THE
BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 31
since 1891
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2014
Int’l. survey ‘Medea’ brings ancient feud to Brown Cahn ’15 examines U. Celeste reinterprets classic tragedy in PW reputation Greek Downspace this weekend in academia
Slavery and Justice Center relocates to Waterman
New poll expands audience to determine awareness, hopes to spread U. message
Move from Alumnae Hall will bolster center, though broader funding questions remain
By EMMAJEAN HOLLEY
STAFF WRITER
inside
The University will distribute a survey in the coming months to assess Brown’s reputation with scholars, students and others both abroad and within the United States. The survey is meant to provide a “full and complete baseline assessment of the awareness and perceptions of Brown among various constituencies,” said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations. Though the University has previously conducted polls of Brown community members, according to the Office of Institutional Research website, the new survey will collect opinions from a wider audience by soliciting input from people outside the community, including in foreign countries. Quinn said she hopes the survey will provide an indication of how well the University “is recognized for its distinctive approach to teaching and research,” adding that she expects a proposal for the survey’s specifics to be in place by the end of the academic year. Though the details are currently uncertain, the University will likely hire a firm specializing in higher education survey research, Quinn said. Results from a number of previous reputational surveys are available on the OIR website, Quinn added. These surveys present data on the opinions and perceptions of first-years, seniors, enrolled students, parents and alums. The newest survey aims to supplement the information gained from these existing tools, Quinn said. She added that one of the main goals of the project is to get a better sense of how aware the general public is of Brown. “We want to see if there are gaps in knowledge of Brown geographically,” Quinn said. “As we are trying to attract the most promising scholars to Brown, we want to make sure people are aware of this institution and the commitment to financial aid we have.” In interviews, some students said there was minimal knowledge of Brown within their families, high schools and communities. » See SURVEY, page 3
From the lofty parapet of Mount Olympus to the tortured currents of the River Styx, the gods have no fury like a woman scorned. None, at least, like the woman in “Medea,” directed by Celeste Cahn ’15 and opening tonight in the PW Downspace. The play was translated and freely adapted by Robinson Jeffers from Euripides’ classical Greek tragedy of betrayal and revenge. Audiences familiar with “Othello” will recognize basic structural similarities with the Shakespearean play. The exotic Medea, played by Alejandra Rivera Flavia ’14, is both the Desdemona and the Othello of her own story. She has left her home country to marry Jason, played by Emma Johnson ’14 — the show has a primarily female cast, reversing the traditionally all-male casting of Greek theater. But after Jason leaves her for the daughter of the king of Corinth, Medea mirrors Iago’s thirst for bloody retribution. A chorus of women, played by Natalie McDonald ’15, Rihana President ’17 and Haley Schwartz ’17, allegorizes the collective values of Greek society. Through their dialogue with Medea and gossip with one another,
By KATYA BARRETT CONTRIBUTING WRITER
REVIEW
RYAN WALSH / HERALD
Alejandra Rivera Flavía ’14, center, takes the stage in PW as the vengeful Medea, joined by Rihana President ’17, left, and Haley Schwartz ’17, right. the women reveal their suspicion toward Medea’s ethnicity and her practices with drugs and herbs. Flavia is an enchantress, immersing herself in the enigmatic and irreducible tensions of her character. Her large, expressive eyes convey a volatile mental state, quivering like a cornered animal for a moment before resuming a dark glitter of malice and contempt. Even as she collapses and wails in despair, her mind visibly whirs with the ornate machinations of her deadly scheme. And while she
argues her case with clarity, her expression hints at churning interior entropy barely kept in check by her outward composure. Johnson’s icy, detached performance sharply juxtaposes against Medea’s heated passion, and she executes Jason’s obnoxious snobbery with wit and precision. But her acting would be strong enough to communicate this derision without her anachronistic British accent — a performance aspect that undermines the foreignness » See MEDEA, page 3
The Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice will move into a new home in August when it leaves its current location in Alumnae Hall for 94 Waterman St., said Anthony Bogues, director of the center. “The new space is great,” Bogues said. “We are working with the relevant entities at Brown to make it a space that will be special.” The Center for Computation and Visualization’s administrative and system offices are currently housed at 94 Waterman but will move to 180 George St. in May, said Shana Weinberg, manager of the center. Bogues said gaining a permanent location on campus is an exciting step for the center, which was created in the fall of 2012. “We are only a year old. We are putting down roots but staying consistent with the goals from our founding.” The center, established based on recommendations in a report by the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice initiated by then-President Ruth » See RELOCATION, page 2
M. HOCKEY
Bruno travels to N.Y. for ECAC first round After losing home-ice advantage, Bears will face St. Lawrence without injured forward Matt Lorito ’15 By ANDREW FLAX SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The men’s hockey team begins its conference tournament journey on the road this weekend, starting its best-of-three series against St. Lawrence tonight. Bruno was in position to host this matchup all the way until the final game of the regular season, when the Bears (11-15-3, 8-13-1 ECAC) lost to No. 3 Union and the Saints defeated Princeton to deny them home ice. These results allowed St. Lawrence (13-17-4, 7-11-4) to vault into the eighth seed and push Brown back to ninth. In fact, the Bears would be hosting the matchup if they had managed a single point from their homestand last weekend, but they fell well short, failing to score even a single goal.
KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD
Defenseman Jake Goldberg ’14 looks for an open teammate. Goldberg will have his hands full this weekend against a St. Lawrence offense that has scored 3.29 goals per game — the third-best mark in the ECAC. The players were obviously frustrated with their lack of offensive production. “It’s not good enough to play well. You’ve got to execute,” said captain Dennis Robertson ’14.
Sports
In order to overcome what held them back last weekend, the Bears intend to follow the advice of Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94 not to “overcomplicate things” in the attacking zone, Mark Naclerio ’16 said.
Commentary
Cohan ’17: In spite of their lack of name-brand players, the Phoenix Suns are simply fun to watch
Blasberg ’16: Red Sox have made a number of off-season moves to maintain title hopes
Feldman ’15: Online courses cheat students of a full college experience
Sundlee ’16: Increased oversight is needed to prevent the costs of unregulated globalization
PAGE S2
PAGE S2
PAGE 7
PAGE 7
weather
By ASHNA MUKHI
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
“When teams keep it simple, they usually don’t beat themselves,” Naclerio said. As if the offense weren’t challenged enough already, the Bears suffered a » See M. HOCKEY, page S3 t o d ay
tomorrow
41 / 30
49 / 28