Thursday, February 27, 2014 by The Brown Daily Herald

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 25

since 1891

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

Online resources remain unpopular among students Less than 0.5 percent of bookstore’s textbook sales comes from e-book revenue By STEVEN MICHAEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

While Kindles and Nooks may be replacing printed pages and bound texts on bookshelves across the country, students at Brown have been slow to catch on to the e-book and e-textbook trend. “The transition is waiting,” said University Librarian Harriette Hemmasi. Though both older and younger generations have embraced reading e-books on iPads and Kindles, for college students e-books are less popular, Hemmasi said. “As younger students are reading more online, long form reading

online will become more natural and e-books will be used more,” she added. The University provides access to roughly 1 million e-books, said David Banush, associate University librarian for access services and collection management. While data is not available for overall library e-book usage, only 30,400 e-books out of a package of roughly 80,000 recent titles have been used one or more times since 2005, Banush wrote in an email to The Herald. The Brown Bookstore sells $3 million dollars of textbooks per year, including rentals, but e-textbooks comprise less than 0.5 percent of business, said Steven Souza, the bookstore’s director. “Students seem to have zero interest in (e-textbooks),” Souza said. “They’re used to studying them in a certain way.” » See E-BOOKS, page 3

SABRINA CHIN / HERALD

The University makes around 1 million e-books available to students, but few are accessed as most students prefer using printed materials for academic work.

Laureate Hotel employees protest discrimination, poor wages encourages Hilton Providence workers organize to join hotel workers’ union Unite Here Local 217 science education By ZACH FREDERICKS STAFF WRITER

By LINDSAY GANTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

inside

“One should not be afraid to try something new,” said Nobel laureate H. Robert Horvitz to an audience of high school students and University community members at the Providence Career and Technical Academy Wednesday. Horvitz received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2002 for research that helped define molecular genetic pathways. His findings contributed to studies of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to the Society for Science and the Public website. Horvitz also serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the society — a nonprofit focused on expanding interest, engagement and education in the sciences. Horvitz spoke to an audience of almost 400 people — including Students from Classical and Central high schools and the Providence Career and Technical Academy along with several faculty members and students from the University — about the relevance of science in medicine, technology, public policy and the patterns of daily life. “Science affects everything in our » See NOBEL, page 4

“We are tired of being used and abused,” said Krystle Martin, a waitress at the Hilton Providence and one of many of the hotel’s employees rallied Feb.18 to petition the hotel’s management, the Procaccianti Group, for better working conditions. Police blocked the entrance to the hotel, thwarting the workers’ attempt to hand-deliver the document to management. The workers demand changes in the work place and fair process to

METRO

Mapping Arts Project connects Providence to 100 years of black artistic legacy By MARINA RENTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Mapping Arts Project recently launched a digital map of Providence that marks locations relevant to African diasporic art history from the 1860s to the 1960s. The project was developed by Lara Stein Pardo, an artist, cultural anthropologist and postdoctoral research associate in the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, and organized by the nonprofit Blackbird Arts and Research, a nonprofit organization founded and

University News

directed by Stein Pardo “The inspiration behind the project is to connect real places to histories that might seem kind of detached from reality (and) make them more real by connecting them to places we can visit now,” Stein Pardo said, adding she was inspired to start the project while doing ethnographic fieldwork in Miami. “I came across a book of letters by Zora Neale Hurston … and I started to realize that a lot of them were written in Miami,” she said. “I started to think there must be more sites like this and that would be interesting to call attention to.” Stein Pardo first conceived of the Mapping Arts Project in 2008, though at the time she imagined it would be a much smaller conceptual art piece. She decided to expand the project “because » See ART HISTORY, page 2

Metro PAGE 6

COURTESY OF KEILA DAVIS

The Mapping Arts Project, developed by Lara Stein Pardo, an artist and cultural anthropologist, explores African-American identity through art.

