SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD VOLUME CLXI, ISSUE 16
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2026
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Brown drops to No. 16 on US News rankings, lowest in Ivy League Over half of the ranking is based on factors that measure student outcomes, emphasizing early career success.
The University’s ranking fell to its lowest point in 10 years BY IAN RITTER UNIVERSITY NEWS & SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR Brown dropped to No. 16 in the 2027 U.S. News Best National University Rankings, its lowest spot in over 10 years. It is now the lowest-ranked Ivy League university. The rankings, which were released early
Tuesday morning, evaluate over 1,700 colleges and universities on up to 17 metrics of academic quality, according to the methodology described by U.S. News. This year, earnings by major replaced median federal loan debt as a factor in the rankings. Over half of the ranking is based on factors that measure student outcomes, emphasizing early career success and how universities prepare “students for life after college,” the U.S. News website reads. Princeton lost its No. 1 spot for the first time in 15 years to the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, while Harvard and Yale rank third and fourth respectively. Penn sits at No. 7, while Columbia — which was the lowest-ranked Ivy last year — and Dartmouth tie for the No. 12 spot. Cornell sits just ahead of Brown at No. 14. The University remains highly ranked in other categories, sitting in third place on both the Top Schools for Veterans and Best Undergraduate Teaching lists.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 22, 2026.
ELECTIONS
CRIME
Behind the progressive wave in Providence’s primaries A slate of progressive candidates won their city council races across Providence BY TALIA KATZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On Sept. 9, then 27-year-old State Rep. David Morales MPA’19 made history by becoming the first challenger in Providence history to unseat an incumbent in the mayoral primary. He defeated current Mayor Brett Smiley with 52.5% of the vote, despite Smiley’s campaign spending about 7.6 times more than Morales’s during the last couple months before the primary. And the progressive victories that night did not end with Morales. Across Providence, Democratic primaries were dominated by a slate of progressive winners. To understand this trend, The Herald spoke with professors, activists and candidates about the new wave of further left-leaning politicians who have found success among the Providence electorate.
Sports
post- Magazine
KAIA YALAMANCHILI / HERALD
Man convicted for attempted murder in shooting that paralyzed Brown student
Embracing bolder policy to address cost of living Providence’s cost of living has skyrocketed in recent years: In 2025, the city was named the least affordable city for renters in the United States, and over the summer, Gov. Dan McKee declared a state of emergency over high energy prices. “We’re at a critical juncture,” Annajane Yolken ’11, the Democratic nominee for the City Council’s Ward 13 seat, wrote in an email to The Herald. While “people can see the potential of the city,” they are also unsure whether “they will continue to be able to afford to call it home,” she wrote. Wage stagnation, rising utility costs and er affordability issues “resonated with a really broad swath of people in Providence,” Rhode Island Working Families Party State Director Anusha Venkataraman ’05 said. Rent stabilization in particular became a central issue in the Democratic mayoral primary. In April, the Providence City Council passed
SEE ELECTIONS PAGE 4
SEE SOCCER PAGE 7
SEE POST- PAGE 8
Two Palestinian students from other universities were wounded in the shooting BY EMILY FEIL METRO & UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
On Monday, a Vermont jury convicted Jason Eaton on three counts of attempted murder for shooting three Palestinian students, including one former Brown student, in 2023. Eaton was found guilty of three counts of attempted second-degree murder and faces up to life in prison without parole, with a minimum sentence of 20 years for each count. The jury rejected his insanity defense, according to the Associated Press. Hisham Awartani ’26 — a junior at Brown at the time of the shooting — sustained injuries that paralyzed him from the waist down. He was in Vermont during Thanksgiving break visiting two friends from other universities who were also injured in the attack. A representative for Eaton did not immediately respond to The Herald’s requests for comment. “I was grateful for the verdict,” Awartani said in an interview with The Herald. “I think justice was served.” He noted that the jury deliberations were shorter than he expected. But Awartani said that he was frustrated by the lack of a hate crime charge. “It’s very obvious that it is a hateful act and the cause of violence was targeting us because we were Palestinians,” he said. “Violence against (Palestinians) has been normalized and even excused,” Awartani said. “I think it’s a result of a media ecosystem that discards the value of Palestinian life in general, and … what happened to us was a consequence and an outgrowth of that within the United States.” He added that because much of the court proceedings centered around Eaton’s insanity defense — and because the shooting was not being pursued as a hate crime in court — the hateful statements Eaton said were “addressed very briefly.” Vermont does not have a standalone hate crime charge but instead an “enhancement” that can be
added onto another charge. The legal bar to prove an act as a hate crime in court is very high, Awartani noted, and he said the prosecutors had been communicative and helpful. “The statements that came up at trial were not statements the state was allowed to use in their case in chief, so unfortunately they could not be used as a basis for a hate crime enhancement,” Sarah George, the state’s attorney for Chittenden County, wrote in an email to The Herald. “We do absolutely intend on using the statements in our sentencing and will make our case to a Judge and ask that the statements be considered when deciding a sentence.” With the trial over, Awartani said he plans to pursue archaeology graduate studies, most likely in Europe. “I’ll be staying in Palestine just while I’m applying for a year off,” he said. After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before finding Eaton guilty of all three counts, according to a statement released by George. “Today’s verdict affirms that our Justice system works best when truth is brought to light and accountability is upheld,” George wrote. “The convictions in this case are not just a legal outcome — they are recognition of the harm done and a step toward healing for the victims, their families, and our entire community.” Tahseen Ali Ahmad, a student at Trinity College, and Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College, were both wounded in the shooting. The three had grown up together in the West Bank, according to the New York Times. The students were reportedly speaking in a mixture of English and Arabic and wearing keffiyehs at the time they were shot by Eaton, prompting federal officials to investigate if the attack was a hate crime. The shooting was ultimately not prosecuted as a hate crime in Vermont.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
PAGE 2
Friday, September 25, 2026
UNIVERSITY NEWS ACADEMICS
IAPA course takes AI-forward approach, receives mixed reviews The course is the only mandatory credit for one IAPA track BY MIRIAM DAVISON SENIOR STAFF WRITER
IAPA 1002: “Foundations of Policy and Governance” is the only mandatory course for students in the international and public affairs policy and governance track. This semester, the course, taught by Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs Dany Bahar, is having students grapple with a relatively new aspect of policy work: generative artificial intelligence. “AI can help us go through a much wider amount of material,” Bahar said in an interview with The Herald. In the course, students are expected and encouraged to use AI tools to complete take-home assignments. The course “treats artificial intelligence as a fact of professional life,” the syllabus reads. “I know that they’re going to be using it, so I might as well help them use it,” Bahar said. For example, students preparing for inclass debates can use AI to work through policy reports and other preparation materials, Bahar said. But during the debate itself, Bahar is looking to evaluate whether students can demonstrate critical thinking and an understanding of the material. “Based on what I heard, the vast majority of people in the class are looking comfortable with all of these tools,” Bahar said. Adunola Ogedengbe ’29 said she was surprised by Bahar’s embrace of AI tools in the course, but that she doesn’t feel like she is learning any differently than she would without the presence of AI. “When it comes to using AI in education, I think we have to ask ourselves how exactly
The course’s approach to artificial intelligence has drawn concerns from some students. we’re using it, and if it’s complementing our education and learning,” Ogedengbe said. “I think this course teeters that very fine line of either complementing it, or absolutely just overtaking it.” Even though Alex Kleist ’29 has avoided relying on AI to complete coursework, he said that AI “definitely can be beneficial in different ways” in the classroom. So far, Kleist has found IAPA 1002 to be “engaging.” But the course’s approach to AI has drawn concerns from some students. After learning about the extent to which AI was integrated with IAPA 1002, Francesca Rae Marzilli ’29 decided to drop it. As a transfer, Marzilli was drawn to “the unique educational opportunities” Brown has to offer. But when she walked into IAPA 1002, she said she felt she “was not being presented with an opportunity to learn,” but rather an “opportunity to practice how to use generative AI.”
“We do not need to pay $9,900 a semester for a professor to teach us how to use generative AI,” she added. Eli Smith ’29 said that since the very first day of the course, he was struck by the prevalence of AI in class. He said that he felt its approach to AI utilization “was pretty terrible,” and that “it kind of took out a lot of student involvement in the course.” He said that students are “expected to have the AI generate things instead of generating them themselves” and that “students were expected to be reading AI materials instead of properly researched scholarly works.” According to Wilber Sean Anterola ’29, the course also asks students to use an AI chatbot to complete personal reflections, a task that contributes to their participation grade. Because IAPA 1002 is required to complete the policy and governance track, Smith said he is “very seriously considering changing” his IAPA track or even switching to a different
VICTORIA YIN / HERALD
concentration altogether. “I’d push back on the idea that AI inhibits learning or hurts the class,” Angus Miller ’29 wrote in a message to The Herald. “That view tends to treat AI as a shortcut rather than as a tool, one that, used well, helps you take in more information rather than replacing your thinking.” “With broader access to advanced research tools and AI, it’s important that students learn how to use them well,” Miller added. “In a field like policy and governance, why wouldn’t you want a tool that can aggregate far more data than any one person could on their own, to help build a clearer picture?” While Marzilli understands that students should be prepared to use AI professionally, she said that people “don’t yet have the knowledge and the base understanding to easily fact-check what these tools are producing.” “We still need to learn how to write essays, even if generative AI exists — it’s still a
valuable skill to be able to think and research,” Marzilli said. “Maybe in the professional sector people are just using AI, but wouldn’t you rather hire somebody who has the know-how to do it themselves and can actually ensure that what they’re producing is real?” Smith also said he understands the importance of AI in the professional world, but found the course’s approach to “AI utilization” to be “pretty terrible.” In response to students’ concerns, Bahar wrote in an email to The Herald, “I wish they’d have come to talk to me, and I would have done my best to work through the concerns, which I think are all valid.” “My doors are open, and I take students’ feedback extremely seriously,” Bahar added. John Friedman, dean of the Watson School of International and Public Affairs and professor of economics, said course policies and assignments at the Watson School remain up to individual faculty. “I think it’s really important to try to innovate and try new things out because if we wait until we’re 100% sure on trying anything, we’re going to be way behind the curve,” Friedman said. He added that experimentation does not mean abandoning teaching the skills that students need to develop independently. “If you know how to think critically, you can use AI better,” Friedman said. “But also, if you know how to use AI effectively, you can enhance your ability to think critically.” Professors are “all trying new things, and that’s why I’m particularly looking for feedback on how to improve things,” Bahar said. “I want this to work for everyone.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2026.
