Friday, October 11th, 2024

THE BROWN DAILY HER ALD

Friday, Oct O ber 11, 2024

Brown University Corporation votes to reject divestment resolution

The announcement caps months of organizing on campus

BY CHARLIE CLYNES AND ANIYAH NELSON

MANAGING EDITOR AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

brown University will not divest from companies with israeli military ties, its governing body voted tuesday.

t he decision, announced publicly Wednesday, follows a recommendation against divestment issued by brown’s advisory committee on University resource

Management, or acUrM. the committee voted 8-2 against recommending divestment, with one member abstaining. brown was one of few schools to consider divestment in an official capacity. it did so in exchange for an agreement by student protesters to dismantle a weeklong encampment on the Main Green. the decision drew mixed reactions, and prompted a warning from 24 republican state attorneys general and the resignation of a trustee on the corporation. the acUrM recommendation “played a central role in the corporation’s deliberations,” chancellor brian Moynihan ’81

P’14 P’19 and President christina Paxson

P’19 P’Md’20 wrote in an email to the

University community. the committee, which was tasked in part with assessing the extent to which brown’s current investments contribute to social harm, reported that brown’s indirect investments in the 10 companies constitute 0.009% of their market value.

the University is not directly invested in weapons manufacturers or any of the 10 companies implicated in the divestment proposal.

“any indirect exposure for brown in these companies is so small that it could not be directly responsible for social harm,” the letter stated. “these findings alone are sufficient reason to support acUrM’s recommendation.”

the companies identified within the proposal included several weapons manufacturers with connections to the israeli military, including boeing, General d ynamics and Northrop Grumman.

“the escalating loss of life and violence in the region is, for many, deeply personal and reflects the lived experiences of brunonians,” Moynihan and Paxson wrote in the letter. but addressing conflicts around the world, they said, does not fall within the scope of brown’s mission to advance knowledge and educate its students, and divestment “would signal to our students and scholars that there are

Members of the committee questioned Brown’s future ability to divest

BY ANISHA KUMAR UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

On Wednesday afternoon, students and faculty received a rare email from brown’s corporation. the email announced that the governing body voted in a special meeting to strike down a student-written proposal to divest from companies with israeli military ties. the decision followed a recommendation against divestment issued by brown’s advisory committee on University resources Management, or acUrM. the committee voted 8-2 against recommending divestment, with one member abstaining. in its report, acUrM wrote that some of its members believe its charge is “unreasonably narrow” — a factor that contributed to its vote and could dramatically restrict divestment actions in the future.

“if it is the case going forward that divestment action will only be considered when the investment or expenditure of University resources directly causes ‘social harm,’” the committee wrote, “this means that the University will almost never divest its resources from any entity.”

the two votes put an end to speculation on how the University would respond to the calls for divestment that have steadily grown louder over the last year, taking the form of protests, hunger strikes and sit-ins. across campus, the email prompted outrage from pro-divestment activists and celebration from anti-divestment ones. both had been campaigning for months over the contentious proposal.

Shortly after the announcement, the brown divest coalition, which authored the divestment proposal, posted a graphic reading “FUcK yOU cPaX. FUcK yOU brOWN cOrP. Free PaLeStiNe,” on instagram. it quickly gathered thousands of likes.

Pro-divestment

students say they plan to continue activism

BY RYAN DOHERTY UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

On Wednesday, the University announced that the corporation will not divest from 10 companies with ties to israel after an advisory body recommended against a divestment proposal.

Students both in support and opposition to divestment were shocked by the vote, which occurred at a special meeting prior to the corporation’s October meeting. the meeting itself wasn’t announced until a campus-wide email announced brown’s decision on divestment.

Garrett brand ’26, a pro-divestment student activist, heard of the corporation’s decision when preparing to chalk walkway on the Main Green about Hurricane Helene and Milton, which made landfall in Florida

on Wednesday.

“We’re not going to go chalking today,” brand recalled saying after getting a group chat notification about the decision.

brand was in a state of shock, he told the Herald. “this was just so out of left field for everybody,” he said. “there was no indication that the vote had already taken place.”

Victoria Zang ’26, president of chabad at brown, was also surprised by the announcement.

“i was sitting at the ratty with a couple of my friends, and we weren’t expecting the decision to come out yesterday,” she said.

On the decision, “i’m very happy,” she said.

“it’s important to note that the vote was no more or less transparent than had it been conducted during a regularly scheduled meeting,” University Spokesperson brian clark wrote in an email to the Herald.

cLiX, iSSUe 20

The decision, announced publicly Wednesday, follows a recommendation against divestment issued by Brown’s Advisory Committee on University Resource Management, or ACURM.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

in the weeks leading up to the corporation vote, students presented pro- and anti-divestment arguments to the advisory committee on University resources Management, or acUrM, which was charged with evaluating the social harm of 10 companies with ties to israel. in their deliberations, acUrM also held two listening sessions for community members.

acUrM — a body made up of faculty, staff and students — recommended against the student-led divestment proposal with a vote of 8-2, with one abstention.

aboud ashhab ’25, one of the pro-divestment students who presented to acUrM, criticized the committee’s decision, believing its charge makes it “impossible” for the University to divest.

in acUrM’s recommendation to President christina Paxson P’19 P’Md’20, the advisory body wrote that under the charge “there must be harm and that harm must be caused by investment or expenditure of University financial resources.”

“through that scope, nothing constitutes social harm, because it’s not a direct cause,” ashhab said.

in their letter to the brown community announcing the divestment vote, Paxson and chancellor brian Moynihan ’81 P’14 P’19 wrote that acUrM’s charge raises significant questions when it comes to divestment decisions.

“Given the standards set forth in the acUrM charge and today’s realities in which brown has minimal exposure to direct investments, when, if ever, would there be a decision to divest?,” they wrote. they added that this will be a topic of discussion at the next corporation meeting, which traditionally occurs on the third weekend of October.

ashhab and brand expressed frustration with acUrM’s discussion of University finances. in its report, acUrM called the University’s investment in the 10 companies listed in the divestment proposal too small and “too distantly removed from ‘social harm’ to thus justify divestment action.”

acUrM estimated that the endowment includes 0.009% of the aggregate market value of the ten companies in the proposal and they make up less than 1% of brown’s endowment, or around $66 million.

“the scope of acUrM as a committee was not about materiality,” ashhab said. it was about social harm.”

brooke Verschleiser ’25, president of brown Students for israel, said that she was “not surprised the corporation voted against divestment” but added she was not expecting acUrM’s decision.

“i think they made the right decision,”

she added. “i think it shows that they really listened to the input they got, rather than relying on a popularity contest on campus.”

a recent Herald poll found that 60% of undergraduates supported the divestment proposal, with 15% opposing it. 58% of Jewish respondents opposed the proposal, the Herald previously reported.

“My personal opinion is that an issue such as this … should never have been voted on in the first place,” Zang said.

Verschleiser said that a “weight is kind of lifted.” Verschleiser was one of the students who gave an anti-divestment presentation to acUrM last month. in regards to the divestment vote, “there’s nothing more to do on our end,” she said.

“in terms of the divestment topic, i think it’s now a non issue,” Verschleiser said. “the corporation voted. the corporation made their decision.”

Zang expressed disappointment at the reaction of some pro-divestment students, some of whom have since protested the corporation’s decision and strongly criticized Paxson for the vote.

“it’s just disrespectful and goes against the values of brown,” she said.

Zang hopes “the decision will open the doors for conversations” on campus. She previously believed that the vote would help bring closure, but now she’s not sure: “there’s so much hate right now.”

the corporation’s decision followed months of student organizing.

Pro-divestment students held two sit-ins that resulted in the arrests of 61 students, an eight-day hunger strike and an encampment on the Main Green. the encampment was voluntarily disbanded in exchange for a corporation vote on divestment, following an agreement was reached between protestors and administrators. but pro-divestment students indicated that their push is not over.

it’s about more than divestment,” ashhab said. “i’m fighting for my family. i’m fighting for my friends back home, for their right to life and for their right to dignity.”

this is not the end all be all to fighting for Palestine,” he said.

ACURM FROM PAGE 1

“this decision makes one thing clear: our university has at least $66 million dollars invested in companies that facilitate israel’s genocide, apartheid and military occupation and still refuses to dissociate from these funds,” said brown divest coalition spokesperson arman deendar ’25.

“We are pleased that acUrM followed its charge and that the corporation made its decision based on the facts and appropriate guidelines,” said brooke Verschleiser ’25, the president of brown Students for israel.

the corporation voted on the recommendation by majority. Votes were cast by secret ballot, a measure previously requested by student activists in favor of divestment. the students also requested the names of corporation members who recused themselves from the vote. the University did not share these names publicly and declined to share them with the Herald.

the decision against divestment cited an analysis by acUrM which showed that brown’s indirect investments in the companies identified in the divestment proposal represented around 0.009% of those companies’ aggregate market value, or 1% of brown’s endowment — around $66 million.

the corporation’s decision relied on acUrM’s determination that brown’s financial involvement in the 10 companies is “de minimis” and doesn’t constitute social harm, rendering any divestment action a “symbolic political statement,” President christina Paxson P’19 P’Md’20 and chancellor brian Moynihan ’81 P’14 P’19 wrote in a message to the community.

brown will not divest because doing so is “taking a stance on a geopolitical issue” and “adjudicating global conflict,” Paxson and Moynihan wrote.

but the University has divested for similar reasons before.

Historically, divestment recommendations were made by a separate committee

to Paxson related to divestment from companies with ties to israel, one in 2012 and another in 2020. the latter recommended that brown divest from “companies which profit from human rights abuses in Palestine.” by the time Paxson rejected accriP’s recommendation in april 2021, citing inadequate research, the group had already been replaced by acUrM.

acUrM’s charge, as opposed to accriP’s, makes divestment in the future extremely unlikely, members say.

accriP’s charge focused on the actions of companies that brown invests in. but based on faculty input, acUrM focused on how brown’s investments themselves affect social harm.

accriP was previously charged with examining “issues of alleged ‘social harm’ with respect to the activities of corporations in which the University is an investor.” acUrM is now charged with examining “allegations of ‘social harm’ with respect to the investment or expenditure of University financial resources.”

in both cases, social harm is defined as “the harmful impact that the activities of a company or corporation have on consumers, employees or other persons, or on the human or natural environment.”

the difference between these two charges was a key factor in acUrM’s decision, according to the committee’s report. in 2024, acUrM voted on whether brown’s investments “directly contribute to (social) harm.” in 2020, accriP first voted on whether israel’s actions themselves constituted social harm, then voted to recommend

founded in the ’70s: the advisory committee on corporate responsibility in investment Policies, or accriP. that body recommended brown divest from the tobacco industry in 2003 and from Sudan in 2006. in the decade leading up to accriP’s dissolution, the group sent two statements

divestment.

“these previous decisions in support of divestment indicate the ability of previous committees to consider a wider range of issues than the acUrM charge currently permits,” the committee wrote in its 2024 report.

in the past, some of accriP’s recommendations characterized divestment as a “symbolic” action without significant financial implications.

in accriP’s 2003 tobacco divestment recommendation, the committee determined that while divestment from the tobacco industry “may have significant symbolic value,” it would “have no discernible effect on earnings on the endowment.”

Similarly, in 1986, the campus committee on divestment from South africa said that while the financial effects of divesting were “relatively small,” divestment’s primary impact was “its indirect communication of our seriousness of purpose to the United States government.”

