THE BROWN DAILY HER ALD
University sees budget deficit due to shifting academic model
President Paxson said that while Brown’s academic focus is aligned with other research
Administrators say deficit can be fixed through graduate programs
BY CATE LATIMER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
b rown is facing a structural budget deficit driven by the University’s efforts to reposition as a leading research institution rather than a liberal arts college model, administrators explained at Tuesday’s faculty meeting.
Factors including a flattening in undergraduate tuition rates and faculty pressure for increased compensation are also major reasons for this deficit, according to University Provost Francis d oyle. d oyle also shared plans to address the deficit, which includes expanding
UNIVERSITY NEWS
b rown’s graduate programs.
it has a lot to do with this long-term shift in b rown’s academic and financial model, from being more of a college to being more of a university,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’ md ’20 said at the meeting.
She argued that while the University’s academic focus is aligned with other research university peers, its financial model is not.
“We are still incredibly dependent on undergraduate tuition, net of financial aid, to support our operations,” Paxson said.
b ut b rown is reaching its capacity of undergraduate students on campus, d oyle said. This means the University won’t have as much money to work with.
“What’s different between b rown
Faculty voice disappointment in compensation plans
Administrators attributed refusing the 5% salary increase to a budget deficit
BY CATE LATIMER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
after last month’s decision not to implement a one-time 5% faculty salary increase, University administration continued to face backlash at Tuesday’s faculty meeting.
The salary increase was suggested in February by a University task force, but in o ctober, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’ md ’20 explained that the salary increase would not be possible for financial reasons, including the University’s budget deficit.
Paxson reaffirmed this stance at the faculty meeting.
i don’t think it makes sense,” she said, “We can’t afford it.”
The meeting highlighted a stark contrast between faculty and administration
over the issue of compensation. Faculty members have previously expressed discontent with the compensation process, The Herald previously reported.
Kristina mendicino, president of the Faculty executive Committee and associate professor of German studies argued that the University can afford the salary increase.
Citing a recent letter from b rown’s chapter of the a merican a ssociation of University Professors to Paxson and the F e C, mendicino argued that from 2005 onward, it was standard for the salary increase pool to be around 5%. The Herald could not independently confirm the contents of the letter by press time.
“That was at a time when the endowment of b rown was half as much as it is today,” said mendicino, who is also the president of b rown’s aaUP chapter. “So how is it that b rown could afford to provide faculty very generous salary in -
and our peers is their development of master’s and professional programs,” Paxson said. “ i think it’s the shift that we’re in the middle of. i t’s causing a lot of pressure and tension on our budget.”
The University may look to double the population of graduate students over the next several years, interview with The Herald. He added that an increase in graduate students would create a “virtuous cycle” in which new graduate students will lead to more programs that can then attract more students.
The process of expanding graduate programs includes both bringing more students into successful programs and creating new ones that are “responsive to needs that we detect that are out there in the community of learners,”
ARTS & CULTURE
d oyle added.
b ut, Paxson said this expansion won’t impact b rown’s commitment to undergraduate education.
“Compared to our aspirational peers,
JoJo Siwa announces new song at lecture board event
The artist reflected on her growth from child star to adult pop singer
BY ISABEL HAHN AND TOM LI ARTS & CULTURE AND METRO SECTION EDITORS
on monday, brown Lecture board welcomed JoJo Siwa for a talk at Salomon deCi during the talk, she announced and performed a segment of her new song “iced Coffee,” set to be released Nov. 22, with a sneak peak to appear on TikTok starting Nov. 13. For many members of Gen-Z, Siwa has become a household name in pop culture and a global internet celebrity like no other. Siwa started her career as a participant on the reality television show “dance moms,” and gained further prominence with her release of kids-targeted songs, features on various television shows and even her
Siwa established her professional transition from child to adult pop singer, marking a key transformation in her aesthetic and musical style.
Siwa, who identifies as lesbian, reflected on how her sexuality has shaped her overall identity and creative artistry as a performer. She shared that coming out at the age of 17 definitively changed her career and was a “big deal and (a) game changer.”
“i was one of the first child stars to come out while still being a child star, and that was very different,” Siwa said.
“The world had not seen that before, and the world didn’t necessarily know how to react.”
despite the barrage of reactions that her coming out initially received, Siwa expressed gratitude for being able to share her identity publicly at an early age. “it has led my career in really cool ways. i’ve gotten to shine light on how your sexuality isn’t
university peers, its financial model is not.
2024 ELECTION
Students, political organizers weigh in on third-party voting
Third-party voters pointed to dissatisfaction with the two-party system
BY ANDREA LI STAFF WRITER
in the 2024 presidential election, almost eleven thousand rhode islanders cast their ballots for third-party candidates. Third-party voters The Herald spoke to said what many americans are feeling: they have grown disillusioned with a two-party system and are looking for new representation.
before the election, some democrats expressed concerns that third-party candidates could draw vital votes away from vice President Kamala Harris. and in the wake of Trump’s victory, brown democrats President mahir rahman ’26 said he has seen backlash against third-party voters, “especially against muslim and arab voters who voted for people like Jill Stein.”
but rahman said this response is not entirely justified. “if you look at the gap between Harris and Trump in a lot of the swing states, the number of votes that Jill Stein got wasn’t really enough for that gap,” he said. in Pennsylvania, for instance, adding the percentage of votes for Jill Stein to Harris’s votes would not have tipped the election in Harris’s favor.
matisse d oucet ’26, who organizes for the Party of Socialism and Liberation rhode island, said that voting third-party is better than choosing between “two bad
EVENT
options.” For doucet, who voted in California for the PSL candidate Claudia de La Cruz, the third-party movement is more about building momentum for a paradigm shift within politics than about winning an election. “We’re not trying to necessarily get our candidate into office,” doucet said.
“We’re trying to build a movement of working-class people that puts pressure on the current political system to represent the voices of the people.” andrew rovinsky ’25, a Georgia resident who voted for Harris, said he under-
stands the kind of “grievances” that might lead voters to cast their ballots for candidates like Jill Stein. Ultimately, though, he doesn’t see it as an effective choice.
“i don’t blame them for voting for Jill Stein,” rovinsky said. “i do think by voting for Jill Stein … you are throwing away your vote.”
rovinsky said that living in Georgia, a swing state, has made him “a little bit more hostile towards third party voting, just because if you do it in Georgia, you’re really hurting people.” Compared to “safe blue
states,” federal support for democratic policies in swing states like Georgia can be more impactful given the conservatism of local politicians, he said.
doucet’s home state played a less significant role in their final decision.
“i think if i was in a swing state … i would probably still be voting third-party,” doucet said. “i’ve had enough and i think other working-class people have had enough of … having to choose between two bad options.”
Christian Torre, an organizer for PSL
rhode island, believes that third-party candidates represent alternative voices within an “undemocratic” two-party system.
“our campaign is a way of saying there is a political platform that represents you, there is politics that speaks for your needs and we’re it,” Torre said.
He also emphasized his view that third-party voters should not be expected to help democrats in the general election. “What have the democrats done for us?” he asked.
The ongoing war in Gaza also played a major role in both Torre’s and doucet’s votes and, in doucet’s opinion, has been “a big factor” for other third-party voters as well.
“i will never vote for a candidate or a party that so blatantly and explicitly funds ... what’s happening right now in Gaza,” Torre said.
Still, both Torre and doucet stressed that their final decision to vote third-party was mostly influenced by their overall political stances; Torre, for one, also voted for a third party in 2020.
rahman hopes that democrats will engage with third-party voters more often going forward.
“especially after this election cycle and a lot of reflection, post-mortem election analysis, i think democrats need to work more,” rahman said. “We have to actually have critical, thoughtful discussion with everyone on the political spectrum.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 14, 2024.
Rep. Dean Phillips ’91 calls for optimism following Trump win at Brown event
Phillips spoke at a talk hosted by the Brown Political Union on Monday
BY GRACE HU SENIOR STAFF WRITER
before dropping out of the race in July, President Joe biden faced few direct challengers to his 2024 presidential nomination. among the few longshot contenders was brown alum and rep. dean Phillips ’91 (d-m.N.), who cited the need for a new generation of democratic leadership when announcing his campaign last fall.
a year and a Trump win later, Phillips spoke about the future of american democracy in a monday night conversation hosted by the brown Political Union. He addressed a campus community where approximately 90% of eligible undergraduate students planned to vote for Harris.
Upon introducing himself, Phillips made two requests of the audience: “to leave here a little bit more optimistic than you came in” and to “be a participant in public service.”
He described his bid for the presidential nomination as “a mission of principle” and one of “the most painful few months” of his life, but also as a joyful period. “it wasn’t necessarily about winning. it was about doing what i asked all of you to do,
what i expect my daughters to do. it’s being a participant, not an observer.”
Phillips also emphasized the importance of empathy and acceptance of diverging viewpoints for future success within the democratic Party. “Condemnation is the root of democrats’ problems,” he said. “When you cancel somebody, when you tell them they don’t have the right education, or you tell them that they’re not the right color, or they’re not the right religion, or that their socioeconomic status doesn’t qualify them for the conversation, you’re basically just pushing them to some other party.”
“People will vote against their self interest in the spirit of being part of a tribe,” he said. “That’s all we care about as human beings: being heard and then congregating with people who accept you.”
audience member Carson bauer ’26 said that Phillips’s talk made him “more optimistic about the future.”
“in the past i had thought that dean Phillips did a bad thing running against biden in the presidency because i thought that we should keep a united democratic Party,” bauer said. “but i realize now that it was a very courageous thing that he did.”
“i feel like we need more people like dean Phillips in the political space,” Sohali vaddula ’27 said. vaddula, who followed Phillips’s presidential campaign closely last
year, added that she believes that democrats “need to start getting back to (its) working class roots.”
erin ozyurek ’27 praised Phillips’s ideas for the future of the democratic Party as “accurate” and “strategic.” but she also said that certain suggestions, such as the suggestion that democrats need to “cater to young white men more,” might be “hard to swallow for a lot of people.”
Former U.S. representative david Ci-
cilline ’83, a former colleague of Phillips who was also recently appointed to brown’s Corporation, also attended the talk.
“i think his remarks tonight reflected what a thoughtful public servant he has been and how much he’s learned during the course of his time in elected office,” he said.
“He has always been very open to listening to people who have different views than he does,” Cicilline added.
malcolm Furman ’27, who moderated the talk, said that Phillips “made a strong case for americans and d emocrats to think more deeply” about “why people vote the way they do, even if you disagree with them.”
“We need more empathy,” Furman added. “We need more understanding.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 12, 2024.
that’s putting pressure on the budget,” she said.
d oyle offered three primary solutions to the structural deficit: to continue supporting research investments, to invest in revenue diversification and growth through venues such as master’s programs and b rown University Health and to manage expense growth, such as the widening of financial aid.
d oyle estimated that resolving the budget deficit would take a few years, especially considering the time it takes to establish new graduate programs.
“That’s what it’s going to take to completely get things back on track, but i believe we’re going to start moving the needle right away” to address the deficit, he said.
“This is not a crisis. This is a crossroads,” Paxson told faculty. “ i t’s an opportunity to align what we do with who we want to be.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 12, 2024.
creases … when b rown was half as wealthy.”
Paxson also noted her proposed Faculty m arket a djustment fund, which includes approximately $2.5 million that can be used to “bring up the compensation of faculty that has fallen behind where they should be paid relative to their productivity.”
“ i think this two and a half million dollars in the faculty market adjustment fund is feasible if we really work at it,” she said.
mendicino disagreed, saying that with the University’s large operating budget, $2.5 million is “a drop in that bucket.”
“brown could afford it if the priorities of this institution were to support the faculty,” she said.
Paxson argued that the across the board increase is not warranted due to the variation in faculty earnings based on when faculty members were hired or promoted, with more recent hires and promoted faculty being more fairly compensated.
“To give everybody across the board
the same increase would not be equitable,” she said.
Paxson noted that brown’s is ranked in the middle of the pack regarding faculty compensation at peer institutions as another reason for refusing the recommendation. She explained that the administration accepted the majority of the committee’s recommendations, apart from the 5% increase.
She added that she did not want to discuss the aaUP letter at that time seeing as she had not yet been able to read it because it was sent to her on Tuesday morning.
Gerhard r ichter, professor of German studies and comparative literature, pressed Paxson on her efforts to move the meeting on from the topic.
“This is a faculty meeting, and this is about our compensation, so at some point, i think it would behoove you to listen to the faculty and listen to our concerns,” said r ichter, who is also vice president of b rown’s aaUP.
“That’s all we’re asking,” he added.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
OBITUARY
Students, colleagues, friends remember professor Jan Tullis
Professor died at 81 in September, after decades of research, mentorship
BY HADLEY CARR SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Jan Tullis, an accomplished and beloved professor emerita in the University’s department of earth, environmental and Planetary Sciences, died Sept. 15 at the age of 81.
