Wednesday, November 11, 2015

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

VOLUME CL, ISSUE 104

UNDER PRESSURE As more students reach out to CAPS, the understaffed office struggles to find the resources to help students confront mental health BY KATE TALERICO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

Though Allie scheduled an appointment at Counseling and Psychological Services, she did not receive treatment in time to prevent a panic attack that left her gasping for breath.

MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD

Sherri Nelson, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, said the University is committed to eliminating the seven-session limit on CAPS appointments by Fall 2017.

INSIDE

This story is the first in a three-part series about mental health at Brown and students’ attempts to navigate the gaps in treatment and understanding.

MIND THE GAPS Allie couldn’t breathe. She had experienced panic attacks before, but never like this. Though she had been battling depression since high school, the panic attacks were relatively new to her, beginning earlier this year. She called Counseling and Psychological Services in early September for an appointment but was unable to schedule one until the middle of October. But just a few days after her phone call to CAPS, Allie sat in Metcalf Auditorium in the midst of her worst panic attack yet. For a moment, she forced herself not to stand up — she did not want to make a scene within the crowded auditorium. But the pressure around her was too much. She began gasping for air. “I got up and walked out of Metcalf, bawling,” she said. People turned in their seats, watching Allie leave in tears. “It was clear that people didn’t want to show that they were staring, but they were confused.” “It got much worse before it got better,” Allie said. “I feel I could have avoided that if I had been able to talk to someone sooner.” Allie, whose last name has been omitted to preserve her anonymity, is one of many students who has called CAPS in the middle of a mental health crisis and had treatment deferred due to CAPS’ long waitlist. As more students reach out for help, CAPS finds itself underresourced and understaffed, making it difficult for students to receive timely help. Turning to CAPS At college campuses nationwide, more students than ever are facing mental health challenges, said Sara Abelson, vice president for student health and wellness at Active Minds, a national nonprofit working to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health. “Students are increasingly coming to campus with mental health concerns,” Abelson said. “Making sure that resources can grow as the population of students with concerns grows is a real challenge.” CAPS, the University’s provider of mental health services, has 12 staff members, eight of whom are full-time therapists and counselors. The office offers short-term

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t h e r a p y, group therapy and referrals to all enrolled students. All services are covered by the Health Services fee. Last year, CAPS saw 18.9 percent of Brown’s student body, including graduate and medical students, said Sherri Nelson, director of CAPS. Utilization was highest for undergraduates, one in five of whom had visited, she said. About 43 percent of seniors have visited at least once over the course of their time at Brown, according to a poll of undergraduates conducted by The Herald last month. Campuses are not always equipped to serve the diversity of their student body, which may deter some students from seeking treatment, Abelson said. “We know that many LGBT students are facing the most concerns but are not being seen at that same rate,” she said. At Brown, 22.8 percent of heterosexual students have been to CAPS at least once compared to 46.4 percent of gay students and 45.7 percent of bisexual students, according to the poll. Additionally, 8.9 percent of gay students and 5.7 percent of bisexual students had seen CAPS seven times and received outside help, whereas only 1.9 percent of heterosexual students had done the same. Athletes may also face barriers to receiving care from on-campus counseling centers, Abelson said. Daytime practices on top of classes may leave athletes with no time to visit counselors, who typically work only during regular business hours. CAPS, for example, is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Abelson said the competitive athletic environment can also create it “tough-it-up culture.” “We want to make sure that coaches and staff are educated about the need for mental health and are able to communicate that it’s not problematic to seek help,” she said. A disparity exists along lines of gender as well. Nationwide, women visit college counseling centers at

higher rates than men do, Abelson said. At Brown, 29.7 percent of women have gone to CAPS at least once, compared to only 21.9 percent of men, according to the poll. Of people who hit the sevensession limit and received off-campus help, 70 percent were women, and 26.7 percent were men. “In society, help-seeking is portrayed more as a feminine thing,” said Marc Peters, men’s health coordinator. “From a young age, men are taught to tough things out, to not show emotion other than anger and to take things upon themselves because they aren’t » See CAPS, page 2

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

POLL RESULTS See the full results and methodology of The Herald’s Fall 2015 undergraduate poll

METRO Mayor Jorge Elorza forms advisory council to reduce gun violence in Providence

COMMENTARY Conrad ’18: Involvement with the Swearer Center provides new perspective on privilege

COMMENTARY Horowitz ’16: Opportunities outside Brown’s classrooms and academic offerings are invaluable

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UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 2 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

» CAPS, from page 1 supposed to be a burden.” Men may fear judgment if they are seen going to CAPS, Peters added. Though depression is more common in women than in men, the suicide rate for men is about four times higher than that for women, Peters said, adding that this disparity exists because men are less likely to seek help. “Men will often self-medicate through use of substances. Since drinking is such accepted behavior in college, it can be easy to mask the fact that you’re struggling,” Peters said. He leads a men’s health group with CAPS psychotherapist Jamall Pollock to open up a dialogue about masculinity and wellness on campus. Other demographic breakdowns exhibit similarly disparate patterns of CAPS attendance. First-generation students are also more likely to have used CAPS services. Of those students, about a third have used CAPS, compared to a quarter of all other students. Similarly, 7.2 percent of first-generation students had reached the seven-session limit and sought outside help, compared to 2.3 percent of other students. While Abelson said that racial and ethnic minorities may also seek counselors at lower rates on some campuses, The Herald’s poll did not find a statistically significant correlation between race and usage of CAPS at Brown. Nelson said the overall demographics of students seeking assistance from CAPS closely mirror those of the student body, with more than half the students CAPS sees identifying as students of color or international students. Short-staffed and in demand CAPS was created in 1970 with a three-person staff: its director and two part-time therapists, Nelson said. The office has been expanding ever since. Called Psychological Services until April 2014, CAPS’ first home was the Health Services building. As the office grew, it moved into Rhode Island Hall on the Main Green where it remained for nearly 25 years. It was not until 2008 that CAPS moved into the fifth floor of J. Walter Wilson following the building’s extensive renovations. Though the office was not placed under the umbrella of Health Services until this summer, it has always been completely funded by the Health Services fee, which students pay separately from tuition. With the exception of Cornell, which charges $10 per session, all Ivy League schools offer mental health counseling sessions for free. Brown is also the only Ivy institution besides Dartmouth that imposes a limit on the number of counseling sessions students can receive. Yet Dartmouth’s limit of 12 sessions is nearly twice as high as Brown’s seven, which was raised from five in 2010. A $500,000 dollar gift two years ago from an anonymous donor enabled CAPS to hire more clinical staff, increasing its clinical capacity by 50 percent, Nelson said. The University has now assumed responsibility for paying those salaries, she added. But CAPS has struggled to hire enough staff members to keep up with growing demand from students. This semester the office was not fully staffed, and next semester it will temporarily lose two therapists who are taking maternity leave, Nelson said, adding that CAPS will hire “per diem therapists” to offset their absences.

There is currently one CAPS staff member for every 680 students. In an effort to increase that ratio, the office has taken steps in hiring, adding one postdoctoral position this semester and a licensed clinical social worker who will join the team in January. “If we are down staff members, it doesn’t take much for us to get really busy,” Nelson said.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD or severe depression. Abelson, though, says that universities should seek to assist all students who express mental health concerns as early as possible. “Universities are reaching students at a critical time in development. The college years are when the majority of mental health disorders are emerging for the first time,” she said. “The data consis-

appointments and figure out insurance?” This summer, the University hired Jorge Vargas as its first student care coordinator to address that very problem. He works with students to ensure they have secured an off-campus therapist with whom they can continue treatment. “We found that students weren’t always successful,” Nelson said. “Given that we have a brief therapy model, that

Student utilization of Counseling and Pyschological Services As enrollment has grown from just under 8,000 students in 2006-7 to 8,848 students in 2014-15, the number of students making appointments at CAPS has also increased.

