Friday, March 14, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 36

since 1891

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

New group Facing anxiety at the laidback Ivy Winningest Navigating life with W. BASKETBALL

Legendary women’s basketball head coach led Bruno to over 300 wins in quarter-century at helm

By CALEB MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

After compiling more wins, seasons and Ivy League championships than any women’s basketball coach in Brown history, Head Coach Jean Marie Burr announced her retirement Monday following the end of her 26th season.

Burr hangs up her whistle with a career record of 324-379, including 12 winning seasons. The four-time Rhode Island Women’s Coach of the Year led the Bears to a 10-18 mark this season, good for sixth in the Ivy League.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with quality people in every area of Brown » See BURR, page S3

Anxiety: facts and figures

By MOLLY SCHULSON SENIOR STAFF WRITER

“I just want you to know that if I die right now, I love you.”

On the day before her chemistry final, Emily, a sophomore whose name has been changed to maintain confidentiality, sent this text message to her mother.

Convinced she was having a heart attack, Emily rushed to Health Services. She was brought to a nurse’s station. Her vital signs were normal, and, according to the electrocardiogram results, so was her heart. A doctor told her what she was experiencing was a panic attack — something she had never felt before.

Emily did not have another panic attack until she went home for winter break. Soon, she was having them up to five times a day. “There was no trigger whatsoever,” she said. “It just happened so abruptly, and I had no time to adjust.”

“My left arm and shoulder area would be in pain,” Emily said. “The » See ANXIETY, page 4

FEATURE

By EMMA HARRIS

- Annually, 11% of college students are diagnosed with or treated for anxiety

STAFF WRITER

- Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety disorders like panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder - Over 40% of college students report higher than average stress in the past year

Source: Anxiety and Depression Association of America, National Alliance on Mental Illness JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey discusses entrepreneurship, receives mixed response SENIOR STAFF WRITER

By EMMAJEAN HOLLEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Opera often connotes the stuffy Victorian era, the dismal Baroque era or the strict Italian aristocracy.

Rarely is it a lens through which to explore meditation, sexual desire and anarchy. But in “Hydrogen Jukebox,” directed by Jonathan Adam ’16 and produced by Brown Opera Productions, this traditional genre becomes a caustic and countercultural mode of expression.

The show sets the torrential texts of beat poet Allen Ginsberg, which were written from the 1950s through the 1980s, against Philip Glass’ minimalist musical score. In a nod to both artistic styles, a teardropshaped American flag hangs in the background as a simple yet powerful emblem of lost ideals.

“Hydrogen Jukebox” does not

REVIEW

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square, spoke to students on Thursday and gave them a virtual tour of Square headquarters. open, glass-paneled, modern aesthetic. The headquarters also boast a coffee shop that uses Square’s payment system.

“We want to make sure we’re building a company that tests the

products we make so we experience our customers’ pain and joy,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey compared the company to the Golden Gate Bridge, which » See DORSEY, page 2

Sports

“Resolved: The United States government should seek to try Edward Snowden for treason,” read the chalkboard at last week’s inaugural meeting of the Brown Policy Union.

Modeled after the Oxford Union, the student-run BPU gives “just a little bit more formality” to a standard political conversation, said Zach Ingber ’15, one of the BPU’s five founders and a Herald opinions columnist. Ingber said he was initially exposed to Oxford-style debate two summers ago while working in London. He developed the idea to form the group this past summer, recruiting the help of Katherine Pollock ’16, Will Hale ’15, Diego Arene-Morley ’16 and Felix Tettey ’15, he said.

“There aren’t venues for more formal » See BPU, page 3

‘Jukebox’ examines rebel youth in suburbia BOP’s newest opera combines Beat poetry with Philip Glass to convey anarchy, sexuality

By STEVEN MICHAEL

inside

Brown Policy Union seeks to promote regulated debate on contested issues in open setting

- Anxiety impacts over 40 million adults in the U.S. or 18% of the population

Square CEO touts venture as digital bridge

Using a video camera attached to a robot in San Francisco, Jack Dorsey, a co-founder of Twitter and the mobile payment company Square, took the audience at his Salomon 101 lecture yesterday on a tour of the headquarters of Square, where he serves as CEO. “What’re you doing?” Dorsey asked a pair of employees sitting in a booth.

“Working,” they said.

“Are you seriously doing this?” a security engineer asked.

The improvised tour set the tone for Dorsey’s talk, the first Brown Lecture Board event of the semester.

He spent much of his talk — entitled “Town Square with Jack” — discussing the virtues of Square, opening the floor early for questions in an approach reminiscent of the company’s weekly town hall meetings.

All the rooms in Square’s vast headquarters are named for public squares, emphasizing the floor plan’s

starts policy debates for students

Commentary

Men’s basketball team hosts Holy Cross in the first round of the CIT Monday at 7 p.m.

Bre Hudgins ’14 earns Athlete of the Week for her clutch showing against No. 16 Princeton

Enriquez ’16: Social media neknominations are often examples of male hubris

Mirchandani ’15: Hiring based on junior year internships is unfair to international students

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weather

coach Burr retires after 26 years

anxiety, students handle diagnosis, treatment and possible stigmatization

follow a rigid storyline so much as it flips through the channels of postWorld War Two suburbia. The actors shift into new roles with each scene, and their characters search for new identities with every changing moment. But this takes on an ironic tone, as the performers remain constant.

And though these scenes are initially disjointed, providing only cursory glimpses of personal narratives, the loose threads ultimately weave a tapestry of the disillusionment and agitation sweeping through post-war American society.

The creative tension between Ginsberg and Glass is often playfully self-aware, such as in “Green Automobile,” during which taboo sexual desires burst out from the constraints of white picket fences. The characters begin in stiff heterosexual pairs, hollow smiles plastered on their faces as they sing sexually-explicit lyrics to a bright, almost hymnal tune, before rearranging to face their true objects of desire in a passionate and erotic display.

As the ensemble struggles to break free from the homogenizing yokes of » See JUKEBOX, page 2 t o d ay

tomorrow

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2 university news

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

Students urge U. to support boycott, workers’ rights Renaissance Hotel employees allege low wages, efforts to prevent unionization

By EMILY WOOLDRIDGE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Instead of lining up to watch the 250th anniversary fireworks and eat cake last Friday, Student Labor Alliance members passed out flyers urging the Brown community to support the Renaissance Hotel boycott.

Sophia Gluskin-Braun ’17 and other SLA members distributed approximately 200 flyers to students and alums entering the Main Green for the 250th anniversary festivities. SLA also recently created a petition, which has received 167 signatures, supporting the Renaissance boycott and urging the University to take a more active role in labor rights movements.

SLA members also initiated a social media campaign last week, which asked students to share the petition on Facebook and post #250 tweets calling for boycott support, said Mariela Martinez ’14, a SLA member.

SLA hopes its efforts will encourage the University “to make a public statement of support” and increase alum and student awareness of “a real labor fight happening 10 minutes away,” Martinez said.

Employees at the Renaissance, which is owned and managed by the Procaccianti Group, have been protesting for eight months and called for a boycott in December, Martinez said. SLA and the Brown International Socialist Organization have expressed their support at weekly Wednesday picket rallies downtown, Martinez said.

Workers at the Renaissance filed a National Labor Relations Board

COURTESY OF SHELBY MACK

Mariela Martinez ‘14, a member of the Student Labor Alliance, voices support for Renaissance Hotel employees at a picket rally downtown. complaint in January, citing labor violations that include low wages and the use of intimidation and bribery to deter unionization efforts. The formal hearing is scheduled for March 31, The Herald previously reported.

In October, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor issued citations and fines to the Renaissance for dangerous chemical usage, forcing the hotel to pay $8,000 in fines, The Herald previously reported.

The Hilton Providence, also owned by the Procaccianti Group, faces similar accusations of employee mistreatment. Hilton employees have also held rallies calling for unionization, and 75 percent of the hotel’s workers signed a petition last month demanding changes in the workplace and a fair unionization process, The Herald previously reported.

SLA brought a resolution to the Brown University Community Council

meeting Feb. 19, said Shelby Mack ’14.

The resolution asked the University to publicly support the Renaissance boycott and take “all appropriate measures to avoid holding any events at the Renaissance during the current labor dispute.” This includes encouraging visitors to not stay at the hotel during the 250th anniversary celebration, A Day on College Hill, graduation and reunions and to not patronize the Renaissance in University websites, pamphlets and other publicity advertisements.

The SLA’s resolution also called for the University to “add labor disputes to the standard cancellation clause in contracts for off-campus events and meetings,” the resolution states.

The SLA resolution was put at the end of the council’s agenda, but ultimately did not receive a vote, Martinez said. “It was unfair, in our opinion, that we were pushed to the end of the meeting.”

President Christina Paxson “sent

COURTESY OF MORAYO AKANDE

“Hydrogen Jukebox” combines the Beat poetry of Allen Ginsberg with the stark music of Philip Glass to portray the trials and tribulations of youth in revolt in post-war suburbia.

» JUKEBOX, from page 1 religion, government or oppressive social norms, they begin to homogenize these structures in return. In “From Iron Horse Pt. 2,” characters clamor in an ostensibly religious fervor, but the scene takes on an antireligious tone as they slowly fall into a militaristic line together. They march rigidly back and forth to the rhythm of a mantra-like chant: “Who — is — the enemy?”

This social malaise reaches a fever pitch as William Fesperman’s ’15 recites Ginsberg’s chilling anti-war poem, “Wichita Vortex Sutra,” which synthesizes the pastoral imagery of Kansas with reports of violence. The work appeals to a plurality of gods to transcend this horror through some elusive “universal language.”

As Fesperman speaks, Anjali Carroll ’17 dances around him in a slow, purposeful glide. Both performers build intensity over the course of the

poem: Carroll’s graceful pirouettes pick up speed until she bucks and leaps through the air in explosive tour jetes — Fesperman’s steady simmer finally boils over in a thunderous sermon. His arms spread-eagle as he jubilantly eschews all association with a faceless political machine, declaring the war over.

“Hydrogen Jukebox” will run tonight through Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Alumnae Hall.

DAVID BRAUN / HERALD

Workers at the Renaissance Hotel called for a boycott of the hotel in December and recently filed a National Labor Relations Board complaint. a letter to the Procaccianti Group indicating her concern regarding the allegations of unfair labor practices at the Renaissance Hotel and the Hilton Providence” after the council’s meeting, wrote Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, in an email to The Herald.

Paxson “noted that the Brown community takes seriously the respectful and humane treatment of workers, and that we would be paying close attention to the National Labor Relations Board process that will begin this month.”

Martinez said she hopes the University will stay true to its values and follow its history of supporting labor rights.

In April 2010, the University moved

a gala from the Westin Providence Hotel, owned by the Procaccianti Group, when the hotel faced allegations of unfair labor practices. By November 2010, the council adopted a resolution expressing support for the Westin boycott, The Herald previously reported.

This motion subsequently helped Westin employees unionize in February 2011, Martinez said.

