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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015
VOLUME CL, ISSUE 52
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Rockefeller Library hours extended Decision aims to address student concern over studying in SciLi following grad student death By ANTON MANZANO CONTRIBUTING WRITER
COURTESY OF EMILY SCHELL
Students wearing T-shirts that read “not on our campus” came together to participate in a march on the Main Green Sunday organized by Stand Up!, a group aiming to prevent sexual assault on campus.
Activists march for sexual assault awareness Following march, sexual assault survivor and activist Wagatwe Wanjuki delivered keynote address By ANICA GREEN STAFF WRITER
A swarm of about 40 students dressed in teal shirts converged on the Main Green Sunday to raise awareness about
sexual assault at Brown in the second annual March Against Sexual Assault. The students, whose shirts read “not on our campus,” paraded around and chanted slogans during the event, which was organized by Stand Up!, a group that works to prevent sexual assault on campus. Sunday’s sunny weather drew several students to the Main Green, increasing the event’s visibility and attendance. Students “fluidly” joined
Common Sense Action undergoes merger Brown chapter of CSA combines with Run for America to better foster political dialogue By KHIN SU STAFF WRITER
Common Sense Action, a group founded by two Brown students that seeks to involve millennials in the U.S. political process, recently merged with Run For America, a group with similar goals, to create a joint organization called Run For America Action. Last week, RFAA launched the Week of Action, its first project, which aims to foster intergenerational dialogue on national politics. The two organizations are “very complementary,” said Andrew Kaplan ’15, co-founder of CSA. The merger happened very quickly and “joining forces was a no-brainer,” said Sam Gilman ’15, co-founder and CEO of CSA. In the new setup, RFA and CSA will each bear responsibility for different initiatives. RFA will recruit and train
INSIDE
young “solutions-first, future-focused” leaders for Congress, while CSA will run the nonprofit, grassroots advocacy arm of the movement, Gilman said. “Too often in the nonprofit world, organizations tackling the same problems from different angles stay separate” because of institutional competition, but the two groups “make sense under one roof,” Gilman added. CSA has chapters on 40 college campuses in 20 states across the country. The inspiration for CSA came to Gilman and Kaplan when they spent the summer in Washington, D.C. two years ago, they said. They hosted small events there such as happy hours to connect interns and young professionals interested in politics and leadership, Gilman said. “We walked into all 435 offices of House representatives and asked for the interns, not the congressmen,” Gilman said. “There was a shared feeling all across the country that politics are not working for our generation,” he added. Many students in D.C. started campus chapters of CSA upon returning to their » See ACTION, page 3
the march, said Emily Schell ’16, cofounder of Stand Up!. Schell stressed the group’s goal of “bringing people who might want to be involved in the conversation but might not know how” together to discuss the issue of campus sexual assault and show support for survivors. “When it comes to this issue, people think that they’re alone. They feel unsupported,” Schell said, adding that the march was » See MARCH, page 2
In response to student feedback, administrators extended Rockefeller Library access to 24 hours Monday through Thursday. Students expressed discomfort with studying in the Sciences Library after Hyoun Ju Sohn GS jumped out of a 12th-floor window of the building April 1, said University Librarian Harriette Hemmasi. The Rock will maintain its normal operating hours Friday and Saturday, closing at 10 p.m. During reading period, which begins April 24, the library will be open 24 hours every day. Hemmasi said after students confided their concerns, she and Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn discussed the possibility of changing the Rock’s hours. “Because of this tragic event, students may want another space to study in,” Hemmasi said. At an Undergraduate Council of
Students open forum April 2, council members raised the suggestion of lengthening the Rock’s hours. UCS President Maahika Srinivasan ’15 said at a UCS general body meeting April 9 that the longer hours were “a direct result of the conversations” at the previous week’s open forum. The University did not hire more staff members to work during the longer hours, instead extending the contracts and hours of the Department of Public Safety officers who patrol at night, she said. Services in the Rock, such as those at the circulation desk, will close at midnight, but the study space will continue to be open throughout the night, Hemmasi said. The library will be cleaned more frequently to maintain the sanitation of the space amidst increased use, she said. The motion-sensor lights in the SciLi stacks on floors five through 14 will be kept on at all times for safety purposes, she added. Several students voiced approval of the longer hours. Anna Pierobon ’16, a dual concentrator in anthropology and political science, said she has frequently wished » See ROCK, page 2
W. LACROSSE
Bears top Lions for first Ivy win Despite late comeback attempt from Lions’ offense, Bruno squeaks by Columbia on Senior Day By LAINIE ROWLAND SENIOR STAFF WRITER
KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD
Emma Dahle ’18 outmaneuvers a Columbia defender en route to victory Saturday. Dahle has scored at least once in each of Bruno’s last four games.