5000 PSYCHOTHERAPY APPOINTMENTS

4000 3000 2000 PSYCHIATRY APPOINTMENTS

1000

EVENING/WEEKEND CRISIS CALLS

0

2006-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 Source: Counseling and Psychological Services JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD

The shortage makes it near impossible to strike the seven-session limit in the near-term future, she added. This summer, the Mental Health Community Council recommended the limit be eliminated to account for emergency situations, though CAPS would still operate on a short-term therapy model. Nelson said the University is committed to eliminating the limit by Fall 2017. The University has already allocated additional resources to CAPS to hire a body of staff that can take on the increased demand that would follow the striking of the limit. Until CAPS can balance its responsibility to give all students access to its services with the need to keep a short waitlist, the office must continue to enforce a limit, Nelson said. For now, the waitlist does not appear to be getting any shorter. In crisis mode The first time Allie called CAPS, she was given an appointment three weeks from the day she called. And after her panic attack in Metcalf, her situation worsened: She was having panic attacks every day. “I didn’t know what to do,” Allie said. So she again called CAPS, which moved her appointment to within a week of that second call. “When a student calls for an initial appointment at CAPS, they are always asked if there is an urgency to their call,” Nelson said. “That can vary from ‘I need to talk today’ to ‘I need to talk within a couple of days.’” CAPS keeps crisis slots open for same-day appointments. In determining whether a student needs a same-day appointment, CAPS evaluates the risk of harm to the student or others, and looks to see if there are any acute difficulties in functioning, like an inability to get out of bed or persistent insomnia. “We certainly give priority to safety,” Nelson said. “But we also understand that other issues rise to the level of crises for students, given the nature of the university setting and short semesters,” she wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald. CAPS also focuses on intervening early in certain mental health episodes, such as disordered thinking, psychosis

tently demonstrates that the earlier you seek treatment, the better the outcomes will be in the long term.” Despite the value of early intervention, 18-24 year olds are the age group shown to seek help the least, according to a 2005 study by Harvard Medical School’s Ronald Kessler. But when students are able to go to CAPS, many receive the therapy they need and are happy with their experience.

means that we must refer students to the outside community. We wanted that referral to be more effective.” As early as a student’s first session at CAPS, a therapist may give a referral to a few specific community providers, matching each student’s needs with outside therapists’ areas of expertise, Nelson said. Vargas and the student then decide on a timeline for discussing that student’s progress, either checking up with

Ratio of students to mental health staff members at the Ivies

Brown’s ratio of students to mental health staff members is slightly higher than the Ivy League average, with Yale boasting the lowest ratio.

425:1

Yale

525:1

Dartmouth

624:1

Cornell Average

674:1

Harvard

677:1 737:1

Brown Penn

775:1

Princeton

794:1

Columbia

830:1 0

200

400

600

800

1000

Source: Universities’ respective enrollment data and counseling and psychological services websites JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD

Mike Darby ’18 sought help from CAPS to treat his depression. “The therapist was extremely helpful,” Darby said. “The problem is, the system that surrounds her isn’t the best.” After seven sessions, he ran up against the limit and was forced to consider offcampus solutions. Rachel, a sophomore whose name has been changed to preserve her anonymity, also said she had positive experiences at CAPS but was asked to seek off-campus support after three sessions. During her last session with CAPS, Rachel was handed a list of therapists in Providence and their phone numbers. She was angry. “How can (CAPS) expect an 18-yearold who might be in crisis — though I was not — to cold call therapists, set up

a phone call or a meeting “depending on how much help the student needs,” Nelson added. Vargas has also been expanding the community provider database to increase the number and diversity of providers and document their areas of expertise and the insurance policies they accept, Nelson said. Shifting the conversation Of the students who come to Brown, 25 percent have previously sought mental health treatment, Nelson said. Among students who go to CAPS, that figure is even higher, at 40 percent. Yet several students said they feel a stigma surrounding mental health at Brown. “Occasionally, it can feel like I’m a

complete and utter failure for not feeling happy at Brown, which is supposed to be the happiest place,” Darby said. “Coming to Brown, a lot of mental health issues can manifest,” said Eliza Lanzillo ’16, president of Brown’s chapter of Active Minds. “People go from being one of the best in their high schools to feeling like they don’t measure up.” About 57 percent of students expressed feeling inadequate to their peers in some way, according to a March 2015 Herald poll. “Everyone is trying to make it look like they have it together,” said Amanda Ruggieri ’16, the chapter’s vice president. “It’s easy to feel like you’re the only one that’s experiencing that.” Supporting mental health goes hand in hand with fostering dialogue about it on campus, Lanzillo said. “When students report a positive environment for mental health on their campus, they are more likely to seek services,” Abelson said. CAPS has been working with several student groups on campus, including Active Minds and Students for Samaritans, whose members volunteer for the Rhode Island Crisis Hotline. CAPS provided much of the financial backing for Active Mind’s Suicide Prevention Month display, Lanzillo said. In an effort to provide more outreach programs, CAPS trained 30 staff members and students in the Question, Persuade, Refer suicide prevention program this fall, Nelson said. With the increased visibility of mental health on campus, more students are advocating policy change. Expanding mental health services emerged as the second-highest priority for undergraduates on the Undergraduate Council of Students’ poll earlier this semester, with nearly 40 percent of students selecting that as their top priority, trailing only increases to financial aid. This semester, students prioritized improving mental health services over sexual assault policy reform, said UCS President Sazzy Gourley ’16. As students have started to see the implementation of the Sexual Assault Task Force’s recommendations, they have turned their attention to the proposals of the Mental Health Community Council, he said. CAPS “has a few new hires and the leave of absence dates have been changed, but broadly speaking, students have yet to feel those changes to mental health at Brown.” UCS hopes to improve “the coordination of peer resources” by looking at the ways student Emergency Medical Technicians, Meiklejohns and Residential Peer Leaders support other students in their mental health needs, he said. UCS has several short-term plans to improve awareness of CAPS services. For example, Gourley said the council is working to provide CAPS information on the back of student identification cards and will publicize Vargas’ new role, which Gourley said many students do not yet know about. Students should also be informed early in their Brown careers about the availability of mental health services, Gourley said. While orientation includes mandatory meetings about sexual assault, diversity and alcohol, UCS supports the creation of a session about mental health. UCS will push the University to be transparent about the implementation timeline for the MHCC’s August recommendations. “It’s November,” Gourley said. “It’s time to see a more direct administrative response.”

