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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02, 2016
VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 24
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Fetty Wap, Mac DeMarco to headline Spring Weekend Spring Weekend to also feature singer of ‘2 On’ Tinashe, rapper Tink, jazz fusion artist Thundercat By AGNES CHAN NEWS EDITOR
The lineup for Spring Weekend 2016 will include Fetty Wap, Tinashe, Mac DeMarco, Tink, Thundercat, Funkinevil and the What Cheer? Brigade, the Brown Concert Agency announced at its annual Lineup Release Party at midnight Wednesday. Spring Weekend will take place April 15 and 16. Tickets, which will go on sale at 8 a.m. April 11, will be $20 each. The event will be open to all members of the Brown community, and there will be 3,200 tickets available per day. Students will be excited to see Fetty Wap — the New Jersey rapper behind hit singles “Trap Queen” from April 2014 and “679” from June. Fetty Wap, born Willie Maxwell II, has been praised for his feminist lyrics and his success as a celebrity who is disabled. “Trap Queen” was nominated for Best Hip Hop Video, Best Club Banger and People’s Champ Award at the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2015. Fetty Wap, who will be headlining the Friday performances, was the
“highest polling artist we had in the fall poll we put out,” said Michael Briskin ’16, co-chair of the BCA. “We got him at his peak, when he’s his most popular,” he added. Los Angeles singer-songwriter
Tinashe — whose debut single “2 On” featuring ScHoolboy Q was on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 — adds to the exciting weekend lineup. She toured with Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry in 2015 and will headline her own “Joyride
World Tour” this year. Canadian singer and producer Mac DeMarco is best known for his songs “My Kind of Woman” and “Ode to Viceroy.” His style, often characterized as alternative, slacker and psychedelic
rock, can be expected to mellow out the lineup. Mac DeMarco will headline Saturday’s show, said Emily Maenner ’16, also co-chair of the BCA. “His music » See SW, page 2
ACLU challenges student housing ordinance U. files brief against grad
Lawsuit argues denial of housing to groups of three or more students unconstitutional
The shaded areas are R-1 zones, meaning a city ordinance limits the number of college students who can live in a single-family home to three.
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
THAYER
BOWEN
By JULIANNE CENTER AND ELENA RENKEN
LL
ANGE
SENIOR STAFF WRITERS
WATERMAN
EFIT
BEN
Main Green
GEORGE GANO
INSIDE
Nine private universities argue grad students’ relationships with schools educational, not economic
Athletic complex
By KYLE BOROWSKI
The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the City of Providence over a zoning law prohibiting more than three college students from living in a single-family home together, according to a Feb. 23 press release. The suit was filed on behalf of four Johnson and Wales University undergraduates who intend to live together in a Providence home in June. The ACLU also names Mayor Jorge Elorza and Jeffrey Lykins, director of the Providence department of inspection and standards, as defendants. There has yet to be any enforcement action taken against the plaintiffs and the suit was filed preemptively, said Jeffrey Levy, one of the attorneys representing the students. It is impossible to know if there have been any other similar instances, but he surmised that there are most likely countless other cases of students living
student unionization
College Hill’s R-1 zones
POWER WILLIAMS
JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD Source: Providence Department of Planning and Development
in violation of the ordinance, Levy added. Passed in September, the ordinance makes no distinction between undergraduate and graduate students and applies to R-1 and R-1A zones in the city, which cover much of the area around Brown’s campus. It was passed in response to complaints about parties and other disruptive behavior
occurring in residential neighborhoods surrounding university campuses, according to a Sept. 17 press release. In the press release, City Council President Luis Aponte explained that R-1 zones are primarily intended for single-family properties not designed for the group living that characterizes » See HOUSING, page 2
The University joined eight other private research universities Tuesday to file an amicus brief — a document by non-participating but interested parties — urging the National Labor Relations Board to continue recognizing graduate assistants as students rather than paid employees. The NLRB is a federal agency that “protects the rights of most privatesector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions,” according to the agency’s website. The NLRB is considering a case in which the United Auto Workers Union seeks to unionize Columbia graduate assistants. The brief explains the UAW’s stance that in receiving compensation for performing
services, graduate assistants “meet the definition of an ‘employee’” as “generally interpreted under the National Labor Relations Act.” The amicus brief supports the 2004 Brown decision, which ruled that graduate teaching assistants are not employees and dismissed a petition by the UAW to unionize graduate students at the University. “The majority in Brown correctly concluded that … the graduate assistants are students whose relationship with the University is primarily academic, not economic,” the brief states. “The strong part of the brief is the argument that the circumstances that led to the decision of 2004 haven’t really changed in 2016,” said Provost Richard Locke P’17. The schools — Brown, Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Penn, Princeton and Stanford University — contend that “there are no facts or changed circumstances that justify revisiting, reversing or modifying Brown,” according to the brief. They refer to evidence from » See U. BRIEF, page 2
WEATHER
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
