SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 35
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
UCS candidates discuss platforms UFB candidates
prepare for elections Schold ’19, To ’19 campaign for UFB Chair, De Georgia ’20 runs unopposed for Vice Chair By MELANIE PINCUS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF SHANZÉ TAHIR
COURTESY OF FABRICE GUYOT-SIONNEST
Shanzé Tahir ’19 (left) and Fabrice Guyot-Sionnest ’20 (right) will contend for the presidency of the Undergraduate Council of Students after the polls open at noon today. Results will be announced at 10 p.m. Thursday.
Tahir ’19, Guyot-Sionnest ’20 vie for UCS Presidency while Pelsinger ’20, Zhou ’20 compete for VP By MELANIE PINCUS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Polls open today at noon in races for all executive board positions on
the Undergraduate Council of Students. Shanzé Tahir ’19 and Fabrice Guyot-Sionnest ’20 contend for the presidency while Camila Pelsinger ’20 and William Zhou ’20 campaign for the vice presidency. All candidate platforms are available on the UCS website and address issues that range from first-year advising program development to undocumented students protections.
Election results will be announced at 10 p.m. Thursday night on the steps of the Stephen Roberts ’62 Campus Center. The race for the presidency: Shanzé Tahir ’19 With three years of experience in leadership positions within multiple communities at Brown, Tahir hopes » See UCS, page 3
In the Undergraduate Finance Board elections beginning today at noon, Lisa Schold ’19 and Drew To ’19 contend for the chair position while Julian De Georgia ’20 runs unopposed for vice chair. The candidates’ platforms — which are available on the Undergraduate Council of Students’ website — speak to a variety of issues, including increasing the board’s transparency and improving relationships with student groups. Election results will be announced at 10 p.m. Thursday night on the steps of the Stephen Roberts ’62 Campus Center. The race for chair: Lisa Schold ’19 Schold is currently spending a semester abroad in three different countries and will be en route to Buenos Aires, Argentina, when election results are announced Thursday night. “I’ve been … trying to coordinate this campaign while abroad, and it’s been kind of challenging with the time difference and all, but I hope I am
expressing how important this election and this organization are to me,” Schold said over Skype. From fall 2016 through fall 2017, Schold served as the UCS-UFB liaison. As UFB chair, Schold said she would further foster the relationship between UCS and UFB. “Since UCS does officially create (UFB) policies, … it’s important that UCS is aware when UFB is having challenges with existing policies so that they can also be more involved in the process,” Schold said, adding that she would also look to add weekly UFB reports to UCS’ general body meetings. Communication issues also exist between UFB and the student groups it finances: UFB sometimes struggles to convey to student groups how to adequately prepare to present their budgets to UFB. “We have a rule where we’re supposed to meet with student groups before they go in to present their budget, but that doesn’t always happen because sometimes we don’t know who their financial signatory is, or … they don’t know who to contact,” Schold said. “I’m really hoping that we can make this a more fair process by either making sure that we are meeting with our student groups before they come in to present or » See UFB, page 2
Med school students match with primary care, specialty residencies 117 out of 118 students matched with programs, 14 students will stay in Rhode Island By ALICIA MIES CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Over 99 percent of fourth-year Alpert Medical School students matched to residency programs March 16. Of 118 students, 117 were accepted into a wide range of programs, varying from family medicine to obstetrics and gynecology to surgery, said Associate Dean for Medical Education Allan Tunkel. This acceptance rate is consistent with rates in the past years at the Med School and the national average for American medical schools, Tunkel said. Students matched to some of the most prestigious programs in the country, including residency programs at hospitals affiliated with Harvard, Yale, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the University of California at San Francisco, Tunkel said. From the
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pool of matched students, 14 students will also be completing all or part of their residencies in Rhode Island, he added. Thirty-four percent of the class matched into primary care disciplines, which include internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics, Tunkel said. The rest of the class matched into other specialty fields, including surgery, psychiatry, orthopedics, anesthesiology and more, he added. After students complete their third year of medical school, advisors are paired with students based on the medical discipline that the students would like to enter, Tunkel said. Advisors work with students to identify different residency programs and to help them complete a standardized application called the Electronic Residency Application Service, he added. Students will then make a rank order list of their preferred programs. Likewise, residency programs will also make a rank order list of the applicants that they interviewed. These rankings go into a system that pairs a student
with the highest possible residency program that also ranked the student, Tunkel said. Finally, students find out where they will be going for their residency by opening a prepared envelope at noon on Match Day in a celebration at the medical school with their classmates, family and friends. “This is a really big day, because where (fourth-year medical students) are going for their residency is going to define, in many ways, what they’re going to be doing for the rest of their career,” Tunkel said. Meredith Adamo MD’18 was joined by her family and her partner when she found out that she matched to the University of California at San Francisco in internal medicine, her first choice. “I had a lot of family waiting by the phone, waiting to see where I’d end up,” Adamo said. “I think most people would say that (Match Day) is a bigger deal than graduation because it is so unknown, and it’s a culmination of so much work to match with a residency » See MATCH DAY, page 3
SOURCE: ALLAN TUNKEL ALEX SKIDMORE / HERALD
WEATHER
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
NEWS U. plans to create fellowships, tuition-free Master’s program for DACA, undocumented students
ARTS & CULTURE Multimedia performance “Qyrq Qyz” reimagines ancient story of female empowerment
COMMENTARY Israel ’21, Rock ’19: Domestic abuse, prejudice predict shootings better than mental health
COMMENTARY Young ’19.5: U. should disclose information about internal legacy admissions data, policies
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PAGE 2 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
COURTESY OF LISA SCHOLD
COURTESY OF DREW TO
Students will choose between Lisa Schold ’19 (left) and Drew To ’19 (right) for Undergraduate Finance Board chair when polls open today at noon.
