Wednesday, December 6, 2017 by The Brown Daily Herald

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 118

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U. investigates men’s swim, dive team for hazing Low-income, first-gen students investigating the women’s swimming and pictures of conversations regarding navigate college app process New team members vandalize U. property, vomit after drinking, strip to just swimsuits

By ISABEL GENSLER & ANNA KRAMER U. NEWS EDITOR & SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The University launched an investigation into alleged hazing of new members on the men’s swimming and diving team Nov. 29, according to Director of News and Editorial Development Brian Clark. Hazing is a violation of University policy and Rhode Island state law, Clark wrote in an email to The Herald. The University launched its investigation after The Herald requested comments regarding alleged events from Deputy Director of Athletics Colin Sullivan, Senior Associate Director of Athletics Carolan Norris and Clark. The Herald learned that, on the night of Oct. 7, new members vandalized University property, were instructed to perform a skit and vomited after excessive drinking, among other activities. The University has also launched a preliminary investigation into “unrelated conduct” regarding possible underage drinking that took place among members of the women’s swimming and diving team Oct. 7, wrote Clark in a separate email to The Herald. “The University is not currently

and diving team in relation to the allegations involving the men’s team,” and the investigation “at this time is distinct from investigation into the alleged hazing incident involving the men’s team,” Clark wrote. In an email sent by captains of the women’s team to its members reviewed by The Herald and provided by a member of the women’s team who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, team members were told, “The University is looking into women’s team events that took place on Oct. 7 that may have violated the University student code of conduct.” The email continued, “If you do talk with an administrator, please be truthful, open and honest up front.” The Herald reached out to the coaches and captains of the women’s team, but they did not comment before press time. Regarding the men’s team investigation, on Nov. 29, The Herald detailed its reporting on this incident to the athletics department and the Office of University Communications. The athletics department immediately informed the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards of the hazing allegation, which “notified members of the team that it had launched an investigation into the allegations” that day, Clark wrote. The Herald reviewed screenshots

the night of events, provided to The Herald by a new member of the men’s team who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation from his teammates. The Herald also reviewed audio recordings of multiple men’s team meetings following the night of events, which were also provided by the new team member. The coaches of the team did not reply to multiple email requests for comment, which detailed the alleged incidents. The captains, who were provided with the same information, set up multiple meetings with The Herald but failed to appear and have denied multiple requests to comment. In a screenshot of a text conversation that took place Oct. 7 between new members of the team, one new member stated: “they’re ignoring us if you haven’t picked up on it.” A second member replied, “I still don’t know why tho.” The first responded, “I told u dude … initiation.” A third member then added, “U mean hazing.” A screenshot of a team-wide GroupMe conversation reviewed by The Herald included a photo of seven individuals stripped down to their bathing suits or underwear standing in front of the Van Wickle Gates. The first new team member confirmed that the picture is of new members of the team. Another image reviewed by The » See INVESTIGATION, page 3

10 percent of first gen students report using paid test tutors, compared to 33 percent of non-first gen By SOPHIA GRACE CARTER & ARJUN GANGA STAFF WRITERS

Work hard in high school, get into your dream school — that was the journey for many Brown students. But in an admissions process that favors the wealthy, the path is not so straightforward for low-income and first-generation students. A 2016 Herald poll found that while a third of students whose parents attended college used a paid professional testing tutor, only a tenth of students who identified as first-generation reported doing the same. Similarly, about half of first-generation students reported using preparation books while 71 percent of non-first-generation students did. Resources used also varied by the amount of financial aid that a student received. Three-quarters of students receiving no aid used professional testing tutors while the same resource was used by only 1 percent of students on full aid. Similarly, only 6 percent of these students used preparation

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books, while 60 percent of those with no aid did. These trends are a product of a lack of resources, said Viet Nguyen ’17, a first-generation college student and former president of the first-generation and low-income college student advocacy group 1vyG. “For a lot of (first-generation) students, realizing you have to do test prep senior year — while other people have been preparing since freshman and sophomore year — puts you at a substantial disadvantage,” Nguyen said. “Not because you are not smart or academically capable, but because you didn’t have the time or the materials necessary to get there.” “The achievement gap for underrepresented students has been consistent for decades,” said Farhad Asghar, senior director of College Board’s Access to Opportunity, an initiative aimed at developing tools and partnerships to make higher education more accessible to first-generation and low-income students. He defined four barriers faced by low-income students: “access to academic preparation, access to information about the process, access to individuals that can guide them through the process and … issues around its affordability.” Kenneth Gonzalez, a researcher on the experience of low-income students in higher education at Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit educational reform organization, » See APPLICATION, page 3

Delalue to lead diversity initiatives as VP CCC, students consider VP will lead shift in drop deadline date Interim Office of Institutional Herald poll results show students slightly oppose decision to move deadline to earlier date in semester By DYLAN CLARK & CHRIS SCHUTTE STAFF WRITERS

Earlier this year, the College Curriculum Council put forth a proposal to alter the course drop date deadline from the day before finals to the middle of October. The Herald’s 2017 Fall Poll results revealed that a slim majority of students — 51.1 percent — oppose the CCC’s proposal to move the drop date deadline, with some difference in opinion between class years. First-years were the most likely to support the proposal, with half in support. The majority of every other class opposed the proposal — sophomores most strongly opposed it at 57.1 percent. Keith Mills ’18, who works as an academic coach, was skeptical about the proposal. “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said. “Mid-semester, students may

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not feel that bad about the course. … The majority of classes only have one midterm, which is usually the easier one. … The decisions they make then, might not be the right ones for later.” Also, this deadline would be too close to the early S/NC deadline, he said. The earlier deadline would contradict Brown’s academic freedom and the Open Curriculum, said Michael Abela ’21. “The (current) deadline encourages students to take classes they normally wouldn’t take because they know they have that option still,” Abela said. “Knowing the deadline is there alleviates some stress for some people.” Alex Vidmar ’18, who attended the October forum and works in the Curricular Resource Center, also opposed the proposal in relation to Brown’s academic philosophy. “What (the Open Curriculum) really means is (that) students have the opportunity to take classes they want to and design their time at Brown. … Eliminating the option for students to record a drop later in the semester is removing a choice,” he said. Vidmar suggested that students » See DROP, page 2

Equity and Diversity, implementing U.’s DIAP By ELISE RYAN STAFF WRITER

Shontay Delalue stepped into her role as vice president for institutional equity and diversity Dec. 1, following a nationwide search. Delalue, an experienced administrator, educator and scholar, had served as the interim vice president since June 2017. In an email sent Nov. 28, President Christina Paxson P’19 announced Delalue’s appointment to the permanent position. Paxson wrote that as interim vice president, Delalue “has provided critical leadership during a period of transition, working closely with me, the provost and other senior leaders to carry out the responsibilities of the office and make progress toward our ambitious diversity and inclusion goals.” Concluding her letter, she wrote, “Shontay’s wide range of experiences, her deep knowledge of Brown’s history and current climate and her dedication to creating a fully inclusive community make her an ideal