The women’s lacrosse team has never fallen to Columbia and continued the tradition on Senior Day Saturday, as it triumphed over the Lions 7-6. The win secured Bruno’s first Ivy victory of the season, a prize long in the works for the Bears. “The whole game yesterday was really a team effort,” said Emma Dahle ’18. “We’ve been working toward it all season and making a lot of progress ... It was just a great display of a seasonlong effort.” A high-scoring first half put the Bears ahead by three. Dianne Vitkus ’16 put Bruno on the board with the first goal of the game. Columbia retaliated quickly, but Lauren Toy ’16 tallied another for the Bears to steal back the lead. » See W. LACROSSE, page 3
WEATHER
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015
SPORTS Softball moves to 4-8 in conference play after dropping three to Harvard, winning one
SPORTS Track and field tops rival teams at Brown Invitational, sees results as good indicator for Ivy meets
COMMENTARY Feldman ’15: Changes should be made to help ease transfer students into Brown community
COMMENTARY Powers ’15: Protection of individuals’ rights proves essential in defense against mob rule
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TOMORROW
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UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 2 • MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015
» MARCH, from page 1 a way for community members to demonstrate they cared. After the march, students sat beneath the steps of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center and listened to a keynote address by Wagatwe Wanjuki, whose experience as a survivor shaped her career of activism. Wanjuki emphasized the importance of respecting intersectionality and avoiding a traditional narrative when talking about sexual assault. Wanjuki categorized rape as a form of oppression and stressed the necessity of sharing the stories of people with marginalized identities, especially because they are targets of sexual violence. She also noted the shift in media attitudes toward sexual assault and legislative trends in bringing justice to survivors. “Honestly, the focus on intersectionality for me personally is just the most important thing,” said Maahika Srinivasan ’15, president of the Undergraduate Council of Students. “It’s heartening to see someone come in and basically tell us to be more circumspect about the kinds of activism that we’re pushing for,” she said.
“When we say activism, we have to be inclusive. We have to be thoughtful and aware of all the things we’re trying to incorporate — all of the people we’re trying to speak for,” Srinivasan added. Affirmations from Wanjuki are a “really wonderful reminder, especially after a year of really incredible activism on campus around sexual assault.” Members of Stand Up! sold shirts for the event in the Blue Room last week for $5 each. They donated all profits to Day One and the Sojourner House — organizations that offer services to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Schell noted that both organizations provide support services outside of University resources. “This event has a lot of power and has a lot of potential because of how it tries to access different groups from different corners of campus,” said Heather Sweeney ’16, an event organizer. “This is a campus-wide problem that needs a campus-wide response. We need everybody to be caring about this issue.” Wanjuki told The Herald after her talk that the number of spaces for discussion about sexual assault has increased since her time in college, as
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD evidenced by her invitation to speak on campus. “Before, it was really hard to get the media to pay attention to survivors of sexual violence, and now we hear something almost every day,”
she said. “So it’s a household issue now, which I think is really great.” Wanjuki said she supports the efforts of elected representatives pushing to pass bills and student activists
advocating safer campuses around the country. “It was really inspiring just to see students out in broad daylight … on a weekend,” she said. “This is definitely the beginning of something great.”
ANICA GREEN / HERALD
Students who participated in the second annual March Against Sexual Assault were greeted on the Main Green by a puppy sporting a smaller version of their T-shirts that read “not on our campus.”
» ROCK, from page 1 she could stay in the Rock — where most of her concentrations’ books are located — past 2 a.m. The longer hours demonstrate a
positive administrative move, as many students may have negative associations with the SciLi and opt to study at the Rock, Pierobon said. The change also shows that “arts, humanities and social sciences are appreciated by the
University,” she added. Alexandra Djorno ’18 said she appreciates that the Rock is now an available space for late-night studying, noting that the SciLi basement often becomes crowded later.
RYAN WALSH / HERALD
The Rockefeller Library will now be open for 24 hours Sunday through Thursday, increasing the number of spaces open for late-night studiers.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
» W. LACROSSE, from page 1 The Lions found the back of the net once more to tie up the score at 2-2. Bruno went on a three-goal streak to cement its margin over Columbia and regain a lead that they would maintain until the final buzzer, though not without threats from the Lions. Janie Gion ’15 kicked off the campaign about midway through the half, scoring off of an assist from rookie Lindsey Repp ’18. Repp continued her noteworthy offensive performance for the day by notching her own goal about four minutes later. Dahle quickly followed Repp to put Bruno up 5-2, showcasing the role of first-years in the squad’s depth. The Lions countered once more, fighting to narrow the deficit and negate Bruno’s offensive intensity. But Gion retaliated, scoring again before the end of the half to maintain the Bears’ three-goal lead. The lead showcased a team able to capitalize on momentum early in the game by finishing shots and seizing scoring opportunities. It was the first time this season that the Bears entered the second half with a lead against a conference opponent. The Bears stuck with their systems and followed their game plan, said Dahle. As a result, she said, they were able to play a full 60 minutes of effective lacrosse. Offensive output slowed considerably in the second half, but the excitement did not diminish. The Lions kicked off the half with two consecutive, hard-fought goals, working 12 minutes into the period until they came dangerously close to Bruno, trailing 6-5. The score held for a fiveminute scoreless stretch before Repp gave the Bears some breathing room with her second goal of the day. A 7-5 stalemate lasted for over 10 minutes. But with three minutes left, Columbia’s Caroline Joy completed a
hat trick and brought the Lions back within one of the Bears. Alyssa DiBona ’15 quieted the Lions’ attempt at a heartbreaker by winning the final draw control, giving Bruno possession and staving off Columbia’s aspirations to win. The game ended with the Bears up by one decisive goal, for a final score of 7-6. “It’s really difficult to play against a really high-pressure defense. Our team handled it really well both individually and collectively,” Dahle said. “To hold a team to six goals is amazing ... Columbia definitely has some really big offensive threats, and our defense just totally shut them down.” Kellie Roddy ’15 staunchly defended the net in her Senior Day performance, racking up eight saves. Roddy has blocked 91 shots this season, ranking her second among Ivy League goalies in saves per game. Bruno uncharacteristically trailed in draw controls against the Lions but was able to capitalize on possessions when it counted. While the first half was won by Brown’s offense, which recorded 14 shots and six goals, the second half was arguably saved by the defense, which protected against 10 shot attempts from a hungry Columbia squad currently on a three-game losing streak. The win “was really special for our seniors ... They do so much for our team, and they’ve done so much for our program. The rest of the team was really playing for them,” Dahle said. With the win, the Bears move to sixth place in the conference standings, sitting in a three-way tie with Columbia and Dartmouth, all of which share a 1-4 Ivy record. Bruno’s next Ivy contest is with the Big Green, opening a window of opportunity for a climb up the conference standings. But first, the Bears will host UMass Lowell Tuesday for a taste of nonconference action.