“this history makes clear that divestment of brown’s financial resources has been a symbolic and political tool rather than an act predicated on the reduction of harm through financial mechanisms,” acUrM wrote in its 2024 report.

Still, the deep divisions of opinion concerning the most recent divestment proposal set this decision apart, the committee argued. “brown was clearly adopting a political or moral stance with its decisions to divest in these situations, but it was not attempting to foreclose an unresolved debate with strongly and sincerely held views on all sides,” the report reads.

“We – the committee, the brown community, the nation and the world – do not agree about basic aspects of this conflict.” the report also examined acUrM’s responsibility to uphold brown’s values, and the ambiguity surrounding just what those values are — especially in light of the University’s past decisions to divest on moral grounds.

“Many members of the committee, including some who voted ‘no,’ argue it would be more useful to ask whether there is social harm independent of the University’s actions, and if so whether university action is desirable,” the report reads. this approach aligns with that of the 2020 accriP proposal. but for now, acUrM’s future scope and role remain unclear.

“there is a meaningful misalignment between the questions that acUrM is being asked to answer by members of the brown community, and the answers the committee is permitted to offer in accord with its charge,” acUrM wrote.

UCS will hold referendum on adding student seats to Brown’s Corporation

Plan was announced at rally two days after Corporation’s vote

BY RYAN DOHERTY AND CATE LATIMER

UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Pro-divestment activists want student representation in the corporation, the University’s highest governing body. the Undergraduate council of Students will launch a referendum “demanding student seats on the brown corporation and expressing a lack of confidence in current leadership,” demonstrator Garrett

brand ’26 said at a thursday rally held by the brown divest coalition.

the announcement follows a corporation vote striking down bdc’s proposal for divestment from companies with israeli military ties earlier this week.

Student protesters gathered at the Van Wickle gates around noon and marched the campus perimeter while chanting against the c orporation’s response to divestment.

though their divestment proposal was unsuccessful, student activists have declared that their activism is far from over.

“We’re ready to fight like hell to democratize this university and make it actually work for the people who actually enable it to exist,” brand said.

“this is just the start,” he added. “We will build the university that we want to see, piece by piece, brick by brick. it will not be easy and it will not be quick, but we

will win a democratic brown.”

Protestors also criticized the corporation for a lack of transparency around the vote, which came earlier in the month than many expected.

“Whether or not members of our community agree with acUrM’s recommendation or the corporation’s decision, both resulted from a process that was deliberate, inclusive, fair and participatory,” University Spokesperson brian clark wrote in an email to the Herald.

the corporation met multiple times over the summer and fall to consider the proposal, clark explained, holding discussions on past divestment actions, acUrM’s charge and the corporation’s responsibilities. clark cited “the comprehensiveness of the acUrM report and process, and the commitment to both sharing acUrM’s

report and communicating the decision to the brown community as soon as possible” as reasons for the corporation’s special meeting.

“they addressed potential conflicts of interest among corporation members and determined to hold the vote by secret ballot so that no members felt pressure to conform to a majority view,” he wrote.

“the corporation was fully ready to make this decision at this time and proceeded in doing so.”

“it’s important to note that the vote was no more or less transparent than had it been conducted during a regularly scheduled meeting,” clark added.

the UcS referendum is expected to happen later this month, according to UcS treasurer rafi ash ’26.

ash said UcS has heard from many

students who don’t feel like they have a voice in University policy. the referendum looks “to determine and to formalize that student voice,” he said.

UcS posted their initiatives for the academic year earlier this week, calling for increased student representation on University advisory committees and in the corporation.

clark declined to comment on whether the University would consider putting students on the corporation.

Students expressed their protests will continue throughout the corporation’s October meeting on campus, which is expected later this month.

“they may have voted early, but they are going to be here and we are going to be here,” said demonstrator anila Lopez Marks ’26 at the end of the rally.

Most Brown undergraduates supported divestment proposal, Herald poll finds

Over half of Jewish students opposed the proposal to divest

BY OWEN DAHLKAMP AND RYAN DOHERTY UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORS

b rown’s c orporation struck down a proposal to divest from companies with i sraeli military ties. a Herald poll conducted before the decision found that most b rown students supported the proposal.

Over 60% of 1,177 respondents said that they “somewhat” or “strongly” supported the divestment proposal, while 25% of undergraduates said they had no opinion. b ut not all shared this sentiment.

Jewish students made up 14% of respondents to the Herald’s poll. Of these students, 58% said they strongly or somewhat opposed the divestment proposal.

Jews for c easefire Now, a pro-divestment group comprising students who identify as Jewish, wrote in a statement prior to the c orporation’s decision that “these poll results reflect the processes of unlearning and rethinking many of us in JF c N have undertaken along with the truth that Zionism is steeped within the a merican Jewish conscience.”

“ d ivesting from companies facilitat-

ing i sraeli occupation is a moral issue pertinent to all in the b rown community,” the statement read. “ t hese results confirm what we already knew: the overwhelming majority of b rown students engaged with the vote support divestment.”

President of b rown Students for i srael b rooke Verschleiser ’25 wrote in a statement prior to the c orporation’s vote that “divestment is not an undergraduate popularity contest.”

She claimed that “there is substantial pro-divestment misinformation and

peer pressure circulating on b rown’s campus.”

t wo student groups arguing for and against divestment submitted proposals to a University committee outlining their argument regarding divestment.

i n the past year, Jewish students on campus have remained divided over student demonstrations demanding divestment from companies affiliated with i srael, t he Herald previously reported. t hose who identified as agnostic, atheist or not religious were among the strongest supporters of divestment.

Poll respondents identifying as Middle e astern or North a frican were the most split on the proposal.

Over 35% of Middle e astern and North a frican respondents said they oppose divestment from companies with ties to i srael. Middle e astern and North a frican students were also the least likely to report they had no strong opinion on the proposal.

two-thirds of female students support the divestment proposal compared to just over half of male students. Male students were also more likely to oppose the divestment proposal, with over 17% slightly or somewhat opposing the measure. Only 12% of female students opposed it.

r espondents who did not identify as male or female were the most likely to support divestment, at 74%.

r espondents in the classes of 2025

and 2026 were most likely to support divestment. Underclassmen were more likely to be neutral to the proposal. a round 70% of the class of 2026 support the proposal compared to 51% of the class of 2028.

Editor’s Note: The Herald’s semesterly poll was conducted between Sept. 24 and Sept. 26, 2024. All responses were analyzed and weighted by class year using R Version 4.3.2. Polls were conducted at three locations around campus. The poll was analyzed by Owen Dahlkamp, Ryan Doherty, Abby Donovan, Ciara Meyer, Claire Song, Elise Haulund, Grace Hu, Manav Musunuru, Sanai Rashid, Talia LeVine, Megan Chan and Maya Kelly. It recieved 1,177 responses.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 9, 2024.

DIVESTMENT FROM PAGE 1

‘approved’ points of view to which members of the community are expected to conform.”

Protests by pro-divestment student organizations, two of which led to arrests in November and december, have called for brown’s corporation to formally consider divestment.

in February, 19 students participated in an indefinite hunger strike in which they called on the corporation to consider divestment. the strike ended when the

Submissions:

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corporation did not consider a divestment proposal in its February meetings. Protests came to a head in april, when 80 students began an indefinite encampment on the Main Green in support of divestment. after meeting with University administrators on the seventh day, organizers agreed to clear the encampment in exchange for the corporation vote this month.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 9, 2024.

in your email, and we will do our best to work with you.

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EDUCATION

Providence voters will elect a School Board for the first time in decades

Ten candidates discussed their priorities if elected, role of the PPSD

BY CIARA MEYER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On election day, Providence voters will make history by voting for the school board for the first time since the 1960s.

Up until 2022, the mayor appointed all board members. but two years ago, the city was divided into five regions, each of which will elect one member to the school board this November. another five members will be appointed by the mayor. though the election is nonpartisan, some candidates have openly shared their party affiliations.

despite the historical significance of the election, the newly elected school board’s power will be severely limited due to the ongoing takeover of the Providence Public School district by the rhode island department of education.

Under the takeover, the school board operates primarily in an advisory capacity. ride’s commissioner of education and the council on elementary and Secondary education have the final say on most decisions.

the Herald contacted all 17 candidates for school board listed on the city’s website, with the exception of one candidate for whom no contact information could be found. ten agreed to be interviewed.

Herman batchelor brewster Ma ’92 is running for the seat in region 1, which includes college Hill. though brewster acknowledged the limited power that the school board will hold, he finds that it’s still worth running be-

PUBLIC HEALTH

cause “no one is making a noise.”

“everybody complains in silence, and if you complain in silence, it’s sure as hell not going to get changed,” brewster said.

brewster finds current plans to improve the district under state takeover insufficient.

He described the turnaround action Plan — the city’s guide to creating a model school district — as “very general” with no clear path for recovery. brewster said he would rally community members to get involved and create a new plan with specific benchmarks to track how schools are progressing.

the current action plan features a “PPSd

transformation Scorecard” that outlines several metrics for success within four key categories. the scorecard features baseline rates from the 2018-19 academic year and goal rates for the 2024-25 academic year. Since the takeover began, ride has released periodic updates on how PPSd is progressing toward those goals.

corey Jones, one of brewster’s opponents for the region 1 seat, intends to create a plan for transition back to local control by using his past experience in advocacy and policy work to negotiate between state and local leaders.

While the state takeover is expected to continue for three more years, commissioner of education angélica infante-Green wrote that a return to control before then is possible, if enough progress is made.

Jones envisions PPSd transitioning to hyper-local governance through a system of school building councils composed of parents, teachers, students and community stakeholders. the councils would have control over the school’s academic improvement plan, a sliver of the school budget and some power in the selection of school administrators.

ty’relle Stephens, a current board member and a candidate for the region 5 seat, emphasized the need to prepare school board members for an eventual return to local control. Stephens said his number one priority if elected is to work collaboratively with state and local leaders to improve schools and expedite that return.

When he was appointed to the board in 2021, Stephens said “there wasn’t a strong onboarding process.” He said he would aim to establish a subcommittee or develop an onboarding plan for new board members so that “they’re able to really understand their role as a board member under the takeover” as well as under local control.

deNeil Jones, Stephens’ opponent in region 5, emphasized the need for the PPSd to meet specific benchmarks to end the takeover. “i feel like, right now, the school board just wants to turn (control) over without beginning to move … in a positive direction,” she said.

Jones plans to use her influence on the board to advise ride to implement “best practices in education” — advocating for things like universal pre-kindergarten and precise training for teachers.

Jenny Mercado, a candidate in region 3, said she wasn’t happy when she first heard that the takeover was going to be extended. but, she wants to use the extension as an opportunity to ensure the state provides schools with more funding and support, with a specific focus on meeting the needs of multilingual students.

dave talan, a candidate in region 4, said he believes he can successfully influence state leaders to implement changes in the district during the takeover. Having previously worked with infante-Green on her community design

committee that planned the takeover, talan said “i found that if you do your homework … she’s willing to listen.”

talan believes that the state needs to negotiate — or potentially impose — a new contract with the Providence teachers Union before the schools can return to local control.

“the state actually has the authority to override the teachers union contract and impose things on them — whether the teachers union agrees to it or not — and the city does not have that ability,” he said. “if they turn the schools back to the city with a contract the way it is, you can forget about ever having any kind of reform.”

the Providence teachers Union endorsed corey Jones in region 1, andrew Grover ’02 in region 2, Heidi Silverio in region 3, Night Jean Muhingabo in region 4 and Stephens in region 5.

