SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 38
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Tahir ’19 elected next UCS president Dean of College to serve Pelsinger ’20 chosen as as president of Williams vice president, Schold ’19 to be next UFB chair, De Georgia ’20 vice chair
Maud Mandel to bring collaborative leadership, administrative experience to new role July 1, 2018
By MELANIE PINCUS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Shanzé Tahir ’19 was elected the next president of the Undergraduate Council of Students and Camila Pelsinger ’20 was elected the next vice president, announced co-chairs of the UCS election board Katherine Barry ’19 and Kathryn Stack ’19 Thursday night on the steps of the Stephen Roberts ’62 Campus Center. Lisa Schold ’19 won the race for chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board, and Julian De Georgia ’20 ran unopposed for UFB vice chair. All elected will assume their positions next semester. Tahir received 82 percent of 2,274 votes to defeat Fabrice Guyot-Sionnest ’20. Neither currently holds a position in UCS. Pelsinger, current UCS chair of campus life, overtook William Zhou ’20, chair of student activities, with 57 percent of the 2,193 votes cast for the position. Schold, former UCS-UFB liaison, defeated current UFB Vice Chair Drew To ’19, for the title of UFB chair
By LYDIA DEFUSTO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
SAM BERUBE / HERALD
Co-chairs of the UCS elections board Katherine Barry ’19 (left) and Kathryn Stack ’19 (right) announced the results of the election Thursday night. with about 72 percent of the approxi- admissions. mately 1,550 votes cast. De Georgia, The referendum asked whether the currently an at-large UFB member, University should “disclose all internally received 1,280 votes. written admissions policies and disagAbout 81 percent of students — gregated data about legacy treatment” 1,903 of the 2,355 who voted — favored and further “charge a joint committee the referendum concerning legacy » See UCS, page 3
Dean of the College Maud Mandel will step down as dean and serve as the 18th president of Williams College starting July 1, according to a March 13 University press release. “Maud embodies the values at our core and will provide exceptional leadership as we continue to pursue our shared aspirations for Williams,” wrote Michael Eisenson, chair of the Williams College Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search committee, in an email to The Herald. “It will be a joy to welcome her to the college and to work with her in the years to come.” Mandel first came to the University in 1997 as a visiting assistant professor of history, joined the faculty permanently in 2001 and was promoted to full professor of history
and Judaic studies as well as dean of the college in 2014. President Christina Paxson P’19 said she remembers how Mandel’s “deep commitment to the quality of undergraduate education” was evident when the University first interviewed her for the position of dean. “She loves teaching. She loves students. She loves faculty,” Paxson said. Of all that Mandel has accomplished during her time as dean of the college, Mandel highlighted her work to help create the First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center, the Learning Collaborative in the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, BrownConnect, Wintersession and the 1st Year @ Brown advising module as some of her proudest accomplishments as dean of the college. Provost Richard Locke P’18 described many of these as “critical initiatives” that “advanced excellence and strengthened our community,” in an email to The Herald. “I worked in teams with people — with students, with faculty and with incredibly devoted and committed » See MANDEL, page 3
U. librarian finds drawings of Lincoln Alyza Benotto ’18 Nast’s first rough leads tennis to victory Thomas sketches of Abraham Tennis star helps end team’s drought, crushes Stony Brook University in both singles, doubles By TESS DEMEYER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Before notching a 6-1 victory over Stony Brook University, the women’s tennis team (6-7) had not won a match in a month. But the Bears broke the drought Saturday as Alyza Benotto ’18 contributed two points to the team score and helped put Bruno on top. The veteran paired up with first-year teammate Semi Oloko ’21 to down the Seawolves (4-4) 6-2 and secure the doubles point for Brown before going on to dominate her singles match, winning 6-0, 6-1.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK For her clutch performances and leadership on the court, Benotto received Brown University Athletics Student-Athlete of the Week honors and has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.
INSIDE
Herald: Congratulations on the win! What was going through your head during your doubles and singles matches? Benotto: Thank you! For doubles I’m playing with a (first-year), Semi Oloko, so I kind of have to show her the ropes while we’re playing, get her pumped up and manage her while managing me, too, which is a challenge but fun at the same time. … Our biggest issue (in doubles) is that we’re not aggressive enough sometimes. So my job is to try to at least make us come to the net more, poach and always keep (Oloko) hyped up, because if we fall flat, we’ll make stupid errors. In singles, to be honest, I just played really well. … I was playing super steady. My serve was really good. Do you get nervous during matches? How do you handle the nerves? Yeah, my hands get really, really clammy when I play. Even in the middle of a point, I have to wipe it on my skirt because I get so nervous. When you get nervous, it shuts down your body. You’re almost like paralyzed. » See AOTW, page 2
Lincoln discovered in Hay by Edward Widmer By TRISHA THACKER STAFF WRITER
Renowned cartoonist Thomas Nast’s first rough sketches of Abraham Lincoln were recently uncovered at the John Hay Library by Edward Widmer, a historian, librarian and the former director of the John Carter Brown library. The sketches were made by Nast in New York City in early 1861. New York was one of the last stops on Lincoln’s trip from Springfield, Illinois to Washington D.C. after his election as president, said Associate Professor of History Michael Vorenberg, who has studied Lincoln extensively. “It is a really interesting moment to imagine,” he said. “We don’t have many pictures of Lincoln when he (was) president-elect. The real important reason is the coinciding of two very famous people — Lincoln and Thomas Nast,” he added. Widmer, who discovered the sketches, explained that the sketches were done during a dangerous time in
TIFFANY DING / HERALD
Librarian Edward Widmer discovered Nast’s pencil sketches while conducting research at the Hay for his upcoming book on Lincoln. Lincoln’s life, as he was traveling in full view of the public amid several rumors regarding assassination attempts. Widmer uncovered the drawings while conducting research at the Hay for his upcoming book on Lincoln. “I have been looking at Thomas Nast’s scrapbook for half a year,” Widmer said. He noticed the sketches tucked away on a side of the scrapbook that was
slightly difficult to see. Widmer described the pencil sketches as drawn very rapidly by Nast and successful in catching the essence of Lincoln’s face. “I think, as works of art, they are more exciting than his more finished drawings because they are more spontaneous and have more feeling,” he said. » See LINCOLN, page 2
WEATHER
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018
NEWS Journalism Competition and Preservation Act would exempt newspapers from anti-trust laws
SCIENCE & RESEARCH U. scientists discover link between glutamate, mood through experiment with ADHD drugs
COMMENTARY Aman ’20: Professors take away students’ freedom to chose by banning laptops from classrooms
COMMENTARY Klein ’20: The injury-plagued Warriors will not dominate the NBA playoffs this season
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NEWS
PAGE 2 • FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
R.I. senator introduces bill to support news, media industry Cicilline, D-R.I., backs media in negotiations with tech giants, concerns over anti-trust laws By ISABEL ALEXIADES STAFF WRITER
As digitalization makes information increasingly accessible, the field of journalism has evolved to survive. U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., voiced his support for the news and media industry when he introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act March 7. The act would exempt newspaper publishers from antitrust laws, which would allow them to collectively negotiate with tech giants such as Google and Facebook, according to a press release from Cicilline’s office. As the leading Democrat on the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, Cicilline acknowledged the undermining effect that antitrust laws have on newspapers. In order to preserve competition, the laws prevent businesses from forming alliances; however, the uneven power dynamic between newspapers and tech giants leaves news organizations without substantial negotiating power. “This bill empowers local newspapers to negotiate collectively with the biggest technology platforms to ensure consumers have access to the best journalism possible,” Cicilline said in the
press statement. The act was backed by publications nationwide and received resounding support from the News Media Alliance, a trade association that represents approximately 2,000 news media outlets across the country. “We act as a watchdog to ensure that … those with power are held accountable so that the masses are educated and we can continue to have a healthy democracy,” said Vice President of Government Affairs at News Media Alliance, Danielle Coffey. The debate surrounding the relationship between tech platforms and the news industry is especially pertinent given recent anxieties about fake news. As more people access news through channels like Facebook and Google, the News Media Alliance has become distanced from its readers and lost some control over how content is delivered, Coffey said. “More people come to news sites through side doors, such as a Google search or Facebook newsfeed, than go to the (newspaper) home page, look through, and decide what they want to read,” said Rick Edmonds, a media and business analyst at the Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism school in St. Petersburg, Florida. The changing nature of journalism has created a revenue problem for the field, he added. According to Coffey, 75 percent of referral traffic for the News Media
DAPHNE ZHAO / HERALD
Alliance comes from Google and Facebook. With this dominant source, the association must work with its tech partners to help meet its members’ funding needs, she added. Digital ad spending and subscriptions are two significant sources of revenue for many publishers. Coffey asserted that laws such as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act would ensure that quality journalism is rewarded monetarily, which is necessary to sustain accurate and accessible news. Jonathan Readey, senior lecturer in English and co-director of the Nonfiction Writing Program, agrees that substantial funding for news outlets
» AOTW, from page 1
don’t revert back to pushing. … Just be brave is my mental goal.
