendse said. “We are not going to stop until every residence hall is taken care of.” According to the statement, work to improve connections in Faunce House, the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall and Salomon 101 was scheduled to start Monday. Problems connecting to BrownSecure have long been a source of consternation around campus. The Undergraduate Council of Students’ Fall Poll included a question asking students about their opinions on wireless access on campus, and BlogDailyHerald has published a

» MANKIW, from page 1 will continue to rise to about 30 percent over the next 30 years, Mankiw said. He attributed the growth in health care costs to technological advances that have improved the quality of care, adding that a key future challenge will be figuring out how to ensure that such advances benefit Americans of all income levels. Mankiw countered the idea that the United States will be able to shoulder the costs of an expanding government while avoiding tax increases on the middle class. Policymakers will need to focus on “broadening the tax base” in order to pay for rising health care costs, he said. Mankiw faulted both Democrats and Republicans for failing to address budgetary imbalances, highlighting Republicans’ opposition to higher taxes and Democrats’ insistence on only raising taxes on the top 1 percent of income earners. Tax reform must include the elimination of certain deductions, such as the homeowner mortgage interest deduction, which disproportionately benefits high-income individuals because lowerincome Americans are more likely to rent, Mankiw said.

» UCS, from page 1 Sixteen students originally applied for the position, but only 13 showed up to give candidacy speeches at the meeting. Laughton, a political science concentrator and Social Classmates facilitator, said in her speech she would seek to be “impartial” and represent as many student views as possible to the administration. “I agree with Paxson that there are a lot of compelling perspectives to this issue,” Laughton said, adding that “one perspective that has been missing in these conversations is that of the family that sponsored this lecture, the Krieger family.” “I have already begun the job of a person on this committee by asking protest organizers (about) their methods,” said Rice, a member of the Undergraduate Finance Board and Black Student Union and a community fellow at the Swearer Center for Public Service. “I don’t think my being a black male has anything to do with my exploration on this committee,” Rice said in response to a community member’s question. “I will be guided by the facts, not my race.” Victoria Kidd ’16, a UCS general body member, praised Rice as “professional.” “I’m confident he’ll be able to address

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

series of stories encouraging readers to “Beat Brown-Secure” by sending in Help Desk tickets when BrownSecure fails. Ivan Alcantara ’16 said last year he had a particularly negative experience with the University’s WiFi. He said it was difficult to connect and stay on the network “especially in (his) dorm,” adding that his “room had the worst WiFi in (Champlin Hall).” Alcantara said he was “not very optimistic” about the potential changes outlined in Monday’s statement. “That’s what they said last year, so I’m not sure if that will be an improvement,” he said. Shivang Desai ’14 said he had relatively few issues with BrownSecure, especially after the CIS Help Desk configured his laptop to better

connect to the network. But he added that he still experienced troubles, particularly in some classrooms. “It seems like when it’s not working, it’s not working for anyone in the room,” Desai said, adding that a potential change to the wireless networks as they exist would be “helpful.” Pendse said he hopes to stay in close contact with the community as his team makes adjustments to the network. He said he wants any students who have issues with the wireless network to reach out and contact him. “This is very important. We need to make sure our students have the right technology and tools in (their) hands,” Pendse said. “I’m available to talk with any student who wants to talk with me.”

Raising the gas tax could be beneficial, Mankiw said, as it would increase efficiency and reduce negative economic externalities, such as pollution. Mankiw called an increase of gas taxes “smart” but “politically unpopular,” recalling Bush’s rejection of his recommendation to raise the gas tax while he served in the White House. Mankiw also voiced support for the United States’ imposition of a carbon tax to stem global warming, but added that climate change will require global coordination. “We have to get China on board,” Mankiw said. Mankiw’s lecture was followed by a question-and-answer session, in which he fielded questions on international health care cost differences, federal defense spending and long-term debt. One student asked why U.S. health care costs are much higher than those of Singapore, another developed nation. Mankiw partially attributed the United States’ higher costs to the fact that the federal government does not use price controls on pharmaceuticals. Price controls on drugs disincentivize research and development by the pharmaceutical industry, Mankiw said,

adding that other countries with price controls are “free riding” off of medical advancements from U.S. pharmaceutical research. Tsvetomira Dumbalska ’16 said she attended the lecture because Mankiw’s textbooks caused her to pursue economics courses and because she was interested in hearing his perspective, which she said was more conservative than the views of some faculty members in the University’s economics department. Mike Simmons ’14 said he enjoyed the talk but thought it was “hard to get an in-depth look” at each economic issue Mankiw addressed. He added that he wished Mankiw had discussed whether increasing the number of insured patients would help the nation reduce emergency hospital care costs. Minji Cha ’14, president of Brown University Women in Business, said she was interested in the way Mankiw noted the difference between his own ideas and the policies of politicians for whom he had worked. Though Mankiw served as an adviser to political figures, in his talk he showed that “he doesn’t necessarily have to agree with everything” that politicians implement, Cha said.