Grover emphasized the urgency of ending the takeover and said he believes it’ll be harder for state leaders to ignore the demands of an elected board. “a board that has people that have been democratically elected by the city is automatically going to carry a bigger

bullhorn,” said Grover.

He added that he would work to get the city council, Mayor brett Smiley and the Providence contingent in the general assembly to stand together and put pressure on the Governor and commissioner to end the takeover.

Silverio, a candidate in region 3, shared a similar sentiment, saying that “if enough of us get together and voice our concerns, they’re gonna have to listen.”

in planning for a return to local control, Silverio said she’d use her advisory power to eleavate the voices of community members.

“although we’re only an advisory board, i feel like we have the power” to be “talking to the community” and “voicing the concern of our parents,” she said.

christopher ireland, an opponent of Grover’s in region 2, also said he would advocate for the end of the takeover and talk “to different people involved in different departments” to determine what has caused PPSd school performance to remain subpar.

toni akin, a current school board member who is also running in region 2, has opposed the extension of the takeover. if elected, she said she would focus on meeting the PPSd action plan metrics and getting the PPSd fiscally ready to take back control of the schools.

akin noted that working in an advisory capacity has been difficult because a number of the board’s proposals have not been implemented. if elected, she said she’d work collaboratively with ride to try and get more advisory recommendations approved moving forward.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 6, 2024.

Woonsocket overdose crisis prompts public health advisory, several spike alerts

City’s overdose count doubled statewide average in the last half year

BY ANDREA LI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

a mid a series of nonfatal overdoses in Woonsocket caused by fentanyl, public health officials are doubling down on prevention measures.

t he city saw 12 nonfatal opioid overdoses in the six days preceding t hursday, prompting the r hode i sland d epartment of Health to issue an overdose spike alert for “sustained, increased nonfatal opioid overdose activity” on Friday. t he alert follows an earlier public health advisory released on Sept. 24 regarding the “high rate of drug overdose in Woonsocket,” as well as an earlier spike alert on Oct. 2.

rid OH’s i ntegrated Surveillance System, which tracks nonfatal opioid overdoses, recorded 376 overdoses for every 100,000 Woonsocket residents in the past six months — twice as high as the statewide rate.

“ i t’s tragic,” c hrista t homas-Sowers, director of community outreach and overdose prevention at Woonsocket nonprofit c ommunity c are a lliance, said in an interview with t he Herald. “ i t really shouldn’t be happening. i n this day and age where we have solutions to the overdose epidemic, … it’s really frustrating.”

Mickey M., a person experiencing homelessness from the Providence area

who has previously used opioids, said the opioid crisis has had a devastating impact on her life.

“ it is scary. you know, i ’ve overdosed nine times in my life. i ’m still here for a reason, but i can’t tell you how many times i ’ve saved someone’s life, and it is the scariest thing to go through,” she said.

Mickey M. emphasized the crucial care that social service organizations, like House of Hope and b etter Lives, provide for r hode i slanders. She also pointed to community among unhoused people as an important source of support.

a ccording to rid OH Spokesperson a nnemarie b eardsworth, fentanyl is a key player in exacerbating overdoses in Woonsocket. She said that the r hode

i sland Forensic d rug c hemistry Laboratory has detected fentanyl in samples of counterfeit pills, as well as other unexpected substances such as xylazine and methamphetamine.

“People are buying … pressed pills off the street,” thomas-Sowers said. “So people are often coming across fentanyl or other cuts of an opiate that are cut into a drug that they’re not expecting it to be.”

While the contaminated drug supply explains some of Woonsocket’s high overdose rates, other contributing factors remain complex and difficult to untangle, t homas-Sowers added. She cited Woonsocket’s high child abuse and neglect rates compared to many other r hode i sland municipalities as a possible driver of future drug misuse.

Part of t homas-Sowers’s work in -

volves making sure people who are currently using drugs have access to naloxone, a lifesaving overdose reversal medication commonly known by the brand name Narcan.

t homas-Sowers noted that the retention of front-line workers is essential to combatting the overdose crisis. “ i f we want to really keep chipping away at this problem, we need to … make sure that (treatment) programs (are) … able to do the things that they need to do without restriction,” she added.

a ccording to b eardsworth, rid OH and several other r hode i sland organizations plan on hosting a forum in mid-October, collaborating with health care professionals and municipal leaders to share information about overdoses in Woonsocket.

“ t his forum will offer an opportunity for community stakeholders to voice concerns and discuss any barriers to accessing lifesaving resources,” b eardsworth wrote in an email to t he Herald. “ t he ultimate goal is to plan a community-level, unified response to strategically address the high rate of overdose burden in Woonsocket.

Woonsocket Mayor c hristopher b eauchamp is currently working with b lackstone Valley Prevention c oalition, a statewide organization focused on mental health accessibility and youth overdose education.

“We believe education at school level is vital to making young people … aware of the situation,” b eauchamp wrote in an email to t he Herald. “ t he city council allocated $250,000 to bVP c

to work with the schools to educate the students about the dangers of the opioid epidemic.”

Woonsocket c ity c ouncil President John Ward also emphasized the importance of using federal and state grants to finance overdose prevention efforts.

“We need to work closely with our network ... to assist those harming themselves, whether intentionally or accidentally,” Ward wrote in an email to t he Herald.”

t homas-Sowers pointed to increased housing and rehabilitation infrastructure as a top priority. “We need more treatment beds, we need more detox beds, we need all of those places to be better,” she said.

She also stressed the importance of working directly with people who actively use drugs when creating infrastructure to address the drug overdose crisis.

t homas-Sowers added that she is “grateful” that the city “has an administration that is open to creative solutions for the housing crisis.”

“but at the same time, we really need to create infrastructure that is designed for people who are in active drug use,” she said.

Highlighting her experience working with a client who has overdosed 75 times, t homas-Sowers added that while the job gets hard, “these people just wouldn’t be here” without frontline workers.

cHLOe JOHNSON / HeraLd

PUBLIC HEALTH

COVID-19 declared endemic in RI as students continue to grapple with virus

Community considers relationship between COVID, health policy

BY TOM LI METRO EDITOR

a fter prodding his nostrils with an all-too-familiar nasal swab, a rnav Singhal ’26 started a 15-minute timer on his phone. e arlier that day, Singhal’s suitemate had tested positive for c OV id -19.

a fter several hours of messaging, d aniel found a temporary safe haven for that first night. the next morning, she made her way to the Office of residential Life, expecting they would be able to provide her with a more reliable solution.

to her dismay, it took over a half-dozen confusing phone calls before resLife set her up with five days in a single dorm room in an on-campus residence hall.

a ccording to d aniel, during one of these phone conversations, an adminis-

“i’m already behind from my concussion,” d aniel said. “if i have cOVid i’m going to be another week behind. a nd frankly, at this school, that will screw me over.”

Confusion over health protocols c oursework was also on Singhal’s mind when he tested positive later that week. Fortunately for him, Singhal’s professors were accommodating and allowed him to miss class and submit assignments late.

a s Singhal waited, he thought about the headaches and sickness he’d started to experience the night before — symptoms that led him to skip his classes earlier that day. His eyes wandered back to the small white test card in front of him.

two lines stared back at Singhal. Like his suitemate — and many others on campus — Singhal tested positive for c OV id -19, four years after the start of the pandemic.

a September “mini-spike” in cOVid-19 infections among college students is not out of the ordinary, according to ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health and the biden administration’s former White House cOVid-19 response coordinator.

t he beginning of the school year often entails higher infection rates, as students return to campus after spending their summers around the globe, Jha explained.

in august, national health officials at the centers for d isease control and Prevention described cOVid-19 as endemic, meaning that the virus will continue to circulate regularly — similar to the flu. While not all public health professionals agree, the r hode island d epartment of Health also considers cOVid-19 endemic in the state.

brown currently manages cOVid-19 as it would the flu and other infectious diseases, but many students find that the illness remains far more difficult to navigate.

Exposed students feel they have insufficient guidance

Less than 48 hours before Singhal tested positive, chloe d aniel ’27 spent her evening frantically texting friends for a spot on their dorm room floors. t he night of Sept. 25, d aniel’s roommate tested positive for cOVid-19, just days after daniel herself suffered a concussion.

trator on call told her that the University no longer had a policy for temporary c OV id -19 housing, explaining that the virus was “not a big deal anymore.”

the administrator on call told d aniel that she and her friends should have established a room-rotation system to be “more prepared for a situation like this,” d aniel recalled. “ i was like, ‘Well, i can’t stay with a friend, because all the friends that i could stay with have been worried that i would expose them to c OV id,’” she added.

d aniel said she felt it was unreasonable for the University to rely on other students to house her. She also said the University only seemed to provide a solution because of her constant pestering.

“ you require me to live on campus because i’m a sophomore, but you’re not going to provide me anywhere to stay when a crisis occurs?” she said.

b rown offered designated housing for isolation up until the 2022-23 academic year, when it began to encourage students to remain in their housing upon a positive c OV id diagnosis, University Spokesperson b rian c lark wrote in an email to the Herald. Since then, the University has advised infected students with roommates to adhere to masking and sanitization protocols, while roommates who test negative may stay in their room or with nearby friends or family.

“Support for students with cOVid-19 has continued to be available,” c lark wrote. “Our planning and decisions were based on expert medical and public health guidance at all points and the reality that cOVid-19 will continue to be present at times, much in the way that influenza and other respiratory viruses are each year.”

though daniel acknowledged that vaccinations have decreased cOVid-19 risks, she stressed the need to approach the virus more seriously to protect students.

guidelines for current health protocols.

t he University previously tracked c OV id -19 cases and provided community members with a weekly “ c OV id -19 c ampus Safety Update” that outlined the number of reported positive cases.

t he last available update logged on the archived website was from May 2022.

rid OH also used to report data on c OV id -19 case counts and test results, but stopped in a ugust of this year, ridOH Spokesperson annemarie beardsworth wrote in an email to t he Herald. Later this month, the agency will update cOVid-19 wastewater data — an indicator of cOVid-19 presence in a population obtained by measuring virus levels in sewage — before switching to a new cdc wastewater metric, b eardsworth added.

Factoring in the data

For caroline cunfer GS, a member of the rhode island Mask bloc and an advocate for more protective c OV id -19 policies, wastewater data indicates the scary reality of continued infection and disease risk.

She points to the end-of-summer virus surges this year, which seem to be higher than the figures this time last year.

t his year saw one of the highest c OV id -19 summer surges, Jha said, but now infection numbers are beginning to decline — a trend that will continue through the next couple of months.

Jha explained that cOVid infections typically follow two waves — one over the holidays and another starting in the summer.

to Singhal, c OV id -19 felt like any other sickness — except maybe his friends were less “lax” in coming into contact with him. but his experience was still marked by confusion. When it came time to go back to class, he was unsure how long he was supposed to wait before leaving isolation and the status of public health recommendations.

Students used to be able to turn to the Healthy b rown website to access information regarding the University’s response to cOVid-19 and the most relevant health protocols.

t he University archived the website in a ugust 2024, a decision that “followed two full academic years of managing c OV id -19 on campus in a similar way to other infectious diseases,” c lark wrote. Students can find information and support via b rown Health Services, he added, and the archived website lists

c unfer said she constantly feels unsafe on campus, especially following the University’s lifting of mask mandates and loosening of virus protocols. For her, there is a “cognitive dissonance” among University leaders and community members who do not understand that “we’re still living through an unmitigated pandemic,” she said.

“i feel like i am living in an alternate reality,” c unfer explained. “ it’s really alienating. i feel unsafe in my workplace. i feel unsafe in most social situations. i say no to a lot of things because i don’t feel safe.”