Then your legs go, and once your legs go, you’re like, “Oh my god, I can’t run!” And then your arms go, and you’re like, “Oh my god, I can’t swing!” Then you’re freaking out. … It’s tennis, so you can’t sub someone in. You have to sit there and just reset and breathe. … My trick is to take really deep breaths, and I say weird things to myself. I say “blank.” I just keep repeating “blank” in my head because then I don’t think about anything but that one neutral word.
As your tennis career at Brown comes to a close, what will you miss the most? I’ll miss just being an athlete. It’s kind of a sense of pride … you work hard at something. There’s an end goal with your team. After that, it’s kind of like, “Okay, now what?” If I’m going to play tennis, it’s going to be for myself, and that’s a lot of work. I’ll definitely miss the team aspect of it. What are your plans post-graduation? I go back and forth because my family is like super “go pro, go pro, go pro.” But I want to see how I am at the end of the season. If my body is still in great shape and no injuries. If my spirit’s not broken. … The optimal life path would be to get a job and maybe train on the side. … Maybe work for a year, and if I’m still feeling it, maybe try to go pro.
Do you have any superstitions or pre-game rituals? I’m really superstitious on the court. When I walk, I don’t walk on the lines. … I have two separate balls depending on which side I serve on. … If I put my waters down to my right and I lose the game, I’m like, “Alright, that obviously didn’t work. Gotta move it.” If something works, I don’t change. If I mess up, obviously I jinxed myself, so I change everything. How did you first start playing tennis? My mom, when she was in her twenties, dated this professional tennis player. They broke up, but ever since then, she was like “Oh my god, tennis is amazing. I love it so much.” … I’m from (Los Angeles), and our family and a bunch of other families were part of this country club. All of the parents threw us into tennis just so the moms could talk and hang out. The coach, one day, was like, “Alyza’s actually pretty good. You should get her private lessons.” … Then I started to do private lessons, and here I am. … I was training to be pro, but I wanted to go to college first.
is necessary to ensure journalism is equipped to serve the public. It is “important to have adequate compensation, so that people will be motivated to do the stories and coverage that are necessary for a functioning society,” Readey said. Tech companies are also working to preserve high-quality media outlets. At a press briefing in New York March 20, Google announced its intentions to pledge $300 million to “strengthen quality journalism.” The Google News Initiative would make it easier for Google users to subscribe to news sites by allowing them to transfer billing information already on file with Google.
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Alyza Benotto ‘18 broke a month-long drought for the tennis team last weekend. She hopes to go to the NCAA championships this season. Is there a player you model your game after? My favorite player is Serena Williams just because she’s a beast, and she’s from (Los Angeles). My old coach used to be (Maria) Sharapova’s coach, so he modeled my strokes after her — at least my backhand. What are your personal goals
and the team goals for the rest of the season? For team goals, it’s definitely win (the Ivy League Championships). That’s always our main one, because if we win Ivies, we get a ticket to NCAAs. … I want a ring for sure. Our text group chat is “ring season.” Individually, win all my matches from here on out. Play my game style and
What has been your favorite memory of your collegiate tennis career? I really, really like traveling with the team. Whenever we go somewhere, it’s always super fun. Two years ago, we went to Florida for spring break. We got time to go to the beach, and it was just fun to be somewhere else with your closest friends. The Bears will travel to Florida over spring break to face off against the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida before returning to New England for a slate of Ivy League matches. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This development would help facilitate the necessary funding for journalists, Coffey said. The Google News Initiative would also set up several projects to combat “fake news,” such as MediaWise, a partnership with Poynter, Stanford University and the Local Media Association to develop a digital literacy curriculum, CNN reported. Coffey expressed her optimism for the future and hope that the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act will pass. It would “give high quality, trustworthy sources the ability to thrive, and I think that that would be a very concrete, real world impact that everybody would benefit from,” she said. Edmonds said that while the bill would provide a significant benefit to journalists, he is doubtful that it will pass. “We’re talking about something introduced by a Democrat when those in charge … are not very wild about the press,” Edmonds said. “So, it’s probably an uphill climb.” However, Edmond, Coffey and Readey all expressed their belief that while technology has created new challenges for the journalism industry, the field will remain relevant. “I certainly feel like it’s just the beginning for journalism,” Readey said. “In many ways, it’s a growing frontier, and it’s necessary to lay down policies that will continue to ensure the free and correct flow of information.”
» LINCOLN, from page 1 These sketches occupy a unique place in Nast’s oeuvre: They are not as polished as his later works and seem to have been completed in a hurry. In addition, they feature close-ups of Lincoln’s face, a departure from Nast’s later emphasis on including other people in his portraits of the former president. Nast’s scrapbook provides comprehensive insight into the artist’s creative process, said Holly Snyder, the curator of American Historical Collections and the History of Science Collection at the Hay. “It was one of his work tools,” she said. “He put everything in it. He pasted in photographs, original sketches and other sources of inspiration,” she added. The scrapbook belongs to the McLellan Lincoln collection, which was purchased by Brown alum John Rockefeller, Jr. in 1923, Synder said. According to the library’s website, the Charles Woodberry McLellan Collection of Lincolniana comprises over 30,000 primary historical sources pertaining to Lincoln. The library also holds private secretary and assistant to Lincoln John Hay’s (1858) papers on Lincoln. “The Lincoln collection is a piece of its time,” Synder said. “It is one of the best Lincoln collections in the country and is used by scholars, researchers and undergraduates.”
Issue
In This
Summertime Eating
Emerson Tenney 3
The Value of Simplicity
Andrew Liu 2 TAL FRIEDEN 4
Cyborgs, Not Goddesses ELENA RENKEN 5
Two Voices Carry Julian Towers 6
Sad Spring Break Forever
postCover by Rémy Poisson
MAR 23
VOL 21 —
ISSUE 8
FEATURES
The Value of Simplicity
I
A Conversation with the Brown Marching Band written By Andrew Liu – illustrated by Rémy Poisson
t has almost been one year since I last played music with a band. At
Letter from the Editor
the start of my freshman year, I made the difficult choice to drop music and set aside time for other pursuits, and up until now I had swept feelings of regret and treasured band memories to the back of my mind. After all, wasn’t college the time to knuckle down, pick your priorities, and move forward? I recently had the opportunity, however, to sit down with the e-board of the Brown Band, and in half an hour I was reminded of the joy and magic I found in symphonic band. Instead of playing in concerts, marching band members play at football games, marching in complex patterns and showing off their uniforms as they do so. A marching band typically performs on the field during halftime, when the energy in the stadium is at its highest. In front of such crowds, players need to have stage presence in addition to musical ability. But while marching band is very different from symphonic band, there is one quality that they share: in band, life is distilled down to just the music and people around you. The Brown Band dates back to 1924, when then freshman Irving Harris founded it, stunned to hear that the university did not have a marching band. Beginning with a makeshift group of 26, the Brown Band was born with Harris wielding a baton made from a mop handle as its tenacious leader.
