Thursday, September 11, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 65

since 1891

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Teach-in highlights sharp divides over Gaza TWC creates Panel addresses political context behind violence in Gaza, draws some new name, criticism from audience mission

By CAROLYNN CONG STAFF WRITER

A teach-in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict grew tense Wednesday evening as opinions clashed in a MacMillan 117 filled to capacity.

The event, entitled “Why Gaza Matters: The War and its Consequences,” featured a panel of five speakers followed by a question-and-answer session that continued nearly an hour over the planned time frame.

The panel was moderated by Beshara Doumani P’17, director of Middle East studies and professor of history, who encouraged students to ask tough questions and voiced his hope to “bridge the gap between public discourse and academic

knowledge on the issue.”

Panel speakers addressed the historical, political and international dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Professor of History Omer Bartov said the conflict is a “deadlock” that stems from the fundamental idea that it is better to gain territory than to gain peace. On both sides, “no leader has been produced who has had the courage and sense to make the sacrifices that are called for,” he said.

“This conflict is very personal to me,” said Sa’ed Atshan, postdoctoral fellow in international studies, who is from Palestine. “My family and friends are there,” he said, adding that a few of his friends’ family members had died in the conflict. Atshan showed a presentation to the audience, including slides with photos of relatives of friends who had lost their lives.

Many describe Gaza as an “open-air prison” where people are “trapped in a » See GAZA, page 2

Brown Center for Students of Color chosen as new name as part of five-year strategic plan

By STEVEN MICHAEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ZEIN KHLEIF / HERALD

Panel moderator Beshara Doumani, director of Middle East studies, urged students to ask tough questions related to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Taubman Center to revise polling methods

By EMMA JERZYK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

REBECCA ANDREWS / HERALD

Keith Mills ’18 uses Rosetta Stone on his laptop. Many students said they have tried Rosetta Stone to learn a language in their free time.

Community quick to adopt Rosetta Stone

Over 11,000 students, faculty and alums have signed up for software since it was offered

By ALIZA REISNER STAFF WRITER

inside

Since the University began offering the online language learning program Rosetta Stone to the campus community free of charge in the spring, it has quickly seen “the fastest adoption of any software package in the history of Brown University,” said Ravi Pendse P’17, vice president for computing and information services and chief information officer.

“I’ve never seen anything this hugely popular,” he added.

To date, a total of 11,196 Brown

community members have signed up for the program, including 4,197 students — comprising 3,195 undergraduates, 773 graduate students and 211 medical students — as well as 767 faculty members, 1,053 staff members and 5,180 alums, Pendse said. CIS is very pleased with the number of people who have enrolled in the program, he said, and the number of enrollments is expected to rise steadily.

Pendse said he decided to introduce Rosetta Stone for free because it is a wellknown software program that is easy to use and includes 40 languages, the greatest diversity of options among programs of its kind. It “does not replace language instruction, but is meant to enhance it,” he added, saying the program “allows people to try things out while generating more interest in language learning.” » See ROSETTA, page 2

Under the new leadership of Director James Morone, professor of political science, public policy and urban studies, the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions plans to change its polling methodology in time for the November general election, said Shankar Prasad, the center’s new deputy director.

Morone, who was appointed July 1, said the center plans to organize “a close overhaul” of its polling methods, The Herald previously reported.

The center’s polling techniques have faced criticism in the past for not utilizing voting records, Matt McDermott, a field director at Lake Research Partners from Warwick, told WPRI in April. Greater accuracy comes from collecting responses from likely voters based on their voting record, he added.

“If you’re trying to poll in a primary election, you’re talking about a significantly reduced turnout compared to general elections,” said Scott Keeter, director of survey research at the Pew Research Center. Though campaign pollsters tend to use voter histories, the quality of voting records can vary heavily from state to state, Keeter said, adding that it is easier to poll voters in New England due to the relatively high amount of landline phone

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numbers in state voting records.

The center currently uses “voter lists provided by the Secretary of State’s office,” according to its website. The sample of voters surveyed is drawn proportionally according to the population distribution of Rhode Island, and does not sample more than 500 or 600 people. Though the sample size is small, it yields an acceptable margin of error for a state as small as Rhode Island, according to the center’s website.

In August, the center released its poll results from a survey it conducted in April 2014 among likely Rhode Island voters on the gubernatorial primaries, the legalization of marijuana, the economy and approval ratings of current elected officials. The center made predictions for the Republican primary based on “just over 13 percent” of the 600 respondents who indicated they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to vote in the Republican gubernatorial primary, according to a University press release. Marion Orr, the former director of the center, was unable to provide the gender ratio of the 86 respondents, WPRI reported.

In states that lean significantly towards one political party — such as majority-blue Rhode Island — it can be challenging to poll the minority party for primaries, Keeter said.

The University of Minnesota received similar criticism when it predicted Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton would win by 12 points, though he won the actual 2010 election by a slim 1.5-point margin, MinnPost reported.

“There were no systematic mistakes in the polling,” said Larry Jacobs, director » See POLLING, page 2

Commentary

University News New class of grants allows professors to design courses with a travel component

Various groups on campus promote discussion and awareness about Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Corvese ’15: Women should not bear the burden of avoiding rape

Ginsberg ’16: Middle East Studies program should include all the region’s cultures

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Center has been criticized for not using voting records, which identify likely voters

The Third World Center emerged Wednesday from a period of strategic planning ongoing since last fall with plans for new initiatives, a new mission statement and a new name — the Brown Center for Students of Color.

“The name, while powerful, was not accessible or easy to explain to people who needed the Third World Center,” said Mary Grace Almandrez, the center’s director and assistant dean of the College. “Students of color wanted a name that was reflective of the work we did.”

The center’s name has long been a source of some debate on campus. The strategic planning committee, composed of faculty members, students and alums, discussed over 30 potential names submitted before selecting the Brown Center for Students of Color, Almandrez said. Many of the proposed names included the words “multicultural,” “intercultural” or “cross-cultural,” though some students had voiced opposition to “multicultural” as not strong enough, she said.

“We wanted the name to be clear and simple so there was no confusion about who the center serves,” Almandrez said.

Since the public announcement of the name change and new mission statement in a campus-wide email Wednesday afternoon, Almandrez said she has received “overwhelming support” from students, alums and faculty members.

She cited the transparent process of selecting the new name and the revised mission statement as reasons for the community’s backing.

“Students are encouraged to build meaningful relationships across difference, develop racial and ethnic consciousness, and to enact change at Brown and beyond,” the new mission statement reads in part.

