SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2022
VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 52
UNIVERSITY NEWS
U. endowment falls to $6.5 billion Finance office attributes decrease to global financial decline
JACK WALKER / HERALD
In fiscal year 2021, Brown’s endowment yielded returns of 51.5%. In fiscal year 2022, the endowment generated a -4.6% return. tions had significant spillover effects on the prices of stocks and other financial assets.” In comparison, Kennedy wrote that this year’s performance reflected a “reversion to the mean.” Contributing roughly $207 million, the endowment comprises 16% of the University’s total operating budget for FY22 across more than 3,300 separate funds invested as a whole and paid out for specific purposes. The largest share funds financial aid, which is 32% of the payout.
SPORTS
Club athletes detail lack of emergency care
BY MIZUKI KAI SENIOR STAFF WRITER In the second half of a club soccer game against Providence College earlier this semester, Kate Collier ’25 was shoved from behind and fell on top of her left leg. She felt her leg bend and pop, which “was kind of scary because usually for women, that means an ACL tear,” she said. Some of her teammates rushed onto the field, while other players ran to get a trainer to look at her injury. According to Collier, the trainers refused to assist, saying they were only available for varsity athletes. Instead, Brown EMS was called and Collier was taken to the emergency room at Rhode Island Hospital, where she spent five and a half hours. “It was just very hectic and I didn’t even get to meet with a doctor,” Collier said.
Athlete sues U. over sexual assault suspension
BY PETER SWOPE SPORTS EDITOR
The University’s endowment saw a
Students cite limited options, minimal U. support after athletic injuries
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Plaintiff previously sued U. for suspension before conclusion of investigation
BY CALEB LAZAR UNIVERISTY NEWS EDITOR
-4.6% return on investment for fiscal year 2022, according to a Thursday news release. The endowment fell to $6.5 billion, sustaining a $315 million decline in investment assets. In fiscal year 2021, Brown’s endowment yielded record returns of 51.5%, The Herald previously reported. The endowment’s average annual returns for 3, 5, 10 and 20 years are 17.4%, 15.5%, 12.3% and 10.0%, respectively. “Last year’s growth of 51.5% was anomalous,” Joshua Kennedy ’97, managing director of the Investment Office, wrote in an email to The Herald. “That period included the recovery from the crash in financial assets due to COVID but not the crash itself. Governments and central banks went to extraordinary lengths to try to mitigate the economic damage of the pandemic and those ac-
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Collier needed an MRI and went to Health Services the next day for a referral, but they were unable to give her one. After three days, she finally got a consultation elsewhere. Her MRI results confirmed her fears: She had a torn ACL, meniscus and MCL, as well as two bone bruises. She eventually scheduled a surgery through University Orthopedics, an orthopedic care practice staffed by faculty members of the Department of Orthopaedics at Alpert Medical School. “The doctor that I saw (through University Orthopedics) works at Brown on Mondays and only varsity athletes can use him,” Collier said. “So, I have to do all my physical therapy (off campus) and drive there because I can’t use the training room and other resources.” According to Collier, another player on her team experienced a similar situation the previous weekend. “Someone on our team broke her wrist and we ran to get the trainers,” Collier said. “We had to beg them — at first, they wouldn’t come out and help because they were like, ‘we only do varsity.’”
SEE INJURY PAGE 3
U. News
Commentary
Students discuss barriers encountered voting in midterm elections Page 6
Peng ’26: Personality tests are more than pseudoscience Page 9
The endowment’s annual contribution to the operating budget ranges from 4.5 to 5.5% of the endowment’s average market value over 12 quarters and is decided by the Corporation — the University’s highest governing body. This year’s operating budget contribution represents a 6.7% increase over last year’s payout of $194 million. With the investment loss, operating budget expenditure and a total of $133 million in endowed gifts, the
SEE ENDOWMENT PAGE 2
An athlete suspended in fall 2022 for an alleged sexual assault that took place in October 2021 has sued the University, claiming that it unfairly suspended him after conducting a biased Title IX investigation, according to court documents. Smith v. Brown University was filed in Rhode Island District Court Sept. 9. A previous lawsuit dealing with the same incident, also called Smith v. Brown University, was filed in Rhode Island District Court Jan. 14, The Herald previously reported. The two parties agreed to dismiss the suit Jan. 24. Both cases deal with a student-athlete, referred to under the pseudonym David Smith, who was accused of sexually assaulting a stu-
dent, referred to using the pseudonym Jane Roe, on Oct. 30, 2021. Smith was initially suspended before the conclusion of a Title IX investigation, The Herald previously reported. After U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy ruled Jan. 25 that the University must reinstate a different student-athlete suspended under similar circumstances, Smith was allowed to return to campus until the conclusion of his Title IX investigation, according to court filings. After the investigation found Smith responsible for the alleged assault, he was notified of his two-year suspension by the University Aug. 4, according to court filings. He appealed the University’s decision Aug. 11 and was notified that his appeal was denied Sept. 7. After Smith filed the court case Sept. 9, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. issued an emergency injunction Sept. 19 allowing Smith to return to classes and athletic activities, preventing the University from taking further actions for the time
SEE LAWSUIT PAGE 4
UNIVERSITY NEWS
‘It’s so Brown’: nudity on campus Brown’s naked history, from Naked Donut Run to Playboy to Sex Power God BY JACOB SMOLLEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER Each semester, a swarm of students runs nude through the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Sciences Libraries, delivering donuts to their peers in the most prominent example of nudity on Brown’s campus. The Naked Donut Run is a tradition that has existed for decades, with The Herald first taking note of the sugary streak in 1998. The Naked Donut Run marks just one tradition in a long history of Brown students stripping down. Nudity-related events over the University’s history have included visits from Playboy magazine, naked yoga and a party called Sex Power God which prompted critiques of Brown’s culture from Fox News commentators. The Herald spoke with students and community members regarding the history of nudity on campus and
ASHLEY CHOI / HERALD
what role it plays in Brown’s culture today. Students pointed to Brown’s liberal-leaning tendencies, the freedom and body positivity nudity can bring and the general prominence of stripping down in college life across the country as reasons nudity has left
TODAY
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an impact on College Hill. Historically, nudity on campus has sparked conservative criticism and discomfort, but many students said it is simply part of what makes Brown, Brown.
SEE NUDITY PAGE 2
DESIGNED BY SIRINE BENALI ’23 DESIGN EDITOR
GRAY MARTENS ’25 DESIGN EDITOR
NINA SHIN ’26 DESIGNER
NEIL MEHTA ’25 DESIGN EDITOR