Fields Considered "Industries" by Shiru Cafe
Dear Readers, Spring break is upon us, and I am looking
covered too, with a chronicle of the Brown
forward to fleeing to an even more rainy
Marching Band’s antics (distance from their
Dublin. I’m also looking forward, however,
trumpets will probably help foster fond
to taking a copy of Post- with me: perhaps
feelings) as well as a review of the Lucius
1. Dairy
I’ll leave it behind in an Irish cafe (or let’s
concert this past weekend. For good measure,
2. Outsourcing / Offspring
be honest, pub), and someone 3,000 miles
we also have a review on XXXTentacion’s new
away will have a good chuckle learning
album, through which I learned more about
about Brown’s Marching Band. I urge you,
Soundcloud rap than I thought I ever would.
gentle reader, to take a copy with you too,
3. Computer Game 4.
Semiconductors
5. Alternative Dispute Resolution
no matter how far your travels take you this
Ideas for our last issues of the semester?
week, and leave it behind for an unsuspecting
Thoughts on the Spring Weekend lineup?
passerbyer.
Tips for what to do in Ireland besides hanging
7. Building Materials
out with sheep? Let me know at post@
8. Paper & Forest products
To get you in the mood for spring break, we
browndailyherald.com.
bring you an exploration of Berlin Art Week and a rumination on multi-generational family get-togethers. If you for some reason miss Brown and Providence, we’ve got you
Happy Spring Break!
Saanya - EDITOR IN CHIEF
2!post–
The first experiences of many of the band members today are no less unique. For David Cabatingan ’21, a saxophonist in the band, “ADOCH really cemented for me that it was a great community to be a part of, with people all across campus and in classes that I know.” Adam Mercier ’19, Vice President of the Band Board, remembers that at the first rehearsal, “Everybody got on their chairs and started playing ‘Al.’ I was like...what the heck? I couldn’t leave after seeing what I saw.” Sofia Frohna ’20, Corresponding Secretary (“CorSec”), found herself pulled in without any previous experience with a band instrument: “I don’t play an actual band instrument, but I do have a melodica, which is a sort of a keyboardhorn. I was like, ‘Can I play this?’ And they were like, ‘Sure! Just find a section to join.’ The flute section leader at the time just took me in and welcomed me into the band.” For Natalie Delworth ’19, Head Student Conductor, “I saw people playing percussion, and I always wanted to try the drums or cymbals. They said they could just teach me to play the cymbals, that of course I could join.” The band also tries to make it easy for those with other time commitments to participate. Kelvin Wong ’20, Business Manager (“money god”), says, “I was in marching band in high school, but I didn’t like having to practice. The Brown Band...it’s like doing marching band S/NC.”
6. Import & Export
9. Defence & Space 10. Ranching *This top 10 list is not endorsed by Shiru Cafe, but these categories are 100% real
NARRATIVE Waves of laughter greet each response at the table. It’s the type of laughter that is loose, free, and incredibly contagious. Immediately after Kelvin’s response, the board discussed using “it’s like doing marching band S/NC” as a slogan on one of the band’s buttons. Sofia explained that the band has been making buttons during football seasons for decades, which foster interactions among spectators and other teams. Sophia recalls, “A guy at the Fenway game was like, ‘Oh! This is a great button! I’ve been
with many memorable experiences. Summer says, “We go caroling around campus every semester to spread cheer before finals. This year it was pouring rain. Sophia and I went around giving hot chocolate to people. It was a wild experience walking on the street, pouring rain and pushing a cart with hot chocolate, but it was so nice to see people’s day brighten because of it.” Other band events stand out to different members. For Gaby, it is commencement: “Walking down that hill during commencement, with
Full of wit and humor, past buttons have read “Ted Cruz ’92 is the Zodiac Killer” (Princeton, 2017), “Big Red What?” (Cornell, 2015), “Rotten to the Core Curriculum” (Columbia, 2007), to name just a few. collecting them for 30 years!’ Other schools really enjoy the fact that we make buttons. At the Fenway game, Dartmouth actually gave us buttons, which was a really nice gesture. We become really close with other bands.” Full of wit and humor, past buttons have read “Ted Cruz ’92 is the Zodiac Killer” (Princeton, 2017), “Big Red What?” (Cornell, 2015), “Rotten to the Core Curriculum” (Columbia, 2007), to name just a few. For this year’s home game, the button is simply a picture of Blueno. Another band tradition is equally unique, in addition to being visually stunning: the Brown Band on ice. In fact, Brown boasts the world’s only ice skating band. The Brown Band performs an ice show after two to three games during Hockey Season. Summer Gerry ’20, General Manager (“mom”), says, “You don’t have to know how to skate to join the band. Many people haven’t even seen ice. I host Learn to Skate, where we all learn together and have a great time.” For those who still don’t have a knack for it, there is nothing to fear. “I have often been dragged around the ice by someone who knows how to skate while I’m playing,” says Sofia, “which really just shows the level of support in the band.” One of the most enduring traditions, however, is returning to campus. “We have a lot of alumni that come back,” says Gaby Usabal ’19, President of the Band Board. “We have alumni ice shows. We have an alumni game. At commencement, alumni and current members play together. Even the guy who started the buttons comes back.” At the meeting, I noticed several black-and-white photos of previous groups skating. Adam mentions recently finding “a video of an ice show from 1980, a reminder of our unbroken chain of tradition.” These relics are a reminder of how solid the foundations of this group are, and it makes perfect sense that a group with such spirit and camaraderie lives on after graduation. “That sense of community transcends your time here at Brown. The band itself has never changed, spreading cheer and goofiness,” adds Gaby. Natalie agrees: “Part of the reason I love this group is that we all just love being goofs together. It’s a connection I still want to have in my later adult years.” Participating in the Brown Band also comes
everyone cheering and alumni there...it’s such an emotional experience. It’s almost like experiencing graduation a few times.” For first-years Sebastien Jean-Pierre ’21 and David Cabatingan ’21, it’s the trips to the games: “For the Cornell Trip, we always hear about Ezra Cornell, and during the parade, we yell at Cornell people to join the band, even though they would literally have to transfer schools,” says Sebastien. For many like Adam, however, it is also about family. The band was the first organization on campus that Adam joined. He went to Jo’s one day with a group of fellow freshmen, who welcomed him in with a conversation about memes. That conversation formed the friendship between himself, his current best friend and his girlfriend. Adam sums it up by saying, “I just sat down with this group of people I'd never met before, and we shared two common languages: band and memes.” After listening to Gaby’s and Natalie’s comments, I could not help but remember some of the faces back home with whom I shared countless laughs in band. There are, of course, moments in band that are profound and sentimental, whether it is sharing a great moment in a piece of music or realizing a reservoir of support in the people around you, but I think the true nature of band is far simpler. It’s an amalgam of quips and silly jokes that breathe the most amazingly awkward humor, full of childlike joy. The magic of it all lies in its simplicity. After speaking with this wonderful group of people and looking back on my own years of playing with a band, I realize now that I miss band the way I miss being a kid. If there is one thing I believe that the band experience embodies the most, it is innocence. I can think of few other extracurriculars, or things in the world for that matter, where the scale is so tipped toward happiness and unity rather than stress. After sitting with these people for just half an hour, I probably laughed more than I do on average in an entire day. I was reminded that there are things in this world that don’t have to carry so much weight in order to have meaning—that inside of all us, there should always be permission to let loose.
Summertime Eating "Shimmers of Time" By Emerson Tenney Of all my many food memories, I most vividly remember convening on the wrap-around front porch of the Vassilaros' summer home. The house, a converted chicken farm and one of the few vestiges of a time before Bridgehampton was synonymous with excess, was built on coffee. The people behind the coffee are tall, tan, and Greek. They made their living roasting and selling Vassilaros & Sons coffee on just about every street corner in New York City. Although they had plenty of money, money never seemed to have them and so, while renovating the property, they glossed over details expected by the typical Upper West Side renter. The floors remained dusty stone, the upstairs bedrooms narrow and cramped. Air conditioning was never installed. All that's okay though. We like the windows open. So each summer, when the Vassilaros' pack up and ship themselves off to Greece for the languid months between spring and fall, my father and I rush right in. The house is vast the way a labyrinth is vast. We do our best to fill it. The house likes to keep a minimum capacity of 10 and we oblige her. My dad, his wife, her family and their children, their friends, and me and my closest childhood friends. Oftentimes there are more.
