Thursday, September 28th, 2023

Undergraduate teaching assistants in two courses faced job uncertainty, unexpected termination

TAs from BIOL

0200, ENGN 0030 report hour cuts, abrupt termination, respectively

BY ASHLEY CAI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Undergraduate teaching assistants in BIOL 0200: “The Foundation of Living Systems” were informed earlier this month that nearly half of the course’s staff would be let go before the course’s professors informed them that their hours would instead be reduced, three TAs for the course told The Herald.

neering” were informed that the course had been canceled for the fall and that they would not work as TAs for the course, two TAs for the course told The Herald.

Faculty overseeing both courses confirmed the layoffs and planned layoffs, respectively. In the case of the biology course, students claimed that professors cited a raise in the undergraduate minimum wage as one rationale for the cuts — a claim that the biology department’s undergraduate education office denied.

Three teaching assistants between the courses spoke to The Herald on

In April, after a month of training, ENGN 0030 TAs were abruptly let go and informed that the course would no longer be taught in the fall, two former ENGN 0030 TAs told The Herald.

Before the course’s cancellation, both ENGN 0030 and ENGN 0032: “Introduction to Engineering: Design” were offered as introductory courses for engineering concentrators, with the former focusing on physics and the latter on design, according to the former ENGN 0030 TAs.

“I was super happy to get hired,” said a student initially hired as one of 29 ENGN 0030 TAs. “The

because I really connected with my (TA) when I was in ENGN 0030.”

TAs were let go during an abruptly announced meeting on April 27 after undergoing a month of training, the two TAs said.

The department was unable to find faculty to take over the course following the retirement of former faculty, according to department leadership.

“Last spring, as we were working on course planning for the fall — including identifying faculty to teach

BROWN & BEYOND

Students criticize proposed voluntary payment agreements

Providence residents, activists, student groups praise, criticize proposed memoranda at public hearing

BY AVANI GHOSH SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Student activists criticized the two proposed voluntary payment agreements between the city and non-profit educational institutions, including Brown, at a public hearing Tuesday evening. Other residents and officials voiced support for the memoranda.

Under the memorandum of understanding, four institutions — Brown, the Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson and Wales University and Providence College — would pay a combined $177 million to Providence over the next 20 years in lieu of paying property taxes, The Herald previously reported. Under the proposed

RESIDENTIAL LIFE

New coffee shop to open in Brook Street dormitory

memorandum of agreement, Brown would pay an additional $46 million to the city over the next 20 years.

Providence residents, small business owners and other community members were in attendance at the public hearing.

Students part of Brown Activist Coalition groups such as Sunrise Brown, Students for Educational Equity and the Student Labor Alliance, as well as members of the Graduate Labor Organization, also testified at the hearing. According to Isaac Slevin ’25, Sunrise hub coordinator, over 60 undergraduates were present at the hearing.

In an interview with The Herald, student organizer Garrett Brand ’26 said that “because so much of the city’s land is owned by nonprofits — of which Brown is the biggest by far — the city government misses out on a huge amount of property taxes every year.”

According to a January 2022 report from the Providence Finance

BY NEIL MEHTA UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

Pawtucket-based coffee supplier Hazel Origin Coffee will open its second location in a first-floor retail space in the Chen Family Hall in mid-November, co-owner Dulce Lopez told The Herald. Construction in the space is scheduled to begin this week.

The University announced that the coffee shop would come to College Hill in an Aug. 9 press release. The store will offer traditional coffee drinks — like espresso beverages and pour-over coffees — alongside salads, paninis and other food selections, Lopez said. The new location will also be carbon-neutral

by means of tree planting, she added.

According to Lopez, the coffee shop received written messages from around 10 parents of University students expressing concerns about dietary restrictions after the coffee shop was first announced. Now, she said, the cafe plans on offering gluten-free, allergy-free and vegan selections.

“We’re trying to have an option for everybody,” Lopez said.

In the release, University leaders welcomed Lopez and her husband Olvin Lopez, who co-owns Hazel Origin Coffee with her, while noting the new location’s benefit to the Brown community.

“As early as the first conversation, it was clear to us that Olvin and Dulce possess a deep dedication to the craftsmanship of coffee,” said John Luipold, vice president of business affairs, auxil-

ENGN 0030 teaching assistants told The Herald that they were let go during an abruptly announced meeting after undergoing a month of training.

