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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2018
VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 10
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NAACP, community unite Roediger contextualizes whiteness in Trump era in response to racist flyers Elorza, politicians, students gather on Brook, George Streets to express solidarity By JACOB ALABAB-MOSER, DIVYA MANIAR, LIYAAN MASKATI SENIOR STAFF WRITERS
The Providence chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called a press conference Monday at 12:30 p.m. at the intersection of Brook and George streets. Around 100 people gathered for a period of 20 minutes to show community solidarity in response to the discovery of racist and violent printed matter found around the University and many local areas, including Hope Street and Pawtucket. The paraphernalia included pink flyers captioned “Negro Crime in Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s Sanctuary City” and booklets that displayed disparaging captions alongside photos of black Providence residents, including Jim Vincent, president of the Providence NAACP, the Providence Journal reported. The person or group who distributed the flyers remains unknown, according to the Providence Journal. The press conference was attended by Mayor Jorge Elorza, other local
politicians and community leaders, including Ward 3 City Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune, who recited Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise.” Elorza called the flyers’ message “deeply disturbing,” and further stated that “there is no room for this type of disgusting bigotry in our city.” Ellen Cola ’20, who helped organize the demonstration, said she was appalled by the “blatant racism and anti-blackness” that the posters were proliferating. “Racism is so persistent in this (Providence) community,” she added. Pilar McCloud, youth council chair and assistant secretary of the Providence chapter of the NAACP, agreed that racism is very much at large in the United States. “We have a president of the United States who’s made it very comfortable for people to feel like they can say and do whatever they want — especially when it comes (to addressing) people from other countries, black and brown people,” she said. “If anybody said that racism didn’t exist anymore, they’re lying. The closet racist is long gone. That’s why it puts the city of Providence at risk.” The Providence chapter of the NAACP has encountered denigrating remarks and threats before through » See NAACP, page 2
GUS REED / HERALD
David Roediger, professor at the University of Kansas, discussed his work with Tricia Rose, professor of Africana studies and director of the CSREA.
Rose interviews University of Kansas prof. on white working-class voters’ support for Trump By JACOB LOCKWOOD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
In a talk entitled “Whiteness in the Time of Trump,” David Roediger, professor of American studies at the University of Kansas, drew upon his work in what he calls “the critical study of whiteness” to shed light on why white working-class
voters supported President Trump in the 2016 election Monday evening. Roediger joined Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, in a discussion on how race and politics intersect in the United States today. He referenced both contemporary and past events to explain how white working-class voters propelled Trump to victory. Citing his own research, Roediger noted that predominantly white counties in Wisconsin overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2016. Trump’s message
of change appealed to white voters living in “desperate places,” he added. But another message of change appealed to those same voters only eight years prior. “In 2008, those … counties overwhelmingly voted for (Barack) Obama,” Roediger said. Though Obama’s message resonated back then, Roediger claimed Democrats lacked a strong message that appealed to these white working-class voters in the last national election. Meanwhile, Trump attracted these voters with antiimmigrant messages and policy stances, he added. Democrats’ focus on racial inequality has increasingly alienated white workers, Roediger said. In particular, white working-class individuals who feel underprivileged resent discussions of white privilege. Roediger said he believes this is simply a problem of inaccurate terminology. “If I could shape the language, it would be the language of ‘white advantage’ and not ‘white privilege,’” he explained. Students and faculty packed the Carmichael Auditorium at 85 Waterman St. for Roediger’s talk. “A lot of you are here because you’re concerned about Trump,” Roediger acknowledged. But he cautioned against mocking the intelligence of Trump and his supporters. Rose questioned why “many people on benefits were voting against benefits” by supporting Republicans who promised to repeal Obama’s signature » See TALK, page 2
List features 20th century Mexican artists Jill Pipher elected Themes include AMS president Feb. 1 industrialization, religion, women in postBrown’s VP of research, math professor will helm American Mathematical Society next February By LYDIA DEFUSTO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Jill Pipher, vice president for research and professor of mathematics, became president-elect of the American Mathematical Society Feb. 1 — a position which she will hold until she becomes officially president next February. The election process took place mostly last year, and the result was announced publicly Dec. 5. “I am thrilled and humbled by the honor and by the job,” Pipher said. “I don’t know anybody more qualified than Jill,” said Dan Abramovich, chair of the mathematics department. “She has served the community in many, many ways.”
