Wednesday, October 4, 2017 by The Brown Daily Herald

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 79

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Endowment grows 13.4 percent Paxson outlines U. Strong performance in response to crises global equity markets takes endowment to all-time high

U. has offers to host scholars, students from University of Puerto Rico, Paxson says

By HATTIE XU UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

The University’s endowment rose to nearly $3.5 billion over the 2017 fiscal year, according to a University press release. It grew by 13.4 percent, surpassing a preliminary benchmark of 11.1 percent. Compared to 145 peer colleges and universities, the endowment had strong returns, according to data from Cambridge Associates. The median return this year was 12.9 percent, though this number is subject to change as more universities report their returns. In the past three-, five- and 10-year periods, the University’s “returns have exceeded the threshold of the top quartile of that universe,” wrote Joseph Dowling, chief investment officer, in an email to The Herald. Including Brown, only five Ivy League universities so far have publicly released their endowment returns. Brown’s endowment returns outperformed Harvard and Cornell, which saw returns of 8.1 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively. Dartmouth led the Ivy League for fiscal year 2017 with

By ROSE SHEEHAN SENIOR REPORTER

MATT BROWNSWORD / HERALD

a 14.6 percent gain followed by Penn at 14.3 percent. “While these are excellent results and it is important to be accountable to independent benchmarks such as peer

returns, the essential goal is to provide the University with the financial support and flexibility it needs to achieve its goals,” Dowling wrote. » See ENDOWMENT, page 2

President Christina Paxson P’19 outlined the University’s response to the hurricane in Puerto Rico and other recent crises at the faculty meeting Tuesday. A motion to establish a Master of Science in Global Public Health was also passed, and Provost Richard Locke presented updates on the budgets for fiscal years 2017 and 2018. The University, along with other institutions in the Leadership Alliance, has offered to host scholars and students from the University of Puerto Rico, Paxson said. Faculty members may be asked to volunteer housing for these academics and students should they decide to come to Brown, said Marisa Quinn, chief of staff to the provost. In the wake of recent crises, “the most important thing we can do as a community is to make sure our undergraduate students are okay,” Paxson said, adding that the University

has been paying special attention to “students from areas that suffered a lot of trauma.” The Master of Science in Global Public Health will “emphasize public health in low- and middle-income countries” and “address global health inequities,” said Don Operario, professor of behavioral and social sciences and associate dean for academic affairs. The program, which was presented to the faculty after over two years of planning, will require 12 courses, a thesis and an eight-week fieldwork experience in a low- or middle-income country, Operario added. A $3.7 million surplus is currently projected for the fiscal year 2018 budget, Locke said. This follows the surplus — rather than the expected deficit — that resulted from the fiscal year 2017 budget, he added. The endowment saw a 13.4 percent return for fiscal year 2017, said Joseph Dowling, chief investment officer. The University hopes to grow the endowment by reducing the payout that Brown receives from it each year, Locke said. This growth is necessary because of the University’s dependence on tuition and fees, which account for over half of Brown’s revenue, he » See FACULTY, page 2

U. hopes to open performing R.I. Gov. urges women to engage in politics Gov. Gina Raimondo arts center by fall 2021 UEL students, faculty members hope performing arts center will carry on legacy of sustainability By KATHERINE BENNETT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Over the summer, the University has continued its work developing plans for the new performing arts center after announcing its conception spring 2017. The project’s architecture firm, REX, has begun its work researching and exploring ideas for the new center in partnership with the Brown Arts Initiative and other University representatives after a summer of team development. The development team is set to move into the designing phase of the project in the beginning of 2018 and hopes to begin construction by Dec. 21, 2018. The University plans to open the new center by fall 2021. Over the summer, the University worked to build an “absolutely superb project team,” said Collette Creppell, University architect. “This team not only includes the architecture firm

INSIDE

REX, but (also) our general contractor Shawmut, who has done the last six to seven major projects. … Additionally, we have a renowned group of consultants … that are recognized around the world for the work that they do on performing arts.” To create the new performing arts center, the University is utilizing a new approach to the collaborative design process known as “integrated project delivery.” “This project is being done in a very different way than a lot of the previous buildings have been done,” said Joseph Rovan, director of the Brown Arts Initiative. Rather than dividing the project between architects and contractors, the University built one team that will be involved in each step of the process. “It’s very emblematic of the way Brown thinks and what it means to be at Brown,” Rovan said. “It’s very collaborative, and it’s very transparent,” Rovan said. Through this process, the University hopes to develop a space that is flexible but uncompromising in its function. “The demand is for a » See CENTER, page 2

encouraged students to work in Providence, run for public office

By ANNA KRAMER AND COLLEEN CRONIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo encouraged students — and women in particular — to participate in the political process during a discussion hosted by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Tuesday evening. She also voiced a keen interest in incentivizing University students to remain in Rhode Island post-graduation. Raimondo discussed political involvement and her political leadership in Rhode Island during a conversation moderated by Cathy Russell, former U.S. ambassador at-large for global women’s issues. Students and faculty, as well as University and Providence community members, attended the event in the Metcalf Research Building. One of only six female governors in the country, Raimondo told The Herald “it’s very challenging to be a