New initiatives outlined in the five-year strategic plan include a social justice peer education program and a student activism series. The social justice peer education program will replace the Minority Peer Counselor Friends program, which was discontinued last semester, Almandrez said. Funding has been allocated to hire a coordinator for the social justice peer educator program, she said.

Angie Ocampo ’15, a committee » See BCSC, page 3 t o d ay

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2 university news » POLLING, from page 1 of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, who directed the University of Minnesota’s poll.

“Doing polling is not just a methodology challenge,” Jacobs said. “The pollster becomes a part of the political process.”

“Campaigns have a tried and true practice on how to deal with polls where they don’t do well,” Jacobs said. Campaigns will try to discredit polls with unfavorable results by claiming that there were not enough young people or cell phone numbers, or they will try to invalidate computer-assisted polling techniques, he said. “What’s happening is a casualty of political warfare in the 21st century.”

This marks an opportunity to evaluate and possibly change polling at the University, Jacobs said, adding that even though certain critiques may be biased, this situation lets the University evaluate its own methodology.

In their new roles at the center, Prasad said he and Morone are “exploring innovative and creative ways to think about the study of public policy … (and) play a role in measuring the public opinion.”

The center is also looking to expand its reach by playing a role in regional and national policy issues in addition to local politics, Prasad said.

“One of the reasons I joined here and (Morone) joined here is that we really want to engage students as a pedagogical tool,” Prasad said, adding that the center hopes to employ its polls as a

» CLIMATE, from page 8 “Brown students were very active advocates and knowledgeable about the issues and were great contributors to the success of the legislation,” he said.

Students involved in the lawmaking process were enthusiastic about the environmental impact the law would have on Rhode Island.

Instead of having an “apocalyptic view of climate change” that hinders

» GAZA, from page 1 brutal siege with nowhere to go for safety,” Atshan said, adding that those living in Gaza are being “denied the basic rights.”

Atshan also addressed how the American media treats the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said the mainstream media in this country assumes that Israel and Palestine are “symmetrical in terms of the power they yield” despite an actual imbalance. He described Israel as an occupying force with nuclear weaponry, while he characterized Palestine as “a colonized, occupied, stateless population.”

Melani Cammett, professor of political science, highlighted the political dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Conflict and violence empower extremists,” she said, adding that support for Hamas was bolstered during periods of heightened tension, such as when the Israeli blockade began to take effect in 2008.

Cammett said data has shown a “lower level of self-reported economic security” for Palestinians who are unaffiliated with or opponents of Hamas, which she said was likely due to “discretionary access” for Hamas supporters in the Gaza. “The blockade disproportionally hurts people who were less supportive of Hamas,” she added.

“It’s tragic how extremes on both sides are feeding and legitimizing each other to produce no solution other than more and more violence,” Bartov said.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

GELT grants meld travel, courses Funding from U. allows instructors to combine courses with trips that enrich learning experience

By MICHAELA BRAWN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ASHLEY SO / HERALD

The Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions will overhaul its polling methods with the aim of being ready by November. way to educate people about the political process.

Prasad said he is hopeful that the polls will be ready for the November general election. “We’re trying to redefine the polling center for this next wave, so we want to engage different communities through this process,” he said.

Though experts waver back and forth about how polling may or may not affect voter and donor behavior, Prasad said he believes polls engage voters in political

activity. “I don’t think polls ever replace the democratic process or engagement in general. The difficulty with polls is that they’re an instance in time, and participation is an evolution.”

Though campaigns and private firms also conduct polls, University polls serve the critical purpose of adding more voices to the discussion, Prasad said.

“Our job is to provide information, and in this day and age, that is a valuable resource to our community,” Jacobs said.

progress, the Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 strives to be realistic and effective in its goals, said David Chodakewitz ’15, one of the bill’s student developers.

The EC4 is currently working with its advisory committees on strategic plans for how to reach targets set by the bill, including an 80 percent reduction of carbon emission levels by 2050, Collins said.

Changes to come will include making more investments in public transit,

reducing landfills, supporting greater energy efficiency programs that use sources of renewable energy and considering impacts of climate change when creating structural plans, Roberts said.

Considering the complications posed by erosion and flooding are necessary in planning ahead, Reitsma said.

The bill is at the forefront of efforts to address climate change, he said, adding that this is especially important since Rhode Island is a coastal state.

Cammett highlighted the recent decrease in global public approval of Israel, with the United States emerging as an exception. There has been “strong and consistent support” for Israel in the United States, she said, including higher public support for Israel among Republicans than among Democrats, a characterization that raised a question during the question-and-answer session about Cammett’s motivation behind associating support with Israel with conservative opinions at Brown. Cammett responded to the question by saying she had no objectives behind the characterization other than the available data.

Nina Tannenwald, director of the international relations program and senior lecturer in political science, said the concept of human rights is central to the conflict, and there is no prospect of a stable solution without addressing the “grievances” on both sides.

Violation of international law on one side does not justify the violation by the other, Tannenwald said. Though Israel has the right to self-defense and Palestinians have the right to resist occupation, there are limits to both parties’ actions, she added.

In the question-and-answer session that followed, Adam Bennett ’16 said the panel lacked representation of and support for Israel, garnering claps and shouts from the audience, some of whom yelled that the panel was biased. Bennett also questioned whether the role of the panel was to foster “an objective conversation”

about the conflict or to serve as a forum for the Middle East Studies program.

When the panel members moved on to address the next question, some audience members said the panel was “a stacked deck.” Doumani reiterated that the panel would only address four questions at a time, prompting two audience members to exit the room.

Nancy Khalek, assistant professor of religious studies, apologized for the students’ “angry departure” and asked audience members to continue having an “open dialogue.”

In response to Bennett’s question, Atshan asked audience members to consider“why don’t we have anyone who supports Hamas” in the auditorium. Atshan urged the audience “not to impose our own labels” and to “listen empathetically to what others have to say,” which led to snaps of approval among some audience members.

Matt Dang ’16 said he was “surprised, to say the least” at the abrupt change in tone during the question-and-answer session. It was interesting to see the clear divide in strong opinions in the auditorium, as the open discussion became more of an argument, he said.

Jonathan Tollefson ’15.5 said he was surprised at the lengths to which audience members went to try to defend Israel.

Carly West ’16 said she saw the panel as an “interesting mix of constructive, insightful people with civil questions and sharp, emotive reactions.”