DEVELOPMENT
Nearby residents dissatisfied with Brown’s new proposal for economics building The newly shared plan may still require demolition of houses BY JEREMIAH FARR & ROMA SHAH SENIOR STAFF WRITER & UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR Last week, the University announced revised plans for its new economics building following community feedback on the original proposal shared in April. But many community members and nearby residents are still pushing back and are unsatisfied with Brown’s new proposal. At a Tuesday community meeting hosted by Providence Ward 1 city councilor John Goncalves ’13 MA’15, nearby residents and community members came together to voice their concerns regarding the proposal. The meeting was attended by Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 and architects from the firm Höweler + Yoon, the selected architect for the project. The original proposal held the potential for four residential houses, including two historic houses, to be demolished. The new proposal no longer includes the potential to demolish the two historic buildings, which were built in 1886 by Alexander Gorham, a Black real estate developer. In their new proposal, the University has committed to preserving and restoring these homes. The preservation of the Gorham houses is a “good effort on the University’s part,” Ray Rickman — executive director of Stages
ANNAMARIA LUECHT / HERALD
The new economics building was previously planned to be built on Brook Street between Benevolent and Charlesfield streets. of Freedom, an advocacy nonprofit aimed at reducing racial disparities — said in an interview with The Herald. “It’s a real win for Black history, Black culture,” added Rickman, who is also a former state representative for College Hill and Rhode Island Deputy Secretary of State. During the meeting, Carey shared an overview of the building plan and the changes made over the summer. “A department that is spread across multiple buildings is less effective, less impactful and less attractive to students and faculty,” said Carey. In the meeting, Goncalves asked whether the University has plans to integrate the historical home structures into the new building. “We would make an effort to see if they can be relocated. Other homes in this area have been relocated,” responded Carey. “If
not, to salvage as much as possible. But no, I do not anticipate any effort to incorporate them into the new economics building.” Other attendees of the meeting mentioned worries such as construction noise and building designs not matching surrounding neighborhood buildings. Marisa Angell Brown, executive director of the Providence Preservation Society, has been advocating for the preservation of the houses on the proposed building site, each of which the society considers historic. The PPS, with the help of interns, is working on researching Brown’s history of demolition and development in Providence after the University told her that they do not keep records of this data. She called for a moratorium on Brown demolition and development until the University does “a real accounting of their
clearance and redevelopment history and the impacts in Providence,” she said. In the Zoom chat, multiple community members repeatedly asked for a copy of the request for proposals. “This has been a kind of a show of checking the box of community engagement by hosting a couple of Zoom meetings,” Angell Brown said in an interview with The Herald. “There is a sense that nothing being said is shaping outcomes.” In response to residents’ criticisms of the University’s level of community engagement, University spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald that the “significant” revision of the original plan was due to community feedback. “Hearing from neighbors early in the design process allowed us to respond meaningfully to feedback in the feasibility stage while continuing to advance our institutional priorities,” Clark wrote. Rickman said he believes Brown is unwilling to pay the price to move the historic buildings and they are being disingenuous when talking about moving them. “They wish to tear those houses down,” he said. Brown has offered to sell the houses for $10 to anyone who is willing to pay for the relocation of the houses. The University has relocated and adapted houses in the past. “If those efforts are unsuccessful, both (houses) would be offered to organizations for architectural salvage before the remaining structures are removed,” Clark wrote. “Many factors — e.g., the condition of the buildings, site and relocation considerations, project plans — impact
decisions on when it is and isn’t feasible for the University to undertake building relocations.” “It’s not realistic,” nearby resident Peter Brown said of offering buyers to move the houses. “It’s basically a way for them to buy themselves time, and say that they’re not destroying houses.” Community members continue to advocate for all four houses to be preserved. Peter Brown said that he is happy that Brown is keeping and restoring the two Gorham houses, but he believes that the University “should do even more” and keep all four houses. “We’re not opposed to them building and growing, but try and work within the confines of what we have,” Peter Brown said. “Brown has a lot of resources and a lot of smart architects. Do something creative and don’t tear down more houses.” Peter Brown believes that the reduced 60-foot height is still too tall and will tower over the four residential houses adjacent to the building. “The proposed height is well below the height allowed in the area by city zoning ordinances, and is comparable to the residence halls and academic buildings located nearby,” Clark wrote. He noted that the sites are located within an I-2 Educational Institutional District Zone, which allows the “planned growth of educational institutions while maintaining compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 23, 2026.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
PAGE 3
UNIVERSITY NEWS FREE SPEECH
Brown rises 89 places in college free speech rankings, receives a ‘D’ grade Rejection of a TPUSA chapter negatively impacted Brown’s score BY RACHEL WICKER SENIOR STAFF WRITER Brown was ranked 98th of 261 schools in the 2027 College Free Speech rankings compiled by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, marking a continued upward trend from the 2025 and 2026 rankings. FIRE, a nonprofit civil liberties organization dedicated to protecting free speech, gave Brown an overall score of 62.5 out of 100 and an overall letter grade of “D.” Ratings were partly determined by the 289 respondents to FIRE’s student survey about how they “perceive free speech” on campus. According to FIRE’s website, Brown’s score was penalized due to a “speech controversy” that involved the Undergraduate Council of Students denying recognition to a student group on campus. Last spring, a group of students attempted to establish a chapter of the conservative group Turning Point USA at Brown, the Brown Spectator reported. FIRE’s website references the Brown Spectator’s reporting, stating that the UCS’s decision suggests potential “viewpoint discrimination.” “TPUSA was rejected due to its similarity to other debate clubs on campus,” such as Brown Political Union and Brown Debating Union, and “was not rejected for political reasons,” Tommy Medlin ’27, chair of student activities for UCS last spring, wrote in an email to The Herald. Medlin acted as the Student Activities Committee representative for TPUSA, which involves meeting with each prospective group for a 15-to-30-minute conversation about their goals.
ANNAMARIA LUECHT / HERALD
The new economics building was previously planned to be built on Brook Street between Benevolent and Charlesfield streets. FIRE’s website cites additional information from the Brown Spectator that suggests UCS’s rationale for rejecting the group “was inconsistently applied,” as there are “numerous left-leaning groups” and “sixteen a cappella groups” on campus. “This is not a fair comparison,” Medlin wrote in response, stating that clubs like a capella were approved in the past when “criteria to become a new club was much less strict.” “Now, there is (a) much stricter criteria about ‘distinct niches,’ because only around a quarter of all applications can be approved,” he said, noting that SAO has a cap of 450 active student groups due to funding constraints. Medlin noted that TPUSA can apply again to “emphasize their differences
from other debating organizations on campus.” A prospective member of TPUSA did not respond to multiple requests for comment. TPUSA was rejected because it did not receive enough votes from UCS. Medlin explained that after this vote, SAO reviews all club applications to ensure the reasoning behind their acceptance or rejection is fair and to formalize the rationale for that decision. “SAO serves as an accountability partner, supporting a fair and consistent review process,” Joie Forte, senior associate dean and director of student activities, wrote in an email to The Herald. “Approximately 50 of 80 student groups seeking recognition for Spring 2026 were not approved.”
Brown was ranked in the top 25 of universities in the category of “Openness” and rose over 100 places in both “Self-Censorship” and “Comfort Expressing Ideas.” Rachel Lee ’27, co-president of Brown’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter, wrote that she is “generally comfortable speaking out on campus, especially with advocacy” and finds most professors and students to be open to different beliefs. But she added that she may have “reservations” when “advocating for an issue deemed ‘controversial’ by the University.” Lee also wrote that on an administrative level, there have been “real threats to free speech at Brown” in recent years, particularly “in the ways student demonstrations have been punished.” She referenced the suspension of the student group
Students for Justice in Palestine in 2024, which she believes was a way of “stifling student speech and protesting.” University spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald that while “protest is a necessary and acceptable means of expression on campus,” student activism should not “interfere with the normal functions of the University, include intimidation or harassment of community members or infringe on the rights of others.” “We are committed to upholding freedom of expression while also respecting the dignity and humanity of others,” Clark wrote. “Brown students are extremely homogeneous in both political orientation and economic class,” Eva Skelding ’28, communications and outreach director for Brown ACLU, wrote in an email to The Herald. “Because of these two factors, I’ve noticed that people tend to avoid certain topics.” Skelding wrote that she thinks these factors may negatively impact the type of free speech that comes up “in everyday campus life,” which includes students’ ability to share their views “without social ostracism.” Aarav Laungani ’29, an international student from Dubai, said that he is cautious about publicly expressing his political beliefs due to concerns for his visa status. But he said that Brown has helped him feel comfortable sharing his views and opinions with peers and classmates. He added that he was “surprised” by Brown’s ranking. “I didn’t expect that,” he said. “I thought Brown would be a school where everyone feels like they can give their opinion.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 23, 2026.
Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the editor.
SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD 136TH EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Cate Latimer
Rebecca Goodman
Managing Editors Ciara Meyer Elise Haulund Claire Song
University News Editors Emily Feil Rebecca Goodman Samah Hamid Zarina Hamilton Ivy Huang Ian Ritter Alejandro Ruiz Roma Shah
Senior Editors Hadley Carr Paul Hudes Max Robinson POST- MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief Elaina Bayard
Sports Editor Sajiv Mehta
COMMENTARY Head of Editorial Page Board Ethan Canfield
NEWS Metro Editors Michelle Bi Pavani Durbhakula Talia Egnal Emily Feil Amber Marcus-Blank Science & Research Editors Ivy Huang Ian Ritter Alice Xie
Opinions Editors Talia Berkwitz Ethan Canfield Christian Davis Isabella Gardiner Lucas Guan Avery Kaak CJ Lair Clara Murray Arya Vishwakarma
PRODUCTION Copy Desk Chief Chelsea Long Assistant Copy Chief Sofia Segarra Design Chiefs Emily Bao Maggie Ruan Design Editors Chloe Johnson Kailey Marti MULTIMEDIA Photo Chiefs Annamaria Luecht Kaia Yalamanchili Illustration Chiefs Kendra Eastep Isabela Guillen Video Chiefs Cienna Cheng Cody Cheng Social Media Chiefs Nate Barkow Annika Melwani Technology Chief Yassir Aouf
Arts & Culture Editors Ann Gray Golpira
Data Desk Chief Caleb Ellenberg Games Chief Paul Hudes Podcast Chief Talia LeVine Multimedia Editors Marat Basaria Horatio Hamilton Selina Kao Diya Khetan Ella Le Kenna Lee JJ Li Jake Parker BUSINESS General Managers Arjun Deshpande Anum Azhar Sales Directors Arjun Ray Hannah Han Finance Director Sydney Wright Office Manager Cary Warner
@the_herald
facebook.com/browndailyherald
@browndailyherald
@browndailyherald
88 Benevolent, Providence, RI (401) 351-3372 www.browndailyherald.com Editorial: herald@browndailyherald.com Advertising: advertising@browndailyherald.com
Op-eds are typically between 600 and 900 words and advance a clear argument related to a topic of campus discourse. You can submit op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com. Letters to the editor should be around 250 words and respond to an article or column that has appeared in The Herald, or critique or commend The Herald’s editorial decisions. You can submit letters to the editor to letters@browndailyherald.com. Submissions undergo multiple rounds of editing. These rounds of editing generally take place over the course of one evening, and you may have to respond to edits late in the evening. If you know you will be unable to do so, please mention that in your email, and we will do our best to work with you. Submissions can build on reporting from The Herald, reporting elsewhere, official statements from the University or other groups and other reputable sources, but they cannot break news or contain information that The Herald cannot verify. Because we cannot publish unsubstantiated information, failure to provide appropriate sources may mean we have to modify or remove unverified claims. The Herald will not publish anonymous submissions or submissions authored by organizations. Leaders of student organizations can be identified as such but cannot write under the byline of their organization. The Herald cannot publish all submissions it receives and reserves the right to edit all submissions. All submissions to The Herald cannot have been previously published elsewhere (in print or online — including personal blogs and social media) and must be exclusive to The Herald. Once your submission is published in The Herald, The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. owns the copyright to the materials. Commentary: The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. Corrections: The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Postmaster: Please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Advertising: The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion. The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. is a financially independent, nonprofit media organization bringing you The Brown Daily Herald and Post- Magazine. The Brown Daily Herald has served the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement and once during Orientation by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. Subscription prices: $200 one year daily, $100 one semester daily. Copyright 2023 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
PAGE 4
Friday, September 25, 2026
METRO ELECTIONS FROM PAGE 1
JAKE PARKER / HERALD
an ordinance to cap yearly rent increases at 4%. But Smiley vetoed it the next day, and the council came up one vote short of achieving a supermajority to override that veto. Morales said he aims to sign rent stabilization into law within his first hundred days in office. In addition to rent stabilization, progressive candidates addressed a wide range of affordability concerns. In Ward 5 — which generally has more homeowners than other parts of Providence — Democratic nominee and Program Director at the School of Public Health Jackie Goldman ScM’19 noted that residents are facing “brutal property tax increases.” “The crisis in the country is accelerating,” Michael Illuzzi, assistant professor of political science at Providence College, told The Herald. “The economy might be doing okay, but for a lot of people, they can’t actually afford to live,” he added. For the past ten years, voters have increasingly felt that “things aren’t working,” Illuzzi said. He added that over the last two years, he’s observed a shift toward candidates “who are going to push back on the established parties, who are going to say things and do things that would have been risky in the past.” To Goldman, who will become the first openly transgender elected official in Rhode Island if they win the general election, “the people of Providence are really ready for change, and are ready for an agenda that focuses on them.” A similar pattern has played out in races across the country. Some analysts have drawn comparisons between Morales’s win and Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign in New York City. Races in Michigan, Florida and Minnesota have also seen progressive candidates succeed in hotly contested Democratic primaries. “We’re up against entrenched money, corporate real estate, folks that have resources and are going to do everything they can to hold on to power,” Venkataraman told
The Herald. Seeing similar candidates across the country achieve victory “propelled us forward” and encouraged progressives to “work towards what we saw was possible,” Venkataraman added. Progressive candidates’ collaboration across campaigns Throughout their campaigns, progressive candidates in races across Providence worked together to achieve victory. Venkataraman described Morales’s mayoral campaign as an “umbrella campaign” for a number of candidates who ran on similar priorities and focused on affordability issues. During his mayoral watch party, many progressive Democratic city council primary winners, including Yolken, Goldman and Miguel Youngs — the Democratic nominee for Ward 1 — celebrated together and gave speeches. Leading the push were advocacy groups like Reclaim Rhode Island, a housing justice organization which organized rotating canvasses for progressive candidates, and the RIWFP, which endorsed a slate of progressive Providence city council candidates — all of whom won their primaries. “I feel like I was part of a movement with all of them, and a sort of high tide lifted all ships,” Youngs told The Herald. Much of the teamwork also occurred behind the scenes, with candidates also supporting one another by preparing each other for debates and policy conversations, Goldman said. Some candidates publicly cross-endorsed one another and even shared volunteers. “It’s rare to have candidates that are more focused on the mission than their individual candidacy,” Yulyana Torres, the Democratic nominee for Ward 3, wrote to The Herald. While canvassing for their own campaign in Ward 5, Goldman and their team would also speak to voters about Morales and advocate for his campaign. “We were really able to do something unique in our corner of Providence” by reinforcing “progressive politics up and down
multiple tickets,” Goldman said. At one point, Yolken had more volunteers than she needed, so her Ward 13 volunteers canvassed in different districts. Meanwhile, Torres noted that her campaign team canvassed with Morales and Meghan Kallman, the Democratic nominee for State Senate District 15. “There was really a collaborative spirit,” Yolken wrote. “I think that kind of coordination helped create a sense that we were part of something larger than any individual campaign.” Youngs chose not to cross-endorse Morales to avoid alienating Smiley voters, but still worked with him on the back end, sharing voter data and volunteer resources. “The more that we can work together, amplify each other and focus on a people-centered agenda, the more we can have success,” Goldman said. The coalition behind the campaign These candidates’ shared vision for a more affordable Providence brought together a “historic coalition” of organizations which have not always worked together in the past, Venkataraman said. “There is a broad cross section of people in Providence that want and deserve better leadership in City Hall,” who “were willing to put in the work to make it happen,” she added. Besides Reclaim R.I. and the RIWFP, healthcare workers’ union SEIU 1199, the Providence Teachers’ Union, and Brown graduate student union GLO AFT 6516 all endorsed the majority of this slate of candidates. “This wasn’t something that happened overnight,” Yolken wrote. “There has been a lot of organizing and relationship-building in Providence over many years, and that created a strong network” of collaborators. Youngs pointed to the dedication of his volunteers — who showed up for him, even in the summer heat and in the rain — as another key factor in his success. The incumbent Ward 1 city councilor, John Goncalves ’13 MA’15, spent almost seven
times as much as Youngs. “I knew I was going to be outspent by an order of seven or eight,” Youngs said. “I knew that I needed people,” Youngs said. “I knew that nobody was working harder than us.” “I feel like this election was such a message that you can’t just buy your way into a seat,” he added. Rhode Island Democratic Socialists of America did not endorse DSA member Morales or any candidates in the Democratic city council primaries. “It’s as necessary as ever to build a party for the working class, which is why Rhode Island DSA only runs candidates independently of the two corporate parties,” RIDSA spokesperson Daniel Crowell ’17 wrote in an email to The Herald. “To make the promise of change a reality, working-class people must unite to fight the capitalists and landlords in the months ahead,” he added. “Rhode Island DSA believes this moment will be more important than any politician.” Intentional messaging focus on affordability The wins in Providence were also the result of progressives’ successful political messaging, Brian Krueger, a professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island explained. “A lot of progressive campaigns were centered on a real acknowledgment of people’s experiences but also hope, opportunity and a vision for what the city could be,” Yolken wrote. Those who voted for these candidates are not necessarily turning to “a new broad ideological left per se, but they are especially open to progressive policies on bread-andbutter issues,” Krueger wrote in an email to The Herald. Meanwhile, in the mayoral race, Krueger noted that “Smiley tried to remind voters about the less popular elements” in Morales’s earlier campaign for state representative, such as his previous calls to defund the police. “But these did not gain traction”
with voters. The Providence government moving forward If Morales and the Democratic city council nominees win their general election races on Nov. 3, Providence government could undergo some significant changes. “With our incoming group of legislators, I think a lot is going to become feasible,” Torres wrote. “While we all have our individual priorities, we are united on bringing progressive solutions to the most pressing issues facing our city: housing, schools, protections for our immigrant neighbors and the environment.” “Now is when the rubber hits the road,” Venkataraman said. “Winning alone is not enough. You need to be able to use that power” to enact policies “that will have a real impact on people’s lives.” Venkataraman added that the RIWFP plans to assist Morales in a possible mayoral transition. Youngs — who is running unopposed in the Ward 1 general election — added that he is “really excited to be part of a council that has, from what I can tell, a majority of like-minded people.” In cases like the rent stabilization ordinance, the council used to aim for a supermajority of ten votes in order to override a veto. Now, given Morales’s shared progressive values, the council may only need a simple majority to get certain things done, Youngs said. “The mayor and the council, as the executive and legislative branch, have a very natural tension based on the balance of powers,” he added. “But that tension doesn’t need to be conflict all the time.” “When you’re designing legislation, when you’re designing policy, to be able to do so with the understanding that you are working with an administration that shares your vision — that changes the whole calculus."