Co-owner Dulce Lopez spills beans about Hazel Origin Coffee’s offerings

KAIOLENA TACAZON / HERALD

WEEK IN HIGHER EDUCATION

SCENES FROM THE GAME:

1

Staff

The University and College Union says more than 20,000 staff will be taking part in the strikes. They are calling for an above-inflation pay raise and an end to insecure contracts.

Gunmen attacked Federal University Gusau in the hard-hit Zamfara state’s Bungudu district last week in the first mass school abduction in the West African nation since President Bola Tinubu took office in May. Security forces rescued 14 students and were still searching for the remaining captives.

3 Feds fund $45M Rice University-led research that could halve US cancer deaths

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health has awarded $45 million to rapidly develop sense-and-respond implant technology that could slash U.S. cancer-related deaths by more than 50%. The award to a Rice University-led team of researchers from seven states will fast-track development and testing of a new approach to cancer treatment.

THIS WEEKEND

Brown Center for Students of Color Heritage Series Welcome Back Event

Sept. 29, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Sayles Hall

Brown University Women’s Soccer vs Princeton - Pride Game

Sept. 30, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Stevenson-Pincince Field

Politics & Policy Lunch

Creating Brave Spaces for Trans/ Non-Binary Children: A Panel Conversation

Sept. 30, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Location To Be Sent to Registrants

How to Find and Fund an Internship

Oct. 1, 12:00 p.m.

MacMillan Hall

NEXT WEEK

Oct. 2, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

McKinney Conference Room in Watson Institute

Brown University Field Hockey vs Yale, Goldberger Family Field

Oct. 4, 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Goldberger Family Field

VR Development with Unity 3D Oct. 3, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Granoff Center Room S310

CLAIRE DIEPENBROCK / HERALD

The Bears’ 34-31 loss was the closest the team has come to beating Harvard since their last victory in September 2010, where they won 29-14.

CLAIRE DIEPENBROCK / HERALD

Quarterback Jake Willcox ’24 and wide receiver Wes Rockett ’23.5 each set career highs in their first Ivy game as co-captains.

The game attracted a packed crowd in Harvard Stadium in Cambridge. Over 15,000 people attended the game, with Harvard and Brown students seated on opposite sides of the U-shaped arena.

at more than 40 universities strike across the UK

2

Security forces rescue 14 of at least 20 students abducted from Nigerian university

MATHIEU GRECO / HERALD

ACADEMICS & ADVISING

Linguistics program becomes independent from CLPS

formal scientific methods with this incredibly humanistic domain — it’s really a field that should play a prominent role in any liberal arts education.”

BY ANISHA KUMAR SENIOR STAFF WRITER

As of fall 2023, linguistics functions as an independent program from the Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences department, according to the CLPS website. Previously, linguistics was one of five concentrations — along with behavioral decision sciences, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive science and psychology — within the CLPS department.

Increased independence from the CLPS department has already allowed the program — which houses the linguistics undergraduate concentration — to offer six new linguistics courses and hire two new faculty members this year alone, according to Professor of Linguistics Pauline Jacobson.

Jacobson said she looks forward to watching the program expand in the near future and hopefully be able to thoroughly cover topics like sociolinguistics, syntax, morphology and historical linguistics.

CLPS 0340: “Language and Gender” and CLPS 1311: “Phonetics,” taught by Visiting Assistant Professor Jaime Benheim, are among the new course offerings this fall. Postdoctoral Research Associate Chaya Nove is also teaching CLPS 1365: “Historical Linguistics” this semester.

Starting this academic year, CLPS 0300: “Introduction to Linguistics” will be taught during both the fall and spring semesters — clearing a significant “bottleneck” among potential concentrators, said Scott AnderBois, director of the linguistics program.

Beginning summer 2024, linguistics courses will also be marked with a new

“LING” course code, a decision intended to make it easier for prospective concentrators to find courses of interest.

Though the University’s linguistics program was originally founded as a separate department, it was merged into the broader CLPS department in 2010. The decision to split linguistics from CLPS is a result of an external review of the department conducted last December, which ultimately supported the separation, according to Jacobson.

When making their case for the split, Jacobson and AnderBois looked at peer institutions and noticed that most other Ivy League universities — as well as schools like the University of Chicago and Stanford University — had larger,

independent linguistics departments.