SARA RUNKEL / HERALD

The governor emphasized her desire to see students living, working and contributing to the betterment of Rhode Island after their graduation. female chief executive, particularly in the public sector.” While Raimondo knew before running for office that few women hold positions of power in politics, “it’s surprising to live it,” she said. Women succeed to the same degree as men in school, but once they reach the business or political world, female participation

drops, she added. Both Raimondo and Russell said that women need to take more prominent roles in top positions. “It’s really important to get in the game and stay in the game,” Raimondo said, adding that women will only enter government if they see other women leading and » See RAIMONDO, page 2

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, OC TOBER 4, 2017

ARTS & CULTURE ‘Lumen’ gallery in Granoff Center to provide unqiue space for daily meditative refuge

ARTS & CULTURE Peter Markus incorporates lyrical rhythms to enhance his narration of his book ‘The Singing Fish’

COMMENTARY Kim ’19: Twitter’s change in character limit will ultimately prove insignificant

COMMENTARY Wayland ’19: The history of the U.S. flag should be considered when evaluating flag as symbol

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» ENDOWMENT, from page 1

SIMONE ZHAO / HERALD

» CENTER, from page 1 building that can simultaneously provide an exceptional acoustic space for the symphony orchestra and … for experimental performances, things that combine many different artistic genres and fields of study as well as combining with new media,” said Joshua Prince-Ramus, founding principal and president of REX. The center should be able to support anything from classical music quartets to theater productions, Rovan added. Though the introduction of this center provides new space for members of the art community to work and perform, it will not take away from the purpose and functionality of existing arts buildings, Rovan said. “You can think of it as an ecosystem of spaces,” he added. “Each space has a particular use that it’s good at. What we want to bring to campus is that larger space that we can rethink and adapt. We want to move away from having to use Sayles as the place for things like the orchestra because it’s just not really suitable for that.” REX designs with the philosophy that both form and function are necessary to create a building that fulfills all of its needs. “Architecture should do, not just represent,” Prince-Ramus said. “We have a belief in the ability of architecture to socially engineer and to solve problems, not just to be an embodiment of something or to signify something. That’s not to say that aesthetics aren’t really important to us, but it’s just not the way that we discuss work.” Even though the project has been

» FACULTY, from page 1 added. Currently, 36 percent of the University’s net tuition is used to cover expenses, as opposed to 23 percent at Dartmouth and 7 percent at Princeton, Locke said. A larger endowment will also lead to an increase in the percentage of faculty supported by it, he added. Paxson also discussed alumni concerns regarding Brown Promise at the meeting. Though some alums have cited the moral value of debt, “If you have a student who’s looking at two

coordinated by the project team, there is still a distinct role for student input in both the process and final result. “Through the entire University, both at the level of (President Christina Paxson P’19) and at the leadership of the Brown Arts Initiative, the desire for student involvement in the process has really been emphasized,” Prince-Ramus said. “We’ve already had a pretty amazing conversation with a group that the president had identified; it was incredibly productive and insightful to us to understand how this building could meet the needs of not just the formal institution but the informal student groups as well,” he said. “It’s an interesting discussion because any students that we engage will never actually participate in the use of this building, at least in their undergraduate years,” Prince-Ramus said. “It’s a stewardship on all of your parts.” While the creation of the performing arts center will bring new space for the arts on campus, it may require the destruction of buildings such as the Urban Environmental Laboratory, which currently stands on the construction site. “We are in the early stages of looking at how much of the program can fit in another space nearby,” said Kurt Teichert, senior lecturer in environmental studies. Currently, an important function of the UEL is as a common space for students. “We’ll hopefully have the kind of meeting space and break-out space so that section and project meetings can still occur,” Teichert said. By utilizing space in 85 Waterman St., some of the larger