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
PAGE 5
METRO PUBLIC SAFETY
How the PPD is using drones for law enforcement The drones contain camera and thermal-imaging technology BY MICHELLE BI METRO EDITOR This June, the Providence Police Department gained five new pairs of eyes in the skies. Weighing less than five pounds each and with up to 40 minutes of flying time, these Unmanned Aircraft Systems contain camera and thermal-imaging technology. The additions are part of the Drone as First Responder program, an initiative that has been gaining popularity across the country this year. In recent months, DFR programs have been deployed in California, Washington and Tennessee. In Providence, “the DFR program is designed to provide rapid aerial situational awareness to officers responding to an incident,” Kristy dosReis, Providence’s chief public information officer for public safety, wrote in an email to The Herald. “Rather than waiting for officers to arrive and assess a scene, a drone can often arrive within minutes and provide real-time information to personnel on the ground.” The drones are stationed in rooftop stations at the Providence Public Safety Complex. Trained PPD personnel can operate them remotely from the Real Time Crime Center — a data-sharing public safety hub that has come under scrutiny for its surveillance capabilities. According to dosReis, DFR deployments are authorized to respond to an array of
KENDRA EASTEP / HERALD
situations including the search for a missing person, documentation of crime scenes and the pursuit of a suspect fleeing a crime scene. PPD already deployed drones on Sept. 5 to help officers maintain visual contact with an individual suspected of possessing a firearm, and again on Aug. 31 to provide real-time information on a reported pop-up party near Harris Avenue. Brandon del Pozo — an assistant professor of medicine and of health services, policy and practice who worked as a police officer for 23 years — told The Herald that “there are very few to no downsides” to piloting drone programs, particularly in Providence. He emphasized the city’s lack of highrise buildings and the presence of criminal activity as factors conducive to introducing a UAS initiative. “With a modest investment in drone technologies, you can really improve police services,” del Pozo said. Meanwhile, the PPD isn’t the only agen-
cy in Rhode Island that has incorporated drones into its law enforcement strategies. Just a short drive away, the Warwick Police Department also operates UASs, according to Major Joel Thomas. The department’s two “Avata” drones produced by the company DJI “are used during tactical incidents where obtaining visual information before sending an officer into an area can reduce risk,” Thomas wrote in an email to The Herald. The traffic division also uses DJI’s “Mavic” drone to obtain more complete information about serious motor vehicle crashes. According to Lieutenant Adam Kennett, the UAS Unit of the Rhode Island State Police department currently operates a fleet of about 20 aircraft. Kennett recounted an incident in August during which a UAS equipped with thermal imaging helped fire personnel locate a distressed individual in a swamp. But the implementation of drone tech-
nology across the state has not come without controversy. “It’s hard to tell, from our position, the internal workings of a drone as a first responder,” Madalyn McGunagle — the policy associate at the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island — told The Herald. “Is the camera on the entire time the drone is flying? Are they capturing things on the way to go into whatever scene it may be? And then the question is, how long is that (data) kept?” McGunagle commented that state-level privacy protections are “not catching up with” the development of new technologies including drones, automated license plate reader Flock cameras and more. Currently, there are no statewide policies regulating the usage of UASs by law enforcement. “Every time a new surveillance technique is introduced, it just erodes our expectation of privacy a bit more,” McGunagle said. Among other restrictions, the PPD’s policy “specifically prohibits random surveillance and requires UAS deployments to comply with applicable state and federal law and the Fourth Amendment,” dosReis wrote. She added that personnel are also prohibited from “using a UAS to view or record video or photographs in an area where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy unless a valid search warrant has been obtained.” Kennett wrote that no RISP UAS platforms can record audio. “We understand why the public would have questions about privacy whenever law enforcement adopts technology that has the ability to capture images from the air,”
Thomas wrote. The usage of drones “must be connected to a legitimate law-enforcement or public-safety purpose and remains subject to the same constitutional protections and legal requirements that govern other police investigative activity,” he wrote. “It’s not like there’s a fleet of drones just hovering over Providence right now, just soaking up camera footage of the city,” del Pozo said. Still, he added that tight regulations are vital to the safe usage of drones by law enforcement. Further technological advancements need to be “carefully developed and regulated,” he said. “You can’t just experiment. You need to be extremely deliberate.” “The future is coming,” del Pozo said. “We need to be proactive about how we introduce things like this and not just let them stumble on us.” “Seeing these new introductions of these technologies,” McGunagle emphasized that “each one costs a little bit more to our privacy.” In the future, she hopes to see statewide policy standardize regulations around drone-captured footage, she told The Herald. She also hopes to see increased public transparency about the program and its operators. “The goal is not to increase surveillance of Providence residents,” dosReis wrote to The Herald about the DFR program. “The goal is to put information in the hands of responding officers before they arrive or while an incident is unfolding.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2026.
CITY HALL
City to vote on divestment from countries severely violating human rights Organizers collected over 10,000 signatures to get the issue on the ballot BY ANNIKA MELWANI SENIOR STAFF WRITER On Nov. 3, Providence will vote on Question 7, a proposed ordinance that would divest city funds from countries found to be committing severe human rights violations. Question 7 is the first citizen-initiated measure to make the city’s ballot, and the first time voters of any city in the country will directly vote on a binding divestment ordinance. If passed, the ordinance would bar the city from buying the sovereign debt of “foreign countries conducting ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation or genocide” and from investing in “complicit entities,” which it defines as “corporations which directly and knowingly enable and contribute to severe violations of international humanitarian law.” A citywide campaign, spearheaded by the Providence for Palestine coalition, pushed for the ordinance to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. Members of the coalition include Jewish Voice for Peace Rhode Island, Reclaim Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Democratic Socialists of America and AFT Local 6516 — the parent union of Brown’s Graduate Labor Organization. “Over 100 volunteers worked across the city of Providence from February through July to collect around 10,000 signatures,” Zack Kligler ’20.5, an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace R.I. and Providence for Palestine, said in an interview with The Herald. Though organizers surpassed the number of signatures required by the city charter
A citywide campaign, spearheaded by the Providence for Palestine coalition, pushed for the ordinance to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. CLAIRE DIEPENBROCK / HERALD
for an ordinance petition in April, the City Council did not enact the proposal upon receiving the petition. After the coalition obtained signatures from an additional 5% of Providence voters, the council set into motion the proposal’s enactment on July 30. “We’ve seen people come together across religion, across ethnicity, across cultural background to support this measure,” Kligler said. Kligler said that state Rep. David Morales MPA’19, Democratic nominee for Providence mayor, “has been a supporter of the campaign from the beginning.” “He’s been very clear about his dedication to making sure that this is enforced,” Kligler said. Morales’ former opponent Mayor Brett Smiley has decided not to back the proposed ordinance. “Antisemitism is a real threat in Providence,” Carl Austin Miller Grondin MPA’24, Smiley’s press secretary, wrote in an email to The Herald. “Many members of our Jewish community feel targeted and less safe due to symbolic gestures like this.”
“The Mayor will continue to advocate for people to vote no on Question 7,” Grondin wrote. Maria Friedman, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel, expressed a similar sentiment. “We are firmly against the proposed divestment ordinance,” Friedman told The Herald. “Although Israel isn’t explicitly named in the ordinance language, the organizers of this ordinance have made it clear that it targets Israel,” she continued. “It is antisemitic to single out and try to destroy economically the only Jewish state in the world.” “It doesn’t end with the Jews,” she said. “They’ll start chipping away at other groups, at other freedoms if we’re not careful.” In response to Friedman’s claim, Providence for Palestine organizer Adit Sabnis GS wrote that “criticizing Israel’s illegal military occupation, apartheid and genocide” is not antisemitic, “but trying to equate all Jews with the actions of Israel certainly is.” Kligler said that the campaign “has been
led disproportionately by Jewish organizers, for whom organizing for justice and human rights for all is part of our Jewish values.” He said that Israel “definitely” falls under the ordinance’s jurisdiction, noting that the exact list of other affected companies and countries will be determined through “the process of enforcement.” Friedman expressed concerns about the enforceability of the ordinance and argued that the consequences of passing this ordinance would extend beyond Providence’s Jewish community. The city would have to spend “hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation fees” to fight challenges to the ordinance, she said, adding that its passage “risks damaging the pensions and retirement investments of current and retired Providence city employees.” Sabnis wrote that divestment would not adversely impact the city’s finances. “The ordinance specifies that the city must continue to hold its financial duty to pensioners and residents as paramount in making investment decisions, safeguarding the city’s financial future,” he added. Several other cities throughout the United States have already passed divestment measures, including Medford, Massachusetts, Richmond, California and Belfast, Maine. “But this will be the first instance in which it is happening by popular vote directly,” Kligler added. “Given that Providence has a proud history of ethical investments,” Sabnis wrote, “the idea that divestment is harmful or would not be enforceable is disproven by the fact that Providence has done this successfully before.” In 2006, Providence became the first U.S. city to pull municipal funding from companies conducting business in Sudan during the genocide of civilians in the Darfur region. Addition-
ally, a 2013 City Council resolution approved Providence’s divestment from fossil fuels. In 2024, months before the Brown Corporation voted to reject a resolution to divest from companies that backed Israel and its military, the City Council proposed and heard a divestment ordinance which obtained the sponsorship of Council President Rachel Miller. The measure never made it out of committee. Friedman and Kligler are also split on the democratic implications of Question 7. Friedman claimed that, if passed, the ordinance would “raise everyone’s taxes,” and that litigation expenses would slow down city services such as trash pickup and snow removal. “It’s delegating our independence to unelected foreign bodies that are named in the ordinance,” Friedman said, adding that taking financial autonomy away from the city is “something that should alarm every Rhode Islander.” “We wholeheartedly believe in the value of human life and the right of every individual to live a life of dignity and safety,” Sabnis wrote in response to Friedman’s claims. “Those are human values, not values that belong exclusively to the ‘West.’” “Ultimately, this ordinance reflects a simple principle: Providence should not financially support governments or companies engaged in grave violations of human rights, regardless of which government is responsible,” Sabnis added. Meanwhile, Kligler expressed excitement about putting this choice “directly in the hands of the voters.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2026.