Tullis, born in Swedesboro, New Jersey, is survived by her sisters mary Conway and ellen Shelton; her nieces, Jessie and Kit Shelton; and Terry Tullis, her former husband and longtime friend.
at the age of 13, Tullis and her family moved to Weston, Connecticut, where the nearby nature preserves first inspired her love for the natural sciences. Upon arriving at Carleton College in 1961, she was immediately captivated by crustal rocks and deformation processes. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in geology in 1965 before getting her Phd with distinction in geology from the University of California, Los angeles in 1971.
in 1970, she became an assistant professor of research at brown, receiving her tenure in 1979. in 1981, she became the chair of the department of Geological Sciences’ undergraduate program.
Tullis’ research largely focused on the deformation mechanisms of rocks, where she examined the behavior of the earth’s crust when pressure is applied. Her work set the foundation for the following decades of crust deformation research. Her work still exerts an outsize influence in current research.
Tullis was the core of eePS 0220: “Understanding earth and environmental Processes,” which she co-taught with Professor of Geological Sciences Karen Fischer. The course is now co-taught by Fischer and deePS Professor Greg Hirth. Full of hands-on rock labs and field trips to Newport’s Cliff Walk, the course provides an introduction to the processes that
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shape the earth’s surface.
Within the classroom, Tullis made a point to know all of the enrolled students by name. in every iteration of the course, Tullis held daily drop-in hours to help coach and guide students.
Throughout her time at brown, Tullis also dedicated herself to supporting women and minority students in science courses. She served as a Geoscience affinity Group faculty mentor and a member of the advisory board for Women in Science and engineering since its founding in 1992.
Tullis received many awards in teaching and advising, including the association of Women Geoscientists outstanding educator award in 1998, the Karen romer award for Undergraduate advising and mentoring in 2004 and the Hazeltine award for excellence in Teaching, advising and mentoring in 2011, among others.
in 2013, her department created the Jan Tullis Undergraduate Teaching award in her honor, which is given to one graduating senior every year.
Tullis was also recognized for her research expertise as a fellow of the american Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of america. She was also awarded the GSa Structural Geology and Tectonics division Career Contribution award in 2005. in the months following her passing, The Herald spoke with several of Jan Tullis’ former students, friends and colleagues, who remember her approach to life-long mentorship, inspired dedication and her emphasis on creating and sustaining personal connections.
A pioneering woman in geoscience in the late 1960s, when Tullis began her research in rock deformation under a prominent advisor, she conducted some experiments without his knowledge. many were regarded as “groundbreaking,” said Hirth, one of Tullis’ Phd advisees.
Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the Op-eds are typically between 600 and 900 words and advance a clear argument related to a topic of campus discourse. You can submit op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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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.
The Herald will not publish anonymous submissions or submissions authored by organizations. Leaders of student organizations can be identified as such but cannot write under the byline of their organization. The Herald cannot publish all submissions it receives and reserves
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 12, 2024.
Kaia yaL amaNCHiLi / HeraLd
Kristina Mendicino, president of the Faculty Executive Committee and associate professor of German studies argued that the University can afford the salary increase.
EDUCATION
Court finds City must provide additional funding to Providence Public School District
The City said the ruling could lead to tax increases and cuts of city services
BY ALLYSON CHEN, CIARA MEYER AND MIKAYLA KENNEDY SENIOR STAFF WRITERS AND METRO EDITOR
Two new rulings by the r hode i sland Superior Court mean that the city will be required to provide additional funding to the Providence Public School d istrict. The rulings follow a case brought by the city against the state d epartment of e ducation.
a hearing to determine how much funding the City of Providence must provide to the PPS d was initially scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed until Nov. 20. a t a Tuesday meeting, m ayor b rett Smiley said he believed the potential range for funding was $10 to $85 million.
ride Commissioner of e ducation a ngélica i nfante-Green ordered the state to withhold aid to the city due to the City’s alleged failure to meet its school funding requirements as detailed under the Crowley a ct. This a ct is a portion of r hode i sland’s General Laws that governs districts operating under state control. The PPS d has been under state takeover since 2019.
“Throughout the State intervention, State aid to Providence Public Schools has increased by $30.5 million compared to the City’s increase of just $5.5 million,” ride and the PPS d wrote in a joint press release. The Court found
EDUCATION
that “municipal funding for school districts under state intervention must be increased by the same percentage as the increase in statewide school aid,” the press release continued.
The PPS d is currently facing a nearly $11 million budget deficit. Some of the budget cuts proposed by PPS d include eliminating spring and winter sports, laying off non-union staff, getting rid of ri PTa bus passes for students living between one and two miles of their schools, eliminating e nglish Language Learner certification reimbursements for teachers and cutting some teacher assistant positions.
Currently, instead of riding school buses, PPS d high school students living over a mile from school are eligible for free ri PTa passes. i f the budget cuts go through, only students living more than two miles from school would be able to get passes, meaning some high
schoolers would have to walk about 40 minutes to school each day.
i n a letter to the PPS d community, Superintendent Javier montañez wrote, “the d istrict will have more information after the (Nov. 20) hearing to make appropriate budgeting decisions.”
The exact implications of the ruling on the city’s budget are still uncertain, but Smiley and City Council President r achel m iller warned that the consequences could include increasing taxes or cutting vital city expenses. “That’s what we will do because that’s what we have to do,” Smiley said.
“We’re talking about a potentially astronomical, devastating amount of money in an already lean city budget,” said m iller.
Smiley stated that in the 2024 fiscal year, statewide funding for education went up 6.9% while state funding for the PPS d only increased by 1.8%. “Why
should the taxpayers of Providence have to increase its funding (of the PPS d) to compensate for increases in school funding in b arrington and e ast Greenwich and wherever else,” he said.
Smiley said the PPS d could have proposed cutting “high-cost administrators (or) multi-million dollar consulting contracts.” He said if the PPS d was under local control, “the cuts that we would prioritize would not be the ones that are freaking out middle school kids in our city.”
“ i t is just wrong what they are doing to our kids,” Smiley said. “ i have little kids coming up to me saying, ‘ m ayor, don’t cut my sports.’”
morente wrote that “a lack of proper resources enabled dysfunction and underperformance and was a major factor of why the State intervened in the first place. City leaders have repeatedly stated they are ready to prove to the State that they are prepared to regain local control, but their budget priorities say otherwise.”
a s a result of the ruling, the city has postponed final reallocations for a merican r escue Plan a ct funds, according to a media advisory. The city entered a hiring freeze and halted discretionary spending.
Smiley and m iller have accused the PPS d of lacking fiscal transparency, and they previously demanded that the PPSd agree to an independent audit of its budget. montañez agreed to the audit on the condition that the city would also undergo an audit of its finances.
“ o ur city is not a bank for a state-controlled experiment,” m iller
wrote in a statement on the City Council’s i nstagram. “Why should Providence taxpayers be forced to bankroll an opaque and irresponsible budgeting process that treats students and families as collateral damage?” she asked in a Friday press release.
The city offered to increase PPS d ’s funding by $2.5 million if the PPS d underwent an audit and the state increased its funding of the district. The district did not accept that offer by the city’s deadline.
o n Tuesday, about 50 students participated in a walkout and march from the district headquarters to City Hall to demand more school funding. The protest was organized by Take b ack P vd , a group founded by students at the PPS d ’s Classical High School after teacher layoffs last year.
Juliana e spinal, an organizer with Take b ack P vd and a 16-year-old Classical High School student, said “we think the City should be giving us more money, but then we also think the state should be … accepting the money that’s offered.”
Graham Welsh, a 16-year-old student at Classical High School, said he was worried about “a layoff crisis” if the budget deficit continues. “The staff of a school are central to the student experience,” he said.
Juan Soriano, a member of young voices ri , said he was particularly worried about students losing their bus passes. “ i t’s just going to increase chronic absenteeism,” he said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 10, 2024.
PPSD agrees to new settlement with DOJ over programming for multilingual learners
The agreement comes during a time of budget uncertainty in PPSD
BY CIARA MEYER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The United States department of Justice and Providence Public School district entered into a new settlement agreement regarding services for multilingual learners on Wednesday.
The new agreement supersedes a 2018 agreement, which placed all of the PPSd’s mLL programs under federal monitoring until august of this year. The doJ will continue to monitor only the district’s newcomer programs through the 2026-27 school year.
Comprising a small part of the district’s mmL programs, these newcomer programs support about 300 students who have recently arrived in the country and have limited or interrupted education.
“monitoring for the district’s other nearly 8,000 multilingual learners under the 2018 agreement ends effective today,” wrote the PPSd and rhode island department of education in a joint press release. in February, the doJ received complaints about the PPSd’s newcomer programs and Newcomer academy, a school within the PPSd. Last year, 46 students at the school signed a petition asking for more english as a Second Language classes.
after an investigation under the equal educational o pportunities act of 1974, the doJ found that the PPSd’s newcom-
er programs did not adequately support students, effectively “depriving them of equal opportunities to receive special education and participate in programs such as career and technical education,” reads a doJ press release.
“Providence’s woeful history of half measures and consistent failures to meet the critical needs of its most vulnerable students has necessitated today’s action: a more closely targeted and stringent agreement focused on the newcomer program,” Zachary Cunha, the U.S. attorney for the district of rhode island, said in the press release.
The agreement establishes dozens of clear, specific requirements for the PPSd, many with deadlines. The district will be required to audit all of its Newcomer Programs each semester for the agreement’s duration and provide annual reports to the doJ about its progress.
The requirements include measures for improving the identification and enrollment of eligible students, integrating newcomers with their peers, offering sufficient eSL courses to students, providing language assistance to parents with limited english proficiency and ensuring that newcomers with disabilities have equal access to services.
The district will also be required to offer compensatory services to students enrolled at the PPSd’s Newcomer academy during the 2023-24 school year who were not offered standalone eSL classes before may 1.
“Federal law is clear: all students, including immigrant students, have a
The agreement offers dozens of clear, specific requirements for the PPSD — and several of these new goals come with deadlines.
right to meaningfully participate in their district’s educational programs,” said a ssistant attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice department’s Civil rights division in the press release.
The new agreement includes a requirement that the PPSd will staff a sufficient number of e SL-Certified teachers to newcomer programs by Jan. 1. in 2020, ride and PPSd announced a new program offering certification reimbursements to incentivize more teachers to gain eSL credentials. but, due to the district’s $11 million budget deficit, that program is on
the chopping block.
PPSd Superintendent Javier montañez wrote in a community letter that the PPSd won’t make any budget decisions until after a Nov. 20 hearing that will determine how much the district is owed by the City of Providence.
The district has made over $5 million worth of investments in mLLs since the 2018 agreement was put in place, according to their press release.
denezia Fahie, the executive director of the Providence Student Union, told The Herald that while PPSd and ride
can celebrate that they’re “no longer in a monitoring state,” other actors beyond the doJ should hold the district “accountable for providing proper services to our young people,” she said.
“ o ur community is ultimately your highest form of accountability,” Fahie added. “ i f your community continues to tell you that you’re failing, it doesn’t matter what the d epartment of Justice is saying.”
This article originally appeared online atbrowndailyherald.com on Nov. 14, 2024.
The PPSD is currently facing a nearly $11 million budget deficit.
COMMUNITY
Special Olympics RI provides ‘second family’ to athletes with intellectual disabilities
SORI hosts athletic, leadership opportunities for those with disabilities
BY MEGAN CHAN AND DENNIS CAREY SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND SPORTS EDITOR
When alex adams first became involved with the Special olympics rhode island, they recalled feeling “very shy” because they “didn’t know many people.”
adams first joined the bowling team, where they soon warmed up to the other program participants, forming several close friendships. Since joining S ori , they haven’t slowed down, competing in track and field, softball, flag football, bowling, cornhole and cheerleading.
a dams is not alone in finding community in S ori . They are among the over 4000 athletes who participate in
the organization’s programs in over 20 sports, which are for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
This year, S ori ’s annual Summer Games, the group’s largest event of the year, featured competitions in sports like soccer, powerlifting and swimming alongside interactive events and health screenings.
Last month, adams had the opportunity to co-emcee the opening Ceremony of the Fall Festival at b ryant University, a competition hosting over 300 athletes in partnership with S ori
“That was really, really fun,” a dams said. “i don’t typically like to talk in front of a lot of people, so doing that definitely upped my confidence.”
For 22-year S ori athlete r yan avedisian, “Special o lympics really is like a family.” He cherishes the gold medals he has won these past two decades, as well as the friendships he has built across
Athletes graduate from the Athlete Leadership University.
TRANSPORTATION
the state via S ori programs in bowling, swimming, croquet, track and field, basketball, flag football, softball, volleyball and powerlifting.
The nonprofit also organizes yearround leadership training in addition to their athletic programming, which encourages athletes to “be a voice at the table,” S ori President and C eo e d Pacheco said.
“We’re putting opportunities in front of athletes to step up, to be leaders, to be spokespersons,” Pacheco added.
m any former and current athletes have trickled into S ori ’s educational programs, including the a thlete Leadership University — a series of courses that prepares athletes to take on various leadership positions in the nonprofit.
a t a LU, a dams chose to become a health messenger — an advocate who focuses “on healthy eating, mental health and keeping our bodies moving.” They developed a capstone project “about stretches that were good for our bodies” and went on to teach three stretching classes at the 2024 Summer Games, which was “really amazing,” a dams said.
When roxanne b aligian started dating her now-husband m ike b aligian, she didn’t expect to become his co-coach for the Lincoln North Stars Special olympics team.
