Issuu

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

VOLUME CL, ISSUE 69

Elorza signs student housing limit into law Law to prohibit more than three students from living in single-family homes in R-1, R-1A zones

The majority of female Brown students who have experienced nonconsensual penetration or sexual touching did not report the incident, regardless of the type of assault. Nonconsensual penetration by force

Nonconsensual penetration by incapacitation

22.9%

REPORTED

UNREPORTED

39.5%

77.1%

60.5% 16.0%

10.4%

METRO EDITOR

METRO

Reanalysis of Paxil study sparks new round of criticism University, Prof. Emeritus Keller under scrutiny for alleged involvement with large pharma co. By ISOBEL HECK AND STEVEN MICHAEL SENIOR EDITOR AND SCIENCE & RESEARCH

By EMMA JERZYK

Mayor Jorge Elorza signed an ordinance into law Sept. 18 that limits the number of students allowed to live in single-family homes in R-1 and R-1A zones to three, wrote Emily Crowell, deputy director of communications for the mayor, in an email to The Herald. R-1 and R-1A zones include single-family homes in “neighborhoods of low-density residential development,” according to Providence zoning ordinances. The ordinance — introduced by City Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, who represents Ward 5, which encompasses areas around Rhode Island College and Providence College — was signed only one day after the city council voted to approve the measure. The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union was “surprised and disheartened” that Elorza signed the ordinance so rapidly, without allowing » See HOUSING, page 2

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

84.0%

89.6%

Nonconsensual sexual touching by force

Nonconsensual sexual touching by incapacitation Source: Campus Climate Survey JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD

U. releases results for largest sexual assault survey

Female undergraduates, students identifying as TGQN report highest sexual assault rates By KATE TALERICO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Twenty-five percent of undergraduate women reported having experienced sexual assault — attempted or com-

pleted non-consensual penetration or non-consensual sexual touching by force or incapacitation — since enrolling at Brown, compared to a national average of 23 percent, according to a report released Monday. The report, which outlines the results of a spring survey conducted by the Association of American Universities, corroborates the much-disputed statistic from a 2007 survey funded by » See ASSAULT, page 2

EDITOR

After more than a decade of controversy surrounding a 2001 clinical trial led by a Brown professor on the effects of the antidepressant Paxil, a reanalysis of the original data claims the drug is no more effective than a placebo and that the initial study underplayed the drug’s potential to increase suicidal thoughts among adolescents. Since its publication, the initial paper has been alleged by some scientists to be fraudulent and ghostwritten, and both Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Martin Keller and the University have been criticized for their involvement in the study. The reanalysis, published in the British Medical Journal Sept. 16, contradicts the results of the initial clinical trial — led by Keller and commonly referred to as Study 329 — which concluded Paxil was effective and safe for the treatment of adolescent depression. The study’s critics have cited the new data as evidence in support of their

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

long-standing doubts. But in an email to The Herald, Keller maintained the integrity of his team’s original conclusions about Study 329, citing two experts unaffiliated with the study who say the new analysis does not render the initial findings obsolete. “This is probably the most heavily investigated incident of academic research corruption since 2000,” said Paul Thacker, a former staffer for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who helped lead investigations into Paxil and Study 329 in 2008. “This thing has been turned upside down and inside out.” Back to the beginning In July 2001, Keller and 21 listed coauthors published the results of Study 329 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The article disclosed that GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paxil, sponsored the study. Though Paxil had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for adults, GSK wished to expand the market to adolescents through off-label prescriptions — a practice in which physicians prescribe an FDA-approved drug for other non-approved uses, said Leemon McHenry, an early critic of Study 329 who worked with Jon Jureidini, a co-author on the reanalysis, to publish four papers on the topic. In 2002, the year after the study’s publication, 2 million prescriptions » See PAXIL, page 3

Forum offers details, feedback on operational plan President Christina Paxson P’19 stresses plan’s focus on people as Provost Richard Locke P’17 talks fundraising By BAYLOR KNOBLOCH SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The University will spend more than $1 billion over the next decade on investments in people as it pursues the “Operational Plan for Building Brown’s Excellence,” said President Christina Paxson P’19 at an open forum Monday afternoon. The plan “focuses on investing in the people who make up Brown — the faculty, the staff, the students,” Paxson said. Investing in people also involves investing in financial aid, endowed faculty chairs, graduate fellowships and diversity, Paxson told The Herald. Paxson and Provost Richard Locke P’17 hosted the open forum to solicit community feedback on the plan, a document aimed at realizing the goals of Paxson’s 10-year strategic plan, “Building on Distinction.” The operational plan will guide the

INSIDE

University’s upcoming major fundraising campaign, scheduled to launch Oct. 23, Locke said. A total of $845 million has already been raised, Paxson said. After providing a basic overview of the operational plan and its main goals, Paxson and Locke opened the floor to questions from audience members. “I see a lot of faculty and administrators (here), but not a lot of students,” said Candice Ellis ’16. Ellis asked the senior administrators how they planned to inform students of the plan. The University’s campus-wide emails “are great, but a lot of students don’t read them,” she said. Twenty-three of the 25 students approached by The Herald admitted to never having heard of the operational plan. “If we are invited, we would love to come and talk to any student group about the plan,” Locke said.

SADIE HOPE-GUND / HERALD

Provost Richard Locke P’17 spoke at an open discussion regarding the newly released operational plan. He, and President Christina Paxson P’19 answered questions about financial aid, diversity and graduate school support. Paxson said she did “wish there were more” students in the audience of at least 200 people, but she added that it is still early in the process. Other questions from audience members addressed the operational plan’s goals for diversity, financial aid,

graduate student support and research infrastructure. “We have taken on the role of what I would call a feeder college,” said Professor of Chemistry Gerald Diebold. “There is a distortion of priorities where undergraduate aid takes much more precedent

over building a graduate school,” he said. The University grants financial aid to undergraduate students, and after graduation the strongest students will be accepted to graduate programs at “the best universities,” thus strengthening their » See FORUM, page 2

WEATHER

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

UNIVERSITY NEWS Black Lives Matter discussion covers effects of subtle racism on black youth, struggle for freedom

UNIVERSITY NEWS Title IX Office adopts new sexual misconduct policies, including dual investigator model

COMMENTARY Maier ’17: Betting on the future may be irrational but it gives us an important source of hope

COMMENTARY Simon ’16: A socially aware college student should not live in or support 257 Thayer