INSIDE
Pipher was the founding director of the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics at Brown from 2010 to 2016 and served as president for the Association for Women in Mathematics from 2011 to 2013. She will be the third female president of the AMS, according to its website. Pipher will remain the University’s vice president for research while she serves as president of the AMS. “There’s a great deal of synergy between these two positions,” she said, as aspects of both jobs overlap, such as visiting Washington D.C. to promote research. The AMS is headquartered in Providence, which will make attending meetings easier, Pipher added. The AMS was founded in 1888 and aims to “further the interests of mathematical research and scholarship … through its publications, » See MATH, page 2
revolutionary Mexico By ELISE RYAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On the bright, coral-colored walls of the List Art Center lobby, “Llevando la Cultura: Conflicting Narratives in Mexican Art” exhibits a collection of artworks by 20th century Mexican artists, pulled from the Bell Gallery’s permanent collection. Curated by Rica Maestas GS, a public humanities master’s student, the exhibition focuses on three major themes that are “central in the conversations around what the new, post-revolutionary Mexico looks like,” Maestas said. These themes include industrialization and globalization, religion and education reform and women and culture. The “theme of the role of indigenous people in Mexico” is present throughout different portions of lobby space, Maestas added. The exhibition displays a breadth of media and styles — from Diego Rivera’s
COURTESY OF GRACIELA ITURBIDE
Three photographs by Graciela Iturbide were acquired by the David Winton Bell Gallery to complete the exhibition in the List lobby. 1932 pencil sketch made in preparation in topic serve to “exhibit a diversity of for a mural to the 1939 wood engravings perspectives,” Maestas said. by Leopoldine Mendez. Maestas’ ideas for the show first It additionally spotlights artists who came from the director of the Bell Galutilized publicly accessible media to com- lery, Jo-Ann Conklin, who hoped to municate “very political and ideological feature works highlighting the Bell Galmessages,” Maestas said. Additionally, lery’s extensive collection, including a the exhibition’s breadth in medium and » See LIST, page 3
WEATHER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2018
NEWS TAPS endowment will fund theater and performance programs for adults with autism
NEWS U. Delegates travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in conference on racial healing
ARTS & CULTURE Community celebrates Langston Hughes with poetry, music at public library
COMMENTARY Fernandez ’21: rhetoric of American sovreignty lets United States subordinate other cultures
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
» MATH, from page 1
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
Soon to take on her role as president of the American Mathematical Society, Vice President of Research and Professor of Mathematics Jill Pipher served as president of the Association for Women in Mathematics.
» NAACP, from page 1 social media, emails and letters, but the appearance of the flyers signals a larger menace, McCloud said. “These people have targeted specific people of the community — and definitely people of color.” The incident was met with an urgent response, as the press conference
and demonstration were organized within 48 hours of when the flyers were found, Cola said. “What made the rally really powerful was that we had the ability to galvanize ourselves together in a really short amount of time,” McCloud said. She added that the presence of a large number of youth, including many students from the University,
was encouraging. “We need young energy and youth to keep us motivated,” she said. The demonstration served the purpose of “sending a message to (the perpetrators) that what they are doing is not okay,” Cola said, adding that demonstrators aimed to show a message of unity and collectivity. “There will be consequences,” she said.
Brown University will undergo a comprehensive evaluation visit March 11-14, 2018, by a team representing the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education is one of seven accrediting commissions in the United States that provide institutional accreditation on a regional basis. Accreditation is voluntary and applies to the institution as a whole. The commission, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, accredits approximately 240 institutions in the six-state New England region. Brown University has been accredited by the commission since 1929 and was last reviewed in April 2009. Its accreditation by the New England Association encompasses the entire institution. For the past year and a half, Brown has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the commission’s Standards for Accreditation. An evaluation team will visit the institution to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. The team will recommend to the commission a continuing status for the institution. Following a review process, the commission itself will take the final action.
THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO SUBMIT COMMENTS REGARDING THE INSTITUTION TO: Public Comment on Brown University Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, New England Association of Schools and Colleges 3 Burlington Woods Drive, Suite 100 Burlington, MA 01803-4514 E-mail: cihe@neasc.org
Public Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution. The commission cannot settle disputes between individuals and institutions, whether those involve faculty, students, administrators or members of other groups. Comments will not be treated as confidential and must include the name, address and telephone number of the person providing the comments. Public Comments must be received by March 14, 2018. The commission cannot guarantee that comments received after that date will be considered.
meetings, advocacy and other programs,” according to its website. In the next year, as president-elect, Pipher will serve ex-officio on various AMS committees, allowing her “to learn in more detail about the workings of the organization and the various things that they do,” she said. “It’s really wonderful for both Jill and for Brown that she’s going to assume office in one year as president,” said current AMS President and University of California at Berkeley Professor of Mathematics Kenneth Ribet ’69, MA ’69, ScD ’98 hon., P ’19. “I certainly look forward to working with her.” The president of the AMS must chair and attend meetings, as well as serve on various task forces, Ribet said. Pipher will also appoint people to head committees, which she said will have “a great deal of influence over the shape and the governance of the society.” As president, Pipher hopes to help the AMS further its tradition of being
a welcoming society for mathematicians. “I’m concerned with issues of diversity and inclusion,” she said. She also hopes to grow the number of prizes, awards and fellowships distributed by the society to mathematicians, as there are “so many people making extraordinary contributions.” Ribet added that his greatest challenge as AMS president “has been Donald Trump.” He added that the AMS participated in the March for Science last spring and has urged Trump to appoint a science advisor — a position currently unfilled. “The challenge of our time is to promote evidence-based inquiry, to promote science and to promote research,” Pipher said, adding there is some “bipartisan agreement on the importance of research.” “There’s opportunity for more agreement, and I intend to go to Washington and talk to anyone who will listen to me about that,” she said. “I feel that many of the things that I know about research and the things that I value, I can communicate to just about anybody.”
“(The people who did this) want (us) to be afraid,” McCloud said. “They want (us) to run and hide. They presumably want (us) to stop what (we’re) doing.” But McCloud asserted the importance of not giving in to racist sentiments. “We are not going to let anyone or any group of racist individuals keep us from doing what we’re here to do,” she said.
McCloud spoke of the importance of taking up a more active role in response to acts of intolerance. “Get involved. Be a voice. Be heard. Stand up for what you believe in. Or more importantly, stand up, because you never know when you’re going to need somebody to stand up for you.”
» TALK, from page 1
Trump’s behavior is not new, Roediger said. He likened Trump’s appeal among white voters to the appeal of conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, whose influences permeated before Trump’s presidency. Associate Director and Special Advisor of American Studies Caroline Frank, who was in attendance at the event, expressed disappointment in the state of affairs under Trump. “It’s been discouraging” to see open acts of racism since Trump assumed office, “especially on the heels of the first African American president,” Frank told The Herald. “I hope our society remains civil,” she added. While Roediger emphasized that “it’s important to express an unalterable opposition to Trump,” he also warned against getting “caught up in trying to read the whole situation in the United States from the presidential election alone.” “If (former Secretary of State Hillary) Clinton had won, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Roediger said. “It’s about one election result.”
health care law. Roediger pushed back on this line of reasoning, asking instead: “Why was the (Affordable Care Act) … not compelling enough to keep those people inside the Democratic party?” Roediger stated that voters motivated by white nationalism have a long history of voting against their own interests in order to oppose the interests of non-white groups. Just as many Southern white residents opposed reconstruction after the Civil War “both to their own detriment and to the detriment of people of color,” some white workers voted against their own health care benefits in 2016, Roediger said. Roediger also described an identity crisis among some white workers. “For years, working people in the United States knew themselves as the middle class,” he said. “Now they’re the white working class.” This shift has left white workers feeling increasingly victimized — a sentiment into which Trump tapped.