The University “carries a lot of weight,” Martinez said. “It’s students’ job to remind people of that history.”

Though the process of raising support “has been frustrating at times,” — given the “urgent” nature of the employees’ problems — Martinez said she hopes that the University will eventually “offer its support.”

» DORSEY, from page 1

on the Hudson.”

Dorsey introduced three Brown students who will become software engineers at Square after graduation: Hari Narayanan ’14, Katherine Ng ’14 and Jackson Owens ’14. For each student, he read a biography listing quirky interests and reasons for joining Square.

The lecture elicited mixed feedback from students.

Michael Arnold ’15 said he enjoyed the lecture, especially the use of a robot to give a tour of Square headquarters. He added that he appreciated the extra time allotted for student questions.

David Liu ’17 took issue with Dorsey’s use of the bridge metaphor.

“You don’t need two bridges to connect the same space,” Liu said. “You only need one bridge — the better bridge.”

The lecture was a “PR pitch,” said Kayla Rosen ’14. “As the founder of two of the most dominant technology companies in San Francisco,” Dorsey should have addressed the tensions between San Francisco residents and the technology industry, Rosen said.

Wilson Cusack ’16 said he attended both the lecture and an event with Dorsey at CareerLAB. As a computer science concentrator, Cusack is interested in working at Square in the future, he said, adding that he appreciated the “philosophical approach” of the lecture.

not only allows people to travel from point A to point B, but is also a beautiful landmark. As a developer of payment tools, Square aims to similarly connect the world of commerce.

Dorsey projected the tagline “Make commerce easy” over a picture of the bridge.

“A good tool not only does its job — it gives people joy,” Dorsey said.

In response to a question about whether young college graduates should join an existing company or found a startup, Dorsey said, “Entrepreneurship does not mean you start a company. It’s an attitude. It means that you take a risk.”

Twitter began as a project at an existing company and later spun off, Dorsey said.

Another student raised concerns that early adopters of Twitter who have had time to build a follower base have an unfair advantage over newer members of the site.

“There’s a lot of emphasis on how many followers you have when in fact it’s really about the content,” Dorsey said. “Great content will spread.”

Dorsey pointed to the story of a Twitter user who posted a picture of an airplane’s emergency landing on the Hudson River in January 2009.

Despite the user’s small following, the picture was picked up for international news reports of “the Miracle

arts & culture 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

Multimedia performance challenges justice system Bryonn Bain uses show to reflect on stint in jail, question racial profiling in criminal justice process

By PALAK WALIA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In 2002, Bryonn Bain was pulled over for an extinct left taillight. He was arrested for three outstanding warrants — charges he denied — and spent three days and two nights in jail before he was released without being convicted. In the end, the wrongful charges were a case of identity theft. Out of this experience came Bain’s one-man multimedia performance “Lyrics From Lockdown,” which intertwines a variety of art forms from hip-hop to calypso. Bain will take the stage at Churchill House for three performances this weekend.

Bain first performed his show in 2009, but it only reached a wider audience just last year. Bain recounted his arrest in a journal, he said, which acted as a kind of self-therapy to help him understand his experiences before assembling the show. Since the premiere, Bain has

REVIEW

staged “Lyrics From Lockdown” around the world, including in California, New York and Belgium.

In his choreography, Bain also weaves in correspondences with his friend Nanon Williams, who was on death row in Texas from the age of 17.

In 2005, this conviction was converted to a life sentence, according to Williams’ Facebook page. But in 2010, a federal judge re-examined Williams’s case and decided he should be released, Bain said, adding that this decision was repealed and Williams remains imprisoned. At times during the performance, the stage turns dark and an audio clip of Williams’ voice plays, giving the audience powerful insight into the experience of an individual on death row.

This same Texas prison has banned Bain’s book, “The Ugly Side of Beautiful,” because prison officials decided the content could provoke race riots, Bain said.

Bain completed an undergraduate degree studying political science at Columbia, before going on to study legislative theater at Harvard Law School and performance poetry at New York University.

“You have one more degree than Obama does — how come he ends up

in the White House and you end up in the jail house?” Bain said his mother often jokes.

Bain comes from a family of performers: His father was a calypso singer, and Bain and his brothers performed in prisons throughout their teens, he said.

His artistic heritage and extensive education are evident in his performance — his powerful voice fills the auditorium with expression, and he commands the stage with authority, portraying 40 different characters in the show. He handily balances emotion with comic relief, recounting stories about his family prior to his incarceration.

Bain transitions seamlessly between spoken word, rap, traditional acting and calypso singing, stringing together these diverse styles to communicate his tale to the audience. Video DJs who present images on three projectors and a live band, including a bassist, guitarist and saxophonist, accompany Bain’s performance.

“Lyrics From Lockdown” aims to open up a conversation about racial profiling and the related systemic and institutional issues, Bain said. He plans to meet Saturday with community organizers, faculty members and student activists to discuss the problems he has raised, he said.

matter,” he told the Herald.

Prior to his residency at Brown, Namjoo taught music theory in private lessons and workshops at Stanford University, where he held the Visiting Artist Fellowship, according to the Middle East studies website.

But this is his first time teaching a formal course at a university, Namjoo said.

Namjoo is currently teaching MES1000: “Tradition and Protest: Persian and Iranian Music,” and will offer another course this fall entitled “Iranian Music and Poetry: Content and Form,” according to the Middle East studies department website.

The lecture centered on the music of Iranian pop singer Shahram Shabpareh, who has released 23 albums since 1977.

Namjoo began the lecture by explaining the three minor scales present in Shabpareh’s works, including the

command the room” and are expected to “substantiate” their positions, Ingber said.

Members direct their comments to the presiding officer, a practice that “keeps a little bit of civility,” he added.

This forum for debate is meant to contrast the large number of informal “roundtables and discussions at Brown,” Pollock said.

The moderator of the debate does not offer his or her opinion. The body itself also does not take an official position, but the BPU asked participants to voice their stances at the end of the debate to help organizers select future topics on which opinion is divided. The Snowden debate was “split down the middle,” Hale said, with six votes for trying the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked confidential information for treason, seven against doing so and four abstaining.

The BPU debated the Equal Rights Amendment at its second meeting Wednesday, and plans to debate the academic boycott of Israel next week, Pollock said. The BPU is currently reaching out to student groups that may be interested in or have expertise in the topics, she

TOM SULLIVAN / HERALD

This weekend, Bryonn Bain will perform his one-man show, “Lyrics From Lockdown,” which deals with issues regarding racial profiling.

In addition to his work as a performer, Bain has worked as a community activist to raise the age of criminality — the age at which an individual can be tried as an adult — in New York City from 16 to 18. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has shown support for this movement, he said. After hearing about activists’ shut down of a Oct. 29 scheduled lecture by

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Bain added that he hopes his performance can add to the conversation about Kelly’s controversial stop-andfrisk policy.

traditional Western model alongside the Persian scale, Avaz-e-Dashti, and the Iranian Nava scale. In using these scales, Shabpareh gives his music a blues-like quality, Namjoo said.

In an analysis of 163 of Shabpareh’s songs, Namjoo discovered that 80 percent were composed in a minor scale, with only 18 songs in a major scale, Namjoo said.

The use of minor scales intrigued Namjoo because Shabpareh is known as an “icon of happiness” in Iranian pop culture, he said.

Namjoo discussed Shabpareh’s innovative synthesis of Iranian folk and Western music, especially classic rock, as well as his use of both Western and Persian instruments.

The event was entitled “Honesty and Minor Scale” because Shabpareh’s work is a “symbol of honesty in a time when

many pop singers use composers or songwriters,” Namjoo said, noting that Shabpareh wrote and composed over 85 percent of his own songs.

Namjoo highlighted Shabpareh’s work writing for other artists, noting that Shabpareh has built up many other musicians’ careers as well as his own.

Intellectuals “have a judgmental way of thinking when it comes to comparing different types of music,” Namjoo told The Herald. With this lecture, “I wanted to tell them that when you get to questions in music theory, a lot of the pop music you hear has theoretical values and theoretical complexities and depth.”

Shabpareh attended the talk, telling The Herald he thought the event “was a very great program” and calling Namjoo “an extremely learned person.”

The lecture is “starting a new wave of talking about this (genre) of music,

taking it more seriously and understanding the depth and different aspects of it,” Shabpareh said, adding that events like this lecture could create an educational conversation in Iran about pop music.

Shabpareh also commented on the importance of music education, as it brings people together “who don’t understand each other’s languages, (but) may understand each other’s music.”

Namjoo will deliver another talk entitled “Western Music vs. Eastern Music: High Pitch vs. Low Pitch” April 9 and a concert performance, “When you are talking about Iranian Fusion, what are you talking about?” May 10, both in Grant Recital Hall.

added. Though the BPU hopes to form a core membership, the weekly debates will be open to all students, Ingber said.

Whether or not the federal government should try Snowden was chosen as the first debate topic because it is a “salient and current event,” Hale said.

Though the BPU hopes to take on more “charged” topics eventually, the goal of the inaugural meeting was to make the debate setting “comfortable,” he added.

But with a more Brown-centric debate coming up on the academic boycott of Israel, opinions will be “more personal,” Pollock said. In January, the University denounced the American Studies Association’s decision to boycott academic institutions in Israel, The Herald previously reported.

“When there’s something at stake or something that could change the environment at Brown,” debates will be both harder and more exciting, Pollock said.

To avoid becoming a space for a “visceral reaction,” the BPU will wait for an “appropriate time” to debate more heated topics, while at the same time not “pushing them under the rug,” Pollock said.

“It’s a very hard line to walk,” she said,

adding that the BPU plans to wait on some of the more controversial issues until group leaders “feel out the format” and establish themselves on campus.

The creation of the organization will also build a space for policy discussion that has been “lacking” on campus, Pollock said.

Contrasting the BPU with similar groups at other universities that operate as “political unions” with different political parties, Ingber said, “We’re a policy union — a union of people talking about policy, rather than a union of parties.” He added that the BPU wants to keep policy substance at the forefront — a fundamental difference from the party-driven Oxford Union, but “Brown has always been a little bit more avantgarde,” he said.

“We’re going to try hard with the help of our members to select motions that are not (such) clear left-right divides,” Ingber said.

The BPU aims to discuss nonpartisan issues, Hale said, adding that otherwise, debate will be unproductive. The group also welcomes opinions “beyond American political discourse,” Ingber said.

At last week’s meeting, the founding members distributed a BBC timeline of the Snowden controversy around the room so all members had basic information from the onset. But there are no rules restricting the use of outside information in the debate. The BPU leaders said they hope to have a schedule of upcoming topics so members have time to research the issues, Ingber said.

With the “diversity of resolutions, some people will take a step back some weeks and other weeks they’ll speak more,” he said, stressing that members are welcome to attend just to listen.

It was “just a nice break from discussions at the Ratty where everyone’s interrupting each other,” said Alexander Kaplan ’14.5, a former Herald staff writer. “We were able to discuss in a formal mechanism that takes place in a very casual setting.”