Now, she proudly describes herself as a “mama bear” and the athletes on their team as her “second family.” The couple even invited their athletes to their wedding.
For Pacheco, becoming president and
C eo of Special o lympics r hode island was “the best professional decision” he’s ever made.
“ i ’m convinced every single day that i get something much more meaningful back threefold, which is the amazing love, friendship and community that we’re building here at this organization,” he said.
The athletes have “taught me a lot more than i teach them,” m ike b aligian said, highlighting the joy of witnessing athletes’ personal achievements.
He recalled the story of one S ori participant who spent “the better part of two years training for basketball, playing basketball and never scored a basket.”
When the athlete scored her first basket, she ran down the court and gave b aligian “the biggest giant hug in the middle of (the) basketball game.”
i t was “one of the greatest things
i ’ve ever experienced,” he said, adding that this athlete is now on the Special o lympics b oard of d irectors.
For b aligian, these feel-good experiences are what keep volunteers coming back to S ori — a 13-employee organization that relies on a network of almost 4000 volunteers to help with coaching and administration.
“ o nce we get them in our midst, we don’t tend to lose them,” he said.
Pacheco compared his favorite memories at S ori to five-second feel-good videos on social media. For him, working with Special olympics athletes has meant experiencing these moments in real life. These athletes “show us every single day what humanity is all about,” he said.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 10, 2024.
RIPTA is set on building a bus hub, but advocates worry about funding it
Advocates expressed concerns about the project’s funding
BY MIKAYLA KENNEDY METRO EDITOR
a nearly decade-long debate over where the rhode island Public Transport authority should construct its new bus hub may come to a close as early as the end of the month. but many questions — including how much the hub will cost and what complications might be associated with its cost — may remain. in 2022, the hub was estimated to cost between $200 and $250 million. riPTa’s website states that the hub will be funded using both the money that remains from $35 million in bonds that voters approved in 2014 to fund transit improvements, and a public-private partnership with Next Wave rhode island Partners, a development consortium.
riPTa has said that “access to private capital, as well as the private-sector partner’s skills and assets,” were two motivating reasons behind the public-private partnership.
but some transit advocates have expressed concern over the planned funding model.
amy Joy Glidden, an advocate with ri Transit riders, pointed out that riPTa does not currently have the authorization to borrow from Next Wave what it would need to in order to fund the transit hub. H7491 — a bill that would have given riPTa the power to take actions like borrowing more than 80% of its revenue — has twice failed to become law. The most recent bill died in committee.
randall r ose, an advocate with the Kennedy Plaza resilience Coalition, also raised doubts about the fact that ri PTa won’t know the exact cost of building the hub when they sign the contract to build it.
in a statement addressed to the House Finance Committee, the Kennedy Plaza resilience Coalition wrote that H7491 is designed such that “there is no upper limit on how much a bidder can end up charging after they win the contract.”
Glidden also expressed concern about the lack of an upper limit on what riPTa can borrow.
While ri PTa currently has a $16.9 million contract with Next Wave to determine a location for the hub and plan
some of its design, it has not yet signed onto the second phase of the project, which would give Next Wave the job of finishing the design of the hub, building it and operating it.
Cristy raposo Perry, riPTa’s communications director, said riPTa will make the decision “to move forward with a project or not, following coordination with our board of directors, state leaders, our riders and the public.”
Noting that the hub will include residential and commercial spaces, rose also expressed concern about Next Wave’s operation of the hub, saying that Next Wave “would have interests that are very different from bus riders.” He added that “they would try to make profits from the
rest of the building, and they wouldn’t necessarily be running the hub in riders’ interests.”
Glidden also took issue with the idea that riPTa would “hand over operations to Next Wave,” describing it as “bizarre.”
according to the request for proposals, Next Wave could receive rental income from the hub for up to 75 years.
“riPTa does not know its way around the financial markets, and it does not know its way around real estate, so it’s going to be at a disadvantage in the negotiations,” rose said. “There is a risk that a deal is going to be structured in a way that isn’t to riPTa’s advantage.”
it’s a very favorable contract to Next Wave,” he added. “in one form or another,
taxpayer money may end up being used to pay whatever huge price Next Wave is asking for.”
r aposo Perry wrote that ri PTa is “fully committed to thorough analysis of every aspect of this project — including financial planning — to ensure we deliver a state-of-the-art transit center” that is cost-effective and “responsibly utilizes the resources available to us.”
She added that locating the hub at a site close to the train station, which riPTa has stated is the most likely location, would “enhance the project’s multimodal connectivity and create opportunities for funding” through the Transportation infrastructure Finance and innovation a ct and the r ailroad r ehabilitation & improvement Financing program.
These federal lending programs are offered by the department of Transportation and provided alongside public-private partnerships.
John Flaherty, a principal at the urban planning firm Green Street a ssociates, said that he is not concerned with funding plans for the hub precisely because of the potential that riPTa could borrow from the federal government.
Flaherty said that the department of Transportation would pay close attention to the new hub because “they don’t want to have a failure on their hands.”
Flaherty added that he is “just not convinced” that concerns over riPTa’s potential financial losses are a reason to “oppose moving forward with a hub.”
FIELD HOCKEY
Field hockey falls to Harvard in bittersweet end to breakout season
The Bears lost 1-0 in the first round of the Ivy Playoff Tournament on Friday
BY AURA MACHANIC CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Last Friday, the field hockey team (9-8, 4-3 ivy) played their first and last game of the ivy League tournament, falling to the Harvard Crimson (15-3, 6-1 ivy). after a fight that extended into overtime, the bears walked off of bedford Field with a 1-0 loss to conclude their best ivy season since 2005.
“We went to the ivy League Tournament excited to reach the goal we had set for ourselves a year ago. We certainly aimed to win the ivy League Tournament and we felt very prepared,” Head Coach b ritt b roady wrote in an email to The Herald. “ i know we are all very proud ... but also disappointed.”
Stakes were high for both sides: a win would mean advancing to the i vy Championship game, and a loss would mean the end of the 2024 season. The match’s importance was reflected in the intensity with which each team defended their goal to start the first quarter. With the exception of a strong shot from forward Lexi Pellegrino ’26 toward the quarter’s conclusion, neither team came particularly close to scoring.
“ i think we were all just playing our hardest because we knew our season was on the line,” midfielder Lucy a dams ’26
VOLLEYBALL
wrote in a message to The Herald. after the game, adams and teammate m ia Karine myklebust ’26.5 were named to the ivy League all-Tournament team.
“Lucy is one of the best players in the entire country,” b roady wrote. “Not only is she technically skilled and tactically aware, she is a strong leader who makes all those around her better and more joyful.”
The second quarter began with a direct shot from the Crimson five minutes in, but a last-second save from goalkeeper Kylee del monte ’27 kept the game at 0-0.
Gameplay intensified from both sides as the second quarter drew to a close.
With two minutes remaining, a dams seized possession of the ball and made a successful swerve for Harvard’s net despite being surrounded by three opposing players. i n the last 20 seconds, Harvard made a final dive for the b ears’ goal. but neither team was able to score.
“Harvard is a very patient team with a high hockey i Q,” a dams wrote. “They were very strong defensively and were able to keep us scoreless in regular play.”
The game’s third and fourth quarters were consistent with the patterns seen in the first half — the b ears focused on keeping their defense up and blocking Harvard from advancing towards the
goal. d el monte saved a close shot from Harvard once again, and although bruno took a direct shot in the final 10 seconds of the third quarter and the back-andforth continued through the fourth, the scoreboard still read 0-0 when regulation concluded. a lthough Harvard presented challenging attempts on b rown, the b ears’ loose, relaxed playing style stood out in this semifinal game. between plays, team members were seen laughing amongst themselves and dancing to the music blaring across b edford Field — factors that spoke to the team’s overall close dynamic.
Volleyball jumps into playoff picture with pivotal weekend sweep
After beating Harvard and Dartmouth, the Bears hold a lead
BY LINUS LAWRENCE SPORTS EDITOR
This past weekend, the women’s volleyball team (9-13, 6-6 ivy) added a pair of pivotals wins in Providence over Harvard (10-11, 5-7 ivy) and dartmouth (1012, 3-9 ivy) to their recent surge.
Following the successful weekend, the bears now hold sole possession of the final playoff spot in the ivy League Tournament with only two games left in the regular season.
“This weekend, we really felt like everything was clicking for us,” Sophia Wolfson ’28 wrote in a message to The Herald. “our momentum was high, and we believed in ourselves and in each other. We didn’t stop pushing, regardless of the score or any setbacks.”
much like the bears’ season itself, beginning with a rocky 1-4 conference start, each match featured a bruno comeback after finding themselves in an early hole.
“i think what’s really helped us turn things around after a slower start to the season is our focus on communication and resilience,” Wolfson explained. “We’ve developed stronger connections on and off the court, which has improved our chemistry during games.”
en route to recording a formidable .400 hitting percentage in the first set, Harvard took a commanding 10-3 lead which proved too much for b rown to overcome. but after Harvard hopped out to a 5-4 advantage in the second set, the
bears came alive, going on a 46-27 run to take the next two sets.
When the Crimson scored four straight to open the fourth set, brown’s grit was on display once again, clawing back to earn a hard-fought 25-23 victory.
The comeback win was even sweeter for brown, given it tied the bears’ conference record with Harvard. The two teams will compete down the line for a spot in the ivy Tournament.
“These last regular season games will determine who deserves it more, which definitely adds some extra pressure,” mariia Sidorova ’26 wrote. “The game was important for both of us, and Harvard came out with a lot of energy, but we were able to handle it.”
it was Sidorova who, following a phenomenal performance the weekend prior, led the way against d artmouth with a 25-kill match. Sidorova has now recorded 65 kills across her last three matches, ranking third in the ivy League this fall with her 3.60 kill-per-set average.
Sidorova credited her success to a team-wide effort. “We stayed steady in defense and serve receive throughout all sets this weekend, which allowed us to put our hitters in good situations and get the kills we needed,” she wrote. “i think the back row was a huge piece of our game, and because of that, our offense was able to find a lot of success as well.” as against Harvard the night prior, the bears dropped the first set to dartmouth by a final of 25-18 before bouncing back to win the next two. but another dartmouth victory forced a decisive fifth set. after falling behind 7-5, bruno finished
with a flourishing 10-2 run fueled by a stretch of three straight kills from beau vanderlaan ’25.
vanderlaan and Hannah Flannery ’26 each finished with double-digit kills in both of the weekend’s matches, while rookie Wolfson recorded a career-high 12 kills along with nine blocks against dartmouth.
“over the course of my first-year season, i feel like i’ve grown in many ways — especially in terms of confidence and understanding my role on the team,” Wolfson said. “i’ve learned to adapt to different game situations, trust my instincts and stay focused under pressure.”
The bears’ final home game of the fall
marked Senior day for the graduating class of 2025. Gabby derrick ’25, Kayla Griebl ’25, victoria vo ’25 and vanderlaan were among the seniors.
The group helped the program win an ivy Championship in 2021 and advance to the championship match in 2022 and 2023.
The seniors showed “dedication, support and leadership set the tone for everyone else,” Wolfson wrote. “on and off the court, they’ve been incredible role models, always encouraging us to bring our best every day. Watching them lead and play has been inspiring, and their presence will definitely be missed.”
but the team’s work is far from finished. With a narrow one-game lead in
“The group of girls we had this season was special in more ways than having impressive field hockey ability,” a dams wrote to The Herald. “We were a team that continued on the legacy built by our alumni from the past two years of really good team culture.”
i n the initial minutes of overtime, several penalty corners were called on both sides, but the game’s score did not budge.
b ut with just over three minutes remaining, the Crimson finally broke through on a corner. a fter a series of quick passes, Harvard’s b ronte- m ay b rough sent the ball flying between d el monte’s legs, hitting the back of the net and ending the b ears’ breakout season.
Harvard “capitalized on an overtime corner, and unfortunately, that one critical moment determined the result despite the way we dominated the entire game,” b roady said.
“my overall perspective on the game is it could have gone either way,” adams wrote. “We were very sad about the outcome of Harvard because we knew we had the potential to win, but we also were proud of the growth we had and the opportunities that growth gave us late in the season.”
b roady added that the team “will take some time to rest, reflect and celebrate” before shifting their focus towards goal-setting for the 2025 season.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 11, 2024.
the race for a spot in the ivy Tournament, the bears must maintain their momentum over the next two games for a chance to fight for another conference crown.
“ i ’m feeling optimistic about our chances,” Wolfson wrote. “We’ve built up strong momentum, and if we continue to play with the same intensity and focus, i believe we have a solid shot at making it.” brown will face a test against thirdplace Cornell (13-8, 7-5 ivy) on Friday. on Saturday, they will round out the season with a match against languishing Columbia (4-17, 1-11 ivy).
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 14, 2024.
Although Harvard presented challenging attempts on Brown, the Bears’ loose, relaxed playing style stood out in this semifinal game.
