SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 8
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Internship search difficult for international students Visa complications, fewer opportunities abroad on BrownConnect limit summer opportunities By JULIA CHOI STAFF WRITER
ELI WHITE / HERALD
Dara Wais ’18, a late recruit to the women’s hockey team, skates up ice. Though Wais was not recruited at the same time as most of her teammates, she was warmly received by the other hockey players.
Athletes walk onto College Hill
While recruited players get more attention, walkons add perspective, depth to athletics department By MATT BROWNSWORD SPORTS EDITOR
Two days ago, high school athletes around the world fulfilled their dreams of signing to competitive colleges. It was National Signing Day. For athletes fortunate enough to be recruited, a whole high school may
gather while local TV crews wait to get the breaking news of a student’s choice between the local college and the outsider school looking to snap up a highly touted recruit. For Ivy Leaguers — who do not sign National Letters of Intent and receive no scholarship money due to an Ivywide policy — National Signing Day comes with exponentially less fanfare and certainty. For future walk-ons — those admitted to college for academics, but still looking to play varsity sports — finding a varsity spot can entail several months of
impending uncertainty about both their academic and athletic futures. Getting admitted “It was really stressful for me,” said Dara Wais ’18, who was a very late recruit to the women’s hockey team under former Head Coach Amy Bourbeau. “Honestly, I was nervous until I got the admission decision from Brown,” she said. “I knew there was a chance that I wouldn’t be playing hockey, which was really stressful to me because I love it.” Jimmy Grossman ’18 was only a » See WALK-ONS, page 2
With the spring semester well underway, many students have embarked on the summer internship hunt — an endeavor that some international students might find “tricky,” said Sujay Natson ’16. A large factor that hinders international students is that they often “can’t get paid in the U.S.,” Natson said. Due to visa regulations, limited funded opportunities in the United States exist for students from outside the country. Natson, who is from Singapore, has found unpaid volunteer experiences in the United States before but has yet to find a paid job, he said. Bia Bugane ’18, who is from Brazil and Italy, cited the Curricular Practical Training — a work license for international students — as a factor that also complicates the process. For internships under a CPT license, the student has to be at least a sophomore, Bugane said, adding that the internship has
to be related to one’s concentration. International first-year students often have an especially hard time landing internships, said Chantal Marauta ’19, who is from Italy and the Philippines. “Freshmen have it more difficult than juniors and seniors” because of their inexperience, but “international freshmen students have it even worse” because there are even fewer opportunities for them, she said. In addition, fewer opportunities usually exist abroad than in the United States, which may force international students to spend more time away from family, said Minoshka Narayan ’18, who hails from India. For some international students, BrownConnect — Brown’s alumni networking and internship posting site — has not eased the process. “I’ve never found BrownConnect helpful,” Marauta said. Interested in law and EU foreign service, Marauta said she hasn’t been able to find relevant internships, such as ones with the United Nations or the European Union, through the site. Narayan echoed similar sentiments, commenting that while she has looked up alums through » See INTERNSHIPS, page 2
Cianci leaves complicated legacy behind Kia McNeill brings fresh mayor perspective to women’s soccer Former remembered for checkered Former Northeastern assistant to lead women’s team, replace Phil Pincince after 39 years By BEN SHUMATE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Looking back at Brown’s athletic department 40 years ago, it would be hard to find many similarities to today’s version. Brown’s athletes now enjoy modern, stateof-the-art facilities, and dozens of varsity teams have been added in recent decades. Around that time, first-year women’s soccer Head Coach Phil Pincince had just taken over the program in its third year in existence. At the start of the 2015 season, Pincince announced that he would step down from the head coaching position after 39 years. He transformed the program into a perennial contender, upping the number of regular season games and bringing 12 Ivy League titles to the University. Pincince led the Bears to a 7-7-2 record in his last season, ending his career with a 317-247-53 all-time mark. In addition to the Ivy League titles, the
INSIDE
team made six appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a consecutive five-year stretch between 1982 and 1986. “We’ve had one way of leading a program for 39 years, and it was a very successful way,” said Athletics Director Jack Hayes. “But there’s more than one way to be successful.” Enter Kia McNeill: women’s soccer’s new leader. Hayes announced the hiring of McNeill, an assistant coach at Northeastern University, after an exhaustive search for head coaching candidates. Path to Brown McNeill grew up in Avon, Conn. She was a standout player from the start, named the 2004 Gatorade National Player of the Year and was a two-time All-American in high school. After a four-year career at Boston College, she was selected ninth overall by Saint Louis Athletica in the first-ever Women’s Professional Soccer draft in 2009. McNeill played three years for different teams in WPS, along with stints in Russia and the National Women’s Soccer League. She played for the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team during that period of her career. » See MCNEILL, page 3
past, service to city, over 20 years in public office By KYLE BOROWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Jr., lawyer, radio host and Providence’s longest-serving mayor died Jan. 28 at the age of 74, leaving behind a memorable legacy that has incalculably affected the city and its residents. Cianci was mayor of Providence first between 1975 and 1984 and then between 1991 and 2002: a total of 21 years. Before his mayoral career he served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve between 1966 and 1972, eventually becoming a prosecutor and attorney. At the time of his passing, Cianci was engaged to his fiancee, Tara Marie Haywood, for just over a month. Mayor Jorge Elorza said in a Jan. 28 press release that flags at City Hall will be flown at half-staff while “we make arrangements to recognize his memory.” Gov. Gina Raimondo said the state flag would be similarly flown — a reversal of her previous decision not to honor the late mayor in this fashion, WPRI reported Jan. 29.