UNIVERSITY NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

This Week in Higher Ed BY DREW WILLIAMS, UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

Missouri protests spark president’s resignation

Following months of student and faculty protests that reached a peak in the last week, the University of Missouri saw the resignation of President Timothy Wolfe and a promise from Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin to step down to a research position at the end of the year, the New York Times reported Monday. Wolfe and Loftin came under heavy criticism for inadequate and unaware responses to racism on campus this semester, including slurs hurled at the president of the Missouri Students Association, who is black, racial epithets used at a Legion of Black Collegians homecoming rehearsal and a swastika smeared in feces on a dormitory wall. The university’s administration also faced anger from graduate students over a termination of their health insurance benefits, as well as a political controversy regarding an association with Planned Parenthood. In the last week, deans of nine of the University of Missouri campuses publicly supported Loftin’s removal, the student government called for Wolfe’s dismissal, students formed an encampment of tents on the campus green and faculty members canceled classes Monday and Tuesday in order to hold a “teach-in focused on race relations.” But two events received particularly widespread national news coverage. Graduate student Jonathan Butler, a former participant in the Ferguson protests, went on a hunger strike last week, refusing to eat again until Wolfe left the university. And on Saturday, the football team — which plays in the prestigious Southeastern Conference — acted in solidarity with Butler, boycotting any games as long as Wolfe remained president. Each game missed would cost the university an estimated $1 million or more and “would have been a disaster for their recruiting of black athletes and of black students to the university,” William Lacy Clay, a state representative whose district lies within St. Louis, told the Times. Public figures voiced support for Wolfe’s decision, including White House press secretary Josh Earnest and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. In a statement, Nixon called the resignation a “necessary step toward healing and reconciliation on the University of Missouri campus.” Wolfe unveiled a plan for a “system-wide diversity and inclusion strategy” Sunday, which came across to critics as “too little, too late,” the Times reported. On Monday he announced his resignation at a news conference, citing conversations with “community leaders, students, faculty, donors and others” as the impetus for the move, as well as his perception that “the frustration and anger was evident.”

Rolling Stone sued by UVA fraternity

The University of Virginia chapter of Phi Kappa Psi has sued Rolling Stone magazine for $25 million on charges of defamation, following a Sept. 28, 2014 article, “A Rape on Campus,” that alleged that a gang rape occurred in the fraternity house during a party, the Washington Post reported. The claims made by the article’s author, Sabrina Rubin Erdely — who is also a defendant in the suit — were subsequently disproven by the Washington Post, the Columbia School of Journalism and the Charlottesville Police Department. Erdely later left Rolling Stone, along with the magazine’s editor Will Dana. “In the most scurrilous traditions of yellow tabloid journalism, Rolling Stone published a devastating story it knowingly failed to verify, in reckless disregard for … the essential safety, dignity and welfare of … those lives it was willing to crush with its defamatory article,” the lawsuit reads. In a statement, the fraternity said the article’s allegations — including that nine fraternity brothers took part in or witnessed the assault as part of a hazing ritual — caused “extreme damage” to the reputations of students and alums and “subjected the student members and their families to danger and immense stress.” Rolling Stone declined to comment to the Post and currently faces another federal lawsuit for an unspecified amount from three University of Virginia alums who are former members of the fraternity, as well as a $7.5 million suit from University of Virginia Associate Dean Nicole Eramo, who claims she was “vilified” in the article, the Post reported.

Religious colleges challenge ACA in Supreme Court

A group of Evangelical and Catholic colleges joined other groups taking the Affordable Care Act to the Supreme Court for the fourth time Friday in a challenge that claims the current regulations leave religious colleges, hospitals and charities liable for the free coverage of birth control for women, Business Insider reported. The Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in 2010, ensures that women have access to birth control at no extra cost but includes a provision that permits religious organizations to pass the payment for contraception along to their insurers. These religious groups are arguing that the provision does not go far enough and that “they still are being forced to participate in an effort to provide coverage for contraceptives, including some which they claim amount to abortion,” Business Insider reported. The colleges instead want a total exemption, as is currently available to “religious institutions whose primary purpose is to spread the faith,” as well as “closely held” businesses with religious objections — the latter a result of the 2014 Hobby Lobby Supreme Court case, in which the chain of craft stores argued that its rights were violated under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Seven of eight appeals courts that have heard similar cases have ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s current provisions do not violate federal law.

Talk examines race in Texas policing history Manuscript establishes link between anti-black and anti-Mexican fear tactics in Texas By JULIANNE CENTER STAFF WRITER

“Texas is a state built by both conquest and slavery” in which anti-Mexican racial violence was legally justified by preexisting anti-black racial violence, said Monica Martinez, professor of American studies and ethnic studies. In a Tuesday lecture entitled “Mapping Violence: Elucidating Constitutive Regimes of Racial Violence in Texas,” Martinez discussed her newest manuscript chapter, which explores intersecting histories of violent policing regimes in Texas in an effort to rewrite the state’s history to include marginalized voices and the persecution they faced. Martinez focused her presentation on the period of ethnic cleansing between 1900 and 1920, in which “Texas Rangers, the U.S. military and vigilantes all participated” in overt racial violence against Mexicans. Rangers often incited racial terror in the border region, tortured prisoners, intimidated and murdered residents and organized massacres, all with the help of civilians, Martinez said. The state was made aware of the terror tactics but did not stop them. In a 1919 investigation into Texas Rangers led by State Representative José Tomás Canales, testimonies found rangers

guilty of acts of violence and denial of civil rights, but they were not convicted or prosecuted. Rather than apologize for the corrupt, racist regime in response to civil protest, Texas “celebrated it as progress,” Martinez said. “What did the state do? They let (the rangers) who committed a massacre go on and continue policing,” Martinez said. During the same time period, the NAACP called for an investigation of the lynching of Brad Williams, a black man who was convicted of killing a white woman in Hillsboro, Texas. After lawyers appealed his death sentence, angry citizens removed him from his jail cell and burned him at the stake as a public spectacle. President Woodrow Wilson and the U.S. government again only paid “lip service” to the organized violence, Martinez said. Discussing the total failure of the legal system in these cases and many more, Martinez displayed how the media and legislature justified the killing of Mexicans in much the same way they did with black lynchings. Texans dehumanized Mexicans as people who raid, kill and murder Anglo-Saxons, in order to relate them to black stereotypes, she said. U.S. Sen. Claude Hudspeth supported mob violence against ethnic minorities with racist calls to action, such as, “You have got to kill those Mexicans when you find them or they will kill you,” Martinez said. “People who are critical of these histories can show the undemocratic nature of these occurrences and the culture,” as well as understand the common

thread between anti-Mexican and antiblack racism in Texas, Martinez said. She has spent the past three years trying to revise the history of Texas in order to shine a light on overlooked racial injustice. In order to “visualize Mexican violence” and its relation to violence perpetrated against African Americans, Martinez is working to map racial violence in America with support of the John Nicholas Brown Center and the Center for Ethnic Studies. With funding, the program will digitize the database of the killings in the Texas region, as well as provide a general account of the stories and provide links to primary documents, she said. After finishing her presentation, Martinez opened up the talk to the graduate students and faculty members, who engaged in an open discussion of the connections between Mexican and black lynching justifications, World War I desegregation measures and the lack of distinction between Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the violence. Martinez is currently developing her manuscript, “‘Inherited Loss’: Reckoning with Anti-Mexican Violence, 1910-Present,” according to the University website. The lecture was presented as part of “What I Am Thinking About Now,” an ongoing, informal workshop and seminar series in which faculty members and graduate students are invited to present and discuss recently published works and works in progress.

METRO

PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Special police ‘BAT mobile’ seeks to limit drunk driving $350,000 mobile unit will allow officers to process suspects more efficiently, according to press release By KYLE BOROWSKI STAFF WRITER

The Providence Police Department has a new tool to strengthen law enforcement against people drinking and driving: the BAT mobile. A $350,000 grant from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s Office of Highway Safety allowed PPD to purchase a 40-foot-long vehicle, the blood alcohol testing mobile unit, that consists of “four work stations with computers, two Intoxilyzer 9000 Breathalyzer Instrument stations, a portable LiveScan criminal fingerprint and booking station and four fixed internal surveillance cameras,” according to an Oct. 30 press release. The department used the BAT Mobile for the first time the weekend of Halloween. The vehicle will be used for holidays, special events and regularly on the weekend to help officers “arrest suspected impaired drivers, test, process and release them without having to travel to their respective police stations,” according to the release. “A major focus of the Office on Highway Safety is to decrease traffic crash deaths and the severity of serious injuries,” wrote Charles St.