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UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 2 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

» ASSAULT, from page 1 the Department of Justice, which states that “one in five” women are victims of sexual assault. Approximately 25.7 percent of undergraduates identifying as TGQN — transgender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, questioning or nonlisted — reported having experienced sexual assault, as did 6.8 percent of male undergraduates. These numbers both lie above the national averages of 24.1 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively. In the survey, non-consensual penetration was defined as instances in which penetration was either attempted or completed. Among female undergraduates, 10.1 percent indicated experiencing nonconsensual penetration involving force or incapacitation during their time at the University, a figure in line with the nationwide average of 10.8 percent. In this same category, TGQN students reported 13.2 percent, a figure above the national average of 12.4 percent. For male undergraduates in this category, the figure is 2.7 percent, coming close to the national average of 2.2 percent. Methodology The survey, the largest on sexual assault and campus climate in history, collected responses from 150,000 undergraduates across 27 of the AAU’s 62 member institutions. Several colleges dropped out of the survey after leading sexual assault researchers pointed out perceived flaws in its methodology last spring. Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, executive vice president for planning and policy, represented Brown as chair of the AAU’s Request for Proposals team, which was responsible for choosing the firm Westat to conduct the survey. While smaller surveys to assess campus climate have been completed at the University in the past, they have not been as rigorous nor as expansive as the AAU’s, he said. The survey was emailed to 8,638 Brown undergraduate, graduate and medical students, 36.3 percent of whom responded. Nationally, only 19.3 percent of the 780,000 students who were emailed completed the survey. While that number is low in comparison to other surveys on the topic, which have generated a response rate between 30 and 80 percent, the sample size is unprecedented, according to the report. Students who completed the survey were given a $5 gift certificate to encourage their responses. Those who did not take the survey after the initial email were offered a chance at a $500 prize, though they only needed

» FORUM, from page 1 programs, he said. Diebold named Harvard and Stanford as two such universities. “How come you guys are so out of touch with what goes on in graduate programs in the physical sciences?” he asked. “I will not back down on supporting undergraduate financial aid,” Paxson said, followed by audience applause. In fact, according to the operational plan, “in the coming decade, Brown will enhance the generosity of financial aid

to click a link to be entered into the raffle, which did not require completion of the survey, according to the report. “We hoped that this would minimize the self-selection bias,” said Title IX Officer Amanda Walsh. “They have another motivation to participate outside of perhaps their own experience or victimization.” Even if students who had experienced sexual assault responded at a higher rate than those who had not, the number of reported incidents is large enough to warrant serious University attention, Walsh said. Sexual assault and reporting The AAU report provides data confirming that students identifying as TGQN experience sexual assault at higher rates than their peers. At Brown, TGQN undergraduates reported sexual assault rates in line with those of female undergraduates. Notable differences also persisted based on sexual orientation. The report indicated that 22.7 percent of non-heterosexual Brown students experienced sexual assault, compared to 11.2 percent of heterosexual students. Seniors, whose reporting of sexual assault encompasses nearly their entire Brown experience, indicated experiencing sexual assault at slightly higher rates. Approximately 33 percent of senior females, 24.3 percent of senior TGQN students and 8 percent of senior males reported having experienced attempted or completed non-consensual penetration or non-consensual sexual touching, by force or incapacitation, since entering Brown. Nationwide, the numbers compare at 27.2 percent of female seniors, 30.8 percent of TGQN seniors and 6.5 percent of male seniors. Focusing further, 13.4 percent of senior women reported having experienced attempted or completed penetration since arriving at Brown, while 24.3 of TGQN seniors and 4.1 percent of male seniors reported the same. The majority of female students chose not to report incidents of sexual assault to the University in all types of cases. The numbers reflect that more female students chose not to report non-consensual penetration to the University when incapacitated — 77.1 percent did not report — than when penetrated by force — 60.5 percent did not report. Students who said they chose not to report incidents of sexual violence indicated several lines of reasoning. For non-reporting female students who indicated experiencing penetration by force, 70.5 percent did not think the incident was serious enough to report, and 47.9 percent believed nothing would be done.

packages for lower- and middle-income students and increase financial aid for international students.” The phrase “middle-income” refers not to national middle-income families but to Brown’s middle-income families, which Paxson told The Herald earn between $100,000 and $200,000 a year. “We already have very generous financial aid for the income bracket below that, so this is additional attention to that middle bracket,” Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt told The Herald. For international students, the

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD For female students who reported experiencing unwanted touching at Brown, the rates of not reporting increased even further. Approximately 84 percent of female students who said they had been sexually touched by force also said they did not report the incident. And approximately 90 percent of female students who said they had been sexually touched while incapacitated also said they did not report the incident. “There are behaviors that some people minimize or dismiss,” Carey said. “To the person on the receiving end, that is very serious.” Trends prevalent in the undergraduate community were reflected amongst graduate and medical students. Of female graduate and medical students, eight percent reported having experienced sexual violence by force or incapacitation during their time at Brown. Carey said while several of these figures are “sobering,” he was not surprised by the report. Rather, the data in the survey reflects the evidence presented by various community members and the research gathered by the Task Force on Sexual Assault, he said. “We want to make reporting (incidents of sexual assault) something that individuals will take advantage of,” Carey said, adding that the University hopes its new Title IX updates have increased students’ trust. “We have to take into account that students don’t report (sexual assault) because they don’t trust the administration to do the right thing,” said Christine Lee ’18. Students’ distrust in the University “is a major challenge that we need to address,” Carey said. Sexual harassment, intimate partner violence and stalking Around 55.8 percent of Brown students reported having experienced sexual harassment, 7.8 percent reported having experienced intimate partner violence and 4.2 percent reported having experienced stalking since starting college. A much greater percentage of TGQN students than the average — 89.9 percent — reported experiencing harassment. All TGQN students who reported experiencing harassment said this harassment came from another student, while 14.4 percent said it additionally came from a faculty member. A higher percentage of TGQN students — 30.3 percent — also reported higher rates of intimate partner violence. “Nationally, the rate of violence in the trans community is higher than other groups,” said Walsh. “They tend to feel less safe than other groups.”

University will eventually “hit a level where we are effectively need-blind,” Paxson told The Herald. “We need to strengthen financial aid so that all students who come to Brown have what they need to be successful,” she said. Both Locke and Paxson emphasized during the forum that the University will continue supporting components absent from the plan, such as student health and safety,” Paxson said. These are “basic duties” supported by the operating budget, she said.