PAGE 6
Friday, September 25, 2026
SPORTS FOOTBALL
Football survives second-half New Haven comeback in 17-10 season-opening victory
The Bears scored all 17 of their points in the first half of the game BY HARRY GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER Every year, near the end of September, Brown students look forward to a classic fall tradition: the Brown vs. Harvard football game. This year, even though Brown should have home turf, the game will not be at Brown Stadium. Instead, the game will be played at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket. Traditionally, the Brown-Harvard game is Brown’s Ivy League Conference opener, and Harvard and Brown take turns hosting the match. Centreville Bank Stadium is approximately a 15-minute drive from campus. According to an email sent to students by Brown Athletics, the University will be providing free shuttle services to transport students to the stadium and back starting at 5:30 p.m. The shuttles will be picking students up at the John Carter Brown Library at 94 George St. Jeremy Blake-Johnson, senior associate director and chief financial officer of athletics, wrote in an email to The Herald that the decision to move locations was a “strategic choice to play a night game under the lights, and broadcast nationally on ESPN2.” The Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium, which traditionally serves as the home for Brown’s football team, does not have any permanent stadium lights. Previous home matches were held during the day, but in 2010 the first night game was hosted under temporary lights.
COURTESY OF CLARUS STUDIOS / BROWN ATHLETICS
The Bears will next turn their attention to Harvard (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) next Friday at Centreville Bank Stadium. Centreville Bank Stadium, equipped with permanent lights, is a nearby alternative, but its capacity is about half that of Brown Stadium. The stadium hosted the University’s game against the University of Rhode Island last year. Blake-Johnson also wrote that this choice was made in an effort to connect Brown students with the “broader Rhode
Island community.” Andrew Fuente ’29, who joined the cheerleading team at Brown last spring, said he is excited to cheer for his first ever home game. But despite his excitement, he said, “it’s disheartening to not be at our home stadium, knowing that it will discourage people from showing up.” Fuente’s friends have expressed dis-
content with the distance they will have to travel to attend the game, he said. When informed that Brown will be providing shuttles, Fuente said he “had no idea that was an option.” Yutaka Padilla ’29 said that “the only Brown football games (he’s) ever been to have been at the Brown stadium.” He said he wasn’t aware the Brown-Harvard game
was at a different location this year. While Brown students have previously been able to reserve seats to the home game for free with a Brown ID, at this year’s game in Pawtucket, only the first 1000 students will receive free tickets. The following 2000 were sold to students at a discounted price of $10. And after that, ticket prices ranged from $12-22 at the time of release. Blake-Johnson said that there was an “exceptional” demand for tickets, and that the first 1000 were claimed within minutes. On Tuesday, two weeks after tickets went live, prices ranged from $36-75, depending on the seat’s location in the stadium. “We’re not much of a sports school,” Tessa Gumberg ’29 said. “I think Harvard-Brown, at least in my experience as a freshman, was one of the biggest moments where I actually wore Brown merchandise.” Gumberg added she was disappointed that fans from Havard would not get to come to campus, a place she’s “really proud to show off.” Despite some student discontent, tickets for the game have nearly sold out, with only around 100 tickets left. Fuente, Padilla and Gumberg all bought tickets and plan to attend the game. Blake-Johnson noted that the changes are only in place for Friday’s game. “For the remaining four games at Brown Stadium, a Brown Student ID will allow any student to come out and support at no added cost,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
FOOTBALL
Brown vs. Harvard game to be played in Pawtucket, student ticket prices soar The new location is about a 15-minute drive from campus BY MARION POIROT CONTRIBUTING WRITER Every year, near the end of September, Brown students look forward to a classic fall tradition: the Brown vs. Harvard football game. This year, even though Brown should have home turf, the game will not be at Brown Stadium. Instead, the game will be played at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket. Traditionally, the Brown-Harvard game is Brown’s Ivy League Conference opener, and Harvard and Brown take turns hosting the match. Centreville Bank Stadium is approximately a 15-minute drive from campus. According to an email sent to students by Brown Athletics, the University will be providing free shuttle services to transport students to the stadium and back starting at 5:30 p.m. The shuttles will be picking students up at the John Carter Brown Library at 94 George St. Jeremy Blake-Johnson, senior associate director and chief financial officer of athletics, wrote in an email to The Herald that the decision to move locations was a “strategic choice to play a night game under the lights, and broadcast nationally on ESPN2.” The Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium, which traditionally serves as
Shuttles to the game will be picking students up at the John Carter Brown Library at 94 George St. JAKE PARKER / HERALD
the home for Brown’s football team, does not have any permanent stadium lights. Previous home matches were held during the day, but in 2010 the first night game was hosted under temporary lights. Centreville Bank Stadium, equipped with permanent lights, is a nearby alternative, but its capacity is about half that of Brown Stadium. The stadium hosted the University’s game against the University of Rhode Island last year. Blake-Johnson also wrote that this choice was made in an effort to connect
Brown students with the “broader Rhode Island community.” Andrew Fuente ’29, who joined the cheerleading team at Brown last spring, said he is excited to cheer for his first ever home game. But despite his excitement, he said, “it’s disheartening to not be at our home stadium, knowing that it will discourage people from showing up.” Fuente’s friends have expressed discontent with the distance they will have to travel to attend the game, he said. When informed that Brown will be providing
shuttles, Fuente said he “had no idea that was an option.” Yutaka Padilla ’29 said that “the only Brown football games (he’s) ever been to have been at the Brown stadium.” He said he wasn’t aware the Brown-Harvard game was at a different location this year. While Brown students have previously been able to reserve seats to the home game for free with a Brown ID, at this year’s game in Pawtucket, only the first 1000 students will receive free tickets. The
following 2000 were sold to students at a discounted price of $10. And after that, ticket prices ranged from $12-22 at the time of release. Blake-Johnson said that there was an “exceptional” demand for tickets, and that the first 1000 were claimed within minutes. On Tuesday, two weeks after tickets went live, prices ranged from $36-75, depending on the seat’s location in the stadium. “We’re not much of a sports school,” Tessa Gumberg ’29 said. “I think Harvard-Brown, at least in my experience as a freshman, was one of the biggest moments where I actually wore Brown merchandise.” Gumberg added she was disappointed that fans from Havard would not get to come to campus, a place she’s “really proud to show off.” Despite some student discontent, tickets for the game have nearly sold out, with only around 100 tickets left. Fuente, Padilla and Gumberg all bought tickets and plan to attend the game. Blake-Johnson noted that the changes are only in place for Friday’s game. “For the remaining four games at Brown Stadium, a Brown Student ID will allow any student to come out and support at no added cost,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 22, 2026.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
PAGE 7
SPORTS CLUB HOCKEY
Brown Club Hockey takes home Ivy League Championship win The team won their opening tournament on home ice BY LUCIA SANTIAGO SENIOR STAFF WRITER On Sunday, Brown Club Hockey triumphed over Cornell to win the Ivy League Tournament. The 6-2 victory against Cornell came after a series of wins against Harvard, Columbia, Princeton and Dartmouth earlier in the weekend. Hosted at Brown in Meehan Auditorium, the round-robin tournament included all the Ivy League club hockey teams, apart from Yale and Penn. Each team played five matches against every other team, with the top two winners advancing to the finals. In order to fit in all the games, 20-minute standard periods were reduced to 15 minutes. Last year, the team didn’t advance to the tournament finals. Players told The Herald that, since then, the team has gained strong rookie athletes, focused on developing chemistry and has benefited from strong leadership, which they credit for their improvement. Brown’s first game was against Harvard on Friday, where they won 6-0. David Novogrodsky ’29 said that the team
COURTESY OF LYNDEE SKLUTE
The round-robin tournament included six of the Ivy League club hockey teams, apart from Yale and Penn. only had a few days to prepare for that first game since tryouts ended very recently. “We had tryouts on Tuesday, had one practice on Thursday and then our first game was the next day on Friday,” Novogrodsky told The Herald. Game two was against Cornell, who was potentially the “best team” Brown would face, according to Ben Rakauskas ’27. “We were down 3-1 and then came back late in the game, tied it up 3-3,” Rakauskas
said. With “less than seven seconds left on the clock,” three of Cornell’s players managed to find a breakaway but were stopped by Connor Broderick ’30, the team’s new first-year goalie. The tie enabled Brown to secure the one-seed and helped the team’s confidence, according to Rakauskas. Novogrodsky commended Broderick, saying that his strength in the net allowed the team to be “more free with the puck” and have more “aggressive offensive plays.”
With this season’s recruits, the team had more depth on the bench to ensure no one got tired out. “In past years, we’d have to play one goalie for all six games, and we could afford to not do that,” Joaquin Stevenson ’29 said. Broderick was just one of the first-years who played a significant role in the tournament victory. “We got some newcomers who are very good, and that is always helpful,” Rakauskas said. Novogrodsky also credited the victories to a strong first line, which included
Wyatt Ehrhardt ’29, Jack Oliver ’29 and new defenseman Thomas Yang ’30 — all of whom are “good skaters with the puck.” “Being able to have lines that could really score, and lines in the back that could really enforce was a good team dynamic,” Novogrodsky said. “I think we really wanted it this year,” he added. “Our captain, Eva (Erickson GS), is a 5th-year PhD student, and this is the last year she could have won it … I’m really glad we could win it for her.” Rakauskas also praised Erickson’s leadership, saying she commands a lot of “respect” from the team and keeps them “locked in.” The final match, a high-energy game against Cornell, secured the tournament win. Between periods, the energy in the locker room was “super supportive and encouraging and positive and confident,” Stevenson said. “That mentality certainly helped propel us to a win.” Novogrodsky is looking forward to the rest of the season after the weekend’s strong start. “We have our sights set on nationals,” he added.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
SOCCER
‘If you can’t win, then don’t lose’: Men’s soccer held in check by NJIT in 1-1 draw The Bears failed to score a winner in the second half, losing their win streak BY SAJIV MEHTA SPORTS EDITOR From the opening whistle against the New Jersey Institute of Technology (3-4-1, 0-0 America East Conference) this Saturday, the men’s soccer team (4-1-1, 0-0 Ivy) looked stiff. Although the Bears entered the contest red-hot on the back of three consecutive victories, their good form seemed to evaporate in the brisk autumn air. An uncharacteristic defensive lapse in the first half caused the Bears to concede a goal and sent them into the locker room down 1-0. A goal by midfielder James Snaith ’28 in the 58th minute salvaged disaster for Bruno, but they could not find a score with any of their other 12 shots in the second half. The 1-1 draw marked the end of Bruno’s home-game winning streak, pushing Bruno out of the No. 1 spot in the Ivy League standings with just one match before regular-season Ivy play. “We kind of got what we deserved,” Head Coach Chase Wileman told The Herald in a post-game interview. “We had some chances, but I don’t think we did enough to really get the win. But if you can’t win, then don’t lose. We’ll take the draw and move on.” While the Bears consistently kept the ball in their attacking half during the match’s opening stages, clunky execution repeatedly doomed any scoring chances they created. Just five minutes into the game, forward Lorenzo Amaral ’27 received a wellplaced arcing pass from the left side of the box. Set up mere feet from NJIT’s goalie, Amaral leapt into the air and attempted a header that bounced off the bottom of the right post. Five minutes later — off a precisely
VANSON VU / HERALD
The 1-1 draw marked the end of Bruno’s home-game winning streak, pushing Bruno out of the No. 1 spot in the Ivy League standings with just one match before regular-season Ivy play. placed throw-in by defender Nicholas Sanchez ’27 — midfielder and defender Mathias Hille ’27 collected the ball in the box and dished it to forward Carlo Brown ’27. But Brown’s close-range shot slowly rolled to the hands of Highlanders goalie Andre Faerman, who easily made the save. The Highlanders did not waste much time capitalizing on Bruno’s misfires — and they did so in showstopping fashion. In a chaotic sequence featuring several loose balls, a Highlander swept the ball out from Sanchez’s possession. As NJIT’s Mateusz Marciniak dribbled the ball in midfield, he noticed Brown goalkeeper Graham Kois ’28 had strayed a significant distance from the goal line. Without missing a beat, Marciniak launched a rocket into the night sky. Although Kois
scrambled back, the ball soared mere inches over his outstretched glove and crashed into the back of the net to earn NJIT a 1-0 lead. “We were a little bit open, trying to play out of the back, create chances for ourselves from the build out,” Kois told The Herald in a post-game interview. “I think we just got caught, gave the ball away in a tough spot.” Following more unsuccessful offensive chances for Bruno, physicality began to bubble between the Bears and the Highlanders. Just after the 40-minute mark, NJIT midfielder Stefan Lichtenheim was ejected from the game for a high kick which made contact with midfielder Sawyer Turiace ’29. After a video review, the officiating team confirmed the red card — much to
the home crowd’s delight. The ejection reduced the Highlanders’ playing 11 to 10, giving the Bears a one-man advantage for the remainder of the game. Less than three minutes later, Snaith received a yellow card for a push on a Highlander while chasing down a loose ball. Then, in the first half’s closing moments, a scuffle broke out between the two teams that sent each side to the locker room with tensions flared up. During halftime, the Bruno coaching staff told the team to focus on defending the Bears’ home pitch and “attacking (NJIT) with everything we got,” Kois said. Heeding the advice, the Bears emerged for the second half on the attack. Thirty seconds in, they drew a free kick and a yellow card on NJIT for hard contact on the Bruno captain and midfielder Zion
Wharton ’27. Although it appeared that Carlo Brown had scored off an assist from Snaith, the referees called defender Shayne Thompson ’27 offside, snatching away the Bears’ moment of jubilee and silencing the celebratory music that had begun to echo around Stevenson-Pincince Field. Bruno continued to pressure the Highlanders’ defense until Snaith netted the equalizer for good in the 58th minute. Dribbling just beyond the box, Hille slipped a pass into the box to Snaith, who attempted to send the ball to Carlo Brown, but the ball boomeranged. Snaith did not waste the opportunity, sending a bullet of a shot into the net’s bottom left corner. “I was in a tight spot and got a lucky bounce,” Snaith told The Herald in a postgame interview. “I was trying to play Carlo through, but fortunately (the) defenders messed it up and had a chance. Glad I took it.” The Bears managed to take 11 more shots in the second half. But despite plenty of aggression and superior possession control, Bruno could not get past NJIT’s defense. A tantalizingly close chance came with less than 7 minutes left in the game. Hille was dribbling the ball with forward Mateo Pereyra ’29 running in tandem. Pereyra weaved through defenders until he was practically standing on NJIT’s goal line. But Pereyra ventured too far ahead of the ball, and mistimed what could have been an easy soft-touch to win the game. Soon after, time ran out alongside Brown’s hopes of coming away with the victory. The Bears will be back in action on Tuesday when they head cross-town to take on Providence College (4-3-1, 0-1 Big East). Providence is the team’s “biggest rival, probably,” Wileman said. “So I’m sure the guys will be up for it.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
PAGE 8
Friday, September 25, 2026
“where thoughts sit” by Danielle Li
I’ve been thinking quite a lot about chairs
FEATURE Managing Editor Chloe Costa Baker
Section Editor Christina Li
Section Editors Helen Hen Anika Kotapally
HEAD ILLUSTRATORS Lesa Jae Junyue Ma
ARTS & CULTURE Managing Editor Sasha Gordon
COPY CHIEF Jessica Lee
Section Editors Gabriella Miranda Rebecca Sanchez
recently—at least much more than the average person does day-to-day. I think about people too. People and chairs. People in chairs. Chairs that
NARRATIVE Managing Editor Gabi Yuan
once held people and now sit empty. It does not seem to matter much, not even to me. And even if it did matter, it is only a chair.