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Vincent “Buddy” Cianci died Jan. 28 at the age of 74. He was Providence’s longest-serving mayor, known for his larger-than-life personality. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, of- alleged altercation with a Bristol confered his condolences to Cianci’s family tractor he accused of having an affair in an email to The Herald, writing, “my with his then wife. He was again ousted sympathies go out to the Cianci family, in 2002 following a conviction of rackand I wish them the best in this dif- eteering with a sentence of five years in ficult time.” federal prison. Elorza, who notably defeated Cianci The humor of his rise and fall was in his 2014 bid for mayor, also offered lost least on Cianci, who quipped in his his condolences in his Jan. 28 press re- memoir, “I spent almost three decades as lease, stating, “Cianci’s love for the city mayor of Providence … before leaving of Providence is undeniable, and his for an enforced vacation in a federally mark on the city will not be forgotten.” funded, gated community.” Though a mark he will certainly A fellow law school student also acleave, its nature and effect are debat- cused Cianci of raping her at gunpoint able, especially considering Cianci’s in 1966, and an investigator called it checkered history. Cianci was forced the “most clear-cut case of rape” he had to resign from office in 1984 after an » See CIANCI, page 4
WEATHER
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
NEWS Senior Watson fellow examines factors contributing to U.S. stagnation in talk
SPORTS Athlete of the week: Distance runner Clare Peabody ’18 sets 1,000m school record
COMMENTARY Volpicello ’18: Instead of social stigma, we should respond to being alone with acceptance
COMMENTARY Esemplare ’18: Concussions in NFL cause financial — not just physical — problems for players
PAGE 3
PAGE 4
PAGE 7
PAGE 7
TODAY
TOMORROW
35 / 19
40 / 28
NEWS
PAGE 2 • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
» INTERNSHIPS, from page 1 BrownConnect, none of her outreach has “led to anything yet.” Greg Seiler, international and signature internship programs manager of the CareerLAB, stated that mostly domestic companies come to recruit students through BrownConnect, whereas most international employers “may not think to do so” because Brown is “not on their radar.” BrownConnect, in the second year since its 2014 inauguration, is “just at the beginning stages of developing more internship placement internationally,” said Matt Donato, director of the CareerLAB. At the end of last month, 60 of the 371 internships on BrownConnect were international, according to Donato and Seiler. Donato highlighted the Hong Kong BEO Signature Program — which will offer 10 to 12 funded internships in Hong Kong this summer — as a major accomplishment of the CareerLAB this year. Seiler encouraged all students to
» WALK-ONS, from page 1 freshman in high school when a player on his high school baseball team signed his likely letter to play baseball at Columbia. But when it was Grossman’s turn to look at collegiate baseball — especially at the Division I level — the mood was less celebratory. “I had sent out a lot of emails to Ivy schools, but there wasn’t much interest back,” Grossman said. “I went through the recruiting process with (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology); I visited campus; I really liked the coaches, so the coaches were able to support my application.” But with Division III schools like MIT, “support” is all coaches can offer. Coaches at Division I schools like Brown have much more pull in the admission process. And when Grossman was deferred from MIT during the early decision round and later rejected, a dream of playing collegiate baseball started slipping away. “When I got into Brown, there was the possibility of giving up baseball, something I’ve played ever since I was five,” he said. “But I knew there was a chance I could play, so I decided to take it.” Carly Kabelac ’19 — a first-year on the field hockey team — had a similar experience. Kabelac quit her regional club team after the option of playing for MIT “didn’t work out.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
start the internship hunt early. “An application deadline isn’t necessarily a due date. A company might close off an application if they get enough impressive submissions,” he said. He added that internship opportunities constantly change on BrownConnect and might be posted for short time frames. Donato highlighted the value of reaching out to peers as well as faculty, which is “often overlooked as a source of connections,” he said. He also recommended that all students start by networking with alums, which, he added, could make a difference “between a student not knowing anything versus a student knowing a little more.” Wenjie Zheng ’17 praised the “ease” and “transparency” of networking in America compared to networking in China, his home country. “When you reach out to people here,” all you have to do is “ask (them out) for coffee,” he said. But in China, networking requires months of cultivating relationships. “It’s a different
culture,” he said. In addition, Zheng stated he personally has not encountered problems finding internships in the United States as an international student. “Smaller companies might not want to sponsor your visa,” he said, but he has found that the bigger companies usually will. He added that he and many of his friends prefer internships in the United States because they would rather “stay somewhere that’s more developed.” While BrownConnect is intended to be an “awesome starting point” by the CareerLAB, it is “by no means the final destination search tool for every single student,” Seiler said. All students have to be “proactive” and resourceful in their search for summer positions, he said. “You have to keep an open mind” and be “flexible,” Natson said. “If you really stand out (and) have the talent, you’ll get an internship. That applies for everything in life,” Zheng said. Bugane stated that not landing an
“I came to grips with the fact that I would not be playing field hockey anymore,” Kabelac said. “But I got into Brown and talked to the coaches and decided to give it a shot.”
for the fall season. “The beginning of the year was really stressful. I had no idea what to expect coming in,” she said. “The other freshmen had other experiences playing with each other, so I had to get comfortable in that sort of environment.” When Wais stepped onto campus her freshman year, she was already on the hockey team. But coming into her initial practices with the team, she was still a new face in the locker room. “Amy said that I was a part of the team when I got to campus,” Wais said. “I was a little nervous because I didn’t know if the team was told about my recruiting situation or how they would respond.” Recruited teammates “were a lot more confident heading into the year,” Wais added. “When I came here, I definitely wasn’t as confident as people who were recruited.”
Getting on the team After acceptance, the initial journey is far from over for walk-ons: While recruited players head to their first practices as solidified members of their teams, walk-ons head to campus not knowing if they’ll ever take the field. Grossman was invited to a short tryout, which he described as a “very intense moment.” Even walk-ons skilled enough to play on a team may be cut during tryouts simply because there is not space for them on the team’s roster, said baseball team Head Coach Grant Achilles. In Grossman’s case, he was called into a meeting the next day. “I wasn’t on the team instantly,” he said. “But I kept practicing with them, and then eventually I started to attend the morning lifts, and then from there I just became a member of the team.” “He really earned his spot on the team,” Achilles said. “In Jimmy’s case, he worked hard, showed up every day for everything.” For a fall sport, the time frame is significantly smaller: Kabelac attended camp in the summer — the first time the coaches got to see her play — and was invited to be a full member of the team
Getting on the field For walk-ons — especially first-years and sophomores — the on-the-field positives are usually few and far between, as the recruited players get first priority for playing time. “I think every freshman on every varsity team (who) doesn’t start has the same feeling of getting discouraged that they’re not playing,” Grossman said. “But coming from my perspective, I really understood that everyone has their role.” Grossman only batted once in a game last season and made only one play as a
EMMA JERZYK / HERALD
internship is not the end of the world. “There are many ways to pursue your
academic growth besides an internship,” she said.
second baseman, but he contributes to the team in other ways. “I compete with these guys in practice every day — that’s how I can make the team better,” Grossman said. “Walk-ons are crucial to the team in terms of how they add to the culture,” Achilles said. “They can provide a degree of depth, but also make it evident to other players that they should not take (being on the team) for granted. It provides a different glimpse for other players; this guy had to work to earn everything — every piece of equipment — that he got.” Achilles himself has a special perspective when it comes to walk-ons. His brother, Todd Achilles, was a walk-on to the Wake Forest baseball team in fall 1998. The coach credited his brother with “opening the door” to allow him to play baseball there. Kabelac appeared in two games as a rookie in the latter stages of one-sided contests. “Heading into the year, I had no expectations,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to play at all. But moving forward with the team, I’ll have higher expectations.” Wais did not see a lot of ice time in her first season with Bourbeau. “We had 21 girls and only 20 dressed, so when it came down to it — unless someone was hurt — it was always me that didn’t dress,” Wais said. But Wais has had a lot more ice time in games this year, picking up three times as many shots as she had last year. “I like how Coach Kenneally has done it,” Wais said. “Because last year I would sit on the bench and not get a shift, but … this year I’ve gotten a good amount of shifts to try and get the feel of (college hockey).”