Moving forward, the Title IX Office hopes to increase awareness that the office is meant to handle cases of not only sexual assault, but also sexual harassment and intimate partner violence, Walsh said. Campus Climate Nearly 35 percent of students “believe that sexual misconduct is a problem on campus,” according to the University’s summary of the Brown AAU data, and “female undergraduates express the highest level of concern.” This statistic is expected, Walsh said, given the higher rates of sexual assault among women. “Community-wide, we want everyone to understand that this is an issue on campus. There’s a perception that this is an undergraduate female issue,” she said. “Changing that perception is a goal that we hope will come out of the survey results.” “Both this report and (the Task Force on Sexual Assault’s) final report indicate that we have a campus climate problem,” Carey said. The data reveals student distrust in the University’s reporting process. Only 25.6 percent of students believe campus officials would conduct a fair investigation of a report. Around half of students believe officials would take a report seriously, and 44.6 percent of students believe officials would protect the person’s safety. Distrust in the University’s reported process emerged as higher for female students than for male students. While the University has already put in place many of the recommendations made by the task force in its final report, the impact of these changes may not be evident until the survey is repeated in three to four years, Walsh said. “One way we can see whether there is an increase in trust is looking at whether there is an increase in complaints,” she added. “That will take time. Just as students hear from one another that the system is not working well, they will also hear that it is working well.” “Changing the process isn’t enough,” said Emily Schell ’16, co-founder of Stand Up!, a group that works to prevent sexual assault on campus. “It’s changing the attitude and ensuring that survivors have trust in the institution — enough trust to report their case.” The University will also use any data collected in the future to evaluate a change in campus culture around bystander intervention as a result of the new sexual assault training implemented this fall. The AAU’s data indicates that 24.2 percent of students have witnessed someone acting in a sexually violent or harassing manner since enrolling at Brown. Of those students, 44.5 percent took action.

» HOUSING, from page 1 more time for constituent feedback, said Hillary Davis, a policy associate at the RIACLU. After the ordinance was initially introduced, many landlords protested it during two separate public hearings July 8 and July 27, according to the Providence Journal. The RIACLU also wrote a letter in opposition to the law Sept. 15. Davis said the RIACLU is looking to hear from students who think they

Amongst the 24.8 percent of students who said they suspected a friend was sexually assaulted, 67.4 percent said they took action. More than half of students — 54.1 percent — said they witnessed a drunken person heading for a “sexual encounter,” but only 22.9 percent said they intervened. Of the 77.1 percent who said they did not take action, 24.5 percent reported they were unsure of what to do. This new information allows the University to tailor its training to place more emphasis on subjects in which students lack clarity, Walsh said. Training will also focus on more positive acts, such as consent. The data sheds light on positive aspects of Brown’s culture, too, Carey said. Of all Brown students surveyed, 70.3 percent said they believed a victim who made a report would be supported by peers. “This statistic speaks loudly to the type of student community Brown is made of,” said Yuna Hur ’18. “With strong supportive efforts present among the student body, it is reassuring to me that when instances do occur, fellow classmates would likely to come together as a cohesive body. Resources Knowledge of resources varies across campus. A majority of students indicated awareness of the services provided by Counseling and Psychological Services and the Sexual Assault Response Line — 81.1 percent and 59.5 percent, respectively. The Office of Campus Life was satisfied with these numbers, given that survey respondents may not have had direct experience with CAPS and the response line, said Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt. Students also expressed confidence in where to seek help at Brown if they or their friends experienced sexual assault or sexual misconduct. A majority of students — 70.2 percent — reported feeling somewhat to extremely knowledgable about this subject. As for awareness about what happens after a student reports sexual assault or misconduct to the University, only 41 percent of students reported feeling somewhat to extremely knowledgable. “Transparency around available resources is something we are continuing,” Walsh said, adding that materials addressing these resources are featured on the new Title IX website. The Title IX Office will also work with student groups to explore peer-to-peer avenues of publicizing resource availability, she said. The Undergraduate Council of Students will host an open forum Wednesday to discuss Title IX issues and policy at Brown, as well as the survey results.

may be in violation of the law currently, though the organization is not sure what its next steps will be. A statement from Elorza’s administration read, “This ordinance protects single-family residential neighborhoods and property values while protecting the investment of those who currently own property within existing tenants.” “Our goal is to better protect the health and safety of students and residents, and improve housing standards for all Providence residents,” Ryan said in a statement.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» PAXIL, from page 1 for Paxil were given to children and adolescents, said David Egilman MD ’78, clinical professor of family medicine, adding that the study is likely responsible for the increase in the prescription of antidepressants to adolescents, which occurred during this time period. But throughout the following decade, GSK was sued by numerous families with children who were prescribed Paxil, as well as by the attorney general of New York and the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2012, after being sued by the Department of Justice, GSK settled for $3 billion — the largest settlement in corporate history at the time. The series of cases brought about the release of a host of internal GSK documents, based on which critics alleged that Study 329 was ghostwritten and that the study’s results were misreported to demonstrate the drug’s efficacy. The litigation also led to the release of the study’s raw data in 2013. “They selected only the positive data, and they ignored all the negative data,” McHenry said. Study 329 was not the first GSK study to test Paxil’s effect on adolescent depression. Two prior studies — Study 377 and Study 701 — failed to show that Paxil was more effective than a placebo, according to GSK’s report synopses. In a 1998 internal GSK “position piece” on Studies 329 and 377, the company states that its “target” was “to effectively manage the dissemination of these data in order to minimize any potential negative impact.” In February 2001, five months before the publication of Keller’s paper, a GSK internal email chain reads, “Originally we had planned to do extensive media relations surrounding this study until we actually viewed the results. Essentially the study did not really show Paxil was effective in treating adolescent depression, which is not something we want to publicize.” But five months later, a July 2001 letter from Zachary Hawkins of Paxil Product Management to all Paxil sales representatives states the drug “was significantly more effective than placebo,” adding that the drug “demonstrates remarkable efficacy and safety in the treatment of adolescent depression.” Critics allege the paper was ghostwritten by Sally Laden, an employee of the writing company Scientific Therapeutics Information, which was hired by GSK. Letters between Keller, Laden and GSK released during court proceedings show that the three communicated about drafts of the manuscript. “You did a superb job with this. Thank you very much. It is excellent. Enclosed are rather minor changes from me,” Keller wrote in a letter to Laden, who was mentioned in the paper’s acknowledgments for her “editorial assistance” but was not listed as one of the 22 authors. Regardless of who technically wrote the paper, GSK’s influence on the analysis and writing process is unethical due to its corporate interest in the product, McHenry said. Keller and his colleagues have denied both the accusations of misreporting and ghostwriting since they were first made. In a letter responding to the reanalysis’ publication, Keller and