Section Editors Lucie Huang Chelsea Long
...
LIFESTYLE Managing Editor Hallel Abrams Gerber
Fact: My mom never let us take off the plastic wrapping of our new dining table chairs. I suppose this comes with the scrimp-andscrounge mentality shared amongst those who
Section Editors Alayna Chen Tatiana von Bothmer
leave their countries with nothing in their pockets. Those same people who are given the Sisyphean
See Full Issue:
ISSUU.COM/POSTMAGAZINEBDH
Copy Editors Eve Kobell Kate Schuyler Michelle Wassef Su Yang LAYOUT CHIEFS James Farrington Alexa Gay Amber Zhao Layout Designers Hannah Gapp Lily Rantanen Joshua Rezneck Emma Vachal SOCIAL MEDIA Yana Giannoutsos Hung Lam Eva Mahajan Rebecca Sanchez
task of making something from nothing at all. I
ISSUE 2
excerpt from
POST-POURRI Managing Editor Tarini Malhotra
VOL 38
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Elaina Bayard
understand this better now—empathize with it with a strange kind of resentment. My mom leans over the grease-and-Pepsisticky counter of the McDonald’s line, and I listen to foreign words tripping and stumbling over a
1. Great Lakes 2. Make this house a ____ 3. That movie with Rihanna 4. -ward bound 5. Kansas for Dorothy 6. Omaha for the Wizard of Oz 7. ____ Alone 2: Lost in New York 8. The Baudelaire family home (pre-fire) 9. “Work From ____” 10. Sherlock
foreign tongue as she points to the cheapest thing she can find on the menu. (She insists this is the only thing she likes.) I watch, silent, my perfectEnglish words locking on my perfect-English tongue. The teen at the cash register who looks just bored enough to be there and not bored enough to unravel the incoherency of my mother’s Mandarin-tinged order turns to me instead.
SEP 25
even—but back then, watching it unfold filled me
Cover by JJ Li
goodbye mini fridge 1
2
3
4
5
by Chelsea Long illustrated by Hannah Gapp
Across 1. South American civilization
5
with renowned 25,000-mile road network 6. 1630 at Brown where students think analytically 7. Famous problematic snack
6
8. Deck containing the page of cups 9. Type of institution
Down
7
1. Terribly angry 2. South Asian country located in the Himalayas 3. Cropped pant
8
4. In past years, Brown would _____ one mini fridge to each dorm. 5. Seven, in Madrid
8
“You’ve been working out in the shower?”
Want to be involved? Email: elaina_bayard@brown.edu!
“I’ve been in his bathroom a lot.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
PAGE 9
table of contents 1 reddit whirlpools
11 an argument for making peace Anika Kotapally
Serena Lee
3 where thoughts sit
13 i’m still here
Danielle Li
Tarini Malhotra
5 train to paris
15 goodbye mini fridge
AnnaLise Sandrich
Chelsea Long
9 sad, mad, glad Sara Harley
“I hope you read this with your eyebrows raised in mild shock at another woman’s chaos, and I hope you feel the warmth of self-assurance tickle your fingertips.” — Nina Lidar, “operation: against my worse judgement” 09.25.24
“I’ll stop filling my schedule and emptying my cup. And I’ll start drop by drop, a call to my brother, a walk for myself, a movie just for joy. ” — Ana Vissicchio, “fill my cup?” 09.26.25
letter from the editor
belonging and family. Sara wonders about what makes a book “happy” in A&C, and Anika argues for peace. In Lifestyle, Tarini confronts uncertainty and in post-pourri, Hallel rereads old journals. Finally, wish the Brown mini fridges goodbye with a mini crossword from Chelsea.
Dear Readers,
I know this is all a ruse by Mother Nature and summer will likely return next week (don’t tell me the actual answer; I refuse to check the weather),
Just a week ago, I was wishing for fall, and now that the first hint of chilly
and I’m sure by then, I’ll have become so attached to fall that I’ll be upset all
weather has swept in, I want it gone. I can’t get out of bed in the morning,
over again. But, oh well. I hope you read this issue of post- with something
because I fear my feet will freeze to the floor. I’m staring longingly at my new
pumpkin-spiced.
sundress that I never found the right occasion to wear around campus. I’m not really in an apple cider mood yet. Isn’t this always how it is? We want something so bad until we have it. Time sneaks up on us suddenly and we realize how many things we have pushed to the fantasy world of “later.” But, I’m trying to be optimistic. I’m planning out my fall recipes and gathering blankets around myself.
Still curled in bed,
Elaina Bayard Editor-In-Chief
This week, our writers are also finding sources of comfort and optimism. For Feature, Serena reminisces on escaping the dread of college applications with r/applyingtocollege. In Narrative, Danielle and AnnaLise explore
S eptember 25, 2026
9
PAGE 10
Friday, September 25, 2026
COMMENTARY Editorial: Brown shouldn’t be happy with a ‘D’ in free speech This month, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which monitors the state of free speech on college campuses, gave Brown a “D” letter grade in the 2027 College Free Speech Rankings. This ranking places the University at 98th out of 261 schools in the foundation’s rankings. Believe it or not, this dismal rating is actually an improvement from last year, when the University received an F and was ranked 187th out of 257 schools. But it is not only FIRE that has indicated that the University has a free speech issue. Brown’s very own Campus Climate Survey from January reported that only 67.3% of undergraduate students “agree or strongly agree that they can freely express their political or social views on campus.” If Brown were taking free speech S/NC, we would receive a No Credit. While this year’s FIRE report indicates that Brown is certainly improving when it comes to free speech, we should not be satisfied with a “D.” The FIRE report uses student surveys, analysis of university policies and speech controversies to determine its rankings. The foundation was founded over 20 years ago, and remains committed to “sincere nonpartisanship” in its mission to protect free speech on college campuses — something students across the political spectrum can agree with. The results of the report’s student surveys best explain why Brown received a “D.” FIRE’s analysis found that a third of Brown students report having self-censored
on campus “at least once or twice a month.” Seventy-seven percent of respondents report difficulty having an open and honest conversation on the “Israeli/Palestinian conflict,” and 41% have difficulty talking about affirmative action. Even more alarming, 32% of Brown respondents in the FIRE report said that violence is an acceptable method for preventing an individual from speaking on campus, at least in rare cases. While some discredit FIRE as having a right-leaning bias, several schools with conservative-leaning campuses, including the University of Arkansas, Utah Valley University and North Dakota State University, received an “F” in the latest report. FIRE also has a record of defending free speech regardless of who’s speaking. Last year, FIRE sued the federal government for its attempts to deport and silence pro-Palestinian students at Stanford University and filed an amicus brief supporting Harvard’s suit against the Trump administration to restore the university’s research funding. It is easy to view this free speech problem as a symptom of Brown’s lack of ideological diversity. According to The Herald’s recent First-Year Poll, roughly 73% of the class of 2030 identifies as liberal and 13% identify as moderate. Only 7% of first-years identify as conservative. While it is often assumed that it is only liberal voices drowning out their conservative peers, when looking at FIRE’s reporting on self-censorship at Brown, it is clear that our free speech issue is not merely con-
tained to conservative students. If 33% of Brunonians are self-censoring — a total greater than the 20% of the school’s non-liberal, politically oriented minority — it must be students on both sides of the aisle who are concerned about how they will be perceived if they speak their minds. Students are not alone in their responsibility to address our free speech issue. Regardless of a professor’s political leanings, they should continue to make an effort to foster rigorous academic environments in their classrooms where respectful disagreement and diversity of thought are encouraged. Classrooms ought to be places where students feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their beliefs without fear of academic or social repercussions. As it stands, Brunonians do have some opportunities to engage in meaningful discourse on campus, and they should seek them out. Both student-run clubs like the Brown Political Union and the Brown Political Review and initiatives sponsored by the University administration, such as the Community Dialogue Project, foster political discourse and engagement across differing political ideologies. But respectful disagreement shouldn’t be limited to spaces that intentionally provoke it. If students want to stop their peers from self-censoring, they should take the time to understand their perspectives, open up conversations and listen. Next time you’re in class and someone says something that you disagree with, resist the
urge to cringe or raise your eyebrows at them. Actually consider their point of view and question your own beliefs. When a speaker you don’t like comes to campus, show up and hear them out. Your opinion may not change, but by making a conscious effort to seek out opposing views, you will make Brown a campus where students feel more comfortable expressing themselves. Regardless of political beliefs or personal background, we all hold at least one thing in common: We came here to learn. We have the foundation to cultivate diversity of thought, and we all reap the benefits of open discourse on campus. Now we need the intentionality to foster this environment. The preservation of free speech presents an uphill battle, and no university is perfect. But if students, professors and administrators all make an effort to acknowledge our current shortcomings and listen honestly to opposing views, we can preserve perhaps the most essential piece of Brown’s mission: “communicating and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry.”
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board, and its views are separate from those of The Herald’s newsroom and the 136th Editorial Board, which leads the paper. A majority of the editorial page board voted in favor of this piece. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
Edelson ’29: Brown students have spirit — Athletics needs to ensure we keep it up On Sunday, Sept. 6, the 13th-nationally-ranked and undefeated University of Central Florida women’s soccer team came to College Hill looking to add another win to their record. Stepping onto the pitch, they weren’t counting on Bruno to show them the door. Backed by 1,215 fans, Brown’s women’s soccer team obliterated UCF from the first whistle to the last, winning 7-0. The game was heavily advertised as the New Student Orientation game and a white out, as well as the Game of the Week for the Bruno Bear Pack, Brown’s official student section, which I revived last year and continue to lead. These factors — combined with a 600-shirt giveaway and pre-kick-off yard games, music and food trucks — brought students out in large numbers. During the game, the Bear Pack kept fans unified and on their feet. For one afternoon, Brown looked like a school with a thriving sports culture. But this was unexpected. During the 2025 fall season, women’s soccer averaged only 557 fans at home, and only 850 attended last year’s orientation game. So why did this game work so well, and why don’t others? The answer isn’t that Brown students suddenly discovered school spirit — it’s that Brown Athletics gave them a reason to bring it to the game. By encouraging attendance through incentives like free merch, food and music, Brown should make a few home athletic events each year more than just games, and transform them into hubs for student connection. Brown has recently struggled to get students into the stands. According to The Herald’s Spring 2025 Poll, more than 80% of students surveyed said they attend athletic events less than once per month. It would be easy to conclude that Brown students don’t care about athletics, and as I have written numerous times, our teams deserve more support. But looking at other data collected by The Herald makes it apparent that Brown’s problem is not simply a lack of spirit — rather, it is a failure to maintain it. The Herald’s Fall 2025 Poll found that the classes of 2028 and 2029 reported greater school spirit than the classes of 2026 and 2027. Most recently, the poll surveying the class of 2030
ISABELA GUILLEN / HERALD
showed the most significant spirit yet, as 75% of first-year students plan to attend athletic events at least once per month, and more than half plan to attend more than twice a month. Taken together, these stats point to a promising reality. Brown’s younger students appear interested in supporting campus athletics. To turn this student interest into a lasting habit, Brown Athletics needs to more consistently give its passionate students reasons to attend, beyond the game itself. A few big games each season should be built into larger events, advertised and coordinated throughout the student body and organizations like the Bruno Bear Pack. These highlighted games could feature free food, merch, fan contests, tailgates, halftime shows from student performance groups or other live music. A larger event can give students a reason to attend with friends, making the social experience in the stands almost as important as what happens on the field. Brown should establish and maintain traditions that students can carry with them as proud alumni, like the singing of our fight song, “Ever True
to Brown,” recurring student section themes (think white out, black out or jersey night) or other traditions that make attending a game feel like a part of the Brown experience. The UCF game was a perfect blueprint. A highly-ranked opponent, a white-out, giveaways, food, merch, yard games, music and widespread advertising on a fair-weathered day. Students were excited to get back to campus, and first-years especially felt included as their Bruno Leaders invited them to the game. Brown did more than just schedule a soccer game. It created a compelling and engaging campus event, and Brown students responded. While the women’s soccer game offered a dream set-up for increasing school spirit, it wasn’t the only recent opportunity for Brown to generate excitement around its athletics. In April, the baseball team fought for a spot in their first Ivy League postseason since 2007, yet had attendance of around 200 throughout its final homestand. Last season, women’s basketball made it to its first Ivy Madness since 2017, but attracted only 439 fans at the game where they
clinched the playoff berth. These recent, historic successes were not well advertised, and perhaps therefore, not well attended. Hope and enthusiasm are returning to Brown Athletics. The energy cultivated at the UCF game can and should be contagious, as students realize the fun to be had in cheering for Bruno. Brown doesn’t need to manufacture school spirit from thin air. It just needs to maintain the spirit that is already on College Hill. The Class of 2030 is arriving excited to attend games. The UCF game showed what happens when Brown gives students a compelling event to go to, more than just a game to skip out on. The challenge now is making sure that enthusiasm survives orientation and the occasional big Harvard-Brown game. Brown has the fans. Now, it needs to keep them coming back.