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» LIST, from page 1 “sizable and robust collection of artworks by Mexican artists,” Maestas said. Inspiration also flowed from the results of the November 2016 presidential election. “Revolution was on my mind,” Maestas said. Through research, she found that the theme of revolution was “important to the art that was being made at that time as well,” creating “a nice resonance between the moment we find ourselves in politically” and the art on display. The Bell Gallery’s recent acquisition of three photographs by Mexico City-based photographer Graciela Iturbide adds nuance to elevate the exhibition. These photographs offer “a more contemporary lens,” Maestas said. One of the photographs, “Prótesis—El Baño de Frida (Prosthesis—Frida’s Bathroom),” was taken in 2005, when Iturbide photographed a bathroom in Frida Kahlo’s Mexico City house, which had been closed to the public by Frida Kahlo’s husband and fellow artist, Rivera, for 50 years. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Iturbide described the experience as “very intense. … There I learned that she was a marvelous woman who contended with a lot of pain.” In the photograph, a brown and red prosthetic leg stands alone in contrast to the wet, bright blue concrete that surrounds it. The exhibition fits with a recent trend of Bell Gallery shows. Despite the current collection of works by American artist Melvin Edwards in the main gallery space, “traditionally speaking, (the Bell Gallery has) done a lot of work with artists from different parts of the world,” Maestas said. “Those cross-cultural perspectives are important to myself — and the gallery as well,” she added. “Llevando la Cultura” is set to close Feb. 11, with a reception to be held at the List Art Lobby Feb. 9.
Los Habaneros enchant Granoff with Cuban-inspired music
COURTESY OF GERARDO CONTINO Y LOS HABANEROS
Los Habaneros, a Cuban dance-fusion band directed by singer Gerardo Contino (center), dedicated their set to their country, while specifically paying homage to Havana, the home city of some of the members, and New York, their current base.
CLACS, music department host performance at Granoff, talk at Watson by Cuban dance-fusion band By JACOB ALABAB-MOSER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Cuban dance fusion band Los Habaneros enraptured audience members in the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts’ Martinos Auditorium with a performance inspired by a mixture of genres, including salsa and jazz, last Thursday. Gerardo Contino, the band’s Havanaborn director and singer, dedicated Los Habaneros’ 90-minute set to his “beautiful and complicated country.” The band was fronted by Contino sporting gold-rimmed glasses and gelled hair. After just a few songs, the delighted
audience members waved their arms and rose from their seats to dance. At one point, Contino invited a few lucky dancers on stage. “(Los Habaneros) were so happy and carefree,” said Veronica Rigobon ’21. “I’m Latin American, so it’s everything I love about my culture, honestly.” The concert paid homage to Havana, from which many of the band’s members hail, and New York, the band’s current base, presenting music that ranged from a vibrant rendition of the Cuban dance classic “Chan Chan” — played by the whole ensemble — to an intimate pianodriven love ballad that Contino wrote
for his wife. “It doesn’t matter if you understand (Spanish); all you have to feel is the music,” Contino said. “Tonight was magic. I saw people feel that so I accomplished my mission.” Between songs, Contino kept the audience both entertained and reflective. Introducing his United States-born bassist, he said, “We don’t take jobs; we make jobs.” The concert was accompanied by a talk held earlier that day at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs during which Contino spoke to attendees about his life’s trajectory. Contino grew up in a materially-deprived, blackout-ridden Cuba before becoming a law student and then moving to
New York to create music with Los Habaneros, said Jessaca Leinaweaver, director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, professor of anthropology and a co-organizer of the event. Los Habaneros is the third Latin American musical group to be invited this year by the Department of Music and CLACS to stage a series of performances, workshops and public talks, she added. “Certainly one of the most satisfying things … is seeing the huge range of people (in the audience),” Leinaweaver said, emphasizing the cultural value and sense of community these events bring to Brown. Los Habaneros’ most recent album, ‘Los Habaneros NYC,’ is out now.