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DAVID DECKEY / HERALD
Sam Gilman ‘15 and Andrew Kaplan ‘15 co-founded Brown’s chapter of Common Sense Action, which recently merged with the other millenial-oriented political group Run for America.
» ACTION, from page 1 schools in the fall, he said. Brown and Providence were great locations to start such a venture, Kaplan said, adding that Providence’s small geographic size made it easy to access the State House and state representatives. Gilman and Kaplan worked with the Swearer Center for Public Service’s Social Innovation Initiative and Rhode Island School of Design
graphic designers to create a brand image, Kaplan said. “On a personal level, it’s been pretty unbelievable,” Kaplan said. “It was just an idea and a conversation.” Members of the Brown chapter of CSA are currently working on getting a bill about online voter registration passed in the General Assembly, Gilman said. The Brown chapter is the first to transition to the new RFAA structure,
said chapter president Joelle Nanula ’18. The Brown chapter is orienting its energy on the transition and increasing voter registration in Rhode Island and will therefore postpone its participation in the Week of Action, she said. Other campus chapters, however, have spent the Week of Action sending high school students to senior centers in the hopes of fostering political discussion between members of different generations, Nanula said.
SPORTS
PAGE 4 • MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
SOFTBALL
Bears pick up one win in four-game series against Harvard
KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD
Yeram Park ’18 goes to bat for Bruno against a tough Crimson bullpen. Harvard started with the Ivy League CoPitcher of the Week, Laura Ricciardone. The Bears scored 14 runs in the four-game stretch against the Crimson.
Bruno struggles against ace Crimson pitcher, drops two contests by narrow, two-goal margins By MATT BROWNSWORD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
As the softball team played its first games in its own division this weekend, Bruno (10-15, 4-8 Ivy) hoped to make a run at the North title and earn a spot in the Ivy League championship game. Unfortunately for the Bears, two narrow losses and a blowout to Harvard all but ended their title aspirations. But Brown came back strong in the fourth
game of the series with the Crimson (17-16, 8-4) and avoided the sweep. Katie Orona ’18, who has been the Bears’ ace all season, let up a first-inning run in the first game Saturday but did not look back after that. The first-year struck out three, walked three and only allowed one run through seven innings. Unfortunately for the Bears, the offense was stalled by the Crimson’s flamethrowing starter and reigning Ivy League Co-Pitcher of the Week, Laura
Ricciardone. But the Bears were able to strike in the bottom half of the seventh, as Janet Leung ’16 got on base after an error by Ricciardone and scored when Emily Springfield ’18 singled her home. The junior made a fantastic slide past the outstretched Harvard catcher, who missed the tag as Leung slid around her and tapped home plate. Harvard jumped on Orona in the first half of the extra inning, getting two runs on two hits. Brown went down in order in the bottom of the eighth, losing the first game 3-1.
TRACK
Invite success primes Bears for Ivy season Bruno outpaces rest of field with numerous top finishes, highlights strengths at annual invite By EMILE BAUTISTA SPORTS STAFF WRITER
The men’s and women’s track and field teams emerged victorious in several events at the Brown Invitational Saturday. Bruno won over one-quarter of the 40 events, boasting the largest wining percentage of any school in attendance. The team’s first-place total more than doubled that of the next-best team. “Both the men’s and women’s teams had some outstanding performances,” said women’s co-captain Heather Vermillion ’15. On the women’s side, Brown competitors battled their teammates for
the top spots. In the high jump, Erin Schaeffer ’17 cleared 5-5, edging cocaptain Mo Akande ’15 in a jump-off for first place. In the 3,000-meter run, Abigail Jones ’15 and Lily Harrington ’16 finished in first and second place, respectively, with Jones winning by over 16 seconds with a time of 9:59.62. Coming off of a win in the 400-meter hurdles in the previous meet, Alex Stanton ’15 proved victorious again, winning with a time of 1:01.32. The quartet of Stanton, Audrea Holt ’18, Emma Suchland ’16 and Mikela Waldman ’18 rounded out the women’s triumphs by prevailing in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 47.55 seconds. The men’s team dominated many of the events, especially those on the track. Ryan Kelly ’16 excelled in the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 10.68 and 21.95 seconds, respectively. His time in the 200-meter marked a personal best.
