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SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 52

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD

The number of hours the front desk of the Friedman Study Center in the Sciences Library will be staffed will be reduced from 110 hours of librarian service per week to 70 hours per week.

SciLi cutbacks spark frustration among students, staff members

Changes include reduced librarian service hours, transfer of services, supplies to Rock By JACKSON CHAIKEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Library staff and students are voicing concerns about a plan to reduce staffing and services at the Friedman Study Center in the Sciences Library. University Librarian Harriette Hemmasi announced the planned changes April 15 in an email to all undergraduates.

The changes All course reserves, which are currently split between the SciLi and the Rockefeller Library, will now be located at the Rock, Hemmasi wrote in an email to The Herald. In addition, DVD collections, iClickers and other circulated equipment will also be moved to the Rock, she wrote. There will also be changes to the hours when the Friedman Study

Center’s front desk is staffed. Monday through Thursday the desk will be staffed from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., while Friday’s hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday’s hours will be 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday’s desk hours will be from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Hemmasi wrote. In comparison, the desk is currently staffed starting from 8:30 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends, closing at 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. This constitutes a reduction from 110 hours of librarian service per week

to 70 hours, said Karen McAninch, the library workers’ union’s business agent. The reduction of service means there will be more times a librarian is not present to assist students with printing or checking out books, said Mark Baumer MA’11, senior library specialist. While librarian service hours are being reduced, the Friedman Study Center will remain open at its current hours, Hemmasi wrote in the email to all undergraduates. “Any current Friedman Study

Center staff member who sees a change to his or her role, schedule or assignment will continue to have a job of equal grade and salary elsewhere in the Brown University Library system,” Hemmasi wrote in an email to The Herald. But “some of us have been working together for over 10 years, and now we are going to be dispersed and broken up,” said Senior Library Specialist James Schlageter. “We’ve been through renovations, the changing of operations, » See SCILI, page 2

Ambassador-at-large talks Study abroad options include West Bank Students feel living in women’s empowerment Palestinian territories Cathy Russell argues greater economic participation of women boosts GDP, peace efforts By AILEEN SEO STAFF WRITER

Cathy Russell, U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, delivered a lecture titled “Why Empowering Women and Girls is Good for U.S. Foreign Policy” Tuesday in the Joukowsky Forum of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. The lecture discussed the importance of incorporating issues of gender equality in international policies to promote the participation of women in world economies and peacemaking processes. The talk, held as a part of the Watson Distinguished Speaker Series and co-sponsored by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, was moderated by Pamela Reeves, a senior fellow at the Watson Institute and advisor to the Office of Melinda Gates on global women’s issues. Russell began the talk by explaining

INSIDE

the importance of her work. “Women and girls are entitled to equal and full rights,” she said. “Understanding and prioritizing women will make our communities more successful. When women do better, countries do better,” she added. Russell emphasized the role that the United States plays in setting a moral example as a leader on women’s issues. According to Russell, the United States has made progress in addressing and reducing gender-based violence and offers support and expertise to other countries attempting to address these problems “with a lot of humility,” she said. Russell explained that though the United States has not solved all problems of gender equality, it has a lot of experience working to resolve these issues. Russell outlined the areas on which she focuses most, including advancing the status of women and girls by addressing gender-based violence and promoting full participation of women in society, particularly within the economic and political realms. In addition, she spoke to the prevalence of gender-based violence » See RUSSELL, page 2

would have given new perspective on conflict By CLARISSA CLEMM STAFF WRITER

Students can now apply to study at universities in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as at the institutes in Israel where Brown students were previously able to enroll. Still, students cannot study abroad in Gaza, said Maud Mandel, dean of the College. The territory is under an international economic and political boycott and has not been accessible to outsiders since 2006. The ban on studying abroad in the West Bank was lifted in June 2015 after several faculty members submitted an official request to change prior restrictions on study abroad in the region. It was the “appropriate and right time” to make study abroad options available in not only Israel, but also the occupied Palestinian territories, Mandel said, calling the restriction a “holdover (policy) that needed to be changed.” “The fact that we had a different policy between Israel and the West Bank was

COURTESY OF JULIAN JIGGETS

Until June 2015, the Palestinian territories were not options for study abroad. The ban was lifted in response to requests by faculty members. the wrong policy,” she added. Mandel also emphasized the importance of giving students a greater selection for study abroad locations. “I’m interested in students studying abroad in the places they want to go as long as we’ve made a careful risk assessment for anybody anywhere,” she said. Since the policy change, no student has applied to study abroad in the West Bank, Mandel wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald. The prior policy restricting students to Israel was adopted about a decade ago

after a Brown student was kidnapped while traveling in the West Bank. Under that policy, students planning on studying abroad in Israel were required to sign a waiver releasing the University from responsibility for any incidents they encountered by taking independent trips to the West Bank or Gaza. Under the current policy, students must sign a similar waiver if they wish to study in either Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories. But this sort of waiver is not exclusive » See WEST BANK, page 8