For Jha, much of the rhetoric in favor of a return to stringent c OV id -19 policies results from fear-mongering. “What is the benefit of avoiding c OV id at all costs? Get vaccinated. if you’re in a very high risk group, get treated,” Jha said.

c unfer highlighted the prevalence of long c OV id — a chronic illness that some develop after a c OV id -19 infection that can involve persistent virus-like symptoms. Long c OV id largely occurs in unvaccinated patients, Jha said, and the chances of developing the condition are very low for a vaccinated individual.

t hat’s not to minimize the risk of the suffering of people who already have long c OV id,” Jha added. “We’ve got to figure out how to take better care of them.”

Jha also explained that the vast majority of those getting very sick are elderly patients, whereas young or middle-aged demographics typically bounce back. He highlighted that the main c OV id -19 strategy is to ensure that high-risk people — older people and people who are profoundly immunocompromised — get updated on their vaccines.

For a manda Votta GS, who suffers from a chronic illness and is immunocompromised, c OV id -19 risk has “impacted so many aspects of life.” “ e verything becomes kind of scary,” Votta said. “you become kind of afraid to do things, because if you get sick, what’s going to happen to you? How bad is it going to be?”

Votta contracted cOVid-19 in February and was diagnosed with long cOVid shortly after. “ you just feel this level of exhaustion constantly that nothing alleviates,” Votta explained. “ it doesn’t matter if you get a good night’s sleep. it doesn’t matter if you rest during the day. it never goes away.”

For Votta, the loosening of pandemic-era public health policies renders disabled and vulnerable communities invisible. t he fact that c OV id -19 might not be “killing people outright doesn’t mean that it’s not disabling (people) still, and further disabling people who are already living with pre-existing disability,” she said.

Jha emphasized that while being extra careful around profoundly immunocompromised individuals is appropriate, today’s cOVid — with effective vaccines and treatments — generally poses a lower risk to individuals than at the height of the pandemic, whether or not they are immunocompromised.

“We have to live in a reality-based world where facts and data have to matter,” Jha said.

FOOTBALL

Football falls 42-35 in back-and-forth nailbiter against Bryant

Matt Childs ’28 totaled 151 yards and two touchdowns in the loss

BY GUS BAILEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Following last week’s nail-biting victory against Harvard, brown football (2-1,1-0 ivy) kept fans’ hearts racing in their game against bryant this weekend. the bears came up just short in another fourth-quarter thriller, falling 42-35 to bryant (2-3, 0-1 caa) at richard Gouse Field on Saturday. brown Head coach James Perry ’00 summed up the contest as a “really hardfought game.”

“i don’t think there was a kid on the field that didn’t play his heart out today,” he continued. Perry said that while various aspects of play could be improved upon, “i’ve got a veteran group, so i think they’ll take it as a good challenge.”

bryant jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but the bears responded with 14 unanswered points via two one-yard touchdown runs from Qwentin brown ’26. Not to be outdone, bryant scored the next 13 points to enter halftime with a 20-14 advantage.

bruno scored the only points of the third quarter on a third one-yard run by Qwentin brown, giving the bears a slim 2120 lead. but the bulldogs answered early in the fourth with a 38-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Jarrett Guest to receiver Landon ruggieri. this was a sign of things to come for a chaotic fourth quarter in which neither team seemed

SOCCER

Men’s

able to pull off a win.

With 12:35 left, Jake Willcox ’24.5 connected with running back Matt childs ’28 for a 58-yard touchdown that put the bears back up by one.

Less than two minutes later, bryant responded by scoring on a 46-yard run by d ylan Kedzior and securing a two-point conversion, taking back the lead 35-28.

childs’s second touchdown of the day, a 15-yard run, then tied the game at 35 with just 4:37 remaining and sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

but after ruggieri beat two brown defenders for a 30-yard touchdown on a 4thand-4, the bears couldn’t muster a final response in the last 1:45 of the game. On a pivotal fourth down on the ensuing drive, the bulldogs’ pass rush got to Willcox, forcing an incompletion to seal the game.

“He played a heck of a game,” Perry said of ruggieri, who finished with 10 catches for 190 yards and three touchdowns. “you go in knowing he’s a great player … and you do things to try to stop that schematically, but ultimately, you’ve got to play football.”

childs had a standout performance despite the loss, leading brown in both rushing, at 58 yards, and receiving, at 93 yards.

When asked about his performance, childs stressed that the team’s success is paramount. “this game, i had some good things i hope to build off, but personally i would much rather win and have less yards than lose and play how i did today,” he said.

“He’s a great player,” Perry said of childs. “He’s also a terrific learner and a very hard worker. What he’s doing is really

The game pushed Brown’s record to 6-3 all-time against Bryant, having won the previous two matchups.

remarkable … i know he played great, but he’s only getting better.”

the game pushed brown’s record to 6-3 all-time against bryant, having won the previous two matchups.

bruno’s offense was a strength in the contest, spreading the ball to eight different receivers and four different running backs en route to a season-high 35 points.

“that’s part of who we are,” Perry said.

“Playing fast, distributing the ball that way … For us to reach our potential, we need (to do) that.”

aside from childs, four other bears tallied at least three receptions and three

others had over 30 rushing yards. receiver chason barber ’26 racked up 70 yards on the day, while Mark Mahoney ’24.5 and Solomon Miller ’26 added 55 and 34 yards, respectively.

despite the outcome, the team remains confident that they can build on this performance going into next Saturday’s game against a familiar foe: the University of rhode island (4-1, 2-0 caa), who have taken six of the last seven match-ups with the bears.

brown will look to buck that trend Saturday in Kingston, and bounce back from what Perry called the “bad taste” left in the

soccer goes third straight game without a win

Despite an impressive goal, Bruno falls 0-2 in the Ivy League

BY DENNIS CAREY SPORTS EDITOR

a s the sun set on Stevenson-Pincince

Field, the men’s soccer team (3-5-1, 0-2 ivy) took the field for their home opener against the Princeton tigers (5-3-0, 2-0).

a fter 90 minutes, the t igers went home with a win, and the b ears remained out of luck in i vy play so far.

t he game started rough for b runo. Within five minutes, the t igers had al -

ready scored a goal, after a foul by goalkeeper Henrik Weiper ’26 conceded a penalty to Princeton.

d espite going down early, the b ears took control of possession for a majority of the first half. While their midfield — composed of Jack c loherty ’25, Zion Wharton ’27 and Mads Stistrup Petersen ’26.5 — managed to hold onto the ball for long periods of time, they had little success getting forward.

“ i t’s kind of been the story of our season so far: not being able to get over the line when it feels like we outpossess teams,” c loherty said in an interview with t he Herald.

e ven with their dominance over

possession, the b ears still only outshot Princeton 6-4 in the first half of the game. d uring the rest of the game, made looser by the tigers’ press, the bears lost control of the ball and were outshot 8-4. i agree we looked pretty sharp and had some good attacking play. (We’re) just lacking the end product and quality in key moments,” Head coach chase Wileman wrote in a message to the Herald. d ecision making and execution in the final third is something we are continuing to work on.”

in the 26th minute, after winger Kyle Gee ’25 picked up a yellow card, bruno was in desperate need for fresh legs on the attack and subbed in Jamin Gogo Peters

’26. His impact was immediate — Gogo Peters’s speed and skill on the ball led the bears in a more dangerous attack.

“i felt like i just needed to bring some energy,” Gogo Peters said. “and obviously that’s a job coming off the bench.”

Shortly after his introduction, bruno found some opportunities to score. the ball was put in the tigers’ box and, after some chaos in defense, fell to substitute diego elizalde ’27. His kick slammed into the top post and flew out, denying bruno their equalizer.

Key bruno players sat the game out due to injuries. Missing leading scorer Lorenzo amaral ’27 and a number of players on their defensive line, the bears had to make several changes to their starting 11. but Wileman says he doesn’t “make excuses.”

“We had plenty enough on the field to get a result,” he said. “We just didn’t get it done.”

any dream of a bears comeback fell apart after a Princeton set piece gave them a two-goal lead within the first three minutes of the second half. t he bears have struggled defending set pieces all season, and this Saturday was no exception.

“We practice (defending set pieces) every day,” cloherty said. “it just comes to being switched on in those situations and, clearly, (we) weren’t switched on enough.”

Later in the second, bruno was lucky to have a Princeton goal from a corner disallowed.

the only exciting moment in the second half came from Gogo Peters, who gave bruno their only goal of the game.

team’s mouth from this weekend’s loss.

“there’s no hanging your head in this deal,” Perry stressed. it’s “always tough to lose, especially a close one, but we’ll get back on that horse tomorrow and get better.”

“Wins are hard to come by, and every week is another chance to get better,” childs said. “We already are moving on from this game mentally, and now all of our attention is focused on the new task at hand.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 6, 2024.

Picking up the ball at the end of the box, Gogo Peters maintained his composure and fired a shot. Sliding comfortably in the side netting, bruno’s lone goal was by far the most impressive of the night.

From then on, the bears weren’t able to get into the attacking third effectively, and possession was loose in the middle of the pitch.

a fter the final whistle, the b ears’ players collapsed from exhaustion and cramps with disappointment written on their faces. the match marked bruno’s second loss in the ivy League and their third straight game without a win.

“We have to focus on the games ahead. We can’t get too bogged down by this,” cloherty said. “the ivy League is a tough league to play in. every game matters, and so you have to get it out of your system and focus on the five games we have left.”

While b runo’s performance in the first half was solid, it wasn’t enough to win the game.

“Ultimately, performances are not calculated in our record column,” Wileman wrote. “Last night was kind of a different chapter in the same book of this season. tight game, good performance, we should get a result, but we come up short.”

“it’s hard to comprehend but we have to find a way to change the narrative,” he added.

the bears will get another opportunity to do that on tuesday at Holy cross (2-6-3). the game will be streamed live on eSPN+.

i

Women’s rugby loses hard-fought battle against Harvard

The Bears were bested by the Crimson 18–12 on Saturday

BY LYDELL DYER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Saturday afternoon, the women’s rugby team (3-1-1, 1-1 i vy) took on Harvard (3-0-1, 1-0 i vy) at home. With the momentum of a three-game win streak at their back, the b ears hoped to beat the c rimson for the first time since 2016. t hough the team gave Harvard a hard time, when the clock struck double zeros, b runo was defeated 18-12.

“We had an incredible defensive effort,” Head c oach r osalind c hou wrote in a message to t he Herald. “ t he team held Harvard to their fewest points scored this fall 15s season … and this is the closest 15s match we’ve had with Harvard in (nine) years.” t hough c hou saw “remarkable improvement” in the team, ultimately, “the slightest mistakes will be punished when you’re up against the defending 15s national champions.”

“ e ven though we lost, every game is a learning opportunity,” a ziza a lford ’25 wrote in a message to t he Herald. “We were proud of the fight we put up against (Harvard) and it was arguably our best fight yet.”

Harvard came out the gate firing on all cylinders. ten minutes into the game, they capitalized on a b rown turnover and, after stretching the b ears’ defense to its breaking point, exploited a hole in the formation to reach the try zone. Just five minutes later, the c rimson doubled down and marched 60 meters down the right flank to secure their second try and extend their lead to 10.

When Harvard secured an additional three points off a penalty kick halfway through the first period, the b ears’ hopes began to dim. bruno would need to

SOCCER

Though Brown had a brief spark at the end of the first period, Harvard commanded the game at the beginning of the second.

launch a counter offensive to stay competitive. a t this crucial point, the team looked to senior back a kilah c athey ’25.