Clay Edelson ’29 can be reached at clayton_edelson@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
PAGE 11
OPINIONS
Gold ’29: Light pollution is ruining nights on College Hill On Sept. 7, 2026, Brown hosted a quiet stargazing event for New Student Orientation. Participants gathered on the Ruth J. Simmons Quadrangle to enjoy snacks, drinks and what I can only imagine was another dull, gray Providence night sky. The University evidently understands the joys that a starry sky
ern United States, that doesn’t mean it must be this way. Many cities across the United States and Canada have begun efforts to encourage bird-safe lighting during periods of high migration. Initiatives such as DarkSky International have begun working with communities across the globe to reclaim our starry
can bring. Nonetheless, Brown and the City of Providence are sorely lacking in efforts to mitigate light pollution. Currently, College Hill’s level of light pollution means that the naked eye can see fewer than 200 stars, compared to the approximately 4,000 visible under the natural dark sky. Not only does this rob Brown’s student body of the joy of stargazing, but it can also cause detrimental effects for student and environmental health. Facing the crisis of modern light pollution, Brown and Providence need to step up and work to reduce their light emissions. Light pollution has become one of America’s most widespread environmental crises. In 2016, “The New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness” concluded that over 99% of American and European populations live under polluted skies, with almost 80% of North Americans living under skies that completely hide the Milky Way galaxy from view. Sadly, Rhode Island experiences some of the worst light pollution in the U.S. Nearly 100% of its skies face moderate to high “sky glow,” an increase in the apparent brightness of the night sky and decreased visibility due to light beams cast by artificial sources. Life on College Hill comes with many perks, but the constant presence of light is certainly not one of them. In numerous studies, the effects of light pollution have been linked to a disruption of the natural circadian rhythm. When photons enter the retina during periods of the night when sleeping should naturally occur, it reduces the body’s natural production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes healthy sleep. As a result, excessive artificial light has been linked to increased risks of prostate and breast cancer, obesity and early-onset diabetes. Perhaps most of you, like me, grew up being constantly reminded of the dangers of “blue light” on human sleep health.
ents some danger. Growing up in Oregon, I had the chance to spend many nights lying in a tent, enjoying the countless stars that blanket the Cascade Range each night. I regularly found myself awed at the sheer vastness and beauty of the galaxy we call home. The magnitude of a starry sky forces us to confront the sublime, the utter smallness of our individuality. Throughout human history, this confrontation has provided inspiration to countless artists, writers, thinkers and dreamers. We can thank this very awe for great works such as Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” In a documentary on R.I. light pollution from Ocean State Media, NASA Visualization Scientist Kimberly Arcand asks the poignant question, “What would that painting look like if he had looked out and saw light pollution … all of those beautiful swirls that you see in the night sky that he created, they would have been just blobs of yellow fog.” College Hill is home to countless young artists and dreamers, students who have worked tirelessly to reach institutions like Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design that inspire and drive them. However, with the current state of light pollution here in Providence, these same students lose access to a universal source of in-
tory. We no longer look up and see Van Gogh’s skies. Instead, we find ourselves blinded by a bubble of artificial light and human creation, unable to see our own place in the universe. Beyond light pollution’s threats to human health and emotional well-being, the environmental danger it poses can’t be underestimated. Light pollution causes serious disruptions to the routines of nocturnal organisms, such as feeding, foraging and mating. It can also disorient animals that seek out natural sources of light, such as insects and even hatchling sea turtles. Furthermore, the presence of large sources of unnatural light disorients migratory birds, who predominantly travel at night, leading to often fatal collisions with buildings. One study suggests that the lights of each family home in America likely account for one to three migratory bird deaths. Added up, urban, suburban and rural light pollution results in the deaths of up to 988 million birds each year in the United States alone. This makes light pollution especially problematic for Rhode Island, which plays a massive role in the migration of birds on the eastern seaboard as a premium location for migration stopover as birds flock to Rhode Island’s disproportionately large coastline. While light pollution of this sort has become rel-
skies. Sadly, a walk around College Hill will show that Brown is not exactly leading the fight for clearer nights. While some fixtures do follow guidelines for light covers that prevent sideways or vertical spread of light, many don’t. Globe lights, like those found in front of the Arnold Biological Laboratory, and the uplights that shine skyward on University Hall provide a few of the most egregious examples. The simple act of replacing these lights, or just covering the vertical and horizontal beams, can make a massive contribution to the fight against light pollution. Beyond this, Brown could turn off all non-essential interior lights of buildings once they close for the night. Finally, Providence could make a commitment to remedying detrimental light architecture, and commit to dramatically reducing its light signature during periods of avian migration, just as so many cities across the country have already begun to do. As I am writing this, it is currently 12:03 AM on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. I am sitting on the Main Green, looking up at a “clear” sky — and I miss my star-peppered home. The same architecture that so called to me one spring morning in 2023 when I first looked out on this green, now stands brutally illuminated under an empty sky. Without action from the University and the City of Providence, our skies will remain this way. However, if our community makes small, consistent efforts to reduce our light emissions, we can reclaim the awe of dark and beautiful nights.
However, any form of light at night evidently pres-
spiration that has touched humankind for all of its his-
atively normal for the densely populated Northeast-
ANNAMARIA LUECHT / HERALD
Reid Gold ’29 can be reached at reid_gold@brown. edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
Berkwits ’29: We need to bring our education to the woods Earlier this month, I participated in Brown Outdoor Leadership Training, affectionately known as BOLT: an outdoor education program for incoming sophomores and transfer students at Brown. Students spend five days in the New Hampshire White Mountains with their phones left powered-off, 200 miles away. Never before had I seen a group of my peers so present, invested, collaborative, in awe and inspired. Deeply held beliefs and feelings were discussed under tarps, and thoughtful questions were raised as we clambered up rocks. Despite — or maybe because of — our unshowered state, the group developed a deep sense of closeness, both interpersonally and in relation to the surrounding scenery. As I trekked along the Presidential Trail, I came to realize that the experience of this backpacking trip had profoundly educational qualities — qualities that seem essential to a university committed to deep intellectual curiosity, creativity and individuality. Yet, when I returned to College Hill and searched for similar experiences of collaboration, focus and care, I came up empty-handed. It feels as though in the age of artificial intelligence, these values have become harder and harder to find. It is clear that we must recalibrate our perception and commitment to the art of learning. To do so, I think Brown should bring its students to the woods. Undergraduates at Brown, and across the country, have abandoned such values. Professors across departments have begun to change the way they evaluate their students due to an increase in unauthorized use of AI to complete coursework. 60% of college students are reported feeling academic burnout. Students’ attention spans have become significantly shorter due to technology usage, resulting in challenges for critical thinking and engagement. Because of a widespread lack of motivation, students are not engaging with the material provided to them. In other words, we are experiencing a chasmic dis-
CINDY HU / HERALD
connect from the studies we so eagerly sought to pursue. My experience in BOLT is not unique. Nature is known to play a distinct role in reestablishing academic purpose and performance. The outdoors has been found to be a form of attention restoration therapy by engaging individuals with “bottom-up” stimuli, improving focus and school performance and decreasing anxiety. Additionally, time spent away from electronics can reset attention spans, with a two-week detox having attention-increasing results comparable to reversing 10 years of aging. Nature is a remedy for the academic maladies that have been diagnosed. To capture and realize these advantages, Brown should establish a term-long outdoor, academic and credit-bearing program with the goal of encouraging students to rigorously and authentically engage with materials provided to them. Alongside Brown professors, students will take courses in which they can deeply engage with texts and concepts away from the temptations of electronics. They will read, annotate and debate, formulating ideas and
rethinking preconceived notions. They will spend their time in quiet solitude and lively collaboration, orienting themselves to what it means to be an element of a natural space. Whether it be when reading, cooking or hiking, their purpose is to be fully present and immersed as students in the unique space they inhabit. Utilizing nature in an effort to strengthen academic experiences is not a novel idea. For six and a half weeks each summer, the University of Michigan hosts the New England Literature Program in New Hampshire, where students take three English courses, spending time rigorously reading New England authors and writing their own works. Across the country in California, Deep Springs College runs a two-year academic program combining intensive seminar-style learning and manual labor on a cattle ranch. Students who have participated in these programs of outdoor immersion reflect on the experiences as magical spaces of creative experimentation, a life-changing experience, providing deep academic realization and personal growth. The concept of pursuing off-campus Brown stud-
ies is not unprecedented. We have a Global Experiential Learning and Teaching program where students enroll in a five-week internationally taught course. Additionally, Brown administers two study abroad program centers in Paris and Bologna for students to be immersed in new surroundings as they continue their studies. Brown has the infrastructure for off-campus, global studies. However, a domestic outdoors-based study “abroad” option is an opportunity that is critically lacking. Not only is a domestic program a more financially accessible option than one that requires international travel, but it provides students the opportunity to disconnect from technology and external pressures in a way that traditional study abroad does not. I recognize that the scope of such a program is limited. Only a small cohort of students would be able to participate in such an intensive program at a time, and while the scenery might be quite apt for courses such as ENGL 1512A: “Freaks of Nature: Emerson, Thoreau and the Transcendentalists,” it may prove unfit for CSCI 0300: “Fundamentals of Computer Systems.” It is not a comprehensive solution for the larger issue the student body at Brown, and the country, face. However, I believe such a program would be a start — slowly letting the benefits of nature permeate College Hill and reminding students that despite the divide we may feel, the woods, and the lessons they teach, are not far. As Ralph Waldo Emerson states, “In the woods we return to faith and reason.” To help restore the rigorous spirit of learning, it is time we go to the woods. We are in need of the tonic of wildness.