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Published last week, a reanalysis of Professor Emeritus Martin Keller’s 2001 study on Paxil concluded that the drug is not effective or safe for the treatment of adolescent depression — a conclusion that opposes the original study’s findings. eight co-authors maintain that their study was accurate in reporting the drug’s efficacy, adding that “the goal of the study designers was to do the best study possible to advance the treatment of depression in youth, not primarily as a drug registration trial” and that the report was “authored mainly by the academic investigators with industry collaboration.” This process is often the norm, wrote Steven Rasmussen ’73 MD ’77, chair of psychiatry and human behavior, in an email to The Herald. These types of studies “are almost always initiated by companies that have a vested interested in bringing new treatments to the market.” Judgments about the match between data and conclusions are part of a journal’s peer-review process, Rasmussen wrote. “The paper went through a peer-review process and was accepted at a major journal in the field,” he wrote. A second time around In June 2013, the reanalysis began as part of the British Medical Journal’s Restoring Invisible and Abandoned Trials initiative, a project that “calls for third party authors to publish or republish unpublished and misreported clinical trials,” The Herald previously reported. Upon the release of Study 329’s data in 2013, a team of psychiatrists and researchers began reanalyzing the 77,000 pages of data. The published reanalysis differs from the original paper in two major ways. First, it concludes that Paxil is not effective for treating depression in adolescents, and second, it places a heavier emphasis on Paxil’s side effects, the harms of which the team claims the initial paper ignores. In the initial paper, researchers included suicidal thoughts under the term “emotional lability,” effectively reducing the rate of suicidal ideation reported, said Mickey Nardo, a member of the team and author on the new paper. In their response letter to the reanalysis, Keller and his colleagues raise a number of objections. The advancement of science and methodology over the 14-year gap between the two papers should not be ignored, they wrote, adding that the reanalysis team analyzed

Paxil’s side effects using methodology that was not available in 2001. The original authors also take issue with what they see as discrepancies in the reanalysis team’s approaches, including a lack of an explicit explanation of what the Restoring Invisible and Abandoned Trials initiative “recommendations” for reanalyzing data are. In an email to The Herald, Keller included a quote from a Sept. 16 New York Times article, which refers to the fact that the reanalysis team includes an expert who was a paid witness in lawsuits against GSK. “Of course we’re biased. Everyone’s biased,” Jureidini said in reference to the reanalysis team’s history. Bias is exactly why making data public is so crucial, he added. The reanalysis “is not just another journal article which you are forced to trust at face value,” Thacker said. This is the open source software movement of research, he added. In a response to Keller and his colleagues’ criticisms, David Healy, a co-author on the reanalysis, writes that the team disagrees with the criticisms but agrees there is always room for reinterpretation. “If people can demonstrate we’re wrong, we’re open to being proven wrong,” Jureidini said. ‘Party to the fraud’ When Study 329 was published, Keller was chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, a position he had held since 1989. By the time Keller stepped down as chair in 2009, he had come under fire for failing to disclose consulting payments from GSK and Pfizer, The Herald previously reported. Then-Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 told The Herald at the time that Keller’s resignation was not related to the Paxil controversy or the Grassley investigation. In 2011, Jureidini and McHenry wrote a letter to the University, asking administrators to write to the journal that published the original paper and support its retraction. The University at first cited confidentiality concerns, but after Jureidini and McHenry clarified they were not seeking any information, the University subsequently notified them that it would not write to the journal. The

University’s reference to confidentiality rules — both at the time and when asked for comment since — is “a red herring,” McHenry said, adding that the policy itself is not objectionable but it “is wrong is when they try to use that to escape responsibility.” Marisa Quinn, then-vice president for public affairs and University relations, wrote in an email to The Herald in 2013 that “a thorough and impartial review” of Study 329 took place. But in all subsequent responses to questions about Study 329, Quinn and Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt declined to comment on whether the University has reviewed Keller’s research, citing the need for confidentiality in all individual cases. Roy Poses ’74 MD ’78, clinical associate professor of medicine and president at the Foundation for Integrity and Responsibility in Medicine, said he understands the need for confidentiality but urged the University to make a statement now that any investigation would presumably have concluded. “Nobody at Brown has responded in a substantive way,” Poses said. “I’ve never seen anyone dealing with the specifics.” The University is “an enabler” of the study being published in Keller’s name, McHenry said, and several sources suggested the University’s silence can be attributed to its desire to protect its reputation. The University received money from GSK during the years Study 329 was ongoing, according to a 2006 deposition of Keller. “Brown always has adhered strictly to all issues of scientific integrity and

compliance with conflict of interest policies laid out by the federal government,” Cliatt wrote, adding that the University takes these types of concerns seriously. Moving forward The reanalysis is not only significant in regard to the history of Study 329, or the study’s possible retraction, multiple sources said. “It’s really not about Study 329,” Nardo said. “It’s about integrity in research.” Nardo added that he is dismayed by the role of advertising in psychiatry. “It’s fine for them to do it with toothpaste, but not with our medicines. They’re too dangerous,” he said. Jureidini said he and his colleagues hope the reanalysis demonstrates the importance of data being public. Without viewing the data of each individual, it is impossible to be confident in the conclusions papers draw about benefits and harms, he said. The reanalysis shows that companies commissioning their own studies does not work, he added. As the first Restoring Invisible and Abandoned Trials initiative study published, the reanalysis of Study 329 is “just the tip of the iceberg,” McHenry said, with numerous other studies listed in the BMJ document as ones that should be reanalyzed. “What we’re basically saying to the manufacturers is, ‘If you’re not right, we’re gonna come back at you,’” Nardo said. - Additional reporting by Elena Weissmann

UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Alums of historically black colleges debate Black Lives Matter movement Four alums weigh in on struggles of black youths, larger impact of Black Lives Matter as social justice movement By LAUREN ARATANI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