Martin, acting chief public affairs officer of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, in an email to The Herald. Though RIDOT operates other programs, including the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, St. Martin wrote that occasionally, “police departments, cities and towns … reach out to us for safety grants,” such as the one the City of Providence received for the BAT Mobile. Joseph Wendelken, acting public information officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health, wrote in an email to The Herald that he believes addressing drunk driving is important because “every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.” “When people drink and drive, they are not only putting their own lives at risk, they are also putting everyone else on the road in serious harm’s way,” Wendelken wrote. St. Martin wrote that the most up-to-date information available is from 2013, when Rhode Island saw a total of 65 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 24 of them involving alcohol. Haley De La Rosa ’17 said that while “there’s definitely a problem,” the large sum used to pay for the BAT Mobile should have been invested differently. Harry Kettelberger ’19 said that in his hometown of Philadelphia, the spending would have been warranted and could make a difference, but it

SAM BERBUE / HERALD

The Providence Police Department will use a new blood alcohol testing vehicle, called the BAT Mobile, to more easily process drunk driving incidents in the city, particularly on holidays and weekends. is less likely to change outcomes in Providence, given the rarity of deaths involving driving under the influence of alcohol. “In the grand scheme of things, it might not help that much,” he said. “The money would have been

better spent on improved emergency services instead of trying to get people into trouble.” Wendelken wrote that the best remedy to the situation is to simply not drive after drinking. “Prior to

any drinking, people should always designate a non-drinking driver,” he wrote. “People should never let their friends drive home when they have been drinking, even if it means taking away the keys.”

METRO

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Rep. David Cicilline ’83 looks to engage young voters at Town Hall event R.I. First Congressional District Rep. discusses cosponsoring Equality Act, automatic voter registration By MARIAH KENNEDY-CUOMO STAFF WRITER

Rep. David Cicilline ’83, D-R.I., will host his first civic engagement event — the Town Hall for the Next Generation — focused on engaging young adults in Rhode Island at the Providence G Ballroom this Thursday. Cicilline spoke with The Herald about the importance of today’s youth in the legislative process, his work in Congress, the Equality Act and how Brown contributes to city and state policy-making. What are you hoping to accomplish with the Town Hall For The Next Generation event, and how did it come about? The purpose of it is to provide an opportunity for young people to speak directly to me about the issues that are important to them, and to give me an opportunity to speak about the things that I am working on that I think matter to young people. I am always looking to create more opportunities for constituents to share their views, and we are doing it in a number of ways: an email newsletter, telephone town halls, neighborhood conversations and open office hours in each of the 17 communities that I represent in the first congressional district. What I’ve noticed is that there are not enough young people at these different opportunities. I thought, “What about if we create a town hall specifically designed to focus on the issues of millennials — and sort of that age group of 18 to a little older at 35 — in a place that’s convenient for young people and at a time that is convenient for them?” What makes today’s youth unique, and how will this event benefit them? Young people are suffering from the same condition as the general public. The presence of big money in our political system has exacerbated the impression that people have that their voices are being drowned out by special interests in Washington and this has made people disengaged with the process, which is very harmful for our democracy. We have to be more proactive in terms of creating opportunities for young people to become engaged in civic life in the community in which they live. I am interested in listening to young people’s ideas and also want to have the opportunity to report to them about what I’m working on because they’re my bosses. What issues are you expecting young people to voice at the Town Hall discussion on Thursday? I know that one of the most important issues for young people today is crushing debt that they are accumulating in terms of their education costs and the impact it has on their lives after they graduate. I think that people are also very interested in what kind of leadership we are providing in the world as we respond to the very serious issue of climate change. I also expect that young folks are likely to be interested in criminal justice, social justice, equality issues such as criminal justice reform and police community relations and particularly a piece of legislation that I introduced called the Equality Act that will prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity within housing,

employment, public accommodation, jury service, federal funding and education. It’s a very comprehensive civil rights bill. Also the Voting Rights Act and efforts that will make it more difficult for folks to access the ballot box. Is there anything specific that you are working on that you are eager to share at this event? I’ve introduced a bill which I’m anxious to share at the Town Hall about automatic voter registration, which will provide that when you turn 18 you are registered to vote and then you are provided an opportunity to opt-out within 21 days of when you are notified. Oregon did that and added over 300,000 votes to their voting log so I’m hoping to get people excited about automatic voting registration and how easy it will be for young people to vote. I am hoping that they will be excited by the Equality Act because millennials really more than any other generation get what inequality means and how it harms individuals who are subjected to it, how it haunts our diginity. Also, I want to particularly raise the issue of immigration reform which I know is very important to young people. Why did you choose to run for Congress, and what do you hope to accomplish as a Congressman? I served as mayor for eight years before I ran for Congress, and one of my great frustrations was that people in Washington didn’t understand what it took for cities and communities to be successful. So I thought, “Let me go to Washington and fight for the things that I know are critical building blocks of great communities.” And I think that if we get more mayors in Congress, it would be a better institution, and we’d get more things done. You sit on the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees. What issues are you focused on specifically within each one? On the Judiciary, I am focused on some of the reforms of the government surveillance programs, privacy issues, questions of intellectual property and criminal justice issues. On the Foreign Affairs Committee, I serve on the Africa and International Organizations subcommittee, as well as the Middle East subcommittee, so I am very focused right now on the president’s recent decision to send 50 advisers to Syria — I’ve been outspoken on the issue that I’m fearful of becoming more deeply involved in the Syrian Civil War. I also was very involved with Secretary of State Clinton in respect to the Iran Nuclear Agreement. How do you think the new House majority speaker, Paul Ryan, could best restore bipartisanship and cooperation within Congress? It is important that he work with Democrats to get things done that are urgent priorities of the American people — raising income for American families, rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure of our country, access to affordable health care, the cost of higher education, strengthening Medicare and Social Security. I think that Paul Ryan is tasked with standing up to the far right of his party and finding common ground with the Democrats to work on these important issues.

What was the purpose behind the Equality Act? I worked on this legislation with a number of partners and organizations who have been involved with the work to promote equality in the LGBT community. Many of us felt that, although we had made progress with marriage equality and “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” this idea of scraping and scratching for one right at a time was maybe not the right approach anymore. Instead, we should be thinking about how do we end discrimination in every context against members of the LGBT community, so we wrote a bill that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to all of the main civil rights statutes. For instance discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, jury service, federal funding and education. We introduced the bill

with 170 Democratic cosponsors in the House and 39 cosponsors in the Senate. And the president endorsed the Equality Act (on Tuesday), which is great news.

country in a really eloquent way and lived his life in a way in which he gave meaning to those values in his fight against injustice and his fight for equality.

What kind of advice to you have for recent college graduates who do feel frustrated by Congress and think their values aren’t being represented? Get involved. We need to hear the voices of young people in our political system — whether it’s running for office, working on a campaign, writing a letter to the editor, writing a letter to your congressman. Changing the world is not a spectator sport.

What role do Rhode Island’s educational institutions and specifically Brown play in your position as congressman or, previously, as mayor? Brown, like the other teaching institutions in Rhode Island, has an important role to play not only in the young people that study there or the faculty that teaches there but also in contributing to good public policy. And I call upon Brown in many different ways — on Brown’s students, faculty and the Brown College Democrats. I also regularly reach out to the Watson Institute for consultation.