Once or twice a semester, the BPU will also host a public debate, which would include a larger number of students debating on a stage, Ingber said.

“As a group we’ll decide what the resolution will be and who we can think of to reach out to.”

“Lyrics From Lockdown” runs tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Churchill House.

Iranian pop singer discusses contemporary music Resident artist Namjoo presents on fellow musician’s artistic integrity, style

By EMILY DUPUIS STAFF WRITER

University Artist-in-Residence Mohsen Namjoo has been described as the “Bob Dylan of Iran” by the New York Times — the Iranian pop singer and political advocate presented a lecture Wednesday entitled “Shahram Shabpareh: Honesty and Minor Scale,” one of several musical talks he has hosted this semester as part of a collaboration between the Departments of Music and Middle East studies.

As for the Times’ comparison, Namjoo said he feels it is “correct in terms of lyrical style but inaccurate as a musical

» BPU, from page 1 debate over a resolution without going into the territory of the debate team,” Ingber said, citing the disappearance of the Janus Political Union, formerly the student arm of the Political Theory Project, which used to organize debates.

The Janus Forum continues to organize campus lectures and discussions through its other branches.

“We’re trying to create something that pays a little bit of tribute to an old-fashioned debating society, but it’s definitely updated and more modern for Brown,” Ingber said.

Sitting in a semicircular formation, the 18 attendees would signal Ingber, who moderated the debate, when they wished to speak and usually started their arguments with the traditional statement “I support the resolution” or “I oppose the resolution,” optional at the BPU debates but mandatory at the Oxford Union.

In an Oxford-style debate, the presiding officer delegates speaking turns to keep members from interrupting others and ensure minority voices are heard. “When someone has the floor, they

The quotations in this article were translated from Farsi through a translator during the event and in a subsequent interview with The Herald.

4 feature » ANXIETY, from page 1 sensations of an elephant sitting on your chest … that huge income of pressure all of a sudden would happen to me.”

answers his phone call.

Students “all live in an environment where there are exams and social pressures,” Suarez said. “I think that certainly exacerbates the situation and makes non-diagnosable anxiety an issue.”

While genetics is just one piece of the “complex picture” of anxiety, others include temperament, reactivity and experience with trauma or stress, Chansky said.

Though many people in her family have anxiety, Emily said her disorder and phobias were not triggered by any traumatic life event. Instead, they just “came out of nowhere,” she said.

Defining anxiety Panic disorder, characterized by unanticipated episodes of mild to severe panic attacks, is an anxiety disorder. Others include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias. Anxiety affects approximately 40 million adults, making it the most common mental illness in the United States, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Psych Services Candace, a senior whose name has “‘Psychological disorder’ is equated been changed to maintain confiden- to ‘crazy’ in our society,” Maria Orbaytiality, described her anxiety, which Cerrato ’16 said. “Trying to break that peaked during her sophomore year, down is important.” as an “inability to relax.”

Orbay-Cerrato experienced her “Every time I tried to relax a mus- first panic attack in fourth grade, in cle, 10 others would scrunch up. I felt the middle of practicing a Christmas like I could never sit carol in school. still, let go or breathe “My vision was Every time I tried freely.” going black, and I to relax a muscle, was thinking, ‘I’m “I would say anxiety is one of going to die,’” she 10 others would the most common scrunch up. I felt said.Orbay-Cerrato — if not the most like I could never avoided visiting psycommon — things that we see here,” chologists because sit still, let go or said Sherri Nelson, she told herself that breathe freely. director of Psychoshe did not need it. logical Services. The “It took me a while Candace National Alliance to come to terms A SENIOR on Mental Illness with it.” reports that more Most women in than 11 percent of college students Orbay-Cerrato’s family have anxiety have been diagnosed with or treated issues, she said. Women are twice as for anxiety in the past year. likely as men to have an anxiety disAnxiety is about anticipating order, according to the ADAA. danger without evidence that it will “When anxiety makes you feel bad actually occur, said Tamar Chansky, on a consistent basis or interferes with a licensed psychologist, adding that your function, that’s a time … to bring panic attacks are the body’s way of in an outside consultant, and that’s testing its fight-or-flight response sort of who we are,” Nelson said. without warning.

About 16 to 17 percent of students While many people may use the visit Psych Services every year. words “anxiety” and “stress” interMany students give Psych Serchangeably, there is a difference. “The vices — and the University at large average student has too much to do all — mixed reviews on its handling of the time. They may be stressed about student anxiety issues. that, but anxiety takes it further where “How can you justify telling someyou start to invent scenarios and con- one who called in an emergency situasequences that are outside the script tion that the soonest you can see them of what’s happening,” Chansky added. is in two weeks?” Candace asked, addThroughout the undergraduate ing that a college’s psychological care experience, students feel academic, should be focused on handling crises social, economic and familial pres- as they arise. sures. First-years experience stress While Psych Services provides stuas they transition to college, while dents with seven free therapy sessions seniors feel pressure when thinking per academic year, Nelson said the about graduate schools or job options, office is currently understaffed and in said Maria Suarez, associate dean and the process of hiring another therapist. director of student support services at Though the school has room for the Office of Student Life. improvement, “Brown is doing a better job than other places in terms of A ‘complex picture’ dealing with anxiety,” said Lianne “Everyone in my family has some Blinn ’15. sort of anxiety. It’s just something we “The woman that I worked with have and we just kind of deal with it,” was super helpful and noninvasive, said Patrick LaChance ’16. “I know it’s and she really understood Brown studefinitely genetic.” dents’ problems,” said Liz Studlick LaChance has dealt with both ’16, a Herald copy editor, who was generalized and social anxiety all his diagnosed with generalized anxiety life. “I’m always just alert and hyper- disorder last year. vigilant. I’m a leg shaker and a finger Studlick said she was upset when player,” he said. “With social anxiety, her free sessions ran out, but she unit’s a worry about doing something derstands why the policy is in place. wrong in front of a group of people.” “Psych Services is kind of there to LaChance has never asked a ques- push you to find someone else that tion in class and probably never will. works for you on a regular basis,” she He fears crowds, airport security lines added. and talking on the phone — so much so that he will prepare for 10 minLeave liabilities utes to go through a crowd at a party Emily returned to school a week or jump in the closet when a friend late for her spring semester.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

“I was okay for a few days, then anti-medication,” Studlick said, addit sort of spiraled out of control,” she ing that the office’s therapists are not said. quick to push or prescribe medication.

She called EMS frequently and was “My parents said (medication) can often brought to the hospital. During mess you up so much more.” one of her hospital stays, Suarez visAnd students are divided on ited her and recommended that she whether medication is the best treattake a medical leave. ment option for anxiety.

Suarez told Emily that if she reEmily — who has not had a panic quire her to go on leave, she would. attack for seven months with the exThe news was hard to hear, but Emily clusion of a manageable one in Deagreed she was not functional enough cember — feels better now in part due to continue the semester. to the Zoloft she was prescribed. “The About 20 percent of the 50 to 65 medication was a godsend,” she said, people on medical leave are dealing adding that she is “very conservative with anxiety issues, Suarez said. as far as medication goes. I think it “On an individual level, the Uni- should be a last resort.” versity goes to great lengths to help a Diane, a sophomore whose name student who is struggling with anxi- has been changed to maintain confiety,” Nelson said, adding that Brown dentiality, was put on Klonopin and has a “deep safety net” for troubled Xanax to help with her panic attacks. students.

“I love taking medicine and au“I’ve always been an anxious per- tomatically feeling less anxious and son, but the actual OCD didn’t rise up twitchy,” Diane said. She currently to the surface until second semester takes pills only when prescribed, but my first year,” Denise Ramirez ’17 said, there have been times in the past when adding that she had a rough time ad- she “just wanted to be put to sleep.” justing to college life and the rigor of Diane said she would wake up after coursework. Seventy-five percent of taking more than her prescribed dose people with anxiety disorders will see and feel like there were no thoughts symptoms before age 22, according to going through her mind. the ADAA. “I was just living. I wasn’t respondThe University is “going to worry ing to anything. I was just there,” she about liability. You are just a case that said. “I almost felt like I would rather they’ll have to deal with, as opposed feel nothing than feel what I was feelto an individual,” Ramirez said. ing — anxious.”

“Medical leaves are recommended Diane currently attends therapy for to be two full semesters,” Suarez said. her disorders, though her mother does “We want students to take full advan- not agree with all the messages she is tage of time away and have a sustained receiving. At home, to deal with her period of stability before they return.” mother, Diane occasionally “sneaks “They just wanted me out of their alcohol out of the bar.” hair,” Emily said. “They never checked For LaChance, drinking allows up on me, and they just seemed to not him to talk to people and say things care about how I was doing.” he wouldn’t normally say due to his The University’s guidelines are that social anxiety, he said. students should be in treatment the enAlcohol in social situations “might tire time they are on leave, Suarez said. make it easier, but one of the afterefEmily started “intense treatment” fects is anxiety,” Nelson said. immediately after leaving Brown, inAt school, Diane does not use alcluding cognitive behavioral therapy cohol to cope with her anxiety. In fact, and mindfulness training. “For people many students say their panic attacks who do not have the are easily triggered financial means that by alcohol and mariFor the students I have, what are they juana. who don’t feel supposed to do with their time off?” EmHappiest happy, they feel ily said. students? like everyone else Ramirez applied The Princeton is happy. It makes R e v i e w r a n k e d to return to school after one semester them feel isolated Brown as number of absence but was one on a list of coland alone. denied. “They said leges with the happithat I wasn’t stable est students in 2009 Sherri Nelson enough yet,” she and 2010.

DIRECTOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL said.

“It’s a doubleSERVICES A multidisciedged sword in a plinary committee way,” Nelson said.

— composed of members from Health “For the students who don’t feel Services, Psych Services, the Office of happy, they feel like everyone else the Dean of the College, the Office of is happy. It makes them feel isolated Student Life and Student and Employ- and alone.” ment Accessibility Services — reviews Mental health, including anxiety, each student’s application carefully, is something you can’t see compared Suarez said. to identity, race or gender, said Sophia Emily also tried to reapply after Liang ’15, who is a student volunteer one semester and was denied. Feeling for the Samaritans of Rhode Island, ready to return, Emily then responded an organization dedicated to suicide with an appeal that the University later prevention and mental health awareclaimed to have lost, she said. After ness. “Usually people with a mental re-sending her paperwork, Emily was illness or condition are pretty good approved to return in fall 2013. at hiding it too.”

Once readmitted, Emily also found And while students may admit out that she was no longer in the Pro- they are stressed, they less often admit gram for Liberal Medical Education. “I that they experience anxiety or have had to finish my fall semester, get good an anxiety disorder. grades and then reapply to (PLME),” According to NAMI, stigma is the she said. “Talk about pressure.” number one reason why students do not seek help for their anxiety.

The effects of substance Anxiety “is talked about in a light, “Psych Services is relatively joking manner. As far as actual, more

severe cases such as anxiety disorders are concerned, I don’t think they’re talked about nearly enough,” Emily said.