“Being a walk-on definitely gives you the best perspective of Brown social life,” Grossman said. “I’m very good friends with some non-athletes but also the guys on my team, and I see that a lot of athletes are friends with themselves, and I’m lucky enough to experience both sides of that.” “I was really interested in Brown as a school,” Wais said, rather than just being interested in the hockey team. “So I’ve tried to meet other people and do other things outside of hockey. All the things that Brown has to offer might not be as important to other athletes, but being more of a walk-on makes me want to experience those other things even more.” Achilles gave a lot of credit to Grossman as a student: “It’s extremely impressive that a guy like Jimmy got into the school on his own. He wanted to play baseball, too, and I definitely have an appreciation for how difficult it is to be both an athlete and a student.” Joining a team after a recruiting process may also shape the commitment walk-ons bring to their teams. For some, walking on is a reminder of how valuable playing on the varsity team can be. “Talking to some people that have quit hockey, the difference is that a lot of people lose the passion,” Wais said. “It becomes more of a job, more of just something to do for them. For me, I still have that passion. I still love it.” But for now, walk-ons across Brown are heading to their locker rooms, ready to take on the next season wearing a uniform for the Bears. “In a sense, I wasn’t supposed to be on this team,” Grossman said. “I wasn’t part of (the team’s) plan for a while. But I’ve still enjoyed every minute that I’ve had with those guys. It’s not something that everyone gets to experience.” “When it’s tough, it’s still like ‘How can you complain? You’re still playing hockey at an Ivy League school,’” Wais said. “It’s a blast. It’s living the dream.”
Getting off the field Outside of their sports, walk-ons are typically involved with the social lives of student athletes and other students.
NEWS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Senior fellow critiques American policy Freeman talk explores military overfunding, healthcare inefficiency as economic shortcomings By MARK LIANG STAFF WRITER COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Kia McNeill was selected as the new head coach of women’s soccer after six successful years as an assistant coach for Boston College and Northeastern.
» MCNEILL, from page 1 While playing professionally, McNeill spent six years as an assistant coach in the region, joining her alma mater for several years before accepting a position at Northeastern in 2014. Both programs saw great success with McNeill on staff: Five of the six teams she coached as an assistant made the NCAA tournament. While NCAA tournament appearances are expected at a top program like BC, McNeill assisted in building unprecedented success at Northeastern. In 2014, the Huskies won the conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for just the second time in program history. Northeastern Head Coach Tracey Leone offered no shortage of high praise for her former assistant. “Kia, to me, was an incredible hire,” Leone said. “We ended up having a really successful season, and she contributed a great deal to that.” McNeill’s ability to generate success at both programs despite their differences “resonated” with the athletics department, Hayes said. Getting the job For McNeill, her first head coaching position marks the next stepping stone in a life dedicated to the beautiful game of soccer. “It’s a dream come true,” she said. “I’ve put in a lot of time as a student athlete, a professional athlete and as an assistant coach, and all those experiences have really groomed me and prepared me for this.” Pincince’s announcement that 2015 would be his last season presented Brown with a unique opportunity to begin searching for his successor. From a pool of 115 applicants, Hayes brought fewer than five to campus to interview. Hayes attributed the avalanche of interest in coaching jobs at Brown to the prestige and stability of the Ivy League in the midst of a changing landscape in collegiate athletics. Hayes was sold on McNeill’s preparation and knowledge of the program before she had even spent a day on campus. “She was very familiar with how our season had gone, where we ranked statistically,” Hayes said. “She was very prepared to have a discussion about the future of our soccer program.” McNeill said Brown bears every mark of a desirable coaching position: “great school, great facilities, great support in the athletic department.” McNeill also lauded the legacy Pincince had built up in the women’s soccer program. Replacing a coach who has been the face of the program for nearly four decades is a challenge, but one McNeill welcomes. “There’s a lot that I can learn from Phil, and there’s a lot the girls can learn from me,” she said. “I plan on bringing about new ideas and a new way of looking at things.”
Taking the reins After accepting the job, McNeill called each player over winter break. As the team begins off-season workouts and practices, players are getting their first impression of what things will be like in the McNeill era. “She seems very excited, very passionate and ready to get started,” said forward Mikela Waldman ’18. “Our team has really strong chemistry, so there won’t be a problem,” said center back Maclaine Lehan ’18. Midfielder Carly Gould ’17 said the team has had plenty of time to get used to the idea of playing for a new coach since Pincince announced his plans to retire in the fall. McNeill has “been trying really hard to make everything transition as (easily) as possible,” Gould said. “Everyone is looking at it as a great opportunity to play for someone different.” McNeill told the team she wants them to see Brown’s name come up on the NCAA Tournament board, something she has accomplished both as a player and as an assistant coach. She hopes to lead Brown to that level by heavily emphasizing the importance of possession and minimizing mistakes. “We’re going to play a high-energy, possession-oriented, organized style of play,” she said. “I want to see players expressing their personality on the field. I’m not the type of coach to joystick the players around.” McNeill is also well aware of the challenge of recruiting in the Ivy League, which precludes offering scholarships to players. She hopes to benefit from the desire of student athletes across the world to get an Ivy League education. “You sell the school, and the school sells itself,” she said. “An Ivy League degree will give back to you for your entire life.” During McNeill’s time at Northeastern, the players and coaches set a goal of 3.6 for the team grade point average. As a result, her team posted the highest GPA of any team at Northeastern. McNeill plans to continue to push her players to achieve a specific GPA goal at Brown. “When you set a team goal, it becomes less of an individual thing and more about ‘Hey, I have to do this because the person to the right of me is doing it, too.’” McNeill has big aspirations for the program in the coming years, with eyes on the team’s first Ivy League title since 1994. “They’ve won 12 Ivy League championships; I’d love to get us to lucky number 13.” There are plenty of reasons to be excited for the future under McNeill. In the meantime, she continues to become familiar with the team and with life at Brown. “They gave me a really nice office up here,” she said smiling, looking out the window of her corner room in the Pizzitola Sports Center at the Providence skyline. “I guess that’s what you get when you replace someone after 39 years.”
Chas Freeman Jr., a long-time bureaucrat serving as a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, presented his opinions on the fall of American superiority on the international stage in his talk, “The Crumbling of the Pax Americana,” Thursday night in the Salomon Center. A prevailing idea throughout the talk was Freeman’s belief that such weaknesses stemmed out of institutionalized sociopolitical ideas, such as inefficiency in the healthcare system, overfunding of the military, lack of education and poor technological advances. Freeman had a thorough career in the public field, and his former roles include Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense and primary translator during President Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972, said Edward Steinfeld, director of Watson, in his introduction to the talk. Citing a variety of statistics and quoting international politicians, as well as drawing from his personal experience, Freeman led the audience of about 150 through the complex variables that he believes led to America’s stagnation. Chief among them was
what he called “fiscal anorexia” — the defunding of the public sector with exception to the armed forces. Freeman argued that American priorities in the armed forces led to major destabilization in areas of the world, from the current refugee crisis in Europe to the prevalence of terror groups in the Middle East and beyond. “Terrorists are over here because we are over there,” he said. Aaron Mayer ’18 said he found Freeman’s material “very pointed, very easy to grasp, but not that easy to digest.” Mayer was impressed with Freeman’s controversial stance on the topic, especially considering Freeman’s lifelong career. “Pax Americana,” Latin for “American Peace,” serves as an overarching term describing a U.S.-instated model of international stability, he said. Freeman covered what he believes to be the rise and fall of this U.S. influence in the global sphere. “From the end of the Cold War in 1989, the (United States) has ironically become less geopolitically dominant, less faithful to its core values as a republic and less looked-up-to internationally,” he said. Freeman stated that the United States has not had a major victory leading to peace since 1945, and American involvement in foreign areas has done more harm than good. Yet foreign policy continues to be overly eager to satisfy the American obsession with “the shock and awe of war,” he added. The talk was “accurate, kind of depressing but overall dope,” said Anuj
Krishnamurthy ’19. “I kind of wish he focused more on what America had going for it, but the first step to solving any problem is recognizing that we have one,” he added. The lecture ended on a positive note as Freeman argued that America has fixed its past weaknesses and is capable of fixing itself and its policies in the future. Mentioning its geographical location and its natural resources ripe for processing, Freeman briefly focused on the U.S. and its internal issues that he believes deserve attention, such as the income gap and technological progress. But Freeman warns that with countries like China developing unprecedented wealth and power, military prowess and competition will not solve issues. Though his lecture drew large applause, Freeman received some criticism, especially during the questionand-answer session afterwards. Greg Gerritt, a Providence community member, said that Freeman’s emphasis on the “deregulation game (in order to return America’s strength) played on the ecological and environmental aspects would be harmful for public health, the community and the environment.” Freeman will speak next Thursday, continuing the three-part Chong Wook Lee and Vartan Gregorian Distinguished Lecture Series. Run by Watson, the series serves to “have discussions in problems of global concern, especially those involving the United States and Asia,” Steinfeld said.