As the Bears’ final home game of the fall, Saturday’s contest was Senior Day for the graduating class of 2025
ICE HOCKEY
Women’s hockey fights hard but comes up short against Colgate, Cornell
Anya Zupkofska ’28 and Monique Lyons ’28 were bright spots for Brown
BY GUS BAILEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
No. 14 ranked women’s ice hockey (6-0-0, 40-0 eCaC) is off to a storming start to the 2024-25 season.
after two thrilling victories against No. 7 Quinnipiac and Princeton on oct. 25 and 26, respectively, and advancing to No. 15 in the polls ahead of the weekend, bruno was primed and ready. Coming into two post-Halloween matchups against ivy opponents dartmouth (0-6-0, 0-4-0 eCaC) and Harvard (2-3-0, 1-3-0 eCaC), the bears took home no tricks, only treats.
The bears currently remain undefeated and sit atop the eastern College athletic Conference with 11 points. across the undefeated stretch, the bears have outscored opponents 13-6 — the best goal differential across the 12-team conference.
“by playing a fast game, we can apply constant pressure and not let our opponents gain momentum,” defender ella muralt ’28 wrote in an email to The Herald. “i feel that the forwards are doing a great job getting shots to the net and the defense is solid on the blue line, which keeps our opponents on their heels.”
“The team entered the season with high aspirations and a deep commitment to taking a step forward as a program,” Head Coach melanie ruzzi added in an email to the Herald. “So we felt confident that we would have a chance in every game but the resulting 6-0 start is still something we are really proud of. With that, the season is young and we still have so many areas in which to grow as a team.”
Cameron Sikich ’25 was named the eCaC
WOMEN’S SOCCER
defender of the Week for her performance this weekend. This is her second selection this year, in a season that has only spanned three weeks so far. Sikich leads the team in points with nine total, including six assists and three goals across the first six games.
“it’s really exciting to be selected for this award twice already this year,” Sikich wrote, “but even more exciting to see our team being recognized more and more for our achievements. Personally, i don’t think i could have received these awards without the standout efforts of my teammates.”
bruno’s first two conference games were separated by a margin of only one goal. The affair in Hanover was no different.
after an eventless first period, wherein the bears and the big Green were nearly even on shots 10-9 and bruno failed to convert on the power play, it was dartmouth who managed to get in gear first. a tripping foul by Gali Levy ’26 early in the second period gave her two minutes in the box. The bears managed to hold out on the backfoot for as long as they could, but a well-placed shot by dartmouth put the bears on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline.
However, less than four minutes later, an interference foul gave the bears the one-woman advantage they were looking for.
With time ticking away and only 16 seconds left on the power play, bruno managed to find the back of the net. a goal from ava deCoste ’27 — assisted by Sikich and india mcdadi ’26 — gave the bears their much-needed equalizer.
Following the goal, bruno managed to kill off dartmouth’s power play, keeping themselves in the game and allowing no shots.
The bears were looking strong in the third period, outshooting the big Green 9-6, but the goal wasn’t coming. after finding themselves on the power play late, it was time for defender muralt to step up. With five minutes left in the game, muralt fired
Brown looks to bounce back next weekend, when they’re slated to face Yale twice.
the bears ahead 2-1.
“it felt great as it was my first game-winning goal in college,” muralt wrote. “as a freshman, it’s important to me to contribute as much as i can this season.”
after killing off another dartmouth power play and taking the match, bruno turned their momentum towards Cambridge.
This momentum carried bruno to a 5-1 domination over their ivy League rivals.
The bears’ suffocating pressure and phenomenal team interplay helped them keep the puck, giving the offense plenty of chances and the defense a light affair.
“one of our team goals for our game against Harvard focused on using our speed and starting off the game strong which we succeeded in,” forward monique Lyons ’28 wrote in an email to The Herald.
after shredding the Crimson in the first — outshooting them 17-4 — and mcdadi scoring her first goal of the season, bruno was shocked to be tied 1-1 on their way into the locker room. but in the second, the sharp disparity in shots turned into a sharp disparity of goals.
17 seconds into the second period, Lyons turned a power-play opportunity into a 2-1 advantage for the bears after a shot by margot Norehad ’27 was deflected into her path.
Shortly after, the bears looked in trouble after Jade iginla ’26’s tripping penalty gave Harvard the power play advantage. but bruno turned the opportunity on its head after they pounced on Harvard’s over-commitment in the attack, leading to a short-handed goal by Jess Ciarrocchi ’25.
“We have been working on our special teams a lot in practice this past week, specifically our (penalty kill),” Lyons wrote. “it builds so much momentum for our team to kill off a penalty and even more to get a shorthanded goal. it was great to see the (penalty kill) get rewarded when Jess Ciarrocchi put one in the net to extend our lead.” bruno would continue to crash Harvard’s net in the second leading to a goal by abby Hancock ’25.
The 4-1 hole was far too deep for Harvard to climb out of, so bruno was happy to sit off the puck in the third period. despite being outshot 15-7 — the only time bruno was
outshot during a period all weekend — it was Lyons who found the goal in third, slamming the door shut on the Crimson.
“it’s very exciting to be undefeated so far but there is definitely more pressure as every team we play will want to end our winning streak,” muralt wrote. “This is definitely a confidence booster and i want to continue to work hard for my coaches and teammates to keep the winning streak alive.”
The bears will look to carry their winning streak into and beyond this weekend’s homestand against No. 5 Colgate (9-3-0, 2-00 eCaC) and No. 12 Cornell (2-3-1, 1-1-0 eCaC). Look for the matches on eSPN+.
“This team has been building ever since my freshman year and while many people might be surprised by our start this year, every single one of us knew it was something we were capable of,” Sikich wrote. “it’s amazing to get off to such a strong start but there’s still a lot of season left and i’m excited to see what our team can do.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 10, 2024.
Women’s soccer gets revenge in Ivy League Tournament against Columbia
Princeton’s defense overpowered the Bears’ attack in final match
BY DENNIS CAREY SPORTS EDITOR
Women’s soccer failed to bring home the ivy League Tournament trophy at a game against Princeton on Sunday, losing 2-0. The loss means bruno is the tournament runner-up, a better result than last year’s first-game loss to Columbia.
despite the bears’ efforts, Princeton had already been declared the winner of the ivy League’s regular-season play, breaking a four-year winning streak.
Having lost to Columbia in last year’s tournament, taking down the Lions in a first-round comeback victory helped bruno heal some old wounds.
after Columbia opened the scoring early in the first half, the bears turned on the second gear. Led by an “olimpico” goal from Gianna de Priest ’25, who scored straight from the corner toward the end of the first half, bruno tied the Lions.
The bears began the second half looking aggressive, getting into the box, beating Columbia’s defenders and creating an early chance. Though bruno wasn’t able to get the finishing touch, a Columbia defender’s handball inside the box gave the bears a lifeline.
Stepping up to the spot, Lexi Quinn ’25
Princeton had already been declared the winners of the Ivy League’s
season play, breaking Brown’s four-year winning streak.
would soon change the game: beating the keeper at her post, she executed the perfect penalty. Up 2-1, bruno’s defense sat off the ball, letting the Lions come to them — conceding three corners and getting four saves out of goalkeeper bella Schopp ’26. despite a tense end to the second-half, bruno’s lead remained intact.
The victory against Columbia laid the ground for their matchup with Princeton, the dominant ivy League giant. across the season, Princeton only dropped a single game, scored the most goals in the ivy League and were seeded first in the tournament.
The Tigers were also riding high. after a loss to the Crimson in last year’s tournament, they had avenged themselves earlier
in the weekend, defeating fourth-seeded Harvard 3-1 on Friday.
Princeton and brown have been known to apply a high-pressing aggressive style, so fans were expecting a high-intensity, energizing game on Princeton’s home turf.
Though it wasn’t a typical david and Goliath story, bruno had their work cut out for them against the Tigers. any bears fan will remember the last time these two met: Princeton crushed the bears 8-0.
but this time around, bruno maintained their composure. Their play into the forwards was excellent, able to maintain the threat of attack. While the scoresheet may not reflect it, the bears weren’t completely shut out.
“Princeton has one of the best attacks in
the league and one of the best forwards in the league in Pietra Tordin, so we wanted to make sure that we keyed in on those players and keep the game in front of us as much as possible,” Head Coach Kia mcNeill wrote in an email to The Herald.
Schopp was excellent in net, providing six saves during the game, including four in the first half to keep the game level. but Princeton found their magic touch that day. after contentious back-and-forth play, Princeton forward drew Coomans sent a beautiful shot floating perfectly over Schopp’s head. The chip knocked bruno behind for the second time in the tournament.
Having managed a comeback on Friday, this was nothing new for the bears. but the Tigers kept the pressure on, with a goal disallowed for offside at the end of the half.
Winning a corner, the Tigers scored off another chip shot that flew over Schopp’s head for the second time.
The goal, however, was contentious. ella Weil ’28, who was in position to block the ball, was tripped by a Princeton defender prior to the goal being scored, leading to questions from brown’s coaches. Ultimately, the goal stood.
another free-kick goal by Princeton was disallowed for fouling Schopp. bruno was down 2-0 and Princeton’s attack remained just as fierce. The Tigers outshot the bears 5-2 in the second half.
despite the bears’ attempt to move forward, they never managed to find the final
ball or clinical finish. a dense Tigers defense kept bruno out of the Princeton box.
“most of the chances we generate are from set pieces, but it’s important that we become more dangerous and dynamic in the run of play too,” mcNeill wrote. “our attacking group was very young this season and they did tremendously, given the circumstances, but i think a spring season to train and refine our game is going to be integral to our success in the years to come.”
Nadja meite ’28 tried a shot similar to Coomen’s by floating one over the Princeton keeper’s head. but it did not succeed.
a final effort from Layla Shell ’26 marked the team’s last chance in the 2024 ivy League season. but the ball didn’t find the net and the clock ran out on the bears’ chance for a second comeback that weekend.
The bears’ finish was a turnaround from last year’s disappointing early tournament exit. bruno’s runner-up finish marks the end of their 2024 season, unless they are selected on Nov. 11 for the NCaa tournament.
“This season reminds me a lot of our 2018 season where we had a lot of ups and downs in terms of results but we learned a lot that season, grew a lot in the offseason and then came back and won the ivy Championship in 2019,” mcNeill wrote. “We have a ton of potential and really have just grazed the surface of where we can go.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 10, 2024.
“You can’t fight me!”
“Hey—equal rights, equal fights!”
“It wasn’t just Balto; I want to give credit to the other dogs.”
1. Hawk Tuah
People to Have on Your Podcast
2. Serial DMer from Sidechat
3. One of my exes
4. King George III, the Mad King
5. Maxmillian Robespierre
6. My AP English Literature Teacher
7. President William Howard Taft, who got stuck in a bathtub
8. Olivia Rodrigo, so you could sing Traitor together
9. Myself from the alternate universe in which the core trauma of my childhood never occurred
10. JoJo Siwa
“I can be a wanderer, but also find and make myself at home anywhere I go. Thanks to my finger friends, my pockets and my heart are now a whole lot fuller.”
— Ellie Jurmann, “Friends in High-five Places”
“Ghosts are the best fuel for my daydreams. The specters wander in and out of my half memory as I weave threads of fiction and real life together, until I can imagine a whole person who might have lived just so.”
— Mack Ford, “The Ghosts I Call Darling” 11.18.23
by AJ Wu
for "last" 1 5 6 Of the warty, amphibious variety "Ad ____ per aspera" American poet Ada, who wrote Bright Dead Things and The Carrying 8
What children chanting a nursery rhyme form a ring around 1 2 3 Words on a Wonderland cake Just ___ in the bucket Actress Debby of Disney Channel hits like Jessie and Radio Rebel
OPINIONS
Hudes ’27, Simon ’25, Wellisch ’26: After another Trump victory, a moment to regroup
We are just over a week since the 2024 presidential elections. a week since many of us, nervous yet hopeful, sat glued to our screens as we watched a painful red majority bleed onto the a merican map and elect d onald Trump as the 47th President of the United States. Since election night, it has been impossible to escape our new reality. o ur devices have been ambushed with incessant news notifications, from announcing Trump’s final win of a rizona — and thus all seven swing-states — to his tentative appointment of m arco r ubio for secretary of state. e veryday we get a taste of what the next four years will look like and it is overwhelming. Trump’s victory is a harrowing nightmare, and for the b rown students who currently despair, give yourself grace in the next few weeks; this is a change that merits healthy processing.
There is still much unknown about what the next four years will look like, but there is plenty for students to be fearful about. Trump has made clear his intention to dismantle the d epartment of e ducation and fire thousands of civil servants in other fed -
eral agencies. o ther proposed policies of a second Trump administration will have a profound impact on members of the b rown community. His infamous immigration agenda will place the roughly 400,000 undocumented college students and their families in a highly precarious position. Transgender youth also find themselves in the center of a vicious culture war as a genda 47 promises to roll back federal protections for LG b TQ+ individuals. a nd women at b rown who hail from other states will continue to grapple with a bleak and inconsistent national landscape of reproductive health care — and prepare for the possibility of new, national restrictions on abortion and birth control. e ven just by existing as college students, we are part of a culture of higher education — part of a group which v ice President-elect J d vance has referred to as “the enemy.” b eyond these tangible effects which will come with another Trump term, we must also grapple with the question of national identity. i t has now become impossible to ignore the reality of our nation’s ideological division. While, at b rown, the Trump ques -
In this moment of extreme frustration, fear, and uncertainty, it feels easy to embrace despondency, to turn inwards or remain in spaces where our views are validated.