Ben Ostrowski ’17 ran the 400-meter dash in 49.09 seconds to earn a firstplace finish, and Zachery Emrich ’18 led the pack in the 800-meter with a time of 1:54.46. In the 110-meter hurdles, Hunter Warwick ’15 rattled off a winning time of 14.88 seconds. The 4x100meter relay team of Kelly, Tosin Oyewole ’18, Brian Pfaff ’18 and Fredrick Rhine ’15 confirmed the team’s supremacy on the track by prevailing with a time of 41.72 seconds. In the field, Taylor Alarcon ’17 leapt 22-9 3/4 to secure the long jump title. Next weekend, the team will travel to Yale, while a select group will go to the University of Virginia. “Moving forward, the team expects some great results next weekend,” Vermillion said. “Both the men’s and women’s teams are in excellent position to really shake things up in the Ivy League track and field.”
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Jessica Cherness ’15 took the hill for the second game and was instantly pounced on by an eager Harvard lineup. The senior gave up three earned runs in two innings and then was pulled for Leah Nakashima ’17 in the top of the third. The sophomore did not have her best outing, giving up five runs — all unearned — in two and a third innings. The offense stalled again, as Springfield contributed the team’s only RBI for the second straight game, and the Bears fell 9-1 in five innings. “We were in that first game, and it was crushing to lose an extra-inning game, but we were right there the whole way,” said Head Coach Katie Flynn. “We struggled in that second game yesterday because the loss kind of took the air out of our tires.” Sunday’s first game was as heartbreaking as Saturday’s first but featured a lot more offense from both sides. Ricciardone and Orona started their second games of the weekend, and both offenses took advantage. Julia Schoenwald ’17 started the game off for the Bears, smacking a three-run double to give Bruno a 4-0 advantage after the bottom of the first. Ricciardone gave herself some run support shortly thereafter, hitting a three-run bomb to deep center. The two teams traded blows, but Harvard struck the last couple in the fifth and sixth innings to take the lead and hold it. Taylor Cabe, who pitched the second game on Saturday, came in to relieve Ricciardone and, after a hiccup in her first inning, settled down to close the door on the Bears’ hopes for a win. Harvard took the third game 10-8. After starting and going the distance against Bryant in a nonconference game Wednesday and then throwing upwards of 130 pitches in her first start Saturday, it seemed like overuse played a factor for Orona, who let up a career high 10 runs on 15 hits Sunday.
“It’s definitely a fatigue factor,” Flynn said. “She’s been our workhorse all year, and they made some adjustments against her changeup, and we didn’t play particularly great defense behind her.” Brown finally struck gold in the second game on Sunday, as Nakashima pitched a gem — striking out three and walking none in seven innings of work. “Leah was fantastic,” Flynn said. “That’s the Leah that we saw towards the end of last year. She was hitting her spots and using her defense. She throws a five-hitter and no walks against a Harvard team — that’s an outstanding start. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.” Morgan Groom started the game impressively for Harvard but was pulled after back-to-back home runs by Trista Chavez ’15 and Sarah Syrop ’17. Annie McGregor ’18 forced a huge walk with the bases loaded against Cabe, while Leung provided some unnecessary insurance in the bottom of the sixth with a one-out single. The game ended 4-2 in favor of Bruno, which took home its only win of the weekend in the final slate against the Crimson. After scoring a combined two runs Saturday, the offensive production in the final two games of the series for Bruno was particularly impressive, especially against one of the top pitchers in the Ivy League. “Playing four games against the same team is tough, so to knock Ricciardone out of the game was huge,” Flynn said. “For Trista to come through with a big home run and Sarah to go back-to-back and then to tack on one or two more runs later in the game, it’s fantastic.” The Bears will play a nonleague game against Providence Wednesday and then head to Dartmouth for a four game series against the conference’s best team.