SARA RUNKEL / HERALD

In her role as the vice president of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, Delalue will oversee the implementation of the University’s DIAP. person to lead us in these efforts.” Delalue came to Brown in 2013 as the inaugural director of international

student and visitor experience and assistant dean of the college, after working » See OIED, page 3

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017

UNIVERSITY NEWS Women, students of color, first-gen students report lower confidence in career prospects

UNIVERSITY NEWS Half of female students report being catcalled monthly, affects activity on, around campus

COMMENTARY Cardoso ’19: Triviality has no place in discussion of protecting human rights

COMMENTARY Mitra ’18: GOP tax plan’s effect on higher education will ultimately hurt, not promote, job growth

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

LGBTQ+ students report less confidence entering workforce Applicants face decisions over whether to disclose sexuality in interviews, resume, workplace

When it comes to applying, submitting a resume is a challenge itself. The decision to include certain clubs or organizations — such as the GayStraight Alliance — can out applicants. At his previous job, CareerLAB Director Matthew Donato was asked by a trans male student if he should list his most extensive community service experience: his work with Girl Scouts of the USA. “I said … if you’re really worried about how an employer is going to react to that, that may not be the type of employer that you want,” Donato said. While that may not be the right answer for everyone, “it’s things like that, like ‘Do I disclose my participation in this club or this group on campus?’” These concerns are not unfounded. Studies have found that the resume of a heterosexual person is more likely to advance to the next stage of the hiring process than the same resume of someone who disclosed they were gay through clubs they listed. Adam Brown ’01 included his work with GSA and the LGBTQ+ community to signal to future employers that he valued an inclusive workplace. Flavio Casoy ’03 MD’09 did the same, including his involvement in LGBTQ+ groups to ensure employers who reached out to him knew his sexual orientation. Donato said asking about sexual identity in an interview is illegal and would not be tolerated by CareerLAB. “If a student finds out or tells us about

an employer that’s discriminating against them or conducting illegal interview questions, … we are pretty aggressive about sidelining an employer,” Donato said. But he noted that he has not had to do that since he started as director. Still, some alums said they had to make decisions about whether to be overt about their sexuality when meeting an employer for the first time. Before applying for residency, Casoy discussed with his fellow LGBTQ+ medical school peers whether to come out as gay during the interview. “After a lot of deliberation, we decided it was best to be public and somehow let drop in the interview that you were gay or bi or lesbian or trans,” he said. That way, he would not risk ending up in a workplace that was overtly homophobic, he said. Matthew Laderer ’03, who has been comfortably out at his current job as a project engineer for years now, said he aimed to appear more traditionally masculine in job interviews upon first entering the workfield. “I can be very animated. I wear my emotions on my sleeve,” Laderer said. “I was not even really thinking about not being effeminate. I just wanted to come off as being professional.” Some alums said they also tried to avoid applying to graduate programs that were widely known to be homophobic. And once they’ve been hired,

some LGBTQ+ people feel like they need to hide their sexual orientation in fear of discrimination or disapproval from coworkers, said Christy Mallory, a lawyer who studies issues that impact LGBTQ+ people at the Williams Institute. Mallory’s own research, conducted from a national survey, found that a quarter of lesbian, gay or bisexual employees had experienced harassment at work. Several Brown alums said they, too, had been discriminated against in the workplace or in graduate school. During his rotation under a pediatric endocrinologist, Casoy’s instructor found out he was gay and stopped assigning him patients. “Both (my partner) and I experienced homophobia in medical school,” Casoy said. “I didn’t learn for a brief rotation because I didn’t see anyone.” Many alums also mentioned varying levels of acceptance depending on the industry or workplace culture. “The widespread homophobia that prevailed on Wall Street in the 1970s through 1990s has largely disappeared and been replaced by a progressive attitude that diversity is better for performance,” wrote Mike Balaban ’74 in an email to The Herald. He was in the closet for the duration of his career on Wall Street. “That doesn’t mean that individuals within those firms might not harbor homophobic attitudes, much like they might hide racist and sexist views, too,” he noted.

And certain industries — such as finance and tech — are known to be very male-dominated spaces, which often inhibits queer voices, said David Owen ’08. An article by Fortune found that 80 percent of high ranking officials at Fortunate 500 Companies are men and that 72 percent of those men are white. But he noted that these companies have also made efforts to create affinity groups to attract talent from a variety of underrepresented groups. Owen has worked in small arts organizations and with the City of New York. Between the two, he noted that “government tends to be more conservative in terms of dress, manner (and) professionalism.” In addition, Owen marked the difference in atmospheres between a large organization and a small one, where LGBTQ+ individuals might be able to share more about themselves. Those who don’t speak up may be assumed to be cisgender or straight, he said. “For queer people, that can sometimes feel like erasure of identity,” Owen added. Adam Brown ’06 works in the performing arts and said he has found those workplaces to be progressive and accepting. But he has performed as a paid member of a Catholic church choir, where he felt an intense amount of pressure to monitor the way he presents himself. “I’m always second guessing how I’m behaving,” Brown said. “I also question the motives and intentions of people who are even saying something very nice to me, and whether that is … conditional. Is that something they’re only saying to me because they think I’m straight, or I haven’t told them I’m gay? Would they be saying the same thing to me if they knew?” Currently, Brown provides career help to LGBTQ+ identifying students. The CareerLAB will host its second LGBTQ+ CareerCon April 3, 2018, and the Renn Mentoring Program will induct its newest LGBTQ+ Brown faculty mentor and undergraduate mentee pairs this coming week. Donato hopes CareerLAB staff will undergo training to equip them with the best “language” when assisting LGBTQ+ students.

pushing the S/NC deadline further back and offered alternatives to dropping a course, such as auditing or asking the professor for an override code to retake the course the following semester. Since the CCC held its forum in midOctober to discuss the proposal, it has been inundated with feedback from the Brown community. “Feedback from the community from all constituents … impacts (the) CCC’s thinking about this,” said Dean of the College Maud Mandel. “People go out of their way to send … feedback by email,” said Andrew Kutscher ’18, a student representative on the CCC. “I’ve really appreciated the space on the committee that has been made for student feedback,” said Raphaela Posner ’18, another student representative on the CCC. The committee has voted to put off a vote on the proposal, Mandel said. The committee will make the decision

“pending some work by the Office of the Dean of the College to think through some advising structures for students who might want to drop a class.” In response to the suggestions made about moving the S/NC deadline, Mandel said that it was “not currently a motion.” The proposal has proven to be more complex than first thought, Posner said. Both Posner and Kutscher mentioned the CCC is planning to add an advising component to the proposal before moving forward on the motion. “We brought it back to the full CCC, … where we explained student feedback and practical limitations … and a need for an advising part, and basically agreed to table it for now,” Kutscher said. Mandel explained that the feedback the CCC received could potentially alter the proposal, though the CCC has not had a chance to meet since The Herald released its poll results. “It’s possible the original motion could experience a

straight up or down vote. It’s possible it would be modified based on information

about advising. … It’s possible we decide just not to move forward on (it).”