Talia Berkwits ’29 can be reached at talia_berkwits@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
PAGE 12
Friday, September 25, 2026
ARTS & CULTURE THEATRE
Brown undergraduate to debut in ‘Same Difference’ at Wilbury Theatre Group Noah Martinez ’27 will play a person with AIDS in Don Mays’s latest production BY KENDRA EASTEP SENIOR STAFF WRITER When Noah Martinez ’27 starred in his solo show “Echo Chamber” at the Lindemann Performing Arts Center in April, there was a special guest in the audience: Josh Short, the founder and artistic director of the Wilbury Theatre Group. After Short saw Martinez’s performance, he was impressed — not only by the show itself, but also by how thoughtful Martinez was as an artist, he told The Herald. So when there was an opening for a part in “Same Difference” — a play that grapples with complex and emotional relationships — Short thought of Martinez immediately. Short, who first met Martinez through the Brown Arts Institute’s Directors Forum, is in charge of artistic direction for the play. “Same Difference” will begin a 12-show run with its world premiere on September 24. The play is set in 1993 Providence against the backdrop of drug violence and the AIDS epidemic. Originally shot as a film in 1999, the story never reached the silver screen. Instead, it lives on a VHS copy owned by Don Mays, the play’s writer and director. Around 2016, Mays began considering adapting the film into a play, consolidating the narrative into three main settings: an apartment, nightclub and hospice. Steeped in drama and infused with comedy, the story follows a Black gang leader
Rehearsals for “Same Difference,” which will begin a 12-show run with its world premiere on September 24. who flees Harlem for Rhode Island, where he moves into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment. There, he meets her roommate, a white drag queen, and the pair connects despite their different backgrounds. In dealing with themes of drug violence and AIDS in the same production, “Same Difference” hopes to bring “untold stories to the stage,” Short said. “I’ve never heard of or seen these two communities depicted in the ways that they’re being depicted in this play,” Mays said. “None of the characters are caricatures
or archetypes.” “I think the audience will be moved by the story that we’re telling,” he added. “Even though the characters themselves think of themselves as polar opposites, the audience will see the parallels.” The play is an extension of the Wilbury Theatre Group’s mission, Short said. “We’re one of few, if not the only, theater companies in Rhode Island that support work by local playwrights on a regular, consistent basis.” Martinez — who is concentrating in theatre arts and performance studies —
is joining the six-person cast as Aaron, a person with AIDS. Although Aaron finds support from characters Brenda (Rosalyn Tavarez) and Stephon (Henry Nwaru), he feels neglected by his romantic partner, Joel (Alex LeBlanc). Playing Aaron is different from roles Martinez has had before, he said, but he has found the role to be a “really beautiful experience.” “I’ve been able to resonate with him a lot as I also come from a background of dancing and writing poetry,” he added. “I
COURTESY OF NIKI HEALY
feel very connected to him.” After “Same Difference” closes on Oct. 11, Martinez will direct “The Laramie Project” — another play that touches on similar themes of LGBTQ+ resilience — with the TAPS department. The play, which recounts the community response to the death of Matthew Shepard, will run from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
REVIEW
‘Forgotten Island’ is a joyful spectacle with a buried emotional core Film explores friendship and memory through Philippine mythology BY LIZE DENG STAFF WRITER “Forgotten Island,” directed by Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford, is an incredible spectacle of color and sound. The new DreamWorks film, which will be released in theaters on Sept. 25, follows childhood best friends Raissa (Liza Soberano) and Jo (H.E.R) as they are transported to the mythical island
of Nakali — a place filled with creatures from Philippine mythology. The Ivy Film Festival held an early screening of the film at the Avon on Sept. 21. Set in the Philippines in the 1990s, the movie begins with a gloriously analog montage of the friends’ childhood memories: karaoke, talent shows, mixtapes and reruns of “Predator,” from which Raissa and Jo emulate Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers’s legendary handshake. Jo’s grandmother, Lola Fatima (Dolly de Leon), tells them about her travels to the magical land of Nakali — which means “counterfeit” or “artificial” in several
The film blends 2D and 3D animation methods to create a unique 2.5D style.
South Asian languages. Now adults, Raissa and Jo are preparing for the next stage of their lives. Raissa is off to study at the California Institute of Technology, while Jo, alone following the death of Lola, works at a fast-food restaurant. The night before Raissa’s flight, the two friends are suddenly sucked into a portal that transports them to Nakali. They awake on the island the following morning with radically changed physical appearances — and no recollection of their night. It becomes a race against the clock to recover their memories from the
COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
previous evening and return in time for Raissa’s flight. Within the first 30-seconds, Mercado and Crawford have brought the film’s energy to high heights, and this excitement is maintained for the rest of the movie. Filled with eccentric characters, overwhelming world-building and a series of over-the-top action sequences, “Forgotten Island” is the epitome of extra. While the overstimulating effects and non-stop drama of the film can be read as a bleak commentary on our degrading attention spans, there is no denying that it is a lot of fun. Only towards the end of “Forgotten Island” are audiences given the time to contemplate the film’s broader message around friendships and how they shape our memories, identities and sense of belonging. Though friendship is a common theme for a family movie, the film does not feel heavy-handed, nor does it lean too much into cliche. It is a shame that “Forgotten Island” takes nearly the full hour and 50 minute run time to identify its emotional core. Moments when the characters slow down to have normal human conversations — as opposed to screaming at each other — are few and brief, and even then are filled with slapstick humor that undermine what otherwise could have been promising moments for character development and connection. Mercado and Crawford seem almost afraid that giving a character too much continuous screen time would bore audiences. For example, the fact that Raissa and Jo’s friendship originated from the question “Do
you want to be best friends?” feels lazy and indicative of the directors’ prioritization of action scenes. By refusing to slow down, they lose an opportunity to build stronger, more complex characters. Jo has the potential to serve as an interesting site for examining the way friend and family relationships intertwine, particularly in periods of grief. When she implies at one point that she doesn’t think anyone would notice if she disappears, it reveals an intense grief beneath her bravado and rambunctiousness. When the film’s emotional core finally arrives — played out in a gut-wrenching sequence during which Raissa searches for Jo among disintegrating memories — it is among the most resonant animation scenes in recent memory. The scene is comparable, both thematically and emotionally, to when Bing Bong dies in “Inside Out.” As a spectacle, “Forgotten Island” is an absolute pleasure to watch, and it is ultimately a film that brings a lot of joy. Every aspect has been rendered with great care. The creatures of Philippine myth are complex and extremely entertaining, all brought to life within a stunning landscape and immersive visual style that integrates 2.5D painterly animation — a blend of 2 and 3D styles — with elements of anime and traditional handdrawn illustration. The result is a film which feels contemporary yet nostalgic, much like the friendships it is celebrating.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 22, 2026.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
PAGE 13
ARTS & CULTURE REVIEW
‘PRIMA’ is clever but lacks lyrical depth Despite flat lyrics, ADÉLA’s newest record is enjoyably vapid BY CAMILLA RODRIGUEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER Slovak pop singer ADÉLA first rose to fame after appearing on — and being quickly eliminated from — the reality TV show “The Debut: Dream Academy.” While the winners of the show went on to form the highly successful girl group KATSEYE, ADÉLA carved out her own niche in the music industry as a solo artist. Her debut album, “PRIMA,” released on Sept. 4, establishes her place in the modern pop scene — albeit with room for improvement. The record was co-produced by Dylan Brady and Blake Slatkin, with contributions from artists such as The Dare, Cashmere Cat and Julia Michaels. Notably missing from these collaborators is Grimes, who helped produce ADÉLA’s first EP, “The Provacateur,” in 2025. Grimes’s absence from “PRIMA” may explain the record’s departure from her previous release’s more electronic and experimental sound. The album has many fresh-sounding and entertaining tracks, including its opening song, “KGB,” a nod to Slovakia’s Soviet history. Starting off the album with high-energy, the lyrics highlight the singer’s strong work ethic and hunger for fame. In the chorus, ADÉLA sings “I was, like, eight, working the nightshift to learn English / I’m like a spy, I studied this shit, call me the K-G-B*tch.” While “KGB” is characterized by its fun electro-pop backing, the following track, “Nicole Kidman,” is much slower. The album’s second song is one of the most commercially successful on the album, featuring glamorous synth and a haunting chorus in the background.
“PRIMA” proves the viability of ADÉLA’s newly established independent career — albeit with room for improvement. But despite excelling sonically, the song introduces one of the record’s largest problems. While trying to be honest and expressive, the lyrics ultimately feel vapid, such as when ADÉLA sings, “My bra should probably be a bigger size (Size) / Maybe that’s why they can’t look me in my eyes (They’re up here).” Next, in “I’m The Man,” ADÉLA sings about preferring a relationship dynamic where she is the main decision maker — in her words, wherein she is “the man.” With amusing lyrics like “His face is so androgynous / We kinda look alike / I’m kinda into that, is that weird?”, the track doesn’t take itself too seriously, much like the rest of the album. ADÉLA once again explores gendered expectations in “Boys.” Although the song has an interesting and energetic
instrumental, it also feels somewhat juvenile. At times — if one were to ignore the lyrics’ subject matter — the song feels better suited for a “Troll”s movie than a pop record. Even the way ADÉLA describes male attention in the track, singing “I got boys, like a vendin’ machine / I just press the right buttons and they fallin’ for me / I got boys, and they’re stuck in my teeth,” sounds childlike. “Red Bottoms” and “Hitachi” both explore ADÉLA’s anxieties and insecurities. In “Red Bottoms,” she sings “Nobody wants dirty shoes / Nobody wants dad issues.” Through her enunciation, the two phrases sound nearly identical — just one instance of the few witty lyrical phrases found on “PRIMA.” “Hitachi” has the most acoustic sounding instrumental on the record, highlighting the
singer’s dynamic voice. The song, which may sound out of place, is a nice break from the rest of the album. In “Marijuana,” the singer references multiple pop culture icons, singing “Playin’ Nirvana, ride you in your Honda / I like how you look at me like I’m the next Madonna.” While ADÉLA’s frequent references to American pop culture — as in “Nicole Kidman” — are fun nods at first, they soon begin to feel overdone. For a moment, it seems as if the singer cannot create something unless it is heavily inspired by something else. Luckily, ADÉLA breaks this trend in “Therapy,” addressing something deeply personal to her as she sings of her relationship with her family. The final track, “Ain’t in LA” is the standout of the album for both its pop-
COURTESY OF IULIA MATEI
ularity and sound. Heavily playing into the recent wave of 2016 nostalgia, the track feels bright, summery and inspiring. ADÉLA emphasizes the talent and beauty that lives in underrepresented parts of the world, singing “All of the girls in them unknown cities / You’re so unique and your face so pretty,” and “Maybe tonight, we don't gotta run away / It’s all a lie, the baddest b*tches ain't in L.A.” Overall, “PRIMA” is a strong debut album that fits well with the current pop music landscape. But despite its witty moments, the tracks’ lyrics leave much to be desired and overshadow the album’s fresh instrumentals.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
REVIEW
Miley’s new album ‘Bass Persuades’ does little to persuade or inspire Released last Friday, the record fails to live up to advertised expectations BY AMELIA BARTER SENIOR STAFF WRITER Miley Cyrus — or just “Miley” after dropping her last name in August — released a new album last Friday. But while the week has brought forth a plethora of exciting new releases, including tracks from beabadoobee and Carly Rae Jepsen, Miley’s contribution, “Bass Persuades,” fell uncharacteristically flat. Arriving only a little more than a year after her last album “Something Beautiful,” Miley’s newest record attempts to dive deeper into the moodiness and darker tones of her prior release. Leaning away from her traditional pop image and more toward gritty electropop, Miley first teased the album drop with the release of the titular track, “Bass Persuades.” The song takes disappointingly few risks as an opener to the album, making Miley’s “rebrand” immediately underwhelming. The title track is certainly sonically strong with its thumping synth and bass, featuring a catchy and danceable tune that is fitting for the background music of a club. But other than that, the song doesn’t inspire much else.
Right after, “Different Religion” offers a refreshing respite from the album’s lackluster beginning, with a unique and raw sound featuring Model/Actriz. The song stands out against its largely bland backdrop with a harsh yet sultry sound. Its raspy tones and sinister synths wholly complement the new aesthetic Miley seems to be embracing. That being said, a common theme across the album — “Different Religion” included — is a lack of lyrical substance. Unfortunately, lines like “my god’s a hot body” and “he drives a fast car” don’t expand on the dark self-reflection introduced by “Something Beautiful.” This unfortunate trend continues in “Let’s Get Married,” a song entirely forgettable in lyrics and tune. The one-note backing track and basic melody leaves little to the imagination. “Neon Signs” also joins this realm of the forgettable. The innocuous nature of the lyrics and melody fade into the rest of the album, contributing yet another song that tackily grapples with devotion. Even Miley’s stunning voice — one of the album’s redeeming factors — is underutilized. The singer’s vocals have matured beautifully since her early career, and yet, they are rarely used to their full potential. “REDLIGHTS” is one of the few songs that demonstrates Miley’s vocal power at its best.
Flipping the switch yet again, “Innocent Ways” returns to the moodier feeling of “Different Religion” and the rave-like quality of the song offers a glimpse at Miley’s attempted rebrand. The song is then juxtaposed with “Snow,” which despite the rough transition is one of the few ballads on the album that shows signs of emotional depth. It retains the driving pulse and tone of tracks like “Innocent Ways” but with less distortion, instead prioritizing the meaningful lyrics and the singer’s rounded voice. This powerful song should have been the end of the record, but Miley decided to close with “Bass Persuades Remixx,” a one-note filler whose only purpose seems to be to take the tracklist to an even ten. The song lacks substance and is not gritty enough to be deserving of the second “x.” The final track is a perfect encapsulation of the album as a whole: It promises something wild and new, but instead churns out something frustratingly safe, forgettable and unoriginal. Miley is at her best when she embraces her weirdness, which makes the overall blandness of “Bass Persuades” — which she initially presented as being a weirder and darker record — even more disappointing. COURTESY OF RAPH_PH VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 23, 2026.
Arriving only a little more than a year after her last album “Something Beautiful,” Miley’s newest record attempts to dive deeper into the moodiness and darker tones of her prior release.