Brown’s chapter of Active Minds was formed in fall 2012. The organization’s goal is to reduce the stigma around mental health, Blinn said.

Ramirez said the University should be more vocal about the resources available to students. Students “shouldn’t be ashamed to take these resources,” she added.

“I feel as though our students are feeling less stigmatized about mental health than we, as a society, have in the past,” Suarez said. “We are much more aware and informed.”

“There’s room for improvement … even at how we talk to one another,” Candace said. “I want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem, which is silence.”

» ASK A SLAVE, from page 8 When people look at George Washington, they empathize with him and with that history and with his heroism. The problem is that — especially if they are white — they associate themselves with him and not necessarily his slaves. But with this show, he’s the background — it’s about Lizzie Mae. We can use humor to effectively talk about things that are very serious. I don’t think that because people laugh it means that it is somehow not as important. I think comedy can actually do serious subjects a lot of justice.

Going back to your experience at Mount Vernon, how are you able to decipher between people who ask you questions because they want to learn and those who just appear to be ignorant about slavery?

I found that most people wanted to learn. Most people were there to pick up some knowledge. As far as a person who is belligerent versus a person who just happens to have something wrong, it’s a matter of personality types. They make themselves pretty easily known.

Like the man who asked me to see where I was branded — I didn’t continue a conversation with him because he wasn’t taking me seriously. Also, there was a man that said, “Slavery is an industrious life where you get room and board for your work.” I tried to engage the person. The man was trying to lead me to express facts that would back that up in front of his school group. The children were my main concern, so I tried to lead him down a different way of thinking. It depends on how they express their point of view. If they ask you a question, you have more control over the situation.

If they make a statement that’s wrong, you have to be really quick and come back with something that will keep the conversation going.

Is there going to be another season of “Ask a Slave”?

There’s actually not another season.

I feel like I have made the statement I needed to make. People would say, “Lizzie Mae can give her opinion on movies that come out.” No, she can’t.

Then it becomes this strange minstrel show. I have to maintain the integrity.

If I draw it out too long, then that becomes threatened. But you never know, maybe in the future (I will) have more stories.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SPORTS BULLETIN

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

M. BASKETBALL

In first round of CIT Tournament, Bruno to host Crusaders Monday marks first time postseason game will be played on College Hill in program history

By ALEX WAINGER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Coming on the heels of a heart-breaking overtime loss to NCAA tournamentbound Harvard last weekend, the men’s basketball team accepted a bid to compete in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Bruno will host its first-round matchup against the College of the Holy Cross Monday.

Holy Cross (19-13, 12-6 Patriot) finished third in the Patriot League this season. The squad was recently bounced from its conference tournament by American University (20-12, 13-5), a team the Bears (15-13, 7-7 Ivy) beat 7267 during the non-conference portion of their schedule in early December.

Despite falling to fifth place in the Ivy League, Bruno still managed to earn a spot in the CIT — just its fifth postseason tournament berth in program history. Throughout the entire season, the Bears never lost a game by doubledigits and consistently threatened the top teams in the conference.

Head Coach Mike Martin ’04, who was a member of the 2003 squad that appeared in the National Invitational Tournament, believes that the tournament bid demonstrates “the progress

we are making and the hard work of our players.” He also emphasized the excitement of the entire organization regarding the invitation.

The Bears will join 31 other teams in the single-elimination-style bracket.

Bruno qualified for the tournament by finishing the season with a winning percentage of .536 — satisfying the CIT’s miniumum requirement of a winning season — despite dropping its final three games of the season. The selection committee based its invitations primarily on strength of schedule, strength of conference and the team’s final 10 games of the season.

Brown forward Cedric Kuakumensah ’16 will anchor the squad in the first home postseason game in program history. Kuakumensah was recently honored with the Ivy Defensive Player of the Year award, making him just the second player in Ivy League history to win the award in back-to-back seasons.

In the second half of the season, Kuakumensah flourished, proving he is capable of leading the Bears on both offense and defense. In the last five games of the season, the sophomore averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5.4 blocks per game. Kuakumensah was also selected as an All-Ivy Honorable Mention.

The Crusaders’ Dave Dudzinski will challenge Kuakumensah in the paint on both ends of the floor. Dudzinski, an NABC first-team All-District honoree, has captained the squad for the past two years. This season, Dudzinski averaged

15.4 points and 7.5 rebounds, starting all 32 games for Holy Cross.

Dudzinski is a machine on the offensive end. He shot nearly 50 percent from the field on over 350 attempts. The 6-foot-9 center occasionally drifts out behind the arc and takes a three, but the majority of his points are scored down low. The big man has a variety of post moves that make staying in front of him a challenge.

Dudzinski and Malcolm Miller, a starting forward for Holy Cross, form an imposing duo in the paint. Miller is the team’s second-leading scorer, pouring in almost 11 points per game. He is also the Crusaders’ primary rim protector, having blocked 58 shots this season.

Anthony Thompson, Justin Burrell and Eric Green round out the usual starting five for Holy Cross. On average, the starters score 78 percent of the team’s points, with the majority of the bench scoring coming from Cullen Hamilton. But Hamilton has battled injuries throughout the season that have kept him from being a constant contributor.

For the Bears, Sean McGonagill ’14 will suit up once again. The illustrious career of the face of the men’s basketball program was presumed to have ended with the team’s Ivy season. McGonagill currently sits tied for third on the conference’s all-time games started list, with 113. Assuming he will start the tournament game against Holy Cross, he will take sole possession of that spot and

KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD

Leland King ’17 surveys the court. The forward has become a regular starter and will play a key role in any tournament run the team makes. move within one game of the former Quaker Zach Rosen, who started 115 games for Penn from 2008-2012.

If Bruno can advance in the tournament, McGonagill will further his stranglehold on the Brown record books. The senior trails Arnie Berman ’72 by 60 points for second on Brown’s career scoring list. A deep run by the Bears could give McGonagill the time

W. LACROSSE

BASEBALL

pushed up one day

Bruno continues search for its first win of season after being swept by South Carolina last weekend

to move even further up on many of the school’s all-time lists.

It is unclear who the Bears would face were they to advance in the tournament — the second-round matchups are chosen based on the results of the first round. But Martin’s squad will undoubtedly only think about the next round if it gets there, sticking to its coach’s mantra of taking it “one game at a time.”

Bears extend undefeated season Bears head south for Team completes comeback over Crusaders series against Patriots in away game that was

By LAINIE ROWLAND SPORTS STAFF WRITER

It took the women’s lacrosse team more than 20 minutes to get on the board against the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., Tuesday, but a dominant second half put the Bears back on top as they secured their fifth consecutive win to start the season.

Brown (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) and Yale (5-0, 1-0) are the only Ivy League teams that remain undefeated.

The Crusaders (3-5, 1-0 Patriot) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after 15 minutes of play and six turnovers by Brown. Janie Gion ’15 notched Brown’s first goal of the game and was quickly followed by co-captain Bre Hudgins ’14, who scored on a free position shot after Holy Cross’ Sophia Agostinelli committed a penalty. The Crusaders responded by widening their lead back to two on a free position goal of their own. Holy Cross scored again two minutes later to make the score 5-2.

Kerianne Hunt ’17 had the last word of the period, scoring with 20 seconds left off an assist from Danielle Mastro ’14 to take Brown into the locker room down 5-3.

The Bears were off to a slow start in an uncomfortable situation after a lastminute change had them scrambling to Worcester earlier than expected.

By ANDREW FLAX SENIOR STAFF WRITER

KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD

Kerianne Hunt ’17 leads the team with 11 ground ball pick-ups this season. She has also notched four goals and three assists.

The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but was pushed forward to Tuesday. It was also Bruno’s first weekday game.

“I think our pregame process was different,” Hudgins said. “Weekends, we usually go to the Ratty first as a team and not straight to the locker room. It was definitely a good experience. We have two more big weekday games, so hopefully we learned how to bounce back.”

While the Bears usually dominate when it comes to draw controls, their

first-half performance in the circle barely eclipsed that of Holy Cross, with five draw controls to the Crusaders’ four. This prevented Bruno from controlling the possession game, as it has done earlier in the season.

For only the second time this year, the Bears entered the second half trailing their opponent. But the team came out of halftime strong, scoring four unanswered goals to kick off the second half, with the first three coming in quick succession over three minutes. » See W. LACROSSE, page S3

The baseball team will travel to Fairfax, Va., this weekend to attempt to garner its first win of the season against George Mason University in a three-game series.

Bruno (0-3) had a rough go of it against the No. 1 University of South Carolina (15-0) last weekend, losing three games by an aggregate score of 22-0. But the margin of defeat dropped each game, to the point where the Bears fell just 1-0 in the series’ final encounter.

The third game’s scoreline was made possible by the heroic efforts of Christian Taugner ’17, who held the country’s top team to one run over seven innings in the first start of his collegiate career.

He gave up seven hits and two walks, but South Carolina’s lone score came on a sacrifice fly.

For his stellar outing, Taugner was named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Week and co-Rookie of the Week along with Princeton’s Danny Baer. No Brown pitcher had won both of those awards since Anthony Galan ’14 in March 2011, and a Bear hasn’t won Pitcher of the Week outright since Matt Kimball ’11 did so a week before Galan shared the

honor in 2011.

Head Coach Marek Drabinski mentioned last weekend that Taugner had all but certainly earned a spot in the starting rotation for conference play, but he should have an opportunity to lay all doubts aside with another strong showing this weekend.

The Bears struggled on offense against South Carolina, failing to plate a single runner. They hit .156/.174/.178 against the intimidating Gamecock staff, striking out 28 times while walking just once. Bruno also notched only two extra-base hits, both from outfielder Daniel Massey ’14. But the series was the Bears’ first of the year and provided an opportunity for the team to discover problems and work on addressing them.

With South Carolina in the rearview, Bruno prepares for the Patriots (96). George Mason began the season on a hot streak, winning its opening three games and five of its first six while playing in tournaments in South Carolina.

George Mason won its first three games upon its return to Virginia but has since lost four of five against relatively middling opponents. The only ranked team the Patriots have faced is No. 13 North Carolina, to whom they fell by a score of 13-3 in Chapel Hill, N.C. George Mason has been strong with the bats thus far this season. The Patriots have scored 76 runs on the season, which amounts to just over five per » See BASEBALL, page S4

S2 sports commentary A method to the (March) madness

BY DEREK LEVINSON sports columnist

With Selection Sunday just two days away, college basketball’s conference tournaments are in full swing. Here are my thoughts on each conference as we count down the hours.

AAC: It’s not often that the defending national champion is underrated.

Somehow, Louisville has managed to escape the national spotlight while compiling a 26-5 record and the second seed in the AAC tournament. The Cardinals return their leading scorer from last season’s championship team, Russ Smith, but preseason expectations were low for the Cardinals, who had lost point guard Peyton Siva and defensive centerpiece Gorgui Dieng to the NBA. More importantly, during the offseason, the NCAA instituted new rules on hand-checking that drastically limited the aggressiveness of on-ball defense. Louisville’s highpressure defense stood to lose the most from the rule change, which has lowered turnovers across the board.