Travel becomes part of the classroom experience with the inaugural Global Experiential Learning and Teaching grants. The Office of Global Engagement announced the recipients of nine GELT grants for the 2014-2015 academic year Aug. 29, according to a press release from the office. The grants enable faculty members to design courses with a travel component that is funded by the University.

GELT grants are offered in two phases, according to the Office of Global Engagement website. Phase one provides instructors up to $4,000 to travel abroad to do research for courses they are planning. Phase two offers instructors who have already developed their courses up to $35,000 to bring 12 students to a destination that enhances their learning experiences.

J. Timmons Roberts, professor of environmental studies and sociology, said he will be using a phase two GELT grant to take members of his course ENVS 1575: “Engaged Climate Policy at the UN Climate Change Talks” to Peru this coming December to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Roberts has taken students to the conference for the past three years, but the trip was neither integrated into a course nor funded in the past.

“It’s really exciting, because in the past we would spend almost the whole fall semester going around with a begging bowl … trying to raise money,” Roberts said. Now that the funding is guaranteed, students can focus on their work, he added.

“It was unfortunate that we had to devote so much time to fundraising instead of collaborative research,” said Alison Kirsch ’15, who has traveled with Roberts before. “With the GELT grant, we can devote much more time and energy to our research projects, knowing that we have funding to go to this year’s (conference) and show them off.”

“The travel component is a crucial part of the learning experience,” said

» ROSETTA, from page 1 Pendse declined to disclose the cost of offering the program for free, citing the University’s contract with Rosetta Stone.

But “you cannot put a monetary value on education or language learning,” he said.

Several students expressed satisfaction with their free access to Rosetta Stone, noting that it lets them explore learning a new language in their free time.

“I’ve always wanted to learn Spanish but didn’t want to dedicate one of my four classes to it,” said Summer Kennedy ’17.

Ezra Kagan ’17 cited similar reasons for using the program to learn Spanish.

Though he found “the nature of the program very slow,” he said he was overall pleased with the University’s decision to offer it.

“My satisfaction depends on how

Maria Bustos ’16, another student of Roberts. “One thing is to read about UN policy and another one is to actually meet and engage with policymakers and civil society,” she said, adding that the UN conference is an opportunity for students to make professional connections.

Courses funded by GELT grants can be competitive to get into, as many students are drawn to the experiential aspects of this kind of study.

Roberts, whose course is already underway, said he received 60 applications for only 12 spots.

Professor of Judaic Studies David Jacobson, another recipient of a phase two GELT grant, said he is thrilled by the “amazing opportunity.” He will be taking his course UNIV 1001: “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Contested Narratives” to both Israel and Palestine.

While Jacobson has taught the course in the past, he noted that “travel will make a tremendous difference.”

His course aims to give an objective, dual narrative to a conflict that tends to be approached from a one-sided perspective, he said, adding that his “mission will be enhanced by hearing the narrative literally come from the mouths of the people involved.”

Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology Peter van Dommelen is using his phase one GELT grant to collaborate with a colleague on creating a course that they will teach collectively, though in different countries. Dommelen will lead the course at the University, and his colleague will preside over the course in Barcelona. Toward the end of the semester, the two classes will come together to participate in an excavation in the Mediterranean.

Dommelen said he is “glad that the University is emphasizing the importance of internationalization” by providing these grants. As an archaeologist, he sees this opportunity as one “that brings fieldwork and teaching together” by enabling “students to interact with the materials rather than just see them on PowerPoints.”

Similarly, Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Medicine Amy Nunn will travel to Ghana to develop a program that she said will help students “harness their energy to do good in the world” and enhance their “professional development” with support from the University.

much the program costs,” Kagan said.

“Obviously, it didn’t work out for me very well, but if other people are having success, then it’s definitely a worthwhile tool and a good project.”

Looking ahead, CIS is working toward offering several other computer programs for free, Pendse said.

CIS administrators are in the process of introducing a program called Tableau that allows “anybody to bring an incredible amount of data visualization to presentations,” he said.

CIS is also conducting negotiations with Adobe to explore the possibility of offering the Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop and InDesign among other programs, to the community free of cost.

“We have to be mindful of the limited resources — we are not able to do everything,” he added.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Groups raise awareness on Israel-Palestine Efforts seek to encourage discourse on campus, improve understanding of conflict’s complexities

By CAROLINE KELLY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In the wake of a tumultuous summer of violence in Gaza, Brown community members are facilitating an array of events and actions to raise awareness on campus and to promote a spectrum of political stances on Israel and Palestine. Between long-standing student groups, burgeoning independent initiatives and faculty teach-ins, the conflict has once again emerged as a major topic of campus discourse.

FEATURE

Jews and Israel J Street U Brown, the campus chapter of the national organization J Street U, is looking to incorporate different perspectives this fall into Brown’s dialogue on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“We straddle this interesting place,” said chapter president Shelby Centofanti ’15. J Street supports both a secure Israel and an independent Palestinian state, according to its website. The group’s actions at Brown this semester include “teaching about the issue ... teaching what J Street is (and) being aware that our teaching events come from a particular place as opposed to a purely academic” sphere, she said.

“Our view … is that although Israel finds itself in a rough neighborhood,” the nation has “options” in the conflict, said J Street U Brown Outreach Coordinator Harpo Jaeger ’14.5. “We put more of an emphasis on these questions of agency and of choices,” he added, noting the range of issues that American Jews must confront in light of the conflict.

The group’s biggest upcoming event will feature Maen Areikat, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s ambassador to the United States, on campus Oct. 1, Centofanti said. “This isn’t a program that typically happens on college campuses. So we want to give students opportunities to learn as well as to reorganize some of their thoughts and opinions.”

Jason Ginsberg ’16, president of Brown Students for Israel, recalled the many opinions he saw in articles on his Facebook newsfeed this summer covering the violence in Gaza. “Officially, Brown Students for Israel does not take a position on events that happened this past summer,” he said in reference to the conflict in Gaza, noting the different viewpoints to account for. BSI “focuses on education on campus,” a goal that the group will continue to pursue with speakers, open discussions and film screenings, Ginsberg said.

The group often faces a “misperception” on campus about its mission, Ginsberg said. “People look at BSI and see it as a group that is just Brown students for Israel. But what we’re trying to do is create a group that is Brown students for exploring Israel, questioning Israel

and really finding their own opinions on Israel.