SPORTS
PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Athlete of the week: Peabody ’18 turns in historic performance Sophomore cements place in school record books at BU Terrier Classic on indoor 1,000 meter By BEN SHUMATE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
With three distinct seasons on their plates, distance runners go through a physical gauntlet unrivalled in athletics. While most teams play their competitive regular season in fall, winter or spring and spend the remainder of the year in off-season workouts, long-distance runners compete throughout the year. Many runners might lose steam in the middle of the year, but not Clare Peabody ’18. At the BU Terrier Classic Friday, the sophomore ran the fastest 1,000-meter race in school history, finishing the race in 2:48.17. That time placed her fifth out of the event’s 94 runners. Peabody’s all-time mark was just one tenth of a second faster than the previous school record, set by her teammate Taylor Worthy ’17 last season. After a cross-country season this fall that saw Peabody finish 76th in the Ivy
League championships, she has continued to be impressive early in the indoor track season. Beantown has been particularly friendly to the California native, as she finished second in the 800-meter run at Northeastern’s Joe Donahue Games with a time of 2:12.10 just a week before setting the 1,000m mark at BU. The team will head to New York City this weekend to compete in the Armory Track Invitational.
Q: Was this record time (2:48.17) one you had been slowly approaching? A: “I ran a 2:51 last indoor season, but it seems like that’s a record that sort of has a rapid turnover. I didn’t go into the race thinking about it, but I’m happy with how it turned out.” Q: Coming in, did you have your sights set on eventually breaking the mark? A: “It just kind of fell into place. I had run one 1,000m earlier this season, and I ran it in 2:55. But I’ve sort of been moving down in distances from running cross country. My progression has gone from the mile to the 1,000m to the 800, and then I ran another 1,000m. It’s been
cool to get back in that fast-track rhythm. I definitely missed that in the fall.” Q: Did you realize you had broken the record after the race? A: “Not right away. My coach and I were just going over what happened in the race — about moving forward and what to learn from it. That’s sort of the routine after a race. (Coaching Chair) Tim Springfield came over after and told me I had (broken the record), and I was really happy about it.”
Q: The former record-holder is your teammate, Taylor Worthy. Has there been a friendly rivalry about you beating her time? A: “Everyone keeps asking ‘is there anything going on with you and Taylor?’ But it’s not like that at all on our team. I look up to Taylor so much, and I think our team culture is definitely pushing each other forward. Part of that is definitely friendly competition, but we race for each other. I think people don’t often realize how much of a team sport cross country and track is.” Q: Do you have a pre-game routine
CHRISTINE KIM / HERALD
Clare Peabody ’18 set the school record in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:48.17, breaking her teammate’s mark from last season. or superstition? Q: Indoor, outdoor or cross-counA: “I’m not really neurotic about my try and why? pre-race tendencies. We have our regular A: “Outdoor. Indoor is fun because warm-up routine, and I like to eat a PB it gets loud, but outdoor is just classic.” and J for lunch.” Q: What are your goals for the rest Q: What is your favorite event and of the season? why? A: “I’d really like to see the Brown A: “For outdoor, the mile. It tells a men and women assert their presence story really well — it has a beginning, in our conference championships. We middle and end. It’s definitely very strate- have a lot of really talented individuals gic. For indoor, it’s probably the 1,000m. on this team, and I think that our energy I never got to race it because California is so good right now. It’s going to be cool didn’t have indoor track, so it’s cool to to see that express itself in the form of be able to run that different distance.” results as we move into the championship season.”
Building toward future, Bears notch pair of top recruits With addition of Litsky, Walker, men’s tennis boasts 18th-best recruiting class in country By NIKKO PASANEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
As the men’s tennis team gears up for the bulk of its schedule, the squad has already received some good news for next year. Jan. 25, Tennis Recruiting Network named the team’s 2016 class the 18th best in the nation in its winter rankings. This class is Bruno’s most highly touted group of incoming freshmen since the ratings were first spun out 10 years ago.
Come next fall, the Bears (2-1) will welcome five-star recruit Peter Litsky and four-star recruit Jacob Walker, who hail from St. Petersburg, Florida and Bethesda, Maryland respectively. “It’s very cool to be ranked top 20,” Walker said. “It’s a pretty big honor. It shows what a good job Coach Koniecko has done this year. It definitely motivates me, in that not only do I want to help the team, but I also want to live up to being that high of a recruiting class.” Second-year Head Coach Bryan Koniecko is excited about the newcomers and emphasized how important recruiting is for a new coach like himself. “The first four years of any coach coming into a program, that’s when you
can really build some momentum with the types of kids you bring in,” Koniecko said. “Hopefully there is a little bit of talk around the nation about Brown University tennis and that we can continue to attract great players.” The combination of Litsky and Walker makes for the second time that Bruno has made it into Tennis Recruiting Network’s rankings. This year’s edition also marks the first time all eight Ivy League schools were posted in the top 25, led by Columbia in the sixth spot. Brown ranked seventh out of the eight Ivies. When asked about the team’s two future members, Koniecko had only positive things to say. “Peter is a great kid,” Koniecko said. “When he committed to us, he was ranked about 30 to 40, but Peter is special because a lot of kids commit and then they are content. He did a great job of continuing to work on his game after he committed. I know he’s going be a great addition. He’s a great fighter.” Now ranked as the 24th best junior in the nation, Litsky looks to have an immediate impact on the team. The incoming first-year has the genes for Ivy League tennis success. His father was a standout at Columbia from 1984-1987 and remains one of the school’s all-time most successful players. The Bears can only hope that the younger Litsky will leave behind a similar legacy in Providence.