» UFB, from page 1 having a formal resource so that student groups understand the process before they come into the meeting.” Schold stressed the importance of transparency, considering that UFB manages “close to $2 million” in “student money through the student activities fee.” To this end, Schold’s platform includes a promise to publish end-ofsemester reports regarding fund allocation. When UCS and UFB voted to raise the student activities fee from $274 for each student this year to $286 next year, Schold said “it was a pretty frustrating experience.” Though Schold said the increase was necessary because of inflation, she thought any change “should be a little bit more of a larger campus conversation and not just within the select few who are voting to raise tuition slightly.” “This is student money that we’re responsible for, and I really want people to understand where their money is actually going,” Schold said. In her platform, Schold also said she would outline a process for funding Category S, or service groups. Category S groups became UFB-funded organizations last year, Schold said. “The challenge is that UFB was created to allocate funds to Category III and II groups, not service groups, and so we don’t have any policies regarding service groups even though they’re very different,” Schold said. Last semester,
UFB “had some forums where we talked to these group leaders, but there was a lot of confusion on both sides and I think there’s a lot of room to increase clarity,” she added. If elected, Schold said she will work to increase student engagement with UFB so that students can hold the board accountable for its decisions. “I understand that it can be hard because UFB is kind of a confusing process to navigate, but I’m hoping to really clarify that so that students are more aware of where their money is going, and who is on this board and what we do, … just to foster more communication and relationships with everyone,” Schold said. The race for chair: Drew To ’19 To currently serves as vice chair of UFB and said he is running for chair to continue working with the wide range of student groups at the University. “I’m really passionate about helping other people (and) making sure everyone on campus gets to enjoy what they like to do,” To said. “Brown isn’t just academics — it’s also the activities that each student does. That’s what really makes us cool.” As vice chair, To has implemented feedback forms for student groups that work with UFB, which he plans to incorporate into his plans for the next year. “It was really useful, and I think we’re going to be putting that into effect in determining their funding for the coming year,” To said.
If elected chair, To said he would also work to expand the use of lump sum funding for student groups that hold regular events. “Right now, UFB doesn’t technically fund lump sums, but there are some groups like (the Brown Concert Agency and) Lecture Board, where we do give a large portion of their budget through this idea of a lump sum. And it’s really inconsistent about how this policy is done because it’s not clearly written in our policies that this lump sum thing can happen,” To said. In order to make the policy consistent, To proposes formulating “a process for some student groups to get funding in a lump sum type of format” for costs such as honorariums or annual events. Any portion of the lump sum the group did not use for its event would be given back to UFB to fund other projects, as is currently the practice with BCA and Lecture Board, To said. He also emphasized the importance of increasing student groups’ involvement with UCS so they have the opportunity to contribute to any policy changes. “When we make our policies, it’s very much in a vacuum — we’re arguing with one another about what we think is right (and) what we think we should do, but there’s really little input from student leaders and such, which could provide us another dimension to look at,” he added. To ensure that UFB’s relationship with student groups remains stable as
groups go through leadership changes, To said UFB could meet with student leaders to plan for their successors. “Maybe a (UFB representative) can sit down with the current treasurer (and) the financial signatory and hash out a plan for next year that would be guided by the budget they’ve submitted this current year,” To said. “So that when these people graduate, the group can still operate and understand what happened last year and why.” In his platform, To promises not to request an increase to the student activities fee for the 2019-20 academic year. “This current year, I worked on the proposal to increase the student activities fee, and I believe that the amount that we got from this increase is more than enough to cover us,” To said. If elected, To said he would work to ensure fair, consistent policy. “The reason I’m in this is not a resume boost or anything — it’s just because I do believe in UFB,” To said. “I really do want to make sure that UFB is consistent … (and) going the distance to help out all the student groups that we have under our purview.” The race for vice chair: Julian De Georgia ’20 De Georgia runs unopposed for vice chair one year after current UFB vice chair To narrowly defeated him for the position. De Georgia has served on UFB since his freshman year and said he hopes to improve communication with student groups as vice chair.
“Ever since I got on the board, I started to realize that there’s a lot of things that we can improve,” De Georgia said. “In particular, it’s often quite challenging for student groups to find out about our policies (and) learn about the process, and that’s led to a lot of frustration.” To better inform student groups, De Georgia said he envisions UFB having “a stand-alone website that’s just easier to maneuver (and) easier to use.” UFB recently launched a new website that is part of the UCS website. “I also think that we need to do a publicity campaign to inform students about the resources that are available,” De Georgia said. “It’s one thing to have the resources there, but if it’s not easy to access and if student groups don’t know that it’s there, (then) that’s not going to help anybody.” Going into next year, establishing a central online source for all information about UFB will be the board’s most important pursuit, De Georgia said. “The most important thing is creating that website, creating an effective place for students to go and get all the information that they need about UFB easily,” De Georgia said. “That would make the biggest difference for student groups.” Like both candidates for UFB chair, De Georgia emphasized the importance of transparency. One way to increase transparency would be “to notify groups whenever anything meaningful happens, such as policy change,” De Georgia said. Students also “have the right to know where” their student activities fee is going, De Georgia said. “Currently, they don’t. Currently, there’s no transparency at all, there’s no way for you as a student, as a leader of a student group, to … get any sort of information about where that money’s going other than by talking to your representative and kind of trying to wheedle some information (out of) that person.” To address this issue, De Georgia said he would “create a report that analyzes that information of where that money is going into different categories.” This report would not only increase transparency, but would also help UFB better “understand where we can improve and whether or not the funding that we’ve been doing is really a fair allocation of the resources that we’re granted by the students,” he added.
University releases plan to support DACA students Contingent on suspension of DACA, plan includes fellowship, tuition-free Master’s degree By DIVYA MANIAR SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Though a recent decision from the United States Supreme Court has paused the Trump administration’s efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the University has developed plans to provide support to DACA recipients and undocumented students on campus in the event of the program’s suspension, according to a letter from the Provost’s office. The letter outlines a plan to create a fellowship program for undergraduate undocumented students and announces the offering of a tuition-free fifth-year Master’s program for undocumented students graduating
from Brown in 2018. These programs build on the University’s earlier initiatives to provide undocumented students with legal resources and support, as The Herald previously reported. The implementation of the fellowship program and the offer of a tuitionfree Master’s degree are contingent on the end of the DACA program. Undocumented students who are not prior DACA recipients are also eligible for both opportunities should the DACA program end, wrote Julio Reyes ’12, director of the First-Generation College and Low-Income Center, in an email to The Herald. The termination of the DACA program would result in program participants losing their work authorization. As a result, the University has offered to create “in-school and post-graduate opportunities for students unable to work legally to engage in stipend-supported research and education that is
not citizenship-dependent,” according to the Provost’s letter. “Students who may lose the authority to work legally still want to have meaningful engagement,” wrote Marisa Quinn, chief of staff to the provost, in an email to The Herald. In addition to these citizenship-independent opportunities, the University will offer an Experiential Learning Fellowship for undergraduate undocumented students and DACA recipients. The Experiential Learning Fellowship — created through a collaboration between the Dean of the College and the Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services — will offer eligible students “campus-based experiential learning fellowships that a student would apply for through the FLi Center” as an alternative to traditional work-study opportunities during the semester, Quinn wrote. “If DACA is eliminated, we anticipate offering two fellowships per semester
with a stipend of $750 each.” “Students are free to submit an application in any subject area they want,” Reyes said. “I and a team of other administrators would read through the application and then decide which faculty or staff members to connect them with.” In order to create a structure for the fellowship program, Reyes collaborated with the advisory board of the Undocumented and DACA Student Initiative to come up with ideas, he said. The advisory board, which consists of approximately 10 members, includes students from various fields of study, allowing administrators to “pull from student knowledge and student expertise,” Reyes added. Students who participate in the fellowship will be required to create a research-based project, Reyes said. He added that the process would allow students to connect with faculty and local organizations.