‘In the service of action’ Brown’s arm of Students for Justice in Palestine also sees its goals aligned with a larger group: the Palestinian people. “We are a Palestine solidarity group, and we are a student-based solidarity group,” said veteran member Mika Zacks ’15. “To me, that means that we as students are answering the call of Palestinians for international solidarity.”

SJP hopes to host a campus event with a group of Palestinian students who are touring nationally to spread awareness, Zacks said. “I think it’s awareness in the service of action,” Zacks said. “Not just to know what’s happening, but to become informed on how we as students based in the U.S. can actually work in solidarity with Palestine.”

SJP wanted to organize a commemoration of people who were killed in this summer’s conflict, said SJP member Peter Makhlouf ’16, adding that the group was inspired by the website “Humanize Palestine.”

Group members created posters each featuring the image of a single person or family killed in the Gaza fighting along with some information about when and how each died. The posters also included ages, interests and sometimes, in the case of young adults, the last tweets they sent.

“A big motivation for this came from the fact that the media tends to … play a numbers game, so we hear how many people died, but that doesn’t really mean anything,” Makhlouf said, adding that it can be tough to make an emotional connection with victims when the media just reports “catchy headlines with big numbers.”

“It’s the little things like that where you can start to draw some more concrete relations, and you can start to have a more real impact than just saying, ‘2,100 people died,’” Makhlouf said.

Sara Al-Salem ’17, who joined SJP last semester, described the importance of spreading information about the struggle in Palestine. “We know we’re just a student group, but the most important thing when it comes to IsraelPalestine is awareness,” Al-Salem said.

Expanding the discussion Many campus leaders expressed a desire to foster open discussion with a focus on multiple perspectives. “Now more than ever, the Jewish community in particular (must) not back down from talking about this issue and retreat into our shells,” Jaeger said. While some may instinctively shy away from confronting the Israel-Palestine conflict, dissenting views are critical to keep the discussion alive, he added.

“There’s no good time to talk about this stuff, because it’s a scary issue,” Jaeger said. “But that just means we need to do it.”

Other student groups took the initiative this summer to connect their own priorities with the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Bluestockings Magazine, a feminist literary magazine on campus, published

an online post entitled “Occupation is a Feminist Issue” spotlighting Palestinians’ struggles.

“There’s a teach-in on Ferguson, and a teach-in on Gaza,” Makhlouf noted.

“I would like to organize something to look at how they are connected.”

Efforts to generate a shared experience fueled a new group recently formed on campus to create a space for open dialogue, said Eital Schattner-Elmaleh ’17.

Schattner-Elmaleh, an Israeli, met Tala Doumani ’17, a Palestinian, at an event in the Underground last semester spotlighting events in the Middle East.

After “talking about our shared experiences” throughout the spring and summer, the two decided to create a group with regular meetings that would provide “an open space for discussion for people of all different backgrounds,” Schattner-Elmaleh said. “People need a place to process this. We should process this together and learn from each other.”

Currently working under the name Students on Israel and Palestine — a title still subject to change — members are in the midst of planning the group’s first event. “It’s going to be a student panel of Israelis who were there this summer, Palestinians who were there this summer, and Americans who were affected” by the conflict, with group conversations afterward, Schattner-Elmaleh said.

The group, which has only met a few times, is more focused on promoting discourse than on taking a specific political stance on the conflict, SchattnerElmaleh said.

Faculty participation Brown faculty members have also shown interest in bringing the Gaza conversation to students on campus.

Omer Bartov, professor of history and German studies, and Beshara Doumani P’17, director of Middle East studies and professor of history, both appeared at a teach-in Wednesday entitled “Why Gaza Matters” with other faculty members to address the ongoing events in the region.

“It’s very difficult and somewhat naive to think that a professor at Brown can have much of an effect on a situation,” Bartov told The Herald. “What you can do is try to use whatever forums at the University to talk about it … so we can talk about these things in a more rational, reasonable manner.”

The point of such educational, discussion-based panels is to “try to look at events in the present and the past and try to understand them,” Bartov said.

“From that, one can also hopefully reach some conclusion about potential ways of engaging with the events themselves.”

Beshara Doumani, who organized the Gaza teach-in, said Brown’s environment of thoughtful reflection was conducive to this particular conversation. “We happen to have great resources at this university with much expertise on this topic, a very curious student body,” he said. “It’s really not very difficult to have a conversation about a controversial issue that is substantive and open and frank. I think this campus is fully capable of having this kind of conversation.”

www.browndailyherald.com

SHIRLEY LEUNG / HERALD

Partridge Hall, home of the new Brown Center for Students of Color, will undergo renovations and will be equipped with card swipe access.

» BCSC, from page 1 member, said the new initiatives will help the center better transmit social justice issues to the greater Brown community.

The social justice peer education program will be a better platform to discuss issues related to students of color than the MPC Friends program, said Justice Gaines ’16, a member of the student advisory board, which worked with the strategic planning committee to discuss changes to the center.

In phase two of a report on the shutdown last fall of a lecture by former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and related issues, the Committee on the Events of October 29 suggested that it was important to start “dialogues so students have a broader understanding of how diversity works on an institutional level, and how students navigate systematic marginalization,” Gaines said. The social justice peer education program could address similar issues that might arise in the future, he added.

The new name was accompanied by a new mission statement that centers broadly on social justice and serving students of color, Almandrez said.

“We reworded the mission statement to be forward-thinking and include the programs we’re adding. Our tagline is ‘Visualize. Vocalize. Mobilize,’” Almandrez said.

In a letter sent to the campus community accompanying the public announcement and responding to the strategic plan, President Christina Paxson commended the BCSC for its new mission statement. She offered University funds for introducing card swipe access and increasing accessibility to the BCSC building, Partridge Hall.

Card swipe access will allow students to use the building later on weeknights and on weekends, when the building is currently closed, Almandrez said.

Interior renovations will combine two smaller rooms into a larger room, which will increase available programming space, she said.

In the letter, Paxson also wrote that she would ask Almandrez to work with

Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn to come up with a budget before the University approves funding for the new initiatives.

Klawunn, who co-chaired the strategic planning committee, said the social justice peer education program would be a priority for the center. Extending the center’s first-generation initiative — which provides services to help firstgeneration college students transition to Brown — will also be discussed as a working group develops related programs, Klawunn said.

The majority of BCSC programs are funded through the University’s division of Campus Life and Student Services, except for the pre-orientation Third World Transition Program, which was funded with an endowment in 2012.