classes that are currently held in the UEL can be transferred to a consistent meeting place, he added. As the planning process for the performing arts center continues, the students and faculty members who utilize the UEL are committed to ensuring the building’s environmental sustainability. “We want to make sure that the new center makes good use of that (site),” said Lauren Maunus ’19, a concentrator in environmental studies and member of the Rhode Island Student Climate Coalition. “The sun is really strong there, there’s really good ventilation in the UEL right now — it’s very in touch with its natural environment. We want to make sure that this new space takes that into account.” “The fundamental solar-oriented principles of the building that (provide) a lot of the comfort and usability of the space without having to use any fossil fuels is the key thing that should be instilled in the design of the performing arts center,” Teichert said. One of the most important aspects of the demolition of the space will be preserving its history and legacy for the Brown community, Maunus said. The continuation of its legacy would come through the functionality of the new performing arts center and its future role as a community space on campus. “There’s so much history of community there,” she said. “To make it another institutional building that people don’t feel welcome in on campus would be very sad.” “It’s very challenging to begin to come to grips with the fact that it may not be there, but I remind myself and others that change is inevitable,” Teichert said.

offers of admission, one with loans and one without loans, telling them that they should come to Brown because it’s ‘good for their soul’ — it’s not going to work,” Paxson said. Brown Promise will not affect the University’s commitment to its lowest income students, she added. Paxson also said she is aware that the pool of applicants Brown draws from is “skewed to the right” in terms of income. The University is focused on getting “applicants from the lower and middle parts of the income distribution to apply to Brown,” she added. Paxson also outlined three new

sustainability committees. A taskforce on climate change will “look at Brown’s business and investment practices” to create guidelines that privilege sustainability, while a second committee will explore the possibility of switching to greener sources of electricity, she said. The third committee will set new goals for sustainability that will tentatively begin in 2020 and be completed in 2035, Paxson added. A biennial climate survey for faculty, staff and students that will be conducted for the first time this coming spring was also announced at the meeting.

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This year, 35 percent of the endowment was invested in absolute return strategies, 27 percent in public equity, 21 percent in private equity and 5 percent in real assets, according to documents obtained by The Herald from the University’s Investment Office. The year was “an exceptionally strong 12-month period for global equity markets,” Dowling wrote. “The endowment’s exposure to equity markets, both through professional investment managers and investments in passive indexes, drove an excellent return for the year.” The Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Index, the index most representative of equity markets, saw an 18.8 percent return, according to the document. But commodities and bonds did not perform as well. Most assets — 75 percent — were invested in North America because it is “the market with the most favorable risk-reward in the current environment,” according to the document.

» RAIMONDO, from page 1 taking risks. “You make better decisions if you’re surrounded by a diverse group of people,” Raimondo told The Herald. “I would have loved for her to be a little bit more intersectional with some of the topics she discussed. As a woman of color, those red flags … stick up to me,” said Alisha Thompson, research fellow at The Swearer Center for Public Service who attended the talk. “She’s a great speaker, and she’s doing more than other governors do.” Students need to participate in the political process, Raimondo said, even though “it’s easy to be so frustrated. … Lots of us are angry with what we’re seeing in the political world.” “No one has the luxury of sitting on the sideline,” Russell said. Raimondo also discussed her frustration with President Trump and the effects of his presidency on state governments. “What I see in Washington is a lack of leadership. … So, it’s incumbent upon governors to make up for that lack,” she said. For example, Raimondo initiated an effort to fund the payment of renewal fees for Rhode Island residents who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, as The Herald previously reported. “I don’t think it’s a good change,” Raimondo said about states needing to take action where the federal government has not. “I have one million people depending on me to do my job,” she said, adding that pushing federal issues to the state level “is not a sustainable situation.” Raimondo also addressed the state economy in her discussion. “I’ve taken over a state that needs a lot of help. … By a lot of measures, we’ve been stuck for 20 years,” she said. “I can’t build a great economy without talent,” she said, adding that she would love for University students to work and live in Rhode Island after graduation, a theme she repeated throughout the hour-long talk. Students who remain in the state and work in fields related to science, technology, engineering, math and art are eligible for the Wavemaker fellowship, which provides a financial incentive to stay, she said.