The aim of the program is to allow undocumented and DACA students to “continue having co-curricular experiences and access to opportunities,” Reyes said. In addition to the Experiential Learning Fellowships, if DACA is eliminated, the University is also prepared to “waive tuition and provide a stipend” for undocumented students and DACA recipients who will graduate from the University in 2018 and qualify for admission in a master’s program, wrote Shayna Kessel, associate dean of the Graduate School. “In the short term, the Provost’s office will support these initiatives, and if they need to be sustained, we will submit a proposal for the next cycle’s (University Resources Committee) process,” Quinn wrote. These efforts reflect an intention to “offer meaningful engagement and access to educational opportunity in a period of uncertainty,” Quinn added.
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» UCS, from page 1 to build on her prior work as the next UCS president. As an executive board member of the Brown Muslim Students Association her first two years at the University, Tahir worked to bring “female Muslim leadership (into) the chaplaincy,” she said. As a Minority Peer Counselor last year, Tahir built connections between vulnerable communities following the 2016 presidential election, she said. “Why I want to run is because I’m ready and willing and able to fight this fight for any other student or community at Brown,” Tahir said. “I want to use this platform to elevate the work that so many other students are already doing … while also promoting a campus of respect.” As the current chair of the Brown Lecture Board, Tahir has worked to bring “diverse speakers” to campus, according to her platform. “Putting on these huge campuswide and super popular events takes really strong leadership … (that) values the input of every student member of Lecture Board and uplifts their voice while also promoting a collective vision for the group,” Tahir said. “This experience would be so immensely helpful in leading the UCS general body and the executive board.” Tahir said that in combination with the connections that she has built as a leader on campus, her lack of previous UCS involvement would give her new insight. “Talking with a lot of current UCS members, they’re all saying it would be an immense benefit to have someone who has a fresh perspective and … already has connections to these communities to be better able to implement the policies that they’re working for,” Tahir said. At the same time, “I do acknowledge that I will have to catch up,” she said, adding that she would meet with current UCS President Chelse-Amoy Steele ’18 “often” if elected “to gain the knowledge of UCS and its operations more deeply.” As president, Tahir said she would work to employ a “comprehensive and holistic approach” to support students who are affected by today’s political climate. Tahir highlighted this objective in her platform and in her opening statement at the UCS candidates debate Sunday night. Students who may need additional support as a result of the current political climate include students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, undocumented students, international students and first-generation students, Tahir said. “A huge component of this will also be following up on the fiveyear (diversity and inclusion action) plans, because different departments are at very different places with that plan,” Tahir said, adding that she would work on “documenting where
» MATCH DAY, from page 1 and start your career in a field that you’ve chosen.” Adamo will participate in a monthlong rotation in an emergency department at a hospital in Bologna, Italy, before returning to Providence in May for graduation.
different departments are and seeing … which ones need more support to accomplish those goals within five years and which ones can actually move ahead and start working toward bigger goals.” The race for the presidency: Fabrice Guyot-Sionnest ’20 Guyot-Sionnest has been considering his run for UCS president since before he came to Brown. “I really love Brown — I love the students, I think they’re interesting, they’re fun, they’re smart,” GuyotSionnest said. “But there’s just one thing that really bothers me and has bothered me for a while about Brown, and that is that Brown is a bit of an echo chamber sometimes.” Guyot-Sionnest said he is running to make ideological diversity on campus a priority. “I decided to run because I think this is a special opportunity for us at Brown to send a message to the rest of the Ivy League, to the rest of the country, to the rest of the world really that Brown is a school that’s ready to say something really serious about this issue.” Accordingly, Guyot-Sionnest’s platform focuses on “diversity of thought.” As president, Guyot-Sionnest said he would implement this platform by working to bring more ideologically diverse speakers to campus, referencing a study released by SPEAK Coalition last month that found that 94.5 percent of speakers invited to the University lean to the left. “If we want to really learn and be good students, … we have to hear opinions that don’t just agree with us,” he said. In addition, Guyot-Sionnest said he would like to ensure that all students feel comfortable voicing their opinions in class. “Oftentimes, professors at Brown are overly political, and that can stifle some students from saying what they would like to say,” he said. The Herald’s fall 2017 poll found that 67 percent of Brown undergraduates either strongly or somewhat agree that their professors successfully facilitate discussions that respect opposing points of view, though 23.9 percent of students strongly or somewhat disagree with this assertion, according to the survey. Additionally, Guyot-Sionest said he aims to diversify the news channels played on televisions at the Sharpe Refectory. “I’m not saying that CNN isn’t a great news source, but there are other news sources that other people listen to and … it’s important for us to hear those perspectives,” he said. Like Tahir, Guyot-Sionnest has never held a position in UCS, which he said could be beneficial. “Just as Brown is a bit of an echo chamber, UCS can also be a bit of an echo chamber sometimes,” Guyot-Sionnest said. “And there are incredible
Naomi Adjei MD’18 matched with Yale New Haven Hospital for obstetrics and gynecology, her first choice. “I felt ecstatic, surprised, overjoyed, overwhelmed. It was just a mix of emotions that I couldn’t put words to it until later Saturday night,” she said. Adjei added that she felt her experience at the Med School had prepared her