By DYLAN MAJSIAK & CELIA HACK STAFF WRITERS

LGBTQ+ applicants may need to decide whether or not to come out to potential employers before having gauged the inclusivity of a particular workplace. “I was advised not to disclose my identity,” wrote Jennifer Nykiel ’10 MD’14 in an email to the Herald. “I was told it would limit my options.” Instead, she only applied to programs in liberal regions and “disclosed everything.” “I wouldn’t want to work somewhere I had to be in the closet,” she wrote. Students who identify as gay, bisexual or other report less confidence in their ability to secure a job in their chosen field than heterosexual students, according to the Fall 2017 Herald poll. Of heterosexual students, 76.6 percent indicated feeling somewhat or very confident in regards to job placement in their chosen field post-graduation, while only 65.3 percent of those gay, bisexual or other students shared this sentiment. One in five of those surveyed by the Herald identified as LGBTQ+. LGBTQ+ alums cited challenges they faced in the workplace, including navigating the interview and hiring process, the average workday and particularly heteronormative industries. Issues that LGBTQ+ people encounter may be complicated by the current political climate. Nationally, 28 states lack employment anti-discrimination laws regarding sexual orientation or gender identity. And recently, the Justice Department filed court papers arguing the Civil Rights Act does not protect employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation. While some employers have made symbolic nondiscriminatory policies to protect those with LGBTQ+ identities, they lack the formal power that a state or federal law would hold.

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» DROP, from page 1 should be required to meet with an advisor and get an override code if they wish to drop a class, requiring students to consider the potential side effects of their decision. “Having more coaching throughout … (is needed) in order to make a better decision,” he said. Vidmar also advocated for the CCC to move the S/NC deadline further into the semester. “You could have people actually staying in that class, getting the credit and staying off of academic probation.” Tyco Mera Evans ’20 sees the validity of lessening the focus on final grades, which an earlier drop date could accomplish. Students who drop a course just to avoid a bad final grade “can be seen as just students who want to ‘look good on paper,’” he said. An earlier deadline “will force students to care about the class and put in the work to get the good grade in the end,” he said. Evans also suggested

KATE TALERICO / HERALD

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» INVESTIGATION, from page 1 Herald provided by the new team member shows two people atop the Marcus Aurelius statue on the Ruth J. Simmons Quadrangle holding glass bottles. The anonymous new member identified this as a picture of team members in the process of smashing bottles of Smirnoff Ice against the statue. In a recording of a team meeting Nov. 14 that was provided by the new team member, one team captain referenced “the tradition of smashing the ‘Ices’ against the statues.” Another photo reviewed by The Herald provided by the new team member shows a man’s bare back with a drawing of a penis and the word “Oedipus,” as an onlooker points and laughs. This source identified the person with the drawing on his back as a new member of the team and the onlooker as a returning member of the team. According to the new team member, new members of the team were assigned nicknames by upperclassmen, which were then drawn on their backs. In recordings of the team meetings reviewed by The Herald, the existence of assigned nicknames was discussed. On the afternoon of Oct. 7, an email with a Google Doc titled “Freshman Activity Skit Script” was circulated among new members of the team, according to a copy of the email provided by the new team member reviewed by The Herald. New members performed the skit that night in an off-campus house, in which they impersonated various

» APPLICATION, from page 1 points to the role of parental resources. “Students who have parents who have gone to college have more financial resources … to support their kids to have the best possible admissions package.” Meanwhile, first-generation students lack access to the same type of resources, and their parents are often unaware of the competitive nature of the college admissions process, Gonzalez said. Data released by College Board about the class of 2013 aligns with Gonzalez’s point, showing strong correlations between income, parental education and SAT scores. Jacob Binder ’18, whose parents both went to Brown, cited family support while he applied to college. “My parents were definitely very helpful as far as the application went. My mom is a teacher, so she looked over all of my college essays multiple times,” he said. As a legacy student, Binder also utilized the Alumni College Advising Program, a college advising program exclusively for the University’s legacy students. Though the program mainly showed him options for schools other than Brown, it was still helpful, he said. Comparatively, without the same resources as Binder, Nguyen received advice from his cousin and online resources when applying to college. But not everything found online is trustworthy “I used the internet for everything. First-generation students often try to tap into pre-existing knowledge networks, like College Confidential, but there is a lot of misinformation on the web,” Nguyen said. Colleges, nonprofit organizations and testing companies are taking steps to make the college admission process more accessible for first-generation and low-income students. Even with a push to increase socioeconomic diversity at selective colleges, students from low-income backgrounds remain few and far between. Brown has more students from the top 1 percent of the income scale — coming from families that earn over $630,000 annually — than the bottom 60 percent, according to data collected by the

upperclassmen on the team, the new team member said. According to the National Collegiate Athletics Association website, NCAA hazing prevention guidelines categorizes “stunt or skit nights, with degrading, crude or humiliating acts” as “harassment hazing” — “behaviors that cause emotional anguish or physical discomfort required of those new team members.” The new team member and other various sources detailed other events of the night. New members of the team were collected from their rooms by upperclassmen, said the new team member and a second new member of the team. The first new team member was given a mixture of Tabasco sauce and vodka in a water bottle to drink, he said. Two students who are floormates of the new team member said that they saw a red mixture in a water bottle on the floor of the source’s bedroom. Other members of the team were also given bottles of Tabasco sauce and vodka to drink, according to the audio recordings provided by the new team member. That night, multiple new members of the team threw up after consumption of alcohol, according to the new team member and the audio recordings. The new team member said he saw someone call Emergency Medical Services for another new member, though he did not witness what followed after. At a party on the night of Oct. 7, members of the women’s swimming and diving team

were told by members of the men’s team that a new member of the men’s team had been EMS’d, said a member of the women’s team, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. Police officers accompanied “multiple medical transports” between the night of Oct. 7 and early morning Oct. 8, wrote Deputy Chief of Police Paul Shanley in an email to The Herald, though he could not say whether they were associated with members of the swim team. Additionally, in the recordings provided to The Herald by the new team member, the team captain named two different first-year members who vomited that night. In a screenshot of a GroupMe text sent that night, a returning member wrote that one new member “is puking at faunce right now.” University policy and Rhode Island law prohibit hazing, which includes “initiation into any student organization, whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person,” according to the 2017-18 Student Athlete Handbook. The handbook defines several activities as hazing, including “forced consumption of food or liquids, including but not limited to alcohol,” “forced conduct … designed to produce embarrassment” and “destruction or removal of public or private property.” The handbook states that team members should “not assume that … informing the individual they are not required to