The committee “decided it was appropriate for TWTP to keep the name to honor the center’s history,” Almandrez said. TWTP is looking to expand with a one-day conference for students who did not participate in the pre-orientation program, sessions for family members of TWTP students and a program for alums, she added.

A program review and Undergraduate Council of Students poll from fall 2012 suggested that the TWC consider changing its name, The Herald previously reported.

The strategic plan also recommends several programs or initiatives for further review, including the housing of the MPC program within University structures and allyship training for white students.

Other proposals include strengthening community partnerships with local youths and schools; finding sustainable funding for commencement ceremonies for students of color; building up faculty fellows and sophomore seminar programming; providing formal leadership training; and compensating multiple graduate student interns each year.

“The center is ready for transformation, and it is time to re-imagine the ways it engages and empowers students,” the plan’s authors wrote in its conclusion.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Taveras releases plan to promote sustainability in Providence Plan aims to implement goals with cooperation among government, nonprofit, academic sectors

By ALON GALOR STAFF WRITER

Last week, Mayor Angel Taveras unveiled a comprehensive proposal outlining plans to promote sustainability in Providence.

Developed by the Providence

Environmental Sustainability Task Force and dozens of community stakeholders, Sustainable Providence — as the plan is dubbed — delineates goals in six areas: waste, food, water, energy and land use, transportation and development.

To ensure steady progress toward these goals, the plan devises a set of 28

metrics to be monitored, presents 25 implementation strategies and details 37 “high-priority actions” to be immediately addressed.

Sustainable Providence strives to incorporate members of city departments, nonprofit organizations, academia, agencies and other community representatives to ensure the plan’s implementation.

The plan features several components aimed at making Providence more sustainable. First, it strives to “fully implement a zero waste strategy” by 2033 with enhanced recycling through the Big Green Can program and composting programs, wrote Sheila Dormody, the city’s director of sustainability, in an email to The Herald.

The plan will guarantee access to “safe, affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food” to all city residents and provide better access to public transportation. It also looks to preserve bodies of water, reduce energy use in city-owned properties by at least 30 percent by 2030, and promote renewable and clean energy initiatives. Finally, the plan aims to expand open space and

promote “green economic development opportunities.”

The Northeast in particular is in need of improved energy sustainability practices, given that it participates in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, said Dawn King, professor of environmental studies.

As part of his failed gubernatorial campaign, Taveras put forth a similar environmental sustainability plan, “Preserving Rhode Island,” in April, GoLocalProv reported.

Taveras has addressed environmental sustainability throughout his mayoral term, King said. “Taveras brought the Office of Sustainability to the mayor’s office and converted vacant city property into urban farms through the Lots of Hope program,” she added.

The Lots of Hope program, which is run out of the city’s Office of Sustainability and the Healthy Communities Office, is part of the effort to bring produce availability to Providence residents and better utilize available land, according to the office’s website.

A city press release announcing

Sustainable Providence also noted that the city’s Office of Sustainability is pursuing the installment of solar panels on city property. The initiative is designed to cut energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.

The Office of Sustainability has selected a Rhode Island-based civil engineering company — Northeast Engineers and Consultants, Inc. — through a bidding process to assess the technical and fiscal feasibility of solar panel installment in Providence, according to the press release.

NEC will assess city-owned sites based on sun exposure and structural analysis of rooftops to select a site that can withstand extra weight and an increased wind load in order to determine their potential for solar energy development, said Daniel Szymanski, president and owner of NEC. The company, which has done work for Providence College and other towns, will develop a report and then give that information to the city to illustrate which sites are strong candidates for solar panel installation, Szymanski added.

today 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

fa r m f r e s h VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH Artichoke and Red Pepper Frittata, Toasted Ravioli with Italian Salsa, Assorted Frosted Cupcakes

BBQ Beef Sandwich, Cheese Tortellini, Zucchini and Onion Saute, Frosted Cupcakes

DINNER Beef and Andouille Burgers, Grilled Turkey Burgers, Marinated Vegetable Salad, Cajun Apple Cake

Cajun Pasta with Chicken, Tofu Parmesan, Cajun Apple Cake, Yogurt Bread

JOSIAH’S

THREE BURNERS

QUESADILLA OR GRILLED CHEESE

Gourmet Tacos

Make-Your-Own Quesadilla

BLUE ROOM

SOUPS

DINNER ENTREES

Chicken Artichoke Florentine, Fire Roasted Vegetable, Turkey Chili

Mediterranean Pocket

sudoku

ASHLEY SO / HERALD

Mary Sketch ’15 shops for vegetables at the farmers market in front of MacMillan Hall Wednesday.

comics Comic Sans | Neille-Ann Tan ’18

crossword

Moving Parts | Odie ’17

calendar TODAY

SEPTEMBER 11

4 P.M. REDUCING STRESS WITH MINDFULNESS WORKSHOP

Participants can decrease stress by learning basic meditation skills in this experimental workshop led by Bita Shooshani.

J. Walter Wilson 411 5 P.M. EXPLAINING RAPE DURING CIVIL WAR

Dara Kay Cohen, assistant professor of public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, will speak about her latest book, which examines rape in recent civil conflicts. Watson Institute, Joukowsky Forum

TOMORROW

SEPTEMBER 12

12 P.M. BROWN/RISD INNOVATION PICNIC

At this event hosted by College Hill Innovation on how to start a venture, students can bring creative ideas to reality, collaborate with other students in different disciplines, and network. Main Green 5:30 P.M. ALGEBRA IN MOTION INFO SESSION

This event will discuss oppurtunities in tutoring math and science at Hope High School. J. Walter Wilson 301

6 commentary

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

EDITORIAL

Play the rankings game right While often articulating a muddled view of the proverbial collegiate hierarchy, the rankings provided in U.S. News and World Report inevitably — in ways both tangible and intangible — shape the mindset of prospective high school applicants. These rankings’ calculated data points on higher education institutions often are in tension with students’ real experiences on campus. Though slipping two rungs in the overall rankings is by no means a cause for alarm, we are concerned with the level of weight placed on the University’s positioning among peers — a task that is ultimately handled by the administration. Though we understand an occurrence of what Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, called administrative “oversight,” we strongly urge the University to continue to adhere to the process set forth by U.S. News, as both domestic and global perceptions of the institution are measured, to some extent, by the standardized underpinnings of the results. So long as these rankings influence the quality of the applicant pool, the University must continue to compete for a higher ranking.

On Tuesday, The Herald reported that the University fell two positions to 16th place overall in U.S. News, a change ultimately attributed to a costly omission within the selectivity category of a 500-question survey.