New TAPS endowment funds neurodiversity efforts Donation to TAPS department to support programs for adults with autism, raise awareness By DIVYA MANIAR SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The theater arts and performance studies department announced the creation of an endowment fund that aims to support theater and performance programs for adults diagnosed with autism. The fund, called The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Adult Autism Theater and Performing Arts Fund, was established through a $100,000 donation from the namesake organization that supports adults on the autism spectrum and raises awareness of their experiences. Linda Walder, the founder of the organization, said she was inspired to create The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation in 2002 to honor her late son’s life. “Eighteen years ago no one was talking about adults (with autism) or focusing on them at all. We thought there was a major deficit in that area” of providing service. The DJFF creates “programs, services and support systems that … exclusively focus on adults” with autism, she added. In an effort to realize its mission, The DJFF has established funds at a variety of universities throughout the
country. “We thought, let’s go to the best universities in the United States, and, in perpetuity, create a focus on adult autism,” Walder said. The DJFF has existing funds at Yale, Rutgers and the University of Miami, each addressing different aspects of programming, research and development. Brown’s partnership with the Miracle Project made it a viable candidate for an endowment fund from The DJFF, Walder said. The Miracle Project is a California-based initiative that aims to “provide individuals with autism and other disabilities the tools to build communication, social skills, community and greater selfesteem through inclusive theater and expressive arts programs,” according to its website. The University’s partnership with the Miracle Project follows the work of Julie Strandberg, a senior lecturer in the TAPS department, and Rachel Balaban, an adjunct lecturer in the TAPS department, who created the Artists and Scientists as Partners program, The Herald previously reported. The ASaP program developed a course that “advocates for research exploring diverse medical and arts practices” for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and Autism Spectrum Disorders, according to the program’s website. The creation of the ASaP program reflects the University’s interdisciplinary “relationship between its students
in the sciences and students in the arts,” said Patricia Ybarra, chair of the TAPS department. “There aren’t many centers in the (United States) that think about ASD and the arts together,” she added. The DJFF Adult Autism Theater and Performing Arts Fund will help fund and grow the University’s relationship with the Miracle Project, Strandberg said. Eventually, she hopes to establish “a branch of (the Miracle Project) in New England.” Walder said the collaboration between the University and The DJFF also develops “the blueprint … for (creating) an inclusive theatre program.” The DJFF endowment fund helps facilitate greater interaction between the performance arts space at Brown and individuals on the autism spectrum, which has been a goal of the department and its students, said Leon Hilton, assistant professor in the TAPS department. “There’s interest in having students, particularly those who are interested in … the engaged scholar aspect of our (TAPS) program, to work closely with people on the spectrum and to think about how theater, performance and dance can provide a unique way of working across lines of disability and difference,” Hilton said. Over time, the TAPS department has seen “more and more students (coming) to us and (wanting) to work on
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
A new endowment fund for the theater arts and performance studies department will create programs supporting neurodiversity and inclusion. these issues,” of diversity and inclusion, Ybarra said Brown’s involvement in addressing and advocating for issues of neurodiversity through the performing arts has a role to play in a large, sustainable move for inclusion, Walder said.
Through programs and collaborations such as the one with The DJFF, “we can assure that for generations to come, adults diagnosed with autism would have a focus on their particular challenges, strengths and talents,” she added.
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Reading honors Langston Hughes Providence Public Library celebrates 23rd Langston Hughes poetry festival with jazz music, 40 poems By ANNABELLE WOODWARD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A large crowd gathered Sunday at the Providence Public Library for the 23rd Annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading. The event was held to celebrate the life and work of the prolific eponymous Harlem Renaissance poet. Over the course of several hours, performers of many age groups and ethnicities read 40 of Hughes’ poems, many of which criticized the United States’ hypocritical conception of democracy, celebrated the “vernacular of blackness” and “demanded that the humanity of black people everywhere be recognized,” said program co-coordinator April Brown. “Art does that. It demands that humanity be recognized. Poetry invites us to exercise our own meaningmaking and agency,” said guest scholar Renee T. White, whose speech prefaced the readings. The readings were set to music by the Daniel Ian Smith Jazz Trio, a group that has accompanied the event for the past 19 years. “I think we started performing at the Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading right around the time that Brady started winning Super Bowls,” joked bandmember Keala Kaumeheiwa, who composed an original piece to accompany his reading of Hughes’ “Dream Boogie.” “Our appreciation for Hughes’ work has grown much deeper since we started” performing at the event, added the Trio’s frontman, Daniel Ian Smith.
