Wednesday, April 18, 2018 by The Brown Daily Herald

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 51

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Nigerian artist stages political performance Computer

science to offer new intro track

Artist Protection Fund fellow critiques Trump’s control with interactive act on Main Green

Track to consist of three courses over three semesters, support department’s growth

By CORAL MURPHY AND ELISE RYAN SENIOR REPORTER AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Surrounded by confused students, Nigerian artist Jelili Atiku processed across the Main Green yesterday afternoon dressed as a ram with several red-tagged students crawling behind him. Attention piqued, students continued to watch with curiosity. Atiku was awarded the Artist Protection Fund Fellowship in 2018, granted by the Institute of International Education. At the University, Atiku serves as visiting assistant professor of Africana Studies and works with the Brown Arts Initiative. Atiku “strives to help viewers understand the world and expand their experiences so they can activate and renew their lives and environments,” said Butch Rovan, director of the BAI, in the introduction to Atiku’s talk yesterday following the performance. As part of his latest performance, Atiku assembled four students to

By CATE RYAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ELENA RENKEN / HERALD

Wearing a ram mask and a black coat covered with red tags, Artist Protection Fund Fellow Jelili Atiku led crawling followers across the Main Green to the flag, where they recited lines from the national anthem. resemble a herd of sheep crawling be- on the Main Green. The students stood Atiku continued to walk across campus, hind him. Dressed in a suit, carrying a up and recited the U.S. national anthem making his way through the Ruth J. scepter and wearing a ram mask, he led in a monotone voice and then had their Simmons Quadrangle, walking along the herd to the American flag located red tags removed by the masked artist. » See ART, page 4

The computer science department will add a new introductory track in fall 2018, starting with CSCI 0111: “Computing Foundations: Data.” The new sequence will consist of three courses taught over three semesters and will provide students with a less intensive option. CSCI 0111 will be taught by Research Professor of Computer Science Kathi Fisler, who joined the department in July 2017. The course, capped for enrollment at 62, will serve as an alternative to the current introductory pathways, CSCI 0150: “Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming and Computer Science” followed by CSCI 0160: “Introduction to Algorithms and Data Structures,” » See CS, page 2

Students cite convenience, Ocean State students dock at College Hill finances for stealing food Most admitted R.I. resiAbout 20 percent of students steal food at least once a week, according to Herald spring poll By ERIC CHOI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

For many students, a trip to the Ivy Roomincludes using a meal swipe, enjoying a meal with friends and leaving. But according to Mark, a student whose first name has been changed to protect him from disciplinary action, some students will order a smoothie and finish the drink before walking to pay, effectively avoiding the use of a meal swipe. About 20 percent of students steal at least once a week and over 33 percent of students steal food at least once a month from Brown eateries , according to The Herald’s spring poll results . “The frequency of theft is much lower than suggested by the poll,” wrote Peter Rossi, director of dining services in an email to The Herald. “The most common occurrence our staff (is) required to manage is when someone attempts to pass by our

INSIDE

cashiers during busy periods without making a payment.” Some students cited timing as a reason for stealing food. “(I) do it when (dining halls are) not going to be open or not available like the weekends or spring break,” said Michelle, another student whose first name has been changed. Ben, another student whose first name has been changed, says he has stolen food when the line to pay is too long, referring to a recent incident when he stole a yogurt bowl from Andrews Commons. Others also believe the University overcharges them for meals. Mark pays for the seven-meals-a-week plan said he steals when he doesn’t “have enough meal credits for the week.”“If I take one more meal for the week, I really don’t think that’s going over the value of my plan, considering how much I’m paying Brown,” he added. “Especially for(Josiah’s), there are a lot of people who want to steal because the popular foods like the ‘spicy with’ are actually really expensive,” said Katherine, a cashier at Jo’s whose first name was also changed because » See FOOD, page 2

dents come from Providence, Barrington, South County By ISABEL ALEXIADES STAFF WRITER

While some high school students dream of going to college far away from home, others set their sights on a more proximate goal. Four-hundred fifty-seven Rhode Island students applied to the undergraduate Class of 2022 this year, according to Dean of Admission Logan Powell. It is unclear whether the Office of College Admision has an official policy that favors local students. The University “does not report specifics on the number of students who were admitted” to the class of 2022 from Rhode Island, wrote Director of Admission for Special Programs Ana Saul-Sykes in an email to The Herald. “We want to have a healthy representation of local students on our campus; they have a valuable perspective to add, and we invest time and energy to recruit those students during the fall and spring,” Saul-Sykes wrote. The University fosters close relationships with high schools

PIA MILEAF-PATEL / HERALD

throughout Rhode Island by doing school visits, participating in forums and hosting counselor breakfasts, Saul-Sykes wrote. The University also provides $50,000 per year in college scholarship funds to Providence public school students, who may use the grants to attend any two- or four-year college.