But Louisville’s defensive metrics have remained high relative to other teams.

Junior transfer Chris Jones’ playmaking has given Smith some relief in the backcourt, and sophomore Montrezl Harrell has developed into one of the most dominant forwards in the league. Cincinnati, SMU, UConn and Memphis all have a legitimate chance to win, but Louisville has emerged as the clear favorite.

ACC: Virginia has been brilliant all year long. They do not have the individual stars that other elite ACC teams can rely on, but the Cavaliers make up for what they lack in athleticism with smart play. No team is better off the ball than the Cavaliers.

Joe Harris is the craftiest offensive player in the country and the rest of the squad seems to have picked up his tricks. They also boast one of the best defenses in the country.

But they really do not have the individual talent that Duke, Syracuse and North Carolina possess. Duke has the most skilled players of any team in the conference, possible NBA lottery pick Jerami Grant has returned to Syracuse from an injury and UNC won 12 straight before falling to Duke in its regular season finale. The real surprise would be if fifth-seeded Pittsburgh ran the table. Despite going a mediocre 11-7 in conference play, the Panthers’ scoring margin suggests they have a real chance to win the tournament.

Big 10: This one is up for grabs.

Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State are all perennial contenders, and this season is no exception. Ohio State’s suffocating backcourt defense props up an anemic offense. This year, Ohio

State Head Coach Thad Matta lacks a skilled all-around player like Jared Sullinger or Deshaun Thomas to make his relatively stagnant offensive schemes successful. Wisconsin ranks 325th in the country in possessions per game, which counts as up-tempo for the Badgers. The athleticism of sophomore forward and projected first-round draft pick Sam Dekker has enabled Wisconsin to vary from Bo Ryan’s methodical system. But the real surprise has been junior forward Frank Kaminsky, whose sweet shooting and interior presence has paced the Badgers. Big 10 Player of the Year Nik Stauskas of Michigan leads the conference’s best half-court offense, but the Wolverines have struggled on the defensive end. Despite a bevy of injuries, Michigan State managed to hang on to the conference’s third seed. Now that all of its key players are healthy, it may well be the favorite in the playoffs. Everyone seems to have given up on Iowa. The Hawkeyes were the nation’s darlings early in conference play, having accumulated a slew of wins against mediocre teams on their home floor. Now they have lost five of their last six and have fallen off of the AP poll. But Iowa is the same team it was at the beginning of the year. None of its last five losses were by double digits and all came against solid teams.

Big 12: Even without conference defensive player of the year Joel Embiid, Kansas is still the clear favorite to win the Big 12 tournament. Kansas recently secured its tenth straight Big 12 championship with a 14-4 regular conference season record, and yesterday they removed a major obstacle in beating Oklahoma State. Thanks to a seven-game losing streak, OSU was only seeded eighth in the conference, but you would be hard pressed to find seven more talented teams in the country. In preseason Player of the Year Marcus Smart and senior guard Markel Brown, the Cowboys have the most dynamic backcourt in the nation. The fact that OSU was an eight seed in its conference is unbelievable until you consider the depth of the Big 12 this year. Including OSU, the Big 12 will likely send seven of its ten teams to the big dance. No team has compiled a resume to challenge Kansas as the best team in the conference, but any team good enough for an at-large bid has the potential to steal the conference tournament if a few things break its way.

Big East: Regular season Big East champion Villanova lost in a shocker yesterday to eighth-seeded Seton Hall. Villanova went undefeated in the conference aside from two ugly losses to Creighton, which is now the clear favorite in the conference tournament. Senior forward Doug McDermott is likely to win multiple player of the year awards. His elite post game and shooting spearheads

Creighton’s offense, which is the most efficient in the country. Villanova’s big loss improves Creighton’s odds, but the real winner is Providence, who just beat St. John’s to secure the rights to play lowly Seton Hall in the semifinals. The Friars have been on the NCAA tournament bubble all year, but with St. John’s and Villanova out of the way they have a chance to take the decision out of the selection committee’s hands.

SEC: The Florida Gators went undefeated in conference play, but the SEC tournament is not as sure a bet as it appears. Ultra-athletic Kentucky has been in the national title conversation all year. Every Kentucky starter is 6-foot-5 or taller, so it should be no surprise that the Wildcats’ poor overall play has been negated by their rebounding. Kentucky rebounds 42.4 percent of its own misses, the best rate in the nation by a wide margin. But a bigger dark horse looms on Florida’s side of the bracket. Tennessee is the most underrated team in the country.

Led by senior guard Jordan McRae and junior forward Jarnell Stokes, the Volunteers have secured the fourth seed in the SEC tournament.

Using the team’s scoring differential, I estimated that Tennessee would be expected to win 25 of the 31 games it has played, which would put the Volunteers on par with elite teams like Syracuse. Instead, a season full of blowout wins and close losses has led to a 20-11 record and a precarious perch on the NCAA tournament bubble. If Tennessee’s string of bad luck does not continue, expect it to challenge for the SEC title.

Pac 12: Arizona has played well without injured forward Brandon Ashley and remains the clear favorite to win the conference tournament. The Wildcats’ lack of perimeter shooting is disturbing, but their elite defense and rebounding more than makes up for their scoring woes. No team will come close to being favored over Arizona, but six or seven other teams have an outside shot at winning the conference. Look out for seventh-seeded Oregon. The Ducks stumbled at the beginning of conference play, but that looks like a blip on the radar between going undefeated in nonconference games and winning their last seven against Pac 12 opponents. To win the league, Oregon will likely have to go through the top three seeds: Arizona, UCLA and Arizona State. As it happens, Oregon beat every one of those teams in its seven-game win streak.

Derek Levinson ’17 has been a college basketball prognosticator since birth. If he’s wrong about any of these predictions, complain to him at derek_levinson@brown.edu.

Thanks for reading! www.browndailyherald.com

SPORTS BULLETIN THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

Nate’s neat $20 bracket challenge

BY NATE SVENNSON sports columnist

Next week, millions of Americans will fill out brackets for the annual NCAA basketball tournament, commonly referred to as March Madness.

Over the years, the tournament has shown that it is more than deserving of this moniker with huge upsets and Cinderella stories making the games of March Madness an absurd viewing experience. On top of that, the well-known drop in productivity that happens every year during the tournament has undoubtedly induced delirium in more than one boss across the country. However, this year’s Madness is going to be just a little bit crazier for the average fan as the billionaire philanthropist and bridge enthusiast Warren Buffett has offered $1,000,000,000 to anyone who successfully fills out a perfect NCAA bracket.

While this offer may seem like a publicity stunt put on by an eccentric billionaire, it is actually a pretty sound investment for the world’s fourth-richest man. The idea for the “Billion Dollar Bracket” was thought up by the marketing team at Quicken Loans, which has decided to take a brief respite from its reckless and predatory lending tactics to become involved with this promotion. But while the contest was Quicken’s idea, the company will not be shelling out $1 billion of its own money should someone miraculously fill out a perfect bracket.

This is where Buffett comes in.

Quicken has paid Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, a fraction of the payout (it has been rumored this amount is $10 million) to insure this promotion. Essentially, Buffett is taking a billiondollar bet at 10:1 odds that no one will correctly guess the winners of every game. Based on the absurdly slim probability of actually doing this, it seems like Buffett is making a safe bet. According to Quicken, the odds of someone successfully filling out a perfect bracket are one in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, though a DePaul math professor gives slightly better odds at only one in 128,000,000,000 to anyone with basic knowledge of college basketball. For those unfamiliar with statistics, this means that Buffett isn’t going to have to pay anyone $1 billion.

Buffett is essentially making a cool $10 million due to this ploy, and Quicken Loans is also making out like a bandit. For the (relatively) small cost of $10 million, Quicken will be gaining access to the names and email

addresses of every person who signs up for the bracket challenge. This information will undoubtedly be used in future marketing campaigns

by Quicken, and the cynic in me is sure the information will be sold off to the highest bidder as soon as the company is through with it. Quicken is getting far more time in the public spotlight than it has any right to.

Would anyone in America not trying to refinance a mortgage give a damn about Quicken Loans if not for its bracket challenge? The answer to that is more than likely a no (I offer a sincere apology to any reader who cares about Quicken Loans).

This got me thinking. If Warren Buffett and Quicken Loans are getting all this attention from their Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge, maybe if I had my own bracket challenge, I too could get this same level of exposure. So, in an act of hubris, I am using the pages of today’s Herald to put forth my own bracket challenge to the public: “Nate’s Neat Bracket Challenge.” Anyone who correctly guesses the winner of all 63 games in the upcoming NCAA tournament will receive a six-pack of Narragansett Light and a $20 gift certificate to Kabob and Curry. Additionally, any winner of my challenge can request that I attend Kabob and Curry with them (though I won’t be paying, so you’ll have to use the gift certificate on my meal). If no one fills out a perfect bracket, the individual with the least imperfect bracket will receive a high five.

My one piece of advice for those thinking about participating in Nate’s Neat Bracket Challenge is to be like Han Solo. Never let anyone tell you the odds. Just like when Han was piloting the Millennium Falcon through the Hoth asteroid field following the rebels’ crushing defeat at the Battle of Hoth, don’t let any golden-headed twerp (whether it be C-3PO or me) tell you what you can and cannot accomplish. Though to be fair, Han’s odds of successfully navigating that asteroid field (3,720 to 1) were much better than the odds of you actually winning my challenge.

Regardless, I wish all of you the best of luck in filling out your brackets. I really want one of you to win.

I’ve been craving Kabob and Curry and can’t bring myself to go there alone.

Bracket submissions can be emailed along with your name, Banner ID, Social Security number, mother’s maiden name and a valid credit card number to definitelynotaphishingscam@ gmail.com.

schedule S3

SPORTS BULLETIN THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

» BURR, from page 1

» W. LACROSSE, from page S1

University,” Burr said, according to a University press release. “The student-athletes I’ve coached will always be a part of my family.”

Burr concludes her tenure as the winningest coach in Brown basketball history — for either the women’s or men’s teams — in the process leading the team to four Ivy League titles.

Prior to Burr’s hiring, the women’s basketball program had won 162 games in its 15 seasons of existence.

Burr matched then doubled that total, breaking the coveted 300-win mark in 2012 and amassing 324 total victories in her time as coach.

“She’s won more than 300 games, she’s won Ivy championships and she’s brought a great feel for Brown and Ivy Athletics to work with her on a daily basis,” said Director of Athletics Jack Hayes.

Three consecutive Ivy titles from 1992-94 cemented Burr in Bruno lore, and the coach emerged as a key figure in Ivy League history in 1994. Following their league title that year, the Bears became the first women’s team from the Ancient Eight to participate in the NCAA tournament.

