SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
VOLUME CL, ISSUE 56
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD
TIMOTHY MUELLER-HARDER / HERALD
TIMOTHY MUELLER-HARDER / HERALD
Audience members converged on the Main Green for Saturday’s concerts, which featured Kelela (bottom right), What Cheer? Brigade, Pusha T and headliner Modest Mouse (top right). Yeasayer, Waka Flocka Flame and Hudson Mohawke took the stage Friday night.
Modest Mouse electrifies crowd while Hudson Mohawke fails to connect Spring Weekend concerts present varied musical styles across seven performances on Main Green By ZACK BU SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Bright shorts and tank tops, inappropriate make-out sessions, the pungent scent of secretly cached marijuana — all blended together in an abundance of skin, grass and laughs. Nothing declares the arrival of spring more loudly than the annual Spring Weekend concerts. Brown Concert Agency meticulously selected the 2015 lineup, comprising artists from varied genres and backgrounds. While most artists lived up to their hype, some fell short of expectations. Friday’s overcast weather and intermittent chills did not deter students’ readiness to plunge into the outdoor celebration. Thousands flocked to the enclosed Main Green, eager to hear the opening band, Yeasayer. Bantering with the crowd, lead singer Chris Keating revealed his Rhode Island School of Design education and joked about his ambiguous relationship with a costumed Elmo in the crowd while he conjured whimsical sounds with his synthesizer. Adeptly producing animated sound effects, Keating sang with a gnarled voice and moved his body spastically, recalling Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.
REVIEW
INSIDE
Yeasayer started with intensity, playing songs from its debut studio album “All Hour Cymbals” as Anand Wilder took over as lead singer. Wilder’s eclectic vocal style was infused with poignant wisdom. With Keating joking, “We have one hit. I think this is our one hit,” Yeasayer ended its session with more contemporary pop songs. Waka Flocka Flame appeared afterward, shifting the night’s vibe drastically with fierce rapping that commanded attention. Waka Flocka certainly has a unique style of performing: His voice was barbarous as he aggressively stomped and roamed around the stage. Swearing more frequently than Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Waka Flocka drove the entire crowd into a frenetic uproar, demonstrating his undeniable expertise in crowd-pleasing. He blended his own raps over remixes of hits such as “Turn Down for What,” keeping audience members engaged and moving throughout his set. While Waka Flocka remained finetuned to the crowd, Hudson Mohawke, the next performer, practically ignored it. The night’s headliner, Mohawke did not live up to the designation. Most audience members did not even realize his presence at first: Darkness shrouded
the entire stage, and Mohawke failed to interact with the crowd to indicate that he had started playing. Despite this shortcoming, his remixes and beats were novel and admirable on their own. Fortunately, Friday’s slightly gloomy weather did not persist into Saturday afternoon. Sunlight showered the Main Green as students started lining up for the second day of concerts. Ushering in the audience was a booming brass rendition of Erik Satie’s “Gnossienne,” performed by What Cheer? Brigade. The magnified version pumped the song up in grandness, claiming a charm distinct from the original’s haunting and ephemeral quality. Performing at Spring Weekend for the fourth consecutive year, the 19-piece brass band demonstrated adeptness at turning obscure classical pieces into brassy bangers. Standing and performing on the stairs of Sayles Hall — literally three feet from the crowd — the band managed to stir up a party and work the crowd without the staggering amplifier. Through shifts of pace, circling of themes, sustained climax and sudden halt, the band kept the audience alert and exited. Some inspired audience members started to spontaneously swing and jive, creating a cheerful afternoon brawl. At one point, other audience members ducked down to the ground as the band crescendoed, timing their movements
with the music. The seemingly choreographed interactions kicked off the afternoon on an upbeat note. Kelela performed next, bringing the music back to the main stage. In a time when R&B music often sounds manufactured and repetitive, Kelela’s mixture of electronic and R&B styles came across as refreshing and authentic. While her stylish image and sweet soprano are reminiscent of the late R&B genius Aaliyah, Kelela tackles the genre with a more experimental spirit. Hitting the high notes and nailing the turns, Kelela’s powerful and silky voice hovered above the stage. But appreciating the beauty of dissonance between these two styles takes energy and time. With audience members generally unfamiliar with her music, Kelela’s performance did not incite the strongest reaction from the crowd. Any previous tepidness was swept away by Pusha T, who came out strong with his potent rapping. More people flowed to the Main Green as the sun set, and all were drawn to the front of the stage like magnets. Supported by another rapper on stage, Pusha T rolled out rhythms and words, shooting doses of adrenaline to the crowd. Hefty bass with earthshaking momentum prevailed throughout Pusha T’s performance. As the evening progressed, the crowd enthusiastically adjusted and assembled for the final act.
After a seven-year hiatus from releasing new music, Modest Mouse returned to the stage with its latest album, “Strangers to Ourselves.” The band emerged with Isaac Brock’s frantic shouts accompanying intensive strumming of guitars. After being bombarded by synthetic music, the audience embraced Modest Mouse’s substantial and original artistry. Altering comfortably between different styles and instruments, Modest Mouse displayed great versatility — a characteristic that defines its career trajectory. Brock’s eccentric vocal style pierced through the band’s acoustic meditations and earsplitting jamming. Though at times overwhelmed by electronic augmentation, Modest Mouse’s playing retained the visceral and unfeigned vibe that made many Brown students originally fall in love with the band. After a number of songs and instances of Brock conversing with the audience in his typically crude manner, the band retreated from the stage. In response to ceaseless chanting of “Modest Mouse,” “Float On” and “encore,” the band came back to the stage and belted out a few of their greatest classics, including the career-defining anthem “Float On.” The crowd joined in on the chorus, feeding off of its nostalgia for the song and putting a perfect end note on the two-day extravaganza.