Most admitted students come from Providence, Barrington and South County, Saul-Sykes wrote. Classical High School in Providence alone sent seven students to Brown in 2017 and 13 in 2016, said Louis Toro, guidance director at Classical High School. » See R.I., page 2

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018

NEWS Revised R.I. bill criminalizes revenge porn, concerns raised about legislation’s effectiveness

COMMENTARY Editorial: Reproductive Health Care Act should not be stalled, be put to vote

COMMENTARY Schilder’20: To make real political change, constituents must follow through after rallies

COMMENTARY Simshauser ’20: Current cable news channels promote punditry, arguments in lieu of discussion

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NEWS

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» CS, from page 1 and CSCI 0170: “Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction” followed by CSCI 0180: “Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction,” as well as the accelerated one-course introductory class, CSCI 0190: “Accelerated Introduction to Computer Science.” All of these classes aim to cover the same material upon completion of the track to equally prepare students for

popular concentration this year, The Herald previously reported. This is a nationwide phenomenon that extends beyond the University, said Thomas Doeppner, associate professor of CS and vice chair of the department. “Not all that long ago … our graduating class was around 40 to 50 students. … This year, we are expecting around 240 at commencement,” Doeppner said. The increased interest is driven in part by the fact that “computers permeate all of

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD fields. “A general theme in the department and also a trend in CS … is to reach out and address other disciplines,” Doeppner said. Fisler added that some students hope to apply CS to their work in digital media, art and the humanities. “It’s always good to have more options,” said Kielan Donahue ’20, vice president of the CS departmental undergraduate group. Donahue took the CSCI 0170/0180 introductory path,

» R.I., from page 1 Rhode Island students may choose to study locally because of the University’s state-wide reputation, SaulSykes added. “I first decided to apply (to the University) because it was a great school that I had heard a lot about growing up,” said Olivia Bowen ’20, who came to Brown from Barrington High School. For other R.I. students, their decisions to apply and chances of acceptance could be influenced by familial connections to the University, Bowen added. “There are a lot of local students who are connected to the University because of sheer proximity: legacies, the children of faculty and professors,” she said. “In high school, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to compete against kids with those advantages.” Toro believes that the University should prioritize R.I. residents in its admissions process. “There has to be some type of commitment for the city of Providence’s kids in light of all the real estate Brown is chewing up without paying taxes,” he said. Private colleges and universities own approximately 12 percent of the assessed value of property in

Providence. The University is one of the city’s biggest tax-exempt nonprofits — a point of contention between the institution and state government officials, reported The Wall Street Journal. In 2012, a GoLocalProv investigation found that the University avoided more than $4 million in property taxes by expanding its taxexemption to buildings not exclusively used for academic purposes. But the University has also provided the city with sizable financial contributions. In 2017, the University paid over $6.7 million to the city in voluntary payments. It also pays $2.3 million in city and state fees, which go toward services like sewer water treatment. “Much can be accomplished by working in a mutually cooperative, collaborative way to successfully advance economic development and the prosperity of the city of Providence and state of Rhode Island,” according to a University webpage. Brown has had a profound impact on Bowen, as both a student and an R.I. native, she said. “Brown’s policies … affect not only my undergraduate education for the next few years, but also my home and community for the foreseeable future,” she added.

STEPHANIE WU / HERALD

upper-level classes. “The new threecourse sequence has to meet that same ending point; it’s just going to do it in a different way,” Fisler said, adding that reaching this point is crucial if students eventually aim to declare a CS concentration. Fisler said that when speaking to prospective teaching assistants for the course, many felt that they “would have taken a class like this.” Many students face time commitments in athletics and extracurriculars, barring them from enrolling in the current time-intensive introductory tracks, she added. In recent years, the CS department has experienced ever-increasing growth. CS surpassed economics as the most

society. … People perceive this is where the jobs are,” he said. The addition of the new track “isn’t coming around strictly in response to growth,” Fisler said. “It’s more accurate that it’s coming about as we are better understanding the population that’s coming into CS,” she added. The students signing up for introductory CS classes are no longer solely those who intend to concentrate in the subject, as was more prevalent in the past, he added. Today, some hope to concurrently explore other concentrations and are thus concerned about the workload, Doeppner said. The department hopes that the course will attract students from other

which built upon her programming experience from AP Computer Science in high school. “Some people I know went into (CSCI 0170) with absolutely no CS background, so it’s really impressive that the class can (serve) both sets of people,” she said. While it has always been possible to enter CS classes with little background knowledge, “sometimes, it’s a bit intimidating,” Doeppner said, given the workload and time commitments the current introductory CS program expects of students. The new sequence aims to offer students a separate, slowerpaced and “gentler” introduction to the field, he added.