these issues in a professional manner,” she said. In the almost two-hour discussion preceding the vote, several Council members stressed the importance of diversity between the two representatives. “I would love to see a diversity of strong perspectives represented on the committee,” said Samuel Gilman ’15, UCS vice president. “There’s a lot more to diversity than just opinion and race,” said Maahika Srinivasan ’15, chair of the UCS Academics and Administrative Affairs Committee. “We should also think about gender and class year.” Irene Rojas-Carroll ’15, who was involved in organizing the protest, said she hopes the representatives “uplift opinions that haven’t necessarily been heard or valued by the administration.” The graduate student and faculty members of the committee will likely be selected this week, The Herald reported last week. Dean of the Graduate School Peter Weber and Graduate Student Council President Keila Davis GS will each nominate two graduate student candidates, and Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 will approve one graduate student to serve on the committee. The Faculty Executive Committee will identify five faculty members for

the committee. The Council also voted to increase the student activities fee from $250 to $262 at its meeting. The augmented fee will help UFB and the recently created Service Group Funding Board more fully meet student groups’ financial needs, said Alex Drechsler ’15, UCS student activities chair and former Herald opinions columnist. This marks the first year the fee will go toward the Service Group Funding Board, which was formed last spring and began its duties this semester. The Council also continued the process of categorizing student groups. Five groups gained Category 1 status, including Women of Color Collective and Vagabond Magazine, and five groups were granted Category 2, including the Intercollegiate Finance Journal and Common Sense Action. Amira Dance Company became Category 3, and four groups became Category S, including Food Recovery Network at Brown and Brown Brain Bee. After about 10 minutes of debate, the Council voted 17 to 14 not to approve TOMS Campus Club as a Category S group, given its affiliation with a national, for-profit organization. “I’m uncomfortable with a marketing campaign being categorized as a service group,” Gilman said.

university news 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

» BENEFITS, from page 1 But steady increases in University tuition and inflation rates over the last decade have eroded the tuition assistance value, which has remained constant at $10,000. The amount now covers only 24 percent of University tuition, leaving Brown near the bottom of the committee’s analysis of 19 peer institutions. Dartmouth and Harvard — the only peer institutions offering lower tuition aid than Brown — make up for their lack of assistance in other ways, Roth said. Both offer eligible faculty members no-interest loans and increased salaries, meaning Brown ranks last among institutions that provide tuition assistance. “We’ve been pretty ignorant as to what our status is,” Roth said. Raising benefits? The committee recommended the administration increase tuition assistance to 36 percent of University tuition, a value “minimally competitive” with Brown’s peers, according to the report. With just over 400 children of employees eligible for assistance, the increase would cost the University roughly $2 million. In a letter to the ad hoc committee members, Schlissel wrote that to fund the increase in tuition assistance, the University would have to “reduce expenditures elsewhere or find new sources of revenue,” such as decreasing faculty salaries by 2 percent or increasing the cost of tuition by 1.3 percent. Of the University’s three main revenue sources — undergraduate tuition, funds from the federal government and the University’s endowment — tuition is the most flexible, said Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration. But with the University already operating under a budget deficit, significant increases to employee benefits would be difficult to implement, she said. The University is projected to spend roughly $96 million on employee

benefits in fiscal year 2014, a record high, Schlissel said at the faculty meeting last week. That increase would be in line with steady growth over the last decade, documented in University financial statements. Roth suggested the creation of a voluntary fund for employee benefits to which alums could donate as an example of a way the University could raise funds for tuition assistance. “I would like to see a more creative rethinking of where the funds come from,” he said. Schlissel said a major consideration was the fact that tuition assistance is only provided to a subset of the employee population. That money could instead be used to raise employee salaries across the board, he said. But the University recently revised its childcare benefit to be competitive with other institutions, Roth said. Tuition assistance is “not an unfair gift to an advantaged group.” “Down the road,” he added, tuition assistance will become an issue for recruiting and retaining faculty members. The “take-home” salary is a larger issue for recruiting faculty members, Schlissel said. “Very rarely is TAP considered.” If the administration “thought that increasing the tuition benefit would make Brown a better university,” it would have done so, he added. Professor of Computer Science John Savage P’88 P’95 P’03 P’05 GP’17 said the recent growth in University tuition is more of an issue than aid. With tuition growing at “twice the rate of inflation,” he said, “I think we’ve overshot.” “Institutions will have to moderate the rate of tuition for many years to come,” he added. Savage said providing benefits such as health insurance and tuition assistance to employees is very costly, and “Brown is considered to be a very good employer.” Health insurance costs in particular will be an overarching concern for the University’s finances in the coming

years, Huidekoper said. “The incremental cost to Brown of the Affordable Care Act could be millions,” she said. “We’re watching that carefully.” Retiring with ease The ad hoc committee also reviewed retirement benefits in its report. Initial worries that too few faculty members were retiring under current retirement incentives sparked the committee’s formation, Roth said. The current incentive program, announced last December, provides retiring faculty members with a lump sum equal to 1.5 times their salary, $20,000 to help offset costs such as health insurance and annual payments of $2,000 for three years after retirement, The Herald reported at the time. But after the program ends June 30, no other incentives will be offered, Schlissel said. Instead, a phased retirement plan introduced in 2010 that decreases a faculty member’s workload and salary over three years is still available, Schlissel wrote in his letter to the committee. Savage said taxes on the retirement incentives are a concern, and phased retirement plans are more appealing. Roth said for faculty members “to just go to zero overnight” is not a realistic or attractive option. “We must allow retiring faculty to have continuity and remain within the community,” Roth said. The committee proposed creating a center for emeritus faculty members, modeled after Yale’s Koerner Center. The University has since provided an