WEATHER
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
SPORTS No. 13 men’s lacrosse relies on strong defensive effort to earn victory over No. 10 Cornell
SPRING WEEKEND See a full page of photos of artists’ performances from Spring Weekend 2015
COMMENTARY Corverse ’15: Student loans prevent freedom of career choice after graduation
COMMENTARY Mills ’15: Forging and preserving meaningful relationships is the most important part of college
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UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 2 • MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Blog presents international student views on language, culture International Writers’ Blog helps English Language Learners build community, share experiences By KATHARINE GROETZINGER STAFF WRITER
What started as a learning tool for students working on their English turned into one of the newest publications on campus. Director of English Language Learning Rachel Toncelli launched the International Writers’ Blog to make working on written English more exciting for her students. Toncelli holds workshops through the Writing Center to help English language learners become better editors of their own writing, and she also works with the students individually on class papers. “I was realizing that while that’s valuable, it’s more interesting to be editing something that you plan to share — a real authentic communication,” she said. Toncelli tells her students’ stories as though they were her own, stressing their passions as well as their frustrations with adjusting to a new culture and missing their own. She is quick to share the story of Julmar Carcedo ’16, who identifies as “a gay Filipino from a low socioeconomic status and a broken family in Mindanao” in his piece titled “You shouldn’t have to be this lucky.” — the first piece published on the blog. “I felt like that was a really important piece to launch with and a really
important piece for him to write,” Toncelli said. “He said he wanted his community of friends at Brown to know where he came from, to understand who he was, because he felt like nobody really knew him.” Beyond developing innovative ways to help make learning English more accessible and fun, Toncelli aims to help her students find their voices and the confidence to use them, she said. “I think that sometimes, unfortunately, people look at people whose first language isn’t English and they see that as a deficit, or they hear an accent that isn’t English and they make a judgment,” she said. A piece on the blog titled “Tongue Tied” written by the blog’s current Editor-in-Chief Devika Girish ’17 deals with this theme explicitly. In the piece, which she submitted before joining the blog, Girish writes of her Indian accent, recounting the moment she realized language was tied to her identity. “My oratory skills had been the defining trait of my high school persona,” she writes in the piece. “Yet, here I was, standing in that dark corner of the classroom, nauseous with anxiety at the prospect of speaking for a couple of minutes in front of a handful of people.” Girish reached out to Toncelli after reading a post by the International
Mentoring Program about the International Writers’ Blog on Facebook. She had previously published “Tongue Tied” in post- Magazine, but she and Rachel decided the piece embodied the ethos of the blog so well that it was worth publishing it again. “It took me a semester and a half to be confident that I can write as well as anyone else in this community,” Girish said, adding, “Being able to articulate yourself in a public space is very empowering.” Girish’s intimate understanding of the power of expression, combined with her interest in writing, led her to consider assuming a permanent role at the blog with Toncelli and Toncelli’s intern Olivia Mansion GS, who together launched and ran the blog last semester. “When I saw it I was like, ‘This is awesome. This is what I’ve been thinking about,’” Girish said of her first meeting about the project with Toncelli, gesticulating with palpable enthusiasm. Girish met with Toncelli over coffee and pitched the idea of creating a board of student editors. By the end of the meeting, the International Writers’ Blog had a new editor-in-chief . At the end of last semester Girish launched a process to form a team of five student editors and two artists. “When (Girish) came on board, it really exploded,” Toncelli said, crediting Girish with helping her and Mansion strike a balance between serving
ELLs with the blog and providing fluent students with a space to tell their stories. “We want to raise the volume on international voices,” Toncelli said, adding, “But what does international mean? … It depends on where you’re standing.” Mansion demonstrates that the term ‘international’ can retain personal relevance for people who grew up in the United States, too. She is in her first year studying English language acquisition and cross-cultural perspectives as a master’s student at Brown. She and Toncelli met at an orientation for international graduate students at the beginning of the year. Her interest in cross-cultural experience transcends the fact that she is not international herself. In the same vein, one does not have to be international, or even a student, to contribute to the blog. If a story focuses on navigating culture or language, it is fair game. With this mindset, Mansion invited fellow student and United States native, Benjamin Fancy GS, to contribute a piece about his experience teaching English in Toulouse, France as a cross-cultural perspective. In his piece, titled “Une Belle Rose Rouge,” Fancy writes of his experience teaching English in southwestern France. “Now, here I was in France, teaching English to native French speakers … but as I found out very quickly, few of them actually spoke my English,” he writes in the piece. He notes that both his “textbook French” and American accent in English, as opposed to their southwestern French and their acquired British accent, made him feel like an outsider in his new community. He arrives at the conclusion “that there’s a lot of beauty in deviating from socalled ‘standard’ pronunciations.” “One of the reasons I wanted to be part of this project is to show that American students can be interested in international issues,” Fancy said. “The wonderful thing about the blog is that it brings different voices together.” Additionally, the blog also features a piece by Esperanza Godoy, visiting teaching associate in the Department of Hispanic Studies, and it will soon include a piece by a Brown employee who grew up in Rhode Island. “The author writes about how working at Brown is like being in a foreign country within Rhode Island,” Toncelli said of the upcoming piece. “We are super excited that we have faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduates, even a post-doc. We have a really broad section of writers,” she added. Toncelli views the blog’s campuswide presence as an opportunity to bring Brown community members together in person for conversations sparked by the pieces on the blog. At the top of a few pieces is a note from the editors: “Let’s continue this conversation. We invite interested members of the Brown community to an IWB Luncheon to discuss multicultural identity.” In addition to these luncheons, Toncelli and Mansion return to the roots of the blog by hosting workshops in order to serve ELLs and to further foster community around
