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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 52

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Grad students rally for election vote $100 million gift to bolster brain science research

SUGSE, BSLA organize rally to demand preelection agreement before election on unionization

BIBS to be renamed Carney Institute for Brain Science, to move to 164 Angell St. next year

By DYLAN MAJSIAK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Stand Up for Graduate Student Employees and Brown Student Labor Alliance held a rally Wednesday afternoon on the Main Green, asking the University to approve a pre-election agreement that would lead to an election on unionization. The Let Us Vote Rally walked and chanted past department buildings on Waterman Street before returning to the Green for a final march through University Hall, where SUGSE delivered a pre-election proposal to the Office of the Provost. The rally called upon the University to allow a neutral, independent group to administer the election — such as the American Arbitration Association — and to recognize master’s students in the unionizing process. In past weeks, the University’s pre-election conditions excluded master’s students who conducted research and taught, said Marley-Vincent Lindsey GS, a member

By JACOB LOCKWOOD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ROLAND HIGH / HERALD

Graduate students gathered to ask the University to approve a pre-election agreement that would include master’s students in the unionizing process. of SUGSE, during the rally. SUGSE members believe that coming to a pre-election agreement with the University is the only available path to unionization since filing a petition with the National Labor Relations

Board would leave the decision to a board mainly composed of members nominated by President Trump, SUGSE member Hilary Rasch GS told The Herald. This Trump-era board has already » See VOTE, page 2

The Brown Institute for Brain Science is receiving a $100 million gift from Robert Carney ’61 and Nancy Carney, one of the largest single donations ever given to the University. BIBS will be renamed the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science in honor of the donation, according to a University press release. President Christina Paxson P’19 said the Carneys’ gift will have a “transformative” impact on the University’s capabilities in brain science. The newly renamed Carney Institute will expand educational opportunities and propel fundamental brain research, she added. “Brain science for years has been a gem at Brown,” Paxson said. While Associate Director of the Institute Christopher Moore agreed that the

Institute has long “had a national footprint and a size that has been impressive,” he emphasized that the Carneys’ gift will make the University “one of the top places in the world” for brain science research. The gift is targeted at promoting medical advancements, Paxson said. “The dream is that we’ll have a cure for Alzheimer’s, or we’ll have a way to treat or prevent (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or any of a number of conditions,” she said. But she stressed that forming a better understanding of how the brain works is another important goal of the research. “The gift is not so we can take a moonshot at curing some single disease,” Moore said. “What this gift will do is it’s going to underwrite the great discoveries that will cure those diseases. It’s going to create the environment in which they can be addressed at the deepest level.” Treatments for brain disorders remain elusive because the “basic mechanisms that explain why certain neurons die in these different diseases” are not fully understood, Director of » See GIFT, page 3

Robert Coover honored Panel discusses Puerto Rican recovery affected by at Literary Arts festival People Hurricane Maria weigh International Fiction Now celebrates experimental, digital literature, features faculty, students, authors By ANNABELLE WOODWARD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Last Tuesday, the literary arts department kicked off International Fiction Now, a three-day festival of readings and performances honoring the novelist and former Professor Emeritus of Literary Arts Robert Coover, who taught at Brown for 33 years and is widely renowned as a trailblazer in experimental metafiction. Affectionately known as “Bob Fest,” the festival began with a number of voice performances of Coover’s work, followed by a series of readings by Coover’s colleagues and former students. The festival programming yesterday featured a showcase in the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment of experiments by current and former Brown students in the digital language

ARTS & CULTURE

INSIDE

arts, several presentations on electronic writing and digital language art as well as readings by Russell Banks, Ru Freeman, William Kennedy, Marlon James, Ben Marcus and T.C. Boyle. Today’s programming will include a panel discussion called “Postmodernism: What Was It? What’s Next?” and readings by distinguished authors, including Don DeLillo, Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt. For an avid consumer of contemporary literary fiction, Bob Fest’s lineup is nothing short of spectacular. Funded by the the Brown Arts Initiative and the Office of the Provost, the festival celebrates Coover and the publication of his first novel, “The Origin of the Brunists.” Since Coover famously inaugurated the electronic writing and digital writing programs at Brown, the festival also serves to highlight Coover’s encouragement of the coalition of technology and literature, as well as mark the relaunch of the International Writers Project, a program that Coover started in the 1989. The fellowship “provides institutional, intellectual, artistic and social support to writers who face personal » See FESTIVAL, page 2

in on restoration of island, resilience of community By JACKSON WELLS SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR

Seven months have passed since Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria, a category four storm that tore across the island and left destroyed houses, cities and lives in its wake. Puerto Rico continues to experience the ramifications of the hurricane as the entire island lost power in a blackout yesterday. In response, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies hosted a panel of five people who were personally affected by the hurricane and have played a role in the island’s ongoing recovery. The panel included Herald Senior Reporter Coral Murphy and Katerina Ramos-Jordan ’20, students who formerly attended the University of Puerto Rico until they were displaced by the storm and enrolled at Brown to continue their education. It also featured Andrew Colarusso, visiting assistant professor of literary arts, Shey Rivera, artistic director of AS220 and Arturo Massol,

associate director of Casa Pueblo — a nonprofit organization that advocates for environmental conservation and community-based activism. The prevailing theme throughout the discussion was why resilience was integral to Puerto Rico’s ongoing recovery efforts, as grassroots efforts have spearheaded the rebuilding process since the hurricane, Murphy said. The first of those who responded to help were the people of Puerto Rico themselves, as small communities, churches and schools began to work toward reconstruction efforts before the government, Murphy added.

For example, Massol started a project called “Light up Puerto Rico with the Sun,” which asked people to send solar energy lamps to the island to respond to the destruction of most of Puerto Rico’s outdated power system. The project aims to improve quality of life and to encourage people to embrace renewable energy, Massol said. The panel expressed concerns regarding the island’s relationship with the United States’ federal government. The hurricane “lifted the veil” on wounds that were established when » See RECOVERY, page 3

JACKSON WELLS / HERALD

Coral Murphy ’19, Katerina Ramos-Jordan ’20, Andrew Colarusso, Arturo Massol and Shey Rivera were all personally affected by Hurricane Mara.

WEATHER

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

NEWS Bo Burnham’s ‘Eighth Grade’ captures adolescent loneliness in debut at Ivy Film Festival

NEWS New bill passes R.I. Senate, held for study in House, would prevent minors from using tanning beds

COMMENTARY Johnson ’20: Significant barriers such as prerequisites, fees prevent students from taking RISD classes

COMMENTARY Savello ’18: Alternatives to the writing requirement do disservice to students

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Bo Burnham’s debut digitizes adolescent loneliness ‘Eighth Grade’ concludes Ivy Film Fest, marks Burnham’s shift from stand-up to directing By ZACHARY BARNES STAFF WRITER

There is not a single memorable line in all of “Eighth Grade,” Bo Burnham’s divinely excruciating feature film debut, which screened at the Ivy Film Festival Sunday night. But that is part of its magic. “Eighth Grade” is a film with a keen sense of the way people communicate. No one speaks in glittering, Gerwigian lines here; it is all banal tweenspeak. Burnham’s writing and directing triumphs by making this riveting, as characters fumble to say what they mean while uneasy tensions build around them, with whole scenes balancing on the cusp of a relentless live-wire awkwardness that will make you wish you could be subsumed by the seat you are sitting in. It is as miserable as it is spellbinding. The film focuses on eighth-grader Kayla (Elsie Fisher) as she nears the end of her time in middle school. She lives with her father, Mark (Josh Hamilton), and likes making advice videos for her YouTube channel, where she delivers earnest lectures on topics such as selfconfidence and making friends. In real life, though, she struggles with these rites of passage as much as anyone. She does not have any close friends and wins the

ARTS & CULTURE

» VOTE, from page 1 rolled back labor-friendly rulings made during former president Barack Obama’s administration, The Herald previously reported . In response to the rally, the administration noted “no permission from Brown is required for graduate students to take the steps for an election,” Director of News and Editorial Development Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald. The University maintains that position, as stated in a letter Locke wrote to graduate students April 13. The University continues to work with graduate students and remains hopeful on reaching a pre-election agreement, but it will “support the right of graduate students to vote” if an election takes place without an agreement,

dreaded “quietest student” superlative at school. One of Kayla’s videos — on “being yourself” — opens the film. In it, she insists that she is not actually a quiet person; she just does not feel compelled to talk all the time. It is an obvious front for her own timidity, which is a key part of what Burnham explores. From the makeup she puts on before her “just woke up!” selfie to the uncomfortable cool she affects for the rare conversation with classmates, Burnham attends to the ways — both modern and timeless — in which Kayla constructs a public image. Behind it all, we see her dull reality, as she lies in bed and scrolls through Instagram for hours, intoxicated by images of other lives. It is an almost unbearably acute portrait of what loneliness and anxiety look like in a world where a frenetic, jam-packed Twitter feed is always just a touch away. That said, much of “Eighth Grade” makes for delicious cringe comedy. Kayla’s interactions with her classroom crush, an airheaded and very pubescent boy named Riley (Daniel Zolghadri), are squirm-inducing and hilarious in equal measure. So too are the sexual investigations she pursues in hopes of learning something that will impress him; a banana may or may not be involved. Her relationship with her father also starts as a source of prickly humor, though it morphs into something more poignant. Mark loves his daughter, but has trouble getting through to her, and Kayla shuts him down every time he tries. Hamilton acts the role beautifully; the barely concealed joy that wells up within