Who is your hero and why? I prominently display a poster in my office of Bobby Kennedy — someone whom I admire tremendously. I think that he spoke about the values of our

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

POLL RESULTS PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

The Herald’s October 2015 undergraduate poll revealed students’ preferred U.S. presidential candidates, levels of coffee consumption and smoking habits. The poll also gauged student opinion on topics including President Christina Paxson’s P’19 job performance and the University’s food offerings. Check out the full results on page 7. Domestic students

“How many coffee or espresso drinks do you consume per week?” 22+ cups

1% 8-14 cups

“If the 2016 presidential election were held today, which candidate would you vote for?”

15-21 cups

3%

17%

84%

International students

I do not smoke

9% 73%

14%

Rarely Several times per month: 4% Several times per week: 3% At least daily: 6%

Uninterested or ineligible 8.5%

4-7 cups

1% 2% 4%

“How often do you smoke cigarettes or e-cigarettes?”

22% 1-3 cups

Donald Trump 1.3% Ben Carson 1.3%

24%

0 cups

Other candidate or unsure 19.5%

LILLY NGUYEN / HERALD

Bernie Sanders 45.1%

“Which of the following best describes your relationship history to the best of your knowledge? (Check all that apply)”

Hillary Clinton 22.7%

Marco Rubio 1.6%

33% LILLY NGUYEN / HERALD

JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD

Percentage of students who have sold illegal drugs for profit OVERALL

4.1% 6%

NOT WHITE

44.7%

55.3%

31.8% 68.2%

JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD

“How satisfied are you with the current variety of University food offerings?”

1.8%

42%

4.9%

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

91.7%

Selected 95.4%

WHITE

DOMESTIC STUDENTS

I have cheated on a I have been cheated I have been in at I have never been in significant other on by a significant least one exclusive an exclusive other relationship, and I relationship have neither cheated Not selected: nor been cheated on 4.6% 8.3%

0.6%

29%

MALE

5.9%

FEMALE

2.4%

9%

10%

2%

d

er r nsw iliao a am h t t f ug ed No o en isfi at ed ss di isfi at ry iss Ve td ha ew m So n io in ed op isfi at No ts ha

ew

3.5%

m

NOT A MEMBER OF GREEK ORGANIZATION

e isfi at ys

9.6%

So

r Ve

MEMBER OF GREEK ORGANIZATION

8%

LAURA FELENSTEIN / HERALD

LAURA FELENSTEIN / HERALD

“Do you approve or disapprove of the way that Christina Paxson is handling her job as president of the University?” 48%

38% 35% 32%

33%

35%

34%

36% 33%

34%

22%

21% 18%

16% 11% 7%

9%

9%

8%

6%

4% 4% 1%

Strongly approve

Somewhat approve

No opinion

Somewhat disapprove

3% 3%

Strongly disapprove

Fall 2015 Spring 2015 Fall 2014 Spring 2014 Fall 2013 LAURA FELENSTEIN / HERALD

POLL RESULTS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

OC T. 28-29 POLL RESULTS AND ME THODOLOGY 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christina Paxson is handling her job as president of the University? 9.1% Strongly approve 33.5% Somewhat approve 38.4% No opinion 15.6% Somewhat disapprove 3.3% Strongly disapprove 2. How many times have you met with your academic advisor this year (spring and fall 2015)? 16.7% 0 60.8% 1-2 17.5% 3-4 5% 5 or more 3. How often do you smoke cigarettes or e-cigarettes? 82.4% I do not smoke cigarettes or e-cigarettes 9.7% Rarely 3.6% Several times per month 2.2% Several times per week 1.9% At least daily 4. If the 2016 presidential election were held today, which candidate would you vote for? (Please select only one.) 1.1% Jeb Bush 1.4% Ben Carson 0.6% Chris Christie

22.6% Hillary Clinton 0.1% Ted Cruz 0.3% Carly Fiorina 0.0% Mike Huckabee 0.0% Bobby Jindal 0.0% John Kasich 0.8% Martin O’Malley 0.4% Rand Paul 1.5% Marco Rubio 45.6% Bernie Sanders 0% Rick Santorum 1.3% Donald Trump 0.8% Other 15.2% I am unsure 8.3% I am uninterested in voting or ineligible to vote 5. How many Counseling and Psychological Services appointments have you had in your time at Brown? 73.6% 0 8.5% 1 10.6% 2-4 2.5% 5-6 1.4% 7 3.4% 7, and I received outside help after a CAPS referral 6. How many hours per week do you exercise? 14.6% 0 39.6% 1-3 28.1% 4-7

7.1% 8-10 2.9% 11-13 7.6% 14 or more 7. How many coffee or espresso drinks do you consume per week? 32.9% 0 24.4% 1-3 21.4% 4-7 16.8% 8-14 3.2% 15-21 1.3% 22 or more 8. Have you felt shamed for your sexual activity or choices by University staff members, faculty members or administrators? 4.7% Yes 95.3% No 9. How satisfied are you with the current variety of University food offerings? 8.9% Very satisfied 41.9% Somewhat satisfied 8% No opinion 28.5% Somewhat dissatisfied 10.6% Very dissatisfied 2% Not familiar enough to answer 10. How satisfied are you with Brown’s law and medical school advising?

3.4% Very satisfied 9.2% Somewhat satisfied 35.7% No opinion 7.8% Somewhat dissatisfied 4.6% Very dissatisfied 39.6% I am not considering applying to law or medical school 11. Have you ever sold illegal drugs for profit? 4.4% Yes 95.6% No 12. Which of the following describes your relationship history to the best of your knowledge? (Check all that apply.) 8.3% I have cheated on a significant other 13.1% I have been cheated on by a significant other 54.6% I have been in at least one exclusive relationship, and I have neither cheated nor been cheated on 30.5% I have never been in an exclusive relationship 13. Which of the following best describes your history of substance use during class? (Check all that apply.) 7.4% I have been drunk during class 9.2% I have been under the influence of marijuana during class 3.9% I have been under the influence of another controlled substance during class 85.5% I have never been intoxicated during class

Methodology The data reported come from 937 written questionnaires administered to undergraduates Oct. 28-29 in the lobby of J. Walter Wilson, the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center and the Sciences Library. The poll has a 2.95 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. The margin of error is 4.54 percent for the subset of males, 3.94 percent for females, 5.32 percent for first-years, 5.43 percent for sophomores, 6.68 percent for juniors, 6.68 percent for seniors, 4.08 percent for students receiving financial aid and 4.37 percent for students not receiving financial aid. The sample polled was demographically similar to the Brown undergraduate population as a whole. The sample was 43.3 percent male and 55.8 percent female. First-years made up 30.2 percent of the sample, 29.2 percent were sophomores, 20.1 percent were juniors and 20.4 percent were seniors. Varsity athletes made up 10.6 percent of the sample. Students involved in Greek life made up 11.2 percent of the sample. Of those polled, 52.3 percent currently receive financial aid through Brown. Students reported all

Elorza establishes council to reduce gun violence Advisory council to focus on preventive measures like buyback programs, not harsher penalties By GWEN EVERETT STAFF WRITER

Mayor Jorge Elorza issued the first executive order of his administration Nov. 3, commissioning an advisory council designed to reduce gun violence in the city. Citing the economic and public health tolls that gun crimes take on Providence, Elorza’s spokesperson Evan England said the effect of “illegal guns and gun violence is at the core of why the mayor initially chose to run for office.” The executive order calls on the council to “review the best practices in gun violence reduction,” “help identify funding opportunities for strategies to reduce gun violence” and “promote intergovernmental cooperation” to combat the issue. But “this isn’t the crackdown on crime policies of the 1980s and 1990s — this is about being smarter on crime,” England said, adding that the Elorza administration is focused on strengthening public safety and community through groundlevel, “common sense” initiatives. Sol Rodriguez, chair of the advisory council, echoed this sentiment, saying she supports the mayor’s approach. “I like that he said, ‘I’m not really trying to increase the penalties for gun violence.’” England said the council will focus on preventive measures, including buyback programs for illegally owned guns, or implementation of “catch-and-release”