TODAY
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
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s u n n y d ay s a r e h e r e a g a i n
SATELLITE DINING JOSIAH’S Gourmet Grilled Cheese, Gnocchi BLUE ROOM Naked Burritos Soups: Chicken Noodle, Spinach and Feta, Beef with Bean Chili ANDREWS COMMONS Grinder Station, Chili Bar, Steam Bun Sliders Pizzas: Cheese Steak, Caprese, BBQ Chicken Ranch, Meatball Calzone
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Zesty Lemon Chicken Thigh, Broccoli in Cheese Sauce, Garlic Bread Sticks
Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, California Vegetable Blend
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Buffalo Wings, Spinach Casserole Pasta, Vegan Beef and Kale Patties, French Fries
Italian Meatballs with Sauce, Vegan Couscous, Lima Beans, Alabama Butter Biscuits
sudoku
DAVID DECKEY / HERALD
Nick Deaver ’15 and Andrew Brown ’15 enjoy one of the first warm days of the spring semester by sitting in Fones Alley and soaking up the sun.
comic Egoheads | J.H. Zech
crossword
calendar TODAY
TOMORROW
5:00 P.M. “THE AMERICANIZATION OF ASIAN FOOD”
12:00 P.M. QUEER FESTIVAL
Hapa Club will host a discussion aimed at exploring the state of Asian food in the United States. Owners of Asian food trucks and restaurants will serve as guest speakers. Salomon 001
The Queer Resilience Series will sponsor a festival including information booths, music and food. Main Green 6:30 P.M. 15TH ANNUAL CASEY SHEARER MEMORIAL LECTURE
5:00 P.M. KNOW YOUR STATUS! HIV TESTING
As a part of programming for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, AIDS Project RI will offer free and anonymous testing. Faunce, Petteruti Lounge 6:00 P.M. MENTAL HEALTH MONOLOGUES
Active Minds and Students for Samaritans will sponsor this open mic event with performances drawing on the theme of mental health. Faunce, Underground
Karen Crouse, a New York Times correspondent, will present a lecture entitled “Is Sports Real Life or Just a Game? Reflections from the Global Playing Fields.” Friedman Auditorium 7:00 P.M. “TEACHERS ON TEACHING: PROVIDENCE SCHOOLS FROM AN EDUCATOR PERSPECTIVE”
Local teachers will offer insight into the Providence school district in this panel. Smith-Buonanno 201
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COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015
EDITORIAL
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
Applauding the sexual assault task force Since last fall, the Task Force on Sexual Assault has worked tirelessly to draft a formalized and comprehensive series of recommendations to more effectively address the pervasive issue of sexual assault on campus. The interim report, published in December, emphasized the pressing need to reform the campus judicial process, expand existing educational and training programs and provide more accessible and transparent resources. President Christina Paxson P’19 approved and set in motion the implementation of most of these recommendations, as she noted in a Jan. 22 community-wide email. Last Tuesday, the task force published its final report containing 12 main new recommendations. These suggestions included a unified University policy on sexual and gender-based harassment, sexual violence, relationship and interpersonal violence and stalking called the “Policy,” as well as the creation of a Title IX Office overseen primarily by newly-appointed Title IX Program Officer Amanda Walsh. In its extensive 63-page final report, the task force does well to articulate the substantial progress this academic year and address its three primary responsibilities: sexual assault prevention, student support and advocacy and policies and procedures for sexual misconduct. Nine of the 12 total recommendations set forth in some way involve Walsh, who must “oversee, coordinate and establish regular communication among offices and staff members involved in Title IX compliance,” Paxson wrote in an April 2 community-wide email. The task force recommends that the Title IX Office serve as the central resource and primary arbiter of the “Policy.” As the task force notes, the Title IX Office should be charged with enforcing a standardized process and protocol surrounding complaints of sexual assault, overseeing the training and education of appropriate University personnel and disseminating information to the community and University committees. These particular recommendations underscore a concerted effort by the task force to pair clear institutional structure with a transparent and centralized point of oversight, cutting through the unnavigable administrative maze of the past. These far-reaching structural changes will be paired with mandated educational programs for students, staff and faculty. To continue the conversation beyond campus, the task force also recommends that Paxson appoint a senior officer to the statewide task force on adult sexual assault. The final report demonstrates substantial progress in the ongoing and invaluable conversation surrounding sexual assault on campus. While the initial formation of the task force could have very well yielded marginal results, its transparent process, substantive recommendations and notable milestones underscore the true power of collaboration between students and the administration. Sexual assault is undoubtedly a sensitive and emotionally charged topic, and the various iterations of recommendations reflect an effective reconciliation of an amorphous and fragile issue with tangible solutions. The task force was able to balance structural changes and administrative centralization with sweeping educational programs that will allow for a heightened degree of awareness and engagement on campus and beyond. We strongly believe that this unified and standardized policy, paired with expanded and centralized resources, will go a long way in preventing future cases of sexual assault while also strengthening the support network for survivors on campus. We urge Paxson and the administration to maintain their demonstrated focus on the issue and swiftly implement the recommendations put forth by the task force, particularly the “Policy.” Paxson was able to implement the recommendations of the interim report in one month; we push the administration to stick to a similar timeline for this final set of recommendations. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Alexander Kaplan ’15 and James Rattner ’15, and its members, Natasha Bluth ’15, Manuel Contreras ’16, Baxter DiFabrizio ’15, Mathias Heller ’15 and Aranshi Kumar ’17. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
“It was crushing to lose an extra-inning game, but we were right there the whole way.” — Softball Head Coach Katie Flynn
See softball on page 4.