SARAH MARTINEZ / HERALD

» FOOD, from page 1 she did not want to be singled out by students while working. The meal plans are “overpriced,” Mark said. Stealing from campus eateries has “financial implications on the program,” Rossi wrote, but did not elaborate on the extent of the financial impact. Michelle believes the University overcharges students on meal plans, and questioned the rationale for overcharging. “I would like to know what the extra money goes to. Is that the wages of the workers who prepare food?” Michelle said. Dining Services has taken measures to prevent students from stealing food from eateries. “Dining Services works closely with the Department of

Public Safety,” Rossi wrote. “We also take several preventative measures, including the placement of security officers at locations during peak operational times.” Sometimes the measures in place to prevent theft can prove too difficult for workers to follow, according to Katherine. Jo’s policy requires that cashiers check each box that carries food to charge for the correct items. “But also it’s really tiresome so at the end of my (last) semester I kind of gave up,” she said, adding that she knows other Brown University Dining Services cashiers who have also given up on following the policy. For Michelle, stealing food has not left her with any feelings of guilt. “I’ve had a number of friends congratulate me on the haul for spring break,” she added.

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

BROWN UNIVERSITY AND THE GOLDWAY-SHEARER FAMILY CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO THE

18TH ANNUAL CASEY SHEARER MEMORIAL LECTURE

Social Impact and Storytelling Through Documentary RORY KENNEDY DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 6:30 p.m. Salomon Center for Teaching, Room 001 79 Waterman Street Providence, Rhode Island

The lecture will be preceded by a presentation of the 18th Annual Casey Shearer Memorial Awards For Excellence in Creative Nonfiction.

5th-year MPA 5th-year MPA • Gain skill in data analytics and computer science •• Gain skillglobal in data analytics and computer Ten-day policy experience abroad science •• Ten-day globalcareer policy services experience abroad Individualized support and consultancy placement • Individualized career services support consultancy placement • and Accelerated summer-fall-spring schedule • Accelerated summer-fall-spring schedule APPLY BY MAY 1 — MPA ’19 BEGINS THIS JUNE ! APPLY BY MAY 1 — MPA ’19 BEGINS THIS JUNE !

GRE and application fee waived for Brown seniors GRE and application waived for All accepted studentsfee considered forBrown merit seniors aid All accepted students considered for merit aid MASTER OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS l WATSON.BROWN.EDU/MPA l WATSONMPA@BROWN.EDU MASTER OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS l WATSON.BROWN.EDU/MPA l WATSONMPA@BROWN.EDU

NEWS

PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» ART, from page 1 Thayer Street and finishing his performance in the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. “The performance is actually talking about the attitude of the president, Trump,” Atiku told The Herald, commenting on the psychological control he feels the president wields over the American people. At one point in the performance, Atiku sat on a bench next to an unexpecting student, who rose and left after a few moments of bewilderment. Atiku spread his legs, employing dominant body language to illustrate the scale of Trump’s power and control, he explained in the talk. Since 2015, the APF Fellowship has awarded residencies to threatened artists, said Alison Russo, executive director of the APF. “Artists come to us and we create, design and develop innovative residency programs like the one here at Brown.” The residency is intended to offer artists a way to “develop their practice, build foundations, relationships and hopefully advance, not only their careers, but their personal lives,” Russo added. “When I was arrested in my country, after I did my performance, I felt the need to be safe,” Atiku told The Herald. “I was talking about domestic terrorism in my community. The king got offended by that. … I got arrested, as well as other five people along with me.” “For Jelili, the quality of his work is evident as a performance artist,” Russo said. “So the selection committee unanimously awarded him.”

ELENA RENKEN / HERALD

Jelili Atiku’s performance was meant as a commentary on the attitude and body language of President Donald Trump. The piece was originally conceptualized to involve 50 students representing the 50 states, but Atiku changed his plans to suit the four participants who were present. In his talk, Atiku discussed the performance and his artistic and political background in conversation with Dotun Ayobade, a postdoctoral research associate and Mellon Gateway Fellow in the Department of Africana Studies. Atiku explained the purpose behind some of the elements of the performance. “I think what is interesting is that no part of your body showed,” Ayobade said, referencing the ram mask Atiku donned and the red-tag covered suit. “It’s hard for people to know that this is an African, or this is a black body making this critique.”

“The first thing I try to do is to deconstruct my body in my performance, … and that makes me a symbol of humanity who doesn’t have any color,” Atiku said. “He’s neither black nor green, just human. And that’s what I want to do.” Atiku also discussed some of his previous pieces. One project performed in Nigeria, in collaboration with a local theater group, involved being tied with ropes and dragged across the ground as if he were a ram. Ayobade described this as an example of one of Atiku’s focuses in his work: using his body and

the trauma inflicted upon it “almost like carrying sacrifice on behalf of the collective” in order to get his message across. The tension of the ropes injured his throat, and the participants who pulled the ropes ended the performance in tears. Though less visceral than some of his past work, yesterday’s performance also relied on the power of bodies. The piece was originally meant to involve 50 students — to represent the 50 states — who would follow Atiku in his procession around campus. The plan had to be changed when only

three of the 15 students who signed up arrived to participate — and one joined as the performance was beginning. “There is this space for fluidity,” Atiku said. “I use the situation, I use the audience, I use the circumstances around me” to create the final performance, he added. As for his time at Brown, Atiku described his experience as “wonderful” and expressed his admiration for the students’ attitudes. “Brown has this uniqueness of being peaceful, and the students are highly inclusive, and that’s so deep,” Atiku told The Herald.