Commentary

General Assembly reviews 2015 budget proposal, considers bill expanding student bus service

University awarded Seal of Distinction for its employee benefits and policies PAGE 3

Martin said she was forced to return to work with her newborn child. “They discriminated against me, because I was pregnant,” Martin said. “They’re using me as an example to try to intimidate the workers, because I am not afraid to speak up.” After the picket, management began deducting work hours from other employee activists, Martin said. As a full-time employee, Araujo said he receives no benefits despite servicing 150 rooms per day by himself. “If there isn’t a union, I’m going to have to leave the job because it’s not worth the low compensation,” he said. Due to his physically demanding work, Araujo said he has experienced a series of back and foot injuries and has no health benefits to assist him » See HOTEL, page 4

Digital map of Providence reveals diasporic art history

Fuerbacher ’13.5: Required summer reading violates New Curriculum’s tenets PAGE 7

weather

Horvitz, who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, urges broad scientific engagement

join a union, said Javier Araujo, a houseman in housekeeping at the Hilton. Seventy percent of the hotel’s employees signed the petition, Araujo said. The Hilton Providence is one of three hotels managed by the Procaccianti Group, a real estate investment company headquartered in Rhode Island, to be accused of mistreating its workers. Employees’ complaints range from poor wages and benefits to discrimination and intimidation. Workers at the other two hotels, the Westin Hotel and the Renaissance Hotel, have protested management and made similar demands, The Herald previously reported.

The workers have made attempts to unionize with Unite Here Local 217, a hotel workers’ union, to help put their qualms with management to rest. But the workers claim management has threatened the job security of employees attempting to unionize. “As soon as they found out I was one of the leaders, they began my termination process,” said Martin, who is also a member of the Hilton worker organizing committee. Martin was hired as a waitress, but she said management demoted her upon discovering she was pregnant, forcing her to lift 40-pound buckets on a regular basis. After going into pre-term labor twice, her doctor issued her a note ordering her not to lift anything heavier than 15 pounds, she said. And five days after giving birth,

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2 university news » ART HISTORY, from page 1 it seemed so necessary.” “I started the project in Miami, looking for places where artists had lived and worked and then started to develop this map,” Stein Pardo said. “And then I realized — after talking to more and more people about the project — that this was something that was necessary and viable in other cities.” When she arrived at Brown to do postdoctoral work, Stein Pardo decided to integrate the growth of the Mapping Arts Project into the course she taught last semester — AMST 1903H: “Space and Place: Geographies of the Black Atlantic.” The three graduate students enrolled in Stein Pardo’s course conducted the majority of the research. Providence was selected as the project’s next city only after the course was underway. Felicia Bevel GS, a first-year American Studies graduate student who worked as a research assistant on the project, said choosing Providence offered the class and the teacher an opportunity to learn more about the city. Why Providence? “We were relatively new to the area,” Bevel said. “So it was an opportunity for us to learn more about Providence and its history.” “I feel like I’ve fallen in love with the city of Providence,” said Keila Davis GS, a second-year graduate student in the public humanities program who took the “Space and Place” class and now acts as the project manager for the Mapping Arts Project - Providence. She said she chose to continue working on the Mapping Arts Project team after the initial

class ended, because it aligns with her academic interests. “I’m always fascinated by making history accessible to people,” she added. Mapping Arts Project - Providence maps black artistic production from the 1860s to the 1960s, while the Miami version covers cultural art from the 1920s to 1950s. Stein Pardo said the time periods were chosen, because they have been somewhat overlooked and represent “the hidden histories of cities.” The period between the 1920s and 1950s in Miami was “between the founding of the city and the arrival of many more people from Cuba and Haiti,” she said. “That was a critical period of time that had been sort of masked in Miami’s history.” In Providence, the team focused on a larger swath of time in order to represent the city’s historic reputation. “If you ask anybody about black artistic production in Providence, they’ll mostly point to the theater activity in the 1960s … and then the Civil Rights movement,” Stein Pardo said. “But Providence really prides itself on being a ‘creative capital’ and also a historic city, so I think in terms of black representation, it was necessary to trace a larger trajectory.” Archives mark the spot Students used primarily University materials when conducting research for the project, especially historically African-American newspapers. “My time period was roughly 1930 to 1950,” Bevel said. “Most of my information came from Brown University material that was digitized.” “The fun part of research is prying and figuring things out,” Davis said. “It was very gratifying to find hidden gems.”