In contributing to the ongoing conversation regarding the efficacy and accuracy of these standardized rankings, a dialogue recently continued in Valerie Strauss’ Washington Post piece entitled, “Why U.S. News college rankings shouldn’t matter to anyone,” we recognize that the report fails to holistically capture the dynamics and complexity of the college experience.

But we equally understand the associated consequences of a failure to ‘conform’ to this generally accepted practice. Reed College, a school that in 1995 chose to not participate in the U.S. News rankings, represents a successful case of non-adherence and a feasible model for the University in the future. In navigating the sensitive landscape of this issue, the University must weigh the impact and implications of the rankings and choose where it stands on the issue — if it decides to comply with the U.S. News ranking process, it must work to accurately represent itself within the context of the publication’s stated metrics.

At the same time, both the University and potential applicants should give greater consideration to rankings that focus on specific attributes.

Colleges are also compared for economic diversity, ethnic diversity, accommodation of veterans, freshman retention rate, LGBTQ-friendliness and political activity. (The University and student body were particularly proud of topping the Princeton Review’s 2010 list of “Happiest Students.”)

In overall rankings, factors that do not have an effect on a student’s daily life — including endowment size — often play too large a role. Applicants should take the time to research the lists that matter to them, and universities should in turn focus on improving attributes not for the sake of overall rankings but in a way that cultivates the campus they imagine.

Rankings are inherently simplistic. However, they have a true impact on applicant pools, and the University and admission officers should consider how they can be utilized to their advantage.

I VA N A L C A N TA R A

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

“It was the first supermarket I fell in love with in Providence.”

— Dana Goplerud ’15

See eastside on page 8.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board, led by Alexander Kaplan ’15 and James Rattner ’15. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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commentary 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Change rape culture, not your nail polish GABRIELLA CORVESE opinions columnist

Last week, the University of Arizona’s student newspaper, the Arizona Daily Wildcat, published an op-ed column by senior Rob Menteleone entitled “Only responsibility can stop rape” that featured much of the misogynist rhetoric we are unfortunately familiar with these days: Women shouldn’t go out at night alone, and if leaving a bike unlocked is our fault, it’s probably our fault for getting raped, too! It also features the suggestion that women “make a plan at 7 p.m. so you aren’t making accusations at 7 a.m.” If that’s not victimblaming, I don’t know what is.

Monteleone’s piece was part of a “head-to-head” feature, its opposing piece entitled “Perpetrators are the only thing that can prevent rape.”

But this alleged debate does not leave me championing our freedom of speech and right to hold contrasting beliefs. It leaves me sickened that the responsibility for a violent assault is considered up for discussion.

As a college woman aware of the statistic that one in five college women is sexually assaulted, I am en-

raged — and filled with fear — that attitudes like these are still prevalent.

This is not the first time in recent months that women have been encouraged to take more initiative in protecting themselves from rape.

This summer, a group of students from North Carolina State University announced the development of a nail polish that would change colors when stirred with a finger into a drink potentially containing date rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB. The stealthy fashion tool

young women for an assault that is not, and never will be, their fault. A blogger for the blog Animal suggested that a product like this could lead to victims being asked, ‘“Why didn’t you wear that nail polish?”’ and also pointed out that Rohypnol and GHB are less commonly used in drug-facilitated sexual assaults than drugs such as cocaine or MDMA. And even if my date were trying to drug me, who’s to say he wouldn’t pursue me when I awkwardly stuck my finger in my drink, then ran away?

cups in my purse, or don anti-rape chastity underwear — yes, these are products from creators hopping on the anti-rape technology bandwagon — in the hopes of guaranteeing my safety. I am not grateful for the illusion of agency regarding how I avoid sexual assault when all I want is agency over my entire personhood altogether.

Rather than suggest that women stop making allegedly unfounded accusations, Monteleone and those developing protective fashion prod-

As a college woman aware of the statistic that one in five college women are sexually assaulted, I am enraged — and filled with fear — that attitudes like these are still prevalent. would alert women if they were being drugged and allow them to make an escape from their date if need be.

According to the website for Undercover Colors, the company that would manufacture this product, it is the “first fashion company empowering women to prevent sexual assault.”

Though less directly victimblaming than the op-ed, a product like this — while undoubtedly well-intentioned — continues to unnecessarily shift responsibility onto

Some will suggest that it’s not practical or appropriate to criticize technologies like these — you can’t teach everyone not to rape overnight, so we should be grateful for the tools we do have! But rape culture gives me the right to be angry, and I do not have to be grateful.

I am not grateful for a society that normalizes sexual assault as a potential consequence of going out at night. I am not grateful for having to wear specific nail polish, carry color-changing, drug-reacting

ucts should instead read a recent New York Times op-ed by Anna Altman called “How Can Men Help Prevent Sexual Assault?” that details peer-education programs such as Mentors for Violence Prevention, which pairs high school seniors with college first-years to discuss strategies for addressing situations that could pose a risk for sexual assault.

As the MVP program demonstrates, ending sexual assault boils down to more than a choice between quickfix technology and images of angry

feminists smashing the patriarchy.

Though less commonly reported on than glamorous, entrepreneurial enterprises, strategies such as these hold great potential for addressing perpetrators of sexual assault without condescending victim-blaming.

It is likely that some women may use Undercover Colors or similar items to protect themselves. While I never want to deprive a woman of her decision to take what she considers to be precautions, I will ask that everyone, regardless of gender, remains critical of these seemingly simple solutions to larger, societal problems. And the next time an innovative anti-rape product makes headlines, be angry that headlines about destroying our pervasive rape culture aren’t on the front page instead.

Finally, to those who would still draw the comparison that we put locks on our bicycles to prevent theft, I must ask: Is the theft of material belongings, presumably for financial gain, really comparable to a violent assault on someone’s body?

Gabriella Corvese ’15 doesn’t think feminist is a bad word and can be reached at gabriella_corvese@brown.edu.

Brown’s Middle East misnomer JASON GINSBERG guest columnist

It is the start of my third year at Brown, but every morning at around 1 a.m., I still find excitement in opening the latest Morning Mail.

There is something liberating about having so many lectures, events and performances to choose from in the day ahead. Lately, however, my usual sense of comfort and freedom has been constricted.