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016

NEWS Students in universities across Providence push diversity, inclusion to center stage

SPORTS Baseball splits four-game series against Dartmouth, falls to UMass Lowell at home

COMMENTARY Krishnamurthy ’19: DMV offices unite all Americans in resentment of bureaucratic tedium

COMMENTARY Vilsan ’19: Line between childhood, adulthood blurred by college experience

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TOMORROW

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NEWS

PAGE 2 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016

» SCILI, from page 1 taken on new things and been successful with it all, and it is all being thrown away.” The process The changing of the staffing and services first started Feb. 22 when Hemmasi brought up the idea with the library’s waiver management committee, Baumer said. Hemmasi said that she has “met directly with union representatives and SciLi staff (members) in seven separate meetings over eight weeks to discuss the plan and staff concerns, and every staff member of the Friedman Center has been given the opportunity to speak directly to these changes.” Hemmasi also “consulted members of the Library Advisory Board — which consists of representatives from faculty (members), graduate students and undergraduate student,” she wrote in an email to The Herald. But Schlageter said the library administration has been “stringing us along, leaving people in suspense and in the dark.” “It’s been very stressful,” he said. “We’ve been lied to — to our faces.” One union member had to go on sick leave because of stress, he added. “There would be whisperings of

change, but the bosses would say there was nothing to worry about,” Baumer said. A group of librarians who met with Hemmasi before the plan was released were told it would be “coming soon to faculty and staff (members),” McAninch said. McAninch then sent a letter on behalf of the union to Hemmasi stating “you already have a plan in mind for the reduction in staff at the Friedman Center and are merely going through the motions of consulting with us.” A concrete version of the plan was sent to the union March 30, McAninch said. The plan was then presented to the Brown community April 15. The only change between the original plan and the one presented to the Brown community April 15 was that the level of staffing that would remain at the Friedman Study Center was increased from one and a half full-time employees to two, she said. “Over the past decade, students and faculty (members) have communicated their changing needs through their actions,” Hemmasi wrote in an email to The Herald. “The decline in use of the SciLi collections and services is the very foundation of our plan for change.” “I feel very disrespected,” Schlageter said. “Managers knew all about this well before we were told anything about the

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD proposal. … Generally we feel like it was a charade and a waste of time.” In response to the plan, the StudentLabor Alliance created an online petition for community members who want the library administration to reconsider the staffing and service reduction as well as create a platform for community input. “Neither the library administration nor the University administration in general has centered the concerns of workers affected by the plan,” the petition states. “They only recently reached out to some faculty (members) and graduate students who rely on SciLi resources and services, but have not currently or in the past sought their input on changes to the SciLi.” After informing community members about the changes, responses from all groups will be taken into consideration, Hemmasi wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald. Members of the Student-Labor Alliance did not respond to a request for comment. The dispute “The Friedman Center is working fine the way it is,” Baumer said. “There are a lot of areas in the library that are not working fine and not being addressed.” Since the opening of the Friedman

Study Center, there has been a 48 percent reduction in circulation of “SciLi materials,” a 39 percent decrease in the circulation of “reserve books, DVDs and other reserve materials” and a 43 percent decrease in the circulation of popular movies, Hemmasi wrote in an email to The Herald. “With the major reduction of materials shelved in the SciLi and the overall changing use of print and other library services, the library was duty-bound to evaluate our approach to service and staffing at the Friedman Study Center,” Hemmasi wrote. “Our goal has been to maximize the effectiveness of all library personnel in service to the University.” The library administration claims that the reduction in service hours is a result of a reduction in circulation. Given that approximately 450,000 volumes were transferred from the SciLi to the annex in the Rock since the Friedman Study Center’s opening in 2007 — with no accompanying staff reduction — “circulation and other services in almost every area have decreased,” Hemmasi wrote. The reasoning for the removal of the material is centered on the fact they were not circulating, Baumer said. But the circulation numbers “did go down from 2007 to 2011, but since then it has plateaued.” The union also views the data the library administration has presented as misleading, as it does not account for the increase in the use of certain equipment and the closure of the SciLi stacks between May and September 2015. Hemmasi wrote that circulation of equipment, such as iClickers, chargers

and cables, has increased since 2007, but equipment circulation is not distinct to the SciLi and is “not a core library service that requires mediation by library staff.” McAninch also expressed concern that the Rock might struggle with the added responsibilities, especially during busy periods of the school year. The library’s administration is “taking the DVDs, course reserves and clickers — which is a big part of our job — and just transferring them to the Rock,” said Senior Library Specialist Debra Nelson, adding that the administration is transferring 85 percent of the work to the Rock, but none of the SciLi’s staff members. Another effect of the change will be a loss of experience, Schlageter said. The librarians at the Rock have no experience with the resources being moved, and there will be a learning curve, he added. The fundamental changes of reducing staffed hours at the SciLi and moving reserves to the Rock “will be a huge inconvenience and aggravation to the people who use this building,” Schlageter said. The library administration is allocating fewer resources to the sciences, for which interest among the student body seems to be growing, Baumer said. “It’s a demonstration of the devaluation of the sciences and what goes on (at the SciLi),” said Tim Engels ’92, senior library specialist at the John Hay Library. McAninch also noted that peer institutions have full-service libraries for the sciences.