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COMMENTARY MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Transfer tribulations ANDREW FELDMAN opinions columnist
When the University sent decision letters to applicants to the class of 2019 last week, not every future Brown student received a response. The future members of the transfer classes of 2018 and 2018.5 won’t find out about their application until the middle of May. The process that transfer students experience is completely distinct from that of traditional freshmen and in many ways more challenging. But there are several fundamental changes that could be made to the process to improve students’ transitions to Brown. As a transfer student, even I know hardly any of the transfers. I can barely point out the 70 or so transfers who came in my semester, let alone the ones who came in the previous and following semesters. It’s not exactly as though we sport T-shirts distinguishing ourselves. Even if there were such shirts, I highly doubt many transfers would be willing to wear them. To this day I’m still finding out that classmates are transfers based on random conversations about meeting concentration requirements. In the transfer world, there isn’t exactly a sense of camaraderie. Strengthening this community could go a long way to easing the transfer process. One of the easiest ways to go about this would be creating specific floors
designated for transfer students. There is no way to relive a freshman dorm experience, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a transfer dorm experience. For many freshmen, college is their first extended time away from home, so a freshman dorm functions as a new family. Transfers, on the other hand, enter a school where a lot of people have already established social circles. Offering transfer students a similar medium to form relationships would help them become comfortable with the school before they began to branch
advisers and told to schedule a meeting with them while also coordinating meetings with requisite pre-professional counselors. But if the advisers themselves aren’t very receptive, these meetings could be delayed well into shopping period, which is in itself a relatively foreign entity to most transfer students. It took me until the second week of shopping period to get a hold of my adviser, at which point I was advised to pick up CHEM 0360: “Organic Chemistry” after having missed the first three classes. For those who haven’t taken orgo, it’s not
viser is in no way indicative of the overall advising system at Brown. I do, however, think it would be extremely beneficial to have certain concentration advisers dedicated specifically to transfer students. Of course these advisers could take on students who began their educations at Brown as well, but it is essential that advisers are specifically trained in how to handle transfer situations and are extremely motivated to help these students in any way possible. One of the more substantial flaws in the transfer process is that Brown
Strengthening the transfer student community could go a long way to easing the process.
out. Some transfer students might prefer to immediately shed the label of having transferred and want to be randomly assigned housing apart from other transfers. But as someone who was initially assigned housing in Graduate Center with four upperclassmen who didn’t even know each others’ names, I readily benefitted from living in a dorm with students returning from abroad as well as transfers. In order to ease the transition, more effective advising is also necessary. When transfers arrive on campus, they are assigned concentration
exactly a class one wants to start late. Advising transfer students is equally or even more important than advising first-years. By incorrectly selecting courses, students could be set back further from graduation. Because not all credits from previous universities always transfer over to Brown, graduating college in four years isn’t exactly a guarantee. Fewer credits to start out — combined with less time to complete concentration requirements that might not have been available at a previous university — makes effective advising all the more critical. My experience with my initial ad-
admits transfer students through need-aware admission, rather than through the need-blind admission that applies to domestic, first-year applicants. This makes admitting transfer students not only about the benefits they can give to the academic community, but also about the monetary compensation they can provide. An easy corollary to draw is the lack of diversity present in the transfer classes due to these obvious socioeconomic biases. Rather than investing in students’ diverse experiences and backgrounds to better the community, the University may very well be
investing in the endowment. The process devalues transfer students’ overall achievements that earned them admission. A lot of transfer students come to Brown and continue their many impressive achievements; there shouldn’t be any question that they were admitted based upon their own qualifications and under the same guidelines as every other first-year. Transferring schools is an extremely difficult process — having to balance rigorous courses, extracurricular involvement and a brand new environment is by no means an easy task. Nonetheless, the process can be extremely rewarding. Transfer students don’t come here because they just didn’t like their former university; many of them actually enjoyed them and maintain lasting sports rivalries with transfer students from schools in their former conferences. There are countless reasons that students transfer to Brown, including academic programs, geography and class size. While there are flaws in the transfer process, I would overcome them again to attend Brown. That said, the University needs to do more to ameliorate these obstacles for future transfer applicants and students.
Andrew Feldman ’15 can tell you all about how he was able to successfully mix the colors brown and (Syracuse) orange and can be reached at andrew_feldman@brown.edu.
