THE BROWN DAILY HER ALD
Brown among universities suing NIH over ‘flagrantly unlawful’ federal funding cut
Brown is joined by other universities and higher education groups
BY CATE LATIMER UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
brown filed a lawsuit Monday against the National institutes of Health in an attempt to stop a cut to their federal research funding, arguing that it violates
Corporation approves 4.85% increase in undergraduate tuition and fees SEE
federal separation of powers and strips research institutions of congressionally appropriated funding.
The suit is led by the association of american universities, the american Council on education and the association of Public and Land-Grant universities, encompassing dozens of higher education institutions. brown, along with 12 other universities, also signed on to the suit.
“This action is ill-conceived and self-defeating for both america’s patients and their
First RI temporary pallet shelter opens doors, following months-long delays
SEE ECHO PAGE 5
families as well as the nation as a whole,” the aCe aau and aPLu wrote in a Feb. 10 statement.
The lawsuit comes after the NiH announced Friday that it was making cuts to federal funding for research projects, limiting “indirect costs” to 15%. These indirect costs include fees that are not directly related to the research, such as facility fees, electricity and other administrative costs.
The plaintiffs called this action “an affront to the separation of powers” and
Brown Sports Network looks to help students break into the sports industry SEE BSN PAGE 6
Ceremony employees seek unionization
16 workers across the cafe’s two locations filed to unionize on Monday
BY MAYA KELLY AND ETHAN SCHENKER
METRO EDITOR AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
e mployees at Ceremony’s two locations are seeking unionization.
16 baristas, prep cooks and tea and coffee specialists at the local cafe enterprise are seeking higher base wages, paid sick leave and improved working conditions, employees and organizers told The Herald.
The teahouse’s employees petitioned on Monday for an election to join the united Food and Commercial Workers union, according to public filings. The employees delivered
a formal notice to Ceremony leadership that same day, asking for union recognition.
“We are committed to fostering an open and supportive workplace, and if unionizing is ultimately the direction our team wants to take, we will respect and support that decision,” Michelle Cheng, owner of Ceremony, wrote in an email to The Herald.
Ceremony employees approached Local 328, a local branch of the larger u FCW union, because they decided that “the only way” to implement changes they wanted to see at Ceremony was “coming together and forming a union,” said Jaime Parejo, a union organizer for the Local 328 chapter.
a n employee first contacted Local 328 in early January, Parejo added.
Since receiving notice of the unionization plans, Cheng wrote that her priority is ensur-
“flagrantly unlawful” in the lawsuit filed in the u.S. district Court of Massachusetts. a federal judge temporarily halted the funding cut in 22 states, including rhode island, on Monday in a separate lawsuit filed by a coalition of state attorneys general.
This action follows a series of orders from the White House potentially affecting the university at various levels, including research funding, international students, immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show stuns with powerful commentary
SEE LAMAR PAGE 12
The cut to research funding “would force many of brown’s current research projects and clinical trials in medicine and health to cease abruptly,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’Md’20 and Provost Francis doyle wrote in a statement sent to the brown community Monday evening.
The action could jeopardize brown research focused on issues such as cancer, dementia and mental health disorders. it
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Mapping love on campus
Students, professors, staff reflect on Brown’s chapter in their love story
BY MAXWELL ZHANG AND HADLEY CARR SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
it was the fall of 1978, and the Pat Metheny Group was playing an Oktoberfest concert at Swarthmore College. ari Gabinet P’19 P’Md’20, a senior fellow at the Watson institute for international and Public affairs and pre-law advisor for the university, remembers the day fondly.
“Sunlight filtered through the trees, and red and gold leaves were floating down to the stage,” Gabinet wrote in an email to The Herald. “The music was magical, and President Paxson was so beautiful, it was impossible not to fall in love with her.”
The love story of President Christina Paxson P’19 P’Md’20 and Gabinet began that fall at Swarthmore in the first month of Paxson’s first year. Paxson joined Gabinet in the dining hall, where he was sitting alone. Soon after, he asked her to dinner at the Front Porch, a restaurant near campus. She then asked him on a second date, this time at a sandwich shop, and finally, their “courtship was really cemented at the Oktoberfest concert,” Gabinet wrote.
after Swarthmore, Paxson and Gabinet got married. On their wedding day, Gabinet recalled getting into an argument with a police officer regarding some shaving cream on their car. “Feeling very liberal in my use of profanity,” Gabinet wrote, he was arrested and Paxson had to bail him out. Paxson and Gabinet have two sons together, and Gabinet said “the early part of our marriage was consumed with two things: professional ambition
The lawsuit comes after
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UNIVERSITY NEWS
POLITICS
Andrew Yang ’96 advocates for new political path outside two-party system at Brown event
Yang reflected on his time at Brown and involvement in politics
BY SOPHIA WOTMAN UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
d ozens of b rown students, faculty and community members started their Monday night with a high five from former presidential candidate andrew yang ’96.
yang returned to campus Monday for “a New Way Forward for a merican Politics,” an event hosted by the b rown Political union and moderated by Logan Tullai ’25, the club’s president. during the event, yang discussed his time at brown, reflected on two unsuccessful campaigns and shared his thoughts on the current political climate.
a New york businessman, yang ran for president in 2020 and for mayor of New york City in 2021. Following his unsuccessful campaigns, yang left the d emocratic Party in October 2021 and formed the Forward Party — a third-party alternative that aims to put “the power back in the hands of the american voter,” according to its website.
To open Monday’s event, yang ran up and down the isles of the Salomon Center d e Ciccio Family a uditorium, offering out high fives, taking pictures and signing shirts.
i n an interview with The Herald before the talk, yang said both the d emocratic and republican parties are currently “in uncharted territory,” citing President Trump’s recent executive actions that have resulted in legal fights in court.
The parties’ path forward, he said, is dependent on whether the courts allow Trump’s executive actions to proceed.
UNIVERSITY HALL
“ i f you look at the dynamic in the House and the Senate, it’s very much up to different r epublican lawmakers whether they’re going to get on board or decide to contest Trump’s agenda,” yang said in the interview.
i n explaining his decision to start a third party, yang said the country is “divided into blue and red zones,” and politicians are largely incentivized by party approval, rather than passing productive legislation. This makes individual votes “inconsequential,” he argued.
While Congress’s approval rating
currently stands at 17%, yang said the roughly 90% incumbent reelection rate reflects the lack of competition in congressional districts.
“There has to be a different political dynamic in this country than just the two-party system, because the two-party system right now is polarizing and won’t lead to meaningful solutions,” yang told The Herald.
in the interview, yang spoke about his experience at brown as a political science and economics concentrator. His four years at brown, he said, helped shape his
political career, and his semester abroad in Hong Kong was particularly impactful.
b ut yang “wasn’t that engaged politically” at b rown, he told The Herald.
He recalled his experience working as a fry cook at Josiah’s his first year at b rown, and noted that he “played a lot of video games.”
“i loved my time here at brown,” yang said. “ i grew a lot.”
d espite not having political motivations, yang decided to enter the political arena after Trump took office for the first time in 2016, he told The Herald.
When yang was campaigning for president in iowa, he warned residents that technology will disrupt “repetitive white collar work” and make it harder for people to keep their jobs, he said to event attendees on Monday.
“ i decided to run for president because i wanted to educate the country that this was happening, and advance solutions like (a) universal basic income,” yang said. His widely known universal basic income plan — which he calls the Freedom d ividend — would give each a merican adult $1,000 per month.
For Caroline Cordts ’28, the event provided an opportunity to see an example of a b rown alum working in the political sphere.
“as someone majoring in political science at b rown, i feel like i don’t see too many people from our school involved in government,” Cordts said. “i t’s really nice to see.”
ava McKie ’28 attended the event excited to hear about yang’s approach to politics as a businessman, rather than a career politician.
“ i think it’s a refreshing approach,” McKie said. “He’s using it to help humanity instead of extracting from it.”
Tullai and b P u Vice President Malcolm Furman ’27 told The Herald they invited yang to speak because of his “fresh perspective” and “innovative approach” to two-party politics.
a really big part of what we do is to create a dialogue outside of the traditional political party spectrum,” Tullai said. “We’re excited to bring in voices that are highlighting some alternative views on how to go forward with politics.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 11, 2025.
Corporation approves 4.85% increase in undergraduate tuition and fees
School of International and Public Affairs named at February meeting
BY ROMA SHAH SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, approved a 4.85% increase in undergraduate tuition and fees at its February meeting, according to a Today@brown announcement from President Christina Paxson P’19 P’Md’20. The increase includes a 4.5% increase in undergraduate tuition.
The increase, which will go into effect July 1, comes as inflation rates are “more comparable with pre-pandemic levels,” Paxson wrote.
Paxson added that the tuition and fee increases during the past two years have been in line with peer institutions and their responses to inflation rates.
The coming year’s tuition and fees increase will be implemented alongside a $17 million increase in the undergraduate financial aid budget, an 8% increase. This will fund the university’s ongoing initiative to eliminate loans from financial aid packages and support the practice of need-blind admissions for international undergraduates, which was implemented this year.
during their meeting, the Corporation also approved increases in the three salary
components of the pool,” Paxson ex -
The decision comes after faculty expressed disappointment in their compen-
sation following the university’s decision against implementing a one-time 5% salary increase, The Herald previously reported.
Tuition and salary increases were recommended in the university resources Committee’s mid-cycle report.
The urC, which is composed of the provost, faculty members, students and administrators, made its recommendations to the Corporation with the u niversity’s current $46 million structural deficit in mind.
during the meeting, the Corporation also approved the name of brown’s new school for international and public affairs. The Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of international and Public affairs is set to launch on July 1, and the inaugural dean of the school will be announced this spring.
The Corporation also formally accepted more than $130 million in gifts and pledges which were received since their last meeting in October. in recognition of the gifts, they established new professorships including the august Family assistant Professorship in economics and the Professorship iV in brain Science.
The Corporation also voted to reappoint Pamela ress reeves ’87 as Vice Chancellor and appoint earl Hunt ii ’03 as Treasurer, succeeding Theresia Gouw ’90, who was elected in 2016.
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would also pause clinical trials at or through brown that provide “life-saving medicines” to patients, they explained.
if the 15% cap on indirect cost rates was implemented in fiscal year 2024, “the university would have experienced a loss of approximately $27 million,” Vice President for research Greg Hirth ScM’87 Phd’91 said in a declaration advocating against the cut in a separate lawsuit. “For year-to-date Fy25 research expenditures, the university would have experienced a loss of approximately $16 million.”
“Members of our community no doubt will be deeply concerned by the potential losses in research, jobs and essential operations that would be put in jeopardy if these directives are permitted to stay in place,” Paxson and doyle wrote.
despite their concerns, Paxson and doyle affirmed that the university will “always follow the law,” in a Jan. 28 statement addressing federal government actions and their impact on brown.
“but we are also prepared to exercise our legal right to advocate against laws, regulations or other actions that compromise brown's mission,” they wrote. They also said that a working group, led by doyle, is closely assessing the orders coming out of Washington d.C.
“We want to make very clear that we do not want any of these outcomes,” Paxson and doyle wrote in the Feb. 10 statement. “This is why we are doing all we can to advocate against it. but the challenges are real.”
They also instructed researchers planning to submit an NiH grant within the next two weeks to contact brown’s division of research, which will participate in a faculty town hall on Thursday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Much is at stake,” Paxson and doyle wrote in the Feb. 10 statement. “and that’s why we will continue to do what we can to safeguard the people and operations at the core of the work we do every day.”
ing employees “have access to all the necessary information — such as union fees, mandatory participation and the impact on direct communication between employees and ownership — so they can make the most informed decision for themselves.”