“
Carpenter ’26:
The
in September 2011, faculty at the brown School of Public Health decided that enough was enough: The manipulative tobacco industry would be banned from funding faculty research. For decades, big Tobacco had backed biased research to support its deadly agenda, threatening academic integrity and creating serious ethical concerns. and so through a unanimous faculty vote, the school approved a tobacco-free research policy. on oct. 31, the advisory Committee on University resources management, commonly referred to as aCUrm, recommended that brown faculty take a parallel vote on research funding from another destructive industry: fossil fuels.
yet if you only read President Christina Paxson P’19 P’md’20’s response letter, published that same day in Today@brown, you’d get a different story. aCUrm’s report warned that fossil fuel industry funding infringed on academic freedom and, in addition to several other recommendations, proposed a faculty vote on the issue. meanwhile, Paxson skipped over the nuances of the report, writing that the committee simply “did not recommend in favor of this request.”
Together aCUrm’s report and Paxson’s response make it clear that academic freedom is not only under threat from fossil fuel industry funding, but from an active opposition to faculty governance.
Just as with big Tobacco, funding from big oil threatens researchers’ ability to pursue academic inquiry free of external influence. Since the 1970s, the fossil fuel industry has specifically targeted academia to advance and legitimize their destructive practices. as aCUrm’s recommendation states, “such influence … can shape research agendas, methodologies and outcomes in ways that align with the interests of the funders rather than the pursuit of unbiased knowledge.”
Citing the american association of University Professors, aCUrm outlines two key principles of academic freedom: free inquiry and independent faculty self-governance. Professors must be free to work without conflicts of interest and they must be able to gov-
tion is less dividing, we will be preparing to graduate and enter the workforce under the Trump administration and within a country who voted him into office. a nd we must come to terms with the fact that the country and its administration do not reflect some of our fundamental beliefs. We must search elsewhere to find leaders who we can look up to and see ourselves in. i n this moment of extreme frustration, fear, and uncertainty, it feels easy to embrace despondency, to turn inwards or remain in spaces where our views are validated. a nd as the nights get longer and i nauguration d ay draws closer, it is necessary for us to process our disappointment and anger. b ut this turn to our communities should not be a retreat, but rather an opportunity to regroup.
d espite the results of the election, b rown is an exceptional place to be right now, not
because of its political orientation, but because of its rich well of student organizations, affinity spaces and classrooms where we can rely on each other to discuss our hopes and anxieties about the future. Similarly, as many students prepare to travel home for Thanksgiving break, they will return to communities across the U.S. — and maybe beyond it. These, too, are the places we should find grounding in. o ver the next four years, state and local government will become a critical space to fight for education, reproductive health, and climate justice while many such goals seem out of reach at the national level, at least for now.
Paul Hudes, Yael Wellisch and Alissa Simon can be reached at paul_hudes@brown.edu, yael_wellisch@ brown.edu and alissa_simon@brown.edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
faculty must vote on Fossil Free Research
ern themselves in matters relating to their teaching and research.
aCUrm made it clear that brown must act. Staying true to the principle of “independent faculty self-governance,” aCUrm states that it “cannot recommend that the Corporation and thus the administration implement a dissociation from fossil fuel industry sponsored research without a vote of the brown faculty.” The integrity of faculty research is, after all, an issue that concerns the faculty.
Faculty are fully capable of making this decision
in her response to aCUrm, Paxson assures us that faculty input in research funding policy is codified through the Gifts and Grants review Committee. but the committee has not met since it was created in march. before then, when it served as an ad hoc committee for 14 months, it only reviewed a single grant. Furthermore, even if the committee flags a grant for infringement upon academic freedom, they may only suggest the gift’s rejection — there is no actual demonstration of shared governance on this issue. aCUrm references the committee in a complementary recommenda-
Together ACURM’s report and Paxson’s response make it clear that academic freedom is not only under threat from fossil fuel industry funding, but from an active opposition to faculty governance.
through democratic processes. The unanimous School of Public Health vote on tobacco funding came after similar votes from peer institutions including the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of California at San Francisco. These votes happened in a wave of institutional efforts to disaffiliate from the industry. President Paxson claims that a similar vote on fossil-free research would “create a precedent for subverting established governance via aCUrm.” but aCUrm is advisory in nature. it is fully within its right to prescribe a decision-making process that centers faculty on an issue of academic freedom.
tion, making it clear that any change to the committee is not a replacement for a faculty decision on the issue.
So, when President Paxson rejects aCUrm’s complete recommendation while pointing to the GGrC, she is rejecting a proposal that promotes shared governance while upholding a status quo that disempowers faculty. by asserting that it is “unclear” why a faculty vote on this matter is necessary, she further delegitimizes her own advisory committee and threatens the academic freedom of all brown community members. Shared governance is under attack — a faculty vote presents the opportunity to chart a new path forward.
beyond brown, the movement to kick big oil off campuses is growing. Two weeks ago, the University of Toronto’s School of the environment announced it would cut all financial ties with fossil fuel companies. a month prior, students from six U.S. universities, including Columbia, Princeton and Cornell, published analyses of fossil fuel industry research at their institutions. Collectively, they found that the six schools together have accepted over $100 million in fossil fuel industry-related funding and have published a collective 1,507 academic articles funded by oil and gas interests. in the coming years, pressure for institutions of higher education to dissociate from fossil fuels will only continue to intensify.
aCUrm’s report presents an opportunity for brown to be a leader on this issue. Students at brown have been at the forefront of the fossil fuel dissociation movement for the past two years. in February 2023, the dissociate Now report, written by Sunrise’s chapter at brown, uncovered that brown-affiliated researchers published 63 journal articles funded by fossil fuel companies and foundations from 2010 to 2022. That same semester, 1200 students signed a petition in favor of a fossil-free research policy. aCUrm’s recommendation is the result of comprehensive research, conversations with impacted brown community members and careful deliberation in the one and a half years since then. Now, the decision ought to rest in the hands of the faculty.
The brown community is ready for a community decision on this issue, and a faculty vote presents a clear path forward. To protect academic freedom and affirm their right to self-governance, the faculty must vote on fossil-free research.
Caitlyn Carpenter can be reached at caitlyn_carpenter@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
Woodilla ’27: Expanding U.’s research and grad programs helps us all
m any students choose b rown because of its o pen Curriculum, small class sizes and brilliant faculty, all of which define b rown’s unique educational approach. d espite these strengths, the University’s research infrastructure and graduate program offerings remain underdeveloped, a shortcoming that has significantly contributed to b rown’s current $46 million budget deficit. To resolve the current deficit, our community must support the University’s ongoing transition to become a leading research university so it may realize its full academic potential.
Compared to the research infrastructure at peer institutions, b rown’s has room to grow. The University lags significantly behind its peers in federal research spending, published articles and faculty citations. The size of b rown’s graduate programs also remains comparatively small — the University enrolls a little under four thousand graduate students, which is less than Columbia, Penn, Cornell and many other institutions. b rown’s current budget deficit is intimately related to its research problem: its lack of income from research activities and graduate program tuition has limited its potential revenue. Until these programs generate returns, the University’s budget will continue to be strained. This makes it difficult for b rown
to prioritize other financial demands, resulting in the disappointment of many community members. Faculty recently expressed dismay at the University’s choice not to implement a 5% raise in salaries last month, which administrators attributed to the
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to fund its annual budget, thereby expanding the University’s financial capabilities while concurrently enhancing its educational programs. This emphasis will lead to increased undergraduate research opportunities, which are critical for a
Without careful oversight, the Open Curriculum would become a frenzy among undergraduates to find the few remaining courses not taught by a postdoc.
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community demands — such as a raise for faculty — easier to implement.
The benefits of academic expansion are clear, but the University must not sacrifice its unique pedagogical strength. Teaching is the centerpiece of b rown’s institutional identity, but for faculty, the responsibility to teach is fundamentally opposed to the expectation to increase research output.
i f the University places too many financial and professional expectations on faculty to prioritize research over teaching, b rown jeopardizes the faculty excellence that sustains the University’s educational quality. Without careful oversight, the o pen Curriculum would become a frenzy among undergraduates to find the few remaining courses not taught by a postdoc.
current deficit.
While growing b rown’s research infrastructure costs money, the investment can address many of the University’s fiscal and academic shortcomings, and its payoff outweighs the initial burden. b rown would have more revenue from graduate programs
holistic education. Such changes would also prevent deficits like the one we currently find ourselves in, allowing the University to give more uniform priority to various other expenses such as department funding, student financial aid and campus maintenance. This improved stability would make
a lthough b rown’s decision to improve its research and graduate programs has caused budgetary strain, our community should support the University’s targeted focus to improve these programs. everyone in our community will benefit from more research, graduate excellence and financial stability.
Mike Woodilla ’27 can be reached at mike_woodilla@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
Grossman ’24: Investment ethics committees were a proud Brown tradition
The a dvisory Committee on Corporate responsibility in investment Policies and its successor committee, the a dvisory Committee on University resources m anagement, have historically represented b rown’s commitment to take responsibility for the moral implications of its investment policies. Unfortunately, President Christina Paxson’s administration has systematically undermined the independence and power of the Committee because its original purpose is directly at odds with her conservative policy of “institutional neutrality.” in a final twist of the knife, e xecutive v ice President for Planning and Policy russell Carey now calls upon us to respect the judgment of a committee the administration has never respected until it finally rendered their desired verdict: no divestment from israel and potentially from anywhere, ever.
Carey claims that students no longer trust aCU rm because they are “misinformed about the history of aCC ri P’s transition in 2020.” While he writes like a mature adult chiding ignorant students, he omits the long history of struggle between administrators and activists over the independence and power of the committee. a s a UCS student representative on the faculty-led working group who helped review the final aCU rm charter, i write today to set the record straight.
Carey argues the publicly stated purpose of the aCC ri P-to-aCU rm transition was to expand the committee’s responsibility so that its charge included issues such as the naming of buildings and the acceptance of gifts. However, the fine print revealed another possible motive: reducing the committee’s independence. The administration’s original draft motion proposed reduced student and faculty representation so that half of the committee was appointed via processes over which President Paxson had direct control. Carey knows this — he wrote the proposed changes. indeed, the working group i served on only formed after a public outcry by divestment activists, a fact Carey conveniently leaves out of his account. Student protest led the changes to be postponed until after the b rown d ivest Coalition proposal was evaluated (and eventually endorsed) by aCC ri P, and my working group restored the original representation rules to ensure a student/faculty majority in the new aCU rm charter.
However, the administration appears to have found other ways to get the aCU rm process to produce the outcome they wanted, this time by gutting the committee’s power to recommend
any divestment at all.
The present aCU rm committee clearly worked under the impression that their charge puts a new and unreasonably high standard on divestment determinations through its definition of social harm, which reads:
“the harmful impact that the investment or expenditure of University financial resources may have on the University community, consumers, employees, or other persons, or on the human or natural environment.”
Chair James Kellner claimed this definition requires a “causal link” to be demonstrated between the University’s present direct investments
i would have objected for three main reasons.
First, the working group’s stated goal was to expand, not limit the charge. a s aCU rm itself noted, imposing a “causal link” test would have represented a profound change from the previous aCC ri P precedent, in which b rown freely took pro-divestment stances despite owning de minimus positions in the offending companies (Sudan – 0/6 companies, Tobacco – 0.2%).
Second, such a strict interpretation of social harm misunderstands the point of divestment. Under such a rule, b rown would only be able to make divestment decisions after investing in companies that contribute to social harm rather
As a UCS student representative on the faculty-led working group who helped review the final ACURM charter, I write today to set the record straight. “
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munity. President Paxson favors a narrow definition of our community’s responsibility to respond to social harm and how it relates to b rown’s investment practices. Past b rown leaders in her place – such as President Simmons — took a different approach. The clear super-majority of the b rown community believes a genocide bankrolled by the a merican government and some of its largest corporations puts an onus on all of us to make it clear we do not stand for such horrific, illegal crimes against humanity. They believe there can be no “business-as-usual” attitude when your nation is funding a genocide.
and social harm. Given that the b rown endowment is largely invested via third party managers, proving such a link on a company-specific level is nearly impossible. The Committee thus criticized the charge as “overly narrow,” noting
“This is not “harm” as ordinarily understood [...] it is difficult to envision even egregious examples of ordinarily understood harm meeting the definition of “social harm” as required for potential divestment action” (13).
d isturbingly, aCU rm describes having made the significant moral decision to limit b rown’s divestment responsibility to just its present direct investments as a matter of procedure, not one of explicit deliberation. They lay the blame for their new limitation on the aCC ri P-aCU rm transition process that produced the charge, the very transition that Carey now feels compelled to publicly rehabilitate.
There is something fishy here. a “causal link” test is not the only possible interpretation of the charge’s definition of social harm, nor was it the intent of the faculty-led working group to impose such a drastic limitation. Had that been the case,
than rejecting that investment in the first place. d ivestment policies are just as much about what the University chooses not to consider for future investment as they are about what the University presently owns. Hence, the charge defines social harm in terms of the possible negative impact b rown’s investment strategy might or “may have” as opposed to solely the impact present investments “currently have on” or “cause to” various stakeholders.