Lagging behind peers in tuition reimbursement According to a recent committee report, Brown lags behind many peer institutions in the percent of its tuition it covers for children of employees. Percentage of tuition covered for employees’ children: Carnegie Mellon University 100% Columbia University 100 Mass. Inst. of Technology 100 University of Rochester 100 Washington U. in St. Louis 100 Northwestern University 90 New York University 90 University of Chicago 75 University of Pennsylvania 75 Vanderbilt University 70 Georgetown University 67 Cornell University 50 Johns Hopkins University 50 Stanford University 50 Princeton University 37 Duke University 36 Yale University 36 Brown University 24 Dartmouth College 0 Harvard University 0 MEAN: 62.5% Source: Report of the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits GREG JORDAN-DETAMORE / HERALD

area in the Faculty Club for retired faculty members, though “it’s not really a center,” Roth said. In his letter to the committee, Schlissel wrote, “We are frankly somewhat skeptical about whether (a center) will be possible in light of the many competing demands we face.” Another recommendation was for retirees to receive the health benefits of full-time faculty members and to establish “health retirement savings

accounts” for employees over 55. But the incremental costs of the various options were “out of the range of financial prudence,” Schlissel wrote. Roth said all the reasons behind the administration’s decisions were “exclusively financial considerations with minimal regard to community impact.” The University must “strike a balance between salary and benefits,” Schlissel said.

4 university news » BOOKSTORE, from page 1 competition, especially online now. It’s a lot more difficult than it was five or 10 years ago,” Chandley said. The competition now is “Kindlesand big mark stores,” he added. “Walmart, Costco — all of those places sell books, so the competition is really severe.” The presence of online sellers, as well as big-name stores selling books, is a pressing fear for independent bookstores. “The challenge is trying to price the books competitively and still be able to make some kind of money,” said Symposium employee Tony Amato. Customers “can buy books online comparatively cheaper than what they pay for at the store, even though we have really low prices,” he added. To combat this trend, many bookstores have taken on a jack-of-alltrades approach to appeal to book lovers. “We try to do what makes people want to shop in a local bookstore, like hosting author events and stocking local author titles, having story times for kids and giving recommendations,” wrote Books on the Square manager Jennifer Kandarian in an email to The Herald. ‘A little bit different’ Though the Symposium Books location downtown is well supported

by loyal patrons, owners Scott McCullough and Anne Marie Keohane were forced to close their Thayer Street location last April because of declining profits, McCullough said. The steadily rising rent of the location and the crowds of high schoolers who would gather outside the store once school let out became increasingly problematic, until finally the location was no longer cost-effective, he added. The space is being converted into a Ben and Jerry’s that is relocating from its former spot on Meeting Street. Despite rumors that the shop could not compete with the Brown Bookstore, McCullough said the area’s bookstores share a positive relationship. “If a customer can’t find a book, we’ll recommend going to one of those places or give them a call sometimes to see if they have it,” he said. The bookstores in the area are “more symbiotic than competitive,” he added. Though several students said they were unfamiliar with Symposium’s old Thayer location, others mourned its loss. Kah Yangni ’14, a former Symposium customer who now frequents the Brown Bookstore, described the Thayer location as a “really nice, quaint place to be, kind of next to campus. … It was something a little bit different.” Given the trend of dwindling independent bookstores nationwide, Yangni said she was particularly sad to see it go. “I would say I know some

of the (Brown) Bookstore workers by name, but the dynamic is definitely different when it’s one or two guys in a shop that’s been there forever and who really know their stuff.” “It’s going to make me sad when that doesn’t happen anymore,” she added. Turning a new page Despite the closure of Symposium’s Thayer location, Providence bookstore owners said the end is hardly in sight, and everyone interviewed for this article reported stable or increasing sales during the last few years. Rod Clinton, co-owner of Books on the Square, wrote in an email to The Herald that he sees the tradition of reading as a key part of what will keep bookstores around. “Our customers still say they prefer a physical book over an e-book,” Clinton wrote. “They find it satisfying to hold a book in their hands when they read; they do not want to have a technology intrusion between them and what the author is saying; they do not want to give or receive an ebook as a gift.” Though predicting the future of bookstores is a difficult task, he added, books will continue to hold their own appeal — even to future generations. “Even children who adapt easily to computers and computer games find it satisfying to hold and read a physical book,” he wrote.

Visit www.browndailyherald.com

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

THIS WEEK IN HIGHER ED BY DAVID CHUNG, UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

What Would I Say website goes viral What Would I Say, a website created by Princeton students that uses text from a Facebook user’s previous posts to generate humorous statuses, has become a phenomenon, gaining more than 1 million total hits and being featured in media outlets like the New Yorker, multiple news outlets reported Wednesday. The illogical statuses, which have flooded Facebook news feeds, are the result of a HackPrinceton event, during which participants worked on software projects as part of teams. “It happened really organically,” Pawel Przytycki, one of the collaborators, told the Daily Princetonian. “We were just throwing around ideas at the hackathon, and I said ... this is something I’ve always wanted to try out. People had already been building bots that would chat with you based on responding to what you would say, and … we figured that Facebook was a great source of information,” he said. Facebook had also offered a prize to the HackPrinceton team that best used Facebook information, an incentive that contributed to the direction of the group’s project, Alex Furger and Ugne Klibaite, two of the other co-founders of the website, told the Daily Princetonian. What Would I Say generates statuses using a Markov chain, a commonly used tool, which produces arbitrary text based on an underlying source. “I think it’s funny to note that the site is actually losing money right now,” Edward Young, one of the site’s producers, told the Princetonian. “So we have no ads right now, and we are paying for server costs out of pocket, and server costs are cheap until you start getting like 600,000 hits.”