“We just want people to be paid
plemented by tips, according to b rian b arr, a barista at the teahouse.
b ut the cafe’s compensation structure is “standard in this industry,” Cheng wrote. using this model, she estimates total compensation to be “significantly higher” than the state’s minimum wage — $15/hour.
in an interview with The Herald,
UNIVERSITY NEWS
ees demonstrate reliability and are team-oriented, they should be rewarded accordingly,” Cheng wrote.
Ceremony does not offer employees sick leave, barr said. He said he missed work due to sickness this winter and “just had to eat those three days.” it is “not typical for small businesses like ours to offer paid sick leave
fairly,” said coffee specialist Michael Levesque. “ b ecause people love working there. They value it a lot.”
Margo benzuly, a lead barista at Ceremony, said the employees are “really just hoping for better treatment.”
“We deserve to be paid more than what we are currently being paid hourly,” b enzuly added.
Levesque said he estimates that total compensation falls around $18/hour for most workers paid at the lowest base rate.
for employees,” Cheng wrote to The Herald.
b ut the company aims to “invest in our employees’ futures, and we aim to reward those who are dedicated and show potential for growth,” Cheng wrote, adding that Ceremony offers all workers 401(k) packages, free acupuncture and in-store discounts.
“ e very time someone went to management about anything, whether it was a small problem, a big problem, our concerns were brushed under the rug,” b enzuly claimed.
When it comes to complaints, “we maintain an open-door policy with all employees,” Cheng wrote. She added that the management team conducts regular performance reviews and check-ins and makes themselves available to their team. Cheng also said that the cafe plans to host a “town hall-style meeting where employees can speak freely without judgment or fear of pushback.”
The tea shop’s first location opened on Thayer Street in 2019. it relocated to e uclid avenue following a month-long closure in 2021, and opened its second location in the lobby of b rown’s School of Public Health building on South Main Street in a pril 2024.
“Most of us really enjoy our jobs here, and we want to continue working with Ceremony,” b enzuly said.
“ it’s important that us working at Ceremony are being treated fairly,” said James d ewanto, a barista at Ceremony’s South Main Street location.
Cheng expressed that she “fully supports” her employees’ right to unionize. b ut “what i don’t support is the way this situation is unfolding,” she said.
“a s a young, small, immigrant-owned business, i am doing my best to handle this responsibly,” Cheng added.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 10, 2025.
e mployees are guaranteed minimum wage, Cheng said, and the payment structure is “designed with growth in mind.” The company offers a “clear growth path” with automatic pay raises at the three-month and oneyear marks, she added.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 12, 2025. NIH FROM PAGE 1 CEREMONY FROM PAGE 1
Ceremony workers are classified as tipped employees and are given a baseline wage of $9/hour which is sup -
i f the employees decide to continue pursuing unionization and are not voluntarily recognized by Ceremony, the National Labor relations b oard would likely facilitate an election where employees would be able to vote whether to join Local 328.
Some employees also expressed concerns about management’s receptiveness to feedback.
“We believe that when our employ -
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Submissions can build on reporting from The Herald, reporting elsewhere, official statements from the University or other groups and other reputable sources, but they cannot break news or contain information that The Herald cannot verify. Because we cannot publish unsubstantiated information, failure to provide appropriate sources may mean we have to modify or remove unverified claims.
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Sixteen baristas, prep cooks and tea and coffee specialists filed for unionization.
FEDERAL LAWSUIT
Brown supports RI Attorney General’s lawsuit aiming to block NIH funding cuts
An NIH notice reduced funds for administrative costs by nearly 50%
BY AVANI GHOSH METRO EDITOR
On Monday, rhode island attorney General Peter Neronha and 21 other states’ attorneys general filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration’s funding cuts at the National institutes of Health. in their suit, the plaintiffs argued that the lack of NiH funding “will devastate critical public health research at universities and research institutions.”
a Massachusetts federal district court judge temporarily blocked the order Monday night. Judge angel Kelley granted the plaintiffs’ motion to issue a temporary restraining order, preventing the NiH from “taking any steps to implement, apply, or enforce” the funding cuts.
On Feb. 7, the NiH issued a notice saying they would limit indirect costs in grants to 15%, which includes building, operation and maintenance expenses.
“The united States should have the
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
best medical research in the world,” the notice reads. “it is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.”
but the plaintiffs argued that administrative costs support research institutions “as a whole, and help make research possible without being attributable to any specific grant or project.”
“brown and other rhode island institutions rely on federal funding to conduct important research,” Neronha said in a press release. “This reduction in funding would seriously threaten the future of this research.”
He added that “these funding cuts would lead to rhode islanders losing their jobs, thereby negatively impacting their lives and our state economy.”
“There would be serious implications for jobs at brown that support our research enterprises and facilities,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’Md’20 and Provost Francis d oyle wrote in a community-wide email. “brown’s full cost of research is already significantly more than what is covered by sponsored direct costs and indirect cost recovery.”
The plaintiffs claim that the NIH’s notice is in violation of the Department of Health and Human Services regulations and that the NIH “acted beyond its statutory authority.”
brown’s Vice President for research Greg Hirth ScM’87 Ph d ’91 submitted a declaration on Sunday in support of Neronha’s filing. if the 15% cap on indirect cost rates was implemented in fiscal year 2024, “the university would have experienced a loss of approximately $27 million,” Hirth estimated in his declaration. “For year-
to-date Fy25 research expenditures, the university would have experienced a loss of approximately $16 million.” The university is currently facing a $46 million structural deficit.
Many of the university’s current research projects and clinical trials would “cease abruptly,” if the cap were to be implemented, Hirth wrote. brown’s plans
to construct the danoff Laboratories — a seven-story life sciences research building — in the Jewelry district “would no longer be feasible,” Paxson and doyle added.
The plaintiffs also alleged that the notice is in violation of the department of Health and Human Services’s regulations which prohibit the “NiH from requiring such categorial, indiscriminate changes to indirect cost rates.”
“in issuing the (notice), the NiH has also acted beyond its statutory authority,” they added.
On Monday, brown, alongside 12 other universities and several education groups, filed a separate lawsuit against the NiH over the funding cut, The Herald previously reported.
Neronha did not provide additional comments. The NiH deferred comment to HHS, which did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment. The White House also did not respond.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 10, 2025.
Providence schools could return to local control by summer 2026, state leaders say
RIDE also introduced a framework for ending the state takeover
BY JOY CHEN AND CIARA MEYER
SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND SECTION EDITOR
On Monday, state leaders shared that the Providence Public School district could return to local control by summer 2026. Gov. dan McKee and leaders from the rhode island department of education, PPSd and rhode island board of education announced the timeline alongside a list of goals for the city to meet in order to facilitate the return.
PPSd has been under state control since 2019, and state leaders extended the takeover until 2027 this past august.
“Some people have asked us to return Providence Public Schools to local control immediately,” said McKee at a Monday meeting. “That would be a disservice to the community of students, families and educators who count on us to make positive change that lasts.”
but although he expressed reservations about an immediate restoration of local control, McKee shared that the state is now “comfortable accelerating” the timeline. department of education Commissioner angélica infante-Green emphasized that an accelerated return is dependent on the city meeting ride’s outlined goals. “Not one stakeholder wants to see our progress wiped away,” she said.
Providence Press Secretary anthony Vega wrote in an email to The Herald that Mayor brett Smiley still believes that PPSd should return to local control by July 1. in a press release, ride shared nine key goals PPSd needs to meet in order for schools to return to local control. These include increasing the productivity and effectiveness of the Providence school board, guaranteeing that the city will meet previously discussed funding goals and improving construction and custodial services.
ride also said that the city must collaborate with community and education professionals as they work on a transition plan that shares the city’s vision for pre-kindergarten through high school education.
When asked what the state would do to help improve the PPSd before the takeover, infante-Green referred to the Turnaround action Plan.
“We have not seen the transition plan or vision from the city yet, but it is our hope that local leaders will review this framework and make the commitment needed to continue to move Providence Public Schools in the right direction,” said Chair of the rhode island board of education Mike Grey. Vega wrote that the Smiley adminis-
tration has been collaborating with the state for two years on a plan for a return to local control. He added that “most of the conditions that ride unveiled at today’s announcement were sent to the city in September” and that the city has since updated the state twice on their progress toward meeting those goals.
in a November letter to ride leadership, City Council President rachel Miller and Smiley wrote that many of ride’s outlined next steps align with the work of the city’s return to Local Control Cabinet, which was established in November 2023. The return to Local Control Cabinet highlighted eight specific metrics the city should prioritize from the Turnaround action Plan. They also outlined responses to ride’s “action items” in the areas of
funding, facilities, school board capacity, communication and Turnaround action Plan progress.
in a december letter to ride leadership, local leaders reported on the department’s previously outlined goals and shared that their aim is “to finalize a comprehensive transition plan and timeline for PPSd by april of 2025, ensuring a smooth and community-informed return to local control.”
McKee emphasized the importance of having the city agree to ride’s nine outlined goals. but he was not firm when asked if the schools could still return to local control in 2026 if the goals were not fully met. “i think that everything’s up for negotiation,” he said.
McKee, Gray, i nfante-Green and
PPSd Superintendent Javier Montañez also shared some of the victories that the PPSd has seen since the beginning of the takeover.
Gray said “there’s an old and persistent narrative that PPSd is not moving forward and it is false.”
While Montañez celebrated the PPSd’s strides, he acknowledged that “there is a lot more work ahead of us” in engaging students and families with school improvements and in supporting english learners and students with disabilities.
according to a city press release, city officials were not invited to the Monday meeting.
“The city has repeatedly extended our hand to ride — ready, eager, and committed to work in partnership to ensure the best path for Providence students,” Miller said in a press release. “They have repeatedly refused to take it.”
Miller added that the “state’s failure to engage directly with city leaders further affirms the Council’s position that Providence Public Schools must return to local control in July 2025.”
brandi Tucker, a teacher at Webster avenue elementary School, said she was not surprised that ride gave 2026 as a possible start date for the return. Tucker has taught in the PPSd for three years, all of which occurred under the state takeover.
Tucker said she would like to see the steps the district is taking to implement school improvements. She would also like a plan for the return to local control to include measures for “accountability at the district level” rather than simply trying “to hold teachers accountable for all the things going wrong in the school.”
Tucker said teachers would like to “have input on our school budgets” and to “make choices in curriculum based on what our students need” rather than relying entirely on district mandates.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 11, 2025.
COurTeSy OF KeNNeTH ZirKeL Via WiKiMedia COMMONS
Maya WadHWaNi / HeraLd
PPSD has been under state control since 2019, and the state takeover was extended to 2027 in August 2024.
HOMELESSNESS
First RI temporary pallet shelter opens doors, following months-long delays
The 45-unit pallet shelter will welcome unhoused people as soon as Feb. 12
BY PAVANI DURBHAKULA SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On Tuesday, government officials and local housing organizations unveiled a long-awaited temporary pallet shelter in Providence.
eCHO Village, which consists of 45 single-person units, is the first pallet shelter pilot in the state. The shelters will begin welcoming unhoused people as soon as Feb. 12.
The Tuesday opening ceremony was hosted by Gov. dan McKee, the rhode island department of Housing, the City of Providence and the House of Hope Community development Corporation.
House of Hope, ridOH and the City of Providence have collaborated on the eCHO Village project for several years. The shelter was supposed to open by March 2024, but faced a number of delays due to supply chain issues and challenges with permitting.