NEWS Patients protest medical marijuana tagging fee as obstacle for necessary care
NEWS Congressional Republicans’ letter seeks explanations for rising tuition given tax-exempt status
COMMENTARY Vilsan ’19: Trump’s victory would expose American myth of meritocracy, opportunity
COMMENTARY Esemplare ’18: Mandatory attendance limits students’ freedom, decision-making skills
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» HOUSING, from page 1 student housing. The current stock of students occupying those homes is a “cause for concern,” he said, adding that it is the goal of the city to “maintain our single-family housing stock for families who want to live here.” In the same press release, City Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan explained that she introduced the legislation because the occupation of college students in single family homes is “undermining the character of our neighborhoods, diminishing the quality of life and creating health and public safety concerns.” She added that the rationale behind the ordinance was to “better protect the safety of students and residents,” and “improve housing standards for all Providence residents.” “There’s absolutely no reason to think that having more than three students living together in a singlefamily home has any connection at all to parties,” Levy said. “The city
has ordinances in place to deal with the noise, and there are laws in place on the state level as well,” he added. “There are tools the city has at its disposal to address the problems the city councilors seem to be concerned about,” he added. The ACLU’s complaint specifically mentions the unconstitutionality of the ordinance, which it labels an “intrusion into the rights of college and graduate students to choose with whom they live.” It also seeks to defend the rights of property owners who have the right to rent to tenants of their choosing. The city has about 30 days to answer the ACLU’s complaint with the possibility of an extension, Levy said. After that, the case moves into the discovery period which he doubts will be protracted due to the fact that “pretty much everyone knows the facts,” he said. The case will most likely be in front of a judge within the next few months, he added.
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» U. BRIEF, from page 1 New York University — “the only record of private-sector experience bargaining with graduate assistants” — to claim that defining graduate assistants as employees with a right to unionize creates burdensome and disruptive effects on graduate education. NYU separated student status from teaching status in 2009. Grievances filed prior to that decision continued to arbitration and are used in the brief as evidence of problems created by graduate assistant unionization. While collective bargaining occurs at public universities, the brief argues that “there is a world of difference between public- and private-sector labor law.” Private institutions, like
» SW, from page 1 is so chill, but his live shows get kind of rowdy,” she said. “He just has a great stage presence.” Illinois-born Tink is the rapper behind hit songs “Million” and “Treat Me Like Somebody.” Praised for her incorporation of the Black Lives Matter movement and women’s rights into her music, Tink uses her talent to address the emotional challenges of youth. The BCA always hopes to get “as
those who crafted the amicus brief, wish to preserve their academic autonomy and settle matters internally, the brief states. “Both collective bargaining and arbitration are, by their very nature, adversarial. They clearly have the potential to transform the collaborative model of graduate education to one of conflict and tension,” the brief states. There are also existing grievance procedures to settle differences between graduate assistants and faculty members, Locke said, adding that unionization would result in the establishment of a new set of processes. “The relationship we have with (graduate teaching assistants) is one of teacher and student,” Locke said, adding that mentorship is the focus of graduate education.
“At Brown, we consider teaching to be an essential part of disciplinary training for graduate students, and the primary purpose of the experiences our graduate students have in the classroom is the furthering of their education,” wrote Cass Cliatt, vice president of communications, in an email to The Herald. Whether or not the NLRB decides to strike down the 2004 Brown ruling, “it’s important for the University to respect the law of the land. If that law of the land changes because of the NLRB ruling, then the University will respect that change in the law,” Locke said. Members of the University group Stand Up for Graduate Student Employees did not respond to a request for comment.
many women as possible in our lineup,” Maenner said. “We usually have a male rapper,” but this year, they managed to book Tink as well, she added. Thundercat, whom Briskin deemed the “creative mastermind behind Kendrick (Lamar)’s album,” will be the first on stage Saturday. His style is a combination of “jazz, soul and funk,” Briskin added. Thundercat has also collaborated extensively with Flying Lotus, “which is a name that also comes up all the time,” Maenner said.
Electronic funk band Funkinevil and Providence’s own brass band What Cheer? Brigade will also mix up the music genres available at Spring Weekend. “At the end of the day, we’re always concerned about bringing the artists who can perform the best live, and sometimes, that may not align with name recognition,” Maenner said. “Even if people don’t know some of the artists that well, the live shows will still be great,” Briskin said.
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02, 2016 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
ELI WHITE / HERALD
Protesters gathered outside the State House to speak out against Gov. Gina Raimondo’s proposed “tagging fee” on medical marijuana patient and caregiver growing practices Feb. 23. Holding signs that said “Compassion not taxation” and “Free the weed,” community members called the tax an economic obstacle for less wealthy patients.