What has come from the land that we share will bring us together. The days move in slow shimmers of time. Shadows passing across the lawn that unfurls from the front door and rolls all the way down to the privet lining the road mark the increments of existing. Everything about the air and the land is rich and so full of living that I want to dive into it. Eat it the way one eats a peach. In these deeply fertile hours, it's easy to see food as an extension of the self. What has come from the land that we share and will bring us together. In the late afternoon, the milling about slows. Bikes return from the sandy dunes of the beach and bodies materialize out of the grasses around the pool. We meet each other in the kitchen. Inevitably someone from the younger generation will put on music. This task used to fall to my friends and me, but now we find ourselves ousted by the even younger folk who we've just suddenly realized are driving and having sex and, disconcertingly, no longer seven-anda-half years old. Truth be told, it doesn't really make a difference; everyone still plays Fleetwood Mac and ends the night outside singing “Dancing In The Moonlight.” Cooking is slow; chopping becomes more of an excuse to share the past year's gossip than a way of getting things done. This is how we like it. My dad makes drinks on the back corner of the kitchen island as my friends and I bus around the stove and oven
"He's so nice and his balls are so saggy." "Do you want gum?" "I want cocaine." "I just can't stand all of these uneducated philistines." march 23, 2018&3
NARRATIVE opposite him. By the time everything is finished and hot and heaped into massive white bowls, we are sufficiently drunk. We carry out the plates and arrange them along the sprawling wooden table that runs the length of the porch. Everyone who was not in the kitchen is already waiting. Then there is an almost imperceptible instance of silence. A space in which to say, "I see the community that has gathered around me." Sometimes someone will run down to one end of the table and take a photo, those furthest away leaning all the way in so as to be seen. More often than not the moment goes uncelebrated. It is then, after this brief pause that the food disappears. I've never known exactly where it goes. Perhaps somewhere deep in the annals of my memory there exists an entire folder dedicated to the content of these meals. But for now all that remains is the long table with its smooth wood and flickering candle light, fireflies just beyond the porch, and the low persistent humming of voices coming together, circling around the dishes that served as a reason for talking.
Cyborgs, Not Goddesses Illusions, Erasure, and Arja Renell By Tal Frieden illustrated by Molly Kate Young On a chilly fall morning on the Schillerpromenade, a few performers clad in colorful, opaque hula skirts added some flavor to an otherwise gray day. While a purple creature played tag with neighborhood children and its green friend hugged passersby, patrons of Berlin Art Week gathered around Top Schillerpalais for “Protest Song Competition,” a featured show in Performance Voyage 7. Once the creatures disappeared, those in attendance filed inside for the collection of performance pieces and short films curated by the Finnish MUU Galleria. Berlin Art Week boasts in its magazine that “the city has once again dedicated itself to art.” For one week in September, Berlin was flooded with film screenings from Los Angeles, dance-workshopqua-performances from Paris, visiting art from the United Arab Emirates, and a critical mass of artists, collectors, and students (myself included) immersed in the creative and inspirational scene. Performance Voyage 7 included an array of artists from all over Europe, as well as one from Peru, and a mix of installations, performance pieces, and short films. Among them was Arja Renell—an artist, architect, and ‘urban designer’ from Finland. Barefoot and wearing a black dress and a headscarf, she sat in front of her laptop and greeted guests from a short black table. Speakers filled the space with vaguely industrial sounds. While the crowd slowly quieted down, Renell turned to a variety of herbs carefully arranged on her black table. She addressed each herb individually, crushing it first with a rock, her fingers, and then a blunt wooden tool. For about ten minutes, the audience patiently listened to the soundtrack of industry—a mix of noises including the beeps of a truck backing up over gravel, hammering (or shoveling?) noises, and more—watching as Renell collected the leaves and pine needles in small piles. Renell combined the herbs and turned back to her laptop with purpose. Gone was the industrial noise—now a babbling brook accompanied her as she sprinkled the herbs 4!post–
into an egg-sized wicker strainer. Renell stood. She approached the first of several white plinths in the room, each holding hourglass-shaped teacups. The artist poured hot water through her strainer into each of the teacups and offered them, with a bow of the head and a smile, to nearby viewers-turnedparticipants. She continued this until all of the teacups had been distributed. Some of us smiled and started to drink the tea while Renell poured for others. After returning to her black platform at the front of the room, Renell poured a cup, inhaled a deep breath, nodded a smile to the onlookers, and took a sip. She looked up from her glass and said, "All of these plants were collected from a forest in northern Finland. The area has been polluted by a nickel mine that was recently built, and the people who live there don't know if their forest is safe, or if they can still eat these plants." Then she started to cry. We were silent. Some standing, some sitting, all reeling, responding, re-thinking. What we had taken for granted—a cup of tea—was transformed into a political prop. The liquid was no longer an infusion of herbs but a crossgrounds, a battlefield, melding the natural and the machine, ambiguously pure and toxic. I was reminded of Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto,” which ends with the bold assertion, “I’d rather be a cyborg than a goddess,” and encourages feminism to embrace a bricolage with technology, as opposed to turning to purist, earth-mother feminism. Renell is no goddess, and she does not allow us to think ourselves goddesses. Instead, we are ambiguously, strenuously, and sometimes unwittingly of nature. Our Mother Earth has nickel mines, and we must pay the price. She reminds us that we cannot escape the machine, and she asks us to take a sip. *** Renell’s work punctures a keyhole in the illusion of modernity, the illusion that Man (and his throbbing appendage, Machine) conquers Nature. The illusion allows us to divorce consumption in the digital age from our material reality—we are led to forget about the rare earth minerals and exploited
miners that make my laptop run. We are meant to assume that the natural resources we consume, our water, air, food, are safe and pure, inexhaustible natural resources which exist for our consumption. But Renell’s work refuses me my blissful ignorance. It is worth noting here, too, that the spectre of environmental degradation haunts some more than others. In California, the state-sponsored Cerrell Report instructs localities and corporations that they will find the least resistance to trash incinerators and other pollutant projects in rural, poor, Catholic communities with low education levels. This policy of pushing waste onto particular
The liquid was no longer an infusion of herbs but a crossgrounds, a battlefield, melding the natural and the machine, ambiguously pure and toxic. populations, usually people of color, has the effect of abstracting environmental degradation to the mostly white upper class (perhaps why the polar bear is a more compelling battle cry for the environmental movement than the children of Flint, Michigan, who still do not have access to clean water). Renell’s work reminds us that if we want to consume art in Berlin from a smorgasbord of international artists, we need to understand the way that events like Berlin Art Week erase the continual harm done to communities across the globe. Renell offers the spectator a choice. Drink the tea, or refuse it—after all, the residents of that Finnish forest don’t know whether the herbs are still edible. Accept the reality of contamination in consumption, or try to resist the harmful effects of natural resource extraction. Has Renell violated our trust? Why did we trust her in the first place?
LIFESTYLE
ARTS&CULTURE
Two Voices Carry Lucius Gives an Enthralling Performance
By Elena Renken illustrated by Miranda Villanueva Moving as mirror images, the frontwomen of Lucius face each other and sing into the same microphone. Their voices fuse and collapse into one as they feather through sprawling melodies to reach soprano notes clear as glass. Doubled and echoed by background singers flanking them, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig take on the form of each other’s reflections. The two women appear magnetized, mimicking each other to produce a recursive flow—far from mechanized, their movement in sound and space is all the more enthralling for its human intentionality. Lucius appeared at Columbus Theater on Friday night to sing from their album Nudes, released earlier this month. They are far from the lighthearted musicians I watched years ago, spinning in sunflower-yellow dresses and singing from “Wildewoman”, “She’s gonna find another way back home / it’s written in her blood oh it’s
written in her bones.” Following their initial album Wildewoman, the band released Good Grief, an album shot through with growing pains and littered with song titles like “Gone Insane” and “Almost Makes Me Wish for Rain.” They were vagabonds, centering themselves within their earnest searching. Letting their voices rise and fall in the song “Madness,” they sang, “My friend is running in her wedding dress / she left her gifts behind / I’ll never figure out just what we’re trying to find.”
less mellifluous but more cathartic. Draped in gold and black for the Nudes tour, the band offered newly focused tracks with unprecedented solemnity and thoughtfulness. Lucius’s wanderlust and infectious yearning persist in their most recent album, but they are veiled with restraint. The stripped-down acoustic set draws more focus to the many forms assumed by their voices: The singers erupt into full-throated arcs of sound in some songs and offer wandering whispers in others.