Finally, given the opaque and ever-changing nature of the b rown endowment, community members are unable to gather or verify the evidence required to craft a proposal that would ever pass such a test. aCU rm deliberations should be about setting investment norms for the investment office and their managers, not evaluating present endowment holdings.
a ny divestment consideration is a decision on the parameters of b rown’s moral responsibility to the world, not simply a determination of social harm and a calculation of financial impact. The threshold for the University’s divestment actions should be a matter of open debate for our com -
So, the decision to adhere to a narrow interpretation of social harm under the bounds of “institutional neutrality” was not one made by our working group or by any other community-based deliberative process. it occurred mysteriously by fiat with the latest aCU rm divestment decision. We may never know why Kellner and the Committee came to believe they needed to use this strict “causal link” test. but we do know that Paxson refused to respect shared governance on this issue in 2020 when she did not forward aCCriP’s pro-divestment recommendation to the Corporation for a vote, only respecting the process when it suited her aims. We do know she took the student divest proposal – which has comprehensive recommendations for engaging with brown’s complex indirect investments – and narrowed it against the students’ wishes to the question of direct divestment from just ten companies. Following the example of Students Taking action Now: darfur (STaNd), these companies were named as targeted examples we should ensure brown or its managers never invests in; students never claimed brown had significant present investments in these companies. but Paxson set the students up to look like they were just being silly and asking brown to sell stocks it doesn’t have.
Carey’s op-ed is just the latest example of how the Paxson administration uses every measure available, from Providence police to performative committees to gaslighting op-eds, in order to force community members to accept a morally reprehensible vision of a “neutral” b rown. m r. Carey, students are not “misinformed.” o n the contrary, they know you and President Paxson all too well.
Eli Grossman ’24 can be reached at eli_grossman@ alumni.brown.edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com
ARTS & CULTURE
ALUMNI
Brown alum John Krasinski ’01 named People’s 2024 ‘Sexiest Man Alive’
The star expressed surprised at the announcement
BY TALIA LEVINE AND MEGAN CHAN SENIOR STAFF WRITERS
d oes brown have the hottest alums?
People m agazine seems to think so. The publication just crowned brown alum and “The office” star John Krasinski ’01 this year’s “Sexiest man alive.”
brown is now the only college to boast two “Sexiest m an a live” recipients in their alumni directory. before Krasinski, John F. Kennedy Jr. ’83 received the title in 1988.
Krasinski first emerged as a smallscreen heartthrob during his nine-season performance as Jim Halpert on the hit NbC sitcom “The office.” Since then, the
something that’s weird, it’s something to be proud of,” she said.
For Siwa, the growth in her career has been synonymous with the growth of her own identity. Having undergone an uncommonly drastic rebranding, she recalled facing the dilemma of figuring out how to break out of her initial “kid-friendly” pop-star persona.
“Honestly, what i realized is i could have had a signed, seal-delivered career, being set for life if i kept doing what i was already doing. but i realized that wasn’t where my passion was anymore. my passion was to go into this world of gay pop,” said Siwa.
With such an animated public persona, questions of whether the version of herself Siwa shows online is genuine have been widely circulated. Having grown up constantly scrutinized on “dance moms” and now consistently documenting her life on social media, the singer reflected on how her content online usually gives her followers only small glimpses of her day.
“That’s kind of how i plan my career. i keep it entertaining because that’s what i was put on this earth to do, and that’s what i want to do,” Siwa said. “However, it all comes from me. There’s definitely a more emotional side of me.”
“i live a great life, and i love to share it. yes, there is more, but what you see is what you get,” she added.
Siwa also took the time to relate to students who were in attendance at the talk.
45-year-old Krasinski has continued to charm audiences with his swooping brown hair, hazel eyes and funny personality.
and he stands tall at 6’3.
The award-winning actor, writer and director has accumulated a lengthy filmography, which includes “doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness,” “Lip Sync battle” and the “a Quiet Place” trilogy.
Krasinski graduated with a bachelor of arts in english from brown and received an honorary doctorate degree in 2019.
He credits brown for having a tremendous impact on his life. “i legitimately would not be half the person that you see in front of you if it were not for brown,”
Krasinski said in a 2018 conversation with The Herald. “i wish i could go back.”
While he initially hoped to play basketball in college, he quickly found his comedic footing through sketch comedy group o ut of bounds, The Herald previ-
Sharing her experiences dealing with online hate at a young age, she gave insight into how she dealt with negativity directed at her over the years.
“People have hated (me) since i was nine on my first show,” she said. “it never gets easier. it actually gets harder, because as i get older … i take things more seriously.”
Siwa said that she continued to remind herself of those closest to her to tune out the hate that she receives. “The advice that got me through this year is (that) my bubble of people is so unreal. i really try to surround myself with them.”
Siwa, 21, recognized that she was the same age as many of the students in attendance. although she made the decision to not attend college to continue her professional career, she acknowledged that as a young adult, she felt bonded with students that were around her age in the audience and gave them props for their efforts in pursuing their education.
“it’s not easy to be somebody our age. you’re dealing with being a baby adult … There’s so much in your life that you’re figuring out right now,” she said. “be proud of yourself for (something) as simple as waking up everyday.”
“you’re never alone,” Siwa added. “i can guarantee every single one of you and me have one problem slightly in common.”
Siwa’s talk left Zoe Weissman ’28 “dumb-
ously reported.
Krasinski went on to attend the National Theater institute before landing his breakthrough role in “The office” in 2005. i n his cover story interview with People m agazine, Krasinski expressed surprise at his newest accolade, which was revealed during Tuesday night’s episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
“Just immediate blackout. Zero thoughts,” Krasinski told People. “o ther than maybe i’m being punked,” he said.
Krasinski joins the ranks of Patrick d empsey, Chris evans and Paul rudd, among others as “Sexiest m an alive.”
Krasinski is the 36th man to win the title
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 13, 2024.
founded.”
Seeing Siwa was “more than i could ever ask for,” she said. “She has no impulse control and we learned so many new and special things, including her new single.”
“She was just so real,” Pooja yerneni ’26 said after the event. “i appreciated that she didn’t hold herself back with her answers.”
others felt a more personal connection to seeing Siwa in person, having grown up watching her appearances on dance moms and her rise to stardom.
Nayani modugula ’26 grew up with Siwa on dance moms and felt it was “really nice” seeing her at the event, especially given that “now she’s all grown up too.”
For attendees like rhiannon Chaston ’28, Siwa’s talk was “so brown.”
anel Zhussubali ’26 agreed, saying that Siwa “really matched the vibes of our campus, and i think everyone related to her a lot.”
Siwa herself acknowledged the various steps in her career that have brought her to the unique position she is in today and how she sees herself evolving in the future. “as of right now, i’m very grateful for my life and my childhood. it was very different, but it did shape me to who i am. it got me here … i wouldn’t want one thing to be different.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 11, 2024.
‘We Live in Time’ portrays simplistic yet bittersweet love story with star actors
The film reinvents typical tropes through a non-linear narrative style
BY AYANA AHUJA SENIOR STAFF WRITER
it has long been a tradition of american cinema to cast the hot stars of the time to play out timeless and familiar romantic tropes, and “We Live in Time” is no different. at its core, the film, released oct. 11, is a classic doomed romance featuring two of Hollywood’s brightest actors, Florence Pugh and andrew Garfield delivering the perfect amount of tears, smiles and giggles.
Professional chef almut brühl (Pugh) hits Tobias d urand (Garfield) with her car. Not the typical meet-cute, but at the hospital, a lmut offers to treat Tobias and his wife to a meal at her restaurant. There, Tobias reveals he is divorced, resulting in the two spending the night
together with undeniably heartwarming results.
a s the movie progresses, we see all the difficult, but moving facets of a relationship: they fall in love, disagree on whether to have children, briefly split and even navigate a cancer diagnosis. Such scenarios beautifully intertwine moments of mundanity and spontaneity to display the couple’s love and new life together.
What stands out most clearly about “We Live in Time” is the film’s non-linear narrative. The highlights of their relationship are shuffled. Scenes are placed out of order, allowing viewers to get a glimpse of key events that will only unfold later on. We know that Tobias and a lmut will eventually have a daughter, even though almut is initially adamantly against children. We know they will make-up, fall in love and resolve their issues. most glaringly, we know from the start that almut is going to die. yet, even with this information, falling in love with Tobias
and a lmut’s story is inevitable; viewers can’t help but be drawn in as their shared life together unfolds.
“We Live in Time” starts off slow, but knowing the certainty of the couple’s fate makes the audience want to make the most out of their limited time with Pugh and Garfield. With the prior knowledge of their relationship’s doomed trajectory, we can accept and embrace the fleeting and bittersweet love they share.
The film is undeniably full of tropes. The “meet-cute,” the fight, the sickness, the proposal — these are all things that have been seen before in conventional rom-coms and tragic romances, except this time they are told through a slightly different approach. and the surface-level yet likable characters are advanced by the actors’ talents. Pugh and Garfields’ line-delivery, facial expressions and chemistry alone make every scene entertaining to watch.
“We Live i n Time” does very little
As the movie progresses, we see all the difficult, but moving facets of a relationship.
wrong. it delivers a powerful deception of enduring love with a couple of messy battles and moments of humor and warmth. it’s a film that invites you to feel — whether through melancholy or charm — without ever pushing too far. While it doesn’t offer much in terms of depth or complexity, there’s something refreshing in its simplistic premise. Sometimes, it’s enough to bask in a bittersweet story with beloved actors, and savor the understated allure of a doomed romantic journey.
Krasinski graduated with a bachelor of arts in English from Brown and received an honorary doctorate degree in 2019.
ARTS & CULTURE
‘What, like it’s hard?’: Musical Forum presents ‘Legally Blonde’
The student production retells a story beloved by the theater community
BY CAMPBELL LOI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
This weekend, musical Forum held three performances of its fall musical, “Legally blonde,” at Fishman Studio in the Granoff Center for the Creative arts. The show follows elle Woods, a bright and bubbly sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend, Warner Huntington iii
according to director Josie d iaz ’25, “Legally blonde” had been in the works since last spring, when she gathered a preliminary team and proposed the production to musical Forum’s executive board. Noting that many of the shows produced during her time at brown were very dark or had tragic endings, d iaz told The Herald that she hoped this performance could “lift our spirits.”
“i wanted to do a show that was going to be a lot of fun for the audience and a lot of fun for the cast,” she said.
once word got out that the show had been selected for production in the fall,
With only eight weeks to prepare for the two-and-a-half hour performance, rehearsals were fastpaced and intensive.
it,” said Caroline Cahill ’25, who played elle Woods. “When they posted that Josie was directing it, i knew i simply had to audition.”
For b ryce Gray ’25, the musical’s score and heartwarming story drew him to audition. Gray, who played the Store manager, elle’s dad and Nikos, added that the musical is well-known and beloved by the theater community.
excitement quickly began to build among hopeful auditionees.
“ i knew they were doing ‘Legally b londe’ the whole summer, and i love the show, so i was really excited about
“i moved my entire semester around just to do this show, because it’s one that i’ve wanted to do for years,” he said. “i think it’s a show where everyone gets to shine in their own way, and i really wanted
to be a part of that.”
after auditions were held in September, the production went into full swing. With only eight weeks to prepare for the performance — which runs nearly two and a half hours — rehearsals were fastpaced and intensive.
a ccording to Stage manager Keelin Gaughan ’25, rehearsals were held nearly every day of the week. “We started by going through the music, and then we moved on to choreo and blocking,” she said, adding that the team began running the show in full about two weeks before the performance.
averie masia ’28, who plays Kate and Chutney, told The Herald that despite the time commitment, being able to continue theater — a constant in her life throughout middle school and high school — eased her adjustment to college.
“it’s a lot for my first semester, with transitioning (to brown) and getting used to the workload,” masia said. “it is a lot of work when we’re there, (but) it’s a good break.”
a s a first-time director, d iaz said that her prior acting experiences gave her valuable insights. She noted that having high-quality choreography — a component missing from typical theater productions — was one of her main goals for the show.
To achieve this goal, d iaz recruited choreographer autumn Tilley ’26. The two met several times before the start of rehearsals to discuss their visions for the show’s movement and went through the soundtrack to brainstorm ideas for each dance number, Tilley said.
Tilley said that when choreographing each song, she considered its central message as well as the overall feeling and environment, taking inspiration from girl groups and her background in jazz dance.
another top priority for d iaz was ensuring the cast felt supported, an aspect she found other productions lacked.
“because i come from the acting side, i can remember what has been frustrating for me,” she explained. “i wanted everybody to feel comfortable and confident
in everything they were doing on stage, whether that be a dance move, a costume they’re wearing (or) something they’re saying.”
Several cast and crew members emphasized the positive impact of d iaz’s commitment to cultivating a comfortable and welcoming community environment.
“The entire team has just been so welcoming and nice and accommodating to everybody,” Gray said. “i’ve definitely felt that more than any other show i’ve done.”
“d oing a show is such a team effort,”
sion on audience members.
“everybody in this cast is a star and could run their own one-person show. it is the most stacked cast you’ll ever see,” she said. “They’re doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the magic of the production just by being talented and doing what they do.”