METRO

policies that could reduce the risk of repeat offenses by minimizing wait time between arrests and trials. Elizabeth Tobin-Tyler P’12 P’16, assistant professor of family medicine and health services, policy and practice, said an effective council should focus on data collection and identification of the main risk factors that contribute to “the gun violence epidemic.” “What we (as a society) typically do … is think of regulation versus no regulation,” Tobin-Tyler said, adding that a better approach would involve getting a “broader view of the problem by working with people who know the issues on the ground-level.” The council is composed of people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences in the hope that their perspectives will inform decisions in a holistic manner, England said. Rodriguez, for example, is the executive director of OpenDoors, a nonprofit organization that re-integrates former convicts following incarceration. Other members of the 11-person committee include a representative from the Rhode Island NAACP’s Youth Division, the executive director of Rhode Island for Community and Justice, the Providence public safety commissioner, the chief of the Providence Police Department and community activists, England said. There was a 9 percent decline in gunrelated injuries in Providence in 2014, the Providence Journal reported in January. But the Journal also reported in 2014 that there were over 100 shootings in the city. “For a small city, we’ve had a significant amount of violence,” Rodriguez said. “Any (gun-related) death is a tragedy for the city of Providence.”

races with which they identify, with 54.5 percent saying white, 29.8 percent Asian, 13 percent Hispanic, 10.1 percent black, 1.4 percent American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.1 percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.7 percent other. Statistical significance was established at the 0.05 level. All reported cross-tabulations are statistically significant. University News Editor Emma Harris ’17, Sports Editor Andrew Flax ’17, Social Media Editor Camilla Brandfield-Harvey ’15.5 and Senior Staff Writers Lauren Aratani ’18, Matt Brownsword ’18 and Taneil Ruffin ’17 coordinated the poll. Herald section editors, senior staff writers and other staff members conducted the poll. Over the next several weeks, The Herald will publish a series of articles about individual poll questions. Find results of previous polls at thebdh.org/poll.

ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 8 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Cultures fuse at Legends of the SEA Spoken word, dance performances, cuisine offerings showcase Southeast Asian culture By ANDREW FRIEDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Salomon Center was filled with savory aromas and diverse music ranging from Japanese folk to rap this weekend as the Asian American Heritage Series of the Brown Center for Students of Color hosted its annual Legends of the SEA event Saturday night. The event concluded ASEAN Week, a celebration of Southeast Asian culture on campus. Legends of the SEA featured eight Southeast Asian and Asian student performances, including spoken-word poetry, choreographed dances, solo vocal performances and Japanese folk band performances. A buffet of Asian food and bubble tea welcomed guests during intermission. Event co-chair Kristine Mar ’18 said she wanted to emphasize the importance of Southeast Asian identity on campus, which she said “is often overlooked and lumped together with the larger AsianAmerican identity.” Within the Asian community, East

Asian and South Asian students far outnumber Southeast Asian students on campus, Mar said. Accordingly, the AAHS coordinators aim to organize events like Legends of the SEA that highlight the less numerous Southeast Asian community. This year, Mar said one of her objectives was to include the wider Providence community in the event, adding that the Providence Laotian Community Center dance troupe traveled to Brown to perform a traditional Laotian folk dance. Brown’s Filipino Alliance kicked off the night with a riff on a traditional Filipino dance known as “tinikling,” which involved two dancers hopping in and out of bamboo sticks like a jump-rope, combined with hip-hop dancing to songs such as “Do It Again” by Pia Mia featuring Chris Brown and Tyga. The troupe spent over two months preparing its routine and practiced for over nine hours during the three days before the event, said Danielle Peterson ’17, a member of the Filipino Alliance. The group decided to incorporate modern dance with traditional Filipino culture, to make its performance relatable to a wider audience, she added. The Hapa Club, a culture group that explores mixed Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage and identity,

kaleidoscope of light

also performed a hip-hop dance routine battle that pitted senior members against first-years. “Our performance is an Asian fusion piece. We all identify as mixed Asian, and the point was to explain what our club is,” said Jesamine Dyus ’16, a member of Hapa. The performance featured both KPop and J-Pop music, she added. Among the most well-received performances of the night were solo spoken-word readings by Mae Verano ’17 and Chrysanthemum Tran ’17. Verano spoke about the exploitative European and American colonization of the Philippines, and Tran spoke about the irony behind American appropriation of Vietnamese cuisine. Other performances included a solo vocal piece sung entirely in Tagalog — ­­ a native Filipino language — by Josiah Jordan ’18, a stand-up comedy routine by Chelsea Fernando ’17, a performance by the Brown-RISD Gendo Taiko drumming group and a spoken-word reading by Archipelag-a, an all-female Filipino poetry group. Ultimately, Mar said, Legends of the SEA is part of a wider movement “to provide a platform for people who hold a Southeast Asian identity to express themselves and to have their voice heard on campus.”

www.browndailyherald.com

SAM BERBUE/HERALD

The Providence Waterfire Festival basins were lit Saturday night in honor of Veterans Day, extending Waterfire celebrations into November.

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 9

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Stiry Fry and Curries, Po’Boy Sandwich Pizzas: Honey Boo Boo, Pizza Bianco, Polynesian Teriyaki JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

Soups: Baked Potato, Hearty Country Vegetable

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Chicken Fingers, Eggplant Parmesan Grinder, Corn and Sweet Pepper Saute

Roast Turkey, Carrot Coin Vichy, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Fries, Vegetable Pasta Medley

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Mac and Cheese Bar, Tacos, Steak Fries, Corn Mexicane, Vegan Burrito, Vegan Brownies

Parmesan Baked Chicken, Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread Sticks, Vegan Paella, Wild Rice Risotto

sudoku

crossword

comic A Horse of Any Other Name | Zach Silberberg ’18

calendar TODAY

NOVEMBER

S

M

T

W

Th

F

S

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Veterans Day Ceremony 12:00 P.M. Simmons Quadrangle

Wellness at Brown! Healthy Eating 12:00 P.M. 200 Dyer Street 101

People of Color Support Group 1:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson 516

Brown in Italy Info Session 2:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson 440

TOMORROW

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

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How Much Money Is Enough? 1:00 P.M. Salomon Center 003