Davis expressed surprise at “how much information wasn’t easily available online,” adding that print resources were still a critical tool. “Working with the students in Providence was really spectacular,” Stein Pardo said. The graduate students “really connected with people who live in Providence and that has been a really important part of the project.” Bevel and Davis also applauded community organizations for their collaboration with the project. “Although a lot of information that we found was pretty accessible through the library system here,” Bevel said, “It was difficult nonetheless to find evidence — especially during certain time periods — of black artists coming through Providence.” She said sometimes this information would be incomplete, underscoring the importance of contacting community members who could fill in the gaps. The group partnered with the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, said Davis, who is helping the society to plan a larger event for this spring. Artists of note Davis said she was surprised to find so much information about black artists connected with the Rhode Island School of Design. “I didn’t realize how many AfricanAmerican artists went to RISD (in the early 1900s) so I thought that was really fascinating,” she said. Another significant historical site is Providence’s Celebrity Club, “the first integrated club in New England,” Stein Pardo said. The son of the Celebrity Club’s founder still lives in Providence and attended the project’s December

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

launch, Bevel said. For the project, Davis researched Rudolph Fisher ’19, a student commencement speaker for his class who was friends with Langston Hughes and involved with the Harlem Renaissance. “Because he died so young, his legacy didn’t really live on,” Davis said. “He was an excellent writer as well as a successful medical doctor.” Bevel said the team took on the goal of showcasing African diasporic artists, rather than solely African-American artists. “We did find several artists that were not U.S.-based,” she said, citing Portia White, an Afro-Canadian singer who performed at Rochambeau House, which holds Brown’s departments of French and Hispanic studies, when it was just a private residence in 1945. Bevel said the team also found several U.S.-based artists who traveled internationally, emphasizing the diasporic theme of the project. Crowdsourcing Though the Providence map was officially launched in December, Stein Pardo thinks of the project as continually in progress. The Mapping Arts Project website allows visitors to continuously submit additional material. The project’s public response has been primarily positive. “I love making sure that people who aren’t in academia can access any research that I do,” Davis said. “One of the places on the map is the Pond Street Church, and I found out that a class at Brown actually did an oral history about that church,” she said. “So it’s great that people who have done other research can chime in.” “Some people simply wanted to know

more about certain locations that they had no idea had any connection to black artistic production in Providence,” she said, adding scholars often suggested ways to expand the project or develop connections between the artists. “I would hope that (Brown) students look at (the map) and try to engage with Providence as a city,” Stein Pardo said Uncharted territory Bevel is hoping to continue her involvement with the Mapping Arts Project. Though students worked on the project as part of their coursework, they wanted it to be an ongoing endeavor, Bevel said. The project has been “a collaboration with community members, archivists, artists and other people who really want to see this project expanded and keep it moving forward,” Stein Pardo said. “We would love to do an event around one of the places on the map,” Davis said. “It would really be a community and Brown event, not just a Brown event.” Looking ahead, the team also hopes to upgrade the Mapping Arts Project’s social media presence. “We have to keep in mind the changing nature of digital technology,” Stein Pardo said, because technology and aesthetics constantly change. The team may also “keep adding more and more cities” to the project, though a new location is not yet confirmed, she said. With the Mapping Arts Project poised to potentially expand its scope and presence,“it has become something that lives beyond the classroom,” Bevel said.

university news 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

U. recognized as top employer Brown’s health and wellness policies rank high in work-life balance, vacation time By BRITTANY NIEVES SENIOR STAFF WRITER

As a recognition of its leadership as an employer, the University was awarded the Seal of Distinction from WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work-Life Progress earlier this month. Brown is one of 13 colleges and universities to win the award, and one of 66 total organizations, said Kathie Lingle, executive director of AWLP. Employers’ applications were judged in seven categories of “work-life effectiveness” based on support systems that “organizations give to their employees in order to make sure they get a life and that they have the support they need to get through the day both at work and at home,” Lingle said. Of the seven categories, the University did best in “Health and Wellness,” “Caring for Dependents” and “Flexibility” and met the requirements for the other categories, Lingle said. Succeeding in all of the categories is a significant feat, she added, noting most organizations specialize in certain areas while providing no options in others. Brown tied as the highest-scoring university in the “Health and Wellness” category, Lingle said, though she declined to identify the other school before AWLP releases the full list of winners at a gala in March. The University currently offers all nine options listed under the “Health and Wellness” category, including on-site medical clinics, health care spending accounts and on-site immunization clinics. “We’re not talking about whether or