“Black Lives Matter is not the substance of what we’re working for or arguing, it’s an assertion,” said Corey Walker, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Winston-Salem State University and former associate professor and chair of the department of Africana studies at Brown, during a panel Tuesday. The panel featured four men, including Walker, who attended historically black colleges and universities. The panel focused on the struggles of black youth and what Black Lives Matter means as a social justice movement. About 30 people attended the event, most of whom were University faculty members and students. Oliver Hill, professor of psychology at Virginia State University, spoke about how he was one of the first students to integrate into the school system in Richmond, Virginia. One of the few students of color at his school, Hill cited discreet racism as the most harrowing of his experiences. “I really think that (subtle racism) had more of an impact on me than the overt racism I experienced as a child,” he said, adding that these acts of racism made him unconsciously change his behavior growing up. David Dennis, director of the Southern Initiative Algebra Project,

spoke about his work in the Civil Rights movement and addressed the argument that “all lives matter.” “What this country has to embrace on Black Lives Matter is that until we can actually agree to the fact that black lives matter, we can never get to the point where all lives matter,” Dennis said, adding that the sentiments “all lives matter” and “black lives matter” must be kept separate. Dennis pointed to the expendability of black males in the U.S. as a reason for police brutality and violence, adding that black communities have also been weakened since the Civil Rights movement. “We don’t have communities anymore,” Dennis said, adding that though he was raised in a singleparent home, he grew up in a “real community” where he “had a whole bunch of fathers — the men protected the boys and the women protected the boys.” A current lack of a sense of community has created a loss of identity for American black males, he added. Kevin Favor, professor of psychology at Lincoln University, praised the Black Lives Matter movement for existing during a time of police brutality and displacement among black people. “I’m pleased to see that the Black Lives Matter (movement) has risen to the degree that it has, and hopefully we’ll be able to continue to perpetuate

TIMOTHY MUELLER-HARDER

“Until we can actually agree to the fact that black lives matter, we can never get to the point where all lives matter,” said David Dennis, director of the Southern Initiative Algebra Project, at Monday’s panel. because things cannot continue along the trend they seem to be going on,” Favor said. The educational system must be redesigned in order for equality to come for black people who have been historically oppressed, Walker said. “When these students come to (historically black colleges) they’re coming with an entire history behind them,” Walker said. “How do we respond to that?” he asked. “How do we develop a curriculum, an institution, where you can thrive in light of everything that you’ve experienced, in light of all that you have seen?” Walker encouraged audience

members to think of the Black Lives Matter movement as more than a hashtag, adding that “social media is the means, not the ends.” After the four panelists ended their discussion, they opened up questions to the audience. One female attendee said even though she doesn’t “have black or brown skin,” the Black Lives Matter movement resonates with her, as she too faced discrimination growing up for being Jewish. “There are a lot of people who are not black or brown who want to be on your side, and sometimes, perhaps we feel like we don’t belong,” she added. “This is not just our problem;

this is not just our movement; this is America’s problem,” Dennis responded. The discussion, entitled “Black Lives Matter: Recognizing and Minimizing Trauma Among Black Youth,” took place in the George Houston Bass Performing Arts Space in Churchill House. It was moderated by Françoise Hamlin, associate professor of Africana studies and history, and sponsored by the Pembroke Center, the Brown Center for Students of Color, the Department of Africana Studies, the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.

TODAY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 • PAGE 5

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Zucchini Parmesan Sandwich, Buffalo Wings, Nacho Bar, Brownies

Beef Noodle Soup, Chopped Sirloin with Mushroom Sauce, Chocolate Sundae Cake

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SADIE HOPE-GUND / HERALD

Students with Stand Up!, a group that works to prevent sexual assault on campus, created a public art exhibit on the Main Green featuring statements about how they could help address the issue of sexual assault.

comic A Campus Fairytale | Kimberly Saltz ‘17

calendar TODAY

SEPTEMBER

Brown in UK & Ireland Info Session 4:00 PM J. Walter Wilson, Room 440

Screening of “The Intern” 7:00 PM Granoff Center, Martinos Auditorium

Latino Heritage Series Welcome Back 6:00 PM Sayles Hall Auditorium

National Voter Registration Day 10:00 AM Main Green

TOMORROW Children and Stress: Wellness at Brown! 12:00 PM Faunce, Petteruti Lounge

Screening of “The Wanted 18” by Amer Shomali 7:00 PM Watson Institute, Joukowsky Forum

Study Abroad Info Session 4:00 PM Brown Center for Students of Color

TEDxBrownU Club Info Session 7:00 PM MacMillan Hall, Room 117

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

Sad but expected The sexual assault statistics released Monday in a report by the Association of American Universities are atrocious but not unexpected. From the rape lists scribbled on the bathroom walls of the Rockefeller Library in 1991 to the Imagine Rape Zero movement of the past few years, Brown has a long history of students demanding justice for survivors of sexual assault. Students have marched, protested and held press conferences demanding that the Brown administration and culture change to address this problem, instead of simply pretending it does not exist. While we are excited that this groundbreaking national study now exists to empirically confirm what so many students have experienced and fought against, collecting data is only a small part of creating an institutional and cultural solution. There is no need to editorialize the numbers specific to Brown released in the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct. According to the report, “25 percent of Brown undergraduate women and 6.8 percent of undergraduate men who participated in the survey experienced either unwanted sexual touching or attempted or completed penetration due to physical force or incapacitation.” These numbers confirm the much-cited nationwide statistic — one in five women experience sexual assault in college — demonstrating that the rate of sexual assault is indeed an epidemic amongst Brown students. Sadly, survey respondents expressed a lack of confidence in the administration to do anything about this epidemic. When asked if they believe that campus officials would “conduct a fair investigation in the event of a report,” 15 percent of female undergraduates and 27.3 percent of male undergraduates responded that it was “very or extremely likely” that there would be a fair investigation. Furthermore, about half of students said they believed campus officials would take sexual misconduct allegations seriously. Students also had little faith in the Brown community as a source of support: When asked about “the likelihood that the alleged perpetrator or their associates would retaliate against” a survivor in response to a reported incident, 28.2 percent indicated that it is “very or extremely likely that retaliation would occur.” Unfortunately, it seems the campus community — not solely the administration — may also fail survivors. Sexual assault affects everyone on this campus, particularly women of color, people with disabilities and trans, genderqueer or gender nonconforming students. Curiously, the report failed to elaborate on the specific experiences of the groups above, possibly for statistical or political reasons. Regardless, the Brown community cannot continue to deny or question the validity of the prevalence of sexual assault on this campus: When asked “how problematic sexual assault or sexual misconduct is at Brown University,” 34.6 percent reported that it is “very much or extremely problematic.” It is with great sadness and anger that we read that 20.5 percent of seniors who took the survey “experienced sexual contact involving penetration or sexual touching involving physical force or incapacitation since entering Brown University.” For decades, students have said sexual assault was a problem, and now thanks to these survey results, we can indeed prove that sexual assault is a problem on this campus. The validation of this epidemic’s existence is important, but little headway will be made as the University continues to fail to earn the trust of a disappointed student body.