»RUSSELL, from page 1

women’s issues, particularly as she worked in the U.S. Senate and the Department of Justice, where she focused on policy and legal issues. But following her involvement with Women for Women International — a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to financial, educational and interpersonal support of women — she found that there were specific ways to improve the condition of women in certain parts of the world. “I traveled to Rwanda and Bosnia and saw so many terrible situations in so many parts of the world and found that there were ways that we could successfully try to make things better for them,” Russell told The Herald. “I was intrigued by that, and I felt like the things that I had learned could be used in a way that I had never thought before to help women.” Russell invoked her favorite quote from Martin Luther King Jr., “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” to explain that “every person has the ability to bend that arc a little bit.” “The key for students is to be aware of the challenges and issues out there that are calling out for their involvement,” Russell told The Herald. “They need to look for what grabs them, what they care about — whether that be education, violence or economic issues. There are ways that people can help organizations do this work, and there are unlimited opportunities of what they can do. The point is that everybody has a role to play.”

throughout the world by providing statistics that were met with gasps from audience members. “One in three women worldwide face(s) gender-based violence at some point in (her life), while 90 percent of countries have laws that discriminate against women.” In response to an audience question regarding the invasiveness of a public and international attempt to fight gender-based violence and equality, Russell said that “women are entitled to be free from violence as a fundamental and non-negotiable right.” The issue of women being free from violence is not a matter of different values or a private family matter, she added. Russell discussed the importance of women participating in peace and security efforts, particularly in light of research proving that countries benefit when women are involved in the economy and stability measures. Russell referenced a McKinsey Global Institute report stating that the global gross domestic product would rise if men and women had equal roles in the economy, with the GDP in the United States, Japan and Egypt rising by 5, 9 and 34 percent, respectively. A United Nations analysis of 40 peace processes that included women found a 35 percent increase in the probability of the peace agreement lasting 15 years relative to those without women, she added. Russell mentioned that she initially lacked exposure to and awareness of

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

R.I. college students demand expanded diversity initiatives PC, RISD, Roger Williams University students seek inclusive curricula, sensitivity training

Demographics at Rhode Island colleges and universities, fall 2014 80 percent 76.7

75.0

Brown

By GWEN EVERETT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

As students at Brown urge the administration to take greater measures to address the lack of diversity and inclusion on campus, students and faculty members at other colleges in Rhode Island are also working to have their voices heard on their campuses. Such events represent students’ and faculty members’ accumulated discontent with the underrepresentation of diverse narratives in college curricula and the silencing of the voices of students of color on campuses. Providence College On Feb. 16, about 50 Providence College students participated in a 13-hour sit-in outside President Brian Shanley’s office to demonstrate against campus racism. On March 7, Shanley published an action plan with a list of proposals that included requiring faculty members to participate in a “cross-cultural competency training” as well as revising the school curriculum to incorporate a range of diverse topics. But shortly after the plan was released, PC’s Coalition Against Racism wrote in a statement, “It is disappointing that … what we received was a largely repetitive response in the sense that these are answers that we have heard from him before,” the Providence Journal reported. In recent years, PC has taken measures to improve the state of racial diversity on campus, said Rafael Zapata, chief diversity officer at PC. “A lot of these initiatives take time,” Zapata said. “We’ve done fairly well in the past few years, but it can be up and down.” He added that attracting a diverse applicant pool for faculty member searches is a matter of “being intentional about our job descriptions and taking an active approach, not a passive approach.” Last year, PC held its first open forum with the campus community to update students, faculty members and staff members on the school’s progress on the strategic plan for diversity, Zapata said. He added that simply recruiting more students of color is not enough — students need to feel included in the campus community. Brown, for instance, is a place where the student body is diverse but not necessarily inclusive, Zapata said. But Kohl Peasley, a student at PC, said “there definitely needs to be a faster response time” to complaints related to diversity and inclusion. The administration took too long to respond to the complaints of student protesters earlier this year, he said. Julia Jordan-Zachery, professor of political science and director of the black studies program at PC, said she wants to see the institutional approach to diversity move beyond rhetoric and become more substantive. “When will we begin to see, for example, retention rates improve?” she said, referencing retention rates for faculty members of color. “When do people begin to feel they really belong on campus and aren’t just there because they make the campus look good but are valued for their intellectual additions to the institutions?” In February, white students at PC allegedly threw bottles at a group of black