English acquisition. These workshops aim to allow students to engage in activities and write reflections that are posted on the blog. In a workshop post entitled “Smile and Wave … or Maybe Not. Reflections on Greetings Around the World,” Toncelli and Mansion asked students how people say “hello” in their native countries and how these greetings differ from American ones. Attendees were then instructed to record greetings from multiple people, producing a video for the blog. Many of the posts on the blog are collaborations. A comic strip series entitled “FIRSTS” recounts amusing situations the students have encountered in America. For this series, students pitch their ideas to the editors, and once their ideas accepted, they are paired with one of the two IWB artists — He Ri Kwon ’16 and Bonny Cai ’17 — who help bring the stories to life. The longer pieces on the blog are also paired with illustrations. Kwon, who illustrated a piece titled “Karma,” said she made some sketches after receiving a draft and then met with the author in person to discuss her ideas. “I didn’t expect to become really good friends with her,” Kwon said. “The good thing I didn’t really expect is the community made by the blog.” At an IWB workshop earlier this month, Kwon and her new friends played food-related Jeopardy! with a group of 10 international students. Toncelli said the idea for this workshop came out of conversations she had been having with many ELLs about their struggles to decipher American menus. Questions included “What does ‘combo’ mean?” and “If you order apple pie ‘a la mode,’ what will you get?” The three teams deliberated on each question for a minute or two before Toncelli called out for an answer. When no one knew, each team made a guess and laughed at others’ outlandish answers. “What are four ingredients in Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie?” Toncelli asked. “Chocolate, fudge, brownie and … chickpeas!” one team yelled out, spurring smiles from everyone in the room. Kwon’s team quickly pulled away due to her superior menu knowledge. At one point, she even gave a full set of instructions for making French toast. At the end of the workshop, after distributing Ben and Jerry’s gift cards to the winning team, Toncelli asked everyone what their favorite American food was, sparking lively conversation. She went around the room, checking in with every student and mentioning various foods, including clam chowder and scones. “One misconception about my job is that it is only to help with writing, but I’m really charged with taking care of ELLs,” she said. “We didn’t write that much at that workshop, but we had great conversation, so I call it a win.” For Toncelli, success comes in many forms, which is evident on the blog. “We don’t really have limits,” she said, adding “We like to say we’re only limited by our own creativity, and there’s just so much to say and see and understand about the world.”
SPORTS
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
M. LACROSSE
Defensive pressure anchors crucial victory over No. 10 Cornell Six different players find back of net during third quarter, propel Bruno in front of Big Red By NIKKO PASANEN SPORTS STAFF WRITER
With the battle for the Ivy League title heating up, the No. 13 men’s lacrosse team put on its best showing of the year in a convincing 15-6 win over No. 10 Cornell Saturday. The Bears (10-3, 3-2 Ivy) now control their own
» W. LACROSSE, from back plan against them,” McDonald said. “We definitely limited their top kid to lower than they’ve scored all season long, so that was a big cause for us.” Dartmouth kicked off the second half with its fifth goal of the game. Abby Bunting ’15 brought the Bears back within one of the Big Green for a score of 4-5. The one-goal deficit was the closest Bruno would get for the rest of the day. Following Bunting’s goal, Dartmouth went on a scoring spree, notching four goals in the span of six minutes. The offensive burst dug a five-goal hole for the Bears from which they could not escape. “We played a lot of defense at the beginning (of the second half),” McDonald said. “There were a couple key turnovers in the midfield that I think
destiny and can clinch a spot in the league’s four-team tournament with a win against Dartmouth next weekend. Bruno was led by the outstanding play of goalie Jack Kelly ’16, who made a season-best 21 saves on 27 shots in the team’s strongest defensive performance of the year. Saturday’s matchup against Cornell (9-4, 3-2 Ivy) “was a huge game for us,” said Alec Tulett ’17. “We brought a lot of energy right from the first whistle, and I think the difference maker was that we maintained and intensified our energy throughout the game.”
On the offensive end, the Bears were driven by Henry Blynn ’16, who connected four times on the day to bring his season total to 34 goals. Dylan Molloy ’17, the nation’s leading scorer, was double-teamed throughout the game, but he still managed to score twice and contribute five assists. Also adding to the attack were Bailey Tills ’16 and Nick Piroli ’15, who each netted two goals. Kelly anchored the dominant defensive showing, but it was certainly not a one-man effort. Tulett led the team with eight ground balls, while Larken Kemp ’17 pressured the Cornell
translated directly to their goals that we would like back for sure.” Gion responded to Dartmouth’s offensive campaign with her second goal of the day to narrow the gap to four, but Dartmouth’s Jaclyn Leto finished her hat trick a few minutes later to regain their five-goal margin. With less than two minutes remaining, the lead was virtually insurmountable for the Bears. Dahle completed her own hat trick in the last minute of play, cementing a final score of 10-6 for Bruno’s fifth Ivy loss of the season. Kellie Roddy ’15 was solid in net, blocking 10 of the 20 shots she faced. Her season save percentage of 47.4 percent ranks third in the Ivy League. The Bears also won more draw controls than the Big Green and took a relatively even number of shots. But their 12 second-half turnovers
revealed some of their offensive struggles, while their second-half clear percentage of 37.5 pointed to some defensive shortcomings. “We grinded it out until the end for sure and were aggressive, stuck to the game plan and stuck with each other for the entire 60 minutes,” McDonald said. “I was definitely proud of the effort overall from top to bottom from the team. … It really does take a lot of mental, physical, emotional strength to battle a team like that.” Bruno wraps up its season next week with a contest against conference powerhouse Princeton. Last year’s victory over Princeton broke a 23-year losing streak older than most of the squad’s players. The Bears are looking to repeat history Saturday and end their season on a high note with a win over the Tigers.