Looking back at a quarter-century of coaching, Burr said “so many stories” will stay with her. Former players, other coaches, faculty members and officials have contacted her since her retirement announcement to congratulate and thank her.

“We won championships, but they’re not talking about the games,” Burr said. “They are talking about the stories, the effect — talking about their lives.”

Burr built a great reputation with players as a parent-like figure, said Lauren Clarke ’14, who just finished her last season as a guard on the team.

“She’s one of those coaches who really, truly loves the game of basketball,” Clarke said. “She has a great relationship with everybody off the

“Our coaches reminded us to focus on the little things that we really pride ourselves on, like the draws and the ground balls,” Hudgins said. “Doing the little things really made the difference.”

Hudgins scored the second half ’s first goal, off another free position shot.

Ali Kim ’17 followed to tie the game 5-5 with her second goal of the season off an assist from Mastro, who had three assists on the game and ranks third in the Ivy League in that category.

Hunt scored two minutes later with a helper from Gion. Natalie Fox ’17 was next, scoring her first collegiate goal off a free position shot. Four of Brown’s nine total goals against Holy Cross were scored by first-years, a testament to the squad’s depth.

With 15 minutes left to play, Holy

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

Head Coach Jean Marie Burr addresses her team during a timeout. Burr retired after a 26-season career, notching a record 324 wins. court. She’ll do anything she can for us.”

After capturing their fourth conference crown in 2006, Burr and the Bears hit rough waters. The team finished last in the league three seasons in a row and has not posted a record above .500 in Ivy play since. Despite overall struggles, Bruno sprinkled in moments of greatness — knocking off the University of Florida, a national powerhouse, in 2010 and spoiling Princeton’s title hopes with an upset this season.

Burr said it “never feels like it’s the right time” to retire, but she knows she’s had a full career. She added that with five graduating seniors and six incoming first-years — a relatively large recruiting class — personel turnover could act as a “springboard” for the next coach.

The search process for a new head coach has begun with the Department of Athletics forming a committee to find and review applicants, Hayes said. He added that he has already

Cross scored its only goal of the second half on a man-up advantage as Rebecca Dahle ’16 served a yellow card penalty. Veteran co-captains Hudgins and Grace Healy ’14 scored the last two goals of the game, for a final score of 9-6. Hudgins’ goal was her 15th of the season, putting her second in the conference in total goals, and she notched her fourth hat trick of the year.

In the second half, Brown returned to its command over draw controls as Hudgins, Healy, Hunt, Gion and Lauren Toy ’16 combined for seven draw controls to Holy Cross’ one. Eight saves from Kelly Roddy ’15 against the Crusaders contributed to her Ivy-leading total of 38 as well as her league-best save percentage of 57.6 — 6 percentage points ahead of the nearest competitor.

The Bears return home Saturday to take on Central Connecticut State University (2-2) at 1 p.m.

met with players on the women’s basketball team to discuss the search process and solicit opinions.

While the athletic department has yet to review any individual candidates, the pool will be developed in a variety of ways, Hayes said. Some candidates will reply to an online application, others will be invited by the search committee and some may be current assistant coaches at Brown.

Hayes said he expects to have a new coach named by May 1.

“When we do this, we want to move as quickly as possible, but not at the expense of doing a thorough search,” Hayes said.

“I’m looking forward to new energy and getting new opportunities,” said All-Ivy guard Sophie Bikofsky ’15, who will enter her senior campaign with Burr’s replacement. “We’ve struggled in the past two years, so that should be different.”

-With additional reporting by Bruno Zuccolo

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

SPORTS BULLETIN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Hudgins ’14 stuns No. 16 Tigers with game-winner In two conference games this season, Hudgins has posted seven goals, almost a third of team’s scoring

By LAINIE ROWLAND SPORTS STAFF WRITER

Bre Hudgins ’14 fired a game-winning goal into the back of the net Saturday to lift the women’s lacrosse team over No. 16 Princeton, ending a 23-year winless drought against the Tigers.

Despite Princeton devoting a defender to Hudgins at all times, the senior captain broke free late in overtime to notch her third goal of the game.

When the Bears traveled to Worcester, Mass., Tuesday for a bout with the College of the Holy Cross, Hudgins powered the offense once again with three goals. She is the focal point as Bruno continues to extend its undefeated season. Hudgins’ season total of 15 goals leads the team and ranks her second among Ivy players. For her late-game heroics and leadership role on an undefeated squad, The Herald has selected Hudgins as the Athlete of the Week.

When did you get serious about lacrosse?

Lacrosse has always been something that’s been more like an outlet for me. It’s always been really fun. I think making the decision to come to Brown, (Head Coach Keely McDonald ’00) was very clear that we’re trying to become competitive nationally.

“You’re going to come to Brown and make this program better.”

Last year was really a turning point for my class and the program on the whole. We had really close games, which was an eye-opener for us and showed us that if we put in the work and the time, we can get the

results we want. If we stay positive and keep lacrosse happy, we can get the job done.

At Brown, we are really lucky that we have coaches who don’t want lacrosse to be a job. They want us to have fun and keep it light while also getting better. That’s a great way to look at lacrosse, and I think it’s really shaped what I do here.

How did you choose to play for Brown?

I think our head coach does a really great job of selling Brown and the team. She went here, so she knows the ins and outs of the school and is really honest about that. The chance to play in the Ivy League and work to change a program is a really unique experience. All the girls who committed with me were ready to do that, and I was ready to be challenged here and excited by the opportunities from playing lacrosse here. There were so many factors at Brown that made playing lacrosse an extra benefit.

As a senior, what did it mean for you to finally beat Princeton?

It was amazing. It was one of those games where there wasn’t one person who was the star. Everything that we’ve worked so hard on, we executed. Everybody did their job.

Even people who didn’t necessarily see playing time were really loud and supportive from the bench. We all believe in everything we’ve been working for, but it was great to finally get there. I think it was surreal for five minutes, but then we realized, “No, we actually are this good.” This win really just opened the door for everything we can do this season.

What were you thinking going into overtime?

Going into overtime, we were just

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

Bre Hudgins ’14 leads Bruno with 15 goals this season. Last weekend, the senior scored an overtime goal to lift the Bears over Princeton. all so confident in each other. We knew we just had to play our game and stay calm. During the whole game we stayed positive and backed each other up no matter the score, because it was just what we had to do. In overtime we just had to keep the ball. Things happened so fast, it wasn’t even planned. There were scrambles and then I cut away, took the drive and got the pass. Whatever happened just happened. Everyone stepped up in the second half, and it was a big confidence boost for the

program. We always knew that we could, but now that we did it, we can’t wait to see what else we can do.

What are your plans for next year?

I got accepted into Teach for America, actually in Providence. My sister is going to be playing for Brown next year — she plays defense. She fought me at first about coming here, but after she visited, she was sold on playing here. … So I’ll definitely be around supporting the program.

» BASEBALL, from page S1 game, and have churned out 2.6 extra base hits per game. Most of their extra base hits have been doubles, leading to a somewhat low .366 slugging percentage, but the squad has also knocked six home runs.

The Patriots have also pitched quite well. Entering their matchup with UNC, the Patriots were 17th in the country with a 2.02 team ERA, and though it jumped to 2.76 when the Tar Heels tagged them for 13 runs, the increase came against one of the best teams in the country. The leader of their impressive staff is Anthony Montefusco, who has been on a tear this season. He has made four starts and pitched a total of 25 innings, allowing 22 hits, three walks and no runs while striking out 24 opponents.

He has pitched the fourth-most innings of any pitcher who has yet to allow a run this season.

The excellent George Mason pitching staff will make it no easier for the Bears to break through and score their first run of the season, but they are still no Gamecocks, whose 1.20 team ERA ranks as the third-best in college baseball. The Bears will likely enter the run column this weekend, though perhaps not with a massive splash.

Even if Bruno’s offense gets on the scoreboard, it may continue to struggle, especially if it has not learned the importance of executing with runners on base. Poor performance in that aspect of the game, along with a lack of power hitting, hurt the Bears badly last weekend, though Drabinski has said he is not concerned about the latter issue.

This weekend’s series will come down to how Bruno pitches. If players like Taugner and Dave St. Lawrence ’15 can throw like they did against the Gamecocks, and Anthony Galan ’14 can return to form, the Bears might just be able to control the Patriots’ offense enough to pull out some wins.

The weekend’s first game is Friday at 3 p.m.

today 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

silent protest VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH Cajun Pasta with Chicken, French Onion Soup, Vegetarian Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, Whoopie Pies

Lobster Bisque, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Breaded Chicken Fingers, Enchilada Bar, Whoopie Pies

DINNER Roast Pork Loin with Herbs, Focaccia with Rosemary and Onion, Red Potato Frittata, Peach Cobbler

Bourbon BBQ Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese Strata, Roasted Red Potato with Herbs, Corn Cobbettes

JOSIAH’S

THREE BURNERS

QUESADILLA OR GRILLED CHEESE

Banh Mi

Make-Your-Own Quesadillas

BLUE ROOM

SOUPS

DINNER ENTREES

Clam Chowder, Minestrone, Beef with Bean Chili

Naked Burritos

sudoku RYAN WALSH / HERALD

A group of students from Turkey gathers on the Faunce steps Thursday to stage a silent protest against what they called the Turkish government’s authoritarianism and oppression of basic human rights.

comics A&B | MJ Esquivel ’16

RELEASE DATE– Friday, March 14, 2014

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c rNorris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich ACROSS 1 Set count 5 Ally of Sun 11 Relocation aid 14 Unrestrainedly 15 Divulges 16 As per 17 Liner with Intel inside?

19 One may be flipped 20 When many night visions occur?

21 Revealing garb 22 Nylon notable?

25 Bag 29 High mountain 30 “Yikes!”

31 Lock 34 “Gerontion” poet’s monogram 37 Get one’s kicks in a painful way?

41 Rush participant’s prize 42 Fields 43 Give for a while 44 Music-licensing org.

45 Meshes 47 Principal plant?

53 Playground bouncer 54 Like some important letters 59 Pay stub?

60 Surprise the neighborhood?

62 Take home 63 University of Minnesota mascot Goldy __ 64 Unsigned, briefly 65 Private __ 66 Professorial duds 67 Numerous

10 57-Down measure 11 Bona fide 12 Dress style 13 Floor 18 Pool lead-in 21 Tourist’s guide 23 Secure at the dock 24 Otherwise 25 Highest power?

26 Petri dish filler 27 Vacation destination 28 Chemical suffix 31 Digital temperature gauge?

32 Genetic messenger 33 Unexpected fictional visitors 34 You, to a Friend 35 Function in 39Down 36 Scraps 38 “__ Said”: Neil Diamond hit 39 It involves angles, for short 40 35mm camera option 44 Marathon unit: Abbr.