participate mitigates the activity and culpability of the perpetrator.” “Every student athlete must review Brown’s hazing policy and attest in writing that they understand and commit to adhering to the policy,” Clark wrote in his email. In addition to the mandatory review of University hazing policy, student athletes must attend NCAA compliance meetings and meet with athletics department administrators “to discuss policies, including hazing, and their roles as team leaders,” Clark wrote. “The University wants to make it clear unequivocally that students found responsible for code violations are subject to sanctions,” Clark wrote. “Should any student(s) be found responsible, the University will ensure that responsible parties are held accountable, whether through individual and/or collective disciplinary action.” According to its website, the NCAA defines hazing as “an expectation, whether implicit or explicit, that to be accepted or part of the group, studentathletes must participate in the activity. An expectation can subtly coerce athletes to do things they would not normally do.” Multiple first-year swim team members denied participating in initiation rituals or hazing in email responses to The Herald’s request for comment sent Oct. 27. “I have never felt uncomfortable or forced into a situation against my will.

This team, or rather, this family, has made my transition into college as a freshmen exponentially easier. The term ‘initiation’ doesn’t have any meaning to me whatsoever,” one first-year member wrote in an email to The Herald. According to the anonymous new member and a recording of a team meeting Oct. 27 that he provided, a captain instructed the first-year members of the team to deny allegations in their email responses. As captured by the new team member’s recording of the meeting, the captain said that they should include the following “themes” in their responses to inquiries about hazing: “I’ve never been hazed, I’ve never seen hazing on this team. … I don’t think any of my teammates have ever been hazed or seen hazing either.” In recordings of team meetings reviewed by The Herald provided by the new team member, captains instructed the team what to say to the University if investigated. On Nov. 14, one captain said on a recording of a team meeting, “There’s things that are out there that could be damaging, it’s just about how we spin it right now.” On Nov. 27, the same team captain instructed the team to say, “We have not had any meetings to talk about this story about that night since we found out about the investigation.” The University Student Code of Conduct prohibits discouragement of individuals from reporting policy violations.

New York Times. Logan Powell, dean of admission, said that the Admission Office is “absolutely aware of the adversity that some students face in the application process.” He added that they take an applicant’s background into account when his office reviews applications. This holistic perspective can be beneficial to first-generation and low-income students. “If you are working four jobs at fast-food chains, you don’t really have time to do the six extracurriculars that are expected of you,” Nguyen said. “So how do we change our perception of what we consider impressive in a way that is welcoming to low-income students?” Some programs have also been created to help first-generation and low-income students, such as QuestBridge and the National College Access Network. “I was lucky that there were programs around my school, specifically targeting low-income students to provide them with college access,” Nguyen said. Testing companies are also looking at how to mitigate the disparity. College Board created a department with the purpose of

making its tests more accessible. Through its partnership with online learning platform Khan Academy, College Board has worked to increase access to test prep content. Additionally, College Board “redesigned the SAT … so it could be more consistent with what the Board of (Education) says students should know,” Asghar said. But he recognized that families from higher socioeconomic brackets will still be able to afford the test prep that will put them at a further advantage. However, getting good standardized test scores and being admitted to a selective college is only the first hurdle. “First-generation and low income students continue to face myriad challenges once arriving to campus,” says Professor of Sociology Gregory Elliott, who was a first-generation college student himself. With obstacles ranging from balancing a full-time job on top of a demanding curricula to feelings of exclusion and alienation among peers, “getting into college is the easy part. … The hard part is getting (first-generation and low-income students) to feel like they belong here,” Elliott said.

» OIED, from page 1

University. … It shouldn’t be an add-on, it shouldn’t feel taxing — it should actually feel rewarding.” One project Delalue hopes to work on is shifting applications for funding for diversity-related initiatives from the office itself to UFunds, allowing the OIED to streamline the process of generating reports. This would allow the office to “speak to, in a more cohesive way, the ways in which we’ve funded different initiatives on campus,” Delalue said. Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, executive vice president for planning and policy, chaired the OIED search committee, which also included faculty, professors and undergraduate and graduate students. Courtney Baker ’18, a student member of the committee, said she looked for someone who was “compassionate but also stern (and) willing to push for important things.” The committee “conducted two stages of reviewing materials and two stages of interviews and then three finalists came to campus for day-and-a-half visits and met with … about 100 community members through that process,” Carey said. Carey emphasized the importance of Delalue’s familiarity with Brown’s community, culture and plan. “Brown has an action plan that was very thoughtfully created. … There’s been significant progress already, but it’s an area where there’s a long way to go, and this office — and Shontay in particular — really would be the key leadership for making that happen,” Carey said.

KATE TALERICO / HERALD

“in a number of different capacities in higher education space, in everything from admissions to advising,” Delalue said. “All throughout, no matter what unit I worked in, I always brought in the language of diversity and inclusion.” The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity focuses on compliance, which includes Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, employment opportunity, affirmative action and the American Disability Act. The office is also responsible for carrying out the University’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and fostering academic diversity. In her interim role, Delalue worked to maintain momentum around the major initiatives in play. In this case, “the DIAP process for the institution is a major undertaking, and, so, it was my responsibility to ensure that we continued with the process,” she said, adding that one of her goals was “to think about how we would continue to manage it in a way that was helpful for the entire institution.” The first annual DIAP report was submitted February 2016. During her time as interim vice president, Delalue assessed the plan and worked to put it on an academic timeline so the report would come out at the end of the spring semester. Delalue, in accordance with her colleagues, plans to continue her work around how people view compliance and “how we can embed equality and diversity into how we do business at the

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Half of female students report being catcalled at least once a month Prevalence of street harassment affects how students get home at night, navigate campus By SOPHIE CULPEPPER & EMILY DAVIES STAFF WRITER & SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In her first month on College Hill, Rachel Souza ’21 was catcalled for the first time in her life. “I was just walking back to my dorm, and, out of the blue, a car drove by and (someone) howled at me,” she said. “It was just shocking.” Souza’s experience is not unusual among University students. About half of female-identifying students reported being catcalled at least once a month on or near campus, as found in The Herald’s 2017 fall undergraduate poll. The same is true for 60 percent of students surveyed who do not identify along the gender binary. “That is a disturbing number,” said Professor of International Studies and Anthropology Catherine Lutz. Catcalling is symptomatic of a patriarchy that encourages disrespectful behavior, she added. For some students, the threat of a catcall influences how and when they get around campus. Natalie Fredman ’21 said she avoids walking alone at night around campus when possible. Like Souza, Fredman was catcalled for the first time at Brown — but at age 15, as a student participating in Summer@Brown. “I don’t really feel safe on Thayer Street at all,” Souza said. She always tells friends where she is going or shares her location when walking alone at night, she added. “A lot of men know that it’s disrespectful, and they know that women don’t like it, but … they’re very oblivious to the fact that it’s actually threatening,” Fredman said. “If you’re in a car, and you’re double my size, and I’m walking alone at night, you have so much power over me. And that’s terrifying,” Fredman said. This more than affects the emotional state of those harassed, Lutz