“The governance model for CLPS wasn’t working for linguistics,” AnderBois said. “It didn’t give us enough autonomy to strategically plan for what linguistics needs, or to make the case for the resources we needed to be on par with our peer institutions.”

According to David Badre, chair of the CLPS department, the linguistics faculty within CLPS developed a vision for the program that was “distinct from the broader department mission.” As a result, the department “agreed that an independent linguistics (program) would be a positive step for both groups moving forward,” Badre wrote in an email to The Herald.

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“We look forward to what the future holds for both linguistics and CLPS,” Badre wrote, adding that “CLPS will continue to focus on the interdisciplinary study of mind, brain and behavior, including the psychology and cognitive science of language.”

Under the CLPS department, linguistics courses and research skewed toward psycholinguistics and cognitive science “to the exclusion of other fields,” AnderBois said. But in an inherently interdisciplinary field like linguistics, the ability to make cross-departmental connections is vital, according to Jacobson.

“It’s this completely human discipline that still lends itself to the scientific method,” she added. “That mixing of

Masako Fidler, professor of Slavic Languages, recalled previously working with a student who wanted to write an honors thesis on language policy connecting concepts within political science and linguistics.

“At that time, the linguistics program was embedded within CLPS, so the scope of the program was” limited, Fidler said, adding that it was thus “impossible” for the student to write an honors thesis.

Fidler, who is part of the linguistics secondary faculty, said she is looking forward to the program’s potential for cross-departmental collaboration.

“The program is becoming more diverse and inclusive,” she said, pointing to the program’s affiliate faculty roster, which includes faculty in anthropology, philosophy, computer science, education, Native American and Indigenous studies and French and Francophone studies.

Prospective linguistics concentrators hoping to gain exposure to the program can look forward to the Brown Undergraduate Linguistics Event on Nov. 4, where students will present previous linguistics research they’ve done, said Ariel Stein ’24, one of the linguistics departmental undergraduate group leaders.

There will also be smaller events throughout the semester called “Curried Functions” — a spin on the computational linguistic technique of currying a function — intended to promote a sense of community for linguistics students and faculty, Stein said.

“We’re just really excited for where we’re at,” AnderBois said. “We’re excited for the opportunity to share linguistics with the Brown community — strengthen all these existing connections, build new connections across the University and bring folks together through language.”

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Linguistics program will offer six new courses during 202324 academic year

DANA RICHIE / HERALD

Under the CLPS department, linguistics courses and research skewed toward psycholinguistics and cognitive science “to the exclusion of other fields,” said Director of Linguistics Scott AnderBois.

ReSeeding RI amplifies number of native species in state’s supply chain

Project partners with farms, land trusts to create ‘ecological corridors,’ support biodiversity

BY JULIA VAZ METRO EDITOR

Since January, horticulturist Barbara Shaughnessy has been growing 19 native Rhode Island plant species in her South Kingstown backyard. For three days in early winter, volunteers gathered in her wooden shed — clutching their coats and chatting away the cold air — with a peculiar task: to help turn seeds of native plants collected in the wild into healthy plugs.

The whole operation was a delicate process, Shaughnessy said. Beyond trying to ensure the largest number of seeds possible would successfully germinate, it was also important to avoid mixing seeds to achieve desired quotas for each particular species. Each plug tray was clearly labeled in at least three different places, and volunteers worked with one plant species at a time. They ensured the seeds, which were cleaned and refrigerated up until that point, were adequately moist and prepared to “go to bed,” Shaughnessy explained.

As temperatures dropped and the day went on, Shaughnessy and the volunteers placed the trays, now filled with seeds and soil, into wooden boxes to overwinter. There, they stayed for three months, protected from UV rays, mice and other plants. Weekly, Shaughnessy would check on the boxes and ensure her “babies” were cold and growing.

“I work at home,” Shaughnessy said with a giggle.

The once seeds, now germinated and grown into “ready-to-plant” plugs, are finding new homes in farms and land trusts across the state. Shaughnessy’s backyard has turned into a hub for ReSeeding Rhode Island, a project from the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society that hopes to amplify the number of native and ecotypic plants in the state’s supply chain.

Starting big projects from someone’s house is part of RIWPS’s history. According to its website, the society dates back to 1986 when “a congenial group gathered in the cook house at the Audubon Eppley Refuge for a workshop in wild-plant gardening offered by

Lisa Gould and Doris Anthony.” Soon, the group was brainstorming ways to bring people together while organizing conservation efforts — “the ground was fertile,” and RIWPS was officially founded in 1987.