Thirteen percent was invested in Europe, 10 percent in Asia, 2 percent in the Middle East and Africa and 1 percent in Latin America. Despite the successful year, Dowling emphasized that the investment team is focused on “long-term performance of the endowment.” “The purpose of the endowment is to support the education mission of the University, and the University is managed as a permanent institution, so the endowment needs to be as well,” Dowling wrote. “The return for a single year for the endowment is approximately equivalent to how fast you ran a single mile in a marathon. You’re pleased if you ran a fast mile, but you keep your focus on the larger goal.” The endowment distributed $179 million to the University in the 2017 fiscal year, funding 18 percent of the University’s operating budget. Nearly a third of the contribution financed scholarships and fellowships while 20 percent funded professorships. The remaining 48 percent went to instructional programs, libraries, athletics and other uses. Raimondo often works with the University on economic development projects, including the recent Wexford Innovation Center, she said. “I’ve been able to recruit GE Digital, Johnson and Johnson (and others),” she said. “All those companies are coming here for our talent. … I leverage Brown, and our other universities, to bring these companies here.” Javier Juarez MA’18 praised Raimondo’s work as governor. Juarez, who has spoken with the governor in the past, cited his admiration for her efforts to make college more affordable. Raimondo recently signed into law a bill that makes tuition free for all in-state residents who attend the Community College of Rhode Island. “She came through, so that’s why I came here to support her,” Juarez said. Raimondo also answered questions during the talk. In the current media environment, the governor’s office relies more on social media and Facebook than traditional journalism, Raimondo said when asked about the relationship between politics and the media by Edward Steinfeld, director of the Watson Institute. “It’s almost impossible to get the news out,” she said, adding that the Providence Journal “is a shadow of its former self.” Raimondo also answered student questions on a variety of her recent actions as governor. Earlier this year, Raimondo hired the state’s first ever food “czar,” whom she tasked with creating a statewide food policy. The new policy supports local farms, creates training opportunities for aging industries like commercial fishing and encourages restaurants, large companies and even the University to buy local foods, Raimondo said. “This is what happens if you have an Italian governor: a premium focus on food,” she said.

ARTS & CULTURE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017 • PAGE 3

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COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Brown Arts Initiative brings Rome Prize recipients to the Granoff Center for an exhibition shown only twice before at the American Academy in Italy and the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont.

‘Lumen’ gallery to provide new meditative space in Granoff Art exhibition focuses on themes of light, hope, new beginnings from secular perspective By ELIZABETH TOLEDANO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On a Tuesday afternoon in the Cohen Gallery, composer Eric Nathan, assistant professor of music in composition-theory, and landscape architect Loretta Gargan stand in a nearly empty room. The walls are painted white and light funnels in through a large window facing the garden in front of the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. In the middle of the room is a series of five simple white pews. Gargan and Nathan are waiting for a delivery of thyme. This month, the gallery will provide a daily meditative refuge, Nathan said. The artists will offer film, music, lighting, pews and burning thyme to create an environment unlike any other on campus. The pews are the beginning elements of what artist Catherine Wagner describes as a “site-specific immersive multisensory experience.” “Lumen,” a collaboration between Wagner, Nathan, Gargan and architect Thomas Kelley, will be in the Cohen Gallery from Oct. 5 to Nov. 5. The exhibit will incorporate elements of music, film, architecture and nature to transform the gallery into a space for visitors to meditate and reflect. The project has been shown twice before, in a

Cryptoporticus at the American Academy in Rome in 2014 and the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont in 2015. When Wagner and Gargan traveled around Italy during their residency at the American Academy in Rome, Gargan said they found themselves “overcome by the magnitude of it all.” Inspired by the experience, as well as Pope Francis’ “Lumen Fidei” and early sermons — in which he considered the possibility of new beginnings — Wagner and Gargan began to form a plan for an artistic response. They wanted to create a secular space that evoked a message of hope. As their project took shape, they began to work with Kelley and Nathan, fellow Rome prize recipients, on what would become “Lumen.” The experience of living in Rome sparked the echoes of religion that play a role in the space, Gargan said. “We have been inspired ... (by) old places,” Nathan said. Although Nathan does not practice Catholicism, he wonders how people can approach these seemingly historical spaces in a contemporary setting. Working together on the project meant each artist could use their area of expertise as part of the larger vision. Although each artist came from a unique background, most of the conversations incorporated all of their voices, Wagner said. The artists realized that their collaboration did not mean splitting up the work. In places where they did feel constraints, they found a space for creative exploration, Nathan said. He adjusted his

composition to match the cadence of the film, finding a fruitful challenge in working with the other artists. In coming to Granoff, “Lumen” has moved from an underground, church-like space in Rome to a

contemporary gallery. There are adjustments being made as the work is reformatted to fit its new environment, while maintaining the powerful aspects that attracted hundreds of visitors in Rome.

In a past exhibition, a visitor expressed a desire for “Lumen” to be at his funeral. “I recommend people to approach this and experience it in any way they choose,” Nathan said.