Providence College

Roger Williams University

Rhode Island School of Design

42.9

31.9 25.8

20 17.9

12.4

1.2

White

12.2

10.6 1.2

Asian

6.2

4.1

1.8

2.1

Black or African-American

6.8

8.4 5.4

Hispanic/Latinx

1.8

5.0

International

Source: Forbes, RISD Fact Book EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

women who were standing outside of a party, the Journal reported. This incident marked the first time Harrison Meyer, a PC student, had heard of a racially motivated incident occurring on campus. “An act like that is rare,” he said. But campus activists have been very active in the past year to raise awareness about the racial tensions that exist on campus, he added. “I’m a white male, so I’m not at the other end of it too much, but I do have friends who have felt attacked or uncomfortable for their sexuality or their race,” he said. “It’s a problem, but I think it’s been worse at other colleges.” “There is a kind of invisibility and hyper-visibility around race” at PC, JordanZachery said. On one hand, many class curricula leave out texts by scholars of color, rendering the narratives of people of color invisible, she said. Additionally, when there are not many people of color on a racially homogeneous campus, they can also become hypervisible, JordanZachery added. It is damaging when “students are singled out to speak for all people of color or all people of their race,” she said, adding that “the kind of harm that happens from hypervisibility isn’t addressed.” Meanwhile, there remains a stigma against speaking out about racial injustice on campus for certain community members. “One knows there’s going to be backlash” when choosing to speak about race and social injustice, Jordan-Zachery said, adding that it can be difficult to criticize the institution she works for. To remain silent is to perpetuate racism, she said. But “which one is worse: to become complicit in my own oppression as a black woman, or to speak out (and face) real consequences?” she said. “So for me, that’s why I take the risk.” Rhode Island School of Design Earlier this month, Rhode Island School of Design students and faculty members gathered at Market Square, chanting, “I am not your token!” and demanding curricular reform and faculty sensitivity training, among other initiatives, The Herald previously reported. The protest was the culmination of long-term discontent over the lack of engagement on diversity and inclusion issues on RISD’s campus. Under the leadership of President Rosanne Somerson, RISD has been taking measures to promote inclusivity,

wrote Jaime Marland, director of public relations at RISD, in an email to The Herald. In February, Somerson convened a Social Equity Action working group composed of students, faculty members and staff members to propose proinclusivity changes to RISD, she wrote. “Our charge is really to look over and assess what RISD is currently doing,” said Patricia Barbeito, a member of the SEA and a RISD professor. But there have already been a number of diversity action plans implemented in the past, including an effort to bring artists, speakers and cultural theorists to campus whose works address social inequity and difference, Barbeito said. “But the fact remains that the picture of students and faculty (members) … is nowhere near what we would like,” Barbeito said. Today, students demand that course curricula address issues of social inequality and reflect a greater diversity of artists, she said. Professors should rethink their assumptions and take into consideration the various identities of the students in their classrooms, she added. The RISD core curriculum is limited in scope, said Sebastian Niculescu ’20, a dual-degree student at RISD/Brown who uses the pronouns they, them and their. Art history, for example, offers a “Euro-centric survey of art,” they added. Though some professors make attempts to include art from non-European backgrounds, it is concerning when one lecture covers 1,000 years of African art while another covers only 20 years of European art, they said. “It’s strange that RISD only employs one professor who specializes in East Asian art,” said Jack Sivan, a sophomore at RISD. “Students aren’t required to be worldly literate in any way, which is problematic,” Sivan said, adding that the lack of faculty diversity — both with regard to personal identities and intellectual backgrounds — perpetuates homogeneous conversations. But the underrepresentation of diverse narratives in lectures can affect the student experience in more subtle ways than final grades, Niculescu said. Professors at RISD are endowed with a specific power to decide what is good and bad art, and as such, they should be sensitive to a greater diversity of artistic backgrounds, they added. Critique sessions, where students present their work to their classmates

and professors, can also lack engagement, Niculescu said. “Whenever someone makes a piece about race, sexuality, gender identity … it will be silent in the room,” they said, adding that people will make superficial comments about technical choices instead of discussing how well the piece communicates underlying themes or achieves its goals. “We are here to be the creators of culture,” Niculescu said, but it is difficult to do that well when people are not willing to critique controversial pieces or discuss certain topics. There is a sense that “they can’t speak about (certain) things because they have privilege,” they added. Roger Williams University At Roger Williams University, “students are becoming politicized about what they need,” said Laura D’Amore, assistant professor of American Studies at RWU. Faculty members are required to attend workshops that address topics such as Title IX and its implications in the campus’s context, as well as broader topics like the RWU mission statement, which stresses tolerance, civil discourse and civic duty, she added. Change “is happening in pockets,” but it is unclear whether the mainstream population is as engaged in or aware of the issues that some student activists are bringing to the forefront, D’Amore said. “The president and the administration (do) such a good job of making a stink that they’re doing something, but they’re really not,” said Aleksander Kusik, a student at RWU. In recent years, the college has created a multitude of programs and initiatives that have not proved particularly effective, he added. For example, despite a multi-year search, RWU has still yet to hire a chief diversity officer, Kusik said. Without a professional, paid CDO position, there is no one on campus “whose job it is to diversify the school,” he added. In addition, Kusik advocated for the creation of a black studies department at RWU. “There need to be courses that students are forced to take,” he said, adding that the current core curriculum has a Euro-centric focus and no explicit diverse perspectives requirement. This allows students to “easily graduate RWU without learning a thing about white privilege,” Kusik said. The result of this homogeneity is a campus dialogue where student activists often feel the backlash of the mainstream