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ALEX WESTFALL / HERALD

said — it can prevent those catcalled from moving through the world freely. “It’s not just words you can roll off your back,” Lutz said. John Cruz, a 23-year-old from Providence, who said he has catcalled frequently around College Hill, sees his comments not as harassment, but as a way to start a conversation. “I’m not disrespectful, so I wouldn’t go and say disrespectful stuff,” he said. “I do understand a lot of women hate that,” said his brother, Allen Cruz. “But at the end of the day if you don’t say hello, she won’t say hi back.” Other students react to verbal innuendos without visible changes in behavior. After a car of four men yelled at Halle Vernon ’19 while she was walking between the Sharpe Refectory and MacMillan Hall midday, she understood for the first time that she could not prevent catcalling, she said.

“Even if you are walking between two campus buildings in the middle of the day in sweatpants and a giant puffy coat, you are still going to be screamed at,” she added. Catcalling also affects many students who participate in activities off campus. Quinn Bornstein ’18 (“Bornstein ’18: Don’t honk if you support equality”), who has written about her experiences with catcalling , said she and her cross country teammates were catcalled daily last spring while running off-campus. Comments may simply consist of “weird noises,” said cross country runner Alexis Van Pernis ’19. Explicit comments on students’ bodies are also common, she added. But sometimes catcallers do more than just make noise. “Multiple girls on the team have

been followed by guys in cars for several blocks, especially when you’re running alone — and every turn you make, they make,” Van Pernis said. Last spring, she and her teammates believed one man followed lone runners several times, making “hissing” noises at them, she added. When approached by full-grown men, she and her teammates tend to respond with silence. “They’re standing, you’re running, they can’t catch you,” Van Pernis said. Lutz said that those catcalled should do what feels best and safest to them. She suggested that if men see catcalling, they should respond. “Give (men) the responsibility, since they have benefited from the degree at which … women are intimidated or kept at home,” she said. “Ask men to say, ‘What the hell are you talking about? Back in your hole.’”

Of the 41.7 percent of students surveyed who have never been catcalled on or near campus, three quarters identify as male. Still, some male students have been verbally harassed on or near campus. Max Kozlov ’20 was walking back from Andrews at 3:30 a.m. when a car stopped next to him on Thayer. “I was confused about what was going on,” he said. “They rolled down their window and were like, ‘You can walk right into my car.’ … I turned into Fones Alley because I knew cars couldn’t go there.” Kozlov said he reported the incident to the Department of Public Safety. Deputy Chief of Police Paul Shanley said DPS receives “a couple of calls per semester” related to verbal harassment and sexual innuendos on or around campus. Most of these instances occur on Thayer Street, and none in the last year have involved a University student as the catcaller. When students come to DPS, Shanley and his officers file a report to keep track of patterns in the area or descriptions of verbal assault. They determine their next response on a case-by-case basis. DPS cannot always treat catcalling like a crime due to free speech laws, Shanley said. “Whenever an individual starts to follow another community member, I think that rises to a different level,” he added. In most cases, DPS will attempt to locate the individual reported, Shanley said. If a student wanted to make a criminal complaint, the individual could be arrested. A formal complaint in conjunction with the Providence Police could result in a disorderly conduct charge, Shanley added. The percentage of students who have been catcalled on campus indicates the presence of other forms of harassment, Lutz said. “There is this sense that Brown is a privileged place and therefore it is privileged for everyone,” she said. “But the race and gender differences in the Brown student and faculty body have similar kinds of consequences: people’s self-esteem and sense of safety and long term well-being.”

Faculty meeting highlights concerns with faculty assessments Concerns about bias in student assessments of teaching prompt discussion of transparency By EMILY DAVIES SENIOR STAFF WRITER

At the last faculty meeting of this calendar year, faculty members discussed changes to course evaluations and provided an update on the University’s response to the Republican tax bill. A committee to evaluate the University’s instruments of assessment, and specifically course evaluations, is working with the Sheridan Center to review techniques of peer institutions and discuss sample questions with the goal of better “captur(ing) the student

experience,” said Professor of Epidemiology Alison Field. Dean of the College Maud Mandel formed the committee in response to concerns voiced in the last year about student evaluations, Field said. A new evaluation strategy is anticipated to launch this spring, she added. Some faculty members stressed that adjustments to student evaluations must consider potential biases during assessment. Dean of Engineering Lawrence Larson shared data from 14 million reviews on RateMyProfessor.com that highlighted gendered language used to describe male and female professors. Male faculty rated on the website, for example, are more frequently described as “funny” in comparison to female faculty, he said. “This is a very compelling

demonstration of the problem of gender bias in teaching evaluations,” Larson said. Other faculty members raised concerns that factors such as tone of instruction or student success may inaccurately reflect the quality of teaching. These concerns about bias are challenging for the University to address because of a lack of transparency in the evaluation process, said President Christina Paxson P’19. University evaluations, unlike those at many peer institutions, are accessible to the administration only during the review process. Otherwise, they are only available to department heads, said Provost Richard Locke P’18. “We have to figure out … how do we make it so these evaluations fit into

a larger system of assessment and improvement,” Locke said. The meeting later focused on the GOP tax bill, which is in the reconciliation process after the House and Senate passed their respective bills. As this new political phase transpires, the University is “continuing to advocate for changes,” said Assistant Director of Government Relations Steve Gerencser. “The excise tax started at a $100,000 threshold, and it moved up to $250,000, and now it’s at $500,000, so we are seeing these advocacy efforts working,” Gerencser said. The “worst-case-scenario” for the University would be if the final product mirrored the House bill exactly, Locke said. “It would be pretty devastating on our budget,” adding

that the graduate student provisions alone would represent a $23 million cost. If the eventual bill mirrored what passed in the Senate, “it would not be terrible,” Paxson said. Faculty also passed a motion that renames the undergraduate concentration “Science and Society” to “Science, Technology and Society” in order to “give students a concentration with a name that is nationally recognized,” said Director of the Program of Science and Technology Studies Joan Richards. The motion also approved changing the program “Science and Technology Studies” to “Science, Technology and Society,” effective immediately. Deputy Provost Joseph Meisel discussed the University’s accreditation process, which will bring a review team to campus from March 11 to 14.