people on UCS, but nonetheless, having an outsider perspective does help me see things from new perspectives.” Guyot-Sionnest is a captain of a Brown Mock Trial team and the founder of a program that aims to connect first- and second-year computer science students at the University with Rhode Island businesses. The program “started last summer, so this summer we’re going to be having our first cohort of students. We’ve already got a couple of businesses lined up agreeing to hire students and I know a couple of students who are really interested in the prospect,” he said. Though his platform focuses primarily on one issue — the lack of diversity of thought on campus — Guyot-Sionnest said he recognizes there are other problems that UCS can address and said he agrees with Tahir on a number of stances, including opposing the summer earnings expectation and need-aware admissions for international students. “I will be raising these concerns if I’m elected president,” he said. “I definitely think that some platforms can be a bit unrealistic, and I’m trying to promise things that I can and will accomplish.” The race for the vice presidency: Camila Pelsinger ’20 In her two years at the University, Pelsinger has dedicated much of her time to “direct community organizing, working with grassroots organizations on campus” and “sexual violence prevention,” she said. As UCS vice president, Pelsinger would support projects driven by student groups. Her experience working within various communities at Brown — for instance, as a lead peer educator in the Sexual Assault Peer Education program and with the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition — has prepared her for this role, Pelsinger said. “We need to incorporate people into UCS leadership that have direct experience working within communities,” she said. “I want to work with these communities to fuel (their) initiatives, but also … (make) space for them to speak for themselves and bring them to the table with (the) administration and deans.” Pelsinger — who is currently the UCS chair of campus life — said she is running because multiple initiatives that UCS plans to continue next semester “are things that I’ve worked on a lot on the ground implementing (and) building through policy.” Next semester, UCS will enact the Campus Consent Bill, which will require all Category III student groups to send representatives to a training hosted by student groups like SAPE, as The Herald previously reported. In addition, UCS will further develop systems for bias-related reporting at Brown, which Steele has worked to amend this year. Pelsinger said she would hope to establish new, informal
for the match process and her residency. “Hands down, if I were to do medical school again, then I would do Brown a thousand times over,” Adjei said. “The (advising) department has been working with us since day one to prepare us for (Match Day). I was getting phone calls and text messages all the way up to Match Day from people from the
methods for survivors of sexual assault to seek restorative justice. “It’s frustrating because it’s either trial investigation office through Title IX or nothing happens, and neither of those options are particularly appealing to a lot of people because the trial and investigation process can be very demanding … and triggering, so a lot of people that I talk to feel guilty for not reporting,” Pelsinger said. Pelsinger added that an informal process would mean creating a way to “find the person that harmed (a survivor), … tell them that they” caused harm and “find a way to prevent them from hurting someone else again.” Because she has worked on these initiatives with student groups like SAPE and It’s On Us, Pelsinger said she is equipped to further pursue these goals with UCS next year. I f elected vice president, Pelsinger said she would strongly support student group initiatives, she said. “S o maybe I wouldn’t be doing as much on-the-ground work … (but) I can support those initiatives and give them a platform and work on those on the policy level,” she added. Pelsinger said she spends “all of (her) free time” working on sexual violence prevention, immigrants’ rights and other issues because “that’s what makes me happy.” She has learned more “working with the directly affected communities and communities doing organizing work … than I have from my classes,” she said. “There’s such a wealth of knowledge and resources within our student communities that are doing the grassroots work, which is why I want to run.” The race for the vice presidency: William Zhou ’20 In one word, Zhou describes himself as “caring.” “I like to say ‘caring’ both in the sense that I put a lot of care into the work that I do … (and) I really do care about the people and the community around me,” he continued. Zhou has been involved with UCS for the past two years and currently serves as the chair of student activities. “I help oversee, with the (Student Activities Office), the 400-plus student groups on campus,” he said. Combined with his previous experience as a general body member and UCS historian, Zhou has built “an extensive knowledge of how UCS works internally” that he said would enable him to support the next UCS president, since neither presidential candidate has experience with UCS. As vice president, Zhou said he would work to continue collaborating with student leaders to support their initiatives. This year, Zhou has expanded the scope of the student activities committee by organizing its members into three subcommittees: efficiency, outreach and accessibility. These categories were based on requests from club
leaders surveyed by the committee, he said. The committee’s achievements this year include publishing a club directory, hosting UCS and the Undergraduate Finance Board’s first financial signatory training in the fall and simplifying the form for club categorization. Zhou also said he wants to work to increase general body participation. “Currently, our general body attendance is very low” because much of the work is done by the executive members and not by the general body members, he added. To increase retention among general body members, Zhou hopes to “designate more autonomy and roles” to the body, which he thinks will “help us get more done.” Along with Pelsinger, Steele and current Vice President Naveen Srinivasan ’19, Zhou has been involved in working to revise the University’s bias-incident reporting process. “My experience with this has really been focused on … the student group side of things,” Zhou said, adding that he led an effort to pass a constitutional amendment that requires “all student groups to include a club member dismissal clause in their constitutions.” This resolution was based on feedback from student groups, the SAO and the Title IX office, who told UCS that club leaders were, at the time, not allowed to dismiss club members “if they (had) concerns from anything related to non-attendance and disruption to something like a more serious Title IX (or) VI violation or a bias incident,” Zhou said. In his role as chair of the student activities committee, Zhou also works frequently with UFB. “Because of my position, … I’ve gotten to interact with a lot of student groups ranging from a fun group, like the donut club, to something like First-Gens@Brown,” Zhou said. “Having those established relationships will be really useful in establishing communication between groups and UCS” and contribute more “transparency with what we’re doing,” he added. Outside of UCS, Zhou works as a Meiklejohn, as a volunteer for Positive Change at Brown and with environmental groups through emPOWER. All of these roles have given him the “perspective and the opportunity to work with student leaders from across campus … on a really extensive breadth of issues,” Zhou said. If elected, Zhou said he would focus on student voices. “I want students to know that … I really do care a lot about improving our community and … listening and addressing student voice and concern,” Zhou said. “That’s been a priority for me this year on the student activities committee, and I want to continue sort of increasing that communication and collaboration moving forward.”