Koniecko also praised Walker, who is currently rated as the 91st best junior in the country and the number one recruit from Maryland. “Jacob is a very talented player,” Koniecko said. “I know he’s going to work hard and come in here and be a great example.” There seems to be a mutual respect between the second-year coach and his recruits, as Walker pointed to Koniecko as one of the principal reasons he chose to come to Brown. “I thought Coach Koniecko was very different than many of the other coaches I met — he’s young, he’s got a ton of energy,” Walker said. “I watched a couple of practices. He got the guys to work hard, but it also seemed like they were having a really good time. I thought that was really good. I’ll be able to improve my tennis a lot while clearly getting an extremely good education.” Koniecko also mentioned that it is not just him who has an important role in the recruiting process, but also the current members of the team. He believes they have done a great job embracing the new culture of the program and providing a warm atmosphere during recruiting visits. Greg Garcia ’17, one of two upperclassmen on the roster, noted that there has been a philosophical shift within the team since Koniecko assumed the
head coaching position. He explained that this has been clearly evident in the recruiting process. “He’s definitely going for guys he really likes,” Garcia said. “He’s really into the recruiting. He’s not going to recruit somebody who doesn’t love tennis, who’s not going to play for four years. In the past, we’ve had guys who haven’t played for all four years, who haven’t really wanted to play. He wants kids who want to be there, who are going to fight, who are going to want to play for Brown.” As good as the numbers look for Bruno, the team still has a lot of work to do to compete against a very talented Ivy League. Last year, in Koniecko’s first go-around as coach, the Bears wound up in 7th place. But with talented players like Litsky and Walker joining the mix, they are hoping to build a foundation that will lead to greater success in the future. “Within the next four years, our goal should be to contend for an Ivy League title,” Walker said. “From the improvement I saw from last year to this year, we are definitely improving, and I think we’ll have a good shot at a title in the next four years.” Before welcoming next year’s recruits, the Bears still have the 2016 season to focus on, which will continue this weekend when they take on Binghamton and Quinnipiac at home.
» CIANCI, from page 1
transformed,” said Joseph Paolino Jr., former mayor of Providence and chair of the City Council during Cianci’s tenure. “When they think of the Providence renaissance, they’ll think of Buddy Cianci.” Paolino also said that though their relationship was initially adversarial, he eventually came to be a close friend of Cianci’s and had a number of fond memories of the late mayor, including talking to him almost daily about politics and seeing him ride to Brown football games on a horse. Though it’s difficult to sum up Cianci in a few words, his former Chief of Staff Artin Coloian comes perhaps the closest. “Cianci is many things to many people — a brilliant urban planner to some,
a tough guy to others,” Coloian said, adding that “he was a resilient personality, a smart politician, a controversial individual on some occasions and often a warm, caring person.” Coloian noted that even “his fiercest adversaries respected his quip, intelligence and determination to take on any and all challenges in his way.” He added that “his family, as sad as they are, can take solace in the fact that his legacy lives on.” Cianci’s coffin will lie in front of City Hall Saturday and Sunday, and his funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. As per Raimondo’s order, state flags will be lowered during the time of his funeral.
ever seen. Despite his infractions, Cianci is still revered in the community, and his offenses are often overlooked in favor of his record as Providence’s longestserving mayor who presided over a period of great economic revitalization. During his tenure as mayor, Cianci accomplished a number of impressive feats, notably facilitating the construction of the Providence Place Mall, the creation of the Providence Bruins and the birth of WaterFire on Providence’s refurbished waterways. “Everybody will look at him when they think of how Providence was
TODAY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
c o m p u t e r c o l l a b o r at i o n
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Pizzas: Bacon and Feta, Harvest, Buffalo Chicken Italian Puff Pocket, BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Quesadillas
Clam Chowder, Minestrone Naked Burritos
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Tuna Noodle Sandwich, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower Florets
Mexican Cornbread Casserole, Butternut Squash with Agave, Onion Rings, Carrot Cake
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Chicken Fingers, Rice Pilaf, Zucchini and Carrot Medley, Frosted Cupcakes
Kareem’s Catfish, Vegetarian Spinach Streudel, Summer Squash, Apple Streusel Pie
sudoku
MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD
Eddie Jiao ’19 works alongside fellow students to learn how to make an app using the program Meteor in a hackathon workshop. Brown will welcome more hackers to campus for Hack@Brown Feb. 6 and 7.
comic Comic Sans | Neilly Tan R
AS
DA
A
c r o s s w o rD d
C
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 San Francisco section 6 Hailing place? 10 One growing up fast? 14 Laura Petrie catchphrase 15 Will’s role in “Celebrity Jeopardy!” sketches on “SNL” 16 Cultural opening? 17 Slip ’N Slide maker 18 Singer Halliwell 19 __ time 20 National alternative 22 Playground threat 24 Word with guilt or debt 27 Symbol of strength 28 Those, in Tijuana 29 Tennessee team, briefly 31 Unveiling 35 It’s doublehyphenated: Abbr. 36 South Asian garment 37 Helical pasta 38 Border area, which contains a hint to solving this puzzle’s 12 border answers 41 Get back 42 Foot on a farm 43 Fleur-de-__ 44 Search casually, as for a bar pickup 45 Marathon prep run 46 Found (on) 47 Toon with an odd laugh 49 Author Allende 51 Big wind 54 “Doggone it!” 55 General Bradley 56 Rao’s competitor 58 Richard __, Pulitzer-winning author of “Empire Falls” 62 Ranch neckwear 63 Old players, briefly 64 Root of the Progressive Era 65 Hightail it
34 Place to see 66 Site of stars Cornwallis’ surrender 36 Tricks of the trade 67 City on New York’s Black River 37 Annual award recipient DOWN 39 Pitcher? 1 Cattle-raising 40 Simba, to Sarabi district 45 Company 2 He lost to RMN founded in 3 Nest egg letters Beaumont 4 Migrants 46 Scott of “NCIS: 5 Like stars New Orleans” 6 Witches 48 “Neato!” 7 Miss modifier? 8 Good qualities ANSW R O 9 Kick out 10 The 18th edition of his original work was published in 2012 11 Type of arch 12 __-B 13 Textile production settlement 21 Without success 23 Opened 24 Tourism hub 25 Bank, cardwise 26 Plea to remain 27 Move like ophidians 30 “Catch-22” pilot 32 H.S. experiment site 33 Reckless, say
50 Common fastener 51 Historic Omaha suburb 52 Crazily 53 Munro pen name 54 Corn cover 57 Canine warning 59 Canine command 60 Seagoing pronoun 61 Drama set in Grover’s Corners
R
O S
calendar FRIDAY FEBRUARY
S
By Alex S. Vratsanos ©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
M
T
W
Th
F
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Challah in the Blue Room 11:00 A.M. Blue Room
Middle East Studies Book Swap 2:00 P.M. Watson Institute, Kim Koo Library
SATURDAY TAPS presents: The Magical Kingdom 2:00 P.M. Leeds Theater
Vietnamese Student Association Tet Festival 4:00 P.M. Petteruti Lounge
SUNDAY Chainmail and Knitting @ Tech House 2:00 P.M. Harkness House
BRYTE Information Session! 2:00 P.M. 85 Waterman Street, Room 015
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Brown Bites Playing the Trump card Students already looking to procrastinate have been buzzing about a new card game called the 2016 Election Game. The game, available for pre-order and developed by Brown alums, was inspired by another alum invention: Cards Against Humanity. The game pokes fun at political correctness with politically charged cards such as “Chris Christie joining Weight Watchers” and “It’s going to be YUGE.” One of the founders, Amelia Friedman ’14, said, “There might be a few candidates who are offended, but we haven’t heard from their offices yet.” We wonder if “The Bible is the best. The Bible, the Bible blows it away. There’s nothing like the Bible,” will be a card. Indigenous People’s Day Fall Weekend has officially been renamed Indigenous People’s Day on the academic calendar following a student-led movement. Native Americans at Brown spearheaded the campaign, which advocated the name change. According to Elizabeth Hoover, associate professor of American studies who identifies as Native American and worked with NAB during the campaign, Indigenous and Native American students felt the name “Fall Weekend” swept the “terrible acts of genocide that (Columbus) directly took part in” under the rug. A petition signed by over 1,100 faculty and staff members, alums and students was sent to the Faculty Executive Committee, where faculty members voted in favor of the name change. “The ramifications of renaming Fall Weekend to Indigenous People’s Day (are) immeasurable because it serves as an enduring expression and acknowledgement of the years of student activism and indigenous resistance,” wrote Sierra Edd ’18, the Native American Heritage Series planner, and Kara Roanhorse ’18, NAB co-coordinator, in a statement to The Herald. Greek Life Brown’s Panhellenic Council also