I VA N A L C A N TA R A

EDITORS’ NOTE

Today marks the launch of The Foreground, The Herald’s new photo essay blog. The Foreground is designed to showcase stories from the Brown and Providence communities through the lens of The Herald’s photojournalists. To see the stories so far, visit foreground.browndailyherald.com. And if you have a story you’d like to bring to The Foreground, feel free to shoot an email to photo@browndailyherald.com. Editors’ notes are written by the 125th Editorial Board: Michael Dubin ’16, Maxine Joselow ’16, Kiki Barnes ’16, Jillian Lanney ’16, Isobel Heck ’16 and Molly Schulson ’16.

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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

This side of Thayerdise CHAD SIMON opinions editor

Unless you have been living under a slab of granite these past few weeks, I do not need to tell you about the fresh hell that opened its doors this fall to America’s gravy-train-riding darlings. Having displaced many during construction and angered many more, 257 Thayer is a glittering new luxury student apartment complex that presides over prime Thayer Street real estate like the barnacle of supremacy it’s come to royally epitomize. It’s unabashedly grotesque, remarkably oppressive, municipally destructive and focused on a wealthier demographic. It shamelessly invites the stratification of the haves from the have-nots. It’s this very culture-eroding, money-magnet monstrosity that deserves zero place on a college campus, especially one that stresses the importance of dismantling social barriers. And because its very existence runs antithetical to the culture of Brown — forgive me, runs antithetical to the constructed farce of social progressivism that we apparently mistake for Brown’s culture — I take particular umbrage with any social activist who signed a lease. More on that later. For now, it’s just plain tacky. Oh Lord, is it tacky! When was the last time you’ve heard of a post-millennium mercantile revival ever being applauded for its immediate timelessness? The answer is never. And that’s also the answer I have for when I plan to move in. If I wanted to live in a building equipped with all the sensibilities of Persian opulence and Trump arrogance, I’d move to a high rise con-

dominium in Westwood. But if I want to live with integrity because I’m a 21-year-old, socially aware college student who understands the value of class heterogeneity, I’ll sit pretty in my modest third-floor walk-up with all the satisfactory accoutrements it came with. Your boy’s pad is replete with emerald green linoleum, exposed cinder block walls and its very own rooftop view. Or more precisely, a view of rooftops! If I didn’t sell that very well, that’s because I’m not trying to. Being at Brown is a privilege enough, and it should be for you, too. I don’t want to lambaste the aesthetic of 257 Thayer any more than necessary. There are more constructive conversations about classism that I should be addressing. Stemming from that are

that I, on principle, refuse to criticize 257 Thayer’s utter lack of grace and style any more than is properly required. Its lackluster everything is not meant to be the focus of this piece, and I think I have conveyed everything I wanted to say about its horrendous exterior, callow interior, canyon-like patio and tawdry three-star Holiday Inn decor. Oops, I guess I hadn’t! But I am curious, was the city of Providence struck by an architect and interior designer shortage when the plans were unveiled? And were the developers high on peyote when they set the rent at $3,300 per month? I don’t care who you are or who you will be; no college students should ever be allowed to live in that kind of excess unless they have

I don’t care who you are, I don’t care who you will be; no college student should ever be allowed to live in that kind of excess unless they have cancer. productive discussions on gentrification, elitism and even racism. That said, 257 Thayer is an organized pile of anachronistic garbage, and I for one refuse to take seriously anyone who attributes any of the following adjectives to this beehive of new-money tastelessness: chic, swanky, ornate or posh. As a matter of fact, I refuse to take seriously anyone who uses any of those adjectives in any context at any time. Unless, of course, you’re mocking someone who just used them unironically, in which case I will be unstoppably supportive. Extra points if you do so to that person’s face. Once again, I just want to make very clear

cancer. For $3,300 a month, I’d sooner live inside Chris Christie’s laden colostomy bag. Let me put it this way: If 257 Thayer were a person, I’d tell that person to kiss the fattest part of my boorish, uncultivated derriere. I’m tired of blaming the parents and the administration, and I’m growing tired of regularly blaming Jesus when I wake up to subarctic temperatures (though I suppose my Judaism makes committing such indictments marginally more permissible). It’s high time I blame the students for this one. After all, was it not the students who chose to hang up their hats in a complex that’s not only inherently exclusive, but was also

actually marketed as such? They chose to reinforce the already damning wealth gap that pervades this campus. And most tragically of all, at least on a personal level, they chose to trade in proximity to their proletariat friends for the most invalid of reasons: amenities. I’m not done hating yet. As I have mentioned, any social activists who dare to call this shining symbol of decadence home are hypocritical to the core and should have whatever power they have, or think they have, revoked immediately without due process. And though asking that their right to free speech be curtailed may ring a tinge melodramatic and wholly unpatriotic, I really don’t think I’m reaching for the stars here after the unforgivable miscarriage of justice they and their mushroom-plumed ego have wrought upon the commendable foregone efforts already made to blur class divisions on campus. Plus, I think we can all agree that it would just be really swell not having to hear another walking billboard for pumpkin spice squeal the word “problematic” ever again. If it wasn’t against the code of opinions column etiquette, I would take personal liberty in simply writing, “$3,300 per month!” over and over and over again ad nauseum and then sign off with enough expletives to render an entire penthouse suite of heiresses comatose. And you know something? I’d do so joyously and without any doubts that it would compromise the salience of this message. Wait a second, I just used a French word! Am I fancy enough for 257 Thayer? Jeeves, warm the car! I’m moving out!

Chad Simon ’16 loves receiving fan mail. He’s especially fond of the “check enclosed” variety.