OB-GYN program here at Brown.” In April, Adjei will be participating in a two-week “boot camp” hosted by the University of Vermont specifically for OB-GYNs. Allan Joseph MD’18, who matched with the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for pediatrics, will be
teaching incoming third-year Med School students at the Clinical Skills Clerkship in April. “It’s for fourth-years who are interested in medical education, so before we go out on our residencies, it’s a time for us to really work on our teaching skills,” Joseph said. “It’s a nice full-circle thing at the end of medical school.”
ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Performance piece ‘Qyrz Qyz’ reimagines Central Asian epic tale Ancient story of female warriors features traditional music, contemporary film By ELISE RYAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Throughout last Wednesday night’s multimedia performance at the Rhode Island School of Design Auditorium entitled “Qyrq Qyz,” the composition of the stage shifted: The only set piece, a black mountain of fabric, was deconstructed and the performers rearranged positions and formations to the beat of the music. The blend of layered voices and instruments created a hypnotic effect, luring the audience, which ranged from young children to adults, into its story. The project, presented by the Rhode Island nonprofit FirstWorks, the Aga Khan Music Initiative and the Provost’s Office at RISD, was the culmination of two to three years of research and collaboration between its director, Uzbek filmmaker Saodat Ismailova, and contemporary composer Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky. Following the epic story of “Qyrq Qyz” — Turkic for forty girls — the performance told the centuries-old tale of 40 female warriors on a quest to protect their land, sounds and images of Central Asia. “It’s about female empowerment,” Ismailova said, adding that she hopes this timely piece speaks to the audience in addition to the young female performers she directed. “I really hope
that this project will give them a motivation and a belief that they should continue to develop their individuality and express themselves in their art,” as well as proving to the performers “that the woman has a capacity not only to devote herself to a family and children but also have her own individual voice,” Ismailova said. Broken into four parts — earth, air, water and fire — the piece combined traditional music with contemporary film and movement. By creating a performative representation of the story, Ismailova was able to present the narrative to wider audiences, she said. The film, which was silent during all but a few moments, was projected on a screen behind the performers. The bright colors and light often juxtaposed the darkened stage, the set piece and the simple, black costumes — which strayed from the traditional style and color of such a performance, Ismailova said. “It’s a rethinking of tradition,” she added. Certain images — a blooming white flower, a white horse, stacked colorful mats — appeared throughout the performance, their symbolic meaning shifting as the tension in the plot grew, ultimately reaching their final form at the resolution. While the telling of epic poems such as “Qyrq Qyz” remains a vibrant tradition in Central Asia, the last orator of “Qyrq Qyz” passed away in 2004, freezing the story and its tradition in its transcription from 1938, Ismailova explained. Inspired by the story, Ismailova challenged herself
COURTESY OF AGA KHAN MUSIC INITIATIVE
“Qyrq Qyz” brought together nine musicians who performed the musical compositions of Dmitri YanovYanovsky as Saodat Ismailova’s film projected behind them. with determining what contemporary elements, such as “image, sound, movement, theatrical light and a composer,” could add to the performance, she said. Theodore Levin, professor of music at Dartmouth, co-produced the project alongside the Aga Khan Music Initiative. “It’s a production of sublime beauty and … artistic imagination,” Levin said, adding that “‘Qyrq Qyz’ is at once ancient and very contemporary,” making it an example of how “the boundlessness of tradition (can) inspire contemporary artistic creativity.” The Aga Khan Music Initiative is a cultural development program that works with local musicians in Central Asia and other regions of the world to
Bon Me food truck parks in Providence “Asian-influenced” mobile eatery offers new take on traditional banh mi, special Iced Dirty Chai
“revitalize their musical traditions in the post-Soviet era and develop them further into contemporary languages of art,” Levin said. Ismailova had worked with the Initiative in the past, creating nine documentary films on the traditional music of Central Asia. This piece was inspired by a shorter work of film she created on the same topic, which led the Aga Khan Music Initiative to commission Ismailova to combine film with traditional music. Levin, who has studied Central Asian music for 45 years, still considers himself a student, learning from the performers as he witnesses and discusses their tradition, techniques and “their own creative trajectories,” he explained. “For me it’s like really doing a kind of field work,” Levin said.
The performance was the first of three in the FirstWorks Frontier Series. FirstWorks is “dedicated to connecting art with audiences,” said Kathleen Pletcher, FirstWorks’ founder and executive artistic director. “Our whole idea is that we build our community, … (and) we build the fabric of Rhode Island, through world-class performing arts,” Pletcher added. The series continued at the RISD Auditorium Sunday March 18, with a performance by Venezuelan singer Betsayda Machado. The final presentation of the series, a theatrical cinematic portrayal of a coming-of-age story, titled “Lula Del Ray,” will be presented at the Moses Brown School Woodman Family Community and Performance Center on April 7.