attackers constantly in the midfield. Tulett cited several other players who were critical to the team’s win as well. “Special performances in my mind were Will Gural ’16, who went over 50 percent at the faceoff against one of the best (faceoff specialists) in the country, our stay-at-home defensemen Stephen Loudon ’15 and Will Swindell ’15 and our short-stick defensive midfielders Corbin Booker ’15 and Nick Weeden ’15, who shut down Cornell’s attack,” Tulett said. The Bears got off to a good start in the first quarter, something they have
done time and time again this year. After allowing an early goal, Bruno responded with four of its own in a three-minute span, with two goals coming while the Bears were a man up. Blynn was involved in three of the four goals, scoring twice and tacking on an assist. After holding a 4-1 advantage heading into the second quarter, the Bears’ lead was quickly trimmed to one less than two minutes later. But thanks to Kelly’s stellar play in net, Bruno did not relinquish the lead and kept the Big » See M. LACROSSE, page 4
SPORTS
PAGE 4 • MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Sleepers in the NBA playoffs JAMES COHAN sports columnist
There are no Cinderellas in the NBA Playoffs. I went to Wikipedia to prove my point, and I was shocked by what I found. In this millennium, just one team below a fourth seed has made it to the Conference Finals. In other words, every year for 14 years, the entire lower half of the bracket has failed to win two rounds, with the exception of the 2013 Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were a fifth seed, and they beat the Russell Westbrook-less Thunder in the second round before getting curb stomped by the Spurs, 4-0, in the Conference Finals. If you’re a fan of a playoff team without one of the four best records in its conference, now would be a good time to start steeling yourself for the inevitable. Enjoy the playoff games your team takes part in, and then start thinking about next year. Or, if you’re like me and prefer to pain yourself by rationalizing why you still have a chance, read on as I break down every team I see as a potential sleeper.
» TRACK, from back in shot put, finishing third with a 16.39 meter throw. At Princeton, the small Bruno squad struggled to break into the top spots on
Washington (East, fifth seed) The Case For: The Wizards’ starting lineup has only played together in 40 games. For those who aren’t mathematically inclined, that’s about half of 82, which makes it hard to rack up an impressive win total. But finally all five guys are healthy, and that lineup is killing dudes when it’s on the court together. It outscores opponents by an average of 7.4 points per 100 possessions. This performance is comparable to that of the Hawks’ starters, who boast the sixth-best starting lineup in the NBA. In the playoffs, when starters log more minutes and coaches tighten up their rotations, having the best five-man unit matters more than ever. And while the Wizards’ win total may have fallen short of certain irrational fans’ expectations, amazingly and depressingly it is still the most the Wizards/Bullets have had since the 1978-1979 season. The Case Against: Head Coach Randy Scott Wittman. The Wizards’ offensive strategy often seems to be to make things as hard on themselves as possible. John Wall’s good enough to bail the Wizards out, but it’s a constant uphill battle. This stuff isn’t that complicated. Everyone knows threes are effective. And
yet despite the Wizards putting up the ninth-best percentage from deep, they’re 27th in the league in attempts. The only teams with fewer are the Kings (dysfunctional), the Grizzlies (can’t shoot) and the Timberwolves (terrible basketball team). Factor in that no D.C. team has ever and will ever make it past the second round of the playoffs, and things become grim. Prediction: The Wizards beat a not-that-great opponent in the first round for the second year in a row, thanks to the blessing that is the East’s lack of talent. In Round Two, Wittman stares at the Hawks’ movement with a look on his face that says, “I’m trying to pass off my confusion as frustration.” The Wizards lose despite Wall being the best player on the court.
the podium. Taylor Worthy ’17 recorded the team’s best finish with 16th place in the 800-meter run, good for a top-10 program time. “I’m super proud of the performances this weekend,” Akande said. “We are on
the right path to peak at outdoor championships.” The team will continue its preparation for the upcoming Heptagonal Championships by competing in the Penn Relays next weekend.