Brown in France Info Session 12:00 P.M. J. Water Wilson 440

Visiting Artist Lecture: Lee Walton 4:00 P.M. List Art Center 110

Gratitude Night 6:00 P.M. Sharpe Refectory Chancellor’s Dining Room

COMMENTARY PAGE 10 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

Mattiello’s misguided denial of white privilege On Oct. 31, R.I. Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, D-Cranston, told the Providence Journal that he does not believe in white privilege. “I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of the phrase ‘white privilege.’ I don’t think there is a white privilege,” he said. Ironically, Mattiello denied the existence of white privilege while discussing his support for the passage of legislation combating racial profiling. In denying that white privilege exists, Mattiello said, “I absolutely disagree with that phrase. I don’t think anybody in society views any particular nationality as having any privilege over any other. I certainly don’t.” We are deeply troubled by one of the most powerful politicians in the state government denying a reality that affects his constituents and Rhode Islanders more broadly, including students here at Brown. To argue that white Americans do not have unfair advantages over people of color ignores both the voiced experiences of people of color and the corroborating data. A survey released by the Associated Press shows that over half of black millennials know a victim of police brutality, while less than one third of white millennials do — a poignant reminder of how white privilege inheres in our own generation. Further data — like that demonstrating that white job applicants are more likely to receive a callback after submitting job applications than people of color, or that of the 46,235 New Yorkers stopped by police last year, 55 percent were black, and only 12 percent were white — illustrate how entrenched white privilege remains in our society and how misguided Mattiello’s statement is. Mattiello’s refusal to accept this reality is distressing. It is also unfortunate that few students at Brown seem to be aware that he said it. As residents of Rhode Island, even if only for a few years, it is important that we engage in discussions concerning race, privilege and equality not only on this campus but also within the larger Rhode Island community of which we are a part. In general, Brown students tend to be disengaged from Rhode Island politics. When asked whom they would support in the 2014 Providence mayoral election, 72.3 percent of students polled by The Herald last fall reported they were not familiar enough to answer. When asked whom they would support in the 2014 R.I. gubernatorial election, 74.1 percent reported the same. While sometimes Brown feels like a bubble, it is important to remember that while we are here, we are part of the Providence and Rhode Island communities. Even if some of us are not registered to vote in Rhode Island, the decisions that R.I. elected officials make and the beliefs they have affect us. If we remain disengaged, then our values will not be taken into account by those elected to represent the state in which we spend several important years of our lives. Voicing our concerns over Mattiello’s statements represents just one important way in which we ought to engage with the larger community in which we live. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: Emma Axelrod ’18, Noah Fitzgerel ’17 and Aranshi Kumar ’17. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

Letters, please!

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Brown should not have joined Coalition App To the Editor: An Oct. 6 Herald article (“Brown joins coalition backing Common App alternative”) described Brown’s becoming one of more than 80 founding members of a Common Application alternative called the “Coalition Application.” Members include every Ivy League institution, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University and the University of Michigan, among others. Noticeably absent are any University of California schools. Reading into the details of the Coalition Application, I believe that while the idea might a good one, its execution is poor and goes against everything Brown and its community stand for with the need-blind admission policy. For those who are unaware, the Coalition Application allows students to begin assembling a “college application portfolio” in ninth grade. Ninth. Grade. Member institutions will all accept it, similar to the Common App model. The Coalition App goes live in April 2016. This would certainly place students from low-resource school districts at an even greater competitive disadvantage. How can a student who does not have regular access to guidance counselors be expected to start assembling a top-tier college admission portfolio their freshman year? Accepting the Coalition Application makes applying to

Brown and other member institutions prohibitively demanding. How can two applications, one with three years more preparation than the other, possibly be compared equitably? Other policies of the Coalition Application include allowing member institutions to have need-aware admission and excluding institutions that have graduation rates under 70 percent — a policy that effectively precludes many public universities and systems from participating. These policies create an “upper echelon” of wealthy schools that accept only rich students — those groomed for admission since age 14. If acceptance to top-tier schools were not already hard enough, this will only exacerbate the difficulty for lower-income students. The Coalition Application builds a moat around the Ivory Tower. Becoming an early adopter of the Coalition Application will lead to admitting fewer low-income, low-resources students until the “new standard” is really a standard. I expect the number of successful applications from students in low-resource school districts to plummet when the 2016 applications are submitted. I am extremely disappointed in the University’s decision to join this Coalition Application. I have to imagine that, under different leadership, the decision would be different. Kyle Helson GS

C L A R I F I C AT I O N An article in Tuesday’s Herald (“Panel focuses on crisis communication,” Nov. 10) paraphrased Alissa Rhee ’16 as saying students often have difficulty accessing resources. In fact, Rhee was referring specifically to students who have experienced trauma and who are triggered by campus crises.

CORRECTION An article in Monday’s Herald (“President takes Brown off campus,” Nov. 9) misidentified Stephen Nelson’s role as associate professor of educational leadership at Bridgewater State University. In fact, he is a full professor. The Herald regrets the error.

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

“People go from being one of the best in their high schools to feeling like they don’t measure up.” — Eliza Lanzillo ‘16

letters@browndailyherald.com

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Corrections: The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. Commentary: The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. Letters to the Editor: Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed. Advertising: The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion. The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement and once during Orientation by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily. Copyright 2015 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Postmaster: Please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906.

COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 • PAGE 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

For the Brown bucket list: Volunteering Elementary Afterschool Mentoring program. Now, as a sophomore, I teach English to adults in the Providence area through the Olneyville ESOL program. My students are immigrants and refugees who do not speak English. On the first day of classes this semester, one of my students could do no more than say, “Hi,” and provide her name when I prompted her. In the following few weeks, I slowly in-

NATE CONRAD op-ed contributor

Brown is a place where you are empowered to do whatever you want. It’s fantastic. By all means, devote these four years to as wide an assortment of courses and activities as you see fit. But community involvement should always be a part of that. This is not a given for many of us, and I understand that. We’re all busy. I won’t write a standard threeexample list because I know that it couldn’t even begin to reflect all that we do at Brown. But we shouldn’t be here improving ourselves only for our own benefit. We should be improving ourselves so that we’re better equipped to improve the world around us. The Swearer Center for Public Service provides such opportunities for student engagement with the surrounding community, including teaching English as a second language and sexual health education, helping run after-school clubs for elementary schoolers and facilitating art workshops for prison inmates. As a first-year, I volunteered with the Swearer Center’s Brown

him in English. The beaming smile on her face as she repeated, “This is my son,” was wholly gratifying for me as a teacher and as a person. Volunteering with the Swearer Center reminds me of the immense privileges I am afforded at Brown — privileges we all share just by attending. We are privileged with a great education, incredible job prospects and inclusion in a strong community of inspiring people.

number, more and more of our decisions will have to factor in money. It will not only become increasingly difficult to do volunteer work, but even jobs ostensibly benefiting humanity will become more about the money. Financial pressures will naturally move us away from the positions that have the most direct impact. For instance, a lower-paying position that involves more direct interaction with

Devote these four years to as wide an assortment of courses and activities as you see fit. But community involvement should always be a part of that.

ferred that she was the primary caregiver for her two children, whom she often brought with her to our meetings. She always seemed tired at the start of class, and I worried at first that she would not be able to continue attending. I have worked with her for just a little over a month, and yet she has already improved significantly. She came to class the week of Halloween with her son and introduced me to

The good news is, these four years at Brown are the perfect time to leverage this privilege. We all take on a lot, but we also support each other through it. Brown supports us, too. But for this support to reach its strongest potential, we must adopt a mentality focused on volunteerism, especially if money is not a factor. As our dependents and financial responsibilities (parents, spouses, children and property) increase in

those you’re trying to help, will no longer be prudent when compared to the higher-paying, but more disconnected, position as an administrator. At some point, the job may not even be about bettering the world at all. And yet, making bank and cruising around in a new Bugatti, as lovely as that might be, should not and will not be fulfilling by itself. I doubt any students here want to realize in 20 years that their lives amounted to

little more than material goods and a number in a bank account. It’s surprising just how easy it is for any of us to walk that path. If I never volunteered through the Swearer Center, it would not be too difficult for me to view my life as a personal slice of hell. The combined stress of assessments, student group obligations, thinking about my career and social ups and downs can make for a miserable ride. Volunteering at the Swearer Center reminds me why my life is anything but hellish. It reminds me of the privileges I have, and I’m grateful for it. Having that experience and perspective, I do not plan on ever making a career decision that would earn me money at the cost of my opportunity to benefit the world around me. Were I to make such a decision, I would be lacking the same perspective as the version of me who would view my life at Brown as hellish. I would be lacking the perspective that volunteering at the Swearer Center has lent me. I implore you to volunteer during your time at Brown so that you might also help others — and yourself.

Nate Conrad ’18 can be reached at nate_conrad@brown.edu.