Brown University Community Council
By LIYAAN MASKATI
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Despite the previous day’s inclement weather, the Bon Me food truck rolled onto Waterman Street to celebrate its grand opening at Brown on March 15. The bright yellow truck attracted several students, who huddled together on the sidewalk to sample free half-portions of the truck’s signature sandwich alongside a Thai basil lemonade drink. Primarily based in Boston and the surrounding areas, Bon Me’s first out-of-state location is Providence, said Elise Yost, marketing specialist for Bon Me. “We wanted to expand further … and we saw a similar market with young professionals and college students (here).” Bon Me’s menu offers a variety of Asian-inspired eats, ranging from noodle salads to pork ramen. “All of our food is really fresh and delicious, and we have a lot of really different options for people who are vegetarian or vegan or gluten intolerant,” Yost said. “I’m from a place where there’s a lot of Asian food, so it’s nice to have a food truck with these kinds of options,” said Jolie Ren ’21 as she perused the menu plastered on the facade of the truck. The menu’s signature item is a sandwich inspired by the traditional
4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
COURTESY OF ELISE YOST
Boston-based company Bon Me comes to Providence with a new food truck, which served free samples of its specials to students last Wednesday. Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, Yost said. The sandwich contains fresh cucumber, fresh-cut red onions and a house-made spicy mayo to provide a “nice spicy kick” instead of the traditional jalapenos, she explained, adding that customers can choose from a range of protein options to fill the sandwich. “Traditionally, we recommend the Chinese Barbecue Pork, (which is) a roasted chopped pork with a lot of different spices,” Yost said. For vegan and vegetarian customers, the food truck always offers a roasted paprika tofu option, which is accompanied by a walnut-based spread. “(The sandwich) is pretty good,” said Catherine Li ’21, “I’m not a big fan of the radish inside, but I really like the bread and the pork.” Priced at $7, it is “essentially the same price as the banh mi sandwich served at
Andrews,” she added. Bon Me’s menu also has a special drink exclusive to Providence — Iced Dirty Chai, which has been created in collaboration with New Harvest Coffee Roasters. “We wanted to honor the locale with a collaboration with a local business,” Yost explained. The Iced Dirty Chai is a reflection of both Bon Me’s and New Harvest Coffee Roasters’ menu — “it’s (New Harvest Coffee Roasters’) coffee, (while the spices in the drink) are similar to what we use in our Thai Ice Tea,” Yost said. “It’s a really delicious caffeinated drink that we hope will be really popular with Brown students!” The food truck can be found on Waterman Street on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and at Kennedy Plaza on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Enhancing Support for Students with Highest Financial Need Faculty Resources Survey Updates from the President Meetings are open to members of the Brown Community. Meeting will be held in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, Kasper Multipurpose Room To learn more about the Community Council visit: brown.edu/about/administration/community-council
TODAY
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
d o r m d ay d r e a m s
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Pizza: Pepperoni, Spinach and Feta, Bacon Chicken Ranch JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Make-Your-Own Grilled Cheese, Nacho Bar, The Jo’s Burger
Organic Black Bean Soup, Chicken Kadhai
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Grilled Lemon and Pepper Chicken, Red Pepper Hummus, Cobb Salad Bar
Chicken Sausage Gumbo, Mushroom Leek Alfredo Pizza, Cheese Tortellini Provencal
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Vegetable Strudel, Barbeque Beef Sandwich, Cauliflower Au Gratin, Onion Soup
Ratatouille, Rice and Orzo Pilaf, Spaghetti Pasta, Chicken Helene, Green Peas
sudoku KAITLYN LEW / HERALD
Students peer through the bars of dorm windows across campus in eager anticipation of spring break, which officially arrives Saturday. Not even iron can contain their excitement.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“There are bridges to be built between the social sciences and the humanities. … One without the other is less strong, less evocative, less compelling and less crossword
”
true.
— Steve Bloomfield, associate director of the Watson Institute
See mutant tropic on back.
CORRECTION An earlier version of the article “Fewer international science, engineering grad students in U.S.” stated that Diane Souvaine is the National Science Board chair. In fact, Souvaine is the National Science Board vice chair. The Herald regrets the error.
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Voice Masterclass with Kevin Wilson 5:00 P.M. Grant Recital Hall
Berlin: Art, Overlay, Transformation! 5:30 P.M. John Nicholas Brown Center
“Whose Streets” Film Screening 7:00 P.M. Granoff Center
Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club 7:30 P.M. Stephen Roberts ’62 Campus Center
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Zine Making Workshop 12:00 P.M. Metcalf Auditorium
Linglanglunch Seminar 1:00 P.M. Metcalf Research Building
Interactive Arts Paint Night 6:00 P.M. Faculty Club
Ethno Colloquium: Louise Meintjes 6:00 P.M. Orwig Music Building
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
SPEAK report ignores lived experiences of politics To the Editor: I appreciate the concise and valuable data that SPEAK has compiled about discourse on campus, explained in The Herald’s March 5 article “Study finds most hosted speakers lean left politically.” However, I don’t think this committee has sufficiently explained what exactly they want conservative voices to provide. We know that the right today includes anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, oil-funded climate change denial, hypocritical statements on sexual harassment and a refusal to consider systemic racism in the United States. SPEAK is probably not interested in discourses that would directly target students since they asserted against inviting agitators, like Ann Coulter or Steve Bannon, who simply seek to insult and inflame. Nevertheless, many of these views are not just fringe opinions but common talking points that contribute to the mainstream, right-leaning
dialogue. In other words, in 2018 conservatism has collapsed into Trumpism — the same Trumpism that actively threatens Brown’s most vulnerable community members. SPEAK could have made an effort to explain how they defined conservatism, especially in relation to Trumpism. I’m especially stunned that Sean Spicer — a man who in the early days of the Trump administration so willingly lied to the country — is on the chart of suggested speakers published in SPEAK’s report without comment. If universities are marketplaces of ideas, SPEAK could have used the space to reflect on the responsibility of universities to remember and frame those complicit in bad faith authoritarianism. Without these annotations, the SPEAK report functionally turns the lived experience of politics into a checklist. A checklist I’m not convinced many students will follow.
P HO E B E AY R E S
Joseph DiZoglio ’15 MD’20
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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Vote yes on #FullDisclosure SHAWN YOUNG
op-ed contributor Today, the Brown community will be faced with a fundamental choice. Between 12 p.m. Tuesday and 12 p.m. Thursday, we will be able to vote on not only a new set of candidates for the Undergraduate Council of Students and the Undergraduate Finance Board, but also on a ballot referendum to re-examine the use of legacy preference in the admissions process. Specifically, the referendum will read: “Should Brown University disclose all internally written admissions policies and disaggregated data about legacy treatment, and charge a joint committee of students, alums and administrators to reexamine the use of legacy status in the admissions process?” Through conversations with hundreds of students, the #FullDisclosure team and I have found that there is a deep desire for clarity around the University’s use of legacy preference. We’ve met students who both agree and disagree with the use of legacy preference, but virtually every student we’ve talked to concluded that we need to see all the data to have a frank, critical and informed discus-
sion. But this discussion cannot occur unless we are critical of the University. And we have questions. For example, what is the acceptance rate of legacy applicants compared to the overall student body? How has the share of legacy students changed from year to year? How many legacy students
this is a key issue deserving of our attention. We want #FullDisclosure. And we have good reason to call for transparency. Legacy preference finds its roots in discrimination; it was originally conceived and used to prevent Jewish students from matriculating to elite universities. Secondly,
quoted in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Lastly, the practice is unpopular. A Herald poll conducted in 2014 found that over half of students disagreed with the use of legacy preference, and a national poll conducted by Gallup found that 52 percent of people disagree with the use of legacy preference.