“it’s a lifeline and it’s a chance for people to reclaim their future,” House of Hope executive director Laura Jaworski said during the ceremony.
each unit is 70 square feet and contains a locking door, twin XL bed, heating and aC unit and other amenities. The units are specifically for individual use. additionally, eCHO features restrooms, showers, laundry rooms and office spaces.
The village will also offer wraparound services including mental health and substance abuse recovery programs, low barrier medical care and employment search support. Meals will be provided by amos House, a community organization serving homeless populations.
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“eCHO is not just about housing. it is about health, safety and giving individuals the ability to regain control over their lives,” said State Senator Jacob bissaillon (d-Providence), who chairs the Senate Committee on Housing and Municipal Government.
Providence contributed $475,763 of its american rescue Plan act funding from 2021 to support this project, said Samara Pinto, the deputy press secretary for the City of Providence.
Many ceremony speakers and attendees found that the pallet shelters took too long to open and only provide a temporary fix to the state’s larger housing crisis.
“We must remember why we’re here,” Jaworski said at the event, calling it a “bit-
tersweet day.”
Since 2020, the number of people experiencing homelessness in rhode island has doubled, she added, noting that people “in our state who sleep in freezing temperatures sadly sometimes don’t wake up.” in his speech, McKee noted that construction challenges were one reason for the delay in opening. eCHO Village was built on “a raw site,” he said. “you needed sewer brought in, you needed water brought in, you needed electricity brought in,” leading to delays in the opening of the shelter.
eric Hirsch, a professor in the sociology department at Providence College and the director of the rhode island Homeless advocacy Project, claimed that the state
could have gotten the shelters opened much earlier, especially with winter temperatures.
Last winter, at least 54 rhode islanders died while experiencing homelessness.
“rico, one of our unhoused neighbors, froze to death not too far from here, and there are probably others,” said rhode island Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi (d-Warwick) at the event.
in the face of winter temperatures early last month, Gov. McKee opened several emergency winter hubs to provide overnight shelter for rhode islanders.
Like other homeless shelters in rhode island, eCHO Village will use Coordinated entry Systems — a nationwide system used to provide housing to people in need
— to determine the 45 people receiving spots in this shelter.
John Chiellini, who has overcome homelessness, incarceration and addiction and now works as a peer mentor to help others do the same, said that he is hopeful about the project during the ceremony.
Many speakers added that eCHO Village is only the beginning of what needs to be done in the state.
“ it is our hope that this is the first and not the last e CHO Village in r hode island,” Providence Mayor b rett Smiley said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 12, 2025.
yoga? No, cold yoga. Providence yogis brave frigid temperatures for ‘Snowga’
Jala Studio is offering a three-part free yoga class at 195 District Park
BY SHARANYA JAIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
a t 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, about 20 members of the Providence community gathered outside to raise their hands in a sun salutation — in 30 degree weather.
This pose marked the beginning of “Snowga,” a free yoga event at 195 d istrict Park. Saturday’s class was the second of three sessions, all organized by Jala Studio, that will take place this winter.
“We strive to find ways to keep the park active and lively even during the coldest winter months,” Jacob Nathan, the park manager for 195 d istrict Park, wrote in an email to The Herald. “ yoga and fitness classes are very popular in the warmer seasons, so we thought adventurous spirits might be interested in trying winter yoga as well.”
“The outdoor yoga classes focus on mindfulness to increase accessibility,” Nathan wrote. “Movements can be modified to work for any individual’s body.”
Many attendees at Saturday’s class were older adults like Marjorie Lewis, a self-described “senior.”
“ yoga keeps me limbered and fo -
cused,” said Lewis, who has been practicing yoga regularly for over eight years and considers herself to be a “yogalini.”
The sessions are an “opportunity for people to spend time with other like-minded folks who care about na -
ture,” said e ve Carey, studio manager and instructor at Jala Studio who taught Saturday’s yoga class. Carey added that, for adults, making friends can be difficult.
“The root of the word ‘yoga’ in Sanskrit is union,” Carey said. “ it’s coming
together and connecting with not only the universe, but also with yourself and with your community.” at the event, the participants “opened up and got more comfortable with each other,” said attendee a shley d esuze. “ it
was a really great experience.”
“ i n the wintertime, it is especially important to get exposure to the sun,” Carey said. “ it helps to boost the mood, and it helps your immune system.”
This was true for attendee Paola d ilone, who said she felt “really at peace with my body, and in touch with nature” after the class.
The opening sun salutation was adapted to the chilly weather and incorporated mostly standing poses, with a focus on hand movements and breathwork. after moving through multiple different poses, Carey led a meditative walk around the Providence river, encouraging participants to mindfully observe the “different smells and sounds and feels” in the environment, she said.
“ instead of the quick drudgery of a walk, like trying to get from your car to work or between classes, it’s a meditative walk — one where you move very slowly, and you’re really taking in everything around you,” Carey said.
“ i ’ve never done yoga ever, so this is my first time experiencing it, and i ’m honestly really happy that i came,” dilone said. “i will probably be doing more yoga every day after this.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 10, 2025.
Maya MuraVLeV / HeraLd
At the free outdoor yoga classes, Providence community members brave the cold to stay “limbered and focused.”
aNNa LueCHT / HeraLd
Each unit in ECHO Village is 70 square feet and contains a locking door, an heating and AC unit, a twin XL bed and other amenities.
STUDENT ORGANIZATION
Brown Sports Network looks to help students break into the sports industry
Nikolas Rohrmann ’26 and Charlie Pliner ’26 founded the club
BY LYDELL DYER SPORTS EDITOR
One week ago, Nikolas rohrmann ’26 and Charlie Pliner ’26 filled what they saw as a glaring gap on campus: b rown’s lack of preprofessional opportunities in the sports industry. The duo founded brown Sports Network, the first on-campus club dedicated to connecting brown students with careers across the sports industry.
The club will host guest speaker events, facilitate hands-on projects and provide students with networking opportunities.
a lot of students “dream of working in sports, but most people don’t really know how to get in,” Pliner said in an interview with The Herald. “We hope this will show people what’s possible in the sports industry.”
Pliner and r ohrmann’s journey to bring sports careers to campus began last year when they created two group independent study programs. The courses — G iSP 0002: “Global Football Management” and G i SP 0001: “The Global Sports industry” — offered participating students the chance to meet prominent sports professionals ranging from National Football League executives to former Major League Soccer players.
“The G i SPs were a foundation for developing a concentration in sports
BASKETBALL
The club will host guest speaker events, facilitate hands-on projects and provide students with networking opportunities.
management,” Professor e meritus of e ngineering b arrett Hazeltine, one of the courses’ sponsors, wrote in an email to The Herald. Over the course of the semester, “the rest of campus came to realize that sports and sports management are legitimate subjects for academic study,” he wrote
brown Sports Network “is a wonderful build on the GiSP courses,” Professor of the Practice and GiSP-sponsor Thano Chaltas ’87 P'24 added. “From the GiSPs, we better understand student interests, and we have a burgeoning network of industry contacts.”
Now, rohrmann and Pliner hope to build on their previous efforts and make students’ ability to explore the sports industry a permanent part of campus life. Their solution, b rown Sports Network, will follow the precedent established by
their GiSP courses: bringing in renowned and highly connected guest speakers.
Last year, 65 guest speakers from across the globe spoke in the class, Pliner said: “From Colombia to Japan to a rgentina to i taly to a merica, we kind of built this global prospective network of b rown alums.”
rohrmann and Pliner plan to use the existing network to benefit the club’s general body of over 200 members.
“These guys have a r olodex that’s unheard of,” said brando babini ’27, one of the club’s two vice presidents. “They’re willing to share, and they’re willing to turn that into what is now becoming b rown Sports Network.”
alongside bringing in top executives from a variety of sports industries, the club will provide opportunities for members to work on projects in leading sports
firms. a ccording to r ohrmann, these projects will allow students to hone their design, content creation and sports analytics skills.
“What we really think is going to make us different from other clubs is the ability to work on these hands-on projects,” rohrmann said. “That’s what we’re working on right now — building out partnerships with local organizations, but also global organizations.”
b abini emphasized that the projects not only benefit students but the sports companies as well.
“Our insights as college students who are aspiring sport entrepreneurs or executives, whatever it might be, are invaluable,” he said. “When you’re under 25 years old, you’re on the pulse. a nd a lot of these guys aren’t. So we provide a perspective they don’t.”
in addition to practical experience, the club will host field trips to the facilities of prominent sports companies.
Last year’s G i SPs visited a number of organizations, including New b alance, the b oston r ed Sox and the Celtics. Through b rown Sports Network, Pliner and rohrmann hope to add to that list.
“ you can dream big when you step foot in one of these unbelievable facilities,” Pliner said. “That’s so much more than just having a guest speaker on Zoom.”
backing up the four-person executive board are four faculty sponsors, including Chaltas,Hazeltine, Grace Calhoun ’92, the vice president for athletics and recreation and Kirsten Green, the athletics
chief of staff.
When asked why he decided to sponsor the club, Hazeltine said that “one of the aims of a liberal education is to understand the world we live in, and sports are a significant part of that world.” a board of eight student directors will work in collaboration with the executive board. d ivided into pairs, the directors oversee the club’s athlete relations, business development, communications and special events.
The network also boasts an expansive advisory committee that consists of “ b rown alumni who are in a senior leadership position in a sporting or sport adjacent role,” Pliner explained.
The roster, which is currently 21 members strong, includes alums such as Michael Hoecht ’20, a linebacker for the Los a ngeles r ams, and Zack Malet ’10, e SPN’s senior director of business development and innovation.
Pliner added that the alumni committee often points the club toward projects or connections.
“We think that’s a unique aspect to our club,” he said. “That’s not really been there with any other clubs that we’ve seen at b rown.” by connecting students with alums and organizations, Pliner hopes to create a “brown ecosystem in the sports industry.”
“We hope this is just the start of something,” he said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 12, 2025.
Men’s basketball drops double-digit lead in 74-72 loss to Columbia
With Ivy Madness on the horizon, the Bears are now 2-5 in conference
BY GUS BAILEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On Saturday, the men’s basketball team (10-10, 2-5 ivy) suffered a gut-wrenching 74-72 loss against Columbia (12-8, 1-6) in New york City. Though the b ears held a double-digit lead with less than seven minutes to go, the game slipped through their fingers in the final moments.
b ut despite the heartbreaking end, Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson ’27 delivered a breakout performance, scoring a career-high 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
“ i was really just taking what the defense gave me and tried to be more aggressive than i have been in the previous games,” Wrisby-Jefferson wrote in an email to The Herald.
The bears came out of the gates hot, opening the game with an 11-point run that included a jumper and a three-pointer from Kino Lilly Jr. ’25. Not yet on the scoreboard, the Lions began to claw their way back and managed to cut brown’s lead to just 30-27 four minutes before halftime.
b ut Wrisby-Jefferson took control and reignited bruno’s momentum. after scoring a flurry of layups, Wrisby-Jefferson capped off his offensive barrage with an and-one, pushing b rown’s advantage back to 10. Spearheaded by his efforts, the b ears entered halftime with a commanding 42-33 lead.
Coming out of halftime, the b ears continued to fire on all cylinders, keeping the Lions at a safe distance. When
Lilly scored back-to-back baskets with just over five minutes remaining in the game — giving brown a 69-57 lead — the b ears seemed to be in the driver’s seat. but Columbia refused to give up. Capitalizing on multiple b runo turnovers, the Lions sliced the b ears’ seemingly comfortable lead to two points with just 1:39 to play.
With 20 seconds left and a 72-71 score in favor of brown, Columbia’s Kenny No-
land drew a foul. He made the first free throw, but missed the second — only for the Lions to snatch the offensive rebound and extend the possession.
a frantic sequence followed. The Lions heaved up a three that came up too strong, but Columbia’s b lair Thompson dropped a putback layup to give the Lions their first lead of the game.