45 Trains may stop at them 46 Smooth-talking 47 Chophouse choice 48 Tin Man actor Jack 49 Make merry 50 Breadth 51 “Wag the Dog” actress 52 Ticked

Bacterial Culture | Dana Schwartz ’15

55 Hoax 56 New York college with a mascot named Killian 57 Coll. major 58 Fashion letters 60 York, for one: Abbr.

61 Do-ityourselfer’s concern

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

calendar TODAY

MARCH 14

12 P.M. A LITTLE MORE TO LIFE SOMEWHERE ELSE: AMERICAN GIRLS IN JAPANESE SHOJO MANGA

Hisayo Ogushi, professor of English at Keio University, presents a lecture on the depiction of American girls in Japanese comics. The event is held in honor of the Brown-Keio Exchange and Brown’s 250th anniversary. Peter Green House 7 P.M. HYDROGEN JUKEBOX

Presented by Brown Opera Productions, the performance explores post-World War II America through poems by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg and music by Phillip Glass. Alumnae Hall xwordeditor@aol.com

03/14/14

TOMORROW

MARCH 15

9:30 A.M. DOSTOEVSKY BEYOND DOSTOEVSKY

The two-day symposium explores Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky’s real or imagined dialogues with intellectuals from both his era and afterward. Pembroke Hall 305 9:30 A.M. REFRAMING HONG KONG: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CITY, 2017 AND BEYOND

Organized by the Hong Kong Students Association, the conference examines Hong Kong’s recent social-political developments through discussions featuring 16 American and Hong Kong guest speakers. Various locations

DOWN 1 Scrape 2 Mideast VIP 3 __ sci 4 Take from the top 5 Dress 6 ’20s-’30s skating gold medalist 7 Personal answer 8 “My Name Is __ Lev”: Chaim Potok novel 9 “__ can’t”

By Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

(c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

SUNDAY

MARCH 16

11 A.M. “THINKING BORDERS” PANEL DISCUSSION

Organized by the Department of Modern Culture and Media, the panel discussion explores questions of borderization, borderlessness and contemporary globalization. Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Martinos Auditorium 7 P.M. BROWN LECTURE BOARD PRESENTS: LAVERNE COX, AASIF MANDVI AND RJ MITTE

Three critically acclaimed actors in television series such as “Breaking Bad” and “Orange is the New Black” discuss changing 03/14/14

stereotypes on television. Salomon 101

6 diamonds & coal

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

DIAMONDS & COAL Coal to the BCA member who said of Chance the Rapper, “His social media presence is amazing.” That’s great, but we’re not going to be on Twitter during Spring Weekend.

A diamond to the male undergraduate who said of the baseball team’s improvement in a loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, “the more you do it, the better you get.” What a great team to test that theory on.

Coal to the Aga Khan who said, “Everybody makes mistakes — never regret them, but correct them.” The Herald regrets his error.

A diamond to the president of the Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art, who said its mission is to “kindle curiosity and encourage experimentation.”

We thought that’s what sex ed was for.

A diamond to the “sharrow” road markings — arrows indicating shared space for motorists and bicyclists to be painted on Thayer Street. We hope the updated Rhode Island drivers’ manual teaches new drivers that sharrowing is caring.

Coal to Technology House, which has two permanently locked rooms in its basement, one that stores the pieces to the infamous SciLi Tetris game, and another which leads to an underground tunnel. Perhaps they can hack their way through those locks.

Cubic zirconia to Jackie O’Neill, university marshal at Harvard, who said the school’s 375th anniversary event was “like Woodstock in the Yard.”

Who can forget that classic 600-pound cake in the shape of Jimi Hendrix?

Coal to Jack Dorsey, Twitter and Square co-founder, who said of his ventures, “A good tool not only does its job — it gives people joy.” That’s why we love our vibrators.

K I M B E R LY S A LT Z

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

“A good tool not only does its job — it gives people joy.”

— Square CEO and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey

Coal to Daniel Beyers ’08, who said his artistic vision works toward “bringing these images back and causing people to have a stake in some of these beautiful, fringed places.” It sounds like some weird mohair carpet fetish, but we’re into it.

See dorsey on page 1.

Got something to say?

Leave a comment online!

Coal to the Italian studies conference last weekend entitled “Memories: Tradition and Revision, Amnesia and Retrieval.” Accurate description of our Friday night at Colosseum.

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commentary 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

Neknominations and social media NICO ENRIQUEZ opinions columnist

Nominations are evil. I am sure I am going to get one or two just for writing this op-ed. I have already received one.

In this new age, the modern definition of a “nomination,” at least as long as the fad lasts, has absolutely nothing to do with politics or prestige — it’s more about infamy. I’m talking about “neknominations,” the act of “necking” a large quantity of alcohol.

To initiate such a nomination, a friend challenges you through a Facebook video. When nominated, the objective is to out-drink, outweird or out-gross your nominator.

For proof, nominated individuals must film themselves guzzling beer as rapidly as they can. Sometimes people drink motor oil and goldfish, or maybe they drain the blood of a beaver— actually, the beaver thing hasn’t happened yet. Sometimes they even jump in an ice river and die — literally. As a reward for your bravery — or stupidity — you are then allowed to nominate two or

three friends of your own.

The Internet has allowed this simple idea to spread rapidly. Especially for young adult males. Just a month ago, I had the good fortune of being entirely ignorant of neknominations even as the ‘game’ spread from Australia to England and South Africa. Now, there is a new necking video in my newsfeed every day. Oh, and five people have died since then. It is absurdly sad-

it is only going to get easier for an employer to search your name with “nomination,” “shots,” “beer” and discover your transgression.

Why do people do neknominations? Why would I, one of the nek-haters, even consider a world where I would do one? And why are neknominations trending only among young adult males?

The game works because it is compelling. It is so hard to reject

is irrefutable evidence that the challenger has put himself out there.

There is a human element that is hard to ignore as well as the psychological manipulation inherent in a dare. This type of drinking game would never work if people sent little messages to each other detailing their drinking timeline and daring them to go harder — there is no proof in written text. People would just ignore the message. Neknomi-

Neknominations are a case study in how to spread an idea across the world: Use the Internet and compel people to get involved in your idea, then add an element of competition. Boom. dening that people could be driven to accidental death by such a game.

The millions of people who have survived their challenges will still have their bold, red, underlined Internet tattoos reading “stupid alcoholic” on their foreheads. It’s not like you can just hide your mistake under your workshirt. With Internet search algorithms becoming more sophisticated and privacy rights being violated every day by governments and businesses alike,

the process when all of your friends have put themselves on the line alongside you. Especially when your college male ego is often linked to your drinking prowess. When I was nominated, I had already started writing this column. This op-ed was going to be a full-out dump on the whole game. Then I realized the absolute power of a respected friend challenging you to do something better than he has.

The game design is genius. There

nations are a case study in how to spread an idea across the world: Use the Internet and compel people to get involved in your idea, then add an element of competition. Boom.

Neknominations are a clear example of the negative effects of social media. But as the Arab Spring demonstrated, social media has the incredible power to change countries and empower individuals. Obviously, there was an impossible-toignore challenge in the oppression

of Arab governments that caused people to act out of passion and necessity. Neknominations come from a level of leisure that the citizens of Arab Spring nations wouldn’t have dreamed of during their uprisings.

But just because the drinking game is a form of amusement doesn’t mean it can’t be turned to good uses.

The good news is, despite our seemingly global male stupidity, most of us realize that neknominations are idiotic. That acknowledgment has started a trend in South Africa to turn this online dare game into a cause for good. One man, Brent Lindeque of South Africa, used his nomination to give a homeless man a full meal — including a chocolate bar. That video has earned 750,000 views in the month since it was posted. Lindeque saw the power of the nomination structure and rebranded it. His idea is a good one — we should help him spread it.

Nico Enriquez ’16 would like to nominate Gail, Christina Paxson, and George of Darwin’s fame. You have a lifetime.

He can be reached at nenriquez3@gmail.com.

Junior year internship hunt: international edition RIA MIRCHANDANI opinions columnist

I am not a fan of the spring semester. Sure, it brings sunshine, designated days of revelry with Spring Weekend and podgy squirrels that are sights to behold as they scour campus for Ratty leftovers. But spring semester is also when the real world begins to loom large for juniors as they embark on their summer internship hunt.

For industries from consulting and banking to software engineering, the junior year internship often translates into a full-time offer from a company.

One group of students is particularly paranoid in the internship search. The international, non-American citizen students are a fascinating species, with their often climatically dysfunctional dress sense. But they are as equally Brunonian as any American student. Most international students do not have U.S. passports. So while their American counterparts can, for all intents and purposes, remain unemployed indefinitely, visa constraints force international students to alight at the next stop, whether they have found employment or not.

This makes the junior year summer internship all the more burdensome. But what strikes me as troublesome is not the burden, but the timing of it. Why must the fate of where nonAmerican students live be sealed a whole year before graduation on the basis of their junior year internship? Can companies do anything to alleviate this situation?

What non-U.S. citizen students receive upon graduation is essentially a time bomb disguised as a glossy diploma. Optional Practical Training, or OPT, is attached to students with F-1 visas that have granted them a comfortable existence in the United States. The OPT is a 12-month period, or 17-month period for STEM majors, during which they must find employment in the field of their major. At the end of this time, they

must acquire a work visa to stay in the United States any longer, which is possible only if an employer sponsors them. If unable to do so, they have to bid adieu to the land of bacon-flavored everything and the free.

Despite the economic downturn, many international students wish to work in the United States upon graduation and feel the pressure of this time bomb. “Even if Asia is booming, the industries I want to work for are still more established in the U.S. — therefore, I will be able to learn the most from working in the States compared to a new office back home,” Shengjie Zhou ’15, who is studying applied math-economics, wrote in a message to me.

It is more work for companies to hire internationals like Shengjie — they must go through the paperwork of sponsoring her work visa, which they will only be willing to do once they’re

this definitely seems like an unjust system for the recently graduated 4.0 GPA economics-physicscomputer science non-American citizen who is not backed by such an internship experience. We are accustomed to the utopia of American colleges — opportunities are yours irrespective of your citizenship. But graduation marks the point you are expected to become a contributing member of society, a fair expectation after the number of years you have spent building a valuable skill set.

Yes, America is a land of immigrants, but simply having migrated here isn’t enough to claim you belong. You need to prove your mettle and show you have something to contribute before America can call you her own.

The politics of citizenship are much more complex than the context of non-American college graduates looking for ways to prolong their stay in this land of opportunity, as glossed over

Why must the decision of where non-American students live be determined a whole year before graduation, on the basis of their junior year internship? completely sold on her capabilities. The junior year internship is the best and perhaps the only chance international students have to convince a company they are worth the effort.

It is often only larger companies that have the capability to follow through with this complex process, which makes brand names so much more important to international students.

Anamta Farook ’14, from Dubai, followed her dream by interning with the Indian government during her junior summer but told me she realized the disadvantage that put her at as she seeks jobs in the United States, competing against former company interns for the same positions or against American citizens who do not require the hassle of visa sponsorship.