made headlines this week with the decision that Brown’s three sororities, AXO, Theta and KD, will allow all female-identifying students to rush in the upcoming spring recruitment. According to Sophie Blistein ’16, vice president of recruitment for the Panhellenic Council, the decision was more of a clarification than a drastic change in policy, though she noted that codifying “how we want to address the word ‘woman’” in recruitment was an important statement. DIAP The revisions to President Christina Paxson’s P’19 Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan were released after the Provost’s office received over 720 comments about the plan. The major changes included the creation of a number of different committees, an expansion of the demographic data available to the Brown community and a shortened timeline to double the number of faculty members from historically underrepresented groups. The plan will now allocate 5.5 percent of BrownTogether’s $3 billion campaign to fund the DIAP. Why is everyone at this school so tall? Students wondering why there are posters of a stranger plastered around campus clearly didn’t attend the men’s basketball game last weekend, in which Cedric Kuakumensah ’16 was honored for his new Ivy League block record. The six-foot-nine senior is the only player in the history of the Ivy League to score over 1,000 points, grab over 800 rebounds and block more than 200 shots. After a pregame ceremony honoring the three-time captain and two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Kuak led the team to a nail-biting 89-83 win against Penn. Pretty impressive, but we wonder if he can beat our record of catching 15 M&M’s in a row with our mouths. Probably not.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A closer look at ‘Carol’
To the Editor: Jennifer Shook’s article (“‘Carol’ performances captivating, not ‘groundbreaking’ cinema,” Feb. 4) reveals an unfortunate misreading of both the film and its production history. Shook criticizes “Carol” for showing us something we have already seen (white lesbian protagonists) instead of, for instance, the intersection of race and transgender identity in less mainstream films such as “Tangerine.” This is a fine criticism of Hollywood, which long has neglected minorities and women, but not of an individual film. Instead, “Carol” should be judged on its own artistic merits, which are vast. There are many reasons to believe “Carol” is, if not groundbreaking, at least a momentous achievement. Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, first adapted Patricia Highsmith’s book in 1996. Yet it took 16 years for the film to see the light of day. That struggle puts the grueling production history of “The Revenant” to shame.
Indeed, when it comes to the actual film, “Carol” is fresh for its absence of the male gaze and its universalism. The lead actresses (Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara) are neither objectified nor are they banners for heavy-handed political messages. Not to mention, the film features just one sex scene and no voyeuristic violence, forfeiting millions at the box office in favor of a measured, deliberate pace. The male characters, a boyfriend and husband, are sympathetic yet tainted with the societal prejudice of the 1950s. This is a film that radically questions the place and power of men in our society. And though it is firmly influenced by ’50s aesthetics and history, “Carol” succeeds because it manages to communicate the obsessive reality of any loving relationship, gay or straight. Love is difficult, and love is personal. Carol doesn’t need to be “groundbreaking” to ring true. Josh Wartel ’19
CORRECTION An article in Thursday’s Herald (“Contestants for $500: Who is Noah Cowan?,” Feb. 4) referred to Noah Cowan’s ’19 brother as Jordan. In fact, his name is Jared. The Herald regrets the error.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“Accurate, kind of depressing, but overall dope” — Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19
See u.s. policy on page 3. Editorial Leadership
Sections
Visuals & Production
Business
Editor-in-Chief Emma Jerzyk
Arts & Culture Editor Jaclyn Torres
Managing Editor Joseph Zappa
News Editors Lauren Aratani Agnes Chan Sandra Lifshits Kate Talerico
Design Editors Meryl Charleston Sonia Geba Andrew Linder Assistants: Nicola Ho, Minah Seo
General Managers Moniyka Sachar Joshua Tartell
Senior Editors Andrew Flax Caroline Kelly BLOG DAILY HERALD Editor-in-Chief Jacob Koffler POST- MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief Yidi Wu DIGITAL Director of Audience Development Marcy Huang
Sports Editors Matt Brownsword Taneil Ruffin COMMENTARY Opinions Editors Margaret Hu Lainie Rowland Editorial Page Editors Emma Axelrod Emma Jerzyk
Photo Editors Head: Eli White Sam Berube Marianna McMurdock Matteo Mobilio Ashley So Web Producer Harsha Yeddanapudy Copy Desk Chief Bonnie Henry Illustrations Editor Roland High
Directors Sales: Henry Ritter Finance: Neil Wathore Finance: Benjamin Wesner Business Dev.: Abraham Galindo Sales Managers Antonia Alvarez Erin Lueck Matthew Meyer William Welland Finance Managers Collections: Reena Zhan Collections: Varun Narayan
facebook.com/browndailyherald
Location: 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. www.browndailyherald.com
@the_herald
Editorial contact: 401-351-3372 herald@browndailyherald.com
browndailyherald.com
Business contact: 401-351-3260 gm@browndailyherald.com
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 2016 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 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
It’s okay to be alone ALEX VOLPICELLO op-ed contributor
Before coming to Brown, odds are somebody probably told you that college would be the best four years of your life — that you would be making friendships that last a lifetime, and the person you end up marrying could be sitting next to you at orientation. This isn’t everyone’s story. Not even most people’s, nor should it be. Students at Brown feel this overwhelming burden to live up to the social expectations of the “ideal” collegian. For some, the idea of partying it up in blurred tipsiness with friends (or strangers) sounds like a blissful respite from the Ivy League pressure cooker. For many, a date with a jar of Nutella in the glow of the Netflix menu is far more preferable. But for these hazelnut-spread-and-chill folk, every moment spent alone feels like a moment that could be spent net-
working or socializing. There is this constant social anxiety caused by feeling left out, and yet another by being too immersed: a relentless war for balance between self-preservation and self-exposure, with one side’s gain becoming another’s loss. It’s easy to feel like a cocoon amongst a university of social butterflies. When you walk into a crowded, sweaty, drunken dorm room, it is perfectly fine to feel like you’re drowning inside those dumb speak-
have one good friend rather than an entire friend group. It’s okay to just prefer your own company. It’s okay to be alone. Being alone does not have to be lonely. Being alone simply means being able to be there for yourself where and when others cannot. Being alone means learning to care, love and know yourself — as others learn to do the same for you. It’s difficult to expose yourself to the world and how uncomfortable or misshapen
gin to look for it in the world around you. Far too many people find forced relationships, groups and resumebuilders that they’re not actually passionate about to fill a void — a void for a happiness that they don’t yet know or understand, all in the hope that they might figure it all out one day. They think of college as a fouryear ice cream social, for making dinner groups feel less socially awkward at the Ratty and career connections that will get them where they might
Too many college narratives focus on how we, as Brown students, are the future movers and shakers of our generation, capable of real change. What about individual change? ers that blast water in sync with the baseline and decide that you’d much rather go back to your own room. It’s okay not to go out to dinner with all your dorm neighbors even though it seems like everybody else is. It’s okay to feel emotionally and mentally exhausted. It’s okay to take some time to recharge. It’s okay to
it may be to you, but every moment spent alone isn’t wasted: It’s invested. Though you may never agree with party culture, and your romantic life may not unfold quite as quickly as your academic one, you can at least begin to search for the livelihood within you. With it, you can attain true contentment in yourself and be-
want to end up. In reality, college should be devoted to you — first and foremost. College doesn’t just have to be a time to chase strobe lights and internships; it can be a time when you truly develop yourself as a human being. Too many college narratives focus on how we, as Brown students, are
the future movers and shakers of our generation, capable of real change. What about individual change? I truly believe that before we invest ourselves in bar exams or barhopping, we need to evaluate what we want to get out of college in the first place. If you want to set your sights on having the most fun you possibly can in four years, then go for it. But if your goals are just to learn to be comfortable — in your own skin, in your workload or with what’s going on in your head — that’s just fine, too. Whether you’re the type of person who goes out with friends or stays in to watch 10 seasons of “Friends,” in whatever you choose to do tonight, you’re right. If you feel alone most nights or even just once in a while, just know you don’t need others to feel and be whole.