The b ears had one last chance to steal back the victory, but Lilly’s last-
gasp jumper clanged off the rim as time expired. Losing 74-72, the b ears fell to 2-5 in ivy League play.
For the b ears, the loss was all too familiar. The team has been plagued by late-game troubles this season, squandering second-half leads to dartmouth — and now Columbia — in the last month.
“We just gotta find a way to close games and keep our foot on the pedal,” Wrisby-Jefferson wrote. “i feel like (this)
game we coasted towards the end, which led them to come back.”
“To close out close games, we’ve got to limit our turnovers, and we’ve got to rebound,” he added. “Those two aspects hurt us at the end of the game.”
d espite the bitter defeat, Wrisby-Jefferson was a bright spot, relentlessly attacking the basket as he led the team in scoring for the first time in his career. The sophomore guard added six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks to his impressive box score.
a s he looks to build upon his career-best performance, Wrisby-Jefferson stressed the importance of staying assertive. “i really just have to stay aggressive and look to create for myself as well as others,” he explained.
Landon Lewis ’26, who missed brown’s previous three games, tallied 14 points and three blocks in his return from injury. Lilly chipped in with 13 points and five assists.
The b ears will look to bounce back with an i vy League doubleheader this weekend, hosting second-seeded Princeton (16-6, 5-2) on Friday and seventh-place Penn (6-14, 2-5) on Saturday. Last weekend, bruno held off the Quakers 88-79 before falling 69-49 in a tough road matchup with the Tigers.
“We gotta take it one game at a time,” Wrisby-Jefferson wrote. “Focus on what we have to do for Princeton and then focus on Penn. This is a big weekend for us, but we just gotta take it one game at a time.”
COurTeSy OF braNdO babiNi
COurTeSy OF brOWN aTHLeTiCS Despite the heartbreaking result, Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson ’27 delivered a breakout performance, scoring a careerhigh 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
SPORTS
ICE HOCKEY
Men’s ice hockey crushes Yale 5-1, completes regular season sweep against Bulldogs
Tyler Kopff ’27 and Ryan St. Louis ’26 combined for seven points
BY DENNIS CAREY SPORTS EDITOR
Just hours before football fans settled in for the Super bowl, brown’s men’s ice hockey team (11-10-2, 7-8-1 eCaC) crushed yale (5-16-2, 4-10-2) with five goals to one — beating the bulldogs for the second time in one week and securing the season sweep.
after a rough start to Sunday’s game, bruno found their rhythm and cruised to victory in a fiery rival matchup. The victory means the bears have won seven of their last eight games and now sit in eighth place in eastern College athletic Conference rankings.
after defeating yale on Thursday in New Haven, bruno looked to carry some of that momentum onto their home turf three days later. but a poor start from the bears’ defense made a second win over the bulldogs look unlikely.
Only 21 seconds into the game, yale’s david Chen latched onto a pass and skated past two defenders to find himself through on goal. His shot beat goalie Lawton Zacher ’27 at his far post, and the bulldogs were off to a storming start in bruno’s home territory.
From then on, the period settled into a nice rhythm. Throughout the first, both teams traded the momentum back-andforth, with bruno holding more of the puck and yale looking to beat them on the break. but the bears slowly grew into the game — and from then on, they dominated.
brown found the equalizing goal with 11 seconds left in the first period. With both teams at even strength — and bruno looking like the more threatening team — brendan Clark ’25 took advantage of the chaos in front of the net and scuffed the puck over the line for the bears’ opening goal. both Max Scott ’27 and ryan St. Louis ’26 were credited with the assist.
St. Louis and Zacher were recently selected as semifinalists for the Walter brown award — an annual prize awarded to the top american-born division i player
in New england. either St. Louis or Tyler Kopff ’27 was involved in every bruno goal that night, leading the offense against yale with seven points between them.
The second quarter was all about the bears. Outshooting yale 17-7 and scoring four goals, bruno looked unstoppable.
Kopff got his first score of the day on the power play. Five minutes into the period, yale’s Zach Wagnon was called for a hooking penalty, giving the bears a one-man advantage. Working the puck around the yale goal, the bulldog defense
remained stalwart. Kopff picked the puck up and fired a shot from distance, which found its way into the top right corner and gave bruno the lead.
Only four minutes later, the bears then found themselves with a two-man advantage after two yale players were called for slashing penalties. after nine minutes of constant bruno pressure, it was clear that bulldog tempers were starting to boil over.
Kopff took advantage of the power play once again. Just as yale restored the game to a one-man advantage and thought they
could breathe again, Kopff stunned them. assisted by brian Nicholas ’28 and Scott, Kopff slammed a close-range shot home. Now, bruno started to run away with the game.
With 13:14 on the clock, the bulldogs’ frustration got the better of them again. bruno was back on the power play, and St. Louis and Kopff passed the puck to alex Pineau ’27 — who stretched the bears’ advantage to three.
but bruno had time for just a little more magic in the second period. at 16:21, Kopff gave ethan Mistry ’27 a chance to score his first career goal for the bears. He took it brilliantly, and the game was all but over.
This dominant second-period showing by bruno was a breath of fresh air following struggles the weekend before. in brown’s loss against union on Feb. 1, bruno was unable to convert any of its eight power play opportunities into a goal. but in Sunday’s game against yale, the bears were clinical on the advantage — scoring on three of their five opportunities.
in the third period, bruno defended resiliently. They were outshot 12-4, but the bulldog’s late firing came to nothing. The bears stuffed them and killed three power plays to complete the double over their ivy League rivals.
bruno will attempt to continue their climb in the eCaC with games against Cornell and Colgate at home over the holiday weekend. Those games will also be streamed live on eSPN+.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 10, 2025.
Women’s ice hockey cruises past Dartmouth with a 3-0 senior day win
BY MILES MONROE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Saturday, the women’s ice hockey team (14-10-3, 9-8-3 eCaC) celebrated their seniors with a decisive 3-0 victory over dartmouth (4-19-3, 2-15-3 eCaC) at the Meehan auditorium. Just one day earlier, the bears defeated Harvard (2-22-2, 1-18-1 eCaC) 3-1.
Following senior night, bruno now ranks eighth in the eCaC standings with two more games left to play in the regular season.
Head Coach Melanie ruzzi noted that this year’s seniors — the first class she has coached through all four years — have a special place in her heart.
“They each bring something different to the table,” she said in an interview with The Herald. “They’ve carried our culture forward, they’ve been great leaders and just great people.”
The bears came out hot against dartmouth. Just under three minutes into the game, avery Saba ’28 capitalized on a deflected shot, ripping a close-ranger past the big Green netminder. The goal exemplified one of ruzzi’s primary goals for the game: screening dartmouth’s star goalie. but brown was not satisfied with one goal. They relentlessly pressured the big Green with marked physicality on the ice. Though d artmouth had their chances, bruno’s lockdown defense and impressive saves by goalie rory edwards ’27 kept
the score 1-0. it was only a matter of time before the bears netted their second. Ten minutes after brown’s first score, Jade iginla ’26 rocketed a long pass across the ice to Margot Norehad ’27. a dartmouth defender missed when trying to intercept the pass, and Norehad cruised down the right alley untouched to finish a smooth shot behind the dartmouth goalie.
The team’s focus was on “boxing out, taking care of our d-zone and working hard in our O-zone,” Norehad said.
With 18 seconds left in the first period, bruno put on yet another display of teamwork. relying on her teammates Olivia Fantino ’28 and india Mcdadi ’26, Norehad found an empty spot in front of the goal. The trio’s tic-tac-toe passing confused dartmouth’s defense, and Norehad netted her second score of the game and eleventh of the season.
The first period ended with a score of 3-0, with bruno’s 13 shots dominating dartmouth’s five.
Though there was considerable pres-
sure on the team to beat their eCaC foe on senior day, ruzzi emphasized the importance of staying in the moment.
“We’ve had to just really focus on one game at a time,” ruzzi said, adding that each team is “just the next opponent.”
For the remainder of the game, edwards continued to shine, saving everything coming her way. despite a few dangerously close shots by the big Green, the defense remained firm.
but about halfway into the second period, dartmouth almost found their first
goal of the game. edwards lost sight of the puck in front of the net, and a dogpile of bodies formed on the line as both teams scrambled for the puck. bruno was able to fend off the encounter, and the big Green remained scoreless.
as the two teams battled it out in the last period, edwards was the star of the show. The big Green took 21 shots on goal, but edwards and her defense would not give in.
about halfway into the period, edwards made a clutch save on a dartmouth player who had maneuvered around defenders and was sweeping across the front side of the goal. Cameron Sikich ’25 laid a huge hit in center ice shortly after which put the cherry on top.
bruno fended off dartmouth’s desperate efforts to close out the game with a final score of 3-0. edwards was named an eCaC Star of the Night for her 26 saves in the shutout.
The game was followed by a senior day celebration where the class of 2025 were joined by their families.
Winning the game on senior day was “really exciting,” Sikich said. “We haven’t actually won a senior game in all of my four years, so it’s really nice.”
The team hopes to carry this momentum into their Friday away matchup against Cornell, who currently leads the eCaC standings. This game, ruzzi said, is “a big one.”
CHriS NGuyeN / HeraLd
rankings.
HOCKEY
Bruno clinches its sixth win in its past nine games
JeSSe beNiTeZ / HeraLd
Following the senior night showout, Bruno now ranks eighth in the ECAC standings with two more games left to play in the regular season.
Dear Readers,
This past week, I’ve found solace in an old hobby: crafting. It seems that sometime during my three years in college, I have lost the creative spirit that I once held so close. I used to spend summers scouring Pinterest and perusing the aisles of Michael’s for the perfect activity. Armed with construction paper and some washi tape, handmade gifts were my love language. As the semester begins to pick up, and I try to distract myself from the impending end of my time at Brown, I’ve found myself in a whirlwind of shrinky dinks, paper chains, and coloring books. Crafting has soothed an ache that I did not know I had.
Our writers this week search for comfort in little things too. In Feature, Sydney finds joy in documenting one thing she finds beautiful each day. Jasmine in Narrative journals as her creative outlet, using writing as a way to make sense of her life. Our second Narrative writer, Gabi, also finds beauty around her, reflecting on nature and how her feelings about winter have evolved. In A&C this week, Eleanor speaks to her connection to Headache’s music, and our second writer muses on how her attitude toward men has matured. Michelle, too, reflects on change; to celebrate our first-ever issue with two Feature pieces, she writes about the migration of birds, tying it to growing up and moving away from home. In Lifestyle, Indigo ruminates on crying, listing her observations from crying on campus. Finally, AJ makes a heart-shaped crossword as an early Valentine’s Day gift.
Despite my joy in crafting, I am certainly not without slip-ups. I have found myself time after time erasing mistakes and redoing paper cutouts, or sometimes, leaving the evidence of a mistake just as it is. The non-perfection of it all is exactly why I hold it so dearly. This long weekend, dear readers, I implore you to find comfort in a craft, and who knows, maybe you’ll find inspiration in a copy of post-.
Three Hundred and Forty Steps to Devotion
Sydney Pearson
“Even if he’s gay, I’m first in line, so back off buddy.”
“I wish everyone would invade my personal space.”
1. Roaring
2. 2048
3. 2016
4. 20/20 vision
5. Twentieth century
6. 2020
7. 21
8. Twenty Stories
9. "20 Something" by SZA 10. 20 Questions
by AJ Wu
“And I imagined what would have happened if I had spoken up, or cussed them out, or screamed, or flipped the table, or punched someone, or at least allowed myself to look angry. I think about this, and I can live vicariously through these fictional women. It is cathartic, and it is freeing.”