majority, said Marquis Caesar, a member of the Multicultural Student Union at RWU. “A lot of people use the First Amendment to the best of their ability,” he said. Caesar added that the invention of Yik-Yak is “one of the worst things ever to happen to college campuses,” as it has given students an anonymous platform to post racist comments. Students also noted that the funding system for clubs at RWU is disadvantageous to social justice and multicultural groups. Funding is decided and delegated by the student-elected student council, and social justice-oriented clubs receive the least funding, Kusik said. Though the MSU had the largest percent increase in funding this year, the club was still not given the $40,000 it asked for, which would be used to bring speakers to campus, said John Rice, a member of the student council and MSU. In contrast, the student campus center, which hands out free t-shirts and sunglasses, receives $500,000 every year, Rice said. “When we approach (the student council) with a food event, they ask us: ‘Why do we have to support what looks like a list of groceries?’” said Thuy Nguyen, former president of the Asian Student Association and a RWU graduate. During her time at the ASA, Nguyen would often be in charge of organizing events that involved serving food from different cultures. The student council’s resistance to funding food events suggested that it viewed the events as trivial, Nguyen said, but food is an integral way that members of different cultures express themselves and unite their communities. Despite funding difficulties, clubs like the MSU and the ASA are spaces for students to discuss diversity and identity, Nguyen said. “Within the clubs, we did well because we had a comfortable environment for closing the gaps of not just Asian-American students, but international students as well,” she added. But at times, it is difficult to bridge the gap between the communities that form within multicultural student groups and the greater RWU community, Nguyen said. During her time at RWU, Nguyen said issues of diversity were brought up only once in a while. RWU should think about moving the discussion of diversity to more casual, colloquial settings because diversity, cultural differences and racial issues are daily realities, she said.

SPORTS

PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

BASEBALL

Bears split series against Dartmouth to open division play Strong pitching from Taugner ’17, Ritchie ’17 helps Bruno capture two victories over Big Green By BEN SHUMATE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The baseball team opened Red Rolfe division play at home last weekend, facing Dartmouth (11-20, 5-5) in a four-game series before squaring off against UMass Lowell Tuesday. Brown 4, Dartmouth 2 Bruno (11-19, 5-7 Ivy) opened the series Saturday with ace pitcher Christian Taugner ’17 on the mound. Brown got the scoring started in the third inning with a pair of runs then doubled the lead in the fifth with a twoRBI double from Noah Shulman ’16. For Taugner, who holds a leaguebest 2.25 earned run average, the fourrun cushion was more than enough. The Big Green added two runs in the sixth, but Taugner regrouped to finish off the complete-game effort. The junior only needed 79 pitches to secure his fifth win of the season. Dartmouth starter Duncan Robinson struck out 10 in six innings but was charged with the loss. The Bears totaled eight hits off Robinson, including two each from Brian Ginsberg ’18, Kevin Guthrie ’16 and Josh Huntley ’17. Dartmouth 4, Brown 3 Saturday’s nine-inning contest followed a similar pace as the first game, as offense came few and far between. Reid Anderson ’18 got the start for Bruno, facing off against Dartmouth’s Cole O’Connor. Bruno led 2-1 into the sixth, but the Big Green took the lead with three runs off three hits and a pair of walks. Anderson was pulled from the game with one out in the inning, finishing

the day with four earned runs allowed off nine hits and four walks. Bruno got one run back in the seventh from an RBI single by Sam Grigo ’18 to pull within one. Brown’s bullpen held the game close, as JJ Sliepka ’19, Robbie Stephens ’19 and Dante Bosnic ’18 combined to hold the Big Green scoreless over the last 3.2 innings. “Our bullpen has been as good as anyone’s in the league,” said Head Coach Grant Achilles. But Brown wouldn’t fare any better offensively, striking out three times in the ninth and ending the game with the tying run on second base. While all of Dartmouth’s runs were earned, Bruno made three errors in the game. “Not to take anything away from teams that we’ve already played, but (Dartmouth has) historically been very, very good. And this year is no different,” Achilles said. “This weekend was another challenge and they kept us off balance.” Dartmouth 15, Brown 0 Sunday’s opener got away from the Bears in the later innings in a rough game for the pitching staff. Dartmouth opened a 4-0 lead after three innings against Brown starter Austin French ’16. French allowed another run in the fifth, which would ultimately be his last inning, on a wild pitch. Despite allowing five earned runs on six hits and four walks, the senior added seven strikeouts. Dartmouth put the contest out of reach with five runs in both the sixth and seventh innings against Grant Greeno ’18 and Matt Beyer ’19, respectively. On the other side, Dartmouth’s Beau Sulser dominated start to finish against the Bears, allowing just four hits and striking out five over seven innings of work to earn the win.