Place your bets M. DZHALI MAIER opinions columnist

I woke up this morning to yet another incorrect weather report. Rhode Island has notoriously fickle weather, so it makes sense that the weatherman is wrong most of the time. It got me thinking, however, about the allencompassing role that probability and prediction play in our lives. From the moment of birth to the moment of death, from when we open our eyes every morning to when we close them every night, we are betting. We are wagering that we will wake up in the morning, the sun will rise, the food served in the Sharpe Refectory will be healthy and the straps on our bags won’t break on our way to class. We are favoring one outcome over another. Perhaps the most nerve-wracking wagers we have to make involve the information contained on an exam or the painful game that is shopping period. But when carefully considered, all of these wagers reveal themselves as highly irrational. In the philosophy of science, there is a persistent question of whether assuming that a past event will hold true in the future counts as knowledge. Just because everything I have ever dropped has fallen down,

the next thing I drop will not necessarily fall down. This is known as the problem of induction. Of course, now we have the theory of gravity, so we “know” that the next thing I drop will fall down, but we don’t know that “for sure.” This is a scary idea for us humans. To combat this idea, we generalize and stereotype. While highly irrational in a logical sense, this practice

when this person has done nothing to warrant that label. In the exact same way, we conflate the total physical features present in an apple and call it “edible.” Both are examples of stereotyping. When used in the context of race, rule formation is fundamentally unjust and risks producing the outcome of missed opportunities or friendships. Voluntarily choosing to forgo

people are criminals if a person has many black friends, teachers and role models who are upstanding members of society. Likewise, a victim of psychological trauma can ill afford to let that traumatic event be the rule-forming event that binds the trauma to its “trigger.” If a woman had the horrible misfortune of being sexually assaulted in a taxi cab, then in the ab-

When used in the context of race, rule formation is fundamentally unjust and risks producing the outcome of missed opportunities or friendships. is also highly functional. After having enough experiences with dogs, apples and chairs, we begin to assume that all dogs bark, all apples are edible and all chairs can be sat on. Yet there are dogs that don’t bark, apples that are poisonous and chairs that are art exhibits only. This irrational, but functional, practice is also responsible for more harm than virtually any other element of humanity. It is the scourge of racism, genocide and the mechanism of psychological trauma. We, via this uncanny ability, conflate the total physical features present in a person and call him or her a “criminal,” even

essentially gratis benefits is the full crime of stereotyping, while potentially saving one’s own life by offering a prediction of the future is its shallow payoff. Essentially, the solution is evidence. By never having the evidence necessary to form a rule, one never forms a rule. Thus it is beneficial to expose children to people of different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and so on. The stories of, say, crimes by black people in the inner city, picked up and broadcast by undoubtably sensationalist news anchors, won’t suffice as evidence for formation of the rule that all black

sence of any opposing evidence, she would likely associate taxi cabs with the experience of being sexually assaulted and refuse to see, hear or interact with them out of fear for her safety. This would spell disaster if a taxi cab caught on fire and she could not bring herself to pull the driver and passenger from the car. How this can be helped, abetted and avoided is to never let there be sufficient evidence to form a negative rule. A person triggered by taxi cabs must spend time around taxi cabs. A person with any trauma must prove that there are good and safe experiences to be had at the triggering lo-

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cation or with the triggering object to avoid stereotyping taxi cabs as unsafe places where one is likely to be sexually assaulted. This is one of the basic tenets of cognitive behavioral therapy for trauma victims. (I work with veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, and this topic comes up a lot). Cementing relationships between the object of a stereotype and the stereotype itself is never rational, rarely beneficial and extremely functional when safety and self-preservation come into consideration. Betting on the outcome of a future event is something we humans do too well. It causes a lot of problems, and it isn’t logically consistent. But if we are to function in the world, we must, with our evidence, bet on the future, even if all that means is betting on the existence of a future. For the future is the source and definition of hope. Perhaps this is key to our humanity as a whole, and an essential reason for monuments to be built, wars to be fought, technology to advance and civilizations to rise and fall. To be hopeful and to have faith is to be irrational, to never “take the hint” and to believe in a better tomorrow, even when today looks pretty bleak.

M. Dzhali Maier ’17 is concentrating in science and society.

SCIENCE & RESEARCH THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

CS students apply coding skills over summer Cisco, Microsoft and Facebook among companies where CS students choose to intern during break By ELENA WEISSMANN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

“My first semester of freshman year I was so scared that I would fail my first computer science class,” said Sachin Pendse ’17. “But when I started thinking about coding as something creative — being able to make something that people can use — instead of mathematical, I started to like it.” Pendse is now double concentrating in computer science and international relations. Perseverance is necessary in the field of computer science, Pendse said. Over the past two summers, Pendse interned at Cisco, a technology company based in San Jose, California that manufactures networking equipment. For 40 hours every week,

he helped configure hardware servers that used different programs to track incoming traffic and analyze suspicious activity. Pendse is one of many computer science concentrators who complete internships at major technology companies over the summer, getting the opportunity to apply their coding skills in a real-world environment. “What it helped me with the most was actually working in this professional environment and seeing how the process works,” Pendse said. During his first year at Brown, Pendse reached out to several Cisco employees, emailing them with his resume and skill set. The emails paid off, as he landed the internship that summer and received a return offer to work on Cisco’s Cyber Threat Defense

system the following summer. Pendse said he viewed his internship as a supplement to both of his concentrations. One of the biggest intersections between international relations and computer science is cybersecurity, he said. Another intersection, cyberwarfare, has the potential to change the standard expectations of war and can involve nongovernmental groups, he said. Beverly Tai ’17, an applied mathcomputer science concentrator, spent her summer months interning at Microsoft. Tai worked alongside several software developers, a project manager and a designer to create a Windows 10 application that will launch in October. “Before the internship I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do postgraduation. But the internship solidified my enjoyment of coding, so I’m more sure about my career path,” she said.

After emailing her resume to Microsoft and receiving a call from a recruiter, Tai was given the opportunity to interview at the company’s headquarters, where she illustrated her skill set by answering technical questions on a white board. “The whole tech industry is its own little world. It’s this great collaborative environment, and we were given so many benefits,” Tai said. “They were kind of just throwing money at us.” Scott Zellers ’17, a computer science-economics concentrator, worked in a similar environment at his internship with Facebook in Menlo Park, California. The selection process for the internship was rigorous — Zellers first had to demonstrate his coding ability in an online collaboration document before he could move forward in the interview process. But after confirming his aptitude, Facebook flew him

out to headquarters for the on-site interview. “Facebook is solving hard, interesting problems, and I was lucky enough to get an offer,” Zellers said. “It was a very positive experience. People there were very open and willing to help me out.” But Zellers said he sometimes worked up to 55 hours each week. He added that the project he was working on “wasn’t very Facebook-y,” and was not what he had expected. Zellers said career counselors at the Center for Careers and Life After Brown helped him brush up on interview skills to get the Facebook internship. Pendse said the internship turned his experience from one of fear of taking computer science courses and failing intro courses to one of getting A’s. “Anyone can do it,” he said. “It just takes time to set in.”