Brooklyn (East, eighth seed) The Case For: To believe in the Nets, you have to really, really believe in Joe Johnson. And you have to think that, though the Nets’ players have looked like they no longer enjoy playing basketball for most of the season, it’s a team with a decent amount of talent that finally may be playing to its potential. That potential still doesn’t give them any chance of ever winning a title, but it is good enough for them to
win a playoff series in a bad conference. So why not get excited, Nets fans? It’s not getting any better than this. Not for a long, long, long time. The Case Against: All year, Brooklyn has not been a good team, and it is only in the playoffs because six games below .500 is good enough to make the playoffs in the East. Prediction: Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez put up nice stats, the Hawks blow by the Nets easily, Lopez leaves in free agency and the Nets take mediocrity to previously unseen heights in 2016. Dallas (West, seventh seed) The Case For: Exactly what people feared might go wrong after the Rajon Rondo trade went wrong. No matter how you twist the numbers, the Mavericks offense with Rondo is significantly worse than it is without him. In Dallas’ loaded conference, that drop is enough for most people to cross Dallas off the list. While that’s probably fair, this perspective might miss the big picture. The details are that since the trade deadline, Dallas has had an average record and offensive struggles. The big picture is that this is exactly where the Mavs were last
» M. LACROSSE, from page 3 Red’s momentum at bay. After a nearly 10-minute scoreless stretch, Blynn connected with only two seconds left in the half, handing the Bears a 6-4 lead at the intermission. The third quarter began Bruno’s most dominant stretch of the game. Though Cornell scored the first goal of the period, the Bears scored six of the next seven to take a commanding 12-6 lead. Bruno’s offensive depth was on full display, with a different player scoring each of the six goals. Holding a six-goal advantage, Bruno cruised through the fourth quarter. The Bears continued to shut down the
year, when they were a 49-win eight seed and somehow took the Spurs to seven in a series that most people predicted to be a sweep. The Spurs proceeded to blow away their next opponents in five, six and five games on their way to the title, so the Mavs’ performance is only more impressive in hindsight. And unlike last year’s Dallas team, this one actually has some talent outside of Dirk and Monta. Forget Rondo for a second. Adding Tyson Chandler and Chandler Parsons while losing basically no one is a massive upgrade. Combine that with Head Coach Rick Carlisle as well as Dirk’s recent playoff record, and the Mavs might be a legitimate sleeper. The Case Against: The reasons I led in with. The numbers are bad, and everything looks off. Every run of success comes to an end with a thud, and this has the makings of a loud thud. Prediction: Dallas puts up more of a fight than people expect in the first round, but it goes down in six against a team that is just plain better.
James Cohan ’17 can be reached at james_cohan@brown.edu. Big Red attack and scored three goals of their own to extend the lead all the way to 15-6. The dominant second half proved that Bruno certainly belongs among the best in the Ivy League. The Bears now look to avoid a setback as they gear up to take on local rival Bryant and then cap off Ivy League play against Dartmouth. Bruno has fallen victim to lesser opponents after big wins earlier this year, but this time the team seems ready for the challenge. With a playoff spot on the line, the Bears cannot afford a slip-up. “We have learned from our past mistakes,” Tulett said. “We will bring the intensity and energy that we need to beat these teams.”
SPRING WEEKEND MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
ELI WHITE / HERALD
TIMOTHY MUELLER-HARDER / HERALD
SADIE HOPE-GUND / HERALD
TIMOTHY MUELLER-HARDER / HERALD
ZEIN KLEIF / HERALD
SADIE HOPE-GUND / HERALD
MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD
TIMOTHY MUELLER-HARDER / HERALD
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
EDITORIAL
CORRECTION
Response to Emma Sulkowicz’s talk
Due to an editing error, an article in Tuesday’s Herald (“Event offers advice for sophomore year,” April 14) said current Matched Advising Program for Sophomores coordinator Chinezi Ihenatu ’15 explained the program. In fact, it was Kimberley Charles ’16, one of next year’s coordinators. The Herald regrets the error.
On Thursday, Emma Sulkowicz spoke to Brown students about her experience with sexual assault and its influence on her senior thesis. Her story made national headlines when Columbia allowed her alleged rapist back on campus. In her talk, she explored the idea of consent in a sometimes controversial manner. In particular, Sulkowicz argued that there is no scientific, objective method of proving sexual assault; in other words, the only people who can truly assess consent are the two involved. Yet date-rape drugs such as GHB, when accurately determined to be in someone’s system, indicate lack of consent or the lack of the ability to give consent in a sexual encounter. ‘Consent’ is a seemingly simple word. Oxford Dictionaries defines it as the “permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.” Yet when it comes to sexual assault, our idea of consent can be murky. Sulkowicz, for instance, addressed the idea of violent sexual encounters and BDSM. Made popular through novels such as “Fifty Shades of Grey,” these acts further complicate our idea of sexual assault. There was a point in time when the presence of bruises would automatically indicate rape. But as Sulkowicz addressed, bodily harm could now reflect a form of consensual sex. In her case, the bruises from her alleged rapist are not a definitive indication of sexual assault — as argued by Sulkowicz herself. When it came to her ideas on drugs and consent, her argument began to falter. Sulkowicz insisted that the presence of date-rape drugs in someone’s system does not conclusively prove sexual assault. Some people, she said, might ask to be given drugs such as GHB in an effort to live out a sexual fantasy. In this case, consent has been given to be drugged. Therefore, according to Sulkowicz’s argument, laboratory results indicating the presence of date-rape drugs cannot accurately demonstrate a lack of consent. In sexual assault cases, however, the issue is not whether someone consented to receiving a date-rape drug. The issue lies in whether someone consented to sex. Date-rape drugs such as GHB lower inhibitions, cause memory loss and lead to drowsiness. Essentially, the ingestion of these drugs renders someone incapable of giving consent in a sexual encounter. Sulkowicz’s ideas on sexual assault and consent are possibly troubling for survivors. It is, perhaps, an incredibly isolating experience to believe that the only people who can evaluate whether consent was given are those involved. It is essential that we assure students that sexual assault cases can be objectively investigated through rape kits and accurate laboratory testing.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“We have learned from our past mistakes.” — Alec Tulett ’17
See m. lacrosse on page 3.