This is not about getting rid of legacy preference. This campaign is a movement aiming to spark a conversation about educational opportunity.
receive financial aid? How many legacy students are eligible for Pell Grants? The appointment of a joint committee will allow a panel of engaged and committed members of the Brown community to re-examine the value that legacy preference brings to the University. By placing a call for transparency and the appointment of a joint committee directly on the ballot, students will be able to show their peers at Brown and nationwide that
there is no reason to believe that legacy preference brings financial value to the University. A study of the top 100 universities in the United States found that the “presence of legacy preference policies does not result in significantly higher alumni giving.” Another study looked at seven universities that abandoned legacy preference and found “no short-term measurable reduction in alumni giving as a result of abolishing legacy preferences,” as
That being said, these points don’t make a case for abolishing legacy preference outright. But any policy that is historically prejudiced, that hasn’t been shown to bring universities money and that is unpopular deserves a second look. And truly, re-examination and transparency are what this campaign is about. This is not an attack on individual students’ qualifications. This is not an attempt to antagonize the ad-
ministration. This is not about getting rid of legacy preference. This campaign is a movement aiming to spark a conversation about educational opportunity. The #FullDisclosure team is looking forward to continuing this conversation with the student body and the administration after the results of the referendum. Both grassroots momentum from student activists and support from the administration have been critical in institutionalizing past efforts for fairness in admissions practices, like #NoApologies, the campaign to eliminate application fees for first-generation and lowincome college applicants. We fundamentally believe that the future of our community should be determined by a thoughtful exchange of ideas and that we should follow the facts wherever they take us. But first we need to open the discussion. Vote Yes on #FullDisclosure.
Shawn Young ’19.5 is a leader of the #FullDisclosure movement at Brown and can be reached at shawn_young@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
Guns are not a mental health issue JENNA ISRAEL AND JULIA ROCK op-ed contributors In the wake of every mass shooting in this country, there are two responses: 1) We need stricter gun control legislation, and 2) we need to improve the mental health of U.S. citizens. Both of these statements are true, but one is far more relevant to the urgent issue of gun violence in America. Psychiatrists and researchers agree that the link between mental illness and mass shootings is weak, if it’s there at all. There are a lot of statistics to be thrown around here. When accounting for substance abuse, childhood maltreatment and living in adverse environments, researchers found that the mentally ill were actually less likely to be the perpetrators of violence than the general population. If someone were to magically cure the United States of bipolar disorder, clinical depression and schizophrenia — the three mental illnesses with the highest proclivity for violence — violence in the nation would only decrease by 4 percent. Only 1 percent of gun homicides are mass shootings committed by people with mental illnesses. And contrary to popular perception, people with mental illnesses are 14 times more likely to be the victims of violence in the United States than to be the perpetrators of violence. The obvious question is, if these mass murderers aren’t mentally ill, what could possibly motivate them to commit such horrible acts? Whereas an analysis of 235 mass killings from 1935 to 2014 revealed that less than a quarter of mass killings are committed by people who could be considered mentally ill, people with a history of domestic abuse have committed over half of mass shootings between 2009 and 2016. The Sutherland Springs shooter: history
of abusing women. The Las Vegas shooter: history of abusing women. The Orlando shooter: history of abusing women. Another strong indicator of gun violence is a history of a hateful presence on social media or membership in hate groups. Why are we talking about Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz’s mental health instead of about the swastikas found carved into his magazines? Why was the Charleston shooting a “random act of violence” and not an act of terrorism? If Second Amendment advocates want to blame anything but guns in the aftermath of mass shootings, they should be looking at domestic abuse and white supremacy, not mental illness.
an executive order establishing a statewide “red flag” policy. The order, part of a larger push for gun control legislation since the Parkland, Florida shooting last month, directs law enforcement to consider what the order calls “red flags” in assessing whether a person is dangerous. According to the text of the order, these factors “include but are not limited to the following red flags: i. Recent acts or threats of violence by the person against self or others, including statements, videos or photographs posted on social media sites; ii. A pattern of prior acts or threats of violence by the person against self or others;
We should be looking at policies that keep the focus on guns rather than scapegoating people with mental illnesses.
Of course, the best way to tackle gun violence is with gun control legislation, according to many major studies. Banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, preventing concealed carry on K-12 school grounds, strengthening background checks. These measures are, thankfully, being proposed in many states, but unfortunately they’re not the only policies being seriously considered or put in place. An example of a policy that misses the point can be found right here in Rhode Island. On Monday, Feb. 26, Gov. Gina Raimondo signed
iii. The criminal history of the person, including arrests and convictions for crimes of violence, whether felonies or misdemeanors, and crimes involving domestic violence, stalking or harassment; iv. Previous no-contact orders, restraining orders or protective orders issued against the person; v. Unlawful or reckless use or brandishing of a firearm; and, vi. Evidence of recent acquisitions of, or ready access to, firearms.” Current, or a history of, mental illness is
correctly left off this list. But again, this list is not comprehensive — deciding what constitutes a “red flag” is left to law enforcement agencies and officers, making people with mental illnesses — and, frankly, people of color — vulnerable to discrimination. We should be looking at policies that keep the focus on guns rather than scapegoating people with mental illnesses. Other states have instituted policies that focus on mental health at the expense of effective gun legislation, or are planning to. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has proposed legislation that would ban people with mental illnesses from buying firearms, and he recently signed a law passed under the mantle of protecting our schools from gun violence — a law that includes a provision appropriating $69 million for mental health assistance in schools. Again, we absolutely do need more mental health support in our schools and communities, but to finally fund these things because of a local school shooting blatantly blames people with mental illness for the horrific actions of individuals. This increases the stigma around mental illness already perpetuated by the language we use to talk about mass murderers: “psycho” and “sick” and “crazy.” What’s the point of these policies if they won’t actually prevent mass shootings? When trying to end gun violence in the United States, our focus shouldn’t be on mental health — it should be on domestic abuse, white supremacy and gun control.