not (an organization) offers insurance programs as a standard benefit, but going above and beyond that — what does an organization do to communicate to employees that they really care about their state of physical and mental health?” Lingle said. Brown received the highest possible score in “Flexibility.” The University lets its employees increase and decrease their workloads when facing life events, such as having children or preparing for retirement, Lingle said. Brown also provides paid and unpaid sabbaticals, phased retirement and a job corps that lets retirees work on short-term projects that “often give retirees a very important sense of still being valued by the organization,” Lingle said. In the “Paid and Unpaid Time Off ” category, Brown again tied as one of the highest scoring recipient. The category includes “all the policies and practices that help employees spend time with their families,” Lingle said. Brown provides paid leave for birth mothers, fathers, foster parents and adoptive parents, she said, adding that not all universities and few organizations provide such benefits. Members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Employee Benefits, which convened last year to examine the University’s policies as an employer and write a report, expressed surprise over the University receiving the Seal of Distinction, given the state of its child care policies, tuition aid and retirement benefits. Several child care policies considered in the “Caring for Dependents” category, such as an “on-site child care center” and “childcare subsidies,” have been contested as inefficient by Brown employees, said Professor Harold Roth P’17, professor of religious studies and chair of the committee.

“The president and provost did something about child care, but if you compare us to other universities, even with what they’ve done so far, you find that we’re not really competitive,” Roth said. Another of the committee’s major complaints is the lack of retirement benefits, Roth said, adding that “peer institutions with similar endowments have better.” Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 responded to the committee’s report by arguing the University could not afford to improve retirement benefits in the current financial climate, Roth said. “In our history, I don’t think anyone ever really pushed for it among the faculty,” he added. “We had a young faculty when a lot of these things were set up, and it wasn’t on anyone’s radar.” In its report, the committee compares the retirement benefits at Brown to those at Washington University in St. Louis, Cornell, Penn and other schools. The retirement health plan contributions and phase retirement at these institutions provide better coverage, Roth said. “Brown lags way behind its peers in tuition aid and retirement benefits, especially health benefits,” wrote Mary Louise Gill, professor of philosophy and a member of the committee, in an email to The Herald. Following the 2012 closure of the Taft Avenue Daycare Center, another committee — the Advisory Committee on Childcare — was formed and recommended making financial support for childcare available to graduate students with infants and toddlers, Gill wrote. “I hope that these efforts and this surprising recognition for Brown will impress upon our administration the ongoing need to address these issues, important to the Brown community,” she added.

www.browndailyherald.com

» E-BOOKS, from page 1 Students may buy e-textbooks from other sources, but Souza said he doesn’t know of any college bookstores with a significant e-textbook business. The University estimates students will spend $1,404 on books for the current academic year, according to its website. A Jan. 28 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education made the case for e-textbooks and open textbooks as a more affordable option to traditional printed materials. “Textbook rental makes e-textbooks less relevant because the only thing that was driving kids to buy e-textbooks was price,” Souza said. For example, according to the bookstore’s website, the $225 biochemistry textbook will rent for $119, which Souza considers a reasonable price. The frequent publication of new editions of popular textbooks drives overall prices up, because the bookstore continously has to buy the new version, Souza said. The Alpert Medical School was an early adopter of e-textbooks. Beginning in 2011, all Med School students were required to purchase an iPad and use e-textbooks, The Herald reported at the time. Caroline Malin-Mayor ’17 said

she prefers print books to e-books. But for MATH 0540: “Honors Linear Algebra,” students use a free online textbook, which she appreciates because it does not cost anything to read, though she dislikes carrying her laptop. “I’ve never thought about getting an e-textbook. It’s easier to go to the bookstore,” said Brandon Montell ’15. “I like flipping though a textbook.” Though e-books may not be popular, Hemmasi said, faculty members and students widely use online resources such as scientific journals and databases. “We spend 75 percent of the (content) budget on online materials because that is the only way that material is available,” she added. Online subscriptions to scientific journals constitute a sizable portion of the $7 million spent on online content, Banush said. Universities typically pay on a per student basis, so Brown pays less than many of its peer institutions due to fewer graduate students, he added. E-books are often bought in packages from the publisher and cost slightly more than print ones because of their licenses, which determine how many people can view the material at once, Banush said. “We’ll continue to buy printed materials” because many students and faculty prefer them, he said.