him whenever Kayla seems as if she has found a friend is infectious and quietly moving. Mark just wants his daughter to be happy. Is there anything more pure? Probably not, but “Eighth Grade” leaves room for a few more affecting relationships before its bittersweet conclusion. When Kayla goes to shadow a high school student in preparation for the next school year, she is assigned Olivia (Emily Robinson), a high school senior who approaches her with open-armed compassion. Olivia doesn’t know Kayla as the quiet kid with no friends — she just sees a girl who knows how to rock pink shortalls. For a day, that is who Kayla becomes. She is still a little nervous, but more than that, she is happy to be with people. A little later, Kayla gives Olivia a call. She is hesitant to do so, thinking Olivia may have merely felt obliged to give out her number, but when Olivia picks up, she is as open and loveable as ever. As Kayla stammers out her feelings of loneliness, she starts pacing back and forth across her bedroom, and the camera follows her with breathless intensity. There is a giddiness that comes with letting someone in, and Burnham lets the image feel it as much as Kayla does. His visual style throughout is similarly emphatic, full of decisive cuts, loud needle drops and the occasional slow-motion shot. Burnham may have started with little more than a webcam, but with “Eighth Grade” he becomes a filmmaker, full stop. Also coming into her own is Fisher as Kayla. It is not easy to make loneliness interesting on screen,

according to the letter. While a pre-election agreement is not required to hold a vote, there is no way of ensuring the University will recognize its outcome, SUGSE member Malay Firoz GS told The Herald, adding that this has occurred at other universities across the country. “We want to learn from their experience,” Firoz said. “In every single draft (of the preelection agreement) that we’ve gotten back, the administration has made it very clear that they want to go through the NLRB, which is going to disenfranchise graduate students, not just at Brown, but across the country,” Lubabah Chowdhury GS, a member of SUGSE, told The Herald. She added that graduate student groups across the country have rescinded their petitions to avoid going through the NLRB, which may overturn their right to unionize. Doctoral, master’s and undergraduate students shared reasons why the collective bargaining capability of unionization is necessary. Julie Skarha GS drew attention to the drop from 50 percent to 10 percent in master’s student tuition remission — which waives portions of the tuition — over the past few years. She also pointed out the pay gap between master’s students and their doctoral counterparts — who are paid two-thirds more and often for the same work — and added that Brown’s name “looks good on paper,” but “you can’t eat prestige.” Sierra Kaufman GS spoke of how a union would allow students to voice their concerns without retribution. Having grown up on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, Kaufman encountered a “lack of cultural awareness and

diversity” that was “hard to cope with” when she got to Brown. “As a member of such a small minority, all of my concerns… can be traced directly back (to me) and leave me open for retaliation on my academic career,” Kaufman said, adding that banding together will “collectively allow (students) to be heard and acknowledged.” Representatives from local unions such as United Service and Allied Workers of Rhode Island, Graduate Assistants United of the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals spoke at the rally to show solidarity with SUGSE’s efforts to unionize. State Rep. Aaron Regunberg ’12 also spoke at the rally and encouraged community members to ensure the University makes elections a “fair and neutral process.” The process of unionization “cannot be done through (the NLRB board of) the Trump administration” because it is “at the forefront” of assaults against middle class labor for the benefit of “millionaires and billionaires,” Regunberg told the crowd. Firoz says that “going to an election” is the immediate next step after solidifying a pre-election agreement with the administration and building up “enough solidarity amongst students.” A vote is expected to be held next year, Firoz said. “Brown on the one hand is a university that … solicits student input … (and) genuinely wants to know what we think,” Firoz said during the rally. “And yet it also wants a paternalistic relationship with us where they grant us with their good intentions and discretion. … They grant us things that should be ours by right,” he added.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

An advanced screeening of comedian Bo Burnham’s directorial debut ‘Eighth Grade’ took place on the final day of the Ivy League Film Festival. but Fisher does it with humor and unaffected intimacy. Not everything in the film works. As the film nears its conclusion, Burnham starts to let up on the fiercely managed inarticulateness of his characters, and tries to give them cathartic monologues that do not ring entirely true. And, for a

brief stretch, the film starts to feel nearly gratuitous in its awkwardness. But so does life, sometimes. That is Burnham’s trump card, and in “Eighth Grade,” he plays it perfectly, digging into discomfort until he strikes something deeply human. It is too real — which is to say, of course, that it is exactly right.