Vanderbilt Med School to shrink incoming class size Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is planning to decrease the size of its incoming doctoral and medical student class size by 10 percent as part of the university’s general costcutting measures, wrote Jeffrey Balser, dean of the medical school, in a Nov. 7 university news release. “Our priority must be quality, not quantity,” Balser wrote. But Balser acknowledged the projected nationwide shortage of 150,000 physicians by 2025. The incoming class size has historically been around 102 students, medical school spokesperson John Howser told the Tennessean. As a result of the medical school’s planned downsizing, future classes will have about 10 fewer students. The university’s medical school currently has an enrollment of 435 medical students and 745 doctorate candidates, the Tennessean reported. Vanderbilt’s medical school aims to decrease its operating budget by $250 million over the next two fiscal years and has already taken steps toward this goal. The medical school cut 300 jobs this summer, and administrators announced in September that the school would lay off 1,033 more staff members by the end of the year, the Tennessean reported.

Princeton faces meningitis outbreak The New Jersey Department of Health declared a meningococcal disease outbreak at Princeton after a student was diagnosed with meningitis Sunday, multiple news outlets reported. This is the seventh case of meningitis identified at Princeton since March. Six students and a visitor to the university have been diagnosed with the illness, with the first case reported March 22. The Department of Health has been treating the situation as an outbreak since the fourth case arose in May, according to a Tuesday health advisory release from the department. Though state law and university rules stipulate that all Princeton students living on campus must be vaccinated, all six students were affected by a strain of meningitis that the vaccine does not completely protect against, a university spokesperson told CBS News. University spokesperson Martin Mbugua told the Daily Princetonian that the university is collaborating with community health authorities and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to minimize the spread of the illness. Meningitis is caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, which can spread through close contact and can be fatal if not treated for a few hours. The six individuals affected by the disease have since recovered, according to the Department of Health’s advisory release.

Thanks for reading!

city & state 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Taveras reflects on personal experiences in keynote on race, politics After the mayor’s speech, panelists discussed educational disparities and political inequality By MARIYA BASHKATOVA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Mayor Angel Taveras’ parents moved to New York from the Dominican Republic with eighth-grade educations, “looking for the American dream,” he told a crowd of students and community members in List 120 last night. Taveras spoke about his experience as mayor of Providence during an event titled “Latino Mayors: Politics and Policy in the City” as part of this year’s Thomas Anton/Frederick Lippitt Conference on Urban Affairs. Describing his childhood in Providence, Taveras said his aspirations of becoming a lawyer began when growing up on the South Side. “I was able to go from Head Start to Harvard to Georgetown (University Law Center),” he said, referring to the program that provides early education to low-income children. As Providence’s first Latino mayor, Taveras had to combat the city’s severe fiscal challenges and navigate a difficult political climate, knowing all eyes were on him, he said. He worked to offset the city’s $110 million structural deficit — which he referred to as a “Category 5 fiscal hurricane” — by negotiating city pension reform with unions, instituting budget cuts and soliciting greater contributions from tax-exempt institutions like Brown, he said. If the city had not reformed its pensions, “we’d be Detroit,” he said. Taveras ran for Congress in 2000. Though he lost the race, his performance exceeded expectations, he said, and he nearly won the majority of Providence votes. His performance helped wake the “Latino sleeping giant,” he said.

Many Latino politicians fail in campaigns before they succeed, but Latinos are becoming more involved in politics and more successful in getting candidates elected, he added. In the 2012 presidential election, President Obama won 71 percent of the Latino vote, which helped carry him to the presidency, Taveras said. Despite this, Latinos are still underrepresented in city halls across the country, he said. “Latinos are not a monolithic group,” Taveras said, adding that the state’s Latinos come from a variety of backgrounds and countries like the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Venezuela and Mexico. Given these diverse origins, Latino politicians must find ways to come together in order to achieve political prominence, he said. “I dance merengue, and I try to dance salsa, too,” he joked. “I am a Latino but that’s not all that I am,” he said. “If you have a vision that is broad and that appeals to people, you can get votes from all across the city.” In response to a question about how his background has informed his work as mayor, Taveras said he brings a valuable perspective on the struggles many of his constituents face. He said he understands the experience of living in public housing because his family lived in public housing during his youth. As someone who did not have access to summer programs as a child, he said he understands how vital summer programs are for children. When he began repaving damaged roads in Providence, he said he decided to start with roads on the South Side because of the perception that it is an often-neglected area. “I knew it would make a difference to people,” he added. Following Taveras’ keynote address, a panel discussed Latino politics in Rhode Island. The Census Bureau projects that

by 2043, America’s white population will dip below 50 percent for the first time, and a large portion of the population will be Latino, said Tony Affigne, visiting professor of American studies at Brown and political science professor at Providence College. Latinos are an increasingly important demographic in American politics and already play a large role in elections, he added. “Almost universal” support from Latinos helped Ralph Mollis win reelection as Secretary of State in 2010, Affigne said, adding, “That kind of swing role in Rhode Island politics is the future for Latinos.” The Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee has played a pivotal role in shaping Latino politics in the state, said Pablo Rodriguez, president of Latino Public Radio. It’s possible for such a diverse and multicultural organization to exist because of the unique makeup of Rhode Island’s Latino population, he added. In contrast to other states, Rhode Island’s Latino base is not dominated by immigrants from any one country and most of the immigrants arrived in the United States around the same time, he said. But the state’s Latinos also face many challenges and “inequalities across the board,” said Doris De Los Santos, former president of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee. “Education is at the crux of all the problems that we face,” she said. The state has one of the largest achievement gaps between white and