The problem here is not the United States’ citizenship laws but the importance some companies give to the junior year internship as a transition into a post-graduation job. At the outset,

here. The question of citizenship by virtue of birthplace would call for a whole new column, if not a thesis. But while petitioning for changes in citizenship laws may be a solution to the internship problem, it isn’t the most feasible one.

Instead, perhaps companies of certain industries should stop giving the junior year summer internship so much weight when determining fulltime employment after graduation.

The summer internship is a way for students to explore potential career paths, to dabble in what cannot be dabbled in once they are responsible for putting their own food on the table. It should be an end in itself, but treating it as the only path to full-time employment makes it a means to end. For many companies, an internship program is essentially a 10-week interview, which is great for them but not for the students who are constantly on edge to perform.

By adopting this approach, companies are fur-

ther unleveling the already rocky playing field for non-U.S. students who do not secure a stellar summer internship. They give up all hope of employment and living in the United States before they were even supposed to have started hoping.

If the junior year summer internship did not have this weight attached, not only would there be less pressure on all students, but nonU.S. citizens would have some more time before their fate was sealed. Not getting that high-flying banking internship this summer doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be high flying back home after graduation. Rather, it means you stand as good or as bad a shot at your dream job upon graduation irrespective of where you work this summer. Then, the only battle left to fight is the one for citizenship.

De-emphasizing the role of the junior summer internship in securing a full-time job would elicit much complaint from non-U.S. and U.S. citizens alike who are lucky enough to land the ideal summer internship at their dream company. Why should they not be permitted the assurance that no matter how badly senioritis affects them, they will have a future source of income thanks to their past performance?

But I don’t think they have cause for concern.

If they had what it takes to land an internship junior year, who’s to say they cannot impress the company again a year later? Does the Super Mario Bros. video game champ lose all finger dexterity when the reset button is hit? I think not.

If you wish to live and work in the United States, American citizenship is undoubtedly a privilege — one that you have no control over, though. Yes, it is unfair that a company may hire the U.S. citizen over the international one, though both may be equally capable. But this is a situation that should be dealt with upon graduation, not more than a year before it during junior spring.

Please submit your resume and cover letter to ria_mirchandani@brown.edu.

Your thoughts on this matter are an acceptable alternative.

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD arts & culture IN CONVERSATION

Satirical ‘Ask a Slave’ tackles modern knowledge of slavery Azie Mira Dungey uses experience as historical interpreter to create reflective web series

By ISABELLE THENOR-LOUIS STAFF WRITER

A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Azie Mira Dungey spent several years working as a historical interpreter at President George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. She spent her days as part of an interactive exhibit, portraying a slave whom visitors could ask questions about life as a slave in the Revolutionary War era. She has since moved to Los Angeles, where she wrote and starred in a web series entitled “Ask A Slave,” a satire based on her real-life experiences fielding questions from tourists at Mount Vernon.

This afternoon, she will partake in a panel hosted by the Center for Public Humanities and the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, where she will screen “Ask A Slave” and discuss her work at Mount Vernon. Dungey recently spoke with The Herald about historical memory and the use of humor to confront disturbing material.

Herald: How did you get into educational theater?

Dungey: I was doing professional theater in (Washington) but needed a day job. My first day job, actually, was at the Smithsonian, at the gift shop. I heard about a traveling children’s play and auditioned. I literally went on my lunch break. Around the time that ended, the director of that show said, “At the American History Museum, they are looking for someone to do the civil rights movement show.” It was at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. It just sort of happened in front of you. It was interactive, so it was different. Then, someone I knew knew the head of the department at Mount Vernon who was looking for someone to play a slave in a scripted Christmas special on the weekends. After this job

ended, I became a (historical) interpreter for Mount Vernon on George Washington’s estate.

How is it different acting in the civil rights movement versus acting as a slave?

We, as a country, have a better handle on the narrative of the civil rights. I don’t know if a majority of people know beyond Martin Luther King. But we embrace that story. We are certainly proud of those great Americans — black and white — who helped change segregation. When it comes to slavery, we don’t have a clear sense of that narrative at all. Most people only understand it surrounding the Civil War. It’s also intensely emotional and not in a way of pride like in the civil rights movement.

The emotion is shame. We get avoidance. We get denial. We get racism. You know, people don’t want to deal with it.

When they go to Mount Vernon, they go for nostalgia. As a performer playing the part of a slave, it was almost as if I was directly in opposition to that nostalgia.

So it was a lot more fraught and a lot more difficult. It wasn’t as empowering a history as the civil rights movement.

In my class, we were recently talking about “12 Years a Slave” and the psychological aspect of playing a slave.

We were also talking about how some people argue that it is harder for white actors to play the role of a master than it is for black actors to play the role of a slave. So I was wondering if you could speak a bit about your experience. Did this take a toll on you?

That’s the first question people ask me. How did it feel? I spent about two months learning about this role. Even when I was there, I never stopped reading about the history. I had to read George Washington’s history as an individual, I had to understand how households were run (and) I had to understand Virginia history. I would say that this was the hardest part emotionally, reading the books for hours and hearing about people having horrific

COURTESY OF JOHNNY SHRYOCK

Azie Mira Dungey previously worked as a historical interpreter in an interactive exhibit at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate before launching a web series tackling modern understandings of slavery. things done to them. I remember pickling stuck out to me for weeks. People were pickled. I just couldn’t get over that. Playing a woman at that time was another layer over that. I didn’t do the kind of stuff they do at Williamsburg or even comparable to a movie like “12 Years a Slave.” I never had to pretend anything was happening at the moment.

We didn’t really act and were just available as an education resource for visitors. I never had to pretend I was getting scolded. There was never an auction scene like they do at Williamsburg. I was able to keep my emotions at bay because I was there to bring the information on a first-person level. My emotions were expended in these difficult interactions with visitors rather than portraying a slave. My emotions were more like, “Why are people asking me these ridiculous questions?” I never had to feel the emotion of having my child sold from me. I didn’t have to dig deep for those acting moments.

How did (Ask A Slave) get started?

When I was working at Mount Vernon, I would go home and talk about my

interactions with people. They would laugh most of the time, and some of the time they would shake their heads or be angry. They would say, “You have these crazy stories, you should do something with them.” So I started writing them down. Then I thought that I could make it into a web series. Then it all started to fall into place. I told the idea to Jordan Black, who used to write for (Saturday Night Live). He kept saying, “Just make it about the questions. Don’t try to go in and out of being Azie and this 18th-century person. Just make it very simple.” At first, I was very resistant to that. If it was done poorly, it could be offensive. My writing had to be so on point, or it could go terribly wrong. As I developed it and kept showing it to him, it ended up working best for (the web series) medium.

There was one episode where one of your “viewers” says that you shouldn’t be joking about slavery. So, what is your opinion on those who say jokes about slavery are not appropriate?

Well, I think some people don’t really connect with satire, and there is nothing

you can do about that. But when you have a subject that brings up so many deep-seated emotions, false assumptions and divisive feelings, one of the best tools that you have is humor, incredibly steeped in honesty. If honesty and facts are on your side and you use humor to break down the person’s defensiveness, I think it is more easily received. So when I do this show, the joke is never on (my character) Lizzie Mae. It’s never on slavery as an institution or slavery as an experience. The joke is on our inability as modern Americans to really face the history and to be honest with ourselves and each other. Beyond that, the joke is on foolishness and ignorance — it’s a little bit of shaming. But with humor, you can shame somebody into taking a second look at your point of view.

Humor is also a step toward empathy in a lot of situations. If we share a joke, we share a sense of humanity. If I give you a punchline, you have to acknowledge that you understand my point of view in order to get the joke. Once you do that, you can open yourself up to taking a second look at my point of view. » See ASK A SLAVE, page 4

Media festival addresses gender gap in film industry Feminist and Women’s Media Festival spotlights female perspectives in various cinematic productions

By MEGHAN FRIEDMANN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

From film screenings and panel discussions to a keynote address from a Bollywood actress, the Creative Arts Council’s Feminist and Women’s Media Festival is taking over the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and the Cable Car Cinema for a series of free events this weekend.

Planning for conversation Several PhD students in the Department of Modern Culture and Media put together the event, said Maggie Hennefeld GS, one of the organizers.

In 2010, Hennefeld helped coordinate the Providence Women’s Film Festival.

This year, she and her colleagues sought to recreate a different version of that festival, “making it more global and diverse,” she said.

Beth Capper GS, another MCM PhD student and organizer of the series, said the festival aims to allow people “to have a conversation about feminism and women as organizing principles for artwork.”

“We want to use the films and the artworks to … think through theoretical questions,” she added.

Capper explained that the festival is not aimed to give an “overview” of feminism or even to celebrate the terms “feminist” and “women.”

“We’re trying to think through the complex interplay between what (these terms have) made possible and what they’ve made impossible through various historical moments,” she said.

“If we don’t continue to organize and curate around these kinds of terms, then they just drop out and we just recede back to a kind of status quo of white male-generated media,” she said, underlining the necessity of creating a space

for female-created media in an era of continuing gender inequality in the field.

Filmmaking on the frontier Nilita Vachani, a writer, filmmaker and professor in New York University’s Department of Undergraduate Film and Television will participate in a panel Sunday that will explore “borderization and borderlessness,” according to the festival’s website.

“I’m … talking about borders as borders of the mind, so imaginary borders that we construct that have to do with linguistics, race (and) ethnicity,” she said, adding that the main character in her film “When Mother Comes Home for Christmas” transcends a kind of border when she takes on a traditionally male role as her family’s main provider. The film will be screened immediately following the panel.

Nadita Das — an international film star and director who has acted in over 30 films — will deliver the festival’s keynote address this evening. She said she will discuss her experience in both human

rights and cinema, adding that she will highlight cinema’s potential for bringing about social change.

The series will also screen “Firaaq” — the first feature film Das independently directed, Hennefeld said.

Female directors are not limited to focusing solely on women’s issues, Das said. For example, “Firaaq” concentrates on the resounding effects of violence on individuals and relationships, she said.

“Often people who are in more powerful positions end up telling their stories and we don’t get to know of the marginalized, of those who are on the fringes, of those who have been deliberately left out,” she said. “It’s really time that our perspective came to the floor and we had platforms to share how we looked at life and art and anything that we experience” as women.

Why women?

“Women have been underrepresented in the industry as directors, producers — as really everything but actresses — since the early silent era,” Hennefield

said. “Before filmmaking was a legitimate prestigious medium, (it) was seen as a form of secretarial labor. Women were represented in higher proportions in the film industry then — in the early 1900s — than they have been since.”

“There’s still such a great disparity between how many women end up becoming producers, directors, photographers (and) editors, and how many men do,” Vachani said.

As a professor in film, Vachani sees as many women come to study film as men, she said, but the number of women who go on to careers in film has not increased enough to close the gender gap. “We need to bring those numbers up in a more equitable way,” she added.

Festivals like this have the potential to inspire viewers and participants to enter the film industry, Vachani said.

“Students have to feel empowered — that they can do it, that there are others who have done it before them,” she said.

“There are role models out there, and you can stick out and you can have your dreams and you can fulfill them.”