INTERNATIONAL FICTION NOW

Celebrating the Unspeakable Practices of Robert Coover and the International Writers Project Today’s Events (Wednesday, 18 April) Writing 3D – Visits to the CAVE and/or YURT to see experiments by current and former Brown students in 3D digital language arts, presented by John Cayley 10 am to noon Studio 4, Granoff Center 154 Angell Street

From Electronic Writing to Digital Language Art, presentations by Robert Arellano, John Cayley, Samantha Gorman, David Jhave Johnston, Ian Hatcher and Benjamin Moreno Ortiz 2 pm McCormack Family Theater 70 Brown Street

Celebrating the International Writers Project, readings by noted authors

Russell Banks Ru Freeman Marlon James 4:30 pm Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center 154 Angell Street

T.C. Boyle William Kennedy Ben Marcus read from their literary work 7:30 pm Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center 154 Angell Street

for more details visit:

infictionnow.literaryarts.xyz Events are free and open; no tickets – arrive early

Thursday, 19 April Postmodernism: What Was It? What's Next?, a panel discussion with Elisabeth Bell, Samuel Coale and Larry McCaffery 11 am McCormack Family Theater 70 Brown Street

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

Paul Auster, Robert Coover and Don DeLillo read from their literary work 7:30 pm 117 MacMillan Hall

167 Thayer Street

International Fiction Circus Now — the festivities culminate with presenations by Mary Caponegro, Matt Derby, Rikki Ducornet, Brian Evenson, Jack Foley and a host of others juggling language and all sorts of other surprises. 9:30 pm McCormack Family Theater 70 Brown Street

This festival was made possible by support from the Brown Arts Initiative and the Office of the Provost and is sponsored by the Department of Literary Arts

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

p r o v i d e n c e ’ s p o r t o f t h e pa s t

menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Assorted Roasted Mushroom, Spicy Sausage and Garlic Po’ Boys JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Chicken Wings Bar, BBQ Pulled Pork Burgers, Quesadilla Station

Organic Black Bean Soup, Tomato Florentine Soup

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Baked Garden Style Salmon, Basmati Rice Pilaf, Italian Garden Vegetable Saute

Gyro Pita Sandwich, Herb Rice, Lemon Chicken and Artichoke Hearts, Parsley Carrots

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Shaved Steak Sandwiches, Gnocchi with Alfredo Sauce, Broccoli Florets

Chicken Andouille Shrimp Jambalaya, Ravioli Alfredo with Sundried Pesto and Peas HUAYU OUYANG / HERALD

sudoku

India Point Park was established as Providence’s first port in 1680. After more than 250 years, it became a public park in 1974. Now, the park provides space for biking and an abundance of springtime festivities.

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

“If you understand what human beings are like and what the social systems they create and maintain are like, then you’ll see you don’t have to make a social problem a ... legal problem.” — Gregory Elliott, professor of sociology