4 metro thursday » NOBEL, from page 1 lives — the food you eat, what you wear, the weather outside,” Horvitz said. “Everything you do is somehow being interfaced with science.” Until his senior year as an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Horvitz had never even taken a biology class, he said. “Don’t worry that what you have done yesterday will define who you are tomorrow,” Horvitz said, encouraging those who have never shown interest in scientific study. “You always have the opportunity to change.” Much of Horvitz’s work has been basic research — work that focuses on the acquisition of knowledge with no specific intended applications. “Basic research,” Horvitz said, “is the driver of scientific knowledge.” Private companies have little incentive to pursue basic research, so the government is the primary source of

its financial support, Horvitz said. It is important that governments understand how research contributes to the function of everyday life, he said, adding that “government policies should be informed by science.” “We want (students) to start thinking like scientists,” said Donna Casanova, science supervisor for grades K-8 for Providence Public Schools. Providence Public Schools are transitioning to a new array of science curriculum standards, Casanova said. The Next Generation Science Standards — new benchmarks intended to fit with the Common Core math, reading and writing curriculum — will demand students begin inquiry-based work, she added. The University has partnered with the school district to offer a wide array of programs intended to enhance collaboration, said Carrie Feliz, director of strategic community partnership for Providence Public Schools. Every

university in the area now has established partnerships with the district, she said. “It is extremely important that people look for people like them who can serve as mentors,” Horvitz said, referring to a need for diverse role models in the sciences. Minority groups, particularly women of color, are still underrepresented in the sciences, Feliz said. “Of course we want to have students engaging with people who can relate to their personal background and experiences,” she added. Computational biology concentrator Ben Siranosian ’15 attended the lecture to take advantage of the unique opportunity. “Any chance to see a lecture by a Nobel laureate is something to take advantage of, but I am also very interested in the ways the Brown community can help the Providence school district, especially in the sciences,” he said. “I think we should have more lectures like this,” said Amilcar Marroquin, a senior at Classical High School. “Students should really focus more on science, because it plays a major role in our futures.” “This guy is really committed to a public understanding of what the problems are,” said Professor Emeritus of Engineering Barrett Hazeltine GP ’15, who introduced Horvitz at today’s lecture. “We don’t have a lot of scientists like that.” Horvitz encouraged students in attendance to achieve their highest potentials and finished the talk with the message, “Do not be afraid to pursue your dreams.”

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

» HOTEL, from page 1 with medical expenses. Workers claim that management avoids providing workers benefits by strategically scheduling below the state’s requirements for hours worked. According to Rhode Island state law, an employee must work an average minimum of 30 hours per week to maintain full-time status and receive benefits. Rhode Island’s 9.2 percent unemployment rate is currently the highest in the country, which has created a labor environment more favorable for employers who have large pools from which to hire. Eli Peterson ’13, another server in the Hilton’s restaurant, said students should be alarmed by the labor violations at the hotel. “I would encourage Brown students to pay attention to what is happening in the city around them, not just on the Hill,” he said. The Brown Student Labor Association has urged the University to boycott Procaccanti Group-managed hotels in Providence, said You Bin Kang ’14, an SLA member. While the University declined to take such

action towards the Renaissance Hotel after a meeting with the SLA, members plan to try again, Kang said. The University declined to boycott the Procaccianti Group pending a legal decision on the dispute between the National Labor Relations Board and the Procaccianti Group, Kang said. In conjunction with Local 217, hotel workers have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, Martin said. The Hilton Providence is the second hotel managed by the Procaccianti Group to have workers demand a fair process for unionization. Hilton representatives declined to comment on the dispute. SLA members recently met with administrators and “explored a range of options for the University to consider to communicate its values to current and potential vendors,” wrote Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, in an email to The Herald. Despite setbacks, Araujo and his colleagues remain optimistic. “I expect the workers to hold out and continue to demand justice on the job,” Peterson said.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

chicken out VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH Hot Corned Beef on Rye Bread, Red Potatoes in Chive Sauce, Falafel Bar, Cream Cheese Brownies

Turkey Cutlet, Stuffed Shells with Meatless Sauce, Grilled Santa Fe Chicken, Mediterranean Bar

DINNER Pot Roast Jardiniere, Au Gratin Potatoes with Fresh Herbs, Mediterranean Bar, Apple Streusel

Grilled Cilantro Chicken, Cheese Ravioli, Vegan Red Beans Creole, Butternut Squash and Leek Risotto

JOSIAH’S

THREE BURNERS

QUESADILLA OR GRILLED CHEESE

Stuffed French Toast

Make-Your-Own Quesadilla

BLUE ROOM

SOUPS

DINNER ENTREES

Corn Chowder, Hearty Country Vegetable, and Turkey Chili

Mango Chicken with Veggies, Vegetable Tikka Masala

sudoku

ASHLEY SO / HERALD

The Soul Food Night dinner menu at the Sharpe Refectory included southern fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cajun chicken pasta, buttermilk cornbread and a peach cobbler desert.