Title IX Office improves sexual misconduct policies Under dual investigator model, U. to hire both internal and external investigators to handle different cases By KATE TALERICO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

It has been nearly a year since the date-rape drug and sexual assault cases following a party at the former Phi Kappa Psi fraternity ignited a campus-wide conversation on the University’s perceived mishandling of sexual misconduct cases. It has been six months since Act4RJ — a student organization campaigning for better management of those cases — organized a 400-person silent protest to march through campus and University Hall. It has been five months since the release of the Task Force on Sexual Assault released its final report, in which it put forth recommendations for reforming the University’s sexual misconduct policies. While these events may not have crossed many students’ minds since last spring — a semester shaped by campus activism — the Title IX Office worked throughout the summer, feeding off activists’ momentum to improve upon existing sexual misconduct policies. Most notably, the office has adopted several of the recommendations in the task force’s final report, including the implementation of a new sexual misconduct policy and procedure, new training for first-years — and eventually all undergraduates and staff members — and more transparent protocol for laboratory testing.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Dual investigator model On Sept. 1, the Corporation approved the new sexual misconduct policy, in addition to a clearly defined procedure for handling any violations of this new policy, said Title IX

Program Officer Amanda Walsh. The University has implemented a dual investigator model, in which the Title IX Office will hire both an internal investigator and an external investigator. The internal investigator will handle “some cases of sexual harassment, stalking or interpersonal violence,” Walsh said, while the external investigator will handle cases “where there might be a perception of conflict and cases involving any sort of violence, whether they be physical or sexual.” The University used external investigators to handle all cases last semester while the task force evaluated the policies, Walsh said. Both the internal and external investigators will be trained to understand Brown’s campus culture, she said. “It’s important that they understand the dynamics at Brown in order to be effective,” she added. Justice Gaines ’16, a member of the Task Force on Sexual Assault, expressed support for an internal investigator model but noted that the addition of an external investigator could mitigate student concerns about a possible conflict of interest within the University. The dual investigator model introduces a “weird, murky dichotomy” wherein students may be confused as to which investigator will handle which cases, said Emily Schell ’16, founder of Stand Up!, a group that works to prevent sexual assault on campus. The length of investigations also remains unspecified. While the U.S. Department of Education states that a typical case, excluding the appeals process, is completed in 60 days, the new University procedure does not explicitly outline how many days

investigations will take, Walsh said. “The length of the investigation will vary so significantly depending upon the complexity of the case, the number of complainants, the number of respondents, the number of witnesses and the general time frame at Brown,” Walsh said, adding that cases may prove a further challenge if they occur over winter or summer break. The investigation will take up the majority of the timeline in this new procedure, with the Title IX Council hearing requiring far less time proportionally, she added. The procedure currently deals only with cases in which the accused party, or respondent, is a student. Moving forward this fall, the Title IX Office will draft a procedure for situations in which faculty and staff members are respondents, Walsh said. Sexual assault prevention As the University reviews the new first-year sexual assault online education program, as well as the in-person “Speak About It” presentation held during orientation, many students have begun to consider what the future of training will look like for the broader campus. In April, the Task Force on Sexual Assault recommended that all students, faculty and staff participate in annual education programs. What those programs will look like has not yet become clear, said Sazzy Gourley ’16, president of the Undergraduate Council of Students. “It needs to be something that is more substantial than an online training,” he said, noting that while the training should be annual, it should not be repetitive. Gaines said the task force has considered a variety of models for yearly training. One proposed model involves a series of training workshops

that would be hosted throughout the semester. Students would be required to attend one of the sessions in order to register for classes, Gaines said. Another model involves a “reorientation” at the beginning of each year, and yet another could involve an online training module specifically tailored to a student’s class year, Gaines added. Both Gaines and Schell voiced a desire for student leaders to be involved in this new education program, whatever shape it may take. Gaines said without further University funding, the Title IX Office would be understaffed and under-equipped to handle expanding education efforts. Laboratory protocols Miriam Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital will offer forensic drug testing for survivors of sexual assault as a result of new partnerships with Health Services, said Director of Health Services Unab Khan. The drug test, which requires a urine sample from patients, was not previously offered at any of the local hospitals. The hospitals could offer a clinical test, but the results would not be forensically analyzed if the survivor did not file criminal charges, Khan said. She added that survivors may now find out the results of the test before having to press criminal charges. This will not just apply to Brown students, but anyone seeking the test at these hospitals. Completed by NMS Labs, the test checks for a panel of different drugs associated with sexual violence, including GHB, flunitrazepam, cocaine and alcohol, Khan said. She added that the University will no longer perform hair tests like the one involved in the alleged GHB case, which was found to be improperly

conducted. “We learned from what happened last year. … We spoke to a lot of forensic specialists and found that hair testing is not used to find the one-time effect of a drug,” Khan said. “It might be used by employers to determine the regular use of a drug, or (the test) will be positive in somebody who had a massive dose of any drug at one time.” The University will no longer work with ExperTox Inc. or the Carlson Company, the laboratory that analyzed the hair test and the company that produced the toxicology report for last year’s GHB case, respectively, Khan said. Khan stressed the importance of survivors visiting the hospital as soon as they suspect they have been a victim of sexual violence. The sooner a test is completed, the more accurate it is, she added. “The caveat is that just because a test is negative doesn’t mean that something bad didn’t happen,” Khan said. The results of the test will come back within seven to 10 days, she said, fitting into the narrow timeline outlined by the new procedure. Additionally, LGBTQ survivors of sexual violence who may not feel comfortable being treated for trauma at Rhode Island’s major hospitals may seek services from Hasbro Children’s Hospital, which could provide them with proper care, Khan said. Students can call the Sexual Assault Response Hotline before visiting a hospital to have a confidential University representative visit the hospital with them and guide them in making decisions about which care to receive, Khan said. “You want someone who knows the system to navigate it with you and be your advocate,” Khan added. “You don’t want to do it alone.”

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