The right to discriminate ANDREW POWERS opinions columnist
Recently, Indiana Governor Mike Pence started a national media firestorm by signing a religious freedom law, which would allow businesses to refuse service to gay and lesbian individuals on religious grounds. Many politicians and writers condemned the law, arguing that it would inevitably lead to the instatement of discriminatory practices throughout the state. One might think that any business owners hoping to prosper in a competitive market would be forced to fully engage their potential client base and that such discriminatory practices would not actually become widespread, as economic Darwinism would weed them out. But really this point does not consider the morality of the religious freedom law. Even if murder were completely nonexistent, we would still want it to be outlawed simply as a matter of principle. So to evaluate the morality of this law, we need only look at whether it could permit immoral practices in principle. And while I believe that the religious freedom law would in fact permit discrimination, I maintain that it — or even something stronger — is morally necessary in order to protect the right of individuals to conduct their private affairs. First, we need to understand what those who condemn the religious freedom law mean by “discrimination.” It is critically important to flesh out such definitions to avoid
talking past one another. Linguistic distinctions are immaterial and create unnecessary antagonism where there often is no meaningful disagreement. If someone says two plus three equals five and someone else says two plus three equals six, you would say the second individual is wrong. But now imagine the second individual uses the term “plus” to refer to what we call “times.” While you might find his definition impractical given our cultural context, you don’t really disagree with him regarding
this basis would constitute discrimination. Yet supporting anti-discriminatory legislation, which judges what are rational — and therefore acceptable — private behaviors is naive. Couched in different terms, this exact argument has been used to persecute gay and lesbian individuals, as well as other groups of people, throughout history and even in the United States today. Abraham Lincoln once wrote that when you “familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage … you are preparing your own limbs
Rights exist specifically to permit that which we, as a society, do not like. They apply to those with whom we disagree — especially to those with whom we disagree.
the original debate. In fact, when you come to understand each other’s languages, you realize that you’re not even discussing the same proposition. Hereafter I will use the definitions of the social justice blog “Racism School,” according to which discrimination is “the moment a person acts on prejudice,” where prejudice is defined to be “an irrational feeling of dislike for a person or group of persons.” Almost exclusively, homophobia in America stems from religious beliefs. I — along with most Brown students, I’m sure — believe religion is irrational, so denying a service on
to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises.” This is not some dystopian fiction — look at our politicians. While we argue that private discrimination fosters a culture of ignorance and homophobia, presidential candidate and Sen. Ted Cruz argues that homosexuality fosters a culture of depravity and sin. We should be exceedingly cautious when regulating the voluntary interactions between consenting adults — whether they are business transactions or sexual relationships. Rights exist specifically to permit that
which we, as a society, do not like. These principles apply to those with whom we disagree — especially to those with whom we disagree. As evidenced by the shutting down of the Ray Kelly talk last year, this is a point not well observed by many Brown students. It’s natural to argue that, in the case at hand, we know we’re right about the immorality of discrimination and that Cruz is obviously wrong about the immorality of homosexuality. But this is not a logically convincing argument. In particular, it is no more convincing than if Senator Cruz were to assert that we were wrong and that he was in the moral right. We use representative democracy to arbitrate these moral disagreements, but this is no more than a proxy for mob rule. It is individual rights that protect the minorities from the capriciousness of the prevailing majority. Selectively protecting the rights of only those with whom we agree and supporting legislation that disenfranchises those with whom we disagree leads to a continual increase in government power and erodes personal freedom. History teaches us that it is prudent to err heavily on the side of permissiveness, lest we, or our children, someday find ourselves members of the minority. Thus, the reasons for which Brown students support gay marriage should also encourage us to protect the rights of individuals to be left alone to discriminate in their private affairs.
Andrew Powers ’15 can be reached at andrew_powers@brown.edu.
SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015
BASEBALL
Five-game losing streak ends as Bruno splits weekend
KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD
Will Marcal ’15 recorded one of the three home runs in the second inning of the first game. The baseball team split the four game series against the Crimson. The victory marked the first win for Bruno in two weeks. the Bears gave the senior a comfortWhile Harvard outscores Bruno 37-26 on weekend, able cushion. Bears find way to split four-game series at home Robert Henry ’17, Will Marcal ’15 Crimson (16-15, 5-7) on Alumni and Noah Shulman ’16 all homered in By MATT BROWNSWORD Weekend. the bottom half of the second inning, SENIOR STAFF WRITER Eddie Fitzpatrick ’15 made the start resulting in the removal of Crimson The baseball team came into its four- in the first game Saturday, giving up starter Nick Greuner. Harvard gradugame series with Harvard this week- six earned runs in six innings of work ally pulled close to the Bears in the end on the heels of a terrible showing while striking out seven. Other than final three innings of the seven-inning against Penn and Columbia, but the the top of the first, Fitzpatrick never game, but Dante Bosnic ’18 pitched Bears (8-20, 4-8 Ivy) rebounded nicely, pitched from behind, as a two-run first the final frame for the Bears to secure splitting two doubleheaders with the inning and a six-run second inning for the 9-6 win.