comics Class Notes | Phillip Trammell

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, February 27, 2014

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c rNorris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich ACROSS 1 Sunshine State resort 5 Country in which Quechua is an official lang. 8 Transforms, as for a different medium 14 “Downton Abbey” title 15 Tablet maker 16 Osaka-born violinist 17 *Place for a soak in Bangkok? 19 Alligator cousin 20 Abase 22 Holy territory 23 *Mumbai baby food? 27 Musical ability, in slang 30 As well 31 Mimic 32 Edward Jones Dome NFL player 33 Rank below abbot 35 Oilers’ org. 36 *Low point in Oran? 40 Shareable PC file 41 Mah-__ 42 2011 NBA retiree 43 Porter, for one 44 Effusive musical genre 45 Knoxville sch. 47 *Stance in a Monterrey studio? 51 Poker haul 52 Green Lantern or Green Arrow 57 __ license 60 Emergency fund ... or what the second part of each answer to a starred clue ends with? 61 Mysterious 62 Teacher, at times 63 Dig for 58-Down 64 “We’re outta here!” 65 Stop: Abbr. 66 What the nose knows

DOWN 1 Behrs of “2 Broke Girls” 2 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing locale 3 Stuff 4 Et __ 5 Mastermind 6 Pie slices, often 7 “Swing Shift” Oscar nominee 8 Film buff’s channel 9 Scattering of an ethnic population 10 Continental farewell 11 Toy dog breed 12 Melodic syllable 13 Preacher’s topic 18 Brief upturn 21 Getting down 24 It may come before one 25 “I Feel Bad About My Neck” writer Nora 26 Long swimmer 27 Carry protectively 28 Anticipate uncertainly 29 Bit of shocked text

33 Evergreens with edible nuts 34 Lurid paper 37 Escaping à la James Bond, perhaps 38 Ovoid tomato 39 Microscope slide additive 40 Non-stick brand 45 Applied to 46 Time between inaugurations

48 Little bits 49 Inflation causes 50 Bridget Riley genre 53 __ erectus 54 Oklahoma city 55 Attorney general after Barr 56 __ and terminer: criminal court 57 Sidekick 58 See 63-Across 59 Business VIP

Bacterial Culture | Dana Schwartz

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

calendar TODAY

FEBRUARY 27

12 P.M. SPRING 2014 COLLOQUIA - TALK BY TETYANA PUDROVSKA xwordeditor@aol.com

02/27/14

Tetyana Pudrovska, assistant professor of sociology and demography at Pennsylvania State University, will be speaking at the Population Studies and Training Center on “Job Authority and Breast Cancer”. Population Studies & Training Center, 68 Waterman Street 4:00 P.M. CONDUCTING HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH, WHAT’S DIFFERENT?

The Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences will host Dr. Kathleen Etz from the National Institute of Drug Abuse to speak about health disparities research and funding opportunities. 121 South Main Street, Room 408

TOMORROW

FEBRUARY 28

1:20 P.M. PEMBROKE SYMPOSIUM: INCARCERATION, ADDICTION & HEALTH

The symposium will discuss the lack of community-based care for those who are impoverished and suffer from mental illness and addiction. A panel of behavioral health professionals and activists will speak on the issues of care, incarceration and reintegration. Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Upper Lobby Gallery 6:30 P.M. BEASTS, MONSTERS AND THE FANTASTIC IN THE RELIGIOUS IMAGINATION

The Religious Studies Department’s graduate students are holding a conference to question the role of beasts and monsters across religious discourse. The conference’s keynote address will be delivered by John Modern, associate professor of 02/27/14

religious studies at Franklin & Marshall College. Salomon Center, Room 001

6 metro thursday

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

SPOTLIGHT ON THE STATEHOUSE BY KATE KIERNAN, METRO EDITOR

Committees in the General Assembly reviewed several pieces of legislation this week, including budget proposals, a request to obtain evidence in the 38 Studios lawsuit and a bill to improve bus transportation for Providence students.

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Budget brief The Senate Committee on Finance met Feb. 25 to review components of Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s ’75 P’14 P’17 proposed 2015 budget. The committee reviewed proposals on long-term care reimbursement from the federal government and reimbursement rates for hospitals and nursing facilities, according to a General Assembly press release. The committee will meet again Feb. 27 to cover portions of the budget relating to off-shore tax-safe locations and new taxes on e-cigarettes and state employee income.