Medical marijuana patients rally against proposed tax Governor’s budget fix would institute tagging fee for caregivers’, patients’ medical marijuana plants By ZOË GILBARD CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Medical marijuana patients and advocates gathered at the State House Feb. 23 to protest the new “tagging fee” for medical marijuana included in Gov. Gina Raimondo’s recent budget proposal, unveiled Feb. 2. Though state officials argue that the proposal provides better access for Rhode Island’s 13,126 medical marijuana patients and increased standardization of drug testing, demonstrators said it will make the drug prohibitively expensive. When medical marijuana patients or caregivers buy a plant, they would also need to pay for a tag, which verifies that the plant is to be used for medical purposes only. “The proposed reforms would charge $350 per year per tag for caregivers and $150 per year per tag for patients who grow their own medicine,” said Michael Raia, communications director for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services. He added that the proposed “regulatory fee” could generate up to $8.4 million in general state revenue. The proposed changes to the medical marijuana program will “improve accountability in the caregiving market and ensure patient access to
medical marijuana,” Raia said. “The tag system will allow any enforcement action by (the Department of Business Regulation) or law enforcement to be much more straightforward, as all legally allowable plants will have to be accompanied by tags.” He added that a portion of this revenue “will be reinvested into the administration of the medical marijuana program to accelerate the application process and improve patient access.” But Steven Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, said “medical marijuana should be treated the same as any other medicine that is used to treat people.” At a news conference held by the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition and the RIACLU, he said “having a medical marijuana program means little if the state makes it impossible for all but the wealthy to actually participate in it.” The tagging system is a civil rights issue because it “essentially (taxes) people based on the fact that they have a disability,” Brown said. “There’s really nothing in the bill that we do like,” said Peter Benson, a participant in the state’s medical marijuana program who attended the rally. Benson broke his back when he was
17 and relies on medical marijuana to treat uncontrollable muscle spasms that once caused him to fall out of his wheelchair. Benson had previously used muscle relaxants and Valium, both of which had debilitating side effects, adding that nothing worked as well as medical marijuana at controlling his symptoms. JoAnne Leppanen, executive director of the RIPAC, called the proposal “offensive” and said that the government is “putting a tax on tragedy.” She believes that the population is confusing the medical marijuana program with the recreational use programs in other states that are heavily taxed. Though Sen. Mark Gee, R-East Greenwich, North Kingstown, South Kingstown and Narragansett, is not in favor of most taxes proposed in the state legislature, he is also not a proponent of the medical marijuana program. “I am worried about rampant medical use or any other kind of use before we’ve got a better handle on what’s going on,” he said. “I don’t think Rhode Island needs to be a pioneer in terms of medical marijuana.” R.I. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin has also voiced concerns with the medical marijuana program. “We continue to have concerns and will express them with the Governor’s office after we complete our vetting of the proposal. The Attorney General supports a robust program protecting
legitimate patients of the program,” wrote Amy Kempe, the public information officer for the Office of the Attorney General. “The governor’s spokesperson said that each person is making $17,000 in revenue off of their plants. You would have to have a Christmas tree like the one that’s in the statehouse on the holidays to make that much revenue,” Leppanen said. Ellen Smith, a medical marijuana patient and caregiver, said “It’s almost like a form of bullying, to think that you would pick on this community of people of all things.” Smith said that advocates will continue to argue against the tax until the budget proposal is put to a vote in June. But battling this proposal is “so hard when you don’t feel well, and you have to keep advocating and fighting,” she said. Rhode Island’s medical marijuana program currently allows patients with cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and some chronic diseases to apply for a medical marijuana license. Medical marijuana is not covered by insurance and therefore must be paid out-of-pocket by patients. Patients have multiple options in terms of the source of their medical cannabis: They can grow it themselves, rely on a caregiver or go to one of Rhode Island’s Compassion Centers, the state’s dispensary program.
But while the compassion centers were originally meant to offer another treatment option to patients, the state soon saw them as sources of revenue, Leppanen said. The state collects a 4 percent tax along with a 7 percent sales tax on medical marijuana from compassion centers. “When they’re an option, they’re an expensive option,” Leppanen said. Now, the proposed tax would push more medical marijuana users towards the compassion centers because growing their medicine at home could become unaffordable. Patients also often require specific strains that best treat their symptoms that are not carried by compassion centers, Leppanen said. In addition, many patients are afraid of the stigma that surrounds medical marijuana and the discrimination that results from it, and being forced to publicly go to a dispensary causes many patients anxiety. Making medical marijuana less accessible will have other deleterious effects, Leppanen added, noting that many people seek out the medical marijuana program in an effort to reduce their dependence on opioids or to get off them entirely. The growing opioid epidemic in the Northeast may worsen if access to medical marijuana decreases, she added. — With additional reporting by Julianne Center
NEWS
PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Congressional Republicans’ letter questions U. endowment spending Letter to schools with large endowments aims to learn how tax-exempt status helps universities
Largest university endowments compared to Brown Brown’s endowment is the 31st largest in the country, with Harvard and Yale topping the list with endowments over $25 billion.