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

Mayor Angel Taveras talked Wednesday night about the role his heritage has played in his economic and educational policies. Latino students in the country, Rodriguez said. Until this educational disparity is addressed, the country will not be able to “unleash the full potential of Latino communities,” De Los Santos added. All Americans should be concerned with this problem, she said. Though electing more Latinos into office is an important step, doing so will not automatically end systemic inequalities, she said. De Los Santos also stressed the importance of Latina women’s roles in politics, calling them the “backbone” of many elected officials. “I want to take this time to

challenge Latinas to be more active in the forefront,” she said. James Diossa, the 27-year-old mayor of Central Falls, spoke about the unique challenges of getting Latinos to vote in his city, where voter turnout is especially low. Manuel Contreras ’16 said he was glad the talk focused on Latino politics throughout the entire state. “It is really easy to think that Brown is just on College Hill or in Providence. We forget that it’s in Rhode Island, too,” he said. Kendra Cornejo ’15 said she found the talk informative, especially the discussion by the panel members.

6 commentary

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

EDITORIAL

When college admission gets too personal Over the past several weeks, a number of reports and articles have investigated the extent to which college admission officers consider social media activity when evaluating applicants. The results generally indicate that, while not all colleges or admission officers check out their applicants’ Tweets or Facebook statuses, the practice is far from uncommon. That college admission officers would seek to delve so deeply into applicants’ personal lives is problematic, given the potential for mistaken identity or sabotage. We should teach discretion and accountability to teenagers in regard to their social media identities. But having admission officers monitor social media activity represents a significant overstep and, we believe, may set a dangerous precedent regarding universities’ control over their students’ social lives. In particular, an admission office’s review of social media activity could give universities power to evaluate criteria that are fundamentally irrelevant to the application process. Whether social media reviews unearth photos of students engaging in underage drinking, impassioned expressions of political beliefs or disgruntled tweets about teachers or classmates, we believe this material may not truly indicate an applicant’s likelihood or ability to succeed in college. Furthermore, by giving admission officers access to such personal information, universities and colleges create an opportunity for evaluators to impose personal biases or preferences, a practice that strikes us as unfair. Furthermore, this practice creates the potential for a multitude of logistical problems. An admission officer could easily mistake a profile found online for that of an applicant of the same name. Or an admission officer could take a picture or opinion out of context, letting the applicant consequently suffer. And finally, a generational gap between officers and applicants could mean the practices of a younger cohort are unfairly misconstrued by an elder one. Letting admission offices assume they can infer an applicant’s character from social media profiles sets a dangerous precedent. It is unfair that this generation of students has to monitor its online social activity when their parents never had to worry about these things. One could argue this is merely a consequence of living in such a technologically based age and that students merely must exercise caution when posting something publicly. Though these claims are true, the practice remains a violation of students’ privacy and might create situations in which an admission officer wrongfully punishes a student for a social media post. Given the potential for harm, we recommend that college admission officers remain removed from a student’s social media presence. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Rachel Occhiogrosso, and its members, Daniel Jeon, Hannah Loewentheil and Thomas Nath. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

K I M B E R LY S A LT Z

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

In Kelly protest’s fallout, fault lies with Paxson To the Editor: The Herald’s Nov. 12 editorial, “The Function of the University,” was a most comedic statement suggesting a mission to preserve objectivity and be a patron of different opinions. Has anyone questioned if President Christina Paxson has violated any codes of conduct with her statements and associations? The function of the University is to be a cultural apparatus subordinate to big business, the state and empire. Paxson is depicted as judicious in smacking down the students who protested New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and shut down his presentation because of concerns with disproportionate police brutality and mass incarceration that people of color face. Is she an objective arbiter on racism and empire? Paxson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations — that bipartisan body that makes strategic plans to conquer

the world. Is she non-partisan on the bombing and subordination of people of color nations? What about Kelly’s training of the Iraqi police during the U.S. military occupation? Why do these associations not lead The Herald to question their ethics? Do administrators who manage killing merely hold “opinions”? The student protesters, comparatively, are not associated with premeditated mass murder. Paxson ironically studies “health disparities.” Is the function of the University to document inequalities for the entertainment of royalty or to cultivate their abolition? Protesting students understand police misconduct is documented sufficiently and needs no further discussion but action. Paxson should not be permitted to victimize our most courageous students and then create a commission or institute to study policing and uplift her humanistic fraud-world. Matthew Quest MA’04 PhD’08

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

“I dance merengue, and I try to dance salsa, too.” — Mayor Angel Taveras See taveras, page 5.

Editorial Leadership

Sections

Visuals & Production

Business

Editors-in-Chief Lucy Feldman Shefali Luthra

Arts & Culture Editors Hannah Abelow Maddie Berg

Head Photo Editor Emily Gilbert

General Managers Julia Kuwahara Samuel Plotner

Managing Editors Elizabeth Carr Jordan Hendricks

City & State Editors Sona Mkrttchian Adam Toobin

Senior Editors Aparna Bansal Alexa Pugh

Features Editors Jennifer Kaplan Elizabeth Koh

Strategic Director Greg Jordan-Detamore

Science & Research Editors Phoebe Draper Kate Nussenbaum

BLOG DAILY HERALD Editor-in-Chief Meredith Bilski

Sports Editors James Blum Connor Grealy

Managing Editor David Oyer

University News Editors David Chung Mathias Heller Eli Okun

POST- MAGAZINE

Editorial Page Editor Rachel Occhiogrosso

Editor-in-Chief Ben Resnik

Opinions Editors Gabbie Corvese Garret Johnson Maggie Tennis

Photo Editors Brittany Comunale David Deckey Samuel Kase Sports Photo Editor Jesse Schwimmer Video Editors Henry Chaisson Assistant: Danny Garfield Data Science Editor Andersen Chen Web Producer Joseph Stein Design Editors Kyle McNamara Mie Morikubo Julia Shube Assistant: Sandra Yan

facebook.com/browndailyherald

@the_herald

browndailyherald.com

Directors Sales: Eliza Coogan Finance: Nicole Shimer Alumni Relations: Emily Chu Business Dev.: Justin Lee