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COMMENTARY MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
The limits of loans GABRIELLA CORVESE opinions columnist
One of the most jarring parts of the senior year career search was learning which jobs I wouldn’t be able to accept — not because I’m unqualified, but because I couldn’t afford them. Like many other Brown students from middle-class backgrounds, I took out a combination of federal and private loans to pay for my education. And since I will be paying off these loans for months to come, I have no other choice than to prioritize my salary when making career decisions. It’s not even a salary that would let me live in the lap of luxury, but one that would permit me to pay my monthly loan payments while trying to maintain a somewhat comfortable lifestyle. When I admit to others that salary is a nonnegotiable consideration for my post-graduation life, I feel as though I am betraying the liberal arts ethos instilled in me over the past four years. But as wonderful as an unpaid Hollywood internship or position at a magazine in Manhattan may sound, their requirements and rewards do not mesh comfortably with paying off loans. While the decision to take out loans is individual, it is influenced
by images of Ivy League grandeur — a top-notch education culminating in an emotionally fulfilling and financially rewarding career. For this reason, I can’t help but feel frustrated at the end of my Brown career. The dreams I was encouraged to pursue don’t align with the path my financial background forced me to take, and I suspect that this is the case for many of my peers. The University occupies a unique
lished by the Institute for College Access and Success. With Brown also reporting the second-lowest default rate in the Ivy League, not all of the numbers are ugly, but there is a clear loan problem nonetheless. The growing student loan burden will also drastically affect our national economy. Last May, the New York Times reported that student loan debt will affect the creation of small businesses — and consequent-
monthly loan payments. But the individual consequences can also be dramatic — US News reported that students with a large amount of debt were “less likely to be thriving physically” as well as less likely to maintain a sense of purpose in their actions. To some, raging about loans may seem symptomatic of the entitled millennial mindset — why can’t I have my debt-free cake and eat it,
If Brown truly wants to preserve its value of passionate, exploratory education, it must prioritize the removal of loans from financial aid packages.
and troublesome position in regard to loans. Unlike the majority of Ivy League schools, Brown offers loans in financial aid packages due to the “function of resources,” Director of Financial Aid James Tilton told The Herald in November. Brown’s class of 2013 also had the highest student loan debt per borrower in the Ivy League — a title that Brown graduating classes have held for the last five years, according to a report pub-
ly jobs at those businesses — as well as home ownership. The Times also reported on a study that found that students with loans were less likely to pursue careers in the public interest, including those in government, education and the nonprofit sector, which is likely motivated by those positions’ lower salaries. It’s difficult for me to internalize these long-term consequences, especially when thinking about
too? Perhaps I should have studied computer science or attended a cheaper public school! But when the growing burden of student loans demonstrates that debt is fundamentally incompatible with certain career paths, a liberal arts institution like the University must act accordingly. If Brown truly wants to preserve its value of passionate, exploratory education, it must prioritize the re-
moval of loans from financial aid packages. The portion of students to which Brown offers loans is not small — 46 percent of undergraduates are receiving need-based aid that includes loans and grants this academic year, according to the University’s website. Brown can address the national problem of student loan debt by improving its internal processes, though this would not be an overnight solution due to the host of other factors determining financial aid distribution. While article after article reveals the economic dangers of taking out student loans — both personally and nationally — it is difficult for me to say that students in similar positions should not take them. My loans permitted my Brown education, which was an incomparable and unforgettable experience, and I am sure they have done the same for many other students. Happiness and financial success are not mutually exclusive — it’s okay to pause the pursuit of happiness to maintain financial footing. Since there isn’t much more that those of us with loans can do, we can at least hope Brown students after us see some improvements.
Gabriella Corvese ’15 is a former Herald opinions editor and can be reached at gabriella_corvese@brown.edu.
What I know now WALKER MILLS opinions columnist
This will probably be the last column I write — graduation is rapidly approaching and The Herald doesn’t retain its columnists as alums. In preparation for this column, I wanted to think about what I would say to someone, maybe an incoming freshman, who asked for one piece of advice. What do I wish someone had told me four years ago? I settled on relationships. When I’m gone from here, what will I remember the most clearly? It will be the people I met and shared my time with. I enjoyed my classes, and I pulled my hardest in all my races, but it’s the relationships I forged with my professors, classmates and teammates that will stick with me. Some of my happiest and most fulfilling memories are conversations or moments I shared with other people, many of whom I no longer know well or haven’t spoken to in God knows how long. Make sure to treasure your relationships. Hold them dear, and don’t let people slip away from you. When there is conflict, forgive or forget. Go out of your way to talk to someone on the street you haven’t seen in a while — get coffee or lunch with an old friend. You probably don’t know when you’ll see them again. People you lose out on will be your biggest
regrets. The girl who you never texted back, the friend with whom you fought and never made amends or the classmate with whom you fell out of touch. Not the class you took S/NC but earned an A in. These relationships are usually harder to identify because they are often just the casualties of our priorities. School comes first, then maybe clubs or athletics, then the scramble for jobs and our future. Our relationships can fall by the wayside if we aren’t care-
favorite kinds of candy and how often they do their laundry. You could graduate and never live as closely with your friends ever again. In this age of instant communication and social media, it can be easy to convince yourself that you are maintaining a friendship while in fact you are letting it wither. A “Happy Birthday! <3!” Facebook post or the occasional ‘like’ give only the false sense of connection. There is no engagement there. Even
Meaningful communication is deliberate, not just convenient or obligatory.