PAGE 14
Friday, September 25, 2026
SCIENCE & RESEARCH FACT CHECK
Fact check: How does AI impact our cognitive abilities? Brown researchers explained the effects of cognitive offloading BY DIYA KHETAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER In July, the University’s Generative Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning Committee released a report finding that over half of undergraduate respondents reported using generative AI tools on a regular basis. As part of the report’s feedback process, students raised questions about the negative cognitive effects of AI usage and the technology’s impacts on long-term learning. The Herald spoke to researchers across different disciplines about their work in AI and education. According to Megan Wei GS, a computer science doctoral candidate, when students are using large language models to complete assignments, they are “basically offloading the task to the LLM” instead of “learning the actual material in class.” Cognitive offloading, as defined in a paper Wei co-authored this summer, refers to “delegating cognitive effort to another entity, such as an AI tool, and thus reducing a user’s effort and involvement in the process and output.” Melanie Subbiah, a co-author of the paper and a postdoctoral associate at the LUNAR Lab, believes that the impact of AI on cognitive abilities depends on the user’s effort and process. Subbiah noted that if users engage with AI properly, usage of the technology doesn’t necessarily have to entail complete cognitive offloading. Since the quality of an AI model’s writing is “often 50-50,” users find themselves shifting their attention to judging the quality of the AI’s output, Subbiah said. When users
JJ LI / HERALD
are fully committed to a task, “there actually still is a lot of effort going on,” Subbiah said. The extent of cognitive offloading “depends (on) how much you’re shortcutting in a given instance,” she added. Zoe Weissman ’28 said she has seen many of her peers taking these kinds of shortcuts in class. “People have completely offshored their thinking skills to a machine because of convenience,” Weissman said. “I remember seeing someone in my anthropology class use ChatGPT to come up with talking points to raise his hand to talk about.” According to Annaliese Paulson, a postdoctoral research associate at the Annenberg Institute, the effort students put into the learning process is directly tied to their cognitive development. “Learning happens through experiences, and we have to have cognitively effortful experiences that reshape the brain in some
ways,” she said. “If I engage in the process of learning a multiplication table, I’m having that effortful experience that reshapes how my brain operates.” Paulson, who researches the role of college coursework on students, explained that there are two main perspectives in research regarding the effect of generative AI on learning. One perspective argues that generative AI is “augmenting” learning and thereby cognitive abilities by giving students more access to feedback on their work, specifically for students who previously did not have access to resources such as tutoring, Paulson said. This pattern was observed in the GAITL report, where a large percentage of students who responded to the survey reported using generative AI to learn new concepts. But the second perspective argues
that generative AI is “automating the process” of learning and limiting students’ cognitive growth. “We learn the best when we’re really actively constructing ideas and grappling with cognitive dissonance,” Paulson said. Cat Gao ’27 said that while she understands how AI could be used to learn new concepts, she has also noticed that her classmates have been defaulting to using AI. “It’s nice that there’s so much information at your fingertips, but I think it’s really impeded a lot of person-to-person interaction in classes, which is not good for (an individual’s) cognitive ability,” Gao said. Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Education Saloni Gupta is exploring an approach to evaluate how AI is impacting students’ cognitive abilities. In her study, 4,000 students were given
an open-ended question about how they would approach a given task. Then, students were asked to complete the task with access to AI. Gupta found that students who completed the initial strategy were “far more engaged with AI.” “When you take a step back and think of a big picture of ‘what am I, what is my goal,’ then your engagement with AI will be specific and you will get much better learning out of it,” Gupta said. Paulson said that the process of learning matters much more than a task’s results in college. “No freshman writing instructor is really the most concerned with the paper you produce so much as the process by which you produce it.” “If we automate that process, we might be really harming students,” she added. While Paulson is only in the preliminary stages of her research, she hypothesizes that the more skilled an individual is in a particular field, the more likely it is that generative AI will help them learn. To help offset some of cognitive offloading’s negative effects, Subbiah suggested more honest AI disclosure policies. “Cognitive offloading happens to the most extreme degree when it is like ‘I’m gonna get away with this,’” she said. “If we’re all more honest about what AI is doing versus not doing, I think it naturally shifts the focus onto what you are doing as a student beyond what AI is doing or even how you are using AI.” Because there is still ambiguity surrounding the effect of AI on cognitive abilities, Paulson believes that before introducing generative AI in educational institutions, more research should be conducted. “The lack of clear evidence on (AI’s) effects on cognitive ability is something I think should give us a little bit more pause before we really push” AI tools, Paulson said.
SPACE
Temperature differences beneath Mars’s surface could reveal clues about life Researchers found an anomaly in the southern half of Mars’s mantle BY ELIZABETH ROSENBAUM SENIOR STAFF WRITER In a recent study, researchers found an anomaly in the southern hemisphere of Mars’s mantle — the layer between the crust and the core — that is about 200 to 400 degrees Celsius hotter than the north hemisphere. The results of this study could explain one of the “oldest and biggest mysteries about Mars,” Alexander Berne, the first author on the paper and a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, wrote in an email to The Herald: why the northern and southern hemispheres are so different. Researchers believe an ocean might have at one point existed in the northern hemisphere, so understanding the formation of the north-south split could reveal when Mars was capable of supporting life, according to Berne. “Our results suggest that the deep interior still carries leftover signs of the processes that shaped all of this,” Berne wrote. The project included two Brown co-authors: Associate Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Harriet Lau and postdoctoral research associate Nicholas Wagner.
Using data spanning over 16 years from three NASA orbiters — Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter — the researchers applied a method called tidal tomography — developed by Brown researchers — to understand how gravity affects different parts of Mars, according to Berne. As Mars orbits the Sun, “the Sun’s gravity gently squeezes and stretches the whole planet, a bit like squeezing a stress ball,” Berne wrote. Because warm rocks are softer than cold rocks, warmer rocks squish more, resulting in more deformation due to gravity, Berne added. “If Mars were the same (temperature) all the way around, it would squish evenly,” Berne wrote. “We found that it squishes lopsidedly, by as much as three times more than expected in some measurements.” On Earth, temperature changes of 100 to 200 degrees Celsius in the mantle produce volcanoes, as seen in Iceland or Hawaii’s active volcanoes, according to Lau. But there are no active volcanoes on Mars, she continued, so “this thermal anomaly could be a vestige of a previously more active time in Mars’ past.” Since data from the orbiters also would’ve been influenced by factors like atmospheric changes and seasonal carbon-dioxide-ice-rich polar caps effect, Wagner worked on isolating the gravita-
ARTIST CONCEPT COURTESY OF NASA / THEOPHILUS BRITT GRISWOLD
Researchers believe an ocean might have at one point existed in the northern hemisphere. tional force from these other dynamics on the planet. Wagner’s work revealed that including or excluding the atmospheric contribution didn’t “really change our results too much,” he said, further substantiating the significance of the team’s findings about the impact of interior forces. Associate Research Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Ingrid Daubar — who was not involved with the new research — explained that these
results are consistent with the theory that a giant impact in the northern hemisphere of Mars caused the crustal dichotomy. The study shows how researchers are “able to apply a lot of modern analysis techniques to data that are pretty old and long-term,” Daubar said. This means that “as the field progresses, we can do a lot more even with older data.” Looking ahead, researchers are curious about chemical variations, not just temperature variations, in the mantle. Lau
said that combined with the temperature results found in the new study study, chemical fluctuation data could allow researchers to “understand exactly what the cause of these big variations within the mantle are, and get at much more foundational things about the history of Mars and how it got to be as it is.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 20, 2026.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
PAGE 15
SCIENCE & RESEARCH NEUROSCIENCE
Your mind may learn better when it’s surprised, Brown researchers find Surprise can prompt the brain to switch to a new mental context BY ALICE XIE SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR Every day, your brain has to deal with surprising information. Researchers have long known that your brain has to switch in and out of a state of arousal to process surprising information, but the function of these fluctuations in arousal has not been definitively understood. In a study published in August in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, Brown researchers proposed that those altered mental states enable better learning to adapt to new situations. “We test if the brief burst of arousal you feel when something surprises you does a specific job,” first author Tiantian Li — a former research assistant at Brown who is now a doctoral candidate at the Max Planck School of Cognition — wrote in an email to The Herald. “These bursts mark the moment when the brain decides that the situation it is in has changed and switches to a new mental context.” According to Li, these “mental contexts” are called latent states, since they cannot be directly observed. These latent states are the brain’s “working assumption” of the state of the environment surrounding it. Li explained the phenomenon with an example of eating soup at a restaurant. “You arrive with a whole set of expectations about the soup you typically order, how it will taste, how long it will take, what the portions look like. Those expectations come from a mental model for ‘this restaurant on a normal night,’” she wrote. “It is the brain’s answer to the question of what situation it is in, and it quietly shapes both what you perceive and what you learn.”
ISABELA GUILLEN / HERALD
While the soup might differ a little day to day, those differences are typically so small they aren’t noticed enough to cause significant shifts in your brain. But if the soup tastes drastically different, your brain shifts. “The brain has to decide whether it is still in the same situation,” Li wrote. If the brain sticks to its old model, your perception could be biased by expectations of the soup, and you might not notice that the soup is off, Li said. But if the brain switches to a new model, triggered by your surprise, you can take in a more accurate assessment of the soup. This change in mental state, Li said, actually serves to enable better learning. “If the regular chef is out sick and a substitute made the soup, your brain can set the bad soup aside and keep ordering in the future as before,” Li wrote. “If your
old chef quit and the new chef, who is not so good at making the soup, is here to stay, you learn from the experience and never order it again.” The moment of brain arousal — the moment of surprise — signals the brain to adopt a new model of thinking, the authors identify. A stronger signal of arousal was associated with less bias based on expectation, allowing the brain to more readily adapt to a new context. To understand these latent states in the human brain, researchers conducted a study on 63 participants who were presented two colored patches for a fraction of a second before being asked first to reproduce them from memory and then to predict what colors would come next. Li explained that while participants completed the task, researchers used electroencephalogram technology to
record their pupils and brain activity. When surprised, your pupils dilate, which serves as a non-invasive way to detect brain arousal. The task was split into two parts, the “changepoint” block and the “oddball” block. In the changepoint block, a switch caused a change likely to stick that way for many trials — analogous to the original chef being gone for good — while in the oddball block, the old pattern was likely to return — analogous to the chef being sick for one night. Arousal signatures were linked to learning, with heightened learning in changepoint environments and reduced learning in oddball environments. Harry Marble ’23 — lab manager of Associate Professor of Neuroscience and of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Matthew Nassar’s Learning Memory
and Decision Lab and the paper’s other first author — wrote in an email to The Herald that the researchers were able to strengthen their conclusion because they observed multiple different signs of arousal, including a brain wave associated with surprise called P300. “The P300 in addition to being more specific than the pupil is also a faster response, so you can say with more certainty what exactly is causing a change in that signal,” Marble wrote. “The same signals predicted more learning when a change (color switch) was lasting and less learning when it was a one-off, so the arousal response pointed behavior in opposite directions depending on the structure of the environment,” Li wrote. Nassar wrote in an email to The Herald that this study showed that “arousal systems in the brain … encode the need to reset the mental context that serves to interpret new sensory information and as a baseline from which new learning occurs.” Joshua Gold ’91, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved with the research, said that basic research like this is important for further understanding of cognition. “In the long run, we won’t be able to continue to develop effective ways to diagnose and treat disorders of cognition unless we build this knowledge base,” Gold wrote in an email to The Herald. Gold emphasized that research on the role of arousal in higher brain function is something that “distinguishes biological brains from artificial ones and thus may be central to aspects of our cognitive abilities that machines, despite their otherwise impressive abilities, still cannot match.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 21, 2026.
NEUROSCIENCE
Brown’s Favila Lab explores how we differentiate memories from one another The brain guides the eye to information relevant for memory, attention BY AMRITA RAJPAL SENIOR STAFF WRITER Since her undergraduate years at Stanford University, Serra Favila, an assistant professor of cognitive and psychological sciences, has been fascinated by memory. Now at Brown, more than a decade later, she not only teaches CPSY 1480I: “Memory, Space and the Hippocampus,” but also leads a research lab focused on how people differentiate between memories. In Favila’s most recent study published earlier this month, researchers focused on understanding how similar memories can compete with each other and influence attention in the present. Participants were asked to complete tasks associated with similar, but slightly different images of scenes on different days. Their brain activity was recorded using fMRI scanner records as they attempted to identify distortions from the original image. At the same time, the researchers were also monitoring participant eye movement. The researchers found that the brain guides the eyes toward relevant information to differentiate the scenes from a previous day.
ISABELA GUILLEN / HERALD
“We were really interested in the interaction between memory systems and attention systems in the brain,” Favila said. “Attention influences memory, and memory influences attention.” Favila’s lab built on existing research that focuses on how memory organizes in the brain. Humans often compartmentalize specific memories — like a specific food preference or a parked car location — to serve as a practical record for the future. These memories can be important
to keep separate, Favila said. “Attention is something that helps you focus on specific pieces of information when there’s a lot going on,” Favila said. According to Mariam Aly, an associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and co-author of the paper, “one way that we figure out where to pay attention is by using our memories for similar experiences that we’ve had in the past.” “When you’re operating in your daily
life, you rarely get instructions about what you should be paying attention to in a given moment,” she added. Instead, “you are remembering relevant experiences you had in the past to figure out where you should direct your attention and your eye movements so you could behave in an adaptive way.” According to Aly, the hippocampus may play a role in differentiating memories. “The more distinct the memories are in the hippocampus, the more accurate
your eye movements are to locations associated with those memories and the more your visual cortex is able to suppress the competing memory,” she added. Looking forward, Aly said this research could inform follow-up studies that track learning over time and examine how the hippocampus could connect certain memories with visual space. “It was super cool and a little bit surprising that we saw such strong effects of memory on attention,” Favila said. Favila also explores how memory and vision systems interact with the brain in the classroom. There, she offers a quantifiable perspective on the hippocampus, according to Andrew Hudak ’28, who took CPSY 1480I and will serve as a teaching assistant for Favila’s CPSY 0400: “Cognitive Neuroscience.” “Even the most unquantifiable memory in your life, like visiting your favorite city in the world, was encoded using a sort of topographical map of neurons in the hippocampus and surrounding areas,” Hudak wrote in an email to The Herald. “The class content simply blew my mind.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2026.
B:10.25" T:10" S:9.5"
PAGE 16
Friday, September 25, 2026
B:16.25"
T:16"
S:15.5"