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Releasing records Sen. James Sheehan, D-Narragansett and North Kingstown, chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Oversight, requested that copies of all materials pertaining to the state’s lawsuit against bankrupt videogame company 38 Studios be delivered to the committee, according to a General Assembly press release. This includes depositions, evidence from previous and ongoing investigations and any other material evidence. Sheehan wrote a letter to Thomas Carlotto, an attorney for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, requesting the documents “to help complete the public record” and “to help policymakers avoid a recurrence of such a failed deal in the future,” according to the press release.

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Schools to study slavery, struggle and society ASHLEY SO / HERALD

The Black Heritage series hosted a Soul Food event at the Sharpe Refeectory yesterday evening. The event was the Ratty’s first themed night of the year.

Rep. Joseph Almeida, D-Providence, introduced legislation to develop a “comprehensive African-American history curriculum” for Rhode Island elementary, middle and high school students, according to a General Assembly press release. The bill proposes the curriculum be developed by the future 1696 Historical Commission — named to recognize the significance of the year the first enslaved Africans were brought to Rhode Island. The proposed 15-member commission would include Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, Department of Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, members of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and members of the public. The curriculum would cover African heritage, pre-slavery politics in Africa and life for enslaved Africans in America in order to increase students’ awareness of the history of slavery in Rhode Island.

Bus bill Rep. John Lombardi, D-Providence, introduced a bill to the House that would require school committees to provide public transportation for any student who lives two miles or farther from school, according to a General Assembly press release. The bill is being held in the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare for further study. Lombardi was among elected officials who participated in a walk organized by the Providence Student Union in solidarity with students who have to walk three miles to get to school on time. Only students who live more than three miles away from their respective schools are eligible for a bus pass currently, making Providence’s limit one of the highest in the country.

commentary 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

All I never wanted

EDITORIAL

R.I. must curb opiate overdoses

ELIZABETH FUERBACHER opinions columnist

As of February 20, there have been 45 drug overdose deaths in the state of Rhode Island since the start of 2014. This amounts to nearly one death a day — approximately double the number seen at this time in 2012. Though its 2010 rate was the highest in the Northeast, Rhode Island is not alone in these disturbing trends. Overdose deaths in the nation at large have tripled since 1990, and in the past four years they have accounted for the largest share of death by unintentional injury, which certainly amounts to a national public health crisis. Across Rhode Island and the nation at large, we are facing a public health crisis that we are poorly equipped to handle, since we largely choose to incarcerate rather than treat drug addicts. We can criticize the War on Drugs for multiple reasons, such as its racial overtones or its failure to curb drug use and abuse rates. But today we would primarily like to draw attention to its failure to offer solutions to the epidemic of opiate addiction, overdose and death. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin P’14 dedicated his entire 2014 State of the State address to the problem of heroin addiction in Vermont, proposing particular budget allocations and policy changes that we might model in Rhode Island, where the issue of drug overdose is comparable in its nature and scope. Shumlin primarily suggests serious investment in treatment centers, an important reform given that in Vermont incarcerating someone caught with heroin costs approximately 10 times as much as it does to treat someone for his or her addiction. We encourage Rhode Island to consider policy options not mentioned in the governor’s speech including safe injection sites. Safe injection sites provide users and addicts with security, including professionals who are trained to deal with overdose and provide the treatment and education needed to reduce or eliminate use among addicts. Generally speaking, the conversation needs to move away from criminal punishment for drug use toward harm reduction-based drug policy. To its credit, Rhode Island has adopted a few appropriate measures to curb the impact of overdose-related deaths. Most notably, the Good Samaritan Law ensures those who call for emergency services in the event of a drug overdose will not be held liable for distributing or possessing illicit drugs. This law incentivizes individuals to prioritize the health of the person who has overdosed over the cost of risking prison time, though it is only an effective law if people know about it and if it can be renewed upon reevaluation. Furthermore, the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals are now training staff on naxalone administration, which can reverse the effects of opiate overdose. These organizations will also require their staff to offer naxalone to patients with a history of opiate addiction upon discharge. While we commend the state for these measures, we believe drug policy needs a much grander overhaul across the state and nation. How many more overdose-related deaths will we tolerate until we recognize the need to address drug addiction as a public health issue and call for comprehensive reform?