Dissecting molecular mechanisms of vocal learning and spoken language: a personal journey Erich D. Jarvis, Ph.D. Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language at The Rockefeller University Vocal learning, the ability to imitate and pass on vocal repertoires culturally from one generation to the next, is a rare and precious behavior displayed by several groups of birds, such as songbirds and parrots. Come hear Erich trill about the genes, evolution and mechanisms of vocal learning – and how being an underrepresented minority in the sciences provided a finely tuned ear for discoveries which bear on mammals like us.

October 4, 2017, 5:30 p.m. 85 WATERMAN STREET, ROOM 130 Online registration is now open at: brown.edu/thinking-out-loud

ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Peter Markus uses rhythmic cadence in narration of book Author of ‘The Singing Fish’ contrasts playfulness with graphic imagery, youthful lens By TRISHA THACKER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The audience, mimicking the bright spotlight, was transfixed by Peter Markus as his reading teleported them into the sensory world of his unique novels. Peter Markus, author of “The Singing Fish,” “Bob, or Man on Boat,” “We Make Mud” and others, conducted a book reading at the University as part of the Writers on Writing seminar hosted by the Literary Arts Department. The seminar provides students the opportunity to attend readings and interact with the accomplished writers behind the works they are studying. For this seminar, Markus read an excerpt from his book “The Singing Fish,” which the students had studied that week. Markus engaged the audience with his humorous remark comparing reading his older work to listening to one’s favorite old record. “The Singing Fish” is an abstract book that effortlessly captures the sense of wonder and innocence of

two brothers, the dual protagonists of the book. Markus contrasts this playfulness with graphic and brutal imagery to highlight the antithetical view of violent ideas through a lens of youthful innocence. Markus’ “cadence driven” style is highly influenced by his background as a “failed” musician, as “sound is the one driving force” of his writing, he said. This lyrical quality can be seen in the use of literary techniques of repetition and circumlocution. His organic artistic process was also guided by his other senses as he emphasized the importance of “the visual texture of each word.” The value of the acoustics ensured that Markus’ reading created a distinctive experience in comparison to silently reading his books. Markus further discussed the readers’ value and influence upon his writing process. He emphasized the organic quality of this process. However, he often broke the fourth wall in his book as a “playful acknowledgement” to his readers; it is “Peter Markus underneath the words,” he told the audience, highlighting the intimacy and passion behind his writing.

CALEIGH AVIV / HERALD

Peter Markus read excerpts from his book, “The Singing Fish,” as part of the Writers on Writing seminar hosted by the Literary Arts Department. Markus described himself as a “failed musician,” but a pretty good writer.

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

sun in the sky

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Spicy Sausage and Garlic, Mushroom’s Revenge, Miss Maple Poke Bar JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Chicken Alfredo Bowl, Quesadilla Station

Soup: Beef Chili with Beans, Hearty Country Vegetable Soup

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Vegetable Egg Rolls, Lyonnaise Potatoes, Orange Chipotle Glazed Tofu, Rice Krispies Treats

Beef and Vegetable Soup, Bourbon BBQ Chicken, Braised Leeks, Cream Cheese Brownies

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Roasted Tomato Soup, Pork Carnitas, Frijoles Negros, Boiled Rice, Rice Krispies

Grilled Chicken Cilantro, Green Pepper and Tomato Lentils, Pumpkin Pie

sudoku

crossword

GUS REED / HERALD

The Providence skyline can be seen behind an array of sunflowers that find themselves more and more out of season as cold weather, winds and color-changing leaves accompany the start of the new season.

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

“This is what happens if you have an Italian governor: a premium focus on food.” — Gov. Gina Raimondo

See raimondo on page 1 calendar TODAY OCTOBER MARCH

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Vinyasa yoga 11:00 A.M. Hillel, Winnick Chapel

Connecting with Upperclassmen 12:00 P.M. Faunce, Room 321

GISP Project Information Session 2:00 P.M. JWW, Room 440

Storytelling Medicine Lecture 5:30 P.M. Pembroke Hall, Room 305

TOMORROW Wriston De-Stress 2:30 P.M. Wriston Quad

Millennium Management Intern Program Info Session 4:00 P.M. CareerLab, 1st Floor

The Future of Europe in the Wake of Brexit 4:00 P.M. Watson, Joukowsky Forum

LinkedIn Headshot Photo Session 6:30 P.M. Faunce, Room 229

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

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comic Problems That Could Happen in an Alternative Universe | Olivia Reavey (RISD)

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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017 • PAGE 7

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Twitter shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken ZANDER KIM staff columnist