By MARIAH KENNEDY CUOMO STAFF WRITER
No. 1
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No. 3
The University of Texas System
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Princeton
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Republican leadership of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee sent letters to 56 universities, including Brown, Feb. 8, asking about how the universities finance and spend their endowments with a response deadline of April 1. The purpose is to learn about how universities use their taxexempt status for educational and charitable purposes, according to the letters. The letters addressed universities with endowments greater than $1 billion, including all eight members of the Ivy League. U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-TX, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-IL, chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee signed the letter. Republicans in Congress wrote that the cost of higher education is skyrocketing even though university revenues are rising from both increased giving and better returns on investment, noting in the letter that tuition has risen faster than inflation. The letter also states that schools raised $40.3 billion in the year 2015 with total contributions to colleges rising 7.6 percent, and that endowments had an average rate of return of 15.5 percent in fiscal year 2014. Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt told The Herald that the University is reviewing the letter closely and taking the necessary steps to respond.
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billion dollars Source: National Association of College and University Officers, Commonfund Institute EMMA JERZYK / HERALD
The letter’s 13 questions touched upon a range of topics, including the size, makeup, management cost and payout per year of the University’s endowment. Other questions asked about policies regarding spending the endowment principal, the percentage of the endowment devoted to financial aid and the makeup of donors — specifically, about policies related to conflicts of interest, naming rights
and accepting restricted donations. “I’m hopeful this process will allow us to learn more about how university endowments use their tax preferences to fulfill their charitable purposes,” Hatch said in a statement. “The cost of higher education is just staggering for many American families. Is there a relationship between the tax code and that cost? That’s one of the questions we want to
explore,” Roskam said in a statement. Roskam held a hearing in October on endowment spending and the cost of higher education where some senators criticized universities for not spending enough of their investment returns. Other criticisms included large executive compensation and the rising cost of tuition. Undergraduate tuition and fees will rise 4.4 percent at Brown during
the 2016 fiscal year, and the Corporation recently approved a 7.1 increase in undergraduate financial aid, The Herald previously reported. U.S. Sen. Tom Reed, R-NY, also proposed a bill in early January that would require universities with endowments above $1 billion to spend 25 percent of their annual endowment returns on financial aid for “working families” — families between 100 percent and 600 percent of the federal poverty line — or they would lose their tax-exempt status after three years of non-compliance. The University recently increased support for middle-income families — where it lags behind its peers, according to the release. The policy will be evaluated at the end of the 2018-19 school year. “The value of a Brown degree is extremely high, and Brown’s needblind admission and scholarship support put Brown among the best,” wrote U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, in a statement to The Herald. Rather than focusing on endowment spending, Whitehouse wrote that Republicans should instead focus on the Reducing Education Debt Act, “which would provide two years of free community college, boost Pell Grants and allow Americans to refinance student debt at lower interest rates.” Other Congressional Democrats said focusing on student loans more broadly would reach more students and families. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, said focusing on schools with endowments above $1 billion “doesn’t affect very many students.” U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-GA, also called the endowment spending a side issue.
TODAY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02, 2016 • PAGE 5
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sudoku L IO R A M O R HAY I M
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“I believe a community of light can be created in
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Providence, sharing 60 seconds of goodwill every day.
— Steve Brosnihan, board member of the Tomorrow Fund
See goodnight on page 8. RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Los Angeles Times Puzzle c r o sDaily s w oCrossword rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Gin and tonic, e.g. 6 Outback birds 10 “Pardon the Interruption” channel 14 Photographer Leibovitz 15 Island hoppers 17 1985 film featuring Doc Brown and Marty McFly 19 Sesame __ 20 Julio to julio 21 Potter’s practice 22 Possible place for a train ticket 27 AFL partner 28 __ Bator 29 Dude 32 How storybooks are often read 35 Bibliography abbr. 36 “Nessun dorma,” e.g. 37 Concept that small changes can have large consequences, as in theoretical time travel 40 Cheese with an edible rind 41 Shakes a leg 42 White House staffers 43 “You got it!” 44 Bombard 45 Michael Caine title 46 Improvisational music genre 51 Pastoral tribe of Kenya 54 Sch. with a Phoenix campus 55 “__ you nuts?” 56 Olympic medley found in order at the starts of this puzzle’s four other longest answers 61 Heredity sources 62 Gala or ball 63 Got off the ground 64 Brogan or brogue 65 Fizzy beverages DOWN 1 Big wheel 2 Broadcast sign