Their voices do not exist in isolation. “We sing songs that have two hearts, two minds,” one said between songs. Matching gold necklaces glimmered over their chests. “When we sing together, we create a voice that’s a third thing.” For its latest compilation, Lucius incorporated tracks from its previous albums, shaving down and intensifying their earlier work. The reimagined “Tempest” is jarring next to the easy flow of the original, upending the simple harmony to draw in disjointed vocals. The new song’s softer edges leave room for the discomforting notes, becoming
The vinyl edition of Nudes sold at the show was ornamented with miniaturized versions of the duo’s faces, replicated dozens of times in an array that spills outwards toward the rec ord’s perimeter. The design was inspired by the zoetrope—a spinning device that let viewers peer through slits to observe snapshots of sequential images, creating the illusion of movement before motion picture technology brought us the movie reel. Whirling Wolfe and Laessig’s faces into a blur, the design evokes the same hypnotizing pull as the band’s mirrored performance and their nearsynchronous singing. Any shifts from this unity serve as a stark contrast. Though Lucius’s harmonizing ranges from subtle to striking, even these deviations don’t reflect Laessig or Wolfe individually. You can try to trace their voices back to the separate singers, matching deviations in tone to the shapes of their lips, but you’ll never have more than a guess. Their voices do not exist in isolation. “We sing songs that have two hearts, two minds,” one said between songs. Matching gold necklaces glimmered over their chests. “When we sing together, we create a voice that’s a third thing.” The mystery of this confluence encircles the duo with an unfamiliar and alluring presence, allowing them to offer a unique impression. Both soft spoken and forceful, they provide remedies with their united arching voice. In the final track of the album, “Goodnight, Irene,” Lucius leaves listeners with a lullaby, the blown-out audio grating against their intimate vocals. Uplifted by its acoustic style, Nudes engenders equal parts of calm and catharsis with its newly symphonic songs. In a political moment that evokes both concordant screams and desperate cries, Lucius projects a carefully constructed sound that bleeds strength into its listeners. “Our greatest hope and dream is that you will take something from this,” one of the singers said. “Love or peace or tranquility or laughter.” But their music has lost pieces of its youthful optimism. Haunted by the need for soothing and empowering effects, their newest tracks provide a more complicated comfort. Breathing new life into Tempest from their first album, they leave a weighted reminder: “Temper into tempest / washes off the madness.” Since the band’s formation less than a decade ago, Lucius has carved their music to its core. Wolfe and Laessig speak to each other, breaking slightly from their melodious synchrony and leaving a deeper resonance than ever before.
march 23, 2018&5
ARTS&CULTURE
Sad Spring Break Forever XXXTentacion Gives Us More Questions to Answer Written by Julian Towers Illustrated By Miranda Villanueva I probably just don’t understand politics, so feel free to email my editor, but dating back to Marx or whoever started it, the quest to formulate a single, radical theory of art hasn’t done much more than unify a bunch of contradictory ideologies. Like, for example, how can so many people be functionalists? Take Marcel Duchamp, a total nihilist who famously punked the avant-garde by submitting a urinal to their snooty exhibition room. That guy was saying a lot of things, but his “good art is useful art” bit is the bedrock for some pretty dissimilar movements—such as AIDS-era club survivors who celebrated disco as practical, utilitarian music. (Life is short, and you can dance to it!) I don’t understand how an asshole ironist, who died having mocked progressives everywhere, could end up making the same anti-elitist argument as a group of basically sincere, communist homosexuals in the eighties. And you know what? Lil Pump doesn’t really get it either. Over the last two years, that’s what I most admired about the short, single-minded, is-it-even-rap-music born from South Florida’s DIY Soundcloud scene: it was art so populist that it essentially declined to be political. Lyrically puerile and deliriously repetitive, these songs really only had one use—to rile you up—and they valiantly refused to incorporate any element that might weigh down or distract from this goal (verses consisting of more than hooks, hooks consisting of more than three words, words consisting of meaning, mixing that enabled one to actually hear any of the above, etc.). It was a denial of all the hard-fought genius that made rap a dominating cultural contender, which even when it was “dum,” had at least always sounded expensive. What you were left with was art that carried all the punkish, back-to-the-shack signifiers of revolutionary music, but with a dopey grin peaking out where the ideological motive would normally go. In an interview with Noisey, Smokepurrp defined his scene’s philosophy as “ignorance,” and that sounds about right. It was functional music without a middle ground; you could use it or you could ignore it, but it was impossible to just think about it. Recently, however, one of the scene’s key figures, Broward County’s XXXTentacion, often referred to as X, has been stretching the thoughtless confines of the scene he birthed—and not without some contention. Time and distance has revealed his song “Look At Me!”, recorded in 2015 when he was still 17, to be the genre’s most foundational and archetypical text—probably more influential than any song with the lines “Got, like, three bitches / I'm Mormon” should be expected to be. But whereas his contemporaries continue to mine the track for its blown-out, lo-fi production and mastery of economic phraseology, X swiftly revealed his intention to stray. Ensuing singles swapped out the larynxshredding scream of “Look At Me!” for a confessional
approach—highlighting his warbly, pretty-boy, sob of a voice. This was met by lyrics tilting away from exhibitionist hedonism and towards a no-less showy brand of existential despair (“I'm so depressed/What good is sex?”). All this vulnerability came in contrast to allegations more heinous than any circling his peers, with the artist facing charges of beating a pregnant ex-girlfriend and holding her hostage. Although the incident has gone distressingly unaddressed in industry circles, with many in hip hop as high up as Kendrick still offering their cosigns, it was wielded by critics as a final evidentiary brickbat, implicating the entire Florida scene. Meanwhile, the tortured dualism of X’s persona took on its ultimate expression, as is often the case with pop-stars, in his celebrity hairstyle—a bundle of stalky corn-rows, symbolically dyed half-black and half-blonde. Still, for all the muddy waters, his music still clings to the clarity of use that signifies all of Florida Soundcloud. Last year’s debut album, 17, a bruised, half-formed collection of acoustic balladry, began with a spoken word track called “The Explanation.” A kind of ‘love-me-or-leave-me’ manifesto, it promised listeners that the album “would cure or at least numb their depression,” but only if they were “willing to accept [X]’s emotion and hear [his] words fully.” That X should demand special engagement from such a notoriously unthinking audience was read by many in terms of ego and insecurity, but the move, in truth, was rather confident. By making his art a package deal with his tainted personhood, X was staking a bet that his “genius” (his term) could outweigh any ethical baggage—that the music was powerful enough to function. Whether that’s true was a question I intended to answer with last weekend’s despairing follow-up— an untitled work with, amusingly, a question mark for an album-cover. It began with “instructions” telling me that with careful listening the album would “open” my “mind,” creating a bond I might “listen to anywhere.” Always one for a challenge, I placed in my vision an image of X’s abused girlfriend to keep steady as I moved from location to location (as per X’s advice). If the album were truly successful, I might see her and shrug. To its credit, the sounds of Question Mark, as the untitled album is referred to, are indeed evocative. Taking it outside to the reliably depressing landmarks of my everyday—sushi restaurants and cans of diet Dr. Pepper lodged in the snow—I was satisfied with the album’s ability to mirror its surroundings. Some of that is low effort—it’s no trick crafting such hoary, monochromatic synthscapes—but Question Mark also makes unexpected counterpoise with its ambitious use of guitars. Fitting for an artist whose listed inspirations include Nirvana, Papa Roach, and the Fray, the album ultimately wears its influence in its rock instrumentation. In bombastic moments,