On Sept. 26, Twitter announced that the character limit on tweets would be doubled from 140 to 280 characters for a select group of users. This marks the first time since its launch in 2006 that Twitter is changing this standard. Predictably, the shift has sparked a passionate debate within the Twittersphere over the necessity of extra characters. Some, including myself, believe this change is unnecessary and goes against what Twitter has traditionally stood for. For Twitter purists, this change seems to undermine the very purpose of tweets: to share concise news in a form that is globally accessible. Twitter was created for users to be frugal with their words and stick to essential information. In what has come to define our generation — the generation of social media — people want the most important information as soon as possible. On the other hand, Twitter has been heavily criticized in recent years for failing to expand their platform and profit. The company has been steadily losing money — at least $2 billion between 2011 and 2016. Twitter is also hav-

ing trouble attracting new users. From 2011 through 2014, the number of Twitter accounts grew from 68 million to 288 million. In the three years since, Twitter accounts have only increased to 328 million. This deceleration has been scaring investors off for a few years. For a company that almost entirely depends on ad revenue, these statistics are an ominous sign. Twitter believes its character expansion will attract new users, as well as improve their content — a claim that is well up for discussion. It is notable that the general public

than computers, and a block of text double the size of what they are used to can be intimidating and frustrating to read, forcing users to scroll more. And let’s not forget tweeters like Twitter because of its brevity. The news is quicker, the jokes are simpler and the statements are sweeter — there’s no need for any more space. Twitter should leave the longer posts to Facebook. If this move expands to all accounts, it will be interesting to see how news outlets, politicians and celebrities take advantage of the extra character space — especially political leaders such as

decide whether they want to keep their updates brief or risk losing the short attention span of users. As a user who follows many news organizations, I have a feeling they will begin to include more than necessary. Twitter headlines are supposed to be punchy and act as clickbait, reaching as many users as possible, so the shift could have implications for the accessibility of news and information in a time when news credibility and dissemination are critical. Still, this isn’t the end of Twitter as we know it. Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey admitted the 140

Twitter believes its character expansion will attract new users, as well as improve their content — a claim that is well up for discussion. didn’t exactly clamor for this change. People never asked for more characters, although they may have contributed to the change unintentionally. Many users post pictures of longer messages or rant through tweet storms, in which a user replies to their own tweets in a long chain. But again, why does Twitter feel this move is necessary? The change doesn’t seem to have been motivated by any one event, and it could even discourage people from using the platform. The majority of users browse Twitter on their smartphones rather

President Trump, who is not a part of the initial beta group. As president, Trump’s use of Twitter has raised the issue of how professional and presidential the platform is and should be. On Twitter, he routinely announces policy changes before official statements and, most recently, disparaged the NFL players who have kneeled during the national anthem. Who knows what someone like Trump could say with all the extra space? How many more “covfefes” will he fail to proofread? Likewise, news outlets will need to

character limit was completely arbitrary. In a tweet announcing the test, Dorsey wrote, “This is a small change, but a big move for us. 140 was an arbitrary choice based on the 160 character SMS limit. Proud of how thoughtful the team has been in solving a real problem people have when trying to tweet. And at the same time maintain our brevity, speed and essence!” It’s clear that Dorsey believes this move won’t affect the way users consume their information. Funnily enough, one intrepid user edited Dorsey’s tweet down to 139 char-

acters, proving that bigger isn’t always better. It may seem like a big deal now, but every company makes controversial decisions. The public is always quick to adapt, and this is likely no different. Facebook continually updates their layout and adds emoji reactions. Do we still talk about them after a week? A month? Once Twitter goes universal with this change, which I suspect it will, expect the hype and drama surrounding it to die quickly. It’s not a change anyone asked for, but it will become the standard. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t mourn the end of the 140-character limit. I love that tweeters are meant to be careful and intentional with their words. Some brevity and precision will be lost in tweets, but hopefully, Twitter sees a productive vision for this change. In the meantime, we should enjoy all the new jokes tweeters are making about all these new characters. As one user put it, “Twitter is suffering what most shows do in their later seasons by introducing a bunch of characters no one really cares about.”

Zander Kim ’19 is not a part of Twitter’s initial beta group and can be reached at alexander_kim@brown.edu.