36 Burning 50 Kid brothers or 3 Claudius, to 38 South Korea’s sisters, at times Caligula first president 51 High-ranking 4 Suffix with peace 39 Learning NCO 5 Shelve opportunities for 52 __ bit: slightly 6 Legally prohibit many 53 Trig ratio 7 “Whatevs” 44 Do the do just so 57 Apple mobile 8 Oil-rich fed. 45 Betting aid: Abbr. platform 9 50+, e.g., on a 46 Renowned 58 Japanese L’Oréal tube: 47 Café cup drama Abbr. 48 Did a fall chore 59 Shine, in brand 10 Erode 49 Venue that often names 11 Form-fitting sells its naming 60 Ab __: from day 12 Meter starter? rights one 13 Fraction of a min. 16 Light bulb unit ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 18 Hip about 23 Under 90 degrees 24 Factory stores 25 Potter’s supplies 26 Mustard family member 29 Born partner 30 Stuffed pepper filling 31 Wild things to sow 32 First name in advice 33 It may be found at the end of the line 34 Big name in elevators 35 Taxpayer’s option 03/02/16 xwordeditor@aol.com
calendar TODAY
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Book Reading: Mona Awad ’14 MFA 5:30 P.M. Brown Bookstore
Linda J. Cook: Vladmir Putin’s Time of Troubles 4:00 P.M. Watson Institute
American Feast: A Solo Exhibition 8:00 A.M. Sarah Doyle Women’s Center
Remembering the Lives Lost in Indiana: A Vigil 6:00 P.M. Faunce Steps
TOMORROW A Guide to Summer Internship Funding 12:00 P.M. CareerLAB
Brown Bag Concert 12:00 P.M. Sayles Hall
The Economics of Competition Policy in the 21st Century 4:00 P.M. BERT 130
Jill Kuhnheim: Listening to Peruvian Sound Poetry 12:00 P.M. Rochambeau House
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
EDITORIAL
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Committee research compensation
Responding to student concerns
We are delighted with Brown’s decision to begin funding student research for committees this semester. The Mental Health Community Council and Title IX Oversight and Advisory Board will serve as a pilot program for research funding, and the students serving on those committees will receive an hourly wage for any research projects they take on. This new system will have many advantages, including encouraging students to become more active in University committees and providing positions for students to gain paid experience doing research on campus. Brown, like all selective colleges, attracts motivated students who are inclined to take an active role in changing the world around them, including the school, for the better. While this is great for the University as a whole, and we all benefit from each other’s work, it can create strain for students who are stretching themselves thin while attempting to balance classes with activism and possibly a necessary part-time job. Hopefully, the chance to take on paid research work and receive compensation will lighten this load. Students doing research for committees do work that directly benefits Brown. They are essential to Brown’s functioning. For example, students such as Will Furuyama ’15 and Katie Byron ’15, who interviewed individuals who went through the Title IX process and reported their findings to the Sexual Assault Task Force, provided the University with information vital to its operations. It is also important to note that hiring students to conduct this research is beneficial to the school as well. Students are often the best people to conduct research about other students, as they have access to information and perspectives that outsiders might not. Also, paying students to do so will probably attract even more applicants for positions on the committees, allowing the University to be even more selective in who are selected for these committees. All in all, Brown’s decision to pilot compensating students for this work will be good for everyone.
To the Editor: At an open university like ours, what happens in a classroom is always fair game for public discussion, and Kyle Tildon ’19 has every right to openly criticize one of his professors, as he did in his Feb. 29 Herald op-ed, “On the classroom.” But that does not mean that his charges against John Logan, professor of sociology and director of the S4 initiative, or Logan’s response to them, should go without comment. The irony of Tildon’s critique is that he has accused Elijah Anderson, Yale professor of sociology, one of the country’s most prominent black scholars, of spreading “hateful” and “racist” ideas in a highly cited article that Logan assigned to his sociology class. But if one reads the article itself, as well as a more recent one (“The White Space”) by Anderson, it becomes apparent that these articles are actually thoughtful commentaries on the effects of white racism on black, urban communities. To cite just one example, Tildon accuses Anderson of implying that “blacks entering predominantly white spaces were physically dirty,” and ought to clean themselves up. But when one reads Anderson’s article, it is clear that
such comments actually refer to the stereotypes enforced by white society, as well as the unfair and unjust obstacles that black people face in overcoming those stereotypes. Logan not only responded to the concerns of his student, but he actually brought Anderson into the classroom to discuss these issues in person. That is an extraordinary example of responsiveness to student concerns that should be lauded, not criticized. What Tildon is objecting to is not racism or sexism, but rather a scholar’s analysis of racism and sexism that differs from his own. Tildon’s response, unfortunately, is not to challenge and critique the ideas with which he disagrees, but to call for them to be stricken from the classroom and to attempt the public shaming of a professor bold enough to engage his students in a discussion of one of the most important issues facing society today. I write to express my support for Logan’s attempts to keep an open classroom where even the most controversial ideas may be considered. His actions are in the very best traditions of this University. Kenneth Miller ’70 P’02 Professor of Biology