See revenge porn on page 8. crossword

calendar TODAY NOVEMBER MARCH APRIL

10 7

11 8

12 9

10 13

11 14

Writing 3D 10:00 A.M. Granoff Center

Marc Toussaint 12:00 P.M. CIT, 477

Architecture in the Service of Power 5:30 P.M. List Art Building, 120

CCG Workshops 7:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 502

TOMORROW

12 15

13 16

14 17

18 15

19 16

17 20

18 21

19 22

20 23

21 24

22 25

23 26

24 27

25 28

26 29

27 30

Postmodernism: What was it, what’s next? 11:00 A.M. McCormack Family Theater

Brown Bag Concert 12:00 P.M. Sayles Hall

RaMell Ross: In Conversation 5:30 A.M. Granoff Center

International Fiction Circus Now 9:30 P.M. Granoff Center

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

Bring the Reproductive Health Care Act to a vote On April 10, hundreds of community members gathered at the Rhode Island State House for a House Judiciary Committee hearing, which featured the introduction of six bills governing reproductive rights in Rhode Island. Five of the bills proposed limitations on abortion access; the lone bill aimed at safeguarding abortions rights was the Reproductive Health Care Act, sponsored by Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence. Under the Act, the state cannot “restrict an individual person from preventing, commencing, continuing or terminating that individual’s pregnancy prior to fetal viability” or “restrict access to evidence-based, medically recognized methods of contraception or abortion or the provision of such (services).” The House Judiciary Committee elected to hold all six bills for “further study” after its hearing — including, regrettably, the Reproductive Health Care Act, effectively condemning it to legislative oblivion. In previous editorials, The Herald has vehemently opposed unwarranted restrictions on abortion — such as a proposed 2012 bill that would have compelled Rhode Island physicians to conduct an ultrasound on individuals seeking abortions and display to them the ultrasound’s images — and decried efforts to curtail women’s rights. Once again, we urge Rhode Island lawmakers to seriously consider the medical needs of all their constituents, extricate the Reproductive Health Care Act from the depths of committee bureaucracy and bring the urgently needed bill to the floor for a vote. When it comes to reproductive justice, Rhode Island is notoriously retrogressive, more like states in the American South than its neighbors in the Northeast. In spite of the state’s progressive bona fides, access to reproductive health care is “severely restricted” here, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America, a national organization that advocates for the right to choose. These restrictions are codified in state law — a 1986 amendment to the state constitution explicitly refrains from granting or securing “any right relating to abortion or the funding thereof ” — and diligently preserved by powerful, anti-choice Democrats in the General Assembly. Most troublingly, the absence of any state legislation that protects access to critical reproductive services places abortion rights in continued peril. Currently, Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court case that deemed abortions consistent with the constitution of the United States and rendered past abortion bans null — is the only statute preventing the renewed enforcement of arcane abortion restrictions still on the books in Rhode Island. These include the requirement that women notify their spouses before receiving an abortion, the prohibition of insurance coverage for abortion procedures and the assertion that “human life commences at the instant of conception.” Already, obtaining an abortion is prohibitively difficult in Rhode Island: As of 2014, only 20 percent of Rhode Island counties contained any abortion clinics, and over two-thirds of Rhode Island women lived outside these counties. But if Roe v. Wade is overturned — a prospect at which President Trump has expressed impish excitement — Rhode Islanders could lose their right to choose in one immediate, devastating stroke. The Reproductive Health Care Act precludes such an eventuality and would preserve abortion rights in Rhode Island no matter what happens in the nation’s capital. In the days leading up to the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing, a broad and diverse coalition of Rhode Islanders coalesced in favor of the Act. Gov. Gina Raimondo — who, until the hearing, had remained mostly silent on the issue of abortion — submitted a written endorsement of the Reproductive Health Care Act to the Committee’s chairman. Notably, several religious leaders across Rhode Island also publicly expressed support for abortion rights. Rev. Gene Dyszlewski, pastor of Lime Rock Baptist Church in Lincoln, Rhode Island, told WPRI that, “We believe that the freedom to choose is necessary because each person is the proper guardian of their own life and their own soul.” We concur deeply. Against a dismaying backdrop of federal retrogression, the responsibility to protect the rights and liberties of all Americans — in this particular case, women especially — now falls on the shoulders of state legislators. Lawmakers in Rhode Island can and must do their part by supporting the Reproductive Health Care Act. Anything less would constitute a grave affront to the thousands of Rhode Islanders for whom reproductive health care access is not a policy abstraction but a day-to-day imperative, an indispensable component of true gender equality. In a state that prides itself on its early history of enshrining freedom of religion and conscience, it is high time for legislators to rise to the occasion, courageously advance that cherished legacy and extend freedom — in full, unadulterated measure — to the people of 21st century Rhode Island. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19, Mili Mitra ’18, Rhaime Kim ’20 and Grace Layer ’20. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Hashtags don’t vote VIRGINIA SCHILDER op-ed contributor Political engagement has skyrocketed since the 2016 election. Mass rallies are increasingly frequent, more non-politician candidates are running for local office and research indexes of political engagement have shot upwards. But in a time when hours on our phones are spent complaining on Facebook to garner “likes” instead of speaking with our representatives, we have to ask ourselves about the quality, not quantity, of our political engagement. Are we involved in politics to serve our communities, or are we only motivated by our resumes? Do we follow through on the political work that we sporadically begin? Do we practice all that we preach in our self-righteous social media rants and our grand professions of social values? It seems that our generation thinks showing up for a rally armed with some friends, a witty sign and a cute Instagram post with the insert-relevanthashtag-here counts as effective activism. Yes, rallies are important, and showing solidarity is always meaningful. Town square gatherings to debate and protest are one of America’s earliest forms of democratic engagement. Rallies like the DACA protection rally at the Rhode Island State House last year are powerful demonstrations to members of our community that they are supported and that their voices are

heard. But rallies require follow-through. If we want real policy change — the change we rant about on social media — we have to keep showing up. It is not enough to stand at one march, congratulate ourselves for participating and then go home. Rallies are insufficient in producing substantial policy change when they are not followed up with phone banks, canvasses, lobby days, email campaigns and, especially, votes. If we want change, we need action items, plural.