» FESTIVAL, from page 1

of community and family in the environment.” “It’s all goodwill about Bob. He traveled in international writing circles for a long time. All I had to do was say, ‘We’re going to have a big blowout festival for Bob,’ and pretty much everyone said ‘yes,’” Professor of Literary Arts Rick Moody ’83 told The Herald. While Coover has been retired for many years, he still keeps an office in the Literary Arts Building, which he frequents: “It’s a wellknown, open secret that Bob basically practices vampire hours. Frequently he’ll show up at the office around 5 or 6 p.m. and work till 3 or 4 in the morning.” Coover’s literary career has by no means tapered off. He continues to publish humorous, self-reflective novels that comment on fiction’s traditions. In 2017, he published “Huck Out West,” where he imagines Huckleberry Finn’s continued adventures after “lighting out” to the West.

danger and threats to their livelihood in nations throughout the world,” according to the University’s website. A handful of Coover’s former students, now established writers, read from their own work on Tuesday. Many of them prefaced their performances with affectionate words (and sometimes, affectionate poems) for Coover, expressing gratitude for his mentorship. Robert Arellano ’91 MFA ’94, author of the kaleidoscopic hypertext novel “Sunshine ’69,” composed a Homeric ode to Coover, addressing him as “Bobocles.” Shelley Jackson MFA ’94, an electronic literature proponent, said, “I’m writing (in my next book) about how the words of others haunt our mouths. Bob, your words will always haunt mine.” “I’m really surprised and happy about the diversity of the readings,” said Daniella Balarezo ’18, adding that she was “touched by the sense

MIKAELA CARILLO / HERALD

Marlon James reads from “Brief History of Seven Killings.” His novel was awarded the 2015 Man Booker Prize and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.

NEWS

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Cost of recess meal plans draws student scrutiny U. waives unexpected expense for some lowincome students through meal gap program By ARJUN GANGA STAFF WRITER

Recently, students have expressed concern over the University charging an additional fee to remain on a meal plan during official University recesses, such as spring break. Stanley Yip ’21, who stayed on campus over spring break this year, said he chose not to buy the University’s spring break meal plan. “To call Dining Services and pay for the plan was more expensive both time-wise and money-wise than if I were just to go to Whole Foods or Wal-Mart and buy groceries,” Yip said. The University’s spring break meal plan costs $288 and covers three meals a day over the nine days of spring break. In an email to The Herald, Peter Rossi, the director of Dining Services, wrote that the additional fee is due to increased operating costs. The Sharpe Refectory is the only dining hall open over the break. The University requires students to call dining services to enroll for the spring break meal plan. While the plan is an unexpected expense that is not accounted for in Brown’s

» GIFT, from page 1 the Institute Diane Lipscombe said. The Carneys’ gift will allow the University to provide sustained funding for research aimed at “converting discoveries and innovation into biding cures and treatment,” she added. The Institute is already engaged in innovative brain science research, Lipscombe said. She pointed to the BrainGate project, which has worked to restore function to people who are paralyzed by translating brain signals into the control over a machine. This technology requires electrodes to be implanted on the surface of the brain, and additional funding from

cost of attendance, Rossi believes that this arrangement is more equitable in the long run. “Historically, as there are very few students requesting a break meal plan, charging all students for break plans by including the cost in the semester plans is counter to limiting meal plan cost,” Rossi wrote. Only a few students utilize the University’s break plan, Rossi wrote, adding that fewer than five students on average pay for the spring break plan each year. But the University provided meal plans to approximately 80 athletes who were on campus during spring break for practice and training at no additional cost, Rossi wrote. In addition, around 300 students with the “highest demonstrated financial need” who were on campus over break also received meal plans at no cost through the University’s Meal Gap program, wrote Vernicia Elie, the assistant dean of the college for financial advising, in an email to The Herald. The Meal Gap program began during the 2015-16 academic year to offer a formal means of support during official university breaks for students who have the highest demonstrated financial need, Elie wrote. Students with the highest financial need “have a zero parent contribution or something close to zero” to their tuition and living expenses, Elie wrote.

the Carneys’ gift will help BrainGate researchers make these electrodes “smaller, less invasive, but still able to collect a rich amount of data to read neural signals,” Lipscombe said. Expanding research on “the neural code that is underlying complex behavior” could also lead to a host of new discoveries, Lipscombe added. She raised the possibility that BrainGate technology could someday be used for other applications, such as restoring vision. This is not the first time the Carneys have donated to the Institute. Moore said that smaller gifts from the Carneys have “been a big part of the success (of the Institute) leading up to this point.”

CATHERINE HABGOOD / HERALD

GUS REED / HERALD

According to Peter Rossi, director of Dining Services, less than five students on average utilize the meal plan over breaks. This year, 300 students participated in the financial-need-based meal gap program. This year, Elie wrote that she reached out to just over 1,000 students before winter and spring breaks to tell them about their eligibility for the program. “We proactively contacted students and have been doing so the past three years after receiving feedback about this meal gap from our self-identifying first-generation and low-income students as well as international students,” she wrote.