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Emma Axelrod ’18 and Emma Jerzyk ’17, and its members, Eben Blake ’17 and Leeron Lempel ’19. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02, 2016 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Trumping the American Dream FABIANA VILSAN staff columnist
There is no European Dream, at least not in the literary sense. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby never threw a glamorous party in Southern France, not because he couldn’t afford the catering, but because there was no green glimmer of hope on the dock across the water. Eternal optimism and an ingrained belief that hard work leads to prosperity simply aren’t embedded within the European ethos. But in the United States, everyone from Hollywood to suburbia recognizes some version of the American Dream — whether it’s because they’re living it or reading about someone who is. Perhaps this is why so many wide-eyed students (myself included) travel halfway across the world for a shot at the green glimmer of the American dream. Particularly in countries where corruption is more prevalent, the idea of American meritocracy is appealing. When I came to Brown, I chose to hop on a plane, hopeful that the destination would live up to its narrative. Yet, as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT,
preaches, the American Dream is looking more like a nightmare nowadays , and the Gatsbys of the world are looking an awful lot like Donald Trump. Both idealize the past in hopes that, if they pour their hearts and wallets into it, it will materialize before them. In the eyes of a trusting foreigner, America’s modern interpretation of imperialism can look like a benevolent mission to spread the illusive Dream across the globe. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt told
freedoms? Would Trump’s administration be the tipping point in Gatsby’s idealistic dreaming? Trump’s presidential campaign seemed like a joke at first — something to watch so you could banter at the water cooler the next day. But as months passed, despite every misogynistic comment and racist tirade, the votes keep pouring in, and Trump still stands in the center of the debate stage. Even if Trump doesn’t become president, can we really celebrate knowing he came so
tion is far from clean. However disillusioned foreign observers may have become over the past decades, Trump’s ascension to political fame seems to be the final proof that the United States isn’t the political powerhouse it used to be. But, despite questionable policy choices of the past, from race relations to nuclear weapons, the United States has been able to maintain the image of a nation that takes responsibility for global peace and champions democracy. American
However disillusioned foreign observers may have become over the past decades, Trump’s ascension to political fame seems to be the final proof that the United States isn’t the political powerhouse it used to be. the American public that they had “nothing to fear but fear itself,” he seemed to be speaking to a much larger population, convincing the world at large that, as long as America is strong, everything else will fall into place. So what happens when the White House no longer champions equal opportunity? How hypocritical would it be of the United States to pat itself on the back for its democratic values while the President explicitly denies democratic
close? Yes, this year’s election made great television. But when the race is over and the dust has cleared, we might have to come to terms with the fact that the American public image has regressed. To be fair, the American image overseas has been tarnished by controversial policy choices before Trump was even on the radar. From relations with Cuba to interventions in Iraq to scandalous rumors emerging from the White House, the American reputa-
foreign and domestic policy has been criticized by the nation’s allies in the past, but largely behind closed doors. In January, the English parliament held a debate to mock Trump’s candidacy. Sure, U.S. presidents have experienced their share of international criticism, but none have brought this degree of humiliation to their people. With each primary, it’s becoming more of a possibility that the 2017 inaugural speech will end with a
red-faced promise to “make America great again.” A quarter of a century ago, the United States stood on a pedestal, wagging the finger of democracy at the Berlin Wall. Today, a percentage of the American population that is too large to overlook supports a wall keeping Mexicans and Muslims out of the country. No matter the outcome of the presidential election, the American Dream no longer has the meaning it used to evoke. The New York skyline is no longer a symbol for towering hope and opportunity, but a representation of Trump’s ability to turn economic success into political power. Though I’ve been speaking in hypotheticals so far, there’s a need to consider the possibility that Trump will suffer a terrible defeat, that the nation will uphold the values in its Constitution, that immigrants will be welcomed from every corner of the world, that the green light across the water will shine once more and that our grandchildren will be shocked to hear that The Donald was ever a frontrunner. After all, we do live in the land of possibility.
Fabiana Vilsan ’19 can be reached at fabiana_vilsan@brown.edu.