— Emily Tom, “The Craze for Feminine Rage”
“I think I want to write something new, something in the style of Anne Carson or maybe Maggie Nelson, but I am light-headed and flighty. I feel pinned like an insect to bedposts with nail polish stains that must be over nine years old.”
— Alissa Simon, “Christmas Adventures in OpenAI” 02.17.23
OPINIONS
Ricks ’27: Gen Z needs to make the first move
This Valentine’s d ay, there is one book i cannot get off my mind: e dith Wharton’s “The a ge of innocence.” Many of its themes remain relevant today: critiques of societal expectations and our adherence to them, individual versus collective duty and the limits of fate and free will. However, what i always remember is the final scene when the male protagonist –– 30 years older than when we first meet him, but no wiser –– stands outside of his true love’s home with only a door and elevator ride between them. r ight when we think he’s going to seize the opportunity, he sits down and says “ it’s more real to me here than if i went up there. Like the protagonist, Generation Z has a pathological aversion to taking action, preferring the fantasy of love to the risk of rejection. This was evident last week when MarriagePact dropped their much-anticipated match results. The annual matchmaking platform surveys college students and connects them with potential suitors on their campus. The promise of such an experiment is the chance at a connection that is more than skindeep. yet most participants don’t even meet for a first date after the results come out. This might seem surprising at first, especially given that over 3,000 b rown students took the survey. upon second glance, however, this comes as no surprise, fitting with our generation’s chronic inability to put ourselves out there.
Only 56% of Gen Z adults report having been in a romantic relationship during their teenage years compared to more than three-fourths of b aby b oomers and Gen Xers. Some young adults are even taking to the internet to confess that they are well into their late 20s and have never been in a relationship. a lthough Gen Z is dating less, the
desire for love remains the same. While it can be argued that people should invest in platonic and familial relationships, it is undeniable that romantic love is just as important. Forming meaningful romantic relationships is a central developmental milestone for young adults as it contributes to higher life satisfaction and helps an individual grow into a more well-adjusted adult. That means almost half of this generation is left with an unmet need.
The most salient hypothesis that attempts to explain this phenomenon blames social media in part for our generation’s increase in social anxiety. Social media usage has made us the loneliest and most self-conscious generation yet. Gen Zers are more nervous to initiate conversations and less confident on first dates. a s a result, we don’t make the first move. a nd even if we do end up talking to someone we like, the tacit rules of digital communication mean we are overcome by the fear of not using enough emojis or responding too quickly. e ven more, the fear of dating missteps being criticized in a group chat or broadcasted on social media adds to an already long list of deterrents. it’s no surprise that so many Gen-Zers prefer a fantasy world to the real one. recently, the acclaimed H b O series Sex and the City became a runaway hit with Gen Z viewers. While many young people remarked on the characters’ outlandish outfits and the depiction of cringy dating faux pas, some expressed a longing for the old days when you could approach someone in earnest and ask them out for coffee or a drink.
We’re not just turning to our televisions though. bell hooks’s seminal novel “a ll a bout Love” became a classic among our generation 24
Gen Z has a pathological aversion to taking action, preferring the fantasy of love to the risk of rejection. “ “
years after its release, and romance book sales have skyrocketed among young women. in more extreme cases, young people have turned to ai chatbots to understand love and fulfill their desire for intimacy. However, no amount of media consumption will equate to forming a bond with a real human. a nd if we want to do that, we must face the potential of rejection.
i can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Wharton’s protagonist had gone up the elevator, but i know that would have undermined her message. What Wharton reveals by ending her book with his inaction is a relevant lesson that we should all carry with us: pleasure in the fantasy may be alluring, but true fulfillment comes from taking action.
Social media and online dating isn’t inherently bad; the potential for wide-reaching connections and easy communication provides us with additional tools for finding successful relationships. However, algorithms can’t do all the work for us.
Ahmed ’27: Activism has a race problem
Odds are the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the current global conflicts are either the war in ukraine or the war in Gaza. Less likely to be brought up is Sudan, where the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis is unfolding, unknown to most of the Western world. So where are the marches for the Sudanese or the mass social media campaigns? When it comes to Sudan, there is a harrowing silence within the Western activist community. Why that is has to do with a larger issue in global activism: a glaringly subconscious race problem that prioritizes eurocentric conflicts, bleeding even into b rown’s activism culture.
First, it’s important to put into context the scale of horror that is burning through Sudan right now. Sudan’s military-led government began a power struggle in 2023 between two generals that has since consumed the country. e stimates as early as June of 2024 had placed the predicted human loss at two million due to hunger-related causes if no additional humanitarian aid were to be provided. Not two million displaced or injured, but two million men, women and children who would lose their lives. Women and young girls have also been subject to inhumane acts of sexual violence, including abduction and slavery, in a country that was already struggling to remedy domestic abuse. Millions of people have been displaced and are struggling to find asylum in neighboring countries or e urope.
d espite the magnitude of the conflict and its potential impact on a frica and e urope, there has been little support from the international com -
munity. Only about 60% of the country’s appeal for global funding was met. This circles back to my original question, why? To put it simply, Sudan is in a frica. World Health Organization d irector-General Tedros a dhanom said himself, “ i think race is in the play here… e specially in a frica, i think the attention is really, really low.” a simple search of the hashtag #sudan on instagram comes up with 1.9 million posts. ukraine has nearly 40 million. a t b rown in particular, there hasn’t been strong advocacy for Sudan like there has been for ukraine or Gaza.
Sudan is only one of many atrocities that go ignored by Western activists in place of other con-
ue to die in yemen. The intuitive exception is Palestine, but even the war in Gaza receives special attention for its inherent involvement with the Western-inspired state of israel. e ven domestically, a merican activism also fails to fully realize its goals for people of color and indigenous communities. For instance, the environmentalist movement has been successful in converting urban areas into green spaces, but has been failing to do so in b lack communities and often ends up pushing out people of color from their neighborhoods. LG b TQ+ activists, who have historically been led by people of color, now often prioritize the goals of wealthy white communities
We should be more vocal for Sudan, for Myanmar and for any other marginalized humanitarian crisis that doesn’t get enough attention. “ “
flicts. There is no uproar for the millions of rohingya who have been forcibly displaced in Myanmar, no outcry for the violence and slavery in the d emocratic republic of the Congo and no disruption for the hundreds of thousands who contin-
while struggling to give voice to b lack communities.
in light of, or rather despite the shadows cast over, these international and domestic failures, it is equally important for b rown to look intrinsical-
Message your MarriagePact matches. Send that rose on Hinge. Talk to that crush you followed on instagram at a party. it’s always going to be scary, but it might just be worth it. Let me leave you with one last thing that might expose me as the romantic that i am. One of the things that keeps me going in the face of today’s barren romantic landscape is hope. Hope in the goodness of other people and hope that all the goodness in this world comes from our desire to love and be loved. So this Valentine's d ay do it hopeful or do it scared. e ither way just get out of your head and do it. When it comes to finding love, we have to take the elevator up.
Kendall Ricks ’27 can be reached at kendall_ricks@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
ly at our own community’s efforts. b y virtue of the pervasiveness of a racist subconscious in a merican activism, social justice at b rown is also subject to the same biases. Therefore, we must be more cognizant of and deliberate with the issues that we give voice to, in order to make sure that we, as students, are not perpetuating a national ignorance. We should be more vocal for Sudan, for Myanmar and for any other marginalized humanitarian crisis that doesn’t get enough attention.
While all humanitarian crises and social issues deserve a voice, we need to recognize the racial inequality that exists in the attention economy of activism. a s students of a university that benefits from operations in developing countries like india and has become a center for social advocacy, we have an indisputable responsibility to make sure that our subconscious biases are taken into account when we campaign for causes and to make sure that everyone is included in our goals. More broadly, as college students, we have an imperative to be educated and respectful. a s one e conomist article put it, “Western public opinion is quiescent: there were not many Sudanese flags flying from ivy League encampments this year.” Let us not be an example to prove that point. Let us fly the flags of all oppressed people and recognize their struggles in our own activism.
Shayyan Ahmed ’27 can be reached at shayyan_ahmed@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
CHLOe JOHNSON / HeraLd
Davis ’27: Andrew Yang has the charisma but does he have the politics?
Like many other b runonians, i decided to spend my Monday night this week in the Salomon Center, listening to the former 2020 presidential candidate offer his thoughts on the current state of our democracy. a ndrew yang ’96 came out ten minutes early to shake hands, his speech had the audience erupting in laughter and — in the end — he passionately described why he felt a calling to run for President of the u nited States, citing beliefs that poverty is unavoidable. a ll the while, he held the crowd in the palm of his hand. While yang has succeeded in emanating Generation Z charisma, he has failed to cultivate a realistic political platform to back up the viral persona. d uring the 2020 campaign season, yang ran primarily on his vision for u niversal b asic i ncome, which would provide every u.S. adult with a $1,000-a-month stipend. d uring this week’s speech hosted by the b rown Political u nion, yang simplified the issue, stating that our G d P, which currently sits at $29 trillion, is more than enough to provide this stimulus to the over 258 million
people who would theoretically receive it.
What yang failed to mention when he was going on his diatribe about a new “human-centered economy,” is that the a merican national debt has climbed to a staggering $36 trillion, far outpacing our G d P. a s it stands, the federal government has spent over $1.83 trillion more than it has collected in the previous fiscal year.
This is where i take issue with members of the yang Gang. i n his talk, yang referred to himself as a “numbers guy,” and if we hold that to be true then it is nothing short of disingenuous to completely remove our insurmountable debt from the equation. The Social Security a dministration estimates that, by 2033, Social Security will become insolvent as our population grows older, leaving our economy with more retirees and fewer workers. This leaves the one form of universal income that we do have in a precarious spot as benefits for the country’s most vulnerable population are cut. The Social Security a dministration may then be forced to cut benefits for all
“ “
What Andrew Yang failed to mention when he was going on his diatribe about a new ‘human-centered economy’ is that the American national debt has climbed to a staggering 36 trillion dollars, far outpacing our GDP.
I get the appeal of a grandiose reconsideration of American politics. But when we let ourselves so easily fall into the palm of buzz word romancers such as Andrew Yang, we delay the arrival of a feasible new vision of our country.
“ “
current retirees, leaving 20-something-year-olds like us with much less financial stability than our grandparents had.
a s mandatory spending increases, we are left with less money for the issues we care about. a policy such as ubi — as fanciful as it is — would only make this worse. d o you want to see an increase in funding for science and technology research, environmental protections or maybe education? This all falls under discretionary spending which Congress can cut at will, and they will have to if we continue to overextend ourselves without first addressing the paramount issue of our unbalanced budget.
yang stated at the event that the motivation behind his ubi crusade is, in part, the ever-growing threat that ai poses to the job market. i fully agree that innovations in ai will have devastating effects on the a merican middle and lower classes, but if we as a country are to provide the financial assistance necessary to accommodate this inevitability, we must first take serious steps to -
wards resolving our national debt. a nything less is a disservice to the a merican people, and, more specifically, to younger generations such as ours. i understand the charm. i get the appeal of a grandiose reconsideration of a merican politics. b ut when we let ourselves so easily fall into the palm of buzz word romancers such as a ndrew yang, we delay the arrival of a feasible new vision of our country. We must reserve our fervor for politicians who offer realistic platforms of national policy, like Wes Moore and Pete b uttigieg, who don’t dilute their potential with empty promises like ubi
Christian Davis ’27 can be reached at christian_davis@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
Scurry ’25: I’m writing my thesis on love. Here’s what I've learned.
i n my sophomore year at b rown, i wrote a 20page proposal for an independent concentration that i never submitted. i t was called “The Principles of Love,” and my goal was to determine — once and for all — what love actually is.
i n those days, i believed in absolutes. i obsessed over patterns, i relished in consistency and i believed, subconsciously at least, that human beings were governed by discernable laws. i thought that growing old was about learning these laws, and then living in accordance with them.
i used to think love functioned in the same way — that there was some objective definition, some binary, that distinguished what love was and what it wasn’t. a nd, in the wake of a devastating heartbreak and an even more devastating obsession with someone new, i didn’t just want to understand love. i had to.
i ’ve written about love before. More accurately, i ’ve explored the topic in poetry, song lyrics and self-serving hate letters. i desperately sought answers to my abundant questions.