ward? I use the Women’s March as an example, but this is a pattern we observe each time we rally. Can you think of any concrete national legislative changes that are directly attributable to a recent march? It is easy to respond that obdurate legislators, not marchers, are at fault. But the recent teacher strike in West Virginia challenges this narrative. Teachers had specific demands, and they took collective, organized and (most importantly) sustained action to achieve them. Rather than standing in

passes last year for individuals experiencing homelessness. The March for Our Lives has also shown us that students can be impactful: In the wake of the Parkland shooting, praises abound for youth leadership, and politicians and the media alike are heralding a new era of youth-led activism. The problem is, millennials consistently have the lowest voter turnout of any age group in America, despite being the nation’s largest voting-eligible age group as of 2017. We have more power than ever before, but by not sustaining our politi-

If we want real policy change — the change we rant about on social media — we have to keep showing up. We observed the pitfalls of a lack of follow-through in the aftermath of the 2017 Women’s March: Unprecedented turnout and energy were converted to little (if any) legislative action. The March was a historic demonstration which motivated many women to run for office and reinvigorated the political consciousness of many young people nationwide. The turnout at the March made an important statement about the values of modern Americans and renewed many people’s hope in a future that respects the rights of women, people of color, Muslims, immigrants, refugees, LGBTQ+ individuals and the Earth. But the Women’s March had no clear policy goals, no concrete or actionable “next steps.” We know what we marched for, but what did we march to-

front of the West Virginia State Capitol for a few hours chanting catchy slogans, teachers took strong, intentional action that left the state no choice but to work with them on their demands. And ultimately, they were successful. This is how effective change happens: following up a clear message with decisive, unrelenting action to produce results. For examples of effective activism, we need only to look to our peers. There are so many students at Brown who put in innumerable thankless hours each week, collecting signatures, lobbying senators and knocking on doors. Look at Gabe Zimmerman ’18 and Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere, for example. Their tireless, humble and rarely recognized work was directly influential in reinstating No-Fare RIPTA

cal engagement (even enough to vote!), we waste it. The moral of the story is, talking and caring about politics isn’t going to cut it. Meaningful action means more than sharing articles on Facebook. Change requires getting your hands dirty. It requires knocking on doors, making calls, going to community organizing meetings and showing up at the State House. Sporadic “feel-good” activism might earn you social capital or a resume boost, but it is not going to solve the tremendous challenges we face. While you remain comfortable in the Brown bubble, climate change continues to worsen, Americans continue to go unhoused or uninsured, immigrants continue to face deportation and prisons continue to swell.

So please, come to rallies. Show up for marches. But then go home and call your senator, your reps, your mayor’s office. Canvass for an issue or a candidate. Lobby at the State House. Vote in primaries and midterms. Join a local activism organization. If you hold a community rally, identify some feasible but powerful actions that you can point people toward. If you want change, your Instagram post is not enough. If you want to help people in your community, patting yourself on the back is not enough. We’ve got a long road ahead, and we have to sustain our energy to fight for the change we need. The Brown Progressive Action Committee’s motto goes: “Don’t agonize, organize.” Just remember not to self-aggrandize.

If you want to take political action or learn about events and local activism opportunities, consider following the Brown Progressive Action Committee page on Facebook or reach out to bpac@brown.edu to be added to the listserv. While BPAC is progressive and run by Brown students, it is also non-partisan and available as a resource for everyone. Virginia Schilder ’20 is chair of the Brown Progressive Action Committee and can be reached at virginia_schilder@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

Making sport of politics DEREK SIMSHAUSER staff columnist Turn on any cable news channel, and you are likely to be inundated with punditry. This has always been a staple of news coverage but has especially increased since the 2016 election. The structure of election cycles is conducive to punditry — there is no true referendum for an incorrect position until the actual election night. A W ashington Post articleneatly encapsulated the paradoxical nature of punditry dominating cable news: “The leading news networks — CNN, Fox, MSNBC — don’t report the news as much as they talk and speculate endlessly about it.” The appetite for incessant punditry was realized during the 2016 election, and the factors that enabled it have persisted into the Trump presidency. There are just as many narratives, personal dramas and unverifiable predictions to make as there were during the election cycle — unsurprisingly, this has resulted in similarly ubiquitous punditry, further degrading these ostensibly informative news channels. One distinct feature of this discussion-dominated coverage, however, is how much the panel debates on cable news have come to resemble those on sports talk shows. Befitting our partisan moment, political squabbling now imitates discussion of sports. In both aesthetic style and rhetorical manner, the similarities are striking. This is by design — CNN President Jeff Zucker has spoken explicitly about his desire to incorporate elements of ESPN’s programming into CNN’s. “The idea that politics is sport is undeniable,” Zucker said in a 2017 in-