In general, if students arrived in the dining hall on the first day of spring break, “they were allowed entry and their names were shared for follow up later to discuss options for the remainder of the break,” Elie wrote. Elie invited students who do not have the highest financial need, but find the University’s break plans to be prohibitively expensive to reach

out to her or the Dean of the College for assistance. In response to student concerns about the additional costs of the University’s meal plan over break, Rossi wrote that Dining Services reviews their plans annually. The department “will continue to review in an effort to ensure we are providing the best possible services to students at an appropriate cost,” he wrote.

Lipscombe noted that the Carneys’ latest gift far surpasses previous funds raised by the Institute. “In the last several years, we probably raised about $50 million in philanthropic giving to the Institute,” she said. “To have this as a single gift is quite extraordinary and quite impactful.” Moore believes the Carneys’ gift will allow less restricted exploration of new possibilities. “It lets us not have to be narrowly, strategically focused, and instead to really go where the ideas will take us,” he said. Rather than focusing support on any one line of research, Moore added that the new funding will more broadly stimulate “the most aggressive and creative and collaborative attack on what it means to be studying how the brain works.” Lipscombe noted that the interdisciplinary nature of brain science research fits in well at the University. “There is a great uniqueness around the way in which people here at Brown approach and try and tackle big problems in brain science — a very collaborative and integrative kind of approach,” she said. This collaborative process will be on full display when the Carney Institute moves into the fourth floor of the former Brown Office Building at 164 Angell St. after its renovation early next year. Lipscombe said the new laboratory spaces will focus on developing computational approaches to understanding brain functions and improving diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. “What this allows us to do is make the discoveries that will change the way we think about how the brain works, not just add to the way we think about how the brain works,” Moore said. “I do think — absolutely — this gift is going to lead to great medical discoveries.”

» RECOVERY, from page 1

the American government’s attempts to assert control and force the island’s dependence, Massol said. “We survived the natural event. We are having difficulties with surviving the government disaster,” Massol said. There is an extreme distrust of the government as a means of helping people, Massol said. This has come in large part with a discrepancy between what the Puerto Ricans request and what they are given; for example, when they requested lamps, they were given tarps to replace their roofs. The local government also lacked a distribution protocol, Rivera said. Rather than landing in the hands of the people, aid items shipped to Puerto Rico would remain on the dock, she added. The recovery process should focus on developing self-sufficiency and trust. Going forward, Puerto Ricans should strive to “take control and ownership of their own narratives,” Rivera said. All of the panelists noted the importance of achieving Puerto Rican autonomy as the island recovers.

the island was colonized, Rivera said. The term “resilience” confuses the issue, Colarusso said. He added that it is not resilience that the island needs; rather, Puerto Ricans need to recover and treat these colonial issues. “What (we) really need is to address fundamental wounds that have gone unaddressed for centuries and continue to fester without treatment,” he said. In addition, U.S. government oversight has undermined the grassroots movements that have been truly helping, which is “incredibly insidious,” Colarusso said. “(The government) has done something — mistreated the people,” Massol said. Government intervention is actually counteracting local efforts by making Puerto Rico more dependent upon the United States, he added. In the days following the hurricane, when people were without water, the U.S. government sent gallons of water. Massol stated that this failure to send water filters instead, which Puerto Ricans could use to purify their own water, exemplifies

NEWS

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Ban the tan: new bill proposes prohibiting tanning beds for minors R.I. bill would disallow anyone under 18 from using tanning beds, even with parental consent By COLLEEN CRONIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

As the weather heats up, some R.I. residents are turning to tanning beds to prepare for the new season. But the R.I. General Assembly could put an end to this activity. On April 3, the R.I. Senate passed legislation that would ban anyone younger than 18 from using a tanning bed — hoping to replace current laws that allow minors to use the beds with parental consent. The bill (S2299A) is sponsored by Sen. Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin (D-24) and Rep. Mia Ackerman (D-45). The bill’s house equivalent (H7136) was held for further study in February. “All tanning is skin damage, and even one single tanning session drastically increases a young person’s risk for skin cancer,” said Goodwin in a General Assembly press release. “It’s time to start treating tanning like the public health threat that it really is.” Many states across the country have laws addressing tanning booth use by minors. Sixteen states, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, bar anyone under 18 from using tanning booths in all cases except those when patients are prescribed ultraviolet rays

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Martin Weinstock, professor of dermatology, explained that research shows that indoor tanning bed use is directly linked to increased cases of skin cancer. A new bill aims to decrease the number of skin cancer cases. as medical treatment, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. These laws have had positive effects on skin cancer rates in young adults, according to Deb Girard, executive director of IMPACT Melanoma. “Melanoma rates in young adults are declining,” Girard said, adding that she hopes the rates will continue to decrease as regulation increases across the nation.