She also emphasized the effort that the crew put into the performance, highlighting how their attention to detail in areas like costume, set design, lighting and sound enhanced the production value
Cahill added. “For everybody to get along so well and to be so nice and genuinely supportive … that’s honestly half the battle.”
For masia, “the most rewarding thing has been all the connections that i ’ve made,” adding that she has developed a new network of close friends that she waves to on campus and keeps up with via text.
Gaughan also pointed out that many of the cast members are first-years performing in their first college show. “a lot of our production team and directorial team are seniors, and then we have a lot of underclassmen in the cast,” she said.
“ i t’s been really cool getting to invite people into the world of student theater at brown.”
d iaz said she hoped the strength and talents of the cast would leave an impres-
Inaugural Artistic Director of Brown Arts Institute steps down
BY CATE LATIMER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Since joining the brown arts institute in 2020, avery Willis Hoffman braved Covid-19, shepherded the creation of the Lindemann Performing arts Center and taught numerous courses. She has now decided to leave College Hill.
While Hoffman said she couldn’t share her next steps, she is “looking forward to some new opportunities on the horizon.”
Throughout her career, Hoffman has worked as a creative producer, curator and artistic director, creating various programming and cultural events for organizations including Park avenue armory in New york and The Smithsonian. as bai’s inaugural artistic director, Hoffman was charged with helping lead the institute in anticipation of the opening of the Lindemann.
“my mandate from the President was really to think about ways to uplift art-mak-
According to Hoffman, one of the most exciting aspects of her role was thinking about the “Brown Arts ecosystem.”
ing on campus and to think about ways to program this new space,” Hoffman said.
“in my role, i often say that i’m a creative
doula. it’s matchmaking,” she said, referring to her responsibility to find visiting artists to bring to campus.
Hoffman’s responsibilities also included mentoring and teaching students.
in her time at brown, Hoffman taught
multiple classes associated with bai, including artists@Work, arts Leadership and arts Crew. The classes allowed students to interact with visiting artists and learn to work in artistic fields.
according to Hoffman, one of the most exciting aspects of her role was thinking about the “brown arts ecosystem.”
“it has visual art, all the different kinds
of artistic disciplines, but it also has folks in conversation. it has interdepartmental partnerships,” she said, citing collaborations such as the bai’s ongoing film series with the School of Public Health and the iGNiTe series.
Hoffman also said that her tenure as artistic director taught her something important: patience.
“it really takes time to not just build the infrastructure, but then the next step is to work within that infrastructure,” she said, referring to the building and establishment of the Lindemann. “you need to test that infrastructure and you need to evolve.”
Her other primary challenge in the role was establishing a new organization within a storied university.
“That kind of startup, entrepreneurial spirit, that energy, you have to do a lot to navigate between that kind of startup mentality and the kind of structure of brown that has served the campus for a very long time,” she said.
Sydney Skybetter, faculty director of the bai and associate professor of theatre arts and performance studies, expressed his gratitude for Hoffman and her time at brown.
“Her curatorial excellence set a standard
and brought the show to new heights.
The show’s central message of being yourself especially resonated with Cahill, a computer science concentrator who said she relates to elle as a woman studying in a male-dominated field.
“ e lle never loses her girly (and) bubbly side, but she’s still a really smart lawyer,” she said, adding that she hopes audiences will be similarly inspired by elle’s determination.
m asia said she hopes the show can provide an escape for audiences and “help other people feel better.”
in the time that we’re in right now, it’s very important to make something that’ll bring the community joy,” she added.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 10, 2024.
for the kinds of art brought to campus, and the ways we endeavor to support artists worldwide,” he wrote.
With Hoffman stepping down, Skybetter sees this time as an opportunity to reflect on both the institute’s successes and challenges. “i’m eager for us to have a little space to learn from the experience, and proactively consider what comes next,” he added. bai will not be hiring another artistic director immediately, according to Skybetter. despite her decision to step down, Hoffman feels optimistic about the future of bai. Skybetter also sees a bright future for the institute.
“There’s much to look forward to,” Skybetter said. “i can’t wait to share out all we’ve been working on.”
“my hope is that the support system that we put in place will continue, that there will be extraordinary programs and projects brought to the Lindemann and to Granoff,” Hoffman said, “and that the arts will continue to be honored and uplifted and funded and supported in the ways that we began to do over the last couple years.”
Avery Willis Hoffman has overseen The Lindemann’s creation
UNIVERSITY NEWS
ACADEMICS & ADVISING
These students are helping instructors improve their teaching
Problem-Solving Fellows help professors, TAs, tutors reflect on teaching
BY LEAH KORITZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER
While professors go through practice problems in class, some students do more than jot down the answers. These students — the Sheridan Center’s Problem-Solving Fellows — evaluate how the professors are solving them.
Through the PSF program, undergraduate students work with STem professors, teaching assistants and tutors to reflect on and improve their teaching practices. each year, between 10 and 16 fellows participate in the program.
The program was created in 2018 as part of the brown Learning Collaborative, according to Christina Smith, the associate director for undergraduate STem
ADMISSIONS
development at the Sheridan Center. The bLC hopes to help students achieve academic excellence in six key areas: critical reading, research, data analysis, writing, oral communication and problem solving.
e ach semester, undergraduate student fellows are assigned to professors, Tas and tutors who request an evaluation, according to Fellow Lauren roussel ’27. Fellows meet with these individuals to discuss their specific concerns and goals.
Then, fellows attend classes, tutoring groups or conference sections to observe teaching practices, focusing specifically on how instructors promote student engagement. Fellows provide feedback about what went well and what can be improved.
Fellows are required to complete at least one of these consultation projects per semester. The details of individual consultations, including the names of the instructors being evaluated, are kept
confidential.
“most professors aren’t taught how to teach in their studies,” fellow Quinn Cowing ’25 said. “a lot of STem professors are brought in for their amazing research and may also be super passionate about learning how to profess, but it’s not necessarily a requirement.”
o utside of running consultations, fellows also implement research projects to enhance teaching practices at the University.
Last year, a group of fellows polled the student body about taking courses Satisfactory/No Credit. Fellows have been analyzing the results and writing a paper, planning to present their findings at an intercollegiate conference.
“ my hope is that the S/NC project will produce a better understanding of student S/NC decision-making that will then lead to more comprehensive guidance on how to use the system,” said
ava Nemerovski ’25, a PSF fellow who contributed to the project.
i n addition to supporting teaching across the University, the PSF program also benefits the fellows, Nemerovski said.
“a s someone who is intending on becoming a high school teacher, the program has given me a ton of space to think about and improve my own teaching practice and leadership abilities,” they added.
To become a fellow, students must first take UN iv 1110: “The Theory and Teaching of Problem Solving.” d esigned for students in the sciences, the course explores the relationship between problem-solving and teaching, looking to provide students with effective learning and teaching skills.
“There’s a lot of people who never formally learn the skills of how to solve a problem,” roussel said. “it was a really
interesting class for that reason.”
The course is offered every fall. Upon completion, students are invited to apply to be a fellow. if accepted to the program, students attend a training day, where they learn how to consult instructors and build on the skills they learned in UNiv 1110.
“brown is a place where we’re always trying to get more student voices and student opinions,” roussel said. The PSF program is a “really good way” to incorporate student feedback in a professional setting, she added.
Smith hopes that more faculty take advantage of the PSFs in the future.
“The PSFs are able to provide a student perspective on teaching and problem sets for faculty and can help their peers think through and improve their teaching,” she wrote.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 10, 2024.
Brown has no plans to seek input on legacy admissions from community members
The University has only sought input via the Brown Alumni Magazine
BY OWEN DAHLKAMP AND KATE BUTTS
UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER
President Christina Paxson P’19 P’md’20 vowed in march to seek public input from brown community members on the use of familial preferences in admissions. eight months later, she has only solicited input via the brown alumni magazine, which is distributed to alumni, staff, faculty and parents of current students.
The University currently has no plans to seek additional community feedback, University Spokesperson brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.
Clark noted that when the University has additional information on its plans to investigate the question of legacy admissions, it will share “those details with the full campus community.” but Clark wrote that “at this moment, we do not have a specific timeline to share.”
The University has not prioritized asking for input on legacy admissions, Clark added, pointing to recent controversies on brown’s campus and “world and national events” that have demanded “resources and attention.”
The University recently decided not to divest from companies affiliated with the
israeli military, leading to protests that resulted in the temporary suspension of brown’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Paxson also announced last month that brown would not dissociate from fossil fuels at this time, though the University plans to seek further faculty input.
“a number of matters of intense community interest have demanded attention this year, and we are focusing on supporting our community in relation to these pressing matters,” Clark wrote.
Clark did not address why Paxson only solicited input on legacy admissions in the brown alumni magazine and not through
other means.
Legacy admission is a contentious issue on campus, with 58% of students opposed to the practice, The Herald previously reported. Students who have benefitted from legacy admissions are more likely to support the continuation of the policy.
Students for educational equity, a brown-based student organization that opposes legacy admissions, plans to reintroduce a bill in the rhode island State House that would outlaw the use of legacy preferences in college admissions.
in her letter, Paxson wrote that roughly 8% are legacy students. Legacy preferences are only given to students if one or more
of their parents received an undergraduate degree at brown. applicants whose parents are University faculty members or staff may also benefit from family connections in the admissions process. The ad Hoc Committee on admissions Policies — the advisory board that recommended familial preferences remain in place — said that legacy students “tend to be exceptionally well-qualified, with academic records that are stronger than that of average matriculants.” They also tend to come from higher-income households with access to additional support throughout the application process.
Those with family connections are
more likely to enroll at brown when accepted. Legacy admissions, the committee said, also creates “a sense of community and loyalty among brown graduates.”
if such preferences were to be removed, the percentage of first-generation and low-income students at brown would likely increase, the committee added. in an interview with The Herald, Paxson said that if the University was “concerned primarily with socioeconomic diversity, it would make sense to eliminate this practice.”
The committee also expressed concern for eliminating such preferences “when the applicant pool is beginning to reflect the more diverse population of brown alumni” after decades of race-based affirmative action policies. maintaining legacy preferences could help diversify future matriculating classes, as the children of diverse alumni would be encouraged to apply to the University.
Herald polling has found that white students are more likely to identify as legacies.
The first class of students that matriculated to the University following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn race-based affirmative action saw a 40% decrease in the share of black students compared to the previous class, The Herald previously reported. They also saw a 29% drop in Hispanic students.
LABOR
University facilities, dining and library staff and shuttle drivers protest contract
The picket followed a protest hosted by the Student Labor Alliance
BY KATIE JAIN UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
Last Friday, union representatives from Teamsters Local 251 and United Service and allied Workers of rhode island picketed on Waterman Street in support of shuttle drivers and dining, library and facilities staff. The groups are currently under contract negotiations with private shuttle operator Transdev and the University, respectively.
The picket followed a protest organized by the Student Labor alliance, which featured speeches from Teamsters Local 251 President matthew Taibi, rhode island State representative david morales (d-Providence) and ri aFL-Cio President Patrick Crowley. Speakers also included representatives from the Graduate Labor o rganization, the library workers’ bargaining unit and the boston-based union UNiTe Here Local 26.
according to SL a organizer Carlo Kim ’27, the alliance hopes to bridge the divide between those who attend the University and those who work at it.
“There’s a very intentional effort by brown to set up a wall, segregating us and making us feel as though we’re not one b rown community,” he said. “ b ut that’s absolutely untrue, and i think it’s really important that the student body is prepared to work with and for fellow workers.”
Shuttle drivers at brown, the rhode island School of design and rhode island
MEDICAL SCHOOL
University to begin negotiations.
College — who collectively unionized in November 2023 — have been negotiating their first contract with Transdev since march. Now, they are considering going on strike if an agreement is not reached by the end of their next bargaining session on Nov. 12, The Herald previously reported.
“We want to send a message to brown University as (Transdev’s) main customer — about 90% of the runs are dedicated to brown — that we’re here, and if things in negotiations don’t go well, then you’re going to be seeing some issues with student transportation around campus,” Taibi said at the protest. “We’re hoping that, with everyone saying it together, that workers at Transdev will get the first contract that they deserve.”
b rown’s contracts with the three USaW-ri bargaining units representing workers in facilities management, University libraries and dining services, have all expired this fall, prompting the University to begin negotiations.
USaW-ri has two other bargaining units at brown, which represent employees of the office of information Technology and the Transportation and Card office. The Transportation and Card office unit agreed upon and signed its first contract with the University on Nov. 4. according to USaW’s business agent amy Cardone, “a tentative agreement has finally been reached” between oiT’s unit and the University. The union hopes “to have a draft to present to the members for a ratification vote within the next week.”
ongoing negotiations
The facilities unit has “reached a tentative agreement regarding wages” but is “still working on a few language proposals.” The contracts for dining and library workers have expired without an agreed-upon extension, Cardone wrote in an email to The Herald.
referring to dining and library workers, who are currently working without a contract, SL a President maddock Thomas
’26 said that the alliance “will need to pull every stop out to guarantee that brown gives them the fair deal that they deserve.”
Though both Taibi and Thomas noted that the picket’s afternoon timing made it difficult for facilities and dining workers to attend, several library employees were able to take part in the demonstrations, waving signs and distributing flyers.
according to Cardone, negotiations over the library unit’s new contract, which began in august, have stalled because University representatives haven’t offered any “legitimate” counter proposals.