Formerly held in the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, this was the first year that the event has taken place in the Providence Public Library. “Langston would want this event to be in the Public Library,” Brown said, alluding to Hughes’ reputation as a “people’s poet.” The program was co-coordinated by Anne Edmonds Clanton, the founder of the Langston Hughes Center for the Arts and Education, and made possible by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, in addition to other cultural organizations from Rhode Island. The previous Friday, a similar event that catered specifically to youth was held at the Southside Cultural Center of Rhode Island. Accompanied by hip-hop music, the event featured performances from Nowell Academy students and AS220 Youth, Brown said. The reading was attended by Hughes enthusiasts from many walks of life — local professors, precocious middle schoolers and supportive family members flocked to the Providence Public Library. Karen Maude, an educator from Boston, said that she came because she loves Hughes’ work and because she wanted to support her aunt, who was reading. “I have always enjoyed (Hughes’) poetry. I use it to inspire pieces from my students by first reading his work and talking about the political issues he talked about, and then having them write their own poetry,” Maude said. Dannie Ritchie, a clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University, who was invited to read “Songs to the Dark Virgin,” described the event as “an opportunity to gather, grow and celebrate each other.”
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U. delegates attend racial healing conference Students, faculty, alums travel to D.C. as part of $30,000 grant, participate in workshops on race By KATHERINE BENNETT SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Last month a six-member delegation consisting of students, faculty and alums represented the University at the 2018 Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Institute in Washington. Attending the conference was a requirement of the $30,000 grant that the University received from the Association of American Colleges & Universities to become one of ten Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Campus Centers in the United States, The Herald previously reported. During the conference, the University delegation attended workshops, connected with other grant-receiving institutions and engaged in conversations about the advancement of racial healing. The conference also provided the delegation with an opportunity to hear about the different approaches that schools have been taking to address racial healing on their campuses, said Marc Lo, assistant director for assessment and evaluation at the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning. “There are folks who are just starting their work around documenting their campus’ history with slavery … (and others who are) raising questions about the indigenous land on which their campus sits. … Then there are folks in other locations who are developing a more nuanced narrative about what racial difference looks like there,” Lo said. “There are so many valuable approaches — you just have to find one that works for your place.” The institute workshops covered a variety of topics, said Rev. Janet Cooper Nelson, chaplain of the University. The workshops “included everything from
COURTESY OF REVEREND JANET COOPER NELSON
Delegates attended workshops, connected with other institutions and engaged in conversations about racial healing at the conference. discussions about the racial history of the United States, to barriers in higher education that are created by systemic racism.” Cooper Nelson, who helped write the University’s application for the grant, added that because the University is attempting to address the systemic racism that exists at Brown, the delegation demonstrated great interest in exploring how other institutions raised questions and ideas about the topic. The institute also offered training sessions in more technical aspects of grant administration, Cooper Nelson said. For example, the session covered raising additional money, handling negative press coverage and implementing a methodology known as “racial healing circles.” Racial healing circles aim to move conversations about racial healing “away from argument and … ground (them) in individual narrative” instead, Cooper Nelson said. At the institute, the delegation participated in a racial healing circle in which members sat “together in a circle and … talked about the ways in which … (we felt) represented in our race or gender (and) how that affects … day-to-day” life, said Maija Hallsmith, the program assistant for diversity initiatives in the Graduate School.
While engaging in the racial healing circle, members also “paired up … and talked about things like the first time (we) realized (our) race mattered,” she added. Racial healing circles create “appreciative networks of people who can hear each others’ narratives, however different they might be,” Cooper Nelson said. After attending the conference, Cooper Nelson said she looks forward to advancing on-campus initiatives funded by the grant. As the primary overseer of the initiatives, she added that she hopes to expand the programs offered through the grant and to implement the ideas discussed at the institute on campus. Along with the development of new initiatives, the grant will continue to fund the programs that began last year such as the discussion groups for female Muslim students and black students on campus. By funding so many programs and initiatives, the grant can hopefully give students new opportunities to engage in conversations about race, Hallsmith said. “Race tends to be a topic that people veer away from or try not to delve into, … (and) this grant is allowing us to have spaces for people to (engage) where the pressure isn’t on them to start the conversation or to be right.”