Girard said there have been efforts to limit tanning by minors for over 10 years. The biggest obstacle in the decade-long legislative process has been the indoor tanning industry, she added. Martin Weinstock, professor of dermatology and community health at the Alpert Medical School, has done extensive research on the effects of tanning beds on skin cancer rates. His study found that indoor tanning “does increase your risk (of melanoma)

substantially.” Weinstock believes the industry minimizes the clear health concerns surrounding tanning beds by advertising to young customers. The tanning bed’s UV exposure can be “potentially addicting,” he said, adding that the light can cause a chemical reaction in the brain. “They are marketing addictive, carcinogenic, radiation exposure to young adults,” he said. “It’s pretty reprehensible.”

Weinstock said that the Affordable Care Act has decreased the number of tanning salons in the country. The ACA placed an excise tax on tanning booth salons, known as a “tanning tax.” This regulation has made tanning more expensive, causing many salons to go out of business, he added. Stasa Bogacz, an employee at Maximum Exposure Tanning Salon in Providence and a senior at the University of Rhode Island, said that “it’s not too common” to see minors at Maximum Exposure, adding that when minors do come in, it is often for special events like prom. Despite being a molecular biology student who has studied the development of cancer, Bogacz herself uses a tanning bed about once a week, she said. Though the salon makes clients sign consent forms that detail the danger of tanning beds, many customers choose to use the tanning bed over the spray tan because they are worried that spray tans would cause “oranging,” stained clothes or uneven coloring, Bogacz said. The spray tan, another version of artificial tanning, is not associated with any health concerns, Weinstock said. Though spray tans themselves are not dangerous, they encourage harmful sun exposure in those clients, who think the “base tan” color from the service protects them from sun damage, he added. “The healthiest color for your skin is the color you’re born with,” Weinstock said.

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TODAY

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

n o t - s o fa i r w e at h e r f r i e n d

menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Meatball Provolone Rosemary, Pepperoni, BBQ Bam Bam Make Your Own Pasta JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Chicken Wings Bar, BBQ Pulled Pork Burger

Mango And Mint Chicken Curry, Aloo Saag

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Cajun Pasta With Chicken, Steamed Edamame, Cuban Sandwich, Roasted Yams

Turkey Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie, Steamed Corn, Cavatini, Slow Braised Roma Tomatoes

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Meatball Tomato Alfredo Pasta, Falafel, Cajun Corn and Tomatoes

Roast Turkey With Gravy, Roasted Veggie Olio, Bread Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes

sudoku

SAM BERUBE / HERALD

Students ventured outside to enjoy the brief moments of sun and warmth this week. Shorts, umbrellas and down-jackets have all been worn by Brunonians as they navigated the fickle weather of an April on College Hill.

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

“They are marketing addictive, carcinogenic, radiation exposure to young adults … It’s pretty

”

reprehensible.

— Martin Weinstock, professor of dermatology

See tanning on page 4. crossword

calendar TODAY NOVEMBER MARCH APRIL

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Postmodernism: What Was It? What’s next? 11:00 A.M. McCormack Family Theater

Meditation @ Serene on the Green! 12:00 P.M. Main Green

CLPS Honors Presentations 4:00 P.M. Metcalf Research Building, 305

Boston Marathon Director Dave McGillivray 7:15 P.M. Smith-Buonanno, 106

TOMORROW

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McKinsey & Company Meet & Greet Brunch 10:00 A.M. Career Lab

WIB Presents: Bake Sale 1:00 P.M. Main Green

Latinx Council 6:30 P.M. Brown Center for Students of Color

Holocaust Survivor Presentation 6:30 P.M. Brown-RISD Hillel

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Barriers to RISD courses restrict academic freedom CHANEL JOHNSON staff columnist In the 2016-2017 school year, while 376 Rhode Island School of Design students were registered for at least one course at Brown in the fall or spring semester, only 155 Brown students were cross-registered at RISD. While there was an increase in RISD students taking Brown courses between 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, there was about a 22 percent decrease in Brown students in RISD classes in the same period. One possible reason is that the process of cross-registration can make it restrictive for Brown students to take courses at RISD. Even though Brown promotes academic freedom and exploration in its philosophy, there are many barriers that can prevent Brown students from taking classes at RISD and therefore restrict their ability to go outside their comfort zone in academics and meet people with different perspectives. There is a plethora of art classes at Brown that can stimulate a student’s creativity; however, taking at least one course at an art school like RISD can also be a fulfilling part of a student’s academic journey. While Brown does offer its students various art classes and equipment, RISD has a specific set of studios, equipment and facili-

ties for each art discipline that allows every student to experiment more freely and develop new techniques to approach art projects. In addition, the atmosphere at RISD is different from that at Brown. Brown students are unique since many of us have diverse interests and are passionate about the academics and extracurriculars we pursue. However, taking a course

As many of us know, Brown’s academic philosophy challenges students to develop their own curriculum in order to be open to new people, ideas and experiences. This openness helps students make the most of the freedom that they have in their education and broaden their perspectives on the world. A student taking classes at RISD lives out

five and 10 sections, most capped at 20 students, with a random lottery that students must enter in order to get into the class. Some students can waive this requirement by successfully completing one or two years of college-level art courses in high school. However, this restricts students who may not have attended a school with an intense art program or those who

Strict prerequisites and entry fees can prevent Brown students from pursuing the opportunity to take a RISD course and, as a result, restrict some of their academic freedom.

where nearly all students are passionate about their art discipline can make you feel more creative and productive. Thanks to RISD’s inclusive environment and discussions of how to push the boundaries on art projects, Brown students can gain more insight on how to represent their perspective in an unfamiliar way.