While i never pursued the independent concentration (my excuse: b rown doesn’t have
enough classes on love), i found an alternative. i declared sociology, and i am now writing my thesis on romantic love.
Over the last two years, i ’ve immersed myself in the research, reading everything academia has to offer on love. a nd after enthralling myself in the field, conducting a study, analyzing the results and thinking about love more than most sane people ever should — i ’ve come to only one conclusion: Love is undefinable. i n other words, in spending all this time trying to define love, i found that in reality, love defines us.
i f you’re single this Valentine’s d ay, i hope that brings you some peace. i f you’re not, humor me anyway.
Love is inherently intangible. i t’s ultimately unknowable. i t’s a concept more than a reality and a construct that we collectively uphold despite no one being able to agree on a definition. your boyfriend might say he loves you, but do you really know what that means? i s it lust, attachment, possessiveness or a mixture of the three brewing inside him? Or he might refuse to say he loves you, which may have nothing to do with whether he does or does not, and everything
“ “
Love is inherently intangible. It’s ultimately unknowable. It’s a concept more than a reality and a construct that we collectively uphold despite no one being able to agree on a definition.
“ “
Love is conditional, but you are the only condition. Love doesn’t need to be found, nor does it need to be chased. It just needs to be activated.
to do with what he thinks love means.
We are obsessed with these distinctions — who we love and who we don’t — all because “ i love you” feels like the most powerful phrase in existence. We want love to quiet the chaos inside us, to prove our own worth and to heal, or at least temporarily obscure everything that’s broken internally.
When we say “ i love you,” we say it as if we’ve crossed some defined threshold, a clear line in the sand. b ut there is no line. There is no threshold.
Whatever your definition of love is, i know this much: i t’s made up. These definitions vary across space and time, across individuals and cultures. The thought “ i ’m in love” is exactly that — a thought. There is no objective basis, no foundation in reality. There are no absolutes.
Since coming to this conclusion, i ’ve pondered at length why we find so much comfort in our constructed definitions of love. i study love because i want it, desperately. i have no desire to understand love but every desire in the world to have love, and i ’m only realizing now, to my frustration, that those are very, very different things. i ’m lonely, as most people my age are. yet in studying love, i ’ve forgotten how to
love. So here’s my advice, to you and to myself: Stop obsessing over what love is. Start actually experimenting with it.
Start small, and be patient — opening your heart takes time. Hold eye contact for a second longer. Smile at a stranger. Hug someone. Start loving the things that feel easy to love: pets, your bed, a favorite movie. Let it grow from there. When the flutter in your chest appears, don’t analyze it — just let it happen. i f nothing else, stop chasing it.
a nd though love is unknowable, paradoxically, love is right in front of you. More accurately, love is within you, and you are the only one who can access it.
Love is conditional, but you are the only condition. Love doesn’t need to be found, nor does it need to be chased. i t just needs to be activated.
Mason Scurry ’25 can be reached at mason_scurry@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
ARTS & CULTURE
REVIEW
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show stuns with powerful commentary and raw vocals
The rapper's performance blended hit songs with political messages
BY GABRIELLA WRIGHTEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
For most Super bowl halftime show performers, the objective is to showcase their abilities, promote new albums or crowdplease with their greatest hits. For Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, the halftime show was much more. in his own words, “This is bigger than the music.” breaking up a stunning Super bowl victory by the Philadelphia eagles, Lamar brought a mix of new and old hits together to create an inspiring, politically-charged performance. Surrounded by dancers choreographed to resemble the a merican flag, Lamar delivered a coordinated, clear message against anti-black hate and violence. actor Samuel L. Jackson featured in the show as a rendition of uncle Sam, foregrounding the songs with declarations that america wants “nice and calm” while calling Lamar’s coordinated, raw performance of “Squabble up” “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto.”
Lamar is no stranger to this level of storytelling, but it was refreshing to see his
talent brought to full force during such an uncertain and tumultuous political time.
The stereotype of african americans being loud and violent has persisted for decades, bleeding into the personal and professional lives of black people nationwide. despite this, it’s rare to see commentary on these issues allowed to be broadcast to millions of viewers worldwide.
Politics aside, Lamar’s live performance skills rank among the best of modern-day rappers. even with the fast pace and heightened energy of the Super bowl, every word — and the accompanying message — was clear. a medley of cleverly-arranged, newer songs, combined
with fan favorites like “HuMbLe.” and “dNa .,” made for an engaging, memorable performance, especially given the limited theatrics and special effects. apart from Jackson’s performance, the show was admittedly lacking in the star power audiences tend to expect out of a Super bowl. The last few years have seen a
number of featured performers, but most artists have opted for more extravagant, whirlwind performances. Lamar took the opposite approach, focusing on strong vocals and visually striking choreography with only one musical feature: Frequent collaborator SZa made a brief appearance for two songs, “all the Stars” and “luther,” ultimately giving an unremarkable performance in comparison to Lamar.
Of course, though, Lamar did give the people what they wanted. after teasing “Not Like us” throughout — even remarking “i wanna play their favorite song” — Lamar finally performed the Grammy-winning hit, bringing out all-star tennis player and drake’s former girlfriend Serena Williams to dance along to the diss track.
Lamar stuck to his roots, delivering a bold performance on the biggest stage. in spite of challenging political circumstances, Lamar reinforced the ideas and beliefs of his music through a riveting and flawless vocal performance. even the strongest performers have fumbled at the Super bowl, and watching Kendrick Lamar succeed would delight any fan, new or old.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 9, 2025.
Authors Claudia Rankine, Bernadine Evaristo reflect on literary arts at talk
The two shared their perspectives on storytelling, identity and language
BY ANNIKA SINGH SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On Tuesday evening, award-winning writers bernadine evaristo and Claudia rankine read excerpts of their work and reflected on storytelling during an event at the Lindemann Center for the Performing arts.
The talk, titled “Celebrating the Words That Make us: an evening with Claudia rankine and bernardine evaristo,” was organized by the department of Literary arts and the brown arts institute as part of the institute’s iGNiTe series.
The women are “two of the most masterful writers of our time globally,” said Matthew Shenoda, literary arts department chair, in an interview with The Herald.
evaristo is a booker Prize-winning author for her novel “Girl, Woman, Other,” and rankine is a Macarthur Fellow and the bestselling author of “Citizen: an american Lyric.”
Shenoda praised evaristo for having “broken multiple barriers for both women and people of color,” and using multiple genres and mediums to transform the world around her.
He also recognized rankine for her experimentation and innovation in literature: “The iterative and experiential spaces (rankine) creates” transcend the boundaries between the page and the reader’s social sphere, he said.
Claudia rankine presents a photo of a deconstructed couch.
Claudia rankine is a Macarthur Fellow and the bestselling author of “Citizen: an american Lyric.”
“i can think of few american poets whose poetry get folks talking and thinking about the systemic realities that govern our lives in the way that rankine does,”
Shenoda continued.
The event was intended to highlight the presence of community in writing, according to Shenoda. The evening began with readings from evaristo’s “Girl, Woman, Other” and rankine’s “Triage,” which is currently a work in progress.
rankine’s reading was accompanied by a slideshow of deconstructed couches, images she said resonate deeply with themes of familiarity, disruption and memory in her work.
in an interview with The Herald, rankine said her “ambition is always to make whatever it is i’m saying hold as much ex-
panse as it possibly can.” She is known for blending essays, poetry and multimedia in her work.
The readings were followed by a conversation moderated by Kwame dawes, the poet laureate of Jamaica and a professor of literary arts. dawes invited audience members to shout out numbers, then prompted the authors to reflect on moments of their lives at those years of age.
bernadine evaristo speaks into a mic on a podium, reading from her book.
b ernadine e varisto is a b ooker Prize-winning author for her novel “Girl, Woman, Other.”
evaristo didn’t commit to being a writer until age 30, she told attendees.
“even when my first book was published, i didn’t call myself a writer,” she said. “i was embarrassed about calling myself a writer.”
evaristo also described how her life defied expectations for her age: “When i was 50, i got my first full-time job,” she said.
Owen Harris ’25, a literary arts concentrator, attended the event after he heard rankine speak at a university event last semester. “i’ve never heard of bernadine evaristo, but after this, i'll definitely be checking her out,” he told The Herald.
rachna iyer, a senior research assistant at the Warren alpert Medical School, had never read either of the books excerpted during the event. but the readings, she said, felt “experimental and autobiographical.” both rankine and evaristo push the boundaries of poetry and literature, Shenoda told The Herald.
“One of the greatest things about art is its ability … to make us see the world a little differently,” he said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 12, 2025.
COurTeSy OF COOPer NeiLL Via NFL
Politics aside, Kendrick Lamar’s live performance skills rank among the best of modern-day rappers. EVENT
Ja SMiNe WiLLOuGHby / HeraLd
The readings were followed by a conversation moderated by Professor Kwame Dawes, Poet Laureate of Jamaica and a faculty member in the Literary Arts Department.
REVIEW
‘The Substance’ contrasts grotesque visuals with the temporal nature of beauty
Film captures horrors of society’s treatment of aging women
BY AYANA AHUJA SENIOR STAFF WRITER
“The Substance” is grotesque, jarring and honestly quite gross. What it lacks in dialogue it makes up for in creeping noises and visuals. The film’s gory nature glaringly contrasts with the idea of youth and beauty standards, becoming almost unbearable to watch — but that’s precisely the point.
The body horror film, directed by Coralie Fargeat, follows celebrity TV personality elisabeth Sparkle (demi Moore). Facing an entertainment industry that is rendering her obsolete because of her age, Moore uses a black market drug called “the Substance” that creates a younger, “more beautiful” version of herself. but, the two selves must switch off every week, or suffer near-fatal side effects.
elisabeth’s new self, Sue (Margaret Qualley), takes over elisabeth’s TV show and quickly becomes unsatisfied with only living half of a life. Sue begins to take extra days, leading to an intensified deterioration of elisabeth's body, the physical atrophy mirroring the industry’s and society’s treatment of aging women. elisabeth becomes increasingly destructive in anger, going through episodes of binge-eating and self-loathing.
Moore’s portrayal of elisabeth feels oddly analogous to Moore’s own career, which has mirrored that of many other women who dominated the entertainment industry in the ’80s and ’90s. Moore has said that she struggled to maintain her footing in the industry, adding that she has
REVIEW
been called a “popcorn actress” during her 2025 Golden Globes acceptance speech. but the audience doesn’t see Moore as undesirable when the film opens. Looking at Moore, one has to think “she looks great.”
b ut the world within the film tells elisabeth that she is invisible, unworthy and a relic, which forces the audience to reckon with their own complacency in these narratives. elisabeth Sparkle is forced to fight for her place in the world, but so is Moore. but, instead of a fictional horror, she is fighting against decades of Hollywood’s relentless erasure of aging women.