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Dartmouth outfielder Matt Feinstein watches a pitch sail by for a strike. Brown pitchers combined for 26 strikeouts during the weekend series against Dartmouth and University of Massachusetts Lowell. Rob Henry ’17 and Shulman had the only extra-base hits for the Bears, each doubling in the game. Brown 2, Dartmouth 0 The Bears could not dwell long on the loss as their final contest against the Big Green was soon underway. The team was encouraged to put the previous game behind it and focus on the upcoming matchup. “All I said was ‘Game one today was not who we are. Let’s show them who we are in game two,’” Achilles said. Bruno went for the series split in Sunday’s final game with Max Ritchie ’17 on the mound. While Ritchie is not typically a weekend starter, a nonconference game Thursday against the University of Rhode Island altered the team’s plan for the weekend. The Bears jumped out to a lead in the bottom of the second when Ginsberg and Guthrie knocked in runs in the second and third, respectively, to

put Brown up 2-0. Ritchie held the lead for Brown in his second start, allowing just two hits and no runs in his five innings. Sliepka — the usual Sunday afternoon starter — and Bosnic continued their solid weekend with a combined four innings of scoreless relief. Bosnic allowed a pair of singles in the top of the ninth, but struck out Dartmouth’s Rob Emery with the tying run on first base to end the game. Brown pitchers allowed just four hits in a combined effort, while six different Bears registered a hit in the contest. The veterans on the team’s roster contributed to the team’s ability to come back and split the series Sunday, Achilles said. “We have players who have been through the Ivy League season before,” he added. “They know that each game is different.” “I think the fact that we came back from such a lopsided loss today in the

first game … says a lot about our arms and our team,” Achilles said. UMass Lowell 9, Brown 8 The Bears employed an unusual pitching strategy in order to preserve their arms for weekend tilts against Harvard. Sam Hauser ’17 got the start against the River Hawks but only went two innings after giving up three earned runs. The junior was relieved by five other pitchers, with Stephens lasting the longest — 3.1 innings, giving up another four runs. Henry was the catalyst behind the explosive offense, hitting two home runs for four RBI on the day. Unfortunately for Bruno, Steve Passatempo matched Henry’s RBI total and the River Hawks added an extra hit for the ultimate one-run edge. Saturday and Sunday, Brown faces off against Harvard, with whom they are tied for third place in the Red Rolfe Division.

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

h e a d i n t h e c lo u d s

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Honey Boo Boo, Mushroom’s Revenge, Sausage and Spicy Garlic Po’ Boys / Rich Boys JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

Beef Chili, Hearty Veggie Soup Naked Burritos

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Vegetable Egg Roll, Honey Citrus Chicken Saute, Pasta Primavera, Frosted Brownies

Vegan Oven Roasted Tofu, Beef Chow Mein, Red Fish Provencal, Orange Delight Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Fried Clam Sandwich, Vegan Gumbo Casserole, Sauteed Spinach, Frosted Brownies

Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Tofu, Green Pepper Steak, Asian Vegetables, Orange Delight Cake

sudoku MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD

The sky has slowly but steadily become sunnier as spring advances to welcome flocks of pre-frosh visiting College Hill, who will be introduced to Faunce and, more importantly, their first Blue Room muffins.

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

“Which one is worse: to become complicit in my own oppression as a black woman, or to speak out (and face)

”

real consequences?

— Julia Jorden-Zachery, professor and director of black studies at PC

RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, April 20, 2016

See ri diversity on page 3.

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c rNorris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich ACROSS 1 Jellied garnish 6 Northwestern pear 10 Farm youngster 14 Good, in Granada 15 Chorus syllables 16 Give __ to: approve 17 Trader for whom a northwest Oregon city was named 18 __ impasse 19 Texas flag symbol 20 Part of the Three Little Pigs’ chant 23 Baby beaver 24 Mouse-spotter’s shriek 25 Extremely wellpitched 26 Gray shade 27 Multilayered, as cakes 30 Clean Air Act administrative gp. 33 Heads, in slang 36 Persian Gulf cargo 37 The “Original Formula,” sodawise 41 “__ go!” 42 French 101 verb 43 Pot contents 44 Bakes, as 50Acrosses 46 “Star Wars” staples 48 Exit poll target 50 Breakfast food 51 “Pow!” 54 Provincetown rental 57 Roast, in Rouen 58 Antelope Island state 59 Lesson at the end 60 Arabian Peninsula port 61 Went by skateboard 62 Take in

63 Get one’s feet wet 64 Mesozoic and Paleozoic 65 Slangy craving DOWN 1 One way to be taken 2 Japanese finger food 3 __ four: teacake 4 Privy to 5 Eye part 6 Subject for Stephen Hawking 7 Promise 8 Killed, as a dragon 9 Is unable to 10 Supermarket employees 11 Like the Sherman Act 12 Deal with interest 13 New Deal pres. 21 Basic question type 22 Spanish girl 28 Falco of “Oz”

29 Prefix with pod 30 They record beats per min. 31 Friend of Tigger 32 Switched on 34 Compete in a box 35 Braking sounds 38 Medication used for dilating pupils 39 Bistro offering 40 “Unhand me!” 45 Tie tightly