Brown’s philosophy by pursuing a different experience. However, there are a few barriers that prevent some Brown students from pursuing this opportunity. For one, a prerequisite to taking a RISD course is taking VISA 0100: “Studio Foundation,” an introductory studio art course. However, this course usually has between

may not have had the resources to pursue college-level art courses and develop a portfolio during their time in high school. Furthermore, most RISD courses have fees that students must pay up front. For example, CER 4028: “Introduction to Ceramics for Design Majors” has a fee of $120. While there are some Brown students

who can afford this fee, low-income students may be prevented from taking this class since the expense can be a financial burden. Strict prerequisites and entry fees can prevent Brown students from pursuing the opportunity to take a RISD course and, as a result, restrict some of their academic freedom. There are a few things that the Brown administration can do in order to remove these barriers. For one, Brown can provide a dedicated financial grant to cover the fees for RISD courses in order to make them more accessible for low-income students. In addition, if it’s not possible to provide more sections of VISA 0100 in future semesters, Brown should consider providing free workshops in different art fields to help students develop their portfolios. The visual arts newsletter already provides opportunities for students to gain experience; however, workshops can make students get out of their comfort zones and develop more confidence in order to pursue these opportunities and be prepared for RISD courses.

Chanel Johnson ’20 can be reached at chanel_johnson@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

Rethinking the writing requirement SAMANTHA SAVELLO staff columnist At Brown, the writing requirement is the only academic requirement for students outside of their concentrations. Created with the goal of helping students develop and maintain their writing skills, this requirement mandates that all students take two writing-designated courses during their time at Brown (one during their first two years and one during their second two years) to ensure that all students graduate with writing experience, regardless of their concentration. While this requirement seems almost effortless for humanities concentrators and those who enjoy writing, it is often seen as a burden — or even a cause for concern — for those who are less interested in writing. It’s not uncommon, for example, for students to openly panic or fret over WRIT courses, especially within STEM fields. Some even opt for the “approved alternative” option available in select departments, which allows them to submit a writing sample instead of completing the second WRIT-designated course. Given that WRIT courses have taken on a reputation for being time-intensive (which, depending on the course, is often unwarranted), it makes sense that busy students would dread taking a writing course and would choose this option instead. However, while allowing students to opt out of their second writing course saves them time and effort in the short term, Brown is ultimately doing these students a disservice in the long term. Not only will these students miss out on the valuable experience of im-

proving their writing skills, but they are also likely to miss out on a potential opportunity to explore a field that is not their own, a loss which goes against Brown’s ethos of academic discovery. After all, submitting a writing sample for course credit is not the same as being in a classroom where you can get continu-

the span of four years is not too much to ask of students; in fact, it’s probably not enough to help students fully develop their writing skills. This is not an opportunity students can afford to miss out on. No matter how far removed students’ studies or jobs are from writing, these skills will always be necessary in or-

Submitting a writing sample for course credit is not the same as being in a classroom where you can get continuous, personal feedback over a series of weeks, which is the ultimate goal of WRIT courses.

ous, personal feedback over a series of weeks, which is the ultimate goal of WRIT courses. Given these disadvantages, I think the biology, applied mathematics and German studies departments should reconsider this alternative option. Two writing courses within

der to be successful in life, whether it comes to applying to a job or communicating an idea to a colleague. In addition, students have more options than they think they do when it comes to the WRIT requirement, and should not feel forced

to hand in a writing sample as a last resort. Many of the WRIT courses Brown offers are not as writing-intensive as the rumors make them out to be. There are some very time-consuming WRIT courses available, especially in humanities departments. However, students who are not interested in literature or creative writing have the option to take writing courses in other departments, including STEM and the social sciences, which often require less writing. A simple glance at course syllabi will show whether the final paper is four pages or 10, allowing students to make decisions based on their workload needs. Keeping this information in mind, students should realize that the writing requirement was invented to help them, not to hurt them, and that they should do thorough research before opting out of their second WRIT course. Brown offers a wide variety of WRIT courses in areas from mathematics to history to foreign languages, and it would be a waste to give up the chance to work on improving your writing. By removing the approved alternative option, Brown would encourage students to explore the wide range of opportunities available to them and help reduce the unwarranted fears associated with taking a WRIT course. Being able to work on your writing while in college is a privilege. Once you leave college and enter adulthood, you likely won’t get such an opportunity again.