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Matt Brundage ’15 and Rachel Occhiogrosso ’14, and its members, Hannah Loewentheil ’14 and Thomas Nath ’16. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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Our admission packets to Brown bore several instructions: return the “I will attend” card, mail the deposit, set up our Banner accounts and finally, read a specific book that you will discuss with your fellow first-years upon matriculation. I don’t know about you, but I personally dreaded that last assignment. At the risk of sounding cliche, summer reading — or winter reading for midyear transfers — seems so “high school.” High school was a time for some significant degree of uniformity. We had certain required courses and academic obligations that bound peers of the same grade level together. Brown exudes the antithesis of that atmosphere. When the University mandates the same reading for all of us, without regard for the diversity of our academic, political and cultural interests, it violates the New Curriculum’s spirit of intellectual individualism. I can understand why the dean of the College finds value in requiring reading during our vacations. Keeping us mentally stimulated, prodding our thoughts and cultivating our literary awareness are noble, valid causes. The book is a common element that binds us when we arrive as new students, fosters a feeling of unity and provides for interesting conversations. The subjects of these books are sometimes intriguing and eye-opening. Leslie Chang’s “Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China” was the 2011 selection for incoming first-years and transfer students, a group that included me. It took us into the lives of teenage women who leave rural villages in China for mechanical, cutthroat industrial complexes in order to gain at least a modicum of financial independence. I will give Brown more credit for its title selection than I will extend Penn for my freshman year summer reading assignment. In “The Big Necessi-

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ty: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters,” Rose George wove a riveting tale of human waste and sanitation systems. Not. If Brown wants to promote cerebral activities that we can subsequently discuss when we convene as new classes of students, the administration can find more suitable ways to achieve this goal while maintaining a healthier respect for our scholastic liberty. If books are to be mandated, we should have the freedom to select what we want to read. That route would preserve the spirit of the New Curriculum and might encourage us to experiment with works beyond our comfort zone and not confine our literary experiences to one publication. Assuming the University aims to focus learning around a particular

Brown, first and foremost, is an institution where students drive their own learning. If we were capable of being admitted, we are theoretically intelligent and articulate enough to warrant summer assignments that do more than test our ability to read. Moreover, by requiring summer reading as a means to develop our reading comprehension and writing skills, the University is implying that honing these capabilities is more important than targeting other areas of knowledge. I would argue the conditioning of quantitative aptitude and data analysis is even more crucial and useful than adding a few new words to our vocabulary. So if the University must utilize these vacation-period assignments to improve our cerebral faculties, it should expand its focus and enhance the broader student body’s understanding of math and science as well. Ma n d at e d vacation reading defies the individualized approach to learning with which Brown entrusts its students. Some say it is worthwhile, because reading can open up new frontiers and make us more eloquent, well-rounded individuals. Others consider it meaningful because we can find some stimulation or joy in absorbing new lessons in the books chosen for us. However, we are mature enough to decide what topics we want to learn about, how we want to satiate those interests and, more fundamentally, how we want to spend our time. For a university that gives us complete autonomy to choose our classes — except for the WRIT requirement, another overbearing requisite — and how we’re graded, the required summer reading policy is both restrictive and hypocritical.

For a University that gives us complete autonomy to choose our classes — except for the WRIT requirement, another overbearing requisite — and how we’re graded, the required summer reading policy is both restrictive and hypocritical.

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theme, we should be able to choose the medium through which we want to delve into that subject. Film, drama, poetry, nonfiction and fiction can all be powerful messengers of resounding lessons and perspectives, many of which are controversial and thus ripe for critical analysis. As many humanities and social sciences classes employ media other than nonfiction to teach students, we should recognize the validity of these creative approaches and be afforded the same nontraditional opportunities. By watching Latin films and discussing them with my peers in my Spanish courses, for example, I benefitted from their valuable insights into the conflicts that immigrants suffer. In an American studies class, we used a variety of sources to tackle structural workforce issues centered on gender disparities. These learning tools — PBS documentaries, journalists’ analogs, personal memoirs and thinktank publications — harbor significant value and intrigue by virtue of their genre. In fact, experimenting with a cross-section of works dealing with a particular subject would provide a more introspective summer experience for rising first-years.

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Elizabeth Fuerbacher ’13.5 thinks the WRIT requirement must also be abolished, since four years at Brown should enable us to express our thoughts eloquently and intelligently without embarrassing ourselves. She can be reached at Elizabeth_Fuerbacher@brown.edu

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