Location: 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. www.browndailyherald.com

Office Manager Shawn Reilly

Corrections: The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

Sales Managers Regional: Jennifer Aitken Regional: Jaqueline Chang Regional: Leslie Chen Regional: Wenli Shao Regional: Carolyn Stichnoth Student Group: Anisa Holmes Finance Managers Collections: Sameer Sarkar Collections: Timothy Sharng Operations: Sarah Levine

Copy Desk Chief Sara Palasits

Alumni Relations Manager Engagement: Alison Pruzan

Illustrations Editor Angelia Wang

Business Dev. Managers Project Leader: Melody Cao Project Leader: Kaden Lee

Editorial contact: 401-351-3372 herald@browndailyherald.com

Business contact: 401-351-3260 gm@browndailyherald.com

Commentary: The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. Letters to the Editor: Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. Advertising: The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion. The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement and once during Orientation by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily. Copyright 2013 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Postmaster: Please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Adapt or die moil did students then have to power through to secure what we have ADRIK MCILROY today? Visionary change like this is guest columnist taxing on everyone involved, and it succeeds by volume of support and strength of will. The introduction to the 1969 MagLike the social revolution that aziner-Maxwell Report, the docu- framed Brown’s metamorphosis to ment that led to the New Curricu- the Open Curriculum, a technologlum, states in part: ical revolution frames the Brown of “Conversations and written ma- today. In this context Brown once terials about education are steeped again finds itself an immature form in meaningless rhetoric, issues are in need of growth and change. only partly presented, not enough Some change is a given — Brown time is spent in considering basic has email, WiFi and online course questions, remregistration — but edies are forced is Brown going to into an incoherent, fall behind as the patchwork pattern “Is Brown, after 50 Massachusetts In— all while the unistitute of Techyears, ready once nology and Stanversity continues to operate and grow again to undertake ford University put without a fundalectures onbrave changes of its their mental knowledge line, Yale puts stuown?” of where, why and dent interaction how it is going.” at the forefront of Improving the technology and status quo is never startups not even easy, especially when everyone is affiliated with universities take edurelatively content. The Magaziner- cation to the masses? Or is Brown, Maxwell Report was born out of an after 50 years, ready once again to era of countrywide disillusionment undertake brave changes of its own? with universities. We are eerily faAlums are not just automatic domiliar today with the sentiment ex- nation machines for this process. pressed above. The difference is We have a powerful combination that, lacking any universal distress, of traits that means we need to be we have yet to take action. It is time involved in Brown’s breaking from to stop being content, because con- the status quo: We love and know tentedness leads to complacency, Brown from our time as students, and complacency leads to failure. we know the real world and some To take Brown to its next great evo- part of us “wants back in” to that lution, we must all reignite our am- Brown experience. We need Brown bition for better and greater. to take our battle-hardened advice All the people I knew as a stu- about issues on campus. We want to dent at Brown loved it, and while see lectures online from our amazthey could rattle off lists of small ing professors. We want to raise the troubles, the core engine of student bar for pre-college learning in our happiness was clearly working. Dif- home areas. We want to participate ferentiating between what students in a meaningful way with an exthink they want and what they re- tended Brown circle that includes ally want, not to mention making alums, faculty members, students more than just a surface “fix,” is a and future students. We need to problem unto itself. But we aren’t learn, network and create value with students anymore — we are alums, the collegiate melting pot we last so how do we feel about Brown experienced while attending Brown. now? It’s time to coordinate alumni What do we need as alums? Not events in your area. It’s time to write just incremental wants like “better to the administration about the stracommunity in my area,” but cur- tegic plan and other news. It’s time rently impossible wants like “to take to write your opinion piece for The a class from time to time” or “to car- Herald and start or join discussions ry a piece of Brown around in my like “Brown: The Next 250 Years.” pocket” — and I don’t mean your It’s time to participate in the alumBrown keychain. ni groups on LinkedIn and to join What does “Brown in your pock- us discussing these issues on Rsolv, et” mean? I don’t know — let’s figure a group discussion and decisionit out. Real progress is hard because making web application I founded. the view beyond what currently Real progress is incompatible “works” is blurry and uncertain: with contentment. It’s time to stop How much did you want a smart- being content and start getting mad. phone before it existed? Change is Mad that a Brown with insufficient important and exciting and inevita- “knowledge of where, why and how ble. The only hard part is changing it is going” is a Brown with a death for the better. sentence. Now that you’re mad, look Luckily, Brown has a heritage around and figure out what you of true change and the guts to want! Now that you know what you stick with it. No one can argue that want, let’s make it happen! Brown’s switch to the Open Curriculum 50 years ago was bad. Our curriculum is Brown’s defining feaAdrik McIlroy ’11 encourages ture! How difficult, however, must Brown students to engage in it have been to see then how beloved this discussion at it would be today? How much turbrown.rsolv.com.