Morning after morning, I see the events offered by the Middle East Studies program: film screenings, panel discussions and guest speakers attempting to limit my academic choice to one narrative. There is the panel on “Why Gaza Matters,” the movie series “1948: Once Upon a Palestine” and an upcoming luncheon on inequality resulting from the Second Intifada.

These perspectives are important. But as a proIsrael student on campus, I’m left wondering about the other perspectives ­— speakers, films and luncheons addressing “Why Israel Matters.”

In its mission, the Middle East Studies program claims that it “promotes knowledge, understanding and informed discussion about the Middle East, Islam and Muslim societies through research, teaching and public engagement.” Perhaps the program’s name, then, is a bit of a misnomer. Rather than studying the Middle East, the program aims to explore only Islam and Muslim societies that live in the region. This is a laudable mission. Just as the Program in Judaic Studies explores the literature, research and themes critical to Jewish study, there should be a program to offer a deeper focus and field of study on the Muslim world.

But this program is not Middle East Studies. Call it “Islamic Studies,” name it “Studies of Muslim Societies,” but to insist that what is

being taught is representative of the Middle East is misleading. Because when I think of the Middle East, I don’t think of a place that is exclusively Muslim — I also think of the vibrant Baha’i, Christian and Yazidi communities that live throughout the region. And I also think of the state of Israel.

Since the protest of the planned lecture by former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly last fall, there has been a lot of discussion on campus about constructive dialogue and meaningful conversation. How do we listen to the ideas to which we do not adhere, and how can we engage in perspectives that are different from our own? In the words of President Christina Paxson in her Convocation remarks just last week, the “social and intellectual diversity of our community, which

and backgrounds. The Department of Political Science should have professors representing different ideological leanings. The Department of Religious Studies should offer courses in a wide range of belief and non-belief systems. The Middle East Studies program should be no exception when it comes to studying different perspectives.

In my travel over the past several years, I have volunteered and gained nuanced exposure in Israel. With these experiences, I know that Israel — like its neighbors Lebanon, Jordan and Syria — is an important part of the greater region. Yet when I see upcoming events through Brown’s Middle East Studies program, it is not easy to find support for this reality. Israel is left out of the mix.

Though small, Israel has its own identity in

Call it “Islamic Studies,” name it “Studies of Muslim Societies,” but to insist that what is being taught is representative of the Middle East is misleading.

we cherish, is certain to produce strongly held and often divergent points of view.” It is this diverse exchange of ideas, perceptions and understandings that begins to piece together a larger examination of any given issue — be it stop-and-frisk or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Only by hearing from others with whom we disagree, by exploring the talking points with our own chosen initiative, can we build a genuine pedestal for our beliefs. Without this exposure, our opinions remain under-developed.

For me, the University — and the departments that represent it — should strive for this exposure, challenging students of all views

the region, an identity that is simply not represented by the Middle East Studies program.

The expulsion of the Jewish people from Middle Eastern countries in 1948 is not taught.

There is little mention of Zionism as a legitimate expression of self-determination. Modern Israeli advances in agriculture, medicine and technology are not shared. These are understandings that are strongly held for many.

They are upheld with passion similar to that of many Palestinian understandings regarding the same land. But within the Middle East Studies program, one of these forms of passion seems to be taught over the other.

As someone interested in studying the

Middle East, I find it hard to gain comfort in the program offered at Brown. With the events of this summer and the seven-week Israel-Gaza war, I saw numerous demonstrations and heard many protests for both Israel and a Palestinian state. One chant, though, always created discord in my mind: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” That is, a liberated Palestinian state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea will become a free and independent state.

As a supporter of Palestinian sovereignty and of a Palestinian state thriving side by side with Israel, I find this chant troubling. Much like the Middle East Studies program, it excludes an entire narrative and reduces a history of plight to nothing. To me, it suggests the elimination and replacement of the Jewish state, which is currently located on land between the river and the sea. While I do not think the Middle East Studies program encourages this idea in any way, I do not think it does enough to balance it.

If we learned anything from the events of this summer, it is that the Middle East is an increasingly complex region. From the IsraeliPalestinian conflict to the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, large populations are fighting over entirely different understandings and from exclusively distinct backgrounds.

Here on College Hill, we have an opportunity to bring some of these pieces together, to begin to break down our worn convictions and rebuild our pedestal of beliefs with stronger perceptions. Here at Brown, the Middle East Studies program should lead the way. Include new narratives. Create points of tension. Allow us to come together as students should.

Jason Ginsberg ’16 can be reached at jason_ginsberg@brown.edu to talk more about the need for balanced conversation on campus.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

THE

metro

BROWN DAILY HERALD

Eastside Marketplace loses local ownership Students Some shoppers worry change of ownership could jeopardize store’s prices and local flavor

By HANNAH KERMAN STAFF WRITER

Scott Laurans, owner of Eastside Marketplace, sold the local grocery store this July to Ahold USA, the corporation that owns GIANT, Stop and Shop, Martin’s and Peapod.

Laurans said he closed the deal with the corporation two weeks ago, which proceeded more quickly than expected due to resolved regulatory issues with the state legislature.

Laurans decided to sell his store after more than 20 years for a variety of reasons, he said, including the expiration of his lease, his own age and a lack of family members to inherit the business. He added that it was very important to him for the store to retain its place in Providence.

The offer from Ahold to buy the store came in late spring, he said.

Laurans said the ability to maintain both the store’s name and employees made it “an offer too good to refuse.”

Laurans said he sees Ahold’s ownership of Eastside as a way for the store to be supported by “a big, financially sound organization” to remain

competitive in the retail world.

The store, originally “a traditional supermarket” part of East Coast retailer First National Supermarkets, was bought in 1981 by Roger Williams Food Company, where Laurans worked, he said. After acquiring more space and changing the name in 1988 to Eastside Marketplace, the store began to “expand the fresh offerings” and sell prepared foods. It was in the 1990s that the store really became “successful” in the community for its service and the quality of its products, Laurans added.

A shopper participating in a discount day for senior citizens this week said he has “mixed feelings” about the grocery store’s new ownership.

“If they keep the helpful staff and competitive prices, the local flavor and local produce, the quality produce and the best ground beef in town,” he said, he would continue to shop there.

Other shoppers reiterated their hope that nothing would change.

“I’m okay as long as it stays the same,” said Lynn McCracken, a selfdescribed daily Eastside Marketplace patron.