The unpatriotic history of the American Flag DANIEL WAYLAND op-ed contributor The American flag’s historical current passes through Boston in 1976. Of course, the story doesn’t begin there, but if you want to understand Colin Kaepernick, President Trump and the stars and stripes, start in Boston with the busing desegregation protests. Stanley Forman’s camera captured the moment of interest, now forever etched into the historical ledger. The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph, “The Soiling of Old Glory,” is staggeringly atemporal — the setting could just as easily be Charlottesville today or Selma 50 years ago. The photograph shows Ted Landsmark, a black lawyer and civil rights activist, struggling to free himself from the grip of an anti-busing rioter while Joseph Rakes, a white man, frenziedly charges at his defenseless body. Rakes’ expression of white rage is palpable but unexceptional. Rather, it is his choice of weapon — a pole bearing the American flag — that contextualizes “The Soiling of Old Glory” at the intersection of citizenship, patriotism and race. The flagpole is a lance in Rakes’ hands, and the photograph’s concluding implication is horrifyingly explicit: a black body and life impaled upon the symbolic spear of a nation propagated by the ritual of white violence. National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick reignited the memory of “The Soiling of Old Glory” when he dropped to a knee during the national anthem of a pre-season game in September 2016. Trump further fanned those flames, insinuating that Kaepernick should find a different country of residence. Trump also urged NFL owners to deny employment to “son of a bitch” players who disrespected the national anthem, the flag and America itself. To be clear, Kaepernick was not disrespecting the country; he was protesting racial injustice. To insist that Kaepernick’s stance is anti-American is to participate in a troubling rhetoric that deprives Kaepernick of his own citizen-

ship. But in specifically targeting the flag and the national anthem, Kaepernick left his membership in the body politic vulnerable to examination. The flag has always been a technology of power. It has always shaped and outlined citizenship claims. It has always celebrated some while spurning others under its colors. Thus, to understand how and why we have arrived at this particular moment, it is important to first look at the cultural legacy of the American flag and how it has long been used to perpetuate racism. We began in Boston, but the story started with Francis Scott Key in 1814. The flag had existed in the cultural canon for nearly a half century, but Key’s Star-Spangled Banner articulated the basic lens through which the nation would consume its most powerful symbol. Inspired by the resilience of American troops to hoist the flag despite relentless shelling during the Battle of Baltimore,

hoods and the Confederate flag. More recently, the National Socialist Party, the largest neo-Nazi organization in the country, adopted an altered American flag emblazoned with a swastika and the letters “USA.” In Charlottesville, protesters carried American flags bearing the Thin Blue Line symbol signifying law enforcement’s maintenance of order. Despite 2016 Gallup polls revealing that a decreasing number of people feel proud to be American, the number of flag sales exploded during the 2016 election cycle. Demographic studies indicate that older, southern, white Republicans are most likely driving the surge in flag demand. While certainly not the only face of white supremacy, they are the most visible. In “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide,” Carol Anderson suggests that historical instances of extreme racial violence should best be understood as direct physical and politi-

The flag has always been a technology of power. It has always celebrated some while spurning others under its colors. Key penned a series of verses to celebrate the flag as an emblem of an idealized democratic nation. But Key was a slaveholder, and his vision of the flag is colored by that positionality. Key wrote a third verse that was later eliminated from the anthem’s popular reproductions and has only now reemerged in our cultural consciousness in the wake of Kaepernick’s protest. Key expresses disgust for the enslaved people who turned coat to fight for the British in exchange for their freedom, writing: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave, from the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave.” Indeed, from its origins, the flag and its accompanying lyrical exultation established a particular conception of freedom and citizenship that defined black liberty as oppositional and threatening. Unsurprisingly, white nationalist groups have historically appropriated the flag to espouse Key’s rhetoric. The American flag is as much a staple of the Ku Klux Klan’s symbolic ideology as white

cal responses to black advancement. Embedded in those cases of violence is the flag as a symbolic bulwark operating in tandem with white rage. Responses by artists of color offer a further indictment of the flag’s lasting cultural legacy. Tyler “Dread” Scott’s 1989 installation, “What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag,” toyed with the concept and attempted to undermine the sanctity of the stars and stripes by forcing viewers to trample on a flag in order to engage with the exhibition. David Hammons’ “African American Flag” replaced the traditional flag’s colors with the green, red and black of the Pan-African flag. Perhaps most potent in its redressing of the flag is Faith Ringgold’s “Flag for the Moon,” which distorts the shape of the stars and stripes to spell out a racial epithet. Even without assuming to prescribe authorial intent to these works, a clear narrative emerges. The need to repurpose or decolonize the American flag reflects a keen understanding of its