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

i f yo u ’ r e a c r a n e , i ’ m a c r a n e

menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Spicy Sausage and Garlic, Assorted Roasted Mushroom, Roasted Brussels Sprout and Ham JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Rodeo Burger, Quesadilla Station, Salad Bar

Beef Chili with Beans, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup, Burrito Bowl

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Chicken Tenders, Sweet Thai Stir Fry, Steamed Broccoli, Ranger Joe Cookies

Cheese Tortellini Provencal, Baked Sesame Chicken, Garlic Bread, S’mores Cupcakes

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Seafood Gumbo with Clam Juice, Broccoli Quiche, Steak Fries, Chocolate Macaroon Cupcakes

Corn Pudding, Roasted Cauliflower with Red Onion, Rotini Pasta, Frosted Brownies

sudoku ELI WHITE / HERALD

The construction site, which features a towering crane, will soon become a new footbridge across the Providence River. The project will connect College Hill with the Jewlery District as part of its expansion.

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

“A lot of men know that it’s disrespectul, and they know that women don’t like it, but … they’re very oblivious to the fact … it’s actually threatening.

”

— Natalie Fredman ’21

crossword

See catcalling on page 4. CORRECTION Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of the article “Cafe to connect students with sponsor companies “ stated that Shiru Cafe in Providence will open Feb. 20. In fact, it will open Feb. 21. The Herald regrets the error. Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Invenergy, the company that provides the funds for the construction of the facility, announced last week that the facility’s opening, originally planned for 2020, is now postponed to 2021. It also stated that Ted Kresse, a spokesperson from National Grid, told The Herald that though National Grid was set to deliver the facility by 2020, the Clear River Energy Center “has not provided the required security nor authorized National Grid to proceed,” causing the project to be delayed. In fact, this was referring to a separate natural gas plant that is being funded by Invenergy. The Herald regrets the errors. Correction: A previous version of the “Grad school strives to recruit underrepresented students” article stated that Marlina Duncan, associate dean of diversity initiatives at the Graduate School, said that the Graduate School will change its application for the upcoming admissions cycle to allow students to self-identify as a student of color. In fact, the University has only discussed making such changes. The Herald regrets the error.

calendar TODAY DECEMBER MARCH

10 8

11 9

Modern Challenges for Coastal Ecosystems 12:00 P.M. Petteruti Lounge

Brown Institute for Brain Science Holiday Party 3:00 P.M. Stimson Avenue, 002

Ghanaian Drumming and Dance Concert 7:30 P.M. Grant Recital Hall

Meiklejohn Program Information Session 8:00 P.M. MacMillan, 115

TOMORROW

10 12

11 13

12 14

13 15

14 16

15 17

16 18

17 19

18 20

19 21

20 22

21 23

22 24

23 25

24 26

25 27

26 28

27 29

28 30

29 31

The Choreography of Things with Sydney Skybetter

12:00 P.M. Rockefeller Library

Boren Scholarships Information Session 12:00 P.M. JWW, 420

What Do Curators Know? Panel Discussion 5:00 P.M. Nightingale-Brown House

Venture Speed Dating (Build Your Team) 5:00 P.M. Sayles, 300

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Boycott Shiru Cafe To the Editor: The article “Cafe to connect students with sponsor companies” published in The Herald Dec. 4 described a new cafe which will be opening on the University’s campus next semester. We are writing to express our concern that The Herald’s story is written to promote the cafe to students as an opportunity for free coffee and networking. As students on this campus who are concerned about the cafe’s opening, we wanted to point out the possible adverse consequences that this cafe might have on our community and propose a boycott of the cafe when it opens in February. According to CareerLAB’s website, 42 percent of 2016 University graduates who were employed in their first year out of college were in the finance, consulting and technology industries. A mere 2 percent were in jobs related to “environment and sustainability” and 2 percent in “community development and organizing.” One contributing factor to the large number of Brown graduates pursuing careers in finance, consulting and

tech is that representatives come to the University campus in the fall semester to recruit students for their companies. According to The Herald’s article about the Shiru Cafe, “last year, 40 percent of JP Morgan Japan’s new hires were Shiru Cafe patrons.” This statistic is alarming, given that JP Morgan engaged in deceitful financial practices which likely contributed to to the 2008 financial crisis and then became the only large financial institution to make a profit during the crisis. Instead of looking forward to the days of free coffee (only if you stay in the cafe to drink it), we are writing to call upon the University community and the broader Providence community to boycott the cafe. As the cafe’s first location in the United States, Brown should send a clear message rejecting the cafe’s stated desire to draw smart and talented people to work for large corporations, whose principles are frequently at odds with those of our community.

A L E X W E ST FA L L

Julia Rock ’19 and Harry August ’19

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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Tax plan would weaken higher ed MILI MITRA opinions editor

After numerous flip-flops, inaccuracies and hand-written revisions at the last minute, the Republican tax bill passed the U.S. Senate by one vote in the wee hours of Saturday morning. A largely similar bill had cleared the Republican-dominated U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 16, setting the stage for negotiations about the differences between the bills before a final version is put forth. The bill — which proposes a $1.5 trillion tax cut that would primarily benefit the wealthy and add an estimated $1 trillion to the national debt — has been widely derided as irresponsible, inequitable and, frankly, incomprehensible. But another troubling (and for us, all too pertinent) aspect of the tax bill has largely slipped under the radar: its wide-ranging implications for colleges and college students across the country. First of all, the bill slaps a 1.4 percent excise tax on the investment income earned by universities with endowments that amount to more than $500,000 per student. Republican lawmakers have argued that this is necessary because the wealthiest universities sit on massive endowments that they do not spend on

students. But decimating university budgets won’t direct more funding toward students. And while only about 30 higher education institutions qualify for this additional tax, these universities also have some of the largest financial aid programs in

ties and nonprofits — including universities. Coupled with the Trump administration’s defunding of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, these clauses will drastically shrink the research fund-

the bill’s forecasted impact on graduate students. Bizarrely, the Republican plan treats graduate students’ waived tuition of $50,000 a year as income. As a result, even though most graduate students earn under $30,000 a year in the form of sti-

If Republicans were serious about promoting job growth, they would be funneling money toward the institutions that are critical to the economy — not punishing them.

the country and work on cuttingedge research. The bill also doubles the standard deduction for charitable giving. In simpler terms, this clause reduces incentives for taxpayers to donate part of their income to chari-

ing available to academics. American universities have long been renowned for operating on the front lines of research and development. How long will this last if their budgets are slashed? But perhaps most concerning is

pends, they will be taxed in the same bracket as those who earn $70,000 or $80,000 a year. According to a recent Herald editorial (“GOP tax plan sets up roadblocks to graduate programs,” Nov. 26), this will leave graduate students at Brown with ap-

proximately $13,000 in disposable income. When we factor in the average price of housing on College Hill, the bill could leave them with as little as $6,000 a year for all other expenses. Not only that, but the new bill also makes the interest paid on student loans subject to taxation and repeals the Lifetime Learning Credit, a 20 percent tax credit on up to $10,000 in tuition. Both of these changes to the tax code will make higher education — and particularly graduate education — even less accessible to low- and middle-income students. In all, the tax bill will only disincentivize students from entering undergraduate and graduate programs alike. If Republicans were serious about promoting job growth, they would be funneling money toward the institutions that are critical to the economy — not punishing them. It might be too late to stop the enactment of this tax bill, but this should not stop us from raising our voices against Republicans’ short-sighted approach to governing. After all, we still have one more major state election left in 2017, and many more to come next year. The GOP revealed how they really feel about education last Saturday, and it’s time we hold them accountable at the ballot box.