Mandatory attendance misses the mark NICHOLAS ESEMPLARE staff columnist You probably remember your first day of college. You walked into your dorm room for the first time, overwhelmed by a nervous excitement as you took in the scene. You probably felt freedom. You may have loved it. It may have scared you. It was probably a little bit of both. But that’s what college is about, isn’t it? It’s a four-year trial by fire at learning to be independent. Most people seem to agree that the value of college goes beyond classroom learning. Instead, people often describe college as some combination of academics and a more abstract “life education” that prepares college students for the “real world.” It is not novel to suggest that college is more about experiences than grades. As one of my professors more bluntly put it, “College is about learning how to blow stuff off.” So I was struck by something odd this semester that challenged this notion: All of my classes (three of them lectures) have mandatory attendance. This isn’t a great inconvenience, but I can’t deny that I feel slightly wronged. While the actual effort of attending class isn’t too much to ask in my case, the principle behind the decision bothers me. And while I think moaning
about such slight woes is probably unnecessary — and might attract the attention of Fox News — the matter raises interesting philosophical questions about the purpose of college. The obvious counterargument to my reflexive distaste for mandatory attendance is that attending class helps students learn. This point is difficult to counter. It probably is ultimately better to attend class. But if we assume that attending class helps students learn, the issue of mandatory attendance raises much larger questions
is worthwhile. Teachers who make attendance mandatory are attempting to improve a student’s learning but neglect to consider that prioritizing and making decisions are just as much a part of a college education as calculus or philosophy. There are certainly exceptions to this argument. I would not argue that seminars or discussion-based classes should be optional for students. But when it comes to impersonal lectures, mandating attendance comes at the cost
The decision to make lectures mandatory arises from a misconception of what kinds of learning make college valuable. about the ultimate purpose of a college education. The decision to make lectures mandatory arises from a misconception of what kinds of learning make college valuable. If the goal of going to college is strictly academic, attending class seems like a must. But this belief is also somewhat ridiculous. When students leave home, they learn much more than can be put in any textbook. If there is value in attending class, there is simultaneously value in making students decide whether or not going to class
of limiting a student’s freedom. At the very least, optional attendance rewards those students who do make it to class and teaches a more valuable lesson than the hand-holding directives of classes where attendance is recorded. Woody Allen once said that “80 percent of success is showing up.” But if this is so, it is a lesson better taught through lived experience than by reverting to the forced obedience of high school. Life is about deciding between alternatives. Whether you are choosing a career, a spouse or lunch, you must weigh options
and make decisions based on your values. And therein lies the importance of decision-making for college students. Making choices between alternatives necessitates the creation of a value system. A student may or may not attend class based on his prioritization of that class, his GPA or sleep. Regardless of the rationalization, when students are forced to make such decisions, they must develop some semblance of core values that will guide their actions. Ultimately, mandating attendance in lecture-based classes is at odds with the type of academic liberty that Brown attempts to give its students. If the open curriculum and S/NC grading option assert anything, it’s that students should be left in charge of their own educations. It is a bold proposition and one that is certainly not common in present-day higher education. I’m a proponent of going to class, and students that frequently skip lectures definitely miss out on an important aspect of the college experience. But there is lunacy in telling legal adults how to live their lives. Brown doesn’t hold the hands of its students, and it shouldn’t. So don’t tell them to come to class, either.
Nicholas Esemplare ’18 can be reached at nicholas_esemplare@brown.edu.
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NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 02, 2016
Scili says goodnight to Hasbro Children’s Hospital Several buildings visible from hospital flash lights every night at 8:30 p.m. in minute of magic initiative By JESSICA MURPHY STAFF WRITER
Each night at 8:30 p.m., a security guard at the Sciences Library shines a bright flashlight from the 14th floor to say goodnight to the children at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence. The flashlight blinks four times, once for each syllable in the phrase, “goodnight, Hasbro.” Several other local institutions, including the Biltmore Hotel, the Hot Club and the Providence Steamboat Company, join the SciLi each night by flashing bright lights from their tallest floors at the same time. Children watching this light show from the hospital often flick their room lights on and off in response. Steve Brosnihan, Hasbro’s resident cartoonist and board member of the Tomorrow Fund for children with cancer, started the initiative earlier this year and contacted all of the institutions that were
visible from the hospital. He came up with the idea on his way home from the hospital one day when he realized he could see a young patient’s room from his bus stop. He flashed the lights of his bicycle in the hospital’s direction, and the patient responded by flickering his room lights. “It’s a neat way to communicate with a kid in the hospital,” Brosnihan said. Due to the SciLi’s height, Brosnihan knew it would be a perfect building for this project. He contacted Harriette Hemmasi, University librarian, who coordinated the library’s involvement. “It seems like such a small thing — and in many ways, it is — but I think we underestimate how important small things are, especially for children who are in the hospital,” she said. Jennifer Braga, library communications and public programs specialist, also helped coordinate the initiative. The project is important because it is “something the children can count on every night and something they can share with their fellow patients and friends. It is very easy and yet very impactful,” she said. Brosnihan has received touching
feedback from parents of patients at the hospital. “It comforts them — when they’re in the situation of having a sick child in the hospital — that someone is out there doing something for their child and that there is an acknowledgement that their children are there,” he said. All participants in the project are hopeful that this evening ritual will continue well into the future, and further developments are underway. “There is a long-term plan to install a light that flashes automatically,” said Steve Lavallee, head of the Friedman Study Center in the SciLi. Brosnihan, Braga and Hemmasi all encouraged Brown students to get involved in the initiative. “It doesn’t have to be limited to an administrational level,” Brosnihan said. “Anyone with access to a good quality flashlight who is in the line of sight of the hospital can participate.” Though many of the children flash their room lights in response to the goodnight lights, there is no expectation for them to participate. “Goodwill is at the foundation of it. People are just trying to do something good for the kids,” Brosnihan said.
MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD
The height of the Sciences Library makes it a perfect building for signaling young patients each night with light flashes from the 14th floor. “I want to grow this minute of magic into a tradition that any hospitalized child can look forward to on any night they look out their window at 8:30,” Brosnihan wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald.