When Sue refuses to switch back to elisabeth until forced to, elisabeth deteriorates to the point of becoming unrecog-
nizable. elisabeth is unable to bring herself to terminate Sue, and Sue kills elisabeth. Without elisabeth’s body, Sue begins aging on the day of her big break: a New year’s special. in an act of desperation, Sue tries to split herself in two again, turning into a monstrous multi-headed creature.
She is rejected, feared and insulted by all in a bloody massacre of sorts. She becomes monstrous in the eyes of the world that once adored her.
The final act is a descent into destruction, a full transformation into a body that no longer belongs to her. it’s the ultimate horror of womanhood: to be consumed, replaced and discarded. The film doesn’t offer an easy resolution because there isn’t one. The system is broken and the
cycle is endless.
The characters constantly see their reflections not only in mirrors but in glass panes, in the eyes of others and in the giant billboard of themselves that leers into their apartment. Fargeat plays with this concept of gaze, panning and sweeping over both elisabeth and Sue’s bodies.
The scariest part of “The Substance” isn’t just what happens to elisabeth. it’s the way the viewer understands it. it’s a reflection of what society already accepts, does and believes. it’s realistic, plausible and relatable. every woman, at some point, has looked at herself through the eyes of a man and scrutinized her body the way she’s been trained to.
“The Substance” blurs the line be-
‘Companion’ brings a fun twist to an old story, but not much else
BY GABRIELLA WRIGHTEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Movies where robots gain sentience and take control are not novel in Hollywood.
Since the days of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: a Space Odyssey” and Michael Crichton’s “Westworld,” the film industry has been churning out horror, action and sci-fi films about the day humans are defeated by the technology they’ve created. So, in theory, “Companion” makes sense — combine an age-old fear with a current struggle: dating.
The film follows iris (Sophie Thatcher), a “companion bot” purchased by Josh (Jack Quaid), an unmotivated, complaining, good-for-nothing, regular guy. This plotline alone has been enough to make movies for decades, but the real twist in “Companion” is a little more inspired. in a plan devised by Josh and his friend and hookup Kat (Megan Suri), he installs software in iris to adjust her aggression setting, enabling her to kill Kat’s wealthy boyfriend so they can steal his fortune. it’s a creative story, one that ideally makes for a fresh take on a tried and true plotline. but writer and director d rew Hancock never lets the film’s most poignant themes take hold, steering away from any depth in favor of more action, gore and death.
before the story really takes off, Hancock writes with a level of foreshadowing that is almost unbearable. iris repeatedly says phrases like “i wasn’t built that way” or “My missing piece clicked into place.” admittedly, though, Thatcher, who most recently starred in 2024’s “Heretic” alongside Hugh Grant, is a horror star in the making. Her performance is just robotic enough to fit the character. The way that
Thatcher handles the vacillating emotions — and programmed intelligence levels — is a skill that’s hard to come by in genre films. The film features only one other “companion bot,” whose robotic acting only becomes clear at the end.
Once Josh and Kat’s plan is revealed, the plot begins to deteriorate, becoming unfocused. Most of i ris’s attempts to escape amount to trite horror movie mo-
ments. e ven if you couldn’t predict the order of big moments, you could guess how each one would end. apart from that, Hancock’s tale needlessly forces itself into the wrong type of horror. The sheer frequency of deaths is closer to that of a slasher, but without a central villain for iris to capture, the deaths feel excessive.
it’s not uncommon for horror films to lose the story in the action, prioritizing
tween the self and the perception of the self. elisabeth and Sue see each other as separate people but share an eerie consciousness. They both exist, yet only one is allowed to matter. elisabeth and Sue’s relationship mirrors how individuals often look at young stars with jealousy and necessity, but look at older stars with disdain and discomfort.
a nd maybe that’s what “The Substance” is really trying to tell us: The horror isn’t just what happens to elisabeth. The horror is that society is not that far off from what is depicted in the film.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 12, 2025.
shock and violence over depth instead of balancing the two. The best films of the genre — think “Get Out” or “rosemary’s baby” — use themes of societal pressure and cultural issues to their advantage, infusing every moment with the possibility of fiction becoming reality.
“Companion,” however, lacks this level of nuance. The film briefly presents the issues of sexism and fragile masculinity, but fails to fully dissect them. at the climax, Josh, the film’s only straight white male, monologues about how “the world is rigged against people like him,” and the camera holds for one extra second before cutting to iris’s sarcastic, unamused look. a s a writer, Hancock refuses to trust the audience to understand — a flaw that quickly turns this thriller from stellar to forgettable.
a s a director, though, Hancock is undoubtedly clever. it’s that extra second that gets a laugh, that makes a tough scene just digestible enough to keep going. There are moments like this throughout — quick flashbacks that change when they repeat, subtle holds on iris’s vivid facial expressions, blink-and-you’llmiss-it stabs and gunshots. For all that is overdone about “Companion,” these flashes of greatness might make it worth watching. a nd in the end, it’s just a fun story either way.
COurTeSy
In the film, Sue becomes monstrous in the eyes of the world that once adored her.
Drew Hancock’s latest film fails to stand out within the horror genre
COurTeSy OF WarNer brOTHerS eNTerTaiNMeNT
Actress Sophie Thatcher handles Iris’s vacillating emotions with a skill that’s hard to come by in the horror genre.
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
HEALTH
Less than 1% of clinical drug trials enroll pregnant women, Brown study reports
Researchers say pregnant women should be included in clinical trials
BY HALLEL ABRAMS GERBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Clinical trials are necessary to test the efficacy and safety of experimental drugs, but a recent brown study found that only 0.8% of studies with women from ages 18 to 45 included pregnant women. Only 19 of the clinical trials for non-infectious chronic diseases included pregnant women.
This discrepancy has downstream effects: if a pregnant woman has a chronic or acute condition that requires treatment, physicians are often left without much research into how treatments could impact pregnant women, said alyssa bilinski, an assistant professor of health services, policy and practice and biostatistics, one of the study’s authors.
but this, bilinski said, needs to change. “We want to make sure that research is as safe as possible,” she added.
Generally, researchers are “incredibly conservative” about conducting studies with pregnant women as subjects, bilinski explained.
but healthcare providers in certain fields like neurosurgery often avoid operating on pregnant people, because “the vast majority of cases are elective” and physicians hope to “avoid placing the fe-
ENVIRONMENT
tus at risk,” according to Wael a saad, the director of the Functional and epilepsy Neurosurgery Program and a professor of ophthalmology, visual science, neurosurgery and neuroscience.
There have “been calls for inclusion of pregnant individuals in trials” over the past decade, particularly in studies “not specific to pregnancy,” said Jennifer unger, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the division director of research in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the Women and infants Hospital. unger has worked within peripartum research for the last decade.
“We’ve certainly made progress in improving research among pregnant people in the context of pregnancy, but not necessarily including them in drug trials that non-pregnant patients participate in,” she added. “it continues to propagate the health inequities that occur among pregnant individuals.”
but pregnant women are often not included in studies due to limitations with funding, and sponsors are often anxious to provide funding for studies involving pregnant women, unger said.
With a lack of data including pregnant women comes a lack of treatment, as providers cannot devise and test treatments without proven data. Not all people “understand there are actually real life consequences to patients when we don’t include them in trials,” unger said. “That
“I think as Brown researchers are designing studies, they, like all researchers,
we can protect pregnant people and their children with research, rather than from research,”
assistant professor of health services, policy and practice and biostatistics.
has lasting effects on people and on a community of pregnant women.”
The study, conducted by bilinski and Natalia emanuel, a research economist at the Federal reserve bank of New york, utilized the ClinicalTrials.gov database to research the inclusion of pregnant women in tens of thousands of studies for randomized clinical drug trials.
“This is definitely a problem to think about at the systems level,” bilinski said.
“ i think as b rown researchers are designing studies, they, like all researchers, should be thinking broadly about how we can protect pregnant people and their children with research, rather than from research.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Feb. 10, 2025.
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson explores how water can confer belonging in upcoming book
on the turtle’s shell as a map of the moon cycles, which coincided with the “cycles” experienced by people who menstruate.
BY LEAH KORITZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Monday evening, Leanne b etasamosake Simpson gave a lecture on her upcoming book, “Theory of Water,” which discusses the importance of water among indigenous communities. The lecture was hosted by the Center for e nvironmental Humanities at b rown and was followed by a formal launch event for C e H ab , which was established last July as part of the Cogut i nstitute for the Humanities.
Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician and academic. “Theory of Water” will be her ninth book, set to release on a pril 22.
i n the book, Simpson investigates the connection between water and living beings — including humans, plants and animals. She read three excerpts from her book during her talk.
i n the first excerpt, Simpson retells a Nishnaabeg story that recounts how the world was created. She describes how Gzhwe Mnidoo builds a world that ultimately falls into violence. While several spirits, including one called “Sky Woman,” attempted to bring order to the chaotic world, resolution was brought by Nibi — “water” — who flooded the earth.
“Within a nishinaabe world, making water is crucial for humans,” Simpson said. “We first exist in a water world, a world that meets all our needs and where we learn what it feels like to be safe.”
Following Nibi’s flood, Sky Woman came across a turtle and other animals in need of care. She recognizes the patterns
“The turtle shell was a map … 13 full moons, or months, 28 days each,” Simpson said. “The turtle was showing her that what was missing in Gzhwe Mnidoo’s previous design was cycling and renewal.”
The second excerpt from Simpson explored the beauty and individuality of each form of water, focusing around Jackson Creek, a waterbody near her home.
She introduced the idea of “centering” — a “transformative communal process” that explains how every part of nature — including humans — bonds together.
Simpson uses the example of snowflakes to explain the process of centering.
“Snowflakes start out as a single nucleated dust particle that attracts water droplets that in turn freeze and accelerate into crystal form,” Simpson read.
“The temperature and humidity of the sky world molded into complex shapes as it moves through the atmosphere.”
Simpson explained that when snowflakes “arrive in their new environment, the first thing they do is center” and “find a way to belong.”
The third excerpt Simpson shared was from a chapter titled “The One That Cleans the World.” in this excerpt, Simpson talked about Nibi, or water — which she called “the blood of the planet.” Simpson talked about how although capitalism destroys water, water always comes back.
“While in this moment, Nibi might be hurt, horribly contaminated and reeling from the ongoing assaults of capitalism,
left alone, we believe — as do many other indigenous peoples — Nibi will eventually revive itself, filtering, regenerating and renewing,” Simpson said.
Simpson connected this to modern life, explaining that “‘Theory of Water’ refuses the settler-colonial state” and the violences that maintains it. “ i t looks towards water as a collaborator to dream, build and make worlds where life is precious,” she added.
d iandra Polt ’25 learned about Simpson’s talk from a friend. Polt knew who Simpson was but had not read her work extensively before attending the lecture.
“The pieces that she chose to read to us were really well-selected and timely,” Polt said, explaining that the ideas not
only appealed to the audience of the event, but also fit “for the period of time we’re living in right now.”
a manda Macedo Macedo GS, a Ph d candidate and Cogut i nstitute graduate fellow who attended the lecture, agreed that Simpson’s talk was a “really important conversation to have in this particular moment.”
Simpson’s lecture marked the formal launch event of CeHab, which cultivates community and research on a range of topics, including invasive species and environmental activism.
The center integrates the work of a broad array of people, from philosophers to artists to scientists. C e H ab began as an initiative in 2017 before becoming a
formal center.
a t Simpson’s lecture, Macarena Gómez- b arris, the center’s director and chair of the department of modern culture and media, celebrated the new center’s launch.