Mili Mitra ’18 can be reached at mili_mitra@brown.edu.

How not to protect civil rights CONNOR CARDOSO opinions editor Just today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. According to the petitioner, his baked goods are not only items that he sells from his shop, but also forms of expression themselves, like a sculpture or a painting. Making cakes that tacitly approve of some behavior that he opposes, then, would be a violation of his right to free expression. As with most debates within the “culture war,” the discourse has been nothing short of acrimonious. In his Dec. 4 column for the New York Times, entitled “How Not to Advance Gay Marriage,” David Brooks went a step further, though, in his analysis. According to Brooks, the decision by the gay couple to resort to the court system was an overreaction and largely a function of our polarized politics. Yet while it is true that American political culture has been polarizing with particular intensity in recent years, Brooks’ analysis is at best poor advice and at worst a form of complicity in the denial of rights to Americans on the basis of sexual orientation. The essence of Brooks’ argument is that there were two ways for the spurned gay couple to resolve the dispute. First, he outlined the “neighborly” approach, which involved recognizing that it was just a cake, inviting the baker over for dinner and then patronizing him for other services. This approach, according to Brooks, leaves everyone happier and helps to detoxify our political discourse. After all, if the couple weren’t so ideological or emotional,

then they wouldn’t be upset by the baker’s decision in the first place. The other approach is legal action — wielding the force of the state to achieve some desired objective. This approach is bitter and vindictive and clumsy. Brooks holds that we must resist the temptation to go down this path. We must,

personal conflicts with sugar rather than salt. But his efforts to apply this approach to safeguarding fundamental civil rights is unreasonable. For starters, the dispute is not simply “about a cake.” It is about legitimizing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. When asked by Justice Anthony Kennedy if he

LGBTQ+ Americans are entitled, by the constitution, to equal protection before the law and, by their status as human beings, to dignity. Forcing gay couples to turn the other cheek on one issue because it seems trivial is profoundly misguided.

instead, strive to resolve our conflicts through “neighborly” behavior. In this imaginary world, we could simply resolve most conflict by ignoring the source of tension completely. In fairness, Brooks is not wrong in recognizing that our political culture is toxic, nor in noting that we could probably resolve many inter-

felt it would be constitutional for cake shops to display signs reading “we don’t bake cakes for gay weddings,” the petitioner’s lawyer responded affirmatively. This is disturbing — the logical conclusion of this argument is not that gay couples will need to find new cakes, but rather that they can be marginalized and

demeaned publicly. Either out of well-intentioned misunderstanding or some contrived effort to appear moderate, Brooks’ argument reduces efforts to achieve equal treatment before the law to a dispute over cake. Indeed, the case is truly about protecting fundamental constitutional rights. Allowing businesses to deny service on the basis of sexual orientation (or any reductive categorization) in the name of protecting free speech is both heinous and clearly unconstitutional. LGBTQ+ people in the United States are entitled, by the constitution, to equal protection before the law and, by their status as human beings, to dignity. Forcing gay couples to turn the other cheek on one issue because it seems trivial is profoundly misguided. My intention, though, is not to get too deep into the legal weeds. Rather, it is to demonstrate that Brooks’ recommendation of “neighborliness” is misguided and reflects the long and storied tradition of powerful groups resisting social change in the name of moderation. Rather than squabbling over neighborliness, we should realize that it is never acceptable to expect that those denied constitutional rights should appease those denying those rights in the first place. Brooks’ approach may seem to be a “reasonable” middle road (he notes his “fervent” support for same-sex marriage). But his approach is simply the same, tired story of the “moderate” who, as Martin Luther King, Jr. once noted, “is more devoted to order than to justice.” Turns out, when it comes to “neighborliness” and justice, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

Connor Cardoso ’19 can be reached at connor_cardoso@brown.edu.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017

Women, non-white, first-gen students report less confidence in job prospects Imposter syndrome, microagressions can contribute to feelings of isolation at work By SARAH WANG & ERIC CHOI SENIOR STAFF WRITER & STAFF WRITER

Women, people of color and first-generation college students are less confident in their abilities to find a job in their chosen field in comparison to male, white and nonfirst-generation students, respectively, according to The Herald’s Fall 2017 poll. While 8 in 10 male students reported feeling confident in their abilities to find jobs, 7 in 10 female students reported confidence. Of white students polled, 78.7 percent indicated they were confident, while all other racial groups reported lower confidence. Hispanic, black and Native American students indicated the lowest confidence with 66 percent, 65.8 percent and 50 percent, respectively. Of those who are not first-generation students, 77.5 percent reported that they are confident, while 56.8 percent of first-generation students are confident. Students who are female, first-generation or non-white can face “concerns that aren’t shared among all students,” said Director of CareerLAB Matthew Donato, who found the results of the poll “not necessarily” surprising.

POLL

Women In fields such as business and finance, a lack of female role models can lead to many women feeling less confident about finding a job, said Gillian Lee ’18, president of Women in Business. “Historically, (the business field) is a pretty male-dominated work force,” Lee said. “Especially in the senior levels, a very large percentage of (them) are male.” Lee also described the field as a “boys’ club,” making it harder for women to build a network of connections when finding a job. Liesl Jaeger ’18, president of the Society of Women Engineers, has also found