47 High-ranking NCO 49 Turbine blade 51 Industry honcho 52 Wide open 53 Runs down the mountain, maybe 54 Musical finale 55 Man Ray genre 56 Commotion 57 Wet behind the ears

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calendar

04/20/16

TODAY

APRIL

04/20/16

Islam 101 2:00 P.M. Muslim Student Center

hEarth Week Special for Wednesday 5:00 P.M. Andrews Commons

The Archive of Gestures 5:00 P.M. Granoff Center

“Banished” Film Screening 5:30 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, Room 302

TOMORROW Radiation Safety Training 10:00 A.M. Brown Office Building

Political Demography of Boko Haram 10:30 A.M. Watson Institute

Neelam Srivastava talk 12:00 P.M. English Department, Room 315

Power in Dating and Domestic Violence 8:00 P.M. Metcalf Auditorium

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

L IO R A M O R HAY I M

comics ENGNS Life | Nathan Amin

P-Branes and Bosons | Ricky Oliver

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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

The universality of the DMV ANUJ KRISHNAMURTHY staff columnist I’m not a big believer in the concept of “hell” — or, more accurately, I wasn’t, until exactly two weeks ago, when I had the tremendous misfortune of visiting the most pathetic government department in what is, almost indisputably, the most pathetic state: the Department of Motor Vehicles in New Jersey. (I’m from New Jersey, so believe me, I know what it’s like.) My mother had decided that I, having reached the age of majority six months ago, ought to learn how to drive. As a dutiful Hindu boy determined not to trash my karma more than I already have as a vacuous firstyear, I skimmed the state motorists’ manual, passed the written exam — on my second attempt, admittedly — and scheduled an appointment for a road test at the DMV during spring break. Yup, while everyone else was throwing back sketchy alcoholic beverages at seedy Mexican resorts, I was parallel-parking a Toyota Prius in a public lot. Fun times, all around.

For the uninitiated, the DMV is the mind-bogglingly miserable quintessence of American bureaucracy. It’s a libertarian’s dream: government dysfunction and civic apathy in every corner, with no inkling of hope in sight. The whole affair takes place inside an old, brutalist structure filled with scattered tattered cushion chairs, grimy linoleum floors and out-of-commission television screens. The lines for basic services are unthinkably long, and

Jesus.) My road test was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. I left the DMV, probationary license in hand and dignity systematically extracted from my soul, at 2 p.m. Yet, strangely enough, I can’t say that I came out of that ordeal, however traumatic, with nothing positive. Sure, I hated standing behind an extraordinarily heavyset man who was apparently unfamiliar with belts for three hours; yes, the place smelled like

of our individual needs. Of course, we’ve always had preferences, but now more than ever, our preferences dominate how we individually experience life. We drink fancy coffees suited to our specific tastes; we scroll down media feeds tailored to our social needs; we read news pieces that snugly match our interests. When we walk to class with cumbersome headphones fixed to our faces, we’re immersed in our own disconnected bubble — even the

What the DMV lacks in efficiency or basic human decency it more than makes up for in its inadvertent cultivation of solidarity. the folks — nay, the dispiriting gremlins — who staff the DMV are irredeemably uninspired. I don’t entirely blame them; dealing with bratty, entitled teenagers and their mollycoddling parents can be unbearable in its own right. But honestly, it’s really difficult to sympathize with someone who pronounces my very clearly Indian last name “Christian Murphy.” (As much as I’d like to be Christian, Krishna picked me earlier in the draft. Sorry,

the unholy lovechild of a McDonald’s bathroom and a Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus; indeed, under the terms of the Geneva Convention, this kind of psychosocial torment is wholly impermissible. But I did discover something. What the DMV lacks in efficiency or basic human decency it more than makes up for in its inadvertent cultivation of solidarity. We live in a time that caters, in unimaginable ways, to each

stuff we hear isn’t the same. There is, regrettably, little in common among our experiences anymore. The DMV, though, rejects our wants and imposes itself, domineeringly and without clemency, on everybody. Every adult who drives a car — most Americans — must venture to the DMV at some point in their lives to renew a license, do paperwork or get their kids a permit. And, thus, every adult who drives a car is conditioned,

with good reason, to resent the DMV absolutely. In this way, the Department of Motor Vehicles has become a universal component of American life; it transcends differences of class, race and religion, affecting, for better or for worse, every motorist. With all of the DMV’s bureaucratic impediments, the open road isn’t so open — and this is a reality that we can’t just swipe away or deselect. It’s something that all people just have to deal with, and the capacity to cope with things that aren’t comprehensively compatible with our wishes — grit, more simply — should be preserved. So, for those of you with the ill fortune of obtaining a license or taking a test at your local DMV this summer, I wish you the best of luck. But while you’re cursing out the rude receptionist under your breath or lamenting the lengthy queues, remember: There are very few things on which all Americans can unconditionally agree, and the complete inutility of the DMV is one of them. That’s something worth savoring.

Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19 can be reached at anuj_krishnamurthy@brown.edu.

Adulthood: Are we there yet? FABIANA VILSAN staff columnist As college students, we often rely on our parents for guidance and money, live with roommates we didn’t choose, depend on grades for validation from our professors and base our eating patterns off of cafeteria menu rotations. We sound like a bunch of kids. Yet, the minute we turned 18, we could vote for our next president, die for our country, get married without parental consent (in 48 states) and be selected for jury duty. Doesn’t seem like the best system, does it? As a college student stuck in the middle of this paradox, I can’t help but wonder when I’ll stop being a kid and magically transition into adulthood. Looking back at my childhood, I remember seeing my parents as individuals who could do no wrong. How many times have you heard the phrase: “Listen to your parents, they know best?” I even remember seeing university students as independent adults, studying and living alone, knowing what’s best, just like my parents. But some short years later, as a university student studying and living independently, I’m not sure what to call myself. I’m still stuck in a place

where I’m constantly running around trying to avoid doing laundry and praying that by graduation taxes will be obsolete, jobs will be unlimited, and rent in Manhattan will be free. When will I become the adult I saw in my parents? Maybe the answer to adulthood lies in science. Is there a moment when our adolescent brains finally mature into adult ones? A recent New York Times article seems to suggest otherwise, stating that the age restrictions that college students know so well are largely arbitrary and

is bound to mature faster than individuals who haven’t experienced a similar burden. This case makes a similar point that laws that dictate our maturity at certain ages are arbitrary because they have no way to account for the millions of diverse stories associated with the individual behind the wheel or at the bar. Maybe the real problem is that our definition of maturity is incomplete or simply inadequate. Merriam-Webster defines an adult as an individual that is fully grown and developed.

Assigning an age to adulthood is largely arbitrary, and adulthood itself is inherently individualized. rarely based on scientific fact. Cognitive maturity is only loosely related to laws allowing us to drive and drink on a specific birthday. Some of us may simply have brains that are quicker to develop into know-it-all adults, while others may have brains that fancy themselves the Peter Pans of neuroscience. Maybe it has more to do with personal experience and social context. The individual who is forced to care for his or her family at a young age

But these words are incredibly vague. Aren’t we constantly developing as human beings? Some of us may always be children at heart, regardless of what our bodies and brains have decided for us. It’s clear that we cannot pinpoint the exact moment we become adults. Was it the day we stopped conversing about cartoon characters and started debating philosophical questions? Will it be the day when we no longer depend

on our parents for financial support? Or is it the day we stop asking for permission to do things? How about the day we have our own children who turn to us for answers and explanations? Will we know what’s best by then? Assigning an age to adulthood is largely arbitrary, and adulthood itself is inherently individualized. In my experience, being a university student has been a welcome niche in my life journey, as I am neither expected to be an adult, nor am I treated as a child. Perhaps if we as a society accepted looser definitions of adulthood, we would be able to enjoy the stage of our life that we are currently in without getting caught up in semantics. I remember a time when all I wanted to do was grow up already. My parents could choose to have desert before dinner, but I was forced to eat my vegetables in silent resentment. As a college student staring down the barrel of lifelong responsibility, eating some broccoli doesn’t seem like the highest price to pay for a care-free existence. But then again, having desert before dinner on my university campus sure beats preschool.

Fabiana Vilsan ’19 can be reached at fabiana_vilsan@brown.edu.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016

» WEST BANK, from page 1

COURTESY OF JULIAN JIGGETS

No students have applied to study in the West Bank since the policy change. Those who wish to study in Israel or Palestine must sign a liability waiver.

COURTESY OF JULIAN JIGGETS

Middle Eastern Studies concentrator Julian Jiggets ’16 said he visited the West Bank while studying abroad in Israel.

to the two locations — a student studying near any area deemed high risk by the State Department must sign a similar waiver, Mandel said. Students who studied abroad in Israel before the new policy was enacted still managed to visit the West Bank during their time abroad. Benjamin Williams ’16, who studied abroad in Tel Aviv in fall 2014, said he visited the Palestinian territories at least once every two weeks by bus. Williams said he often traveled with Palestinians commuting to work or visiting family in Jerusalem. “I never had any problems there and never felt very unsafe. Towards the end I would often travel alone,” he added. “If you’re visiting Israel and you don’t go to the West Bank, then you fundamentally do not understand what’s happening” with the Israel-Palestine conflict, Williams said. Julian Jiggets ’16 said he felt that studying in the Palestinian territories also would have provided him with a new perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Jiggets also traveled to the West Bank while he studied abroad in Jerusalem from late 2014 to early 2015. A Middle Eastern studies concentrator, he wanted to study Arabic, a skill that would have been easier to cultivate had he studied in the Palestinian territories. “Had I had the chance, I would have loved to live in Palestine and see what it was like to live in an occupied territory,” Jiggets said. “If I’d had the option to study in Palestine, I would have gone abroad again in a heartbeat.”

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