USING ELECTRICITY READINGS BY NICK MONTFORT, ALLISON PARRISH & RAFAEL PÉREZ Y PÉREZ
Using Electricity is a presentation of readings by Nick Montfort, Allison Parrish and Rafael Pérez y Pérez from their computer-generated books. The series title takes a line from the computer generated poem “A House of Dust,” developed by Alison Knowles with James Tenney in 1967, a significant early generator of poetic text, which combines different lines to produce descriptions of houses. Montfort will read from The Truelist, a work inviting the reader/audience to imagine moving through a strange landscape that seems to arise from the English language itself. By turns propulsive and meditative, Parrish’s Articulations demonstrate an intuitive coherence found outside the bounds of intentional semantic constraints. In Mexica: 20Years– 20 Stories [20 años–20 historias], Pérez y Pérez offers plots that describe fictional situations related to the Mexicas (also known as Aztecs), ancient inhabitants of what today is Mexico City.
Tuesday, 6 February 2018 at 12 noon McCormack Family Theater 70 Brown St., Providence
Sponsored by the Dept of Literary Arts
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Pink clouds coat Providence skies, illuminating the State House as the sun sets over the city. Similarly, tonight the sun will set over the last day of shopping period.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“I think we started performing at the Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading right around the time that
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Brady started winning Super Bowls. R
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— Keala Kaumeheiwa, member of Daniel Ian Smith Jazz Trio
C c r o s s w o rDd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 PC screens 5 Bumbling types 9 Washer or dryer: Abbr. 13 Banister 14 “Deck the Halls” syllables 15 Cuba, to Castro 16 *Start of a Jackie Gleason “Honeymooners” catchphrase 19 Capone associate Frank 20 Political satirist Mort 21 Pale 23 “Be right with you!” 25 Moe, Curly or Larry 28 Space-saving abbr. 29 *Vivaldi classic, with “The” 33 Pot-scrubbing brand 34 Fencing sword 35 King with a golden touch 36 *Cat’s blessing, so it’s said 39 Brainstorms 42 Company with a “swoosh” logo 43 “The Racer’s Edge” 46 *Tennessee Ernie Ford hit about coal mining 49 Musician’s asset 50 Big name in tea 51 New Orleans university 53 Orch. section 54 Coarse file 58 Pantyhose that came in a shell 59 What the starred answers start with 63 Upscale hotel chain 64 Potatoes’ partner 65 Post-Christmas retail event 66 Bog fuel 67 Hwy. accident respondents 68 Managed care gps.
DOWN 1 Chums 2 Met by chance 3 Men’s wear accessories 4 Bandits in Vegas? 5 More than occasionally, to a bard 6 Oohs’ partners 7 Circus insect 8 Scout uniform component 9 Help 10 Free TV ad 11 Layered building material 12 Layered ristorante offering 17 Feudal estate 18 “Do it, or __!” 22 Loch of legend 24 Filmmaker Ethan or Joel 26 Domesticated 27 Suffix with psych 30 Ivy League sch. in Philly 31 Got going again, as a fire 32 Fancy watch
36 NHL part: Abbr. 37 “Understood” 38 Dryer outlet 39 Followers: Suf. 40 Low-cal soda 41 Radical 43 Company associated with the alcoholic “7” in a “7 and 7” 44 Citrus hybrid 45 Gets the creases out of
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47 Brontë’s “Jane __” 48 “Star Trek” helmsman 52 Dog restraint 55 Zenith 56 Goblet feature 57 Jr.’s exam 60 Cell “messenger,” briefly 61 Tailor’s concern 62 Fourths of gals.