Set up by a b rown throw-in, c athey received the ball 30 meters away from the tryzone. t hough five c rimson defenders stood between her and pay dirt, c athey could not be stopped. r ushing ahead, she split the first two defenders, before facing the third and delivering a vicious truck. c athey finished the impressive run by out-muscling the last two c rimson defenders who tried desperately to take her down. When the dust settled, the b ears had pulled within striking distance, 13-7.

t hough b rown had a brief spark at the end of the first period, Harvard commanded the game at the beginning of the second, taking an early 18-7 lead. c onfronted by an aggressive Harvard offense, the b ears needed to redouble

their defensive efforts.

“We knew they scored all of their tries on the edge so we made sure to get our defense down packed,” alford wrote. defensively, “our goal was to have an 80% tackle rate and we ended up having a 93% tackle rate and shutting them down to the lowest amount of points scored so far in the season.”

after countering Harvard’s attacks, it was time for the b ears’ offense to shine. emulating their former success, the bears once more used a throw-in as their set piece. amidst a crowd of competing bodies, a lford reeled the ball in just outside the tryzone.

though a pack of crimson defenders blocked her way, alford bulldozed ahead. in a show of incredible strength, with the crimson pushing from the front and the bears rallying behind alford and shoving from the back, bruno’s brawn outweighed

Harvard’s power, and alford wrestled her way across the tryline. a fter a successful conversion from Murray, b rown was only behind 18-12. a successful try and conversion could win the game.

a s the clock wound down, it looked like the b ears could accomplish the comeback. twice in the last seven minutes, the team found themselves within five meters of the tryzone. yet both times, the Harvard defensive line held strong, delivering two heartbreaking goalline stands.

“ t his week we were actually repping out a scenario when we were that close to the goal line and how we’d manage to score,” c hou wrote. “However, in the match, we were not able to replicate what we practiced. We will have to continue to train to be able to make the necessary adjustments and carry with lower body height, more threateningly at

Women’s soccer routed by Princeton in shutout loss

The Bears’ record dropped to 4-3-3 after the 8-0 defeat

BY COOPER HERMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

n what Head c oach Kia McNeill described as a “poor performance from start to finish,” the women’s soccer team (4-3-3, i vy 1-1-0) suffered their first i vy League loss on the road Saturday, falling 8-0 to Princeton (7-3-0, i vy 2-00). Saturday’s loss broke the 28-match winning streak for b rown in i vy League regular season play.

“Princeton is a good team but they’re not eight goals better than us and our team knows that. t hey came to play, and unfortunately we did not show up today,” McNeill said in a statement to b rown a thletics. “ e verything about our performance was not reflective of who we are as a team.”

Perhaps the most glaring issue with b rown’s performance was their lack of offense. i n over 90 minutes of play, the b ears managed to generate just nine shots — a stark contrast to the t igers’ 23. t hroughout the entire game, Prince -

ton’s defense was remarkably effective, disrupting the b ears’ offensive rhythm and forcing turnovers.

b ut despite the jarring final score, the b ears competed hard in the first half. t he first goal came in the 29th minute, when Princeton defender Kiley Hamou dribbled the ball up to the b rown goal and delivered a soft, accurate pass across the penalty area. t he pass found Lily b ryant, who fired the ball into the upper-right corner, hitting off the crossbar and into the net. b ryant’s goal was the only goal in the first half and yielded the t igers a 1-0 lead.

t he second half of the game is when things went downhill for the b ears. Less than a minute in, b rown’s c hesney r obinson ’28 fouled Princeton forward Heather MacNab in the box, giving the t igers a promising penalty kick opportunity. to the b ears’ dismay, MacNab loosed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal, extending the t iger lead to two.

From then on, the game was merely a parade of Princeton goals, three of which came from Pietra tordin, whose hat-trick earned her the i vy League Offensive Player of the Week honor. tordin was nothing short of dominant, drib -

bling around b rown defenders with ease and rifling shots at will. tordin’s three goals came consecutively, all within the span of just 15 minutes of play. to complement tordin’s heroic efforts, Princeton’s a lly Murphy, Grace r ossner and i sabella Garces added second-half goals that yielded the t igers an insurmountable 8-0 lead, energizing a thrilled New Jersey crowd. t he t igers’ offense fired on all cylinders, moving the ball around the field effortlessly and setting up shot on goal after shot on goal. i n the second half alone, the t igers outshot the b ears 13 to 3.

“a s hard as this loss was to swallow, we win as a team and lose as a team. We will reflect and bounce back for yale on Wednesday,” said McNeill.

None of the three players t he Herald contacted replied to requests for comment.

b rown will host the yale b ulldogs (7-3-1, i vy 1-0-1) on Wednesday night at Stevenson-Pincince Field in Providence.

Wednesday’s contest begins at 6 p.m. and will be televised on e SPNU.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 8, 2024.

the line so we don’t get the ball held up.” b ut the b ears have no time to fret over their loss. On Oct. 12, they will face off against Norwich at home at 12 p.m.

“We get to go into this week against Norwich giving many of our younger, more inexperienced players some valuable game time so they can be ready to go into big games,” c hou wrote. d uring “the next two matches, we are really focused on building depth, getting on the same page with our defense and attack systems and preparing for the final two league matches against West Point and d artmouth,” she added. “ t hese next two matches are great opportunities to fine tune some things so we can really peak at the end.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 7. 2024.

cOUrteSy OF brOWN atHLeticS

Ayla Sahin ’28 leads the Bears’ offensive charge.

Dear Readers,

Letter from the Editor

I’ve been inspired by the line that Kristen Bell’s character says on the pilot episode of Nobody Wants This : “You know what else feels good? To, um, say something embarrassing, like, the second you meet someone.” I’ll go first, since this is my first editor’s note and formal introduction to all you lovely readers of post-: Today I almost (key word almost!) overslept my dentist appointment to fill two cavities. There are about four items in my fridge currently in decomposition. I had three Depop offers rejected in a row. And I guess Kristen’s right, it does feel good! But in honesty, I think vulnerability is a practice of care. It’s an interaction charged with the genuine—to share something real, to listen without judgment.

Our writers this week are also getting vulnerable. For Lifestyle, Daniella bravely opens up about her distaste for children, spurred by a particularly cutting interaction, as an ancient college senior; Reina

shares the embarrassing moment of mistakenly identifying someone as her hometown best friend and her thoughts on homesickness. In A&C, writer Indigo dives into the vulnerability of Charli xcx and Lorde’s remixed track “Girl, so confusing” through her own life’s ex-friends and adversaries while Johan explores SOPHIE’s SOPHIE and the paradoxical intimacy and distance that comes with a posthumous album release. For Narrative, Ana gets real about “Jell-O time” and how living with her friends gets her through the sluggishness of life, and Lynn opens up about her changed relationship with nature. Similarly, our Feature writer Michelle shares the harrowing experience of California’s fire season and how she’s been shaped by the raging wild. In post-pourri, Nahye exposes her own LinkedIn stalking tendencies and the dreaded professional profile-hopping on that platform. And before you get too deep into that rabbit hole, check out this week’s festively fall crossword as a feel-good break.

The semester feels like it’s getting to its toughest point: endless midterms, running into people you ghosted, and other embarrassments/difficulties/obstacles abound. But the wonderful part of being vulnerable is that you may find yourself in good, if slightly miserable, company. It’s a varied and rewarding experience. There are as many valencies of vulnerability—from the humorously self-aware to the profoundly personal—as the number of post- articles in this issue (perhaps even more!), and I hope you’ll open yourself up to vulnerability as you open up this week’s issue of post-!

Being so for real,

Emilie Guan

Copy-Chief

Doom Scroll

Nahye Lee

“If it quacks like a girl car and it waddles like a girl car then it’s a girl car.”

“What’re your top Ed’s? Mine are Ed Sheeran then Ed Discussion.”

by Ishan Khurana

“And when the dance is learned, when it is ingrained in the very fibers of her muscles, she becomes larger than herself—a surprise to us and even to herself. She becomes something beyond.”

— Mack Ford, “A Tangle of Movement”

“As I held on to the hug, all the colors and words and shapes and sounds of that moment held on to me with a symphony of voices that sounded like ‘you are here you are here you are here.’ I am here, gladly.”

— Joyce Gao, “Detaching from Detachment” 10.14.22

Brand ’26, Daniel

’27: The fossil fuel industry caused Hurricane

Helene. Brown

On the evening of Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall along the Florida Gulf coast. the category 4 storm intensified unusually quickly, ravaging communities across the Southeast. in the days that followed, Helene would cause unconscionable devastation. as we write this, the storm has killed over 220 people, with over 600 more still missing. it left millions without access to power and did incomprehensible damage to critical infrastructure. entire towns were erased overnight.

the damage that the storm has done to the South is difficult to overstate, and unfortunately, it will not be the last of its kind.

as residents of atlanta, Georgia and durham, North carolina, the past several days have been a blur of emotions. First, there was shock and disbelief: this isn’t supposed to happen; our homes are far from the coast and usually insulated from powerful storms. then, there was intense grief and fear: for our cities, but especially for our neighboring communities where the devastation was so much worse — our hearts break for asheville, tampa, augusta and all the places that have borne the brunt of Helene’s destruction. We spent our weekend reaching out to our friends and families as they made evacuation plans despite interstates being cut off by immense flooding. but most of all, there has been intense anger. We are furious because we know that this did not have to happen. Hurricane Helene was not a “natural” disaster, but a crime. and we know who committed it: the fossil fuel industry. it is undeniable that Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic impact was caused by the actions of the fossil fuel industry. the storm’s rapid intensification was the result of unusually warm air and water temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels. the climate crisis has transformed climate disasters like Helene from rare tragedies into routine catastrophes. in the past eight years, there have been eight category 4 or 5 hurricane landfalls in the U.S.

cannot allow it to fund our research.

— that’s as many as in the 57 previous years combined.

the fossil fuel industry has committed itself to deceiving the public about the reality and severity

affiliated with the fossil fuel industry and climate disinformation. the top funders — british Petroleum, exxonMobil, chevron, and Shell — are among the guiltiest perpetrators of the climate crisis.

of climate change while doubling down on the burning of oil and gas to generate record-breaking profits. during their decades-long disinformation campaign, fossil fuel companies have made universities priority pawns in their distortion of the truth. Over the past decade alone, the industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars funding climate research at influential institutions across the world.

research that is funded by fossil fuel companies tends to be biased towards the industry’s interests, whether by deemphasizing the urgency of decarbonization or by promoting unworkable solutions that deepen our dependence on fossil fuels. this pernicious practice has dramatically slowed the global transition away from fossil fuels, and thus directly enabled disasters like Helene to ravage our homes and communities.

brown is complicit in this.

Over the past two decades, fossil fuel companies have funded at least 63 academic journal articles published by brown-affiliated authors. brown has also received over $20 million from organizations

Since spring 2023, Sunrise brown has pressured the University to fully dissociate from the fossil fuel industry by severing all financial and social ties with the industry, primarily by adopting a Fossil Free research policy. Such a policy would prohibit the University from accepting gifts and grants from fossil fuel companies and their affiliated foundations. this is a core component of Sunrise’s dire campaign, which seeks to address the climate crisis by attacking the power of the fossil fuel industry and building a better, environmentally-just future in its place. dire is an abbreviation of the two core principles we demand of brown: dissociation (from the fossil fuel industry) and respect (for the city of Providence).