terview. “We understood that and approached it that way.” He instituted changes at CNN with the direct goal of imitating ESPN’s format. ESPN has “College GameDay,” where it puts a live set outside a stadium, with plenty of fans in the background. Under Zucker’s direction, CNN built similar “pregame sets” outside debate halls, ornamented with raucous crowds. The takeaway, logically, is to equate a presidential debate with a college football game — both are events with fans for both sides eagerly waiting outside while a zero-sum competition ensues inside. While the changing nature of pre-debate cov-

television spectacle and draw even more eyeballs when circulated online. But the problems with covering politics like sports are manifold. Firstly, the focus of pundits is quite removed from the functional aspects of governance and more about juicy television storylines. They concentrate on battle lines and warring characters rather than actual policy issues; the Trump White House and its staffing turnstile is perfect for this coverage environment. Where this is most problematic is in regard to discussion of policy. When the locus does move to a piece of legislation, discussion of it is framed

Sports-style punditry often fails to cover policy, and when it does, it depicts legislation as a partisan tug-of-war — thus ignoring the tangible ramifications of the bills themselves.

erage reveals ESPN’s influence on CNN, the implications may seem fairly narrow, given that debates are limited to a presidential campaign cycle. It is in the shift toward daytime punditry where the influence of ESPN’s programming has found far more traction. This is hardly unique to CNN; as punditry increasingly becomes the cable news norm, nearly all panels seem to imitate the sets of ESPN’s talk shows, such as “First Take.” There is a moderator affixed to the center of the table, and he or she is symmetrically flanked by opposing pundits, ready to face off in loud disagreement. It is not surprising that cable news, like ESPN, aims to foster arguments. These often make for

in the structure of narratives and of “winning and losing.” Just as Stephen A. Smith opines on whether a team will win or lose a particular game, pundits debate whether Democrats won or lost on a particular bill. This fails to edify the viewing audience about specific policy and constrains the significance of a law to the political realm. When covering the attempts to repeal Obamacare this summer, pundits spoke in zero-sum political terms rather than focusing on the functional aspects of the bill, which would have caused around 20 million people to lose health insurance. Sports-style punditry often fails to cover policy, and when it does, it depicts legislation as a partisan tug-of-war

— thus ignoring the tangible ramifications of the bills themselves. The idea of applying the “politics as sport” mantra to cable news is most problematic because it intuitively pits two parties against one another. Pundits are often paid partisans with a clear agenda despite appearing on the show under the guise of relative objectivity. Those who become regulars on a show are simply playing a role: A pundit hired as a Trump supporter will always take that side of the argument — they will be the reliable Trump apologist while the rest of the panel condemns him. What the viewer gets, then, is political coverage in the most tribally structured way. This is even done visually, with the panels often being bifurcated by the moderator, providing viewers with a visual cue that lets them know which team the pundits are on. Once these arguments naturally devolve into shouting matches, the viewer knows who to root for and ignores points from the other side; cable news panels end up validating and reinforcing existing views. Ultimately, the shift toward ESPN-stylized news coverage exacerbates political tribalism, fails to inform the viewer and depicts the political process as a team sport with winners and losers. The ever-present punditry across the cable news channels renders them useless as vehicles of information; they are performances, with political commentary playing a tangential role.

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

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018

R. I. General Assembly votes to criminalize revenge porn Electronic Imaging Act includes language on intent, has received Gov. Raimondo’s support By EMILY DAVIES METRO EDITOR

Robyn Giragosian did not plan for her nude photographs to proliferate throughout her community when she took them for her partner at the beginning of their romantic relationship. But now, when she goes to work at Headstart, drops her kids off at school or works with staff at her congressional delegation, Giragosian knows that many of her peers and coworkers have seen her naked body. “You can only imagine the embarrassment and anguish I felt and continue to feel,” Giragosian testified at a House hearing April 3, adding that she could have lost her job and her ability to support her family if she had worked for a less supportive organization. Like many women across the state and beyond, Giragosian is a victim of “revenge porn,” the non-consensual distribution of sexually explicit images or videos. As recently as last week, Giragosian had no legal recourse against the ex-boyfriend who had sent hundreds of emails containing her private photos and videos. But on April 13, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation that bans revenge porn in the state. The bill (H7452/ S2450), approved unanimously by the House last Thursday and the Senate last Tuesday, criminalizes the nonconsensual dissemination of electronic images of identifiable people 18 years or older who are engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Giragosian is far from alone in her experience with revenge porn and its consequences. A report conducted by Data and Society found that 4 percent