The second game was one the Bears would like to forget, as Harvard batters exploded for an incredible 21 runs on 23 hits. Starter Taylor Wright ’15 gave up four runs in four innings of work, but the bulk of the Harvard offense came off of the Bears’ struggling bullpen. A seven-run fifth inning for the Crimson was answered by a sixrun sixth for the Bears, but Bruno was never within three runs after the fourth. Marcal had another good game for the Bears, tallying two RBIs on three hits in the blowout. Part of the problem was on the defensive side of the ball, as the Bears were charged with five errors. Brown ended up with 12 total for the weekend, while Harvard only committed three. “Some of it is just the field,” said Head Coach Grant Achilles. “But for the most part, it’s just guys trusting themselves in certain situations and then making the play.” Both offenses settled down in the third game of the weekend, as a change in the wind direction may have had an adverse effect on overall offensive production. Dave St. Lawrence ’15, who had been used as the closer for the last couple of weeks, only lasted an inning and a third after giving up three earned runs and four walks. Chris Smith ’15 came in and settled the Harvard batters down, but the Bears were unable to come up with anything offensively before falling 3-2. “We got a couple of good outings
from guys that had to keep us in games when our offense was struggling to score runs,” Achilles said. The pitchers performed better when the defense did not commit errors because it prevented them from facing so many batters and tiring out, he said. Surprisingly, Achilles chose to start Austin French ’16 instead of usual starter Reid Anderson ’18 in the final game against the Crimson. The gamble paid off, and a single each from Dan Kerr ’15 and Shulman resulted in a three-run third inning that gave Brown a lead it would not relinquish. “The hitters have been doing a good job. We had a good week of work to iron out some kinks,” Achilles said. “We started to see the type of offense that we’re capable of putting out.” French went five innings before handing the ball off to Anderson, who pitched the final four innings of the game. Shulman hit his second home run of the weekend to give the firstyear a necessary cushion. The Crimson’s Ethan Ferreira hit a home run in the top of the ninth to cut the Brown lead to one before Anderson shut the door, giving Brown the 8-7 win and the split with the Crimson. “Any time you can split against a quality opponent, that’s good,” Achilles said. “We would’ve liked to have three or four, obviously, but finding a way to win games without playing our best baseball is pretty key, and it helped us stay in the hunt for a division championship.”
M. LACROSSE
Bears struggle with quality of shots in loss to No. 9 Bulldogs Second period shift proves fatal for Bruno, despite five goals from Molloy ’17, three from Caputo ’16 By NIKKO PASANEN SPORTS STAFF WRITER
Despite hopes of getting back on track in Ivy League play, the No. 12 men’s lacrosse team came up short in its upset bid of No. 9 Yale Saturday, falling 16-10 in New Haven. Five tallies from Dylan Molloy ’17, the nation’s leading scorer, were not enough to carry Bruno (8-3, 2-2 Ivy) to victory. After an even first quarter, the Bulldogs (9-2, 3-2 Ivy) ended the game on a 12-6 run, sending the Bears to their worst loss of the year. “We are on a quest to win an Ivy title, and along the way we have a great deal to learn about ourselves,” said Head Coach Lars Tiffany ’90. “Against a very good Yale team, we played with great intensity and passion, but we were beat by Yale because they were more efficient in the half-field game and they proved they could score goals in transition similar to us.” Bruno initially looked to have a good shot at pulling off the win, jumping out to a 3-1 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Henry Blynn ’16 got the scoring started 48 seconds into the first quarter, and after Bruno conceded a goal shortly after, Molloy netted two goals in an 11-second window to give the Bears the lead again. But Yale responded with a little run of its own, leaving the score tied at four when the quarter came to a close.
The second period proved to be the turning point in the game, with the Bulldogs completely shutting down Brown’s high-powered attack. Yale took its first lead of the game only 56 seconds into the quarter and kept Bruno at bay while also tacking on two more goals in the last three minutes of the period. When the halftime whistle blew, the Bulldogs held a 7-4 advantage. Yale kept its momentum rolling at the start of the second half, scoring almost immediately to extend the lead to four. But Molloy made sure that the Bears would not fall too far behind, tallying back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to two. The two-goal margin was as close as Bruno would get to catching Yale, as the teams continually traded goals until the Bulldogs pulled ahead 11-8 on a last-second tally in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was all Yale, with the Bulldogs racing out to their largest lead of the game after scoring the first four goals of the period. Now trailing 15-8, the Bears responded with two goals by Brendan Caputo ’16, but it was too little, too late. Though Bruno came up short in its upset bid, Molloy provided a silver lining for the team. The star sophomore’s play has been a highlight for the team this year, and Saturday’s showing was arguably his best. Tiffany praised
Molloy for the way he has adapted over the year. “What really stands out for me is his willingness to take more instruction and to evolve as a player,” Tiffany said. “Many talented athletes simply rely on what has been successful in the past. Dylan realizes opposing defenses are studying him, and that if he wants to continue to be a scoring threat, he must raise the level of his play and find different ways to create offense.” But in terms of the team as a whole, Tiffany said he was well aware of why it did not come out on top. “The difference in yesterday’s game was the quality of shots being taken,” Tiffany said. “While the statistics were relatively even, Yale was able to create better looks at our cage from closer range. We need to deny transition better by running back in on defense faster, and we need to play team defense with greater awareness of covering the interior.” The Bears will now get ready to take on cross-town rival Providence Tuesday with hopes of breaking their first losing streak of the year. “I am proud of the emotional bounce-back this team showed me — we told each other we would learn from this loss, and we have,” Tiffany said. “We saw a few things on defense that needed to be addressed, as well as with our offense,” he added. “We have already started to work on them and others. We are eager to get back on the field Tuesday.”
KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD
Captain Tim Jacob ’15 helps anchor Bruno’s offense. The offense struggled to capitalize Saturday, while the defense gave up scoring opportunities.