Sunrise has spent over a year navigating the advisory committee on University resource Management in pursuit of Fossil Free research. in June, acUrM sent its recommendations on Fossil Free research to President christina Paxson. despite hearing repeated requests from the group, the University has yet to acknowledge the recommendation

or make its contents publicly available. this lack of statement is a statement in and of itself. in this time of crisis, there is a clear choice in front of President Paxson: to stand with the destructive fossil fuel industry, or to stand with her students, whose communities have been — and will continue to be — its victims.

currently, brown’s research legitimizes and uplifts the industry that has caused unimaginable death and devastation for the sake of profit. through its financial ties to the fossil fuel industry, brown directly enables the companies which caused Hurricane Helene to demolish our home states. there is another choice to be made — brown can dissociate from the fossil fuel industry by refusing to accept its bloody money for research or any other purposes. christina Paxson must acknowledge acUrM’s recommendations concerning Fossil Free research and commit to a policy firmly prohibiting fossil fuel funding at brown.

as the path to recovery in our home states remains unclear, our anger and grief will only deepen. Much of what Hurricane Helene has taken from us can never be recovered. We’ve lost history, community, and a sense of safety. the South will carry the scars of Helene until the next disaster hits our community even harder.

brown states its mission as being to “serve the community, the nation and the world.” if the University intends to fulfill this promise, it cannot continue to allow itself to be a pawn of the industry that is willingly destroying our communities, our nation, and our world.

Garrett Brand ‘26 and Chloe Daniel ‘27 can be reached at garrett_brand@brown.edu and chloe_daniel@brown. edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

Aizenberg ’26: Republicans hold more socially liberal views

consider this political party: Slightly more than half of the party supports same-sex marriage, but the state with the largest concentration of these voters has banned it. Only 24% believe that black americans face a lot of discrimination and 17% think women face significant discrimination. around 40% say that new immigrants are a burden on america. Unsurprisingly, a president that they widely supported deported undocumented immigrants at a faster rate than the previous administration, calling many “criminals.” Meanwhile, 92% of these voters rank the economy as their top voting priority, while only about a third place equal importance on abortion.

you might not expect it, but this is actually a description of the democratic Party in 2008, the year

centage of republicans who believe that black americans face significant discrimination nearly doubled, almost matching the share of democrats who held this view in 2009. this shift, however, is overshadowed by the fact that the percentage of democrats agreeing with this statement increased 45% during the same period. among younger republicans, this increased awareness of racial discrimination has been even more pronounced — 62% now say it’s somewhat or very good that there is increased public attention on the history of racism in the U.S. additionally, the share of republicans who believe the country needs to make changes to ensure racial equality grew by nearly 10%, though this too is eclipsed by an almost 25% increase among democrats.

The implications of this change for the upcoming presidential election are difficult to predict. “ “

barack Obama was elected president. Since then, democrats have moved significantly left on social issues. this shift has been so great that it obscures the fact that republicans, especially younger ones, have also become more progressive on many social issues — nearly as liberal as democrats were around 2008.

republicans hold more liberal views on race than ever before. between 2009 and 2019, the per-

republicans have also become far more liberal with regard to religious issues. Many once opposed same-sex marriage on religious grounds, but by 2022, a higher percentage of republicans supported same-sex marriage than democrats did in 2008. by 2014, 61% of young republicans were already in favor. it’s perhaps no surprise, then, that in 2020 the most conservative Supreme court in nearly a century ruled 6-3 in favor of protecting LGbtQ+ rights

in the workplace. Neil Gorsuch, a staunch rightwing justice, wrote the majority opinion. Similarly, while republicans traditionally opposed abortion on religious grounds, almost 60% of republicans and republican-leaning independents now believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases — only slightly lower than the 63% of democrats who agreed with this in 2008 (that last figure has since increased to 85%). yes, the aforementioned conservative Supreme court made the unpopular decision to overturn roe v. Wade in 2022, but the broader trend is undeniable. in fact, beyond these specific issues, republicans have also become more liberal about religion itself. between 2016 and 2020, the percentage of republicans who believe that one must be christian to be “truly american” fell by 15%. the overall share of christian republicans has declined, while the share of religiously unaffiliated republicans has risen.

While republicans continue to favor stricter border policies — which are relatively popular among americans overall — and support deporting undocumented immigrants, their views of immigrants themselves have actually become more positive. between 2016 and 2020, the share of republicans who believed that a person needs to be born in the U.S. to be “truly american” decreased by 14%, though this was again overshadowed by a 25% decrease among democrats. Similarly, the percentage of republicans who said that a person needs to speak english to be “truly american” declined by 7%, which was obscured by a 22% drop among democrats. during this same period, there was also a 13% increase in republicans agreeing that “newcomers strengthen american society.”

Once again, younger republicans are relatively more liberal on these issues than their older counterparts. Half believe that there should be a way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. legally and that “america’s openness to peo-

ple from all over the world is essential to who we are as a nation.” altogether, this leftward ideological shift on race and immigration may help explain why donald trump will likely win a higher share of non-white voters in the upcoming election than any republican candidate since the civil rights act was passed.

the implications of this change for the upcoming presidential election are difficult to predict. both candidates have anchored their campaigns on hot-button social issues — trump on immigration, Harris on abortion. yet, if polls are to be trusted (and they should be), voters aren’t primarily driven by social issues. For both democrats and republicans, the economy and healthcare are the two most important issues by a wide margin. this holds true even among young democrats, who are often at the forefront of social activism. issues that may appear critical in deciding the election within our bubble at brown, such as the israel-Hamas war, do not carry the same significance for most americans. despite widespread campus protests — mostly at elite universities — young americans ranked the war lower in importance than 14 out of 15 other issues.

regardless of how these shifting social views may (or may not) impact the upcoming election, two messages are clear. For republicans worried about the “woke mob”: you’re likely almost as liberal as the democrats were on many issues not too long ago. Likewise, for democrats concerned about “MaGa extremists”: a few election cycles ago you were probably almost as socially conservative as some of these “extremist” republicans currently are.

Ben Aizenberg ’26 can be reached at benjamin_aizenberg@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com

Davis ’27: The reconstruction that never was: A broken promise and Black Americans for Trump

a recent survey by the National a ssociation for the a dvancement of c olored People found that 26% of b lack men under 50 would support former President d onald trump in the upcoming election, with 82% of said b lack men citing economic issues as the most pressing topic facing b lack a mericans. in an interview with cb S this past month, Governor Wes Moore of Maryland attributed this rise in republican support to a “frustration of the pace of progress in a merica.” b ut where do these economic frustrations stem from, and why is support from the d emocratic party’s most loyal constituents now waning?

t his past summer, trump announced his new coalition, “ b lack a mericans for trump.”

While this seems oxymoronic to most here at b rown, it is a real growing electorate in this

the cited want of economic stability that has characterized the b lack electorate for nearly the last two centuries. to overlook this aspect of b lack political consciousness is to ignore the most formative aspect of contemporary b lack history: reconstruction.

t he reconstruction e ra began in 1865 and promised to fulfill the needs of newly freed b lack a mericans, giving them everything necessary to situate themselves into the fabric of a merican society. c entral to this promise was economic empowerment. Freedmen were meant to gain access to land and resources, most famously dubbed “40 acres and a mule.”

t his hope was quickly snuffed out as President a ndrew Jackson began to undermine land redistribution efforts, returning land to c onfederate owners. t he collapse of re -

The Democratic Party is being forced to reap

what it has sowed, and cannot be indignant when Black voters show up to the polls with the economy on their minds.

year’s election. Liberals everywhere seem to be confused as to why b lack a mericans would flock to the likes of d onald trump when Kamala Harris appears to be the obvious choice. However, what seems not to be very obvious to many of these faux political pundits is

construction and the subsequent betrayal of b lack a mericans’ political aspirations laid the foundation for enduring socioeconomic inequalities.

t hrough a historical lens, we can investigate how the systemic denial of land own -

ership and opportunities for building wealth directly shaped b lack voters in a way that prioritizes practical survival and incremental reform. a s it stands, many are still searching for what was promised in 1865: an equal-opportunity economy. t he first reason for this change in the political alignment of b lack men is what Governor Moore spoke to in his interview: disillusionment with the d emocratic Party. Since the 1860s, b lack a mericans have waited for the d emocratic Party (then the republican Party) to execute on their promises of addressing socioeconomic inequity. a common definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. it seems many b lack men have come to a similar conclusion, turning to the GOP for, hopefully, grander results.

the federal government’s failure to deliver its promise of economic opportunity cannot be understated when discussing contemporary black political engagement. What we see today is the culmination of 200 years of the wants and needs of a people who, for too long, were taken for granted. What we are seeing today is political organizing, the continuation of the fight for freedom. the republican messaging of economic self-sufficiency and individual empowerment has resonated with a quarter of black men because this country failed to adequately provide for black americans when they needed it the most. the democratic Party is being forced to reap what it has sowed, and cannot be indignant when black voters show up to the polls with the economy on their minds.

i do not purport to say that i know the intentions of all 26% of black men under 50 who say they prefer trump to Harris. i do not intend to argue that black americans for trump are above critique. but what i do mean to provide is a throughline and assert that the political environment in which we find ourselves did not come out of nowhere. When

my southern rural grandmother threw her weight behind the republican nominee in 2020, it was not because she was self-hating, gold-digging or any of the other microaggression-tinted explanations floating around political conversations. it was because she wanted more from our country than what it had given her thus far.

While i do not believe that trump is the best path forward for black americans, i understand that, like me, republican black voters are striving to do what our constitution implores us to: secure our blessings of Liberty. if on Nov. 5, donald trump and J.d. Vance become our 47th President and Vice President, it will not be because black voters have gone off the rails conservative, but because they are demanding this country deliver on a promise which is well overdue.

Christian Davis ’27 can be reached at christian_davis@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

Ricks ’27: Trauma and adversity aren’t the same

a few weeks ago i attended “the trauma of activism: the black Freedom Struggle,” a two day event hosted by brown’s africana Studies department. david dennis, Sr., a civil rights activist and panelist at the event, described his trauma for the room, recalling memories of being sprayed by water hoses and chased by German Shepherds during protests. as he recounted the story, his body tensed up. His trauma was visceral. it reminded me of the stories i heard from my family about growing up black in the Jim crow South.

today, trauma has morphed into something else entirely — a word that has come to define every adverse experience, from being cheated on to taking a challenging class. trauma is no longer reserved for the few that have experienced horrific abuses or catastrophes; rather, it has permeated our cultural lexicon so liberally that it has been rendered meaningless. We must be more judicious in the way we

understand our experiences in order to foster a culture of resilience — not learned helplessness.

a traumatic experience is defined as the exposure to serious injury, sexual violence or the threat of death. Some clinicians have broadened the definition to include any instance in which the psychological stress of an event is greater than the ability to cope. traumatic experiences change the chemistry of our brain.

but the clinical understanding of trauma is a far cry from the cultural one. a scroll on tiktok or instagram could convince almost anyone that they are traumatized. Social media users invoke the word for common adversities. One video, which got 40 thousand likes, claimed that moving houses as a child could be traumatic. another argued that having a large age gap between you and your siblings or having divorced parents could constitute trauma. On social media, trauma is a catch-all for any event that is upsetting or unfortunate. this kind of conflation suggests that having a sibling ten years older than you is just as debilitating as having violence inflicted on you. this is simply not true.