“...I was worried that even the potatoes would not be able to stand her, and the potato harvests would diminish.” —Bianca Stelian, One Minute Early 3.23.17
“And in that moment, I was no longer a mere child— I was a Rubik’s Cube god.” —Kathy Luo, The Joy of Rubik's Cubes 3.23.17
6!post–
they recall the soaring electric-line sound Mike Dean has developed for Kanye West in songs like “Hold My Liquor” and “Wolves.” When X adds an icy, subliminal atmosphere, he does so in the fashion immortalized by The Cure on their albums Faith and Seventeen Seconds—angular guitar lines slither through his tracks like snakes in water. It’s all an endearingly reverent, even pie-eyed homage to musical heroes, and it left me wondering if the listener was even remotely as valued. Not that I require constant innovation, but the truth is the surface sonics on Question are too slick and visible to allow personal connection, whereas the comparatively rudimentary “Look At Me” had me rushing to read different writers interpret its unrecognizable, bass-boosted Mala sample. Here, only one response seems possible—the height of functionality, sure, but not in the way X would appear to intend. Forging an intimate sonic relationship is therefore unlikely, which leaves most of the heavy lifting to X’s words. His stated goal on Question Mark was to “provide comfort”—a mission that sees X peeking out behind episodes of terminal depression (“And every single year/I’m drowning in my tears again) to reassure us of its illusory nature (“Ooh ahh/ love yourself”). This wisdom often draws its authority from X’s first-person reminiscence, but sometimes involves something like character roleplay, as on the lush and gently trap-inflected breakout hit “Sad!” Here, X enters the mind of a tentatively suicidal girl (“Who am I?/Someone that’s afraid to let go”), though his insights stop well short of the penetrating (“I’m sad, I know, yeah / I’m sad, I know, yeah”), and mostly recall the annoyance of high-schoolers who claim they can control their dreams. Such is the supercilious nature of Question Mark’s insights; the “learned survival skills” come off like unproven guru junk—dispatches to the helpless passed down from a plane only X can reach. Finding no comfort, I thought back to one classic album also mired in depression: Joy Division’s Closer. There, trapped in the specificity of his own torment, frontman Ian Curtis explored the outer limits of his tortured soul with little hope of a solution (indeed, he famously took his own life following the record’s completion). Enduring X’s attempt to invade mine with his “remedy for a broken heart” (“Mix a little bit of weed/with a little bit of cash”…thanks) helped me understand why one album eased my mind and the other didn’t: I fundamentally don’t care how much you think you know about me. It’s inevitably less than I know about myself, so show me what you understand about yourself. If it’s a lot, maybe I can place my trust in you as a fellow human traveller. X’s confidence that he might outpace his ethical baggage by ignoring it suggests he has a lot left to learn before he makes useful music. But, also, like, who cares. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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NEWS
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
U. scientists discover link between glutamate, mood New study shows increase in glutamate from ADHD medications results in elevated mood By EUGENE HRABARCHUK STAFF WRITER
In an attempt to understand the effects that drugs like Adderall have on typical brains, scientists have found a relationship between activity of the neurotransmitter glutamate and mood for the first time, according to a study conducted by University researchers. “Considering the rising prevalence of off-prescription use of ADHD medications as study aids, especially on college campuses, it is crucial that we understand how these substances affect the healthy human brain,” said Adam
» MANDEL, from page 1 staff — to create a series of programs that will enhance opportunities for Brown students going forward,” Mandel said. Paxson described Mandel as “somebody who’s very adept at working with groups of people … and bringing them together around ideas and advancing an agenda in a very collaborative way.” “What I really love about this institution is the people,” Mandel said. Working at Brown has helped her understand how to “take those human resources and put them collectively … together for solving problems,” she said, adding that she will take this knowledge with her to Williams. Michael Vorenberg, associate professor of history, described his feelings about Mandel’s departure as “a mixture of sadness for Brown but great happiness for Williams College, and especially for Dean Mandel herself.” Mandel, who served as director of the Judaic studies program from 2012 to 2014, has “always been a natural leader,” Vorenberg said. “In the history department, she was constantly playing a leading role in terms of being on important committees (and) being the level-headed leader that the department often needed to steer its way through some tough questions.” Mandel “has a deep respect for faculty governance, with a record of collaborative leadership,” wrote Safa Zaki, a professor of psychology and
» UCS, from page 1 of students, alumni and administrators to re-examine the use of legacy status in the admissions process,” according to the text of the ballot. The referendum was added to the ballot in response to advocacy from the #FullDisclosure campaign and was approved in a vote by the UCS general body at its weekly meeting March 14. Roughly 35 percent of the undergraduate student body voted in this year’s presidential election — 2,274 out of approximately 6,580 students. This represents an increase from last year, when 18 percent — or 1,148 students — voted for current UCS President ChelseAmoy Steele ’18, who ran unopposed.
Nitenson GS, co-author of the study. The study focused on psychostimulants that are commonly abused to enhance memory and learning. Glutamate has been widely studied in recent years since the advent of more exact measuring techniques, said George Rebec, professor of psychology and brain sciences at Indiana University. “Thirty years ago, the main transmitters everyone talked about were dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine because they were relatively easy to measure.” Glutamate, “the brain’s principal excitatory neurotransmitter” is involved with processes relating to learning and memory, said Lisa Weyandt, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Rhode Island. While “all addictive substances result in an increase in dopamine,”
scientists currently do not understand how other neurotransmitters like glutamate can contribute to mood and addiction, Weyandt said. “It doesn’t make sense that if you affect one neurotransmitter system, another wouldn’t be involved in some way as well.” Because “glutamate is important for driving a lot of motivated behaviors and goal-directed behaviors,” it can play a role in craving food or seeking the drug itself, Rebec said. After administering a psychostimulant, researchers observed an increase in the presence of glutamate, measured through the use of a technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The researchers tested two psychostimulants, both of which were ADHD drugs. Furthermore, positive mood consistently followed glutamate production, according to the study. Women seemed
member of the presidential search committee at Williams, in an email to The Herald. “I am particularly struck by her humility and her ability to listen. I have no doubt that she will strengthen our community.” Vorenberg noted that Mandel’s “breadth” as a scholar and “willingness to teach different types of courses and to work with a broad spectrum of students” has enhanced the academic experience at Brown. “I think she’s the first person that was a joint position between history and Judaic studies, so that was a really important position in terms of bridging the two departments,” Vorenberg said. Mandel mentioned one piece of advice for her successor as dean of the college: to enjoy the job. “Being the representative of Brown’s Open Curriculum (and) Brown’s undergraduate learning process is really to be the person that is connected to one of the things that makes Brown’s heart beat, and that is the part (of the job that is) an honor and a privilege.” “Williams College will benefit greatly from her inspired vision, commitment to the transformative power of a liberal arts education and drive for results that make a difference in the lives of faculty, staff and students,” Locke wrote. “I’m very excited about this new opportunity, and I’m grateful to this university for helping position me in such a way that I could go on to this really wonderful and exciting adventure,” Mandel said.
Dean of the College Maud Mandel has been a part of the University since 1997. She will step down to become the 18th president of Williams College.