ful, and letting people we are close with slip away is the worst kind of opportunity to lose. College may be the best time to build lasting friendships. You get to know people and build relationships with an ease that you may not be able to find later in life. In college, you see your friends and peers at their best and their worst, during their highs and their lows. I’ve lived with the same people for four years. I know what to do when they sleepwalk, their
a quick text exchange can be relatively meaningless, the immediacy of the communication serving only to highlight how out of touch you are. Meaningful communication is deliberate, not just convenient or obligatory. I’ve done a fair amount of letter writing, and I’m a staunch proponent of postcards. The slowness and extra time it takes to write add value to the communication. I think most of us understand the value
of relationships. Maybe I’m even behind the curve and everyone does a better job than me. It’s easy to keep up with your family and your best friends even across time and the enormous distances we travel to go to school and eventually to work. But everyone has a group of people they enjoy and care about whom, for some reason or the other, they let slip away. So, what exactly is my advice then? Make your relationships a priority. If you let them slip now you may not get a second chance. Many things will get easier as we get older, but these four years are prime time for making friends. We’re surrounded by thousands of peers — peers with relatively similar interests — and we’re in an environment that is relatively carefree. It’s about effort and giving your time to someone not just because it’s convenient or because you need something from them but because you care about them and can simply enjoy their company. If it’s a professor you know, go to his or her office hours; don’t just send an email. If it’s the birthday of a friend from home, call his or her instead of just sending a text or posting on Facebook. Most of us will be separated from four years worth of friends and acquaintances, but we shouldn’t let the inconvenience of distance allow us to fall away from each other. Let’s keep in touch.
Walker Mills ’15 plans on graduating in May with the rest of the senior class.
SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
SOFTBALL
W. LACROSSE
Bears take one of four with eight-run inning Physical squad overwhelms Despite losses, Bears exert dominance in game two, hand second conference loss to Dartmouth squad By CALEB MILLER SPORTS STAFF WRITER
While many Brown students made their way to the Main Green for the Spring Weekend concerts, the softball team hit the road for one of its toughest tests of the season. Bruno (11-19, 5-1 Ivy) salvaged a single win in a four-game set at conference-leading Dartmouth. While a 1-3 weekend is not typically positive, Bruno’s 9-0 win Saturday afternoon was impressive considering that Dartmouth (21-14, 14-2) lost only one of its first 12 Ivy games and had yet to fall at home. The Big Green handled the Bears in a 6-1 game Saturday morning and bounced back from its first home loss to sweep Sunday’s doubleheader by scores of 4-0 and 6-0. “I am overall very proud of the way the team played,” said Katie Orona ’18. “We competed with one of the top teams in the Ivy League and showed we can hold our own against them.” The weekend’s opening match was a pitcher’s duel for the first five innings.
Leah Nakashima ’17 breezed through the first five frames in the circle, allowing just three hits and one run. A home run from Trista Chavez ’15 had Bruno knotted at one until the wheels fell off in the bottom of the sixth. Two hit-bypitches, three hits and three Bruno errors combined to hand Dartmouth five runs that would decide the game. The stagnant Bruno offense found its stride in the third inning of game two. The Bears broke out for an incredible eight runs in the top of the third inning — more runs than either team could manage in any other game over the weekend. Eleven of the first 12 Bears to step to the plate in the inning notched hits, and the fireworks came from Yeram Park ’18 and Julia Schoenewald ’17. Park plated the first two runs of the inning with a double, and Schoenewald followed her with a resounding home run. When the dust had lifted, the Bears had smacked 11 hits in one inning — three more than the team managed in two games combined on Sunday. To make the offensive onslaught all the more impressive, it came against Dartmouth hurler Morgan McCalmon, who had lost only one of her first eight decisions. Orona took advantage of the sizable lead to throw a gem and even her record at 7-7. Orona allowed just
BASEBALL
Bruno barely outscored by division-leader Dartmouth Decisive last inning hits, home-field advantage contribute to Big Green victories over Brown By MATT BROWNSWORD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Going head-to-head in a four-game stretch with Red Rolfe Division leader Dartmouth was sure to be a tough matchup for the baseball team. Though Brown (8-26, 4-12 Ivy) showed the Big Green (16-19, 12-4) a valiant effort, the Bears fell in four consecutive games by a total margin of six runs. The first matchup of the four-game slate ended in the Bears’ worst defeat of the series by a score of 3-0. Eddie Fitzpatrick ’15 started for the Bears and pitched his best game of the season in terms of ERA, going six innings with two strikeouts and one earned run. A double in the bottom of the third by Joe Purritano scored Ben Socher to give the Big Green a one-run lead. An error by Noah Shulman ’16 on a Nick Lombardi steal allowed Lombardi to reach second and then score after a two-out triple by Kyle Holbrook and a double by Matt Macdowell. Mike Mancato pitched a complete game for the Big Green, allowing only six hits and giving up no walks. Taylor Wright ’15 started the second game for the Bears, which was the first of three consecutive one-run defeats at the hands of the Big Green. Wright had three strikeouts and allowed five earned runs in five innings. Chris Smith ’15 pitched for the final three innings, giving up only one run. Dan Kerr ’15, who was moved to the sixth spot from the four-hole before the second game, and Nick Fornaca ’15 both homered in
the 6-5 loss. Robert Henry ’17 had an RBI groundout in the top of the ninth, but it was not enough as Jake Levine ’16 struck out with Sam Grigo ’18 on third. The first game of Sunday’s doubleheader was started by Reid Anderson ’18, who gave up one unearned run on one hit and three walks in six innings. Brown did not score in the first six innings, but a Will Marcal ’15 double and a Marc Sredojevic ’17 single tied the game in the top of the seventh inning — the only run that Dartmouth starter Duncan Robinson would give up in seven innings on the mound. Dave St. Lawrence ’15 came in at the bottom of the seventh and immediately allowed a single. After a sacrifice grounder to third and a wild pitch, MacDowell was able to hit a fly ball to the outfield, scoring the Dartmouth runner for the 2-1 win. The last tilt of the four-game series — which has been a tough pitching spot for the Bears this season — was the highest-scoring matchup of the weekend. Austin French ’16 got the start for Bruno but only lasted fourand-two-thirds innings, giving up four earned runs on four walks and seven hits. Dante Bosnic ’18 relieved him, pitching three and a third innings and giving up two runs. Bosnic typically comes into games when the Bears are leading, but since Brown was never ahead, he pitched the fourth game with Brown still within reach of the Big Green. Shulman hit a home run in the top of the ninth, scoring Henry and tying the game. St. Lawrence came in for the second time Sunday in the bottom of the ninth but was only able to get one out this time as Dartmouth quickly loaded the bases and Purritano won the game with a game-winning infield single.