Social media discourse has prompted thousands of young followers to re-evaluate their past through a traumatic lens. and how could they not when ordinary behaviors are made to be evidence of trauma. according to one tiktoker, being “easy-going” and “non-confrontational” aren’t desirable personality traits, but rather a trauma response called fawning. Procrastination isn’t just the delay of a dreaded task. it’s an indication that your nervous system is in a functional freeze state — likely from trauma. applying the word “trauma” to innocuous habits and behaviors strips it of all meaning and encourages an entire generation to pathologize their existence.

Negative experiences don’t have to be synon-

ymous with traumatic ones. When we equate the two, we sell ourselves short by underestimating our ability to cope. Perception is a key factor in whether a potentially traumatic event turns into something truly traumatic. if you are grappling with an event like the sudden loss of a loved one, your pain may be more aptly described as grief. and when equipped with the right tools, you can come to terms with your bereavement. instead of feeling helpless in the face of a challenge, we can choose to

psychological impacts that are unique to the latter. there are times when no amount of resilience can prevent long-lasting trauma. Other times, however, the deciding factor is you.

it makes sense that a generation that spent their formative years in a pandemic and is facing an unprecedented amount of depression, anxiety and loneliness would find solace in a word that seems to explain all of their troubles. but trauma is not trendy or desirable. it is atypical and debilitating. it

Trauma is no longer reserved for the few that have experienced horrific abuses or catastrophes; rather, it has permeated our cultural lexicon so liberally that it has been rendered meaningless.

“ “

reframe the narrative and write a story in which it is a catalyst for growth, not stagnation. Understanding that gives us agency and makes us the captains of our own fate.

Granted, that isn’t to say that in the face of institutional injustice or personal tragedy, one should simply pull themselves up by the bootstraps and be resilient. there is a fine line between difficult and debilitating, which is where the appropriate use of the term trauma becomes critical in distinguishing the two experiences and honoring the complex

cannot be a totalizing buzzword, nor can it be the end of the story. in saying that everything is traumatic, we do a disservice to some of the most vulnerable people in society, and we do a disservice to ourselves.

Kendall Ricks ’27 can be reached at kendall_ricks@brown. edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

ARTS & CULTURE

REVIEW

‘Wolfs’ adds new twist to the buddy comedy genre

Jon Watts’s newest film shines through heartfelt moments, chemistry

BY GABRIELLA WRIGHTEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

When an action movie stars two funny male Hollywood actors, it’s easy to go in with certain expectations: absurdly high stakes, explosive car chases and quippy humor that often misses the mark. yet the best thing about “Wolfs” is that it is not an action movie, a thriller or even a comedy — it’s a character study.

Marvel superstar director Jon Watts’s latest film features two fixers ( b rad Pitt and George c looney) who swoop in to clean and cover up any crime that needs erasing. they are both “lone wolves” required to operate with a “certain level of monasticism” — as they describe it themselves. t he story begins when they are both called to cover up the same crime — a young college kid (austin a brams) falls backwards off the bed while fooling around with a prominent district attorney (a my r yan) and nearly dies. in the beginning, this plot seems like a fairly good vehicle for some over-thetop action and comedy. t he duo finds hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs hidden in the apartment around the same time they realize abrams’s character is not actually dead — just inching closer to it. t hings then start going off the rails. b ut, in the only unexpected twist of the film, all that set-up does not lead to much action; in fact, it was just a conversation starter for Pitt and c looney’s characters.

“Wolfs” has two main gimmicks: the

two guys are practically the same person, and they’re old. t hey wear the same all black clothes, say the same things at the same time and even have the same back problems. each of their pit stops is just another opportunity to reveal their similarities, which they are — for some reason — continuously surprised by until the film’s end. a lthough their dynamic is not the exaggerated, boisterous one typical of buddy-cop films — or in this case, buddy-criminal — it’s clear Watts wrote the script specifically for these actors. c looney’s signature sarcastic,

quick humor matches Pitt’s charming and flippant style just well enough to make watching two somewhat boring middle-aged men talk worthwhile.

even so, after the first hour of cracking joints and ibuprofen jokes, the film needs a kick back to life, which it gets from austin abrams. With such high profile actors featured, it was somewhat of a shock to see the much younger a brams so high on the cast list. yet it’s his naive, lively performance that gives “Wolfs” the energy it needs to carry on. Only referred to as “the Kid,” abrams stars as a

teenager just trying to do something with his life. Like the fixers, he didn’t really mean to be in this mess. as the situation grows dire, the Kid takes the brunt of the violence, facing all of the danger with false confidence and misplaced optimism.

a t twenty eight, very few actors would still be believable as sweet, innocent high schoolers, especially in the middle of a shootout, but abrams pulls it off so well, he might even bring more sentimental viewers to tears.

Powerful acting aside, “Wolfs” is mostly dialogue. i f you try to catego -

rize it into a genre, it would fail at the essential part of almost every one. a s an action movie, it’s not exciting enough. a s a thriller, it’s fairly predictable with far too little suspense. a s a comedy, it’s definitely not funny enough. e ven as a drama, there’s not much “drama.” b ut when taken for what it is — a story about two old dogs learning some new tricks — “Wolfs” might just surprise you.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 6, 2024.

Orla Gartland’s “Everybody Needs

Singer-songwriter’s sophomore album explores love, twenties

BY ANN GRAY GOLPIRA STAFF WRITER

i rish singer-songwriter Orla Gartland returns with the angsty, indie-rock elements she has become known for in her sophomore album, “ e verybody Needs a Hero,” released on Oct. 4.

Gartland’s earlier projects touch on a variety of topics, ranging from the capriciousness and anxieties of a failed

a Hero”

stuns with evocative indie-rock tracks

relationship in her single “ did it to Myself” to the complex family dynamics and childhood religious guilt illustrated in “Oh GO d,” which appeared on her e P “Freckle Season.” t he d ublin-based musician’s global fan base exponentially increased with the feature of her 2020 song “Why a m i Like t his?” in the first

season of Netflix’s LGbtQ coming-of-age series, “Heartstopper.”

“everybody Needs a Hero” is sure to exceed the high expectations that longtime fans of Gartland’s music might have. What particularly stands out among the snappy rock guitar instrumentals and 80s-era synths featured in the album are the mature, captivating and simultaneously youthful lyrics woven throughout the track list.

Gartland opens the album with “both c an b e true,” where she immediately brings us into the messy, emotional world of finding yourself in your late twenties, singing, “ i thought i knew it all, i had the nerve / to feel so high above the learning curve.” She intertwines similar revelations with playful, talky vocals in songs such as “backseat driver,” allowing listeners to embrace their own messy emotions in a way that feels both empowering and personal. t he album also contains numerous comedic elements, with Gartland joking, “ i gave you your favourite t-shirt / She gave you your trust issues” in “Late to t he Party (feat. d eclan McKenna)” while addressing the complex feelings that one may experience when acknowledging the existence of their partner’s past relationships.

a long with these comedic elements, the album illustrates Gartland’s unique ability to capture an immense spectrum of human experiences and their respec-

tive emotions. She ponders the simple moments of joy that we often neglect in our day-to-day lives, claiming that love isn’t always something big, but rather “it’s like a long flight, but with good food / it’s the right song for the right mood,” in “Simple.”

in “Mine,” which recalls an experience of sexual assault, Gartland pairs a haunting, acoustic score with devastating lyrics, singing, “ it’s taken me twenty-eight years / to let anyone touch me the way / i let you.” Later in the piece, she delivers additional gut-wrenching, evocative lines, following the above lyrics with “ i still remember the time / you looked me dead in the eyes / a nd i realised my body was mine.”

t hroughout “ e verybody Needs a Hero,” Gartland beautifully illustrates the processes of finding independence and navigating relationships in one’s late twenties, all while embracing the messiness of one’s own complexities and individuality. With a mixture of both angsty rock instrumentals and soul-stirring acoustic lyrics, “everybody Needs a Hero” is truly an album to be spotlighted and remembered this year.

PHOtO cOUrteSy OF aPPLe t V

The best thing about “Wolfs” is that rather than sticking to traditional genre conventions, it acts as a character study.

With a mixture of both angsty rock instrumentals and haunting acoustic lyrics, “Everybody

Hero” is truly an album to be spotlighted and remembered this year.

Rashid Zia ’01 to end term as Dean of the College in 2025 for year-long sabbatical

Zia plans to later return to the University as a faculty member

BY JULIANNA CHANG UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

rashid Zia ’01, dean of the college, will go on sabbatical overseas at the end of this academic year, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

Zia plans to return to the University as a faculty member following his sabbatical. the decision to step down was

made at least two years ago, sources said. during the year-long sabbatical, Zia plans to spend time with family.

as dean of the college, Zia oversees the Open curriculum and academic advising. He is well-known on campus for supporting undergraduates and is regularly seen at the Sharpe refectory meeting with students.

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 8, 2024.

Hillel marks Oct. 7 anniversary with Main Green memorial and community vigil

Community members mourned the lives lost, honored hostages

BY SOPHIA WOTMAN AND SAM LEVINE UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORS

brown-riSd Hillel organized a series of memorials on Monday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on southern israel, which killed an estimated 1,200 people and took more than 250 people to the Gaza Strip as hostages, of which 105 have been released in negotiations and 35 have been confirmed dead.

at noon, around 30 people gathered under Faunce arch to read the names of those killed by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack and during israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

Lexie c ohen ’28, who has family in israel, said that listening to the names be read aloud was particularly difficult for her and other Hillel members, some of whom knew the people who were being mourned.

ADMISSIONS

a s rain poured down on Monday morning, several students and Hillel staff erected two long tables to honor the nearly 100 hostages who still remain in Gaza. they also laid out large milk cartons with the pictures of american citizens who had

been taken hostage.

Hannah repole GS said that the rainy weather “looms over the day” and resonates with how she and many others were feeling.

Victoria Zang ’26, a member of brown

Students for israel’s executive board, said that the Main Green installation was a space to gather and raise awareness for the hostages being held in Gaza. She added that she skipped class in order to process the anniversary of the attacks.

Several people told the Herald that they found comfort in gathering as a community to collectively mourn the lives that were lost.

Miki ben Zvi, who works at Hillel and is originally from israel, said the memorial allowed grieving community members to see “the people that are with you and supporting you.”

in the evening, more than 75 community members gathered on the steps of the Stephen robert ’62 campus center for a vigil, which included remarks from students and faculty with ties to israel, a musical offering and prayers.

Zohar Slav ’26 spoke about the events of Oct. 7 and her concerns about a rise in antisemitism since the attacks. She emphasized the importance of remembering those who had died and supporting those who lost loved ones.

“the victims of Oct. 7 deserve life,” Slav said. “they deserve to dance in the music festivals in the deserts of israel.”

elihay Skital ’28, who grew up in israel, spoke about the way that israelis have struggled to process the attacks. “in the year that has passed, we’ve seen both darkness and light,” Skital said. “We’ve mourned, we’ve rebuilt and we’ve stood strong in the face of adversity.”

dany bahar, a senior fellow at the Watson institute for international and Public affairs, urged brown faculty to promote dialogue and community on campus.

“to faculty colleagues: don’t be part of the problem that seeks confrontation on campus, be part of the solution that seeks understanding and peace,” bahar told attendees.

Several people who were present at the installation during the day told the Herald that they had been heckled by passersby. t hree police officers were present during the vigil.

“this was always going to be a difficult day,” rabbi Josh bolton told the Herald. but he emphasized that having a chance to mourn as a community “is going to be what is remembered.”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Oct. 7, 2024.

Brown says it plans to support students during second year of FAFSA delays

certain section to submit their information.