KATE TALERICO/ HERALD

herself in male-dominated situations within the field of engineering, which “can be uncomfortable.” When being interviewed by mostly men for jobs, she has felt “like I had to prove myself to them,” Jaeger added. “It does make me feel a little bit more at ease if there’s at least one other woman in the room.” To combat lower levels of confidence, many student groups on campus emphasize building a strong network. Women in Business aims to help women develop the skills, confidence and networks to succeed, Lee said. “Having other women to talk with about your experiences is an invaluable resource,” she added. The group’s mentorship program between current students and female alums also helps women boost their confidence by giving students guidance from those who have successfully entered the field. Student groups also provide a space for students to bond with others of similar backgrounds. For Jaeger, the Society of Women Engineers provides a supportive and comfortable space. “A lot of the time, I don’t really feel comfortable in engineering spaces, and just having somewhere where you’re not fighting to be heard and fighting to be recognized is really, really important,” Jaeger said. “It’s just nice to show up and not feel like you’re in the minority.” Despite already securing a job after graduation, Jaeger, at times, still feels less confident than her male peers. However, she and her peers remind themselves that they “all go to Brown, and that in

itself makes you stand out,” Jaeger said. “You always have more experience than you’re giving yourself credit for.” Race For underrepresented racial minorities, a lack of representation in the workforce can contribute to lower confidence, said Joy Aso ’19, chapter president of the National Society of Black Engineers. In technical jobs at companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft, black people make up 1 percent of technical workers, according to a 2016 New York Times article. “If you’re the only one there, it can start to feel like you shouldn’t be there,” Aso said. Ebube Chuba ’19, a member of Mosaic+ — a group that creates a space for underrepresented minorities in computer science — also found that imposter syndrome contributes to lower confidence. “You don’t see many black people in certain roles,” Chuba said. “When you’re the only person or one of few people doing something for the first time, … you kind of feel like maybe they don’t think I’m good at this. Maybe they think I’m just here to fill a quota.” “You take your perceived distrust of them into your distrust of yourself, and you start to doubt how well you can do,” Chuba added. Microaggressions can also contribute to lower confidence levels for underrepresented minorities. Project partners not taking a student’s input seriously or

teaching assistants assuming students know less than they do are just two examples of this, Chuba said. Mosaic+ works to build members’ confidence through workshops and to reaffirm each other’s abilities through a strong support network, Chuba said. For Chanel Johnson ’20, Mosaic+ boosts her confidence by providing opportunities to practice coding interviews, an integral part of the job-finding process. “You need that assurance and that support group in order to be successful,” she added. The National Society of Black Engineers helps students with professional development and provides a support network for black engineers, Aso said. However, Aso wishes the engineering department would create a space for minority students to work together. “If you’re seeing people and you’re able to work together, … you’ll feel more confident to stay in the field,” Aso said. First-Generation students Unlike other Brown students, firstgeneration students encounter unique obstacles in their job search, such as concerns about networking, economic security and access to career resources. Out of these obstacles, first-generation students seem to face the largest issues with networking, according to multiple people interviewed. “The word ‘networking’ feels a little contrived to most students,” said Associate Dean for First-Year and Sophomore Studies Yolanda Rome. “It feels kind of slimy.”

Programming for first-generation students tries to communicate to students that networking consists of “talking to people, not necessarily trying to get something out of them but just learning about their experiences,” Rome added. “My parents are blue-collar workers. They don’t need to network for anything,” said Angel Mendez-Flores ’20, a first-generation student from Los Angeles. “They go to their job. They work hard and that’s all they do and go home.” But students who come from families that do value networking arrive at Brown prepared to do the same. “I’ve seen students who … come in and they already have cancer research under their belt,” Rome said. When she asks how the student found the opportunity, the student responds, “Well my dad’s a physician, and his colleague had this lab and was able to give me (a position).” But for students who do not already have a network, those opportunities may not exist, Rome added. Once students recognize the importance of networking, they can become confident in the job search. MendezFlores described how he felt more confident in his job prospects after a summer internship he secured by talking with people like his professors who shared his interest in politics. He plans to concentrate in political science. “We’ve been trying to be more inclusive … in all different ways — CareerLAB, Writing Center, tutoring, financial aid,” Rome said.

Swearer Center’s TRI-Lab gives way to Engaged Scholar Program Unsustainable pilot initiative, TRI-Lab, lacked ability to make institutional impact By KATHERINE BENNETT STAFF WRITER

The University’s engaged scholarship pilot program TRI-Lab, a Swearer Center initiative that focused on bringing together students, staff and community partners around specific social issues including childhood development, healthy food systems, climate change and prisoner health, saw its last lab in spring 2016. Though TRI-Lab offered students the opportunity to deeply explore engaged scholarship through community partnerships, its model was deemed ultimately unsustainable in the long term. TRI-Lab — which stands for Teaching, Research and Impact — was “an early effort to define what a program in engaged scholarship might look like,” said Allen Hance, director of academic programs at the Swearer Center. “We

wanted to understand how we could build university-community partnerships around teaching, learning and research.” But TRI-Lab was hard to expand, Hance said. Each iteration of TRI-Lab was discrete from the others, making it difficult to maintain community partnerships after the individual lab had finished. Additionally, the curricula developed for TRI-Lab didn’t have as deep an institutional impact on Brown’s curriculum as its coordinators had hoped, Hance added. Along with its scalability issues, TRILab was economically unsustainable. “It was expensive, particularly measured against the number of students involved,” Hance said. With only 10 to 20 students taking part in each lab, the resources used were narrow in impact. “We had multiple faculty, multiple community partners and multiple staff from the Swearer Center involved,” Hance said. “When we went back to the drawing board, we had to ask ourselves, ‘How can we expand the scale of this opportunity so that more students can do it?’”

ELI WHITE / HERALD

The Engaged Scholars Program allows students to participate in community engagement on a larger scale than its predecessor, TRI-Lab. Hance said. For the Swearer Center, the response to these issues was the creation of the Engaged Scholars Program, a pathway that allows students to incorporate community-engaged scholarship into their concentration requirements. TRI-Lab “was a pilot for the Engaged Scholars Program,” Hance said. “In that way, it didn’t really end, it just morphed into something new.” Kai Salem ’18 was involved in TRILab from spring 2015 through fall 2015, and has been involved in a number of

engaged scholarship programs at Swearer since then. “I had a really great experience in TRI-Lab that was pretty foundational to a lot of what I’ve ended up doing (at) Brown, both in engaged scholarship and in my engaged environmental policy work,” she said. For Salem, the TRI-Lab model was a positive trial run that led to better means of engagement. “I saw the ways in which engaged scholarship could be performed better by better models that used less resources,” Salem said. “The Engaged Scholars Program is bringing

more departments into the mix and giving more students the opportunity to access those resources and those ideas.” Through the shift to the ESP, Hance hopes that the knowledge gained from TRI-Lab can build a more sustainable program that reaches a broader community. “We learned a lot about how to build partnerships, how to build courses and how to design frameworks that assess work outside of the typical classroom setting,” Hance said. Even though the TRI-Lab is no longer a part of the Swearer Center’s program roster, engaged scholarship programs continue to form an important part of education at Brown. Engaged work “is how students can learn how the world actually works,” said J. Timmons Roberts, professor of environmental studies and sociology, who taught the TRI-Lab on environmental justice and climate change. “Brown students want to save the world, and they don’t want to wait until they graduate to do it. Being engaged in our community provides them with a real opportunity to learn about how a society functions.”