browndailyherald.com/opinions

commentary 7

A positive end: online monitoring in schools do in their free time. But what if they

drastically. These actions have driven students to suicide in the past. The bullied may even seek revenge on the students’ private accounts, so it is not bullies. Geo Listening’s reports could opinions columnist technically breaching anyone’s priva- prevent this from happening by ency. If students don’t want certain infor- suring that adults are informed and There seem to be no secrets kept any- mation known, they should not post have the capability to intervene before more. Whatever we want to know is it as public in the first place. The only it’s too late. on the Internet, from news to mov- difference is that previously, schools But regardless of whether students ies to who went to whose party and were not specifically looking for sus- are posting dangerous things online, what they did there. The Internet has picious posts — and now they are. these policies will make them more opened a new world of knowledge for Students call out for help when aware of how their words can affect us, but it has also made us easier tar- they don’t know where to turn in the both themselves and others. Chris gets and has altered our notion of pri- face of bullying, depression or other Frydrych, founder of Geo Listening, vacy. problems. has said that “if (the) service People of all ages report their ev- Before Geo “The public nature gets kids to privatize their eryday lives on the Internet, mak- Listening, pages, that’s all a positive for of these posts ing us more vulnerable to judgment this call for our kids and our society.” It — since anyone can see and critique help would means that these seems that no matter how our actions. More than that, it also most likely much schools try to educate students wanted turns the Internet into a confessional, remain untheir students on the value of their feelings to a place where we relieve ourselves of answered discretion when posting on our burdens, thinking that there will and could be read, and now the Internet, students never be no consequences to what we say. eventureally comprehend until acadministrators In light of the National Security ally lead tually faced with real conseAgency surveillance scandal and the to violent can intervene and quences. implied infringement on freedom of a c t i o n s . Since the program aims provide the right to help speech, monitoring anyone is a ques- The public students instead of support to the tionable activity. We should be al- nature of reprimand them, it could lowed to express our opinions freely these posts students in need.” lead to a greater understandwithout suffering repercussions and means that ing of the effects of public without fear of what having a differ- these students wanted their feelings to postings. The program leads students ent opinion from our superiors could be read, and now administrators can to understand consequences without lead to. Yet schools in California have intervene and provide the right sup- actually getting them in trouble. This begun keeping track of their students’ port to the students in need. It also will help prevent students from sufferonline profiles. Through the help of shows students that support systems ing consequences of public postings Geo Listening, a technology company exist for them to be able to deal with later on in life, when the ramifications that combs through students’ social depression and bullying, among other are more significant than a talk with network posts, administrators in a Los issues. a teacher. Angeles-area school district have been The program is not aiming to limEven if this is not saving anyone’s keeping an eye on what students say it the students’ freedom of speech. life directly, this minor change in the online. It’s trying both to pinpoint danger- students’ relationships with the InterGeo Listening goes through stu- ous activity before anyone is harmed net is still a success for the company dents’ social media postings and flags and to teach kids to be more aware of and the school district. If it won’t work suspicious behavior and comments. the impact of their Internet presence. as a life-saver, it will work as a learning Such behavior can be anything from Students aren’t punished for having tool, and both options are beneficial in posts that deal with depression, de- opinions. Rather, the school helps stu- the long run. spair, bullying or hate speech to viola- dents understand the effect of posting Only time will be able to tell tions of school codes of conduct. The their opinions online. The program is whether Geo Listening and similar company’s methods take into account not silencing anyone — it is creating companies will prove beneficial to the severity and frequency of the posts a space for conversation where there communities. While it still remains to ensure that their reports are accu- is need. questionable for educational institurate and necessary. Geo Listening then Additionally, the allure of online tions — or anyone — to be monitorhands the reports to the schools so of- bullying is that it can occur without ing what we do with our private time, ficials can deal with the problems as any adult finding out. If kids know when the goal is preventing tragedy, they see fit. that their online bullying is just as shouldn’t we at least give it a try? Some might say this encroaches public as their face-to-face bullying, on students’ privacy and goes beyond they might be less likely to take part in the traditional role of a school, argu- such activities. Students who already Sami Isman ’15 can ing the school’s job is to regulate what have depressive or violent tendencies be reached at students do in school, not what they are likely to respond to online bullying samantha_isman@brown.edu

SAMANTHA only regulate students’ public posts? ISMAN The company has no access to the

daily herald city & state THE BROWN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Q&A: Newest Democratic candidate discusses mayoral race A Providence local, Lorne Adrain would focus on economic policy and education if elected By KATHERINE LAMB SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Lorne Adrain, former chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education and managing director at the wealth management firm Ballentine Partners, recently registered to run as a Democratic candidate in Providence’s 2014 mayoral election. Adrain filed official notice Nov. 1 with the Rhode Island Board of Elections, which allows him to raise money for his first campaign for elected office. He will run against three other Democratic mayoral candidates, including City Council President Michael Solomon, as well as Republican Daniel Harrop in the election to replace current Mayor Angel Taveras, who announced Oct. 28 he is running for governor. Adrain sat down with The Herald to discuss his upcoming campaign and priorities for the city, if elected mayor. What motivated you to file as a candidate for mayor? I’ve lived in Providence for 20 years. I think of this place as one of the most asset-rich cities in the world. In a small area, we’ve got the leading universities in the world, we’re on a beautiful bay, we’re a half-hour from Boston, we’re two and a half hours from New York and we’ve got people from over 100 countries in our city — incredible resources. But we’re a little bit like a Maserati sitting on the starting line with a brand new track out in front of it with the steering wheel sitting over here, and the wheels sitting over there. We need to pull them together and pull people ... around this thing to make it go down the track. Would you tell us a bit about your background — specifically your education, work and family — anything