The two parties agreed to extend the old contract by one month, from Sept. to oct. 30, but now that that period has elapsed, Cardone said library workers “will refuse to sign a new extension.”
“We’ve asked for some benefits that we’ve seen in other union contracts over the years and thought would be really appropriate for us — particularly given the changing nature of our work,” said marie malchodi, senior library expert-preservation services conservation technician. “but so far, they haven’t really been very curious about what our proposals are.”
The administration’s counter proposals have consisted of “deleting proposals and deleting language out of the contract and just copy-pasting language from the University website … which is almost a slap in the face to that committee that worked so hard to get that language” in the previous contract, Cardone said.
“The University proposed that language for two particular clauses mirror University policy, and at the direct request of the Union, we then added that language directly to those articles, rather than including links to policies on the web,” Uni-
versity Spokesperson brian Clark wrote in a statement to The Herald. according to Cardone, they have also struggled to schedule bargaining meetings as the union believes there were no proposals from the University that needed to be discussed. “if you’re just going to delete and copy and paste language from the website, we’re not gonna entertain that,” Cardone said.
While a tentative meeting had been scheduled for this week, not all members from the University’s bargaining committee could attend, causing it to be rescheduled once again, Cardone said.
“We have been challenged finding times for negotiation in large part because the Union’s bargaining team is large, and their preference is for all members to be present,” Clark wrote. “The date proposed this week coincided with an all-day workshop for library leaders, including a key member of brown’s two-person bargaining team.”
“at this point it feels like a matter of respect,” malchodi said. “respect for us, respect for collective bargaining.”
Though the unit hasn’t discussed authorizing a strike yet, Cardone did not rule out the possibility. if the union can’t “get a date scheduled soon to meet with management,” then the bargaining committee will begin deliberating an escalation, he said.
“reaching agreement takes work and commitment from both sides, and the Union and the University continue to bargain in good faith, even on points of disagreement,” Clark wrote.
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 11, 2024.
Warren Alpert Medical School holds largest Academic Symposium in its history
Symposium featured a keynote address, poster presentations
BY JONATHAN KIM CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Warren alpert medical School held its 18th annual academic Symposium Wednesday afternoon. The symposium was the largest in the event’s history with over 140 student research posters presented.
The event opened up with a keynote address and brief presentations from three student projects, followed by a poster-viewing gallery walk where students presented their research to visitors and fellow classmates.
“one of the main goals of the symposium is really to prepare students for a lifetime in a career as physicians and researchers,” said Stephanie Chow Garbern, the director of medical student research at Warren alpert and a first-time organizer of the symposium this year. “Conferences are a major part of how physicians network, share information, start collaborations, learn from their peers,” Garbern added. “it’s a great time to be able to contribute and show how much students contribute to the amazing research we have at brown.” Garbern was responsible for selecting keynote speaker Nina ayala ’10 md’14 Scm’23, an assistant professor at Warren alpert. ayala spoke about her career journey in becoming a clinician-researcher in maternal-fetal medicine, touching on her passion for research into how cognitive responses that increase resilience and optimism can be leveraged to improve postpartum outcomes.
ayala advised students on the benefits of pursuing a career in research, noting that having specialized research interests is how
“we move science forward.” She also emphasized the importance of keeping an open mind for those who may not be sure if research is right for them.
Her address was followed by three student oral presentations.
dylan bush md’27 researched the impact of geographic distance from surgical centers for diabetic patients in the Solomon islands, a country with one of the highest adult diabetic rates that faces chronic insufficiencies in its medical workforce. bush found that nearly
80% of patients with diabetic foot disease waited longer than seven days from the onset of their symptoms before seeking care, and he has since worked with the local World Health organization office to make a national diabetic foot disease plan.
alison meyers md’27 studied the differences between pregnancies that involve natural implantation of embryos compared to programmatic implantation during a suppressed menstrual cycle. She found that pregnancies with programmatic implantation had a lower risk of producing two or more fetuses, which can help reduce potential pregnancy complications.
other student research focused on the growing field of medical humanities, including a presentation by Claire Lin ’23 md’27, a former Herald illustrator, and diana Wang md’27. They shared their work on how non-pharmacological methods, like receptive music-based interventions can improve patients’ overall well-being during cancer treatment sessions. They found that these music-based interventions led to a significant increase in well-being and significant decreases in pain, tiredness, nausea, anxiety and shortness of breath. in her undergraduate years, Wang’s thesis centered on “music therapy for depression patients,” which inspired her to study the
neural paths “that help us gain the potential to use music and intervention studies.”
The majority of the students who presented their posters are second-year medical students who conducted their research over the summer. Some are involved in the Scholarly Concentrations Program, which is a longitudinal program that provides faculty mentorship for students interested in pursuing a particular field of interest more deeply, Garbern said.
Fourth-year medical students also presented their work through the Primary Care Population medicine program, which awards students both a doctor of medicine and master of Science degree.
one student in the Scholarly Concentrations program, Joshua Woo ’23 md’27, evaluated the success of custom large language models in retrieving suggested treatment plans that physicians can use to treat aCL injuries.
While baseline models only perform at an accuracy level of 50% to 60%, Woo’s model boasted an accuracy of up to 90%, highlighting the potential of generative ai in healthcare, he said.
despite spending the day presenting their findings, student researchers said they were still able to appreciate the bigger picture of what the symposium had to offer.
“This symposium has been really great because you get to see such a variety of different types of research,” Woo said. “you’re really getting to see a variety across different methodologies, across different topics, across different students and across different goals and mentors.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 11, 2024.
Brown’s contracts with the three USAW-RI bargaining units have all expired this fall, prompting the
CHriS NGUyeN / HeraLd
The symposium was the largest in the event’s history, with over 140 posters presented.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
at the time, Tullis was one of few women in the geoscience field, but that did not stop her from conducting her research.
“She was so talented at coming up with innovative experiments that her work spoke for itself,” Fischer said.
a decade later, shortly after Tullis began conducting hands-on research at the University, Pamela burnley ’82 arrived at brown. Still, female professors in geoscience, like Tullis, were rare.
it was helpful to know that women could do that. That was not a common thing,” burnley said. but Tullis reminded her that they “were women together.”
“in some ways, Jan was like a mother to the undergraduates,” said burnley, who is now a professor of geomaterials, geophysics and geoscience education at the University of Nevada, Las vegas. “i take that approach in taking care of my students too,” she added.
Shortly after burnley graduated, Hirth arrived at brown to begin his Phd research. over the two decades since Tullis had begun researching, women still remained few and far between. Hirth recounted being in the lab when a male professor commented on the increase of the number of women in geology. To that, Tullis turned and said, “name 10.” He named six.
“She had to go through a lot to get where she was and she was just a total powerhouse,” said Julia Grossman ’23, a former metro editor for The Herald who worked for Tullis as a meiklejohn advisor and was one of her former students.
A door that was always open most of Tullis’ groundbreaking research began in her office in rhode island Hall, with mass spectrometers propped up by textbooks. Her undergraduate students would sit across from her door, which was always open. When the department’s building moved to the newly built Geo-Chem building, Tullis’ door, adorned with pictures sent by students and captioned by Tullis, always remained open.
in the office itself, her bookshelf was lined with rocks that illustrated important geological processes, resting below the row of nature-themed mugs. on her desk, amidst other natural objects was a tall but organized stack of papers. The ever-growing stack would include not only notes about each of her individual advisees, but also the emails she received from her students, which she would print out and annotate.
“She remembered everything we told her because she had it all written down,” Grossman said.
Students would stop by this office regularly. Gabriel Traietti ’25, another one of Tullis’ meiklejohn advisors and former students, worked in a lab in the Geo-Chem building the summer before Tullis passed. His path out of the building always included a stop at her office — always for a check-in and occasionally for a homemade snickerdoodle.
“She was the first person i would go to for any issues in class. She was the first person i spoke to when i decided to apply for a Phd program,” Traietti said. and whenever a student spoke to Tullis, they were always greeted with a “Hey, partner.”
“you always knew that she cared about you when she would use ‘partner,’” Fischer added.
When Grossman had her first advising meeting, at the boulders outside the GeoChem building, she came away with three main takeaways.
one: this woman is incredible and she’s calling me partner. i don’t know what that means but i like it. Two: she has really strong opinions and usually they are correct. Three:
i know i’m going to be taken care of here,” she said.
Grossman knew that she wanted to pursue geoscience before she came to brown. before deciding what college she was going to attend, Grossman emailed Tullis to learn more about the geoscience program.
“it was the best email i’ve ever sent,” Grossman said. after she was accepted, Grossman received an email from Tullis, answering any questions she had before arriving in Providence. after Grossman’s first-year, she worked as Tullis’ meiklejohn for the rest of her time at brown.
Gregorio Posada Pardo ’26 also began contact with Tullis via email. She messaged him after he had been accepted to brown, introducing herself to see if he was potentially interested in the deePS department. Though he was not initially interested in the field, Pardo said that the email gave him a certain “comfort.”
“Jan was my first contact with an actual person at brown, someone that could provide much needed answers about courses, college life and career options,” Pardo said.
When Pardo first met Tullis in her office in the basement of the Geo-Chem building, it was Tullis who led the conversation. She asked him questions ranging from his hobbies to his potential careers.
“That was the most surprising and unique thing about Jan, especially as an educator. She genuinely expressed interest in her students as people,” Pardo said.
as Tullis’ co-educator, Fischer witnessed this first-hand. “Her advice wasn’t just about courses and concentrations, it was also about how you find your path to a meaningful and happy life,” Fischer said. “She was really good at getting students to think through what really mattered to them.”
Fischer recalled how Tullis would grin and her whole face would light up when she was talking with an advisee.
among Tullis’ students, there was a unique “sense of community,” Tee Gotsch ’26 noted. Tullis would welcome her students to her house, which was decorated by the garden she tended.
She loved to bake and, more than that, loved finding new recipes for her students with dietary restrictions, Grossman said. once or twice a year, Tullis would welcome students on a warm afternoon to enjoy pastries with a heavy side of laughter.
Tullis would walk from her house, which became a home for many students, to the Geo-Chem building for work everyday. There, with her always-open door, she made sure to water every plant in the building.
“She made us better in every way possible,” Grossman said. A great connector
Gotsch also recalled the vast network of personal connections that Tullis upheld both at brown and beyond campus.
When burnley was looking for research in 1982, Tullis pointed her to an internship with Steve Kirby at the US Geological Survey. She believes that the research ultimately set her apart from other candidates focused on rock deformation, paving the way for her current role as a professor in the field.
Similarly, when Gotsch worked with Tullis as her meiklejohn, Tullis frequently connected students with alumni who shared similar research interests. When Traietti was choosing his research advisor, a fundamental step for his geochemistry and environmental chemistry concentration, he sat down with Tullis to review the various options.
Tullis maintained such strong relationships that at every reunion, she was swarmed by alumni, Grossman said. “She was the most popular one at the deePS reception, by far,
just because of all the lives she touched there,” she added.
Don’t be afraid to be wrong
The introductory eePS 0220 class was “perfectly crafted” by Tullis, Grossman said, with one of its key components being the six days of drop-in hours offered every week.
“She strongly believed that there was no such thing as a dumb question,” Gotsch said. They added that Tullis was always ready with descriptive diagrams to answer any questions that a student may have.
Tullis always said to her students that they should not be afraid to be wrong. Hirth and Fischer recalled her advice that there are some things you are never going to be sure of, but that students should experiment regardless.
“you look at who is a leader in that field today. They’re all Jan’s students,” burnley said.
Jan’s rocks as the waves broke over the rocks and the sun
set on a warmer late afternoon at the annual Newport Cliff Walk field trip, Fischer remembered Tullis watching her students. She was grinning as they worked on their assignments and learned about the rock processes that comprised the landscape.
“over hundreds of millions of years, there is such a story (in Newport). and if you just pay attention, if you look for the details and if you understand how these processes work together, then you can piece it together,” Grossman said.
one of Tullis’s favorite rocks was the Grand Canyon. She would spend a whole lecture in eePS 0220 focusing on the story that was told by the different rock layers. When Traietti visited the Grand Canyon on a field trip sponsored by the department, he was able to fully appreciate the rocks.
“She bred in me an interest in understanding the systems that created beauty,” Traietti said.
For many students in geoscience, particularly students studying rock deformation, the field that Tullis helped pioneer and the story that rocks told are inherent to their work. outside the Geo-Chem building sit two large boulders. When the department first moved from rhode island Hall to the GeoChem building, Tullis insisted on the two boulders being placed on the adjacent lawn.
They were the location of Grossman’s first advising meeting, with Tullis’s three main takeaways. They were the location of various conversations that Gotsch had with Tullis, as they chatted about “life and interests.” For many of Tullis’ students, the boulders remind them of her, partially because of their associated scientific processes, but mostly because of the memories they have of Tullis and the stories they tell.
Fittingly, Traietti often calls them “Jan’s rocks.”
This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Nov. 11, 2024.
Tullis always fostered community within DEEPS, whether that be through a homemade snickerdoodle cookie or a door that always opens.
TULLIS