Alex Volpicello ’18 is double concentrating in political science and history and can be contacted at alexander_volpicello@brown.edu
NFL not to blame for concussion crisis NICK ESEMPLARE staff columnist
A doctor of mine once posed to me the following hypothetical: If you told an accountant, he posited, that continuing to serve in her line of work would, over the course of her career, lead to longterm health issues, would you expect the accountant to stop doing her job? The answer, of course, is unclear. It is not difficult to imagine that a professional accountant, trained and schooled for that purpose, would continue on in her career despite the potential risks. A detached observer could easily advise that the accountant immediately find a new occupation. But in the real world, with the specter of college tuitions and mortgages, as well as the time and money invested in a career path, an accountant would be loath to give up her hypothetically dangerous profession. The doctor who posed this question to me was talking about concussions in professional sports. This issue has received growing attention in recent months, especially as related to the National Football League. With the release of the movie “Concussion” at the end of last December, a growing roar of disapproval for the NFL is reaching a fever pitch. This is just the latest in a trend that has seen the NFL increasingly criticized for failing to inform players of the longterm effects of traumatic head injuries, as former and current NFL players continue to come forward (some posthumously) to reveal their devastating effects. Such criticisms are undoubtedly deserved. The NFL’s treatment of the concussion issue has been unethical, and the league’s unwillingness to disclose critical information has caused immense suffering for former NFL players and their families. But a simple look at the issue of concussions
in professional sports shows that the league’s misconduct, though condemnable, is far from the chief cause of the current concussion crisis. The cause, if it is to be pinpointed, is far closer to the hypothetical story of the accountant. First and foremost, it is important to consider that professional athletes are professional. These are their jobs. Their livelihoods. Like the hypothetical accountant, an NFL player relies on his profession for income, with the only difference between the two being that the football player has considerably fewer alternative employment options. As for the prospect of retiring early, most NFL careers end early enough: The average lasts only 3.3 years. Of course, many believe that professional athletes are grossly overpaid for doing their jobs. But a quick look at the numbers reveals that, for many NFL players, professional
comes out with roughly $1,534,764, while the median income earner ends up with $1,612,500. Obviously, this is not a perfect comparison; it is simply one that demonstrates that professional football, for many players, is not as astronomically lucrative as we often imagine. So what does this have to do with concussions? Simply put: Concussions are fundamentally a financial issue. Football players rely on their own performance and physical health to survive, and, according to a recent New York Times article, are rarely as financially secure as the public envisions them. The article states that 78 percent of NFL players are “bankrupt or under financial stress” within two years of retirement from the league. Given this incredible statistic, is it any wonder that concussions in the NFL are chronically unre-
Concussions are fundamentally a financial issue. Football players rely on their own performance and physical health to survive and, according to a recent New York Times article, are rarely as financially secure as the public envisions them. football is not quite as lucrative as it might seem. While star players make headlines with nine-figure contracts, lower-level players, and particularly rookies, can be stuck with significantly smaller sums. The minimum rookie salary in the NFL is $435,000. I’m sure that figure doesn’t evoke sympathy, but the average career length for an NFL player puts career earnings for players with league-minimum salaries at about $2,541,000. Compare this with the median household income in the United States, which is about $51,939 annually. The estimated earnings for an individual with this salary, over the course of an entire professional life, are about $2,150,000, not much less than those of the football players. Factoring in estimated taxes, however, the football player
ported? The consensus among many concerned citizens is that football players who suffer concussions should take the requisite time to recover, and, after having suffered multiple head injuries, should consider an early retirement to preserve their brain health. This, in theory, would certainly help to minimize the effects of traumatic brain injuries on NFL players. But in the world of professional football, none of these changes is likely to occur on its own. The harsh financial realities, for the time being, appear to trump the physical ones. By retiring early in his career, a player likely forgoes millions in future salaries, and in the hyper-competitive atmosphere of the NFL, sitting out two weeks to recover from a concussion might leave you out of a job.
Take the story of Seattle Seahawks Cornerback Richard Sherman. Sherman is considered by many to be one of the NFL’s best players, and his current contract is worth $56,000,000 over four years. But four years ago Sherman’s future was far less certain. A late-round draft pick, he was fighting for a starting job when he suffered his first concussion at the start of a mid-season game but refused to “come off the field with so much at stake.” Such is the struggle of marginal players in professional football. While playing through a concussion worked out for Sherman, there are undoubtedly many others who took similar risks that did not pay off. As long as players choose, of their own volition, to play through concussions, it will be difficult for the NFL to protect its athletes from the long-term dangers of such injuries. While big name athletes can almost certainly afford to sit out a week or two to recover from a concussion, for marginal players, the cost of taking time off can often outweigh the far-off health problems that concussions cause. The NFL is not blameless for its role in the concussion issue, nor should its past transgressions be easily forgiven. The NFL has taken important steps to fix the issue in recent years, with various rule changes and the advent of “spotters” to identify potentially concussed players. But I do believe that the principal problem with concussions is not one of awareness, but of finances. Of the millions of dollars being devoted to concussion research, perhaps the NFL could create a pension fund for retired athletes, who, the numbers show, disproportionately end up in financial trouble. Perhaps short-sightedness and the competitive spirit will always cause athletes to take irrational risks with their long-term health (and long-term finances). Football is a violent game, but it has evolved before and could again.
Nick Esemplare ’18 can be reached at nicholas_esemplare@brown.edu.