BY TALIA LEVINE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Students seeking financial aid through the Free application for Federal Student aid form will face a delayed timeline for the second year in a row. traditionally, the FaFSa form opens on Oct. 1. this year, it will launch on dec. 1. in 2023, the U.S. department of education faced multiple roadblocks while remodeling the form. that resulted in a delayed launch and numerous technical difficulties for students and their families. b rown’s Office of Financial a id is working with students who have persisting issues from the 2024-25 FaFSa and has already updated brown’s financial aid deadlines for the 2025-26 academic year, dean of Financial aid Sean Ferns wrote in an email to the Herald. current students will have until the tentative deadline of Feb. 1, 2025 to submit their requests for aid. according to the National college attainment Network — a group working to

support first-generation and low-income applicants — the percentage of graduating high school seniors who completed the FaFSa dropped by around 9% for the class of 2024 compared to the class of 2023. the delays also put increased pressure on financial aid offices, as the time they usually have to process FaFSas and send out aid offers to students is shortened,”

Megan Walter, a senior policy analyst for the National association of Student Financial aid administrators, said. that also means financial officers have less time to counsel students, which is “one of the most important aspects of their jobs,” Walter added.

will rush to determine where they can commit to, or worse, these students will be forced to commit without an understanding of the cost associated with the university.”

the new timeline could “discourage college applicants, driving down enrollment numbers for some schools,” Walter said.

according to Lee, the delays are “evidence that the university system is inherently more difficult for low-income and underserved students.”

the department of education “identi-

FAFSA applications, usually opened in Oct., are set to open on Dec. 1 Maya WadHWaN

NaSFaa is advising their “members in financial aid offices to stay flexible and continue to monitor the progress that the department of education makes this fall in regard to their projected timeline for the 25-26 FaFSa launch,” Walter said.

any difficulties current students may have with the form “will not impact the potential aid they may be offered,” Ferns wrote.

Still, the delays may introduce uncertainty for prospective students.

Nick Lee ’26, the co-president of Students for educational equity, said in an interview with the Herald that he believes the new timeline will mean that “students

brown offers multiple financial aid calculators that can assist prospective applicants in determining their approximate cost of attendance.

these delays came with the d epartment of education’s launch of a new FaFSa application. NaSFaa previously told the Herald that “the new FaFSa should be easier and take less time to complete due to direct transfer of tax information from the irS into the application.” but this feature, along with others, often did not function as intended.

in late September, members of the U.S. Government accountability Office testified before congress about what went wrong with the FaFSa rollout.

Current students will have until the tentative deadline of Feb. 1, 2025 to submit their requests for aid.

fied more than 40 separate technical issues with the initial rollout,” the GaO reported, including glitches in reporting information and inaccurate assessments of a student’s eligibility for federal aid.

among these concerns was that the form reportedly deleted student information unprompted, parents who did not hold a Social Security number were unable to contribute to the application and students born in 2000 were unable to proceed past a

the department of education has begun rolling out beta versions of the revised form in an effort to address any issues prior to the full launch.

brown’s financial aid office “will be monitoring the progress and making adjustments to our deadline accordingly,” Ferns wrote.

MaX rO

As dean of the College, Zia oversees the Open Curriculum and academic advising.

FALL POLL

Relationships, legacy admissions and the 2024 election: The Herald’s Fall poll

The Herald polled 1,177 undergraduates on campus’s most pressing issues

BY OWEN DAHLKAMP AND RYAN DOHERTY UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORS

With the 2024 presidential election fast approaching and the University considering changes to legacy admissions, the Herald polled 1,177 undergraduates about their opinions on the issues facing brown students.

the poll was conducted between Sept. 24 and 26, prior to the University’s announcement that brown will not divest from 10 companies with ties to israel. the poll offers critical insights into the student body sentiment towards national politics, campus life and University policy.

the poll found that most brown undergraduates favored the divestment proposal, the Herald previously reported.

Here are five key takeaways from the Herald’s fall poll. More data is available on the Herald’s interactive data dashboard.

With smaller sample sizes, the likelihood of misrepresenting certain groups in a cross tabulation increases. The Herald’s goal is to minimize the risk of representing any group innacurately, so we omitted or combined certain populations from which we did not collect enough responses. n=1177.

A majority of students plan to vote for Harris a whopping 91% of eligible students plan to cast their ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5. a mere 4.9% plan to vote for former President donald trump. With approximately three-quarters of students identifying as somewhat or very liberal, this outcome is no surprise.

the character of the candidate, reproductive healthcare and the Supreme court remain the primary considerations for Harris supporters at brown. crime and safety, the economy and foreign policy were most

persuasive for students who plan to support trump. three-quarters of brown students said they plan to vote this November, with 9% unsure and 16% saying that they will not vote. Of those who were unsure of voting or will not vote, nearly half were ineligible and one-quarter said that they were not enthusiastic about any of the candidates.

brown staff have donated 226 times more to Harris’s and President Joe biden’s campaign than to trump’s, the Herald previously reported.

Around one-third of students disapprove of Paxson, down from last semester about 34% of students disapprove of Paxson, the Herald found. One fourth of students approve of Paxson, with 41% of respondents saying that they neither approve nor disapprove.

Paxson’s disapproval rate fell 24 percentage points from its peak of 58% last semester.

in the spring, some student groups criticized Paxson for her handling of campus protests, which included an eight day hunger strike in support of divestment. at the time, Paxson declined the protestors’ demand

ciara Meyer / HeraLd

that the corporation vote on a divestment resolution at its February meeting. the corporation’s eventual vote — which ruled against divestment — was conditioned in an april deal in which student organizers agreed to voluntarily end a Main Green encampment.

First years, who are still new to campus, do not have strong opinions on Paxson, with almost 59% of them expressing they neither approve nor disapprove of the president. Paxson found support with Jewish students, with around 52% expressing approval. Students who identified as very liberal had around a 60% disapproval rate.

Students from low-income backgrounds are less supportive of legacy admissions after a review of admission policies by a University committee concluded last March, brown said that it would continue to employ legacy preferences in admission pending input from the brown community.

the Herald’s poll found that nearly 60% of respondents somewhat or strongly opposed legacy preferences in admissions. this animosity is stronger among those from low-income families and those who disapprove of Paxson.

increased support for legacy admissions comes from legacy admits themselves, though 46% do not approve of the practice.

the University gives legacy preference to students

who have at least one parent who graduated from brown with an undergraduate degree. in justifying legacy admissions, the committee that analyzed the policy said “legacy preferences create a sense of community and loyalty among brown graduates.” they also said legacy applicants “tend to be exceptionally well-qualified, with academic records that are stronger than that of average matriculants. they are also more likely than others to accept offers of admission.”

the committee said that “removing legacy preferences could lead to somewhat more diversity in the group of admitted students.” this year, the University saw a 40% drop in the share of black first-years and a 29% drop in Hispanic first-years.

The poll was conducted between Sept. 24 and 26 and surveyed over

ciara Meyer / HeraLd

Nearly 40% of students are single and searching though a plurality of students — 29% — are in longterm relationships, nearly 40% are single and looking for a relationship or something casual.

Upperclassmen are more likely to be in a longterm relationship when compared to underclassmen.

Freshmen are the most likely to be looking, with 44% searching for a relationship or something casual. With the low percentage of freshmen in long-term relation-

ships, they have the highest percentage of students who are single and not looking for a relationship.

Female respondents were less likely to be looking for a partner, with about 30% content with not being in a relationship. Students who identified as straight were more likely to be in a long-term relationship compared to those who were not straight. athletes and legacy students were also more likely to be in a relationship compared to their counterparts.

Three in five undergraduates use Sidechat, 15% daily around 60% of students indicated that they use Sidechat, an anonymous social media platform that allows students to post to university-specific communities. the platform has gained popularity on campus since 2022, inciting criticism from students and administrators about content posted to the platform.

Students have reported instances of antisemitic and anti-Muslim harassment on the anonymous platform.

University administrators, including Paxson, have warned about harassment on the app.

First-year students were least likely to use the app, which requires a University email to sign up for brown’s page. Students who are single are more likely to use the platform daily compared to students in a relationship. in addition, liberal students use the app more often. almost 64% of male students used the platform compared to around 58% of female students.

Editor’s Note: the Herald’s semesterly poll was conducted between Sept. 24 and Sept. 26, 2024. all responses were analyzed and weighted by class year using r Version 4.3.2. Polls were conducted at three locations around campus. the poll was analyzed by Owen dahlkamp, ryan doherty, abby donovan, ciara Meyer, claire Song, elise Haulund, Grace Hu, Manav Musunuru, Sanai rashid, talia LeVine, Megan chan and Maya Kelly. it received 1,177 responses.

UNIVERSITY HALL

Lawsuit alleges U. price-fixed financial aid, raised cost for divorced parents

BY OWEN DAHLKAMP UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

a new proposed class action lawsuit filed Monday claims the University and 39 other elite colleges participated in a price-fixing scheme that increased the cost of attendance for students with separated or divorced parents.

the lawsuit takes aim at the cSS Profile, a financial aid form created by the college board and used by the University and other institutions to help determine the financial aid awarded to students. c ollege b oard is also named as a defendant in the suit alongside each university of the ivy League, with the exception of Princeton.

t he complaint, filed in an i llinois federal court, claims that these universities conspired with c ollege b oard to create a standardized policy for student aid that considered the assets of both parents, even if only one parent financially supports a student. a s a result, those students may face a higher cost of attendance that does not accurately reflect their financial situation.

t he complaint claims that the average price of attendance for the schools named in the suit is $6,200 more than

University maintain claim has no merit, prepares for strong defense Maya WadHWaNi / HeraLd

The lawsuit was filed as a class-action on behalf of two students impacted by the alleged price-fixing.

comparable elite colleges who do not use this methodology.

t he lawsuit alleges that the c ollege b oard made a concerted push in 2006 to require consideration of noncustodial parental assets in all financial aid determinations. t hey also claim that employees from the colleges named in the suit “led and organized” the adoption of the policy.

t his collaboration also decreased

competition among schools who may have otherwise “competed in offering financial aid in order to enroll their top candidates,” the complaint states.

the lawsuit was filed as a class-action on behalf of two students impacted by the alleged price-fixing. i t claims that 20,000 individuals were affected by the policy and could qualify for relief if the plaintiffs succeed.

a c ollege b oard spokesperson told

t he Herald that the organization has received the legal action “and are reviewing it, but we are confident that we will prevail in this action.”

b rown has yet to be officially served with the lawsuit, but, according to University Spokesperson b rian c lark, the claim “has no merit” and the University is “prepared to mount a strong effort to make this clear,” he wrote in an email to t he Herald.

“ b rown makes all financial aid decisions, including those involving noncustodial parents, independently and in alignment with our own methodologies for determining financial need,” he wrote.

the University requires students applying for financial aid to submit “noncustodial income information detailing the parent’s ability, not willingness, to contribute.” a ccording to the Office of Financial a id, a waiver to opt out of providing noncustodial parental information can be offered to students “in very limited circumstances. e xamples include, but are not limited to, abuse, neglect, addiction, and/or other related concerns.”

brown requires all first-year students seeking financial aid to submit the c SS Profile while non-first-years only have to submit the Free a pplication for Federal Student a id, which helps determine eligibility for federal financial aid.

in January, b rown settled a lawsuit for $19.5 million following allegations that the University colluded with a consortium of colleges with need-blind admission policies. t he suit alleged that colleges set financial aid calculation methodologies that “artificially inflated net prices of attendance” in violation of federal laws governing need-blind admission practices. brown maintains that the case had no merit.