“Since its inception, dozens of faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and participants in this room have been involved in the path-breaking work of developing what i consider to be a pluriversal and rainbow formation that we call environmental humanities at b rown,” she said.
12, 2025.
SOPHia LeNG / HeraLd
should be thinking broadly about how
said Alyssa Bilinski, an
Lecture was hosted by Center for Environmental Humanities
aNdreW HSieH / HeraLd Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician and academic who has written eight books. “Theory of Water” will be her ninth, set to release on April 22.
PUBLIC HEALTH
LIVE Lab researches substance use among Latinx, LGBTQ+ adolescents
Discrimination contribute to substance use for Latinx, LGBTQ+ youth
BY ELIZABETH ROSENBAUM CONTRIBUTING WRITER
researchers have long studied the impact of alcohol use on adolescents. but medical treatment for Latinx, LGbTQ+ youth struggling with substance abuse has been insufficient, according to robert rosales, an assistant professor of behavioral and social sciences at the School of Public Health.
rosales directs the Latinx in Vibrant e nvironments Lab, hoping to better understand the impact of unique social pressures on alcohol use in Latinx and LGbTQ+ adolescents.
Originally conducting research on the broader Latinx community, rosales narrowed his focus to LGbTQ+ adolescents, as he realized that this intersection of the population was experiencing more severe consequences of discrimination.
but the fate of the work remains somewhat unclear due to administrative changes in the National institutes of Health and the new presidency, rosales said.
“every presidency has had negative impacts on Latinx and sexual minority populations … in some way or another,” rosales said, adding that now it is difficult for him and other researchers to study “the topics that we want to and that light up our fire.”
because of uncertainty in the future of research, rosales has had to find “creative” solutions to continue his work.
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These solutions include watering down the language used, switching “racism,” “xenophobia” and “homophobia” for more general terms like “discrimination.” and now we’re gonna have to dial it down to even terms that are not as evocative and (don’t) explain the experience well,” he added.
rosales said that his personal experience allows him to empathize with study participants, while also motivating him to take a stand in a climate of medical injustice.
in the LiVe Lab, the researchers are currently collecting survey and interview data from adolescents. Participants fill out questionnaires on their phones about six times a day, describing stresses connected to their racial, ethnic and sexual minority identities, rosales explained.
rosales and his team will later analyze this data to see what it can reveal about participants’ mental health, as well as future alcohol and cannabis use. The lab has interviewed 27 participants so far.
This data will allow the researchers to see the intersection of mental health, substance use and discrimination. based on the current data, rosales has noticed most participants turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
“Minority stress and how much it exacerbates over time, and how chronic it is over time … you just run out of coping maneuvers,” he said.
Many respondents have said they drink “just to have fun,” rosales added, but many others have also attributed their drinking to an attempt to “forget about” experiences of discrimination.
The ultimate goal of the LiVe Lab is
Determined to continue his research, Robert Rosales hopes to find creative ways to work around administrative changes in the National Institutes of Health.
to design a treatment and alternatives, according to rosales. Part of the interview process for the candidates includes asking if they would be open to determining a solution that didn’t involve substances.
Paloma Garcia radice Md’26 assists with research in the LiVe Lab, interviewing many of the participants. Garcia radice explained that her Hispanic background provides her with a unique perspective on the experiences described by participants, beyond just the ability to conduct and translate interviews in Spanish or english.
“ i ’m able to connect with our participants, hear from them what’s going on and just hear those personal stories,”
she said, adding that these experiences will enable her to sufficiently care for patients of different identities in her future medical career.
“it is really helpful to get an overall view of what’s happening, paying attention to things that (medical professionals) might not pay attention for other populations,” Garcia radice added.
She pointed to three key risk factors that contribute to higher drinking rates among the studied Latinx participants: discrimination, spirituality and acculturation.
reflecting on her preliminary research findings, “i was surprised that the more
americanized people are, the higher their drinking rates,” Garcia radice said.
Cristy roso ’27 also works in the LiVe Lab, recruiting participants by contacting Hispanic-serving institutions to place flyers.
roso found the chance to research the Latinx and LGbTQ+ community exciting, pointing to her Latina background as an inspiring factor.
“To be able to understand the other aspects of their social stressors and life that contributes to overall how young adults can go about their daily lives and their activities was something that really intrigued me,” roso said.
in Medicare’s private sector are not representative of their patients, study finds
Study by Brown researchers finds limited in-network representation
BY SOFIA HERNANDEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
a recent School of Public Health study found a lack of diversity among providers within Medicare advantage — the private sector of Medicare — leaving many black and Hispanic patients without representative care.
The study found that, on average, 51.1% of white physicians in a given Ma patient’s county were included in the patient’s insurance network — compared to just 43.2% and 44% of black and Hispanic physicians, respectively. around one-fifth of black and Hispanic beneficiaries had no black or Hispanic physicians included in their Ma network at all.
The study was led by d avid Meyers, the associate director of brown’s Center for advancing Health Policy Through research, and amal Trivedi, a professor of health services, policy and practice and of medicine.
To analyze Ma networks, the researchers relied on 2019 data compiled by ideon, a health data analytics company. The researchers then used the association of american Medical Colleges’ self-reported physician demographic data from 2022 to evaluate the ethnicity of providers. using this data, the team compared the general availability of white, black and Hispanic physicians within the Ma
according to Brown students.
networks and their actual availability to beneficiaries of the same racial identity. access to physicians of a similar racial identity allows patients to “have this shared lived experience, which creates a comfortable environment,” said Favour akpokiere ’26, the vice president of the black Pre-Med Society.
Previous research demonstrates that patients are more likely to trust physicians of similar cultural backgrounds.
a kpokiere noted that “the u nited
States has historically had a lot of (cases) that would rightfully spark distrust in marginalized communities.” She cited the Tuskegee Syphilis study — in which researchers studied the effects of untreated syphilis in a frican-a merican males without receiving their informed consent or offering available treatments. research also shows that black and Hispanic physicians are more likely to work in underserved communities.
in 2023, the Supreme Court banned
race-based affirmative action in college admissions, which may affect the enrollment of black and Hispanic students in medical schools.
Fewer doctors of color may discourage younger students from pursuing careers in medicine, said Pamil Tamelessio ’25, the chief of the Public relations Committee of the bPMS. With a lack of representation, a career in medicine “seems like it’s not something that you can attain … just because you don’t see people that look
like you in that field.”
“Without addressing these barriers, we risk stagnation or decline in future generations of black and Hispanic doctors,” added Odinaka anyanwu, an assistant professor of family medicine and assistant program director of the Global Health Fellowship at brown. “This lack of representation will directly harm healthcare outcomes in these communities and worsen existing disparities.”
evidence suggests that marginalized patients are more likely to access critical preventative services when they are seen by physicians of a similar race.
Meyers’s and Trivedi’s team didn’t find any evidence indicating that the disparities in concordant care are intentional. instead, they believe them to be a result of pre-existing disproportions of the number of black and Hispanic physicians in the u.S. and of Medicare advantage’s unique limits on in-network providers.
“Only about 5% of all the physicians in the country are black and only about 6% of the physicians are Hispanic,” Trivedi said.
b PMS Co-President a ndrew Sojka ’25 found these discrepancies both “concerning for physicians who are trying to find work” and “detrimental to patient care,” he said.
“Now more than ever, we must push for increased diversity in the medical field,” said Mikhaila d oyle ’25, bPMS’s other co-president. “Lives depend on it.”
9, 2025.
SOPHia LeNG / HeraLd
Lack of diversity in medicine impacts underrepresented pre-medical students pursuing a career in healthcare,
COurTeSy OF rOberT rOSaLeS
MAPPING LOVE ON CAMPUS
and raising children, and those two things are really hard to do at the same time.”
When Paxson initially accepted the job at brown, their immediate family was scattered across the country.
eventually, Gabinet assumed his current role at brown, their older son came to brown’s Warren alpert Medical School and their younger son came to brown for undergrad. reunited on College Hill, Paxson described their time together as “quite lovely.”
“We cooked together, we hung out together,” she said in an interview with The Herald. “We had more time together than we’d had for years.”
They describe their marriage as one of love and support amid lives dictated by professional aspirations.
in a relationship with two busy people, “the best thing you can do is be nice to the other person,” Gabinet said. in alternating cycles of stress and support, “you can create a kind of a virtuous cycle.”
For Paxson and Gabinet, brown is more than a place for romance. it has been a place for professional pursuits, growth and family.
“i think every place is a place for romance, if you’re with the right person,” Paxson said.
For many couples, brown has been that place.
Malte Schwarzkopf, Julia Netter and an opportune train delay in summer 2009, Computer Science Professors Julia Netter and Malte Schwarzkopf, then undergraduate students, decided to enroll in a summer school in Germany.
When Netter met Schwarzkopf, she
thought he was “incredibly smart and way out of my league.”
“i mean, i thought the same thing about you,” Schwarzkopf said in an interview with The Herald.
On the day they left the summer program, they had trains scheduled to depart in opposite directions, but Schwarzkopf’s train was canceled.
it was then that the two properly got to know each other. They joke that they are “forever barred from complaining about late running trains and delays ever again” because it was a late train that brought them together.
a commute across the english channel has become a commute across Thayer Street during the married couple’s lunch breaks. in September 2019, the two both started jobs at brown. Over the past five years at brown, the two have had a couple of overlapping students. Some students have even met their partners at Netter and Schwarzkopf’s backyard parties they host for students.
Five weeks ago, the two professors had a baby. Netter said that their child already knows the campus well.
“When i was pregnant, i was teaching, so he knows his way around,” she said.
joked.
biking has always been a part of the couple’s lives. When they first met fifteen years ago, they went on a bike ride during their summer program. On that ride, Schwarzkopf said that Netter “surprised” him.
He was “impressed” by Netter’s deep understanding of computer science. Over the bike ride, the two talked about “everything, ranging from politics to technology.”
“you could talk to (him) about anything,” Netter said.
after that fateful day, the two traveled between Germany and Cambridge for six months before making their relationship official. For both of them, this relationship was their first “proper” relationship. Now,
They’re most excited to take him out on the east bay bike path.
“The baby will also get his little bike as soon as possible,” Netter said. “Maybe not this year, but next year, hopefully,” she
in the winter of her freshman year, reiss decided to throw a New year’s evethemed party in hopes of recapturing the magic of the holiday that passed over winter break. it was here that she met Ferraro. The next day, the two bumped into each other.
“it felt like a happy coincidence,” reiss said. “i think i may have accidentally said, ‘i love you.’”
Ferraro confirmed she did because she wrote about the “happy coincidence” in her journal that night.
Ferraro and reiss both told their friends about the interaction. Later, Ferraro posted something on her instagram story, reiss reached out, “and the rest is history,” reiss said.
“The next weekend we went to Coffee exchange. We both had a London fog and now it’s our drink,” she said. For reiss and Ferraro, Coffee exchange is “sacred.” after sitting in the wood-paneled shop for more than three hours, the two ventured to the ratty.
“it was very romantic,” reiss joked. For their anniversary this Groundhog day, the two spent their morning at this “sacred” coffee shop. They studied backto-back in the rock before Talia had to leave early to set up her “big surprise,” an indoor picnic complete with yogurt pasta sprinkled with parmesan.
“i feel like most of what we enjoy doing together is the little things,” reiss said.
“Our lives are very busy,” Ferraro added. but she said that she loves “accomplishing our goals while being in the presence of one another.”
Read more online at browndailyherald.com.
Talia Reiss ’27, Emma Ferraro ’27 and London fogs On the fourth floor of the stacks, emma Ferraro ’27 and Talia reiss ’27 study backto-back.
KaiTLyN STaNTON / HeraLd