“In the process, I believe a community of light can be created in Providence, sharing 60 seconds of goodwill every day without monetary expense or burdensome effort.”
Brown, Berklee to launch music program Music, entreprenuership program to help high school students lead social change through creativity By JULIA CHOI STAFF WRITER
LILY NGUYEN / HERALD
The new council will make decisions regarding program houses such as West House, one of the University’s two environmental houses.
ResLife to resurrect Program House Council
New group, envisioned to resemble Greek Council, to replace ‘dissolved’ Program House Council By JACKSON CHAIKEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Office of Residential Life is reforming a program house council for the eight program houses, said ResLife Assistant Director Kate Tompkins. The last program house council was created in 2005 when Residential Council, a student advisory board for ResLife, enacted new program house guidelines that required all program houses to join the council, The Herald previously reported. The program house council had been “dissolved” before she began her position at ResLife five years ago, Tompkins said. A meeting with members from the program houses was held Monday afternoon as the first step in the creation of a council, Tompkins said. The meeting was meant to gauge interest from the program house community and see how they would like it to function,
she added. Technology House President Kristen Michaelson ’16 said she was very happy that a program house council was being formed. “I hope the council opens up new lines of communication between the program houses for the mutual benefit of all program house members,” she said. “The (program) housing council holds the huge potential to facilitate partnerships and collaborations among houses,” said Maya Faulstich-Hon ’17.5, co-president of Social Action House. But while she understood the benefits of having such a council in the future, Faulstich-Hon said she did not think a council was an urgent need for program houses. Tompkins envisions the council to be similar to the Greek Council. “Larger decisions that impact all houses will go through this council first,” she said. The types of decisions the council would be able to make are still up in the air, Tompkins said. Much of that will depend on what members of program houses interested in forming the council want from it, she added.
In July, Brown’s Leadership Institute will collaborate with the Berklee College of Music on a creative entrepreneurship and leadership program for high school students. The program is a subset of Berklee’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship, a curricular program that teaches Berklee students that the skills they develop in music are applicable to entrepreneurship. Last year, Berklee hosted a similar summer program only for students from China and Taiwan. But with Brown’s collabration, the 11-day program will now be held at both Berklee and Brown’s campuses for students from all over the world. Between 20 and 30 students will participate, wrote Kisa Takesue, director of leadership programs, in an email to The Herald. The name and quality of Brown’s Leadership Institute made it “a natural partner” for the BerkleeICE summer program, said Panos Panay, founder of BerkleeICE. Brown’s name will broaden the program’s exposure and increase the number of applicants, Panay said. It will also validate the program and promote BerkleeICE’s “outlook and philosophy” of a commitment to social change and leadership, he added. Panay began the high school summer program in 2014 to “broaden students’ perspective of what’s possible with a music degree,” he said, adding that students often only think of careers in music as being performancebased. This program will “break away” from the stereotype by teaching that the creativity and collaborative skills developed in music are precisely what can enable students to become business leaders and promote societal change, he said. “G o o d l i s t e n i n g s k i l l s ,
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
High school students will participate in an 11-day program held on both Berklee’s and Brown’s campuses to develop leadership skills for careers. experimenting, overcoming repeated failure, self-discipline, successful collaboration” and having a “unique voice” are essential elements of both successful musicians and entrepreneurs, according to Panay’s personal website. You have to “think quickly on your feet” in both the music and business worlds, said Nicole d’Avis, operations and events manager of BerkleeICE. Takesue echoed d’Avis’ sentiments, noting that the program advances Brown’s mission of “cultivating creative entrepreneurship and leadership.” Takesue wrote she hopes that it will “increase students’ motivation to engage in social action.” Panay was impressed by Brown’s expediency in joining forces with Berklee, noting that the schools launched the program after first meeting in November. Such efficient collaboration would not have been possible at any other Ivy League institution, he said, adding that he hopes to collaborate further with Brown in the future, perhaps on executive education programs or online courses. Students will partake in workshops and lectures by leading musicians
and entrepreneurs. Last year’s guests included Grammy award-winning producer Prince Charles Alexander and Michael Hendrix, a partner at design firm IDEO, the Business Wire reported. During the portion of the program at Brown, workshops will be conducted by Takesue and Robin Rose, senior associate dean of the School of Professional Studies and founder of the Leadership Institute, Takesue wrote. Students will also collaborate on and present action plans focused on pressing issues in their communities, Takesue wrote. A team in last year’s program designed an art exhibit with the goal of bridging the gap between youths and adults, d’Avis said. “Society today demands a lot more from us. It’s not just about having skills,” Panay said. It’s about being “broad-minded and creative,” and programs like these will “enable young people to be better prepared for life and for careers,” he said. Whether or not a student will become a musician, the skill set and mindset gained from creating music are “what is needed in today’s economy and the workforce,” d’Avis said.