Mar Weiss ’20 was re-elected as the chair of academic affairs, defeating Claudia Liu ’21. Current UCS treasurer Alex Song ’20 defeated Rainy Duan ’21 for chair of student activities. Shivani Nishar ’20 will be the next chair of student wellness, overtaking Cole Hansen ’19 and incumbent Sharon Zeldin ’20. Melissa Lee ’20 defeated Sara Kutscher ’20 and Claire Heiden ’21 in the race for chair of campus life. Austin Lessin ’19, who ran unopposed, will assume the role of UCS treasurer. The four candidates who ran for UFB representative at-large will begin their terms next year — Phillip Champagne ’21, Nimo Ismail ’21, Daryl Polk ’19 and Alesandro Walker ’20. Four
to show a greater increase in glutamate response when compared with men, “indicating a heightened vulnerability to psychostimulants in females,” according to the study. Because glutamate plays a major role in many brain processes, its potential effect on mood is unsurprising, Rebec said. The study, however, did not speak to the cognitive effects of this glutamate increase, Weyandt said. It remains uncertain if this increase in glutamate translates into better planning or executive function, she added. “It does appear that in healthy brains, there is a small effect for Adderall improving memory, but this is not found in all studies,” Weyandt said. Future research could help determine whether quality of work is actually being improved or if the drugs simply
allow users to maintain attention for longer, she added. In a previous study with ADHD subjects, glutamate increase was shown to last for a two-month medication period. This study observed non-ADHD subjects for only five hours, so longterm effects of the increase still need to be studied, Weyandt said. “Kids may take these drugs early on, but what happens 20 years later, … that’s important research that, I think, still needs to be done,” Rebec said. “We are still just scratching the surface of glutamate.” Beyond opening questions for further research, the study offers a potential clinical application that takes advantage of the glutamate-mood link. “Maybe we could deal with a drug abuse problem by manipulating the receptors that respond to glutamate,” Rebec said.
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
at-large positions remain open. The campaign process officially began after candidates each submitted petitions with 200 signatures at a meeting March 14. The candidates for UCS president and vice president and UFB chair and vice chair debated in a public forum March 18. Voting began March 20 and ended yesterday at noon. Tahir declined a request from The Herald to comment just after the election results were announced. The UCS elections board was unable to provide the total number of students who cast a ballot before press time, Barry wrote in an email to The Herald. Last year, approximately 1,400 students cast a ballot.
CORRECTIONS A previous version of the March 14 article “Fewer international science, engineering grad students in U.S.” referred to Diane Souvaine as the National Science Board’s chair. In fact, Souvaine is the National Science Board’s vice chair. The Herald regrets the error. A previous version of the March 20 article “Bon Me food truck parks in Providence” stated that the truck serves a Thai basil lemonade drink. In fact, the truck serves Thai Basil Limeade. The article also previously stated that the truck serves pork ramen. In fact, the truck does not serve pork ramen. The Herald regrets the errors. A previous version of the March 21 article “‘Over, Under, Through’ exhibit thrills Hillel” stated that ripka translates to “food” in Russian. In fact, it translates to “little fish” in Russian. The article also incorrectly referred to Knead Doughnuts as Knead Donuts. The Herald regrets the errors.
COMMENTARY PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
EDITORIAL
Elections at Brown need work On the evening of March 22, Elections Board Chairs Katherine Barry ’19 and Kathryn Stack ’19 announced the results of the 2018 elections for the Undergraduate Council of Students and the Undergraduate Finance Board. Shanzé Tahir ’19 won the UCS presidency, with 85 percent of the vote; Lisa Schold ’19 accrued 72 percent to secure the UFB chairpersonship; and 81 percent of voters supported the #FullDisclosure moment. In some ways, this year’s elections — which saw 34 percent turnout for UCS presidential elections and only two uncontested races across both UCS and UFB — were vastly more competitive than last year’s, when candidates for five positions went unchallenged and the voter turnout rate for the whole election barely exceeded 20 percent. Still, while we appreciate the progress made, heartily congratulate the victors and believe in their capacity to enact positive change, we recognize that there is work to be done before the elections process — and student government at Brown, more broadly — becomes fully representative of and accountable to the student body. In particular, we express profound disappointment with the low voter turnout rate for UFB races, the hurried pace of the elections and the moderation of the candidate debate. A high voter turnout is important to ensure the representativeness of a democratic system, as a substantial body of research has confirmed. Unfortunately, given a voter turnout rate of 24 percent in the 2018 UFB chairperson elections — just four percentage points higher than last year’s turnout — student government at Brown is far from fully representative. (This year’s UFB vice chairperson election went uncontested.) Though the blame for low voter turnout cannot be placed exclusively on the shoulders of officeholders — the onus is also on students to actually vote — it is certainly elected leaders’ responsibility to reach out to the community, encourage students to vote and generate enthusiasm around student government at Brown. Not only does a low voter turnout rate undermine the perceived
legitimacy of the elected students, it also reflects the sad reality that a considerable proportion of the student body feels unmotivated to vote and uninterested in student government, an endeavor that continues to have significant influence on the everyday lives of students. One possible way to increase voter turnout in the future might be to extend the timeframe of the elections. According to UCS rules, candidates were only permitted to declare their candidacies this election cycle after a meeting on March 14. The candidate debate occurred just four days later, on March 18; the voting period ended four days after that, on March 22. In total, the election lasted about eight days — giving candidates and voters a little over a week to publicize their agendas and assess those agendas, respectively. This is not nearly enough time for the community to engage in sustained, enriching discussions about the direction of Brown, campus life and expectations of student government. Another concerning part of the elections process was the fact that the sitting UCS president, Chelse-Amoy Steele ’18, and the sitting UFB chairperson, Yuzuka Akasaka ’18, served as two of the moderators of the candidate debate. In a statement published in the comment section of the The Herald, Steele and Akasaka wrote, “All questions for candidates were drafted by (us) with attention to their platforms. As the representatives of the two organizations participating in the debate and the authors of the questions, our presence as moderators was required.” While certainly well-intentioned, the justification issued by Steele and Akasaka does not take into account the role of media as watchdogs in a self-governing society. Imagine, for a moment, if a sitting president of the United States were to moderate a debate between two aspiring candidates, instead of a journalist. The conflict of interest inherent to such an arrangement — even the most magnanimous of presidents have an incentive to implicitly
support the candidate most likely to preserve their legacy — seriously jeopardizes the very purpose of a candidate debate. In any democratic system, public accountability is paramount, and all members of student government, current and aspiring, should be held accountable to the entire student body. A simple alternative is to ask members of student-led media organizations to moderate the debate and question the candidates, as has been done in the past. Though we understand concerns about extending moderating privileges to a single publication, a committee of student journalists — selected from a variety of organizations and mediums — could place candidates under more objective scrutiny. At the end of the day, we draw attention to these electoral shortcomings because we firmly believe that student government is a serious and worthwhile exercise, with important implications for student life, administrative policy and the long-term evolution of the University. The president of UCS, for example, has the power to facilitate comprehensive reforms and set the cultural tone of campus, while UFB can disperse and withhold funds essential to the operation of most student organizations. Student government, in the larger scheme of things, also has immense utility as an educational experience, offering students crucial instruction in the practice of self-determination and deliberative democracy — endeavors that have taken on added significance in the current political climate. In light of these truths, we hope that the newest slate of UCS and UFB leaders work to enhance the elections process going forward.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19, Mili Mitra ’18, Rhaime Kim ’ 20 and Grace Layer ’20. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and opeds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Happiness doesn’t cut it To the Editor: I am writing in response to the March 22 Herald column “The Pursuit of Happiness” by James Flynn ’20. I believe that Flynn’s opinion — that “understanding the complexities of happiness is paramount for Brown students” — is flawed. That is, all people — but especially college students — should strive toward much more than happiness as an end goal. That Aristotle’s definition of happiness differs greatly from ours is no coincidence: The modern sense of “happiness” is a much
more shallow, ethereal and confused notion than the original eudaimonia. Flynn writes that modern happiness is understood as “subjective well-being,” “pleasant emotions” and “high life satisfaction” — fleeting and superficial manifestations that are highly conditional on circumstance, opportunity and privilege. But Aristotle knew better. His dedication to philosophy — philosophia, the love of wisdom — arose from a point of departure with the modern definition of happiness. Recognizing that there are different means to achieve “subjective well-being,” Aristotle sought eudaimon, the highest good of all. Eudaimon is the integration of ergon, which
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he defines as human “function,” with reason and virtue — something that looks a lot closer to meaning and purpose than to happiness. Modern sensibilities approach the idea of “highest goods” and “universal ideals” with suspicion, and rightly so. But under systems that so often disappoint, damage and dehumanize, in a political landscape characterized by fear and hatred — in short, in a world in which suffering still runs rampant — I know that I require more than eight hours of sleep to weather the storm. Adam Mercier ’19
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
COMMENTARY FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018 • PAGE 5
Don’t ban laptops from classrooms REBECCA AMAN STAFF COLUMNIST I’ve put a lot of thought into how I take notes in class. Research shows that handwriting improves retention, as the slower process of handwriting forces students to absorb and summarize material while they take notes rather than transcribe a professor’s lectures word for word. Furthermore, I know that, like many students, I am susceptible to the distracting lure of Facebook and other social media sites. On the other hand, my handwriting is atrocious, and it is sometimes difficult for me to read my notes when it’s time to study. In the end, after significant trial and error, I’ve concluded that the risk of distraction outweighs my quasi-illegible handwriting, and that overall, handwritten notes are best for me academically. Yet, according to the Wall Street Journal, professors across the nation are increasingly taking away the choice between taking notes by hand or via computer, citing the effectiveness of handwriting and the detrimental effects of multitasking. Brown professors are not immune to this phenomenon. For example, the syllabus for ECON 1110: “Intermediate Microeconomics,” which I took last spring, read: “Please do not use
laptops or mobile phones in class (I don’t trust you not to browse Facebook! I was a student once too).” While research may show that taking notes by hand is best for the average student, banning the use of laptops ignores the individual needs of students and ignores students’ ability to make decisions about their own learning. Brown’s open curriculum is is based on trust. Other schools have distribution requirements because
tive framework. Of course, we won’t always make the right decisions, but then it’s our responsibility to deal with the consequences; making mistakes is part of the learning process. Similarly, professors should trust students to make decisions about how to take notes in class, and while sometimes we might make the wrong choice — choosing to browse Facebook instead of taking notes — then it is our responsibility to deal with the consequences and make bet-
burdens students with disabilities. Professors are required to allow students to type in class if they have official accommodations, as typing in class can be crucial for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. For example, the professor of my microeconomics class stated in their syllabus, “If you have special accommodations that require you to have access to a computer, please first speak to me about it.” Yet laptop bans require students to initiate an addi-
While research may show that taking notes by hand is best for the average student, banning the use of laptops ignores the individual needs of students and ignores students’ ability to make decisions about their own learning.