history of granting privilege to some forms of citizenship while marginalizing and rejecting others. Some accept the flag’s discriminatory legacy while in the same breath chastising Kaepernick for disrespecting members of the armed services. And so we arrive at the flag’s ultimate cultural resonance — its celebration of the U.S. military. Criticisms of Kaepernick largely center on his perceived ingratitude — namely, that he should be thankful that the military grants him the privilege to play football. It’s white supremacy masquerading as patriotism. As Wesley Morris of the New York Times writes: “For some, we learn, being American is conditional on behaving like a grateful guest: ‘You belong here because we tolerate your presence.’ We don’t yet appear to have settled the matter of citizenship.” But the racially charged implication that a black American should feel privileged to have his or her presence tolerated ignores the rich history of black military participation. It’s a history defined by bravery, in which black Americans fought under the flag to protect the nation’s international interests despite enduring systematic discrimination and violence within the military apparatus. Take Wilbur Little, for example, who was lynched when he returned home for refusing to take off the uniform he wore while fighting in the First World War. His military service, his legal residency status and his personhood did not grant him protection under the flag he had carried to Europe and back. Citizenship has always been a right for white Americans. Black Americans have unfortunately had to perform it. Their seats at the proverbial table are never permanent and require checking dissenting opinions at the door. When the next Colin Kaepernick refuses to obey the rules, pay attention to the chorus of white voices that swell defiantly, demanding that he abdicate his rented seat. Watch for the flags, too — I expect there will be plenty.

Daniel Wayland ’18.5 is The Herald’s arts and culture critic and can be reached at daniel_wayland@brown.edu.

ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

‘Columbus’ finds beauty in simplicity, duality Independent film stages quiet drama amidst breathtaking architecture, rural setting By JACOB ALABAB-MOSER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Kogonada’s directorial debut in the 2017 film “Columbus” serves as the pioneer of a new genre of beautifully-made, self-aware and quiet films in that it slows down the plot and switches out traditional narrative tropes in favor of meticulous character development and thoughtful dialogues about family and aesthetics. The film takes place in Columbus, Indiana and centers around Jin, a middle-aged Korean-American book translator that returns from Korea to care for his comatose architect father, and Casey, a recent high school graduate who has put off college to look after her troubled mother. The two characters, diligently portrayed by John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson, navigate disparate life paths at first, but fatefully meet and quickly bond over their shared anguish and family troubles despite their differences in background and age. Until Casey decides to leave Columbus to pursue her dreams of becoming an architect in the quasi-climax of the film, the new pair of friends talks about each other’s lives on outings to various famous architectural sites around Columbus, a hotbed of mid-century modernist architecture. The two first encounter each other on Casey’s smoke break from her job at the library, when she catches Jin on the other side of a fence outside of the bed and breakfast where Jin is residing while in Columbus. This initial encounter channels the film’s central ethos of similarity despite difference. Most prominent in this scene is the emergence of the theme of racial tension and Casey’s insularity developed through her upbringing in a racially homogenous community: Casey asks Jin, who has just gotten off a phone call in Korean, “You speak English?” “Of course,” he says, his response suggesting

that this is not the first time he has fielded this line of questioning in a small town like Columbus. The disconnect between Jin and Casey manifests in the physical black, wrought-iron fence between them. They begin to walk along it as the conversation unravels, yet curiously never cross it to meet one another and share a side of the fence. Perhaps this alludes to the reserved nature of the film. While the two characters initially hint at mutual romantic interest, their relationship never develops beyond friendship. Yet the fence more critically speaks to the Kogonada’s emphasis on aesthetics; architecture does not serve as mere setting, but as a commanding force, one just as important as any of the characters. As tensions grow within Jin and Casey’s separate family dramas as well as between them, the architectural sites that frame their conversations continue to magnify in scale and intensity. The visual content of “Columbus” is enough to satisfy and pleasure the viewer. Despite certain merits of gradually building drama, the true demise of the film is in the plot’s slow and frankly uneventful development. Kogonada eschews the conventions of rising action, climax and resolution. While reflective of the pace of a small town, this realist approach can bore the audience. One particularly self-indulgent camera shot from a car window shows Casey chasing after Jin, her figure slowly falling out of focus for upwards of a long, painful minute. Yet perhaps it’s about time for American audiences, who have long been desensitized by high-action blockbusters about superheroes, to ease into appreciating visual-heavy scenes with minimal dialogue — the bread and butter of foreign cinema for decades. If viewers can find the strength to bear with its slow, unnerving sense of solace in the place of rapid fire action, they will find Kogonada’s film to be an effective meditation on American life today, away from turmoil. Rather than mirroring the chaotic, traumatic events dominating the media, “Columbus” offers a reprieve with the portrayal of an unlikely encounter in an insular, often overlooked part of the country.

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

The movie, set in Columbus, Indiana, centers around two characters — Jin, a middle-aged Korean-American translator, and Casey, a recent high school graduate who chose not to go to college. Though the two characters have differing backgrounds and life experiences, after a chance meeting, they are able to relate to each other’s anguish and family troubles.