SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD VOLUME CLVIV, ISSUE 1
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2024
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
WHAT’S INSIDE
UNIVERSITY NEWS
State House roundup: New legislation in effect as of Jan. 1 SEE HOUSE PAGE 6
METRO
Plastic bag ban takes effect SEE BAGS PAGE 6
SPORTS
Winter sports recap TALIA LEVINE / HERALD
The class action lawsuit, filed in January 2022, alleges Brown colluded with institutions in the 568 Presidents Group.
SEE WINTER PAGE 7
Brown settles antitrust lawsuit for $19.5 million Westly Prize
UNIVERSITY NEWS
University admits no wrongdoing, Yale, Columbia, Duke also agree to settle
BY OWEN DAHLKAMP UNIVERSITY NEWS AND SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR Brown University has agreed to pay $19.5 million to settle an antitrust admissions lawsuit filed against the University and 16 other co-defendants, according to a Jan. 23 press release.
The class action lawsuit, filed in January 2022, alleges Brown colluded with institutions in the 568 Presidents Group — a consortium of colleges with need-blind admission policies — to set financial aid calculation methodologies
that “artificially inflated net prices of attendance.” The plaintiffs claim these colleges did not practice need-blind admission as it was intended under federal law. Section 568 of the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 allows schools who make admission decisions “without regard to the financial circumstances of the student involved or the student’s family” to collaborate on financial aid calculations. But the lawsuit filed against the University stated that members of the 568 Presidents Group gave preference to applicants who were children of donors. As such, they claim these institutions were not need-blind as the Act defined and are not permitted to collaborate on these calculations.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Senior awarded Kanders Churchill Scholarship McCarthy first from Brown to ever win award, first to win any Churchill scholarship in 12 years BY JULIANNA CHANG UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
Maddie McCarthy ’24 was awarded the Kanders Churchill Scholarship, which covers tuition for one year of graduate research study in science and public policy at the University of Cambridge in England, according to a Jan. 23 University press release. Established by Winston Churchill in 1963, the Churchill Scholarship selects 16 American undergraduates every year to conduct independent research as masters students at Churchill College at Cambridge. In addition to tuition, the foundation will cover the scholars’ travel costs, as well as provide them with
a stipend and opportunities to apply for special research grants. Two more students have been selected under the Kanders Churchill Scholarship which was established in 2017. The sixteen Churchill Scholars will conduct research in science, math and engineering, while McCarthy and one other student will research science policy as Kanders Churchill Scholars. McCarthy is Brown’s first Kanders Churchill Scholarship recipient — and the first to receive any Churchill Foundation scholarship in the last 12 years. McCarthy, a health and human biology concentrator, entered the University in 2019 as a varsity student-athlete hoping to “learn about all angles of medicine, from policy to clinical research and direct patient care,” she told The Herald.
SEE AWARD PAGE 3
Brown was a member of the Group from 2003 to 2012, a decade before it disbanded in Nov. 2022. Previous Herald reporting also found evidence that Brown’s need-blind admission policies may allow admission officers to give preference to applicants from low-income households. When the lawsuit was filed, University Spokesperson Brian Clark told The Herald that the filing “has no merit” and affirmed that “Brown is prepared to mount a strong effort to make this clear.” In the statement released on Tuesday, the University also made clear they believe there is no merit to the case. “Given the time and financial resources required to take this case to trial, we determined that our
resources are better spent resolving this matter and supporting the education of our students,” Clark wrote. “At all times before, during and after its participation, Brown made financial aid decisions independently guided by its own institutional methodologies,” the statement added. Brown’s settlement follows earlier settlements by the University of Chicago, Emory University, Rice University and Vanderbilt University, according to court and financial documents reviewed by The Herald. Columbia, Duke and Yale also agreed to settle, according to court filings Tuesday reported by the New York Times.
Finalist
SEE PRIZE PAGE 9
Arts & Culture
SEE LAWSUIT PAGE 3
UNIVERSITY NEWS
U. launches college pipeline for PPSD Program will provide support for academics, college applications, financial literacy BY TALIA LEVINE SENIOR STAFF WRITER Last fall, Brown launched its long-awaited Brown Collegiate Scholars Program. First announced by President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 in October 2021, The University will now welcome students to the program this summer, roughly one year after its fall 2022 target. The program intends to “prepare cohorts of students from Providence to enter college degree programs after high school graduation,” according to a November 2023 University press release. The program also aims to “support students from a range of backgrounds, including and in particular those who
are the first in their families to go to college and/or those who have limited financial resources,” wrote University Spokesperson Brian Clark in an email to The Herald, adding that it was developed before the Supreme Court’s ruling on race-conscious admissions. Students apply in eighth grade to be admitted to the four-year program. As part of their application, the students submit grades, a short essay and a recommendation from a faculty member at their school. They may also be invited to interview with a Brown faculty member. A maximum of 30 students will be invited to join the pilot cohort, according to the program website. While the BCSP does not alter a student’s chance for admission to Brown, “students who successfully complete the program will have demonstrated
SEE PIPELINE PAGE 9
SEE WONKA PAGE 9
The OffMeal-Plan Plan
SEE TITLE PAGE 11