you want us to know about you? I went to Warwick public schools and (the University of Rhode Island), then I got a job in New York and worked around the country and then went back to Harvard Business School to get my MBA. I came back to Rhode Island in ’86, and I’ve been in Providence since ’92. I’ve been around here and engaged in lots of stuff for many years. When we had our family meeting about doing this, my kids said, “Dad, you’ve been doing this all our lives.” This is just a logical extension of my service in the community. Having previously served on the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education, what are your thoughts on higher education institutions and their role in the city? I think that the people of Providence need to have many options for both higher education for degree purposes and higher education or extended education for development of technical skills. What we can do as a city is encourage people to pursue those learning opportunities and do our best to make them aware of the evolving and growing number of opportunities to access education at an increasingly attractive cost. Do you have any thoughts about Brown-Providence relations? We are all in this together. Brown, Providence College, Johnson and Wales, Rhode Island College — we’re all partners in the success of the city. I believe that there are many ways in which we can work together to make advances in every part of what we do ... and alter the social contract of what it means to be a member of the community of Providence. I think the mayor of this city — of any city — doesn’t necessarily have control of everything. In fact, they don’t have control over a lot of things. But what they do have is a mantle of leadership through which they can inspire and encourage and motivate collaboration.

COURTESY OF LORNE ADRAIN

Mayoral hopeful Lorne Adrain said he would prioritize jobs, education and health care, which he called some of the most pressing concerns facing the city. He said previous mayors “have done a good job making progress.” What issues do you think are most pressing for the Providence community? First and foremost, it’s about jobs. Providence has a challenge with poverty (and) ... with joblessness. Those two factors lead to all kinds of other challenges — in education, in health care, in community development, in the culture of our community. So we can and we must focus on creative ways of helping people either build their own jobs or find jobs. Secondly we can, and we must, focus on providing high-quality education opportunities for our K-12 students. Thirdly, we can, and we must, lead the formation of health care distribution options that metaphorically meet people where they live. If we can have access to health care in more and different ways, then more kids are going to be ready and able to learn when they walk in the classroom. Fourth, we can, and we must, focus on a broad spectrum of economic development in a unified strategy — from micro enterprise low-tech to the other extreme of high-tech, complex bio-technology and other things coming out of Brown and RISD and so on. Fifth, I think we have to think of City Hall and of the city as an organization that is here to serve the residents of our cities. And to do that, we have to think about the systems and have an attitude of continuous improvement in City Hall. I think we have to think of the city in the context of a group of cities and towns in a state and be mindful of the regulatory and legislative action that could help us as a city and as a state be more competitive. And I think lastly, we can, and we must, ask everybody in Providence to step up in new and different ways to help each other and to help the community. Providence has seen a lot of controversy about education reform in the past months — specifically highstakes standardized testing and their role in the Providence public school

system. What educational issues do you find most compelling, and how would you confront them? I think testing is important, but I think of testing as a measurement tool. I don’t think it’s the solution to anything. If we think of it as a tool with which we hammer teachers, I think nobody wins. I think the teachers feel legitimately insulted, and the kids feel stressed. If we position it as something that we as a system — as parents, as students, as teachers — can learn from and make adjustments in how we do what we do, then it’s a valuable thing. What can you do in terms of policy for the Providence economy — specifically reducing unemployment and encouraging small business growth? The first step is a job. We have too many people in Providence who are unemployed or underemployed. And I believe that a significant portion of those people are talented, able, motivated and willing to work hard. I want to help those folks. It’s not rocket science, it starts with helping people either create a job or find a job. And creating an environment here — a tax environment, a regulatory environment, a systems environment — that makes it easier or attractive or hospitable to build a business here. I’ve heard horror stories from businesspeople about getting a business started. It seems that we go out of our way to make it hard instead of going out of our way to make it easy. What policies and strategies from the current administration of Mayor Taveras have you seen as effective? What would you change going forward? I believe that Mayor (David Cicilline ’83) and Mayor Taveras have both done a good job making progress. I think the perspective that we all have to have is that this job doesn’t get finished, it just gets worked on. We’ve been fortunate to have a couple mayors of good will — hard-working, bright and creative — who have moved

the ball down the field. Mayor Taveras did some of that work on the fiscal crisis, he did some of that work on education and he’s begun some of that work in thinking about systems in City Hall. But I think he and Mayor Cicilline have been most effective in putting things on the table that together we need to pay attention to and continue to improve. Do you have initial thoughts on how your campaign might differ from your potential Democratic opponents — City Council President Michael Solomon, former Water Supply Board Chairman Brett Smiley and former Housing Court Judge Jorge Elorza? I think (what) you (would) see in my administration is a high level of entrepreneurship, because that’s where I come from. Entrepreneurship means not just doing things the way we’ve always done them. Let’s ask the people in the trenches doing the jobs throughout City Hall — what are their best ideas? Because chances are, there are a lot of ideas out there that are not being asked for or not being paid attention to. I think a lot of solutions lie right there. I’m not a politician. I’ve never done this before, so I’m going to pursue this in a way that makes sense to me. I’ll be helping all the people of Providence see a pathway to a better future, see a pathway to economic security for their families, see a pathway to a sustainable budget and see a pathway to increasingly effective education for their kids. My job here on the campaign is to help people see that, imagine that and begin to talk about it. My job in the mayor’s office will be to get it done. Anything else you’d like readers to know? Readers should know that if I’m elected mayor of Providence, there will be a high level of energy not only from my office but expected from everybody in Providence in some way, shape or form. We are in this together, and together, we can make it all happen.