Got something to say? Leave a comment online! Visit www.browndailyherald.com to comment on opinion and editorial content.
SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
Why I will be rooting for the Broncos in the Super Bowl JOE DIEHL sports columnist
Brett Favre and Peyton Manning were the first two NFL jerseys I ever had, even though my favorite teams were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Minnesota Vikings. Favre could just plain sling the ball; he willed some of his throws to reach his target. Of course, this gun-slinging approach led to more than just a few interceptions. But Favre’s playing style spoke to his personality — someone unafraid to fail and try things that looked improbable. He was so fun to watch because his next throw could be a pick-six, or one of the best touchdown passes you had ever seen. Manning, on the other hand, played with line-of-scrimmage savvy and deliberate placements of the ball that made him seem like the conductor of his own
orchestra. Everything was so planned and flawlessly timed. He would recognize the weakness in the defense in seemingly every play and could audible to the perfect play to exploit these gaps. Maybe his style wasn’t as exciting as Favre’s, but it was certainly still a pleasure to watch. He was destined to ride off into the sunset as a Colt, with several titles on his resume. Then came the neck surgeries — three in 15 months to be exact. Without Manning, the subpar Colts roster tanked its way to the number-one pick, stumbling into future franchise cornerstone Andrew Luck. These events led Manning to leave Indianapolis feeling incomplete. His tenure with the Broncos started off strongly. Manning was once again orchestrating a top-notch NFL offense. They went on to win the AFC before getting demolished by a superb Seahawks team in Super Bowl XLVIII. Even in the next season, few doubted his playing ability. This year, things have changed.
Everyone knew Manning’s fragile neck would not last forever in the NFL, but the likely end to Manning’s career after this upcoming game has felt sudden to many. I can’t imagine dealing with what Manning has gone through this past season: the revelation that he can’t feel his fingertips, the fact that he will need hip replacement surgery and Brock Osweiler usurping him due to injury and performance. With all of the courage he’s shown by remaining on the field and leading his team to two playoff victories, Manning has been credited with being a “game manager.” Sometimes impact transcends playing ability on the field. Is it a coincidence that with Manning fighting to stay on the field, the Broncos’ defense recorded the most hits last weekend on a quarterback this season with 20 against Tom Brady? Don’t get me wrong, the Broncos’ defense has been the team’s superior unit this season. Wade Phillips
deserves credit for designing the league’s most dynamic defensive strategies, but Manning will be the emotional force behind the Broncos in this upcoming Super Bowl as they face off against the Panthers. But it’s the Panthers that have been the more underappreciated team. They have been picked apart for a relatively unimpressive point differential for a team of their stature. Critics have been harsh on their offensive line and wide receivers. Many jokes have been said about Ted Ginn Jr. being the “X” receiver on offense. I am also divided on likely NFL MVP Cam Newton. On the one hand, he’s a superior dual-threat talent who gives out his touchdown balls to delighted little kids. On the other, he carries himself with an arrogance that borders on disrespectful and displays a self-absorbance level that registers very high on the Kanye scale. When you compare this to the on-field diligence of Manning, it’s
hard not to see Newton as a jerk. Being from Salt Lake City, I am surrounded by Broncos fans, including my brother. Naturally, this has always inclined me to root against the Broncos. Out here, I’m sure many non-Patriots fans can relate. But I am a Peyton Manning fan, and I have too much respect for him on and off the field to root against him here . To me, the Panthers seem like a team of Donald Trumps — cocky and inconsiderate — and even if the other guy isn’t that appealing, the respect level is enough to have a rooting interest. If this is Peyton’s last year, let him go out on top. He’s given the game more than it’s given him, but the balance of the universe will slightly even out if he can go out as a champion. This article is dedicated to Joe Diehl’s friend and rabid Broncos fan, Charlie Andrews. He hopes for the sake of Charlie’s health that the Broncos win. You can contact him at joe_diehl@brown.edu.
Fans should not vote to determine All-Star players CHARLIE BLASBERG sports columnist
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one skeptical as I turned on this year’s NHL All-Star Game. Last year’s 29-goal abomination of the sport made me sick. But hey, it’s better than watching the Pro Bowl. Obviously, the biggest and strangest story surrounding the game was the advent of John Scott. Scott, a journeyman enforcer with only five NHL goals to his name, found himself with the Arizona Coyotes when an online campaign to vote him into the All-Star Game exploded. The movement gained traction, and Scott became the player with the most votes, making him the Pacific Division’s team captain. The NHL shouted blasphemy and requested that Scott withdraw from the game, all the while manipulating a trade that resulted in Scott’s relocation to the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate. Because he was no longer on the roster of an NHL team and his NHL affiliate — the Montreal Canadiens — are not in the Coyotes’ division, Scott’s eligibility for the All-Star Game came into question. But Scott refused to withdraw from the All-Star Game — rightfully so. He didn’t ask for the facetious votes, but he received them fairly. If he withdrew, it would set a precedent according to which the NHL could pick and choose which players would play in the All-Star Game. Scott was ultimately able to compete in Sunday’s game and turned a farce into a positive experience. Other players would
not have responded as well, viewing the nomination as an insult and allowing pride get in the way of a truly special opportunity. Scott, however, was incredibly mature about the situation and made the most of his time at the All-Star Game. He played impressive hockey throughout the evening and ended up with two goals, enough to earn him the All-Star Game MVP Award. When talking to the press, Scott said all the right things. He was genuinely thankful for the opportunity, he cracked jokes on live TV and he made his family a major part of his All-Star Game experience. His public image was so likeable that I couldn’t help but be happy for him. The grin that Scott wore after the game was priceless. It brought out the child in everyone who has dreamed of defying the odds on sports’ biggest stage. His teammates hoisted him up on their shoulders, reminiscent of the last scene of “Rudy.” I loved the Scott saga. I could not turn the TV off at the end of the game. I ate it all up. But it should not happen again. The NBA and NHL leave All-Star selection entirely up to the fans, generating an apparent lack of quality control. This leads to undeserving fan favorites (cough, cough, Kobe Bryant) being voted into the games while deserving but lesser known players sit on the sidelines. With the exception of the MLB’s midsummer classic, All-Star games are meaningless. All-Star teams, however, can be important. A player’s selection to an All-Star team can be useful in determining his status while negotiating contracts and can highlight a very good season that is
not MVP-worthy. On very rare occasions, lackluster players like Scott can be voted into an All-Star game. Seeing Scott in the All-Star uniform was great, but he did take the spot of a more talented and established player for whom an All-Star selection could have provided pivotal bargaining power in contract negotiations. If the NHL continues to treat All-Star Game selections as legitimate accolades,
the league should instate a player and coach’s poll to complement the fan vote. With the success of the campaign to vote Scott into this year’s All-Star Game, fans will definitely try it again in the future. The NHL cannot send one player per year to the AHL simply because fans choose to jokingly vote him into the All-Star Game. The selection process needs quality control now, or else the habit of taking the
spot of a deserving player and giving it to a benchwarmer will become a tradition. It was fun this year, but that’s enough for me. Charlie is currently staging a web campaign to nominate himself in the National Squash All-Star game. You can vote for him by emailing charlie_blasberg@brown. edu.