they feel that students need institutional intervention to appropriately select classes, and students choose these schools because they feel that such interventions are helpful in choosing the right course load. Brown is different. Brown trusts that as students, we are best equipped to make decisions about our own learning, and we choose to attend this school because we have confidence in our ability to select classes without a restric-
ter decisions in the future. Making thoughtful choices and learning from mistakes, even for seemingly trivial decisions like note-taking, are important to our educational and personal development. So while professors should offer guidance, and perhaps even strongly recommend taking notes by hand, professors should also trust us to make decisions about how we best learn. Furthermore, banning laptops
tional and potentially uncomfortable conversation about accommodations. More importantly, because students with disabilities will be the only ones able to use laptops in classes where laptop use is restricted, banning laptops essentially outs those students who may not want to disclose their disability to their peers. Personally, I have an accommodation to type for my exams. But, in past classes where laptop use was banned,
I’ve opted to write my notes by hand — partially because I was discovering that I take better notes by hand, but also because I didn’t want to appear difficult or entitled or be the only student typing in class. For many students, though, handwritten notes are simply not an option. Thus, banning laptops places an unnecessary burden on students with disabilities. The most convincing argument in favor of banning laptops is that one student’s multi-tasking may distract other nearby students. This is a legitimate concern, and professors should find ways to minimize this possibility, perhaps by asking students who type to sit in the back and sides of classrooms as one previous Herald columnist suggested. Yet, while professors should attempt to minimize distractions, the cost of banning laptops — limiting students’ ability to make choices about their own learning and exposing student with disabilities — is too high to justify a ban. Professors should offer guidance, but at the end of the day, professors must trust their students to make the right decisions about their own academic experiences.
Rebecca Aman ’20 can be reached at rebecca_aman@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
Why the Warriors won’t dominate the playoffs GEORGE KLEIN SPORTS COLUMNIST With spring finally here, we are only a couple of weeks away from the NBA playoffs. Entering this season, the Golden State Warriors were widely assumed to be shoe-ins for the championship once again. After all, they went 16-1 in the playoffs last year, then retained Kevin Durant and even added productive role players in Nick Young, Omri Casspi and Jordan Bell. Yet, not everything has gone smoothly for the Warriors over the past few months. The team is plagued by injuries, and key back-ups have declined. Beware: Golden State may not have the same easy and comfortable walk to the championship this season. Stephen Curry’s ankle has returned as an issue. The guard struggled at times to stay on the court during the early part of his career thanks to consistent ankle sprains. He played in only 26 games for the 2011-12 season. After a well-publicized sneaker change, Curry appeared to have put his ankle problems behind him. But now, they have come back. The 30-year-old has missed a substantial amount of time with multiple ankle sprains, participating in only 50 contests thus far. We learned in 2016 that a banged-up Curry is not the same force of nature that NBA fans have grown accustomed to watching after
the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to grind out Golden State for a sevengame series win. Golden State does not have the same offensive dominance and flair without a healthy star point guard. And Curry is far from the only member of the Warriors with injury concerns. Klay Thompson is out with a fractured right thumb. Kevin Durant will miss two weeks with a rib fracture. Draymond Green went down this past week with a midsec-
ing just 6.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game on 46.7 percent shooting (26.7 percent on threes). This season is the worst of his career by a good margin. Patrick McCaw has completely lost his shooting touch and spent time in the G-League to try to correct his stroke, also missing time recently with a wrist injury. The guard is shooting just 24.2 percent from three-point range. That’s two important role players who are largely missing.
and P. J. Tucker can all let it fly from the perimeter. Tucker brings an element of toughness that Houston has lacked in recent seasons, a counter to Green’s intensity. While the Warriors are clearly the more talented team still, the Rockets can play them close. Houston has won two out of three regular season games between the teams. I consider Oklahoma City to be another potential threat. Russell Westbrook and Paul George are the
Beware: Golden State may not have the same easy and comfortable walk to the championship this season.
tion contusion. After years of good injury luck, the pendulum has swung the other way for the Warriors. While everyone is expected to be back for the playoffs, the team will enter its first-round series out of rhythm. Curry’s ankle is far from secure, too — it could turn or roll again quite easily. Golden State’s bench, meanwhile, has been less productive than in past years. Andre Iguodala is a shell of his former self on offense. He is averag-
But who could possibly beat the Warriors in the postseason? The Houston Rockets are an easy first answer. Guards James Harden and Chris Paul make all the headlines, but the Rockets have a lot of depth that could be the difference in a series with Golden State. Clint Capela is one of the most underrated players in the game, able to dominate the glass. Eric Gordon, Gerald Green, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson
obvious names, but Steven Adams could be the key to beating Golden State. Adams is one of the strongest big men in the game and can torch the Warriors on the boards and in the paint if they ever try to go small. Between those three guys and new addition Corey Brewer, Oklahoma City has defensive strength all over the court. It is simply hard to score on the Thunder. Carmelo Anthony will have to regain some of his old form
for the upset to happen, however. Instead of channeling “Olympic Melo,” Anthony has been off with his shot all year and has been a ball-stopper at times. He is shooting 36.3 percent from three-point range on the season, and OKC needs him to catch fire for a round with the Warriors — if Anthony hits around 40 percent of his long-range shots, the Thunder can hang with Golden State. The Eastern Conference contenders pose less of a threat. The Cavaliers are worse than last year by a good amount, without a star secondary shot-creator. The Celtics have been ruined by injuries — Kyrie’s knee has to be a major worry for any Boston fan at this point. The Raptors have enjoyed a terrific regular season, but DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have yet to prove that they can maintain a consistent high level in the playoffs. The Golden State Warriors are still, by far, the likeliest team to win the Finals. But the journey to the championship poses more of a challenge this season. Don’t be surprised to see Golden State battling to escape the Western Conference.
George Klein ’20 can be reached at george_klein@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018
JUNE 25 - AUGUST 10
APRIL 2
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