of U.S. internet users have been a victim of revenge porn. The effects of this form of dating violence can be excruciating: According to a study by the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, 51 percent of victims of revenge porn targets have had suicidal thoughts, 93 percent say they have suffered significant emotional distress and 82 percent said they have suffered significant impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning as a result of revenge porn. Ten percent of women under the age of 30 have been threatened with revenge porn. The Rhode Island legislation — known as the “Electronic Imaging Act” — is not the State House’s first attempt to address revenge porn. Two years ago, a bill supported by Attorney General Peter Kilmartin made it through the General Assembly, only to be vetoed by Gov. Gina Raimondo on the grounds that the bill’s general language threatened freedom of speech, including the publication of some news images. The governor has previously thrown her support behind versions of the bill that require proof of the perpetrator’s malintent. This year, representatives of the Attorney General and the governor arrived at a compromise and created a bill satisfactory to both offices. “Both (our office and the governor’s) are very comfortable that we are protecting victims and making sure this bill is legally sound,” said Joee Lindbeck, assistant attorney general at Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General. The Governor is yet to sign the bill, though her office has indicated that she will. Unlike previous versions of proposed legislation, the current bill says that in order to be found guilty, the perpetrator must have shared the image “with reckless disregard for the likelihood that the depicted person

will suffer harm” or with “intent to harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce the person that is depicted,” testified Rep. Robert Craven, D-Providence, lead sponsor of the bill. The bill includes exemptions meant to address concerns that criminalizing the publication of photos violates the freedom of speech. Images related to law enforcement, medical treatment, scientific activities and events or figures of public concern are among the exemptions enumerated in the bill. “These exemptions more than protect the first amendment,” Lindbeck said at the House hearing. The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence advocated on behalf of the legislation during the House hearing. “Every year that we go without getting this law enacted … causes pain to the victims that are traumatized by this most cruel form of abuse,” testified John Wessley, director of policy for the coalition. But not all of the state’s players are satisfied with the language in the bill passed Thursday. Executive Director of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Steven Brown cautioned that though he supports the concept of criminalizing revenge porn, the language of the legislation does not articulate well enough that there must be an “intent to harm an individual,” Brown said at the House hearing. Without more specific language, a teenager sharing hacked photos of a celebrity with a friend would qualify as a criminal, he added. The RIACLU and the Rhode Island Press Association, which includes the Providence Journal and Newport Daily News, are particularly concerned with the ramifications that the bill may have for media outlets throughout the state. President of RIPA James Bessette said he is concerned that newsrooms would have

to “perform self-censorship” and potentially withold content deserving of public attention for fear of a lawsuit. If sued under the Electronic Imaging Act, “we could have a situation where it wouldn’t be the editors deciding what is suitable for public consumption, but rather a 12 person jury,” Bassette testified during the House hearing. He cited an infamous photograph known as “Napalm Girl,” which featured a nine-year-old running naked on a road during the Vietnam War. Despite his concerns, Bessette said he prefers the passed legislation to the Attorney General’s bill proposed last year. The previous version of the bill included less language on intent than the one passed last week, he said. Professor of Sociology Gregory Elliott, who teaches a class titled SOC 1440: “Intimate Violence,” is also opposed to the bill. His concerns are not first-amendment related, but rather due to his belief that legislation is generally an ineffective tool to prevent revenge porn. “If you understand what human beings are like and what the social systems they create and maintain are like, then you’ll see you don’t have to make a social problem a … legal problem,” Elliott said, adding that revenge porn perpetrators should be met with “ceremonies of reconciliation.” Giragosian, however, believes the legislation may deter the cybercrime that has infringed on her privacy. “Had (the bill) been enacted at the time, (my ex-boyfriend) may have thought twice before taking such action,” she said at the hearing. Rhode Island is one of a handful of states without legislation directly addressing revenge porn. According to a report by the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, a nonprofit organization serving victims of cyber crimes, 38 states and Washington, D.C. have

criminal laws against revenge porn. In April 2017, a Washington, D.C. Superior Court judge imposed a 10-year sentence in a case involving revenge porn — the first conviction under the capital’s 2014 image exploitation law, reported The Washington Post. The United States Congress is also working toward legislation to criminalize revenge porn. The ENOUGH Act — bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. Kamala Harris, D-C.A., and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-C.A., in Nov. 2017 — would make it unlawful “to knowingly distribute a private, visual depiction of an individual’s intimate parts or of an individual engaging in sexually explicit conduct, with reckless disregard for the individual’s lack of consent to the distribution.” The bill came a year after Speier proposed the Intimate Privacy Protection Act of 2016, which only made it to the House of Representatives. The ENOUGH Act has bipartisan support from congressmen including Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas; it is also backed by tech companies including Facebook and Twitter. While the national legislation has not yet reached the floor in this legislative session, the state-level bill is well on track to be signed into law. Gov. Raimondo is “fully supportive of this version of the bill and looks forward to signing it,” wrote Josh Block, press secretary at the Governor’s office, adding that Raimondo believes that “no one should ever have to endure the trauma and embarrassment of having a private photo published.” Giragosian stressed that the legislation will have wide-ranging effects. “I never thought this was something that could happen to me, but the reality is it could happen to anyone,” Giragosian said. — Additional reporting by Anna Kramer