two hits and a walk in her shutout of the Big Green. Unfortunately for the Bears, the offense had exhausted its strength on Saturday afternoon and went cold Sunday. Jessica Cherness ’15 surrendered four runs in a hard-fought complete game Sunday morning, but Rumley outdueled her with a four-hit shutout. Chavez picked up a pair of hits, but the Bears advanced a runner to third only once. Orona had her stuff working again in the weekend finale. She kept the game close until Dartmouth shortstop Katie McEachern deposited a pitch over the left field fence for a grand slam. McEachern leads the Big Green in homers from the leadoff spot, and her slam effectively won the game for Dartmouth. McCalmon rebounded from her disappointing effort Saturday to stifle the Bears in a complete game shutout Sunday. Bruno will start a critical series against Yale Saturday in the season’s final weekend. The Bulldogs are the only team standing between the Bears and the bottom of the conference. “Yale is a good team, and I look forward to taking the positive things we did this weekend against Dartmouth and carrying that over into this weekend,” Orona said.
Bruno offense at Hanover Dartmouth mounts four-goal scoring streak, overcoming Bruno’s strong defensive efforts By LAINIE ROWLAND SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The women’s lacrosse team’s 6-10 loss to a very physical Dartmouth squad Saturday dashed any hopes of qualifying for the Ivy League Tournament. Though the Bears (7-7, 1-5 Ivy) have proven that they can play on par with the best teams — most notably in their two-goal loss to a competitive No. 11 Penn team — the ability to win Ivy games has consistently eluded them. While the Bears never held the lead against the Big Green (2-11, 2-4), a tight first half highlighted both their strong defensive and offensive skills. “We were composed throughout the game — it was probably the most physical game that I’ve coached in in my career,” said Head Coach Keely McDonald ’00. Though Dartmouth is known for its physical style of play, the physicality was more intense than the Bears had expected, McDonald
said. Dartmouth scored first, less than two minutes into play, but Janie Gion ’15 quickly retaliated to tie the score. The Big Green took the chance to pull ahead, scoring twice more to take a 3-1 lead. Emma Dahle ’18 responded with her first of three goals for the day, capitalizing on a free position shot to pull the Bears to within one of Dartmouth. The Big Green found the back of the net again shortly after, but Dahle was persistent and notched her second goal to narrow the margin to one, with Bruno trailing 3-4 at the half. The back-and-forth scoring of the first half did not carry over to the second. Only one new player scored for Bruno after the break, demonstrating the Big Green’s defensive pressure. Dartmouth’s Jessica Frieder made only one save in the second half, letting in three shots. Bruno successfully limited many of the Big Green’s top weapons, but she was not able to shut down their offensive unit. “They have two really big offensive threats, number 23 and number 20. … Our team executed a really great game » See W. LACROSSE page 3
TRACK
Individuals find success along East Coast Ryan Kelly ’16 sets personal best at Virginia Challenge, places sixth in 200-meter dash By EMILE BAUTISTA SPORTS STAFF WRITER
The men’s and women’s track and field teams were on triple duty this weekend, as most team members traveled to Yale for the Mark Young Invitational, while smaller groups went to the Virginia Challenge at the University of Virginia and the Larry Elis Invitational at Princeton. Several competitors excelled at Yale, earning numerous top-three finishes. Meanwhile, the athletes at Virginia posted similarly excellent performances, but the competition at the Virginia Challenge was stiffer than the Bears had seen in previous weeks, leading to lower overall finishes in the standings. “Not many sports teams have the privilege of representing their school all over the country at once,” said co-captain Mo Akande ’15. At Virginia, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Natalie Schudrowitz ’18 claimed fifth place, and Lucy Van Kleunen ’17 claimed eighth. Both players shaved seconds off their times from two weeks ago. Josie Natrasevschi ’18 continued her string of fine performances by nabbing third in the discus with a toss of 157-6, the best finish of all Brown competitors at the meet. She also placed sixth in the hammer throw with a 164-6 toss. On the men’s side, co-captain Henry Tufnell ’15 finished sixth in a tight 800-meter race. Just over one second separated the first place runner and Tufnell. At Yale, Audrey Holt ’18 snagged third in the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 11.98 and 24.27 seconds, respectively. Clare Peabody ’18 won the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:34.25,
while Lydia Davenport ’16 got third, completing the race in 4:37.19. Victoria O’Neil ’16 triumphed in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:53.09. Brown also saw several top finishes in the field events. Aubryn Samaroo ’17 cleared 1.60 meters to claim second in the high jump, while Chelsie Churchill ’16 leapt 11.19 meters, good for third in the triple jump. Michelle Bazile ’18 placed third in the discus with a throw of 38.52 meters.
The men’s team produced two victors: Christian Bermel ’16 with a time of 1:54.31 in the 800-meter run, and Mark Buda ’17 with a toss of 59.34 meters in the javelin throw. Co-captain Courtland Clavette ’15 ended up with two second-place finishes, with a toss of 17.05 in shot put and a toss of 53.84 meters in discus. His shot put result bested his previous personal record. Aaron Comery ’17 also placed » See TRACK, page 4