“It was the first supermarket I fell in love with in Providence,” said Dana Goplerud ’15. She said she appreciates Eastside Marketplace’s partnership with nearby bakeries such as Seven Stars and Olga’s Cup and Saucer. Like other shoppers interviewed, she said she hopes the

help pass climate bill into law R.I. law aims to cut carbon emissions with greater energy efficiency, public transit investments

By ASHWINI NATARAJAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

RHEA STARK / HERALD

Scott Laurans sold Eastside Marketplace to Ahold USA, which will allow the store’s employees and management to continue working. market will maintain its associations with local businesses.

When asked about his thoughts on the switch, Jon Luc Mottel, a service clerk from East Providence, said he thought the new ownership would not affect the store’s prices or atmosphere.

“We’re not supposed to change at all,” Mottel said. He added that the store will remain under the same management and retain its employees.

Eastside Marketplace will not only maintain its current qualities but will be “strongly incentivized” to continue to improve, Laurans said.

Kennedy Plaza construction continues

Scheduled to be completed this fall, plaza’s redesign seeks to create mixed-use space, transform transit

By ALEXANDER BLUM SENIOR STAFF WRITER

As summer fades into fall, the reconstruction of Kennedy Plaza — which began July 12 and necessitated route detours and temporary bus shelters — is continuing according to plan.

The redesign, which is set to be completed this fall, is a collaborative effort between the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and the City of Providence to enhance the plaza’s environment and to improve the ridership experience for public transit users.

But the work has faced criticism from some who believe the reconstruction signals an attempt to gentrify a portion of downtown Providence and that it will negatively affect those who rely on public transportation.

“We’ve got the information out there,” said Amy Pettine, planning director for RIPTA, noting that posters and informational postcards were distributed prior to the project’s commencement, and customer service representatives remain available at the RIPTA office to answer any questions.

The temporary bus stops are spread out, so “the distances are definitely greater than what people experienced in the plaza,” Pettine said. But the reconstruction required the stops to be moved, and RIPTA was limited by the street configurations in the surrounding area, she said.

“There are only so many places you can park a bus in downtown Providence.”

The project’s completion will increase green space and improve safety, Pettine

TIMOTHY MUELLER-HARDER / HERALD

In 2011, Rhode Island received $200,000 from the National Endowment of the Arts in support of a Kennedy Plaza bus terminal renovation. added.

The planned bus stops will be spaced around the perimeter of the central square, marking a change from the four lane, 16-bus berth section that previously cut through the plaza. This may increase the distances that riders have to walk, but Pettine said she does not think these distances are excessive. Each new stop will have a three-sided bus shelter complete with identification poles and real-time LED signs displaying bus arrival times.

In 2011, Rhode Island was awarded a $200,000 “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to revamp the Kennedy Plaza bus terminal into “a grand plaza and central gathering

place for the city’s residents, tourists and workers,” according to the NEA’s website.

“The area is going to feel more contiguous,” Pettine said, adding that “the design called for the creation of a large pedestrian space” to promote more activities in the plaza and the surrounding area. Though a snow melt system will be abandoned in some areas of the plaza due to the logistical challenges of the redesign, Pettine said the system will remain around buildings and emphasized that there will definitely “be a maintenance plan in place” to ensure the safety of passengers.

The RIPTA Riders Alliance held a press conference Aug. 5 urging officials

to gather more public input before continuing with the project. The alliance is a “grassroots volunteer-led organization that advocates for the expansion and improvement of public transit service” in Rhode Island, according to its Facebook page. The alliance did not respond to a request for an interview.

Steve Ahlquist, president of the Humanists of Rhode Island, said some people feel the project was forced on them and worry that “there was no real reason” for the reconstruction. In an Aug. 6 article on RIFuture.org, Ahlquist wrote, “Kennedy Plaza has been fenced off and is being destroyed as quickly as possible, before an outraged public can mount any kind of coordinated defense. … This is class warfare being waged against the most vulnerable populations in our state.”

Forty-five people attended the RIPTA Riders Alliance press conference against the renovation, Ahlquist wrote.

“I don’t think it is that much of a controversial issue,” said Cliff Wood, executive director of the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy, adding that these concerns are limited to a relatively small group of people. Wood emphasized the project’s goal to “create public mixed-use spaces,” noting that research done prior to the plaza’s reconstruction indicated that riders “overwhelmingly” thought Kennedy Plaza — which served about 13 million people per year in 2000 but now serves 22 million people per year — could benefit from improvements.

“RIPTA really needs to find out how to accommodate that growth,” Wood said, adding that it is always a challenge to expand a service without experiencing some growing pains. By collaborating with the city and community, developers hope to create a park that is cleaner, safer and more enjoyable than the former Kennedy Plaza, he added.

On Aug. 2, Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 signed the Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 into law — a climate change bill that had originally been drafted by Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology J. Timmons Roberts, 15 Brown students and a group of consultants.

The law’s main goals are to reduce the state’s carbon emissions and to adapt to the consequences of climate change by creating the EC4, or the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Committee.

President Christina Paxson provided financial resources to Roberts and his team in January, and throughout the summer to work on their proposal.

But the original bill that the team proposed was not the version signed into law. “We didn’t have consensus with the Senate and the membership of the legislature,” said Rep. Arthur Handy, DCranston, the bill’s lead sponsor.

Instead, after reviewing the bill, the Senate developed its own climate change bill — which later became the Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 ­­­— seeking to address the same state issues.

Roberts said he felt the Senate’s initial draft of the bill was“inadequate” because it did not have a solid structure for moving ahead, due to weak short-term targets. It also had no measures taken for adaptation to climate change, he added.

During a Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture hearing after the Senate climate bill was proposed, Roberts outlined seven steps to improve the bill.

Meg Kerr, treasurer of the Rhode Island Blueways Alliance and a key consultant on the bill, said the Senate bill’s first iteration “didn’t include the need for consistent scientific advice to the (EC4), and it also didn’t emphasize any public involvement the way we had in our original bill.”

After weeks of lobbying, negotiating with senators and working with Senate sponsors, activists successfully pushed the Senate to make amendments to its bill, Kerr said.

Students were vital in revising the bill and getting it signed into law, said Abel Collins ’00, program manager for the Rhode Island chapter of the Sierra Club and media manager for the bill.

“There’s certain points in time of the year when bills start to lose momentum, and I think they really helped keep the momentum,” Collins said.

Though “climate change is … a bit scary and daunting,” Brown students brought optimism and a “can-do attitude” to the team, Kerr said.

Jan Reitsma, special adviser for policy and legislative affairs to Chafee, also said students were an essential force behind the bill. » See CLIMATE, page 2