A multidimensional education ADAM HOROWITZ OPINIONS COLUMNIST Being a Brown student, one has the opportunity to explore an untold number of resources and events. Because of this, it always troubles me to see students who come to Providence spend four years working on nothing but their academics and graduate having dedicated all of their time to studying. To me, these individuals have done themselves a great disservice and may leave less prepared for the postcollege world than most. Before I begin, I feel it’s essential to mention that I am not in any way trying to devalue academic education. I certainly acknowledge that the primary reason for going to college is the pursuit of knowledge. It is important to learn from and do well in one’s classes, and not doing so is assuredly a mistake. I am also not referring to those who do not fully embrace the open curriculum. Some students may object to those who avoid expanding their horizons and only take courses in a few departments, but that is a discussion for another time. I wish instead to highlight the many other kinds of education that one can receive as an undergraduate. First of all, obtaining an undergraduate degree allows one to simultaneously receive what I call a “social education.” When I was in high school, I didn’t have much of an opportunity to socialize with friends, so I was delighted

that I was able to get to know so many other students my age when I came to Brown as a first-year. For most people, this is a unique experience in that almost every single person you talk to is looking for new friends. Existing in such an environment, which incorporates dorms and dining halls inhabited by plenty of other first-years, is not only enjoyable and fun but also crucial for developing valuable social skills. What one learns in the classroom is often crucial for life after college, but so is the abil-

tal health. Since finding and hanging out with friends is often more difficult after college, it makes sense for students to learn how to thrive in social settings while they are still on campus. Plus, college can often be stressful. Having a strong social network allows students to have both a support system when things get tough and a way to “let loose” from time to time and enjoy themselves. Personally, it would have been far more difficult to manage my first three years at Brown if I had not pushed myself to make as many friends as

Yes, Brown is one of the best schools in the country academically, but students who ignore its other educational opportunities are missing out. ity to act in a social setting. For those only focused on their careers, networking and interviewing are both large factors in how one obtains a job, and engaging in social activities early on as an undergraduate can allow one to excel in these areas later in life. A recent New York Times article pointed out that as our world becomes more mechanized, social skills become vital for both finding employment in the first place and being successful in one’s career. Beyond that, being social is extremely beneficial for one’s long-term physical and men-

possible during my time here. Along with a social education, attending Brown allows students to obtain a “cultural education.” One of my favorite things about Brown is how it brings people from different backgrounds and locations together in one setting. In an outside world where neighborhoods are often homogenous, Brown’s dorms (especially for first-years) really are a melting pot. At a time when racial and cultural tensions are high not just on college campuses but across the country, the best way for peo-

ple to learn is through conversations with each other. Embracing an amalgam of students as an undergraduate teaches one to acknowledge privilege and be respectful of and sensitive to all people. Ultimately, racial disparities may never be remedied if people do not actively seek to learn about other cultures and experiences when they have the opportunity to do so. There is a final aspect of the undergraduate experience that I think is very important, and I’ll call it the “adult education.” Living away from home allows students to learn how to survive once they graduate. This environment can introduce them to integral experiences such as paying bills and managing a budget, and more domestic ones such as cooking and doing laundry. Obviously, many students will have these skills before coming to Brown, but for others it is important to educate themselves on how to be functional human beings. Yes, Brown is one of the best schools in the country academically, but students who ignore its other educational opportunities are missing out. Undergraduates who wish to be the successful leaders of tomorrow need to recognize that there is more to an undergraduate education than grades. Otherwise, they may come to regret how they spent their time here.

Adam Horowitz ’16 would be happy to address vitriolic criticism in the comments section and can be reached at adam_horowitz@brown.edu.

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ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015

‘Animation Show of Shows’ displays stylistically diverse shorts 17th annual event features eclectic collection of video shorts from around the world By ROLAND HIGH STAFF WRITER

The best animated short films from across the globe — cute, creepy and everything in between — were screened at the traveling 17th annual Animation Show of Shows on Sunday at the Rhode Island School of Design. For almost a decade Ron Diamond, the Show’s creator and ACME Filmworks founder, has brought the showcase to RISD to personally present the year’s top films­, free of charge. One of the most memorable films in the Show was the stop-motion animation “Edmond” by Nina Gantz. Using felt figures and somber colors, “Edmond” begins with the eponymous protagonist dragging a boulder

REVIEW

through a shadowed forest to an alpine lake. As he pauses on a dock, the audience suddenly realizes he intends to jump into the lake with the boulder tied to him. The contrast between impending death and serenity brought the audience to the edge of their seats, where they stayed for the rest of the film. The animation travels back in time through Edmond’s memories, showing his alarming compulsion to bite off chunks of people he loves, referred to as “all-consuming love” on the film’s website. Each scene ends with Edmond in despair. After trying to swallow a lover’s leg or biting off a friend’s ear, he sulks and melts through the floor, and the camera flips to follow him clambering into an older memory. It’s a magical transition that demonstrates the benefits of stop-motion animation. The combination of sexual themes, horror, humor and a beautifully composed sequence of sets makes “Edmond” an entertaining but enigmatic film. Thankfully, Gantz has enough

respect for the audience to let them take away their own message without spelling it out. Other films were not as thoughtful. I never want to hear an accordion, or any other kind of arbitrary soundtrack, ever again. I’m looking at you, “Air Mail.” “Air Mail” — or “Messages Dans L’Air” in the original French ­— told the classic story of a cat attempting to catch a fish from a fishbowl. “The Story of Percival Pilts” plays up the cute factor much more successfully than “Air Mail.” With picturesque claymation and a singsong New Zealand-accented voiceover, “The Story of Percival Pilts” shows a young boy who decides to walk on ever-growing stilts his whole life, gaining the respect of his town after initial resistance, before eventually vanishing into the clouds forever. It’s a heartwarming film for children, but the moral of the story is nothing new. “Stripy” had a very similar life lesson but wasn’t nearly as effective. In it, a worker defies an oppressive,

uncreative bureaucracy by painting boxes with curlicues instead of stripes. After initial resistance, society finally accepts his change, but he then moves on to something else — splatters. Ironically, “Stripy” is the most stylistically conventional of the films in the Show. Along with “Edmond,” another well-received film was one by Don Hertzfeldt, who is famous for his violent, bizarre and fragmented short, the Academy Award-nominated “Rejected” from 2000. “Rejected” opens with a bug-eyed stick figure standing over a bowl with a giant spoon, repeatedly exclaiming, “My spoon is too big!” with increasing emphasis. After an awkward pause, a banana walks in. Just like “Rejected,” which is premised on rejected animations for corporate advertising, Hertzfeldt’s film in the Show, entitled “World of Tomorrow,” is a criticism of dysfunctional cultural values. The central character is a toddler, Emily, who is contacted by one of her future selves and learns that she will perpetually clone herself to live forever.

Hertzfeldt creates a wonderfully comedic, sci-fi universe comparable to that of Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” though “World of Tomorrow” is far more unsettling. Hertzfeldt finds humor in the digitally uploaded minds of grandparents going insane while stored in little black boxes, depressed solar-powered robots on the dark side of the moon who are programmed to fear death, and general lack of fulfillment. While Hertzfeldt is very adept at walking the line between hilarious and depressing, it’s a pity that the life lesson the clone imparts before leaving is a little forced. The lesson amounts to “live in the moment” — quite a Hallmark-y sentiment to give after showing shooting stars formed by the plummeting corpses of the poor. But “World of Tomorrow” is still extremely funny and continues Hertzfeldt’s beautiful and modern synthesis of media. In the polished, digitally manipulated world of modern film, it is refreshing to see animators that embrace expressive styles.