Jenna Israel ’21 and Julia Rock ’19 are members of the Brown Progressive Action Committee and can be reached at jenna_israel@brown.edu and julia_ rock@brown.edu, respectively. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
José Sejo’s ‘Mutant Tropic’ splashes Watson with color New initiative creates space for visual arts, builds bridge between social sciences, humanities By JACOB ALABAB-MOSER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
“Mutant Tropic,” an exhibit by painter Luis José Aguasvivas Núñez (José Sejo) offers viewers a look into the beautiful yet complicated reality of the artist’s experience and relationship with his home country of the Dominican Republic. The installation, which opened last month on the second floor of the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, contributes to the Art at Watson initiative — a program that welcomes more of the visual arts into Watson’s corridors, especially from artists residing in the greater Brown and Providence communities. “There are bridges to be built between the social sciences and the humanities,” said Steve Bloomfield, associate director of the Watson Institute. “One without the other is less strong, less evocative, less compelling and less true.” “We at the Watson Institute and Brown University need to be attuned to the production of … local (cultural projects), including the pictorial arts,” Bloomfield added. “The resources of a private university like Brown can be shared with local citizens, particularly
in a city like Providence that isn’t greatly economically advantaged.” The exhibit features around 25 paintings ranging from more figurative pieces, which depict tropical imagery of mangoes and plants, to those more abstract, with lines and three-dimensional shapes cutting across expanses of canvas. A few even resemble cubist compositions drenched in vibrant, dizzying palettes of colors. “His work is very colorful, very Caribbean,” said Raphael Diaz MA’02, a Providence-based artist, educator and long-time friend of Sejo. “It talks about what’s going on in society in big cities today (like Santo Domingo) … and how (people there) try to survive.” The exhibition came to fruition in part as a product of Diaz’s initial efforts. Diaz answered Art at Watson’s general call for exhibits and referred the committee to the work of Sejo, who lives in the Dominican Republic, Diaz said. Besides practicing as an artist, Sejo works for the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Culture and looks over the production of art in the country. “It is so refreshing and so wonderful because most of the time people think that people (from other
BENJAMIN TORUÑO / HERALD
The Watson Institute installed the art of Luis José Aguasvivas Núñez, otherwise known as José Sejo, as part of its Art at Watson initiative. Sejo’s paintings express his relationship with his home in the Dominican Republic. countries) come (to the United States) to take … jobs, but many people … give us the beauty of those countries and share with us their life experience,” Diaz said. Sejo and Diaz have been friends for 25 years and are both founding members of los Cuatro Puntos, a group of four international artists that travels to countries around the world yearly to engage in dialogue with local artists about their respective works and
issues affecting their countries, Diaz said. “Our mission is to bring people together, not to separate people,” Diaz added. “We need to embrace each other because we (are) all a part of this planet.” Diaz’s own exhibit, “Silenced Voices,” is currently on display on the third floor of the Watson. “The artist is a reflection of everything that happens in the world, of suffering, of war,” Sejo said in a talk about his work and the history of
Dominican art at the Watson Institute Feb. 8. According to the Watson Institute’s website, Sejo also practices ceramics, design and illustration of children’s text and restoration of altarpieces and sculptures. Sejo’s exhibit will be on display until May 30. — With quotes from Sejo’s Feb. 8 talk translated from Spanish into English by Jacob Alabab-Moser
Senate introduces bill to protect abused, neglected children Bill clarifies previous law that led to sexual abuse misreports in primary, secondary schools By DYLAN MAJSIAK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Abused and Neglected Children Act, introduced to the Rhode Island Senate Feb. 15, clarifies a 2016 law that has caused confusion and a series of sexual abuse misreports by faculty, staff and administrators in primary and secondary schools throughout the state. The act, sponsored by Sen. Maryellen Goodwin D-Providence, designates one individual within each R.I. school to report cases of sexual abuse to the Department of Children, Youth and Families. “Rather than DCYF having to wade through a lot of the same complaints” by multiple school representatives, “it’s just … one point of contact,” said the Rhode Island Department of Education’s Communications Officer Megan Geoghegan. Concern surrounding the state’s child abuse reporting statutes originated when a 2016 investigation revealed that St. George’s School in Middletown neglected to report at least 61 cases of sexual abuse during the 1970s and 1980s. Day One, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit that addresses issues of sexual assault,was working with St. George’s School to connect survivors with clinical services when it proposed a change to the reporting protocol in the state. The group’s advocacy led to the 2016 bill, which extended mandatory reporting to all state primary and secondary schools, said Peg Langhammer, executive director of Day One. A mandatory
reporting statute — which requires all persons to report any instance of child abuse — was in place at the time of the St. George’s assaults, but the law did not clearly mandate the reporting of abuse within educational settings, according to Goodwin. Langhammer said the bill was modeled after existing Massachusetts legislation. “We knew it wasn’t perfect, but we knew it was an improvement in that it clearly mandated that schools needed to report.” However, the bill led to a wave of over-reporting, which then intensified
after Providence elementary school principal Violet LeMar was put on leave in early 2016 for failing to report instances of sexual abuse to DCYF within 24 hours, Goodwin said. LeMar was found guilty in January, The Providence Journal reported. This school year, there have been over 70 Providence teachers placed on administrative leave due to pending investigations. “Teachers were so afraid that they too were going to be arrested, so they reported everything,” Goodwin said. “(In) all but one circumstance, the teachers were cleared and sent right
back to the classroom.” In addition, the law caused multiple teachers to report the same allegation to DCYF, Geoghegan said. The new act explicitly mandates that all schools assign one individual — such as a principal, headmaster or executive director — as the mandatory reporter within each school, Langhammer said. Day One met with members of the state senate, DCYF, the Office of the Child Advocate, the R.I. Department of Education and the R.I. Attorney General over several months to create the
bill. Goodwin hopes that the new act alleviates teachers’ concerns regarding mandatory reporting as well as some of DCYF’s case load. Day One will stay involved to verify that the rules and regulations of the new legislation are met, Langhammer said. It will also hold regional and statewide trainings regarding sexual assault reporting in order to ensure “continuity” among the different departments, she added. The bill is expected to be heard in the Senate by the end of April, Goodwin said.
Whose Streets? In their documentary film, Whose Streets?, filmmakers Damon Davis and Sabaah Folayan closely follow grassroots activists and protesters after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Described by The Guardian as “outstanding and incendiary,” Whose Streets? strikingly asks “Whose story?”, speaking volumes about narrative voice, perspective, injustice and bias in the mainstream media.
A conversation with filmmaker Davon Davis will follow the screening of Whose Streets? This film screening and conversation with the filmmaker was made possible by the Department of Literary Arts, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, the Swearer Center for Public Service John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Brown Center for Students of Color, Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, Department of Modern Culture and Media and Department of Africana Studies.
Tuesday, 20 March 2018 at 7 pm
Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center 154 Angell Street, Providence