Samantha Savello ’18 can be reached at samantha_savello@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

Six sophomores win Mellon Mays Fellowship, research opportunities Students receive stipends, faculty mentorship to increase representation of minorities in academia By GRAYSON LEE STAFF WRITER

Last week, six sophomores from the University were awarded the Mellon Mays Fellowship, which seeks to increase the representation of minorities among higher education faculty, said Asabe Poloma, associate director of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program at Brown and assistant dean for international students. Fellows will have the opportunity to conduct original research over the next two years under the supervision of a University faculty member, she added. Fellows also receive stipends for their research. In addition, if they enroll in an “eligible Ph.D. program within three years of graduating from Brown,” fellows can “receive up to $10,000 in undergraduate loan repayment from the Mellon Foundation,” according to the University’s webpage on the fellowship. This year’s cohort is comprised of Elijah Broussard ’20, Xe Chang ’20, Jessica Jiang ’20, Nikki Locklear ’20, Sebastián Niculescu ’20 and Mariela Pichardo ’20. The University’s faculty advisory board, which reviews applications and selects fellows each spring, sought

students in good academic standing who were considering a concentration in a Mellon-designated field of study, Poloma said. The board also looked for students who had demonstrated dedication to research and to the objectives of the program, she added. “The Mellon Mays Fellowship signaled to me that academia was an option and that I didn’t have to compartmentalize my passion for history into something else,” Locklear said. Locklear, a history concentrator, will be using the fellowship to study the cultural and historical narratives of Native Americans in the southeastern United States, with a particular focus on the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina. “The Lumbee tribe in particular is fascinating because even though there is this strong cultural narrative, there are so many silences in the historical record where things just have not been recorded or have been manipulated or twisted by outside factors,” Locklear said. Winning the fellowship was encouraging because “it felt like my work up to now has been recognized … it feels like other people also see it as important,” said Niculescu, a Brown/RISD dual degree student who will use the fellowship to research the performances of trans and queer women of color. The project will use “that as a way to think about broader coalitional politics and … how communities of color have to encounter each other and face each other,” Niculescu said.

COURTESY OF PAM MURRAY

Sebastian Niculescu ’20, Mariela Pichardo ’20, Jessica Jiang ’20, Xe Chang ’20, Nikki Locklear ’20 and Elijah Broussard ’20 were selected by the University’s faculty advisory board for the Mellon Mays Fellowship. Other fellows in the program will be researching a wide array of issues connected to their academic interests. Broussard is interested in researching the cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis in Rome from 100 B.C.E. to 100 C.E., he said. Broussard hopes his work can help push back against the growing misuse of classics in the alt-right movement. “I’m really interested in people who cross borders,” said Chang, who hopes to use her fellowship to research community-based tourism in the United

States and China. Over the next two years, Pichardo, another fellow, will study the relationships between Dominicans and Dominican-Americans through bachata, a popular form of guitar music that originated in the Dominican Republic. Created in 1988, the Mellon Mays Fellowship is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which began the program to encourage underrepresented undergraduates to pursue higher education and enter academia, Poloma

said. Since the University joined the program in 1992, over 100 Brown students have become Mellon Mays Fellows, with several going on to teach at the University, she added. The recently selected cohort will begin their research this summer and hold workshops together next semester, Poloma said. “They’re all absolutely brilliant and passionate and committed scholars. … I’m just thrilled to bear witness to their formation as even more critically engaged scholars,” she added.

INTERNATIONAL FICTION NOW

Celebrating the Unspeakable Practices of Robert Coover and the International Writers Project Postmodernism: What Was It? What's Next? a panel discussion with

Elisabeth Bell Samuel Coale Jeffrey R. Di Leo Larry McCaffery Stuart Pimsler 11 am McCormack Family Theater 70 Brown Street

Edwidge Danticat Siri Hustvedt Richard Powers read from their literary work 4:30 pm 117 MacMillan Hall 167 Thayer Street

Paul Auster Robert Coover Don DeLillo

International Fiction Circus Now with presenations by

Mary Caponegro Matt Derby Rikki Ducornet Brian Evenson Jack Foley and a host of others juggling language and all sorts of other surprises 9:30 pm McCormack Family Theater 70 Brown Street

read from their literary work 7:30 pm 117 MacMillan Hall 167 Thayer Street

for more details visit:

infictionnow.literaryarts.xyz

Events for Thursday, 19 April

Events are free and open; no tickets – arrive early This festival was made possible by support from the Brown Arts Initiative and the Office of the Provost and is sponsored by the Department of Literary Arts