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Reimagining Gershwin 12:00 P.M. Nightingale-Brown House
Strategies for Managing Reading Assignments 12:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 203
Workshop: 3D Modeling 101 12:00 P.M. Granoff Center, N320
Prof. Herz: “Why You Eat What You Eat” 5:30 P.M. Brown Bookstore
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US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor 12:00 P.M. Pizzitola Sports Center
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How to Find a Job for Seniors 8:00 P.M. CareerLAB
Intro to Latin Dances 12:00 P.M. Hillel
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2018
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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2018 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Rhetoric of sovereignty masks American abuse of power MARYSOL FERNANDEZ staff columnist Sovereignty is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as “the ultimate overseer, or authority, in the decision-making process of the state and in the maintenance of order.” In the most conventional sense, sovereignty applies to the structure that holds the highest authority over the individuals and the workings of a given nation. The term and its importance become much more complicated when applied to the international arena. We live in a supposedly post-colonial world where the individual’s right to self-determination is viewed as inherent to the way humanity organizes itself. Yet, all too often, the limitations and ambiguities of “sovereignty” have allowed certain actors to continue to exert domination over the rest of the world through long-standing and outdated power structures. The rhetoric of American sovereignty, which often implies that some powerful states have a right to determine global standards, categorizes different human interests within a hierarchy that favors some cultures and leads to the subordination of others. President Donald Trump employed much of this same rhetoric in his State of the Union Address, delivered Jan. 30. Yet one section of his address in particular very clearly underscores the precarious mentality held by U.S. leaders and citizens alike in regard to the United States’ role in world affairs. When referring to the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a deci-
sion plagued by international controversy, President Trump spoke of “America’s sovereign right to make this recognition.” This statement was followed by assurances that Congress was working toward legislation that would prioritize American interests abroad. This section of the address is easily glossed over, as it was relatively short and mentioned only in passing, overshadowed by many of the special interest stories that became the highlight of the president’s speech. However, I believe these specific words are worth pulling out and contextualizing within the larger history
Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, on the other hand, celebrated those who chose not to confront the decision of the United States when she argued that “it’s clear that many countries prioritized their relationship with the United States over an unproductive attempt to isolate us for a decision that was our sovereign right to make.” Here, yet another world leader employs the very same phrase “sovereign right” to convey a sense of authority over world issues that goes well beyond a country’s legitimate claim to sovereignty, which exists only within the confines of the American
The rhetoric of American sovereignty, which often implies that some powerful states have a right to determine global standards, categorizes different human interests within a hierarchy that favors some cultures and leads to the subordination of others. of U.S. interventionism, justified and rationalized as serving these ambiguous “American interests.” The long-standing issue regarding the recognition of the capital of Israel has been greatly discussed on the international stage. Several leaders in the United Nations have expressed clear opposition to President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem, shaking the fragile consensus that had been reached. The narrative of the opposition has been expressed by Venezuela’s United Nations new Permanent Representative Samuel Moncada Acosta: “The world is not for sale, and your threats imperil global peace.” The American
state. A serious issue that surrounds the debate is the opposition’s inability to articulate their issues with these faulty claims to sovereignty. In this way, it misses the primary point that transcends this one mere instance of U.S. arrogance in its foreign affairs. This is not a Trump phenomenon that we just need to bear for the next three years. This issue is about a long history of imperialist rationalization that has its roots in rhetoric such as that of “the white man’s burden” and policies of intimidation employed by many previous administrations. This is a tradition that time and time again has resulted
in atrocious actions against human dignity, particularly, but not exclusively, across Latin America and the Middle East. It is an issue that will require extensive discussion and redefinition, as these discourses have historically been approached in problematic ways, even in the most progressive and academic arenas. This is particularly true as U.S. foreign policy is often viewed by the American people as a narrative of good intentions. Rhetoric dominated by phrases such as the “protection of human rights” or the “serving of American interests” has monopolized the critical discussion. And yet very few have ventured to ask: What are these human rights if not the right to self-determination? Are these really the interests of the American people, or those of the elite few that we are serving? These questions become even more important within the context of a community such as Brown’s, in which so many of us are looking to participate in the development of solutions to U.S. as well as world problems. There needs to be a conversation about what our responsibility is to the rest of the world, coming from this position of power. A conversation in which we can draw the line between aiding in collective efforts toward progress across the world, and exerting an illegitimate “sovereignty” over all of those who have traditionally been denied that right.
Marysol Fernandez ’21 can be reached at marysol_fernandez@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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His Excellency Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General of the United Nations (2007-16) Sustainable Development Goals and Global Citizenship
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