The nonprofit has since focused on education, working closely with schools, libraries and college students, as well as working to increase the number of native plants in Rhode Island. Mostly led by volunteers, the organization, like its plants, “grows from the bottom up,” Secretary Mary O’Connor said.

The ReSeeding RI project is part of the society’s new 5-year strategic plan, released in 2022. The plan stresses the need to help expand the presence of native plants.

While the project is new — Botanist Shannon Kingsley ’20, following all the appropriate protocols, collected the first round of wild seeds during the 2022 growing season — it’s already in its distribution phase. The goal, explained RIWPS’s Vice President Dave Vissoe and O’Connor is to create “ecological corridors” — to connect areas of habitat that have been separated by human activity and reestablish natural processes, such as pollination.

The importance of these corridors, O’Connor said, goes beyond plants. “It’s for the sake of biodiversity, the survival of plant species and insect species,” she said.

According to Vissoe, the project functions as a cycle of amplification. As the plugs grow into plants and those give out more seeds, the quantity of native plants available in the supply chain increases continuously. This process, hopefully, he said, would mean that native plants would no longer be isolated — creating “pollinator deserts” — but flourish and connect throughout farms, gardens, parks and more.

Kingsley also highlighted the project’s focus on ecotypic plants: populations of plants that are adapted to a specific environment, according to the RIWPS website. In fact, she added, the ReSeeding RI project was inspired by The Ecotype Project in Connecticut, which focuses on using species to increase climate change resilience, and Rhode Island Natural History Survey’s Rhody Native initiative, which aims to amplify native plants.

Because plant populations evolve and adapt to specific environments, if

a particular native plant were to successfully grow in Rhode Island, its seeds would be more likely to survive the state’s environmental conditions than seeds from the same species collected from another state, she explained.

Shannon added that while picking which species would be a part of the project, one of the factors considered was which native plant species were part of the state’s “species of concern.”

These include goldenrods, bush clovers and cardinal flowers. Pat Foley, president of RIWPS, said that he would like to believe that the project might help remove some species from this category.

“It requires an intervention,” to help “native plants recover from the pressure we put them under,” he said.

Back in her yard, Shaughnessy explained the importance of the project by pointing to how “500 caterpillars are needed to keep one little bird alive.” Vissoe nodded in agreement. “We are overbuilt for living,” he said, but that isn’t true for other life forms. Some, he explained, require very specific conditions — and plant species — to thrive.

Detailing examples of species-specific pollinators, Vissoe points to a mountain mint plug. “Take a whiff of that,” he said as the air filled with freshness. “Farmers are very happy with the product.”

Alby Brandon, owner of Brandon Family Organic Farm — the first farm to be picked to participate in the project — emphasized his contentment with their efforts while heavy rain poured down over West Kingston. Brandon showcased the hundreds of native plants growing at the edge of his field.

When asked about how he first heard about ReSeeding RI, he paused

for a second. “Maybe at the farmer’s market?” he said with a laugh.

Brandon is a strong organic farmer, Vissoe said, adding that he was excited to add Brandon to the project.

According to Vissoe, the project also established guidelines for the new seeds that will be acquired from the recently planted plugs. Brandon, for example, will get at least half of the new seeds, while the rest will go back to RIWPS so they can continue distributing plugs to more partners. Brandon said that he would like to explore selling his share of seeds, which he would also grow into plugs at his soon-to-be Garden Center.

Vissoe pointed out that “native plants are sometimes not in sync with the buying cycle” of plant demand, but Shaughnessy ensured “they can change that.”

Brandon, who grows organic tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries and other crops, explained the benefits of native plants to farmers. “If you have more habitat on the farms, you have more beneficial insects and fewer pest problems,” he said, as well as “native pollinators, which are also really good pollinators for vegetables and fruit.”

“Vegetable farming is intensive, (so) we are disturbing the ecology quite a bit,” he explained, pointing to how supporting native plants helps to establish a balance between using and fostering the land.

The next day broke with much more forgiving weather. Over at Revive the Roots, a non-profit organization based in Smithfield, RIWPS’s Seed Starters West — a group of volunteers focused on propagation — arrived carrying colorful tools and ready to plant hundreds of plugs of native yarrow, boneset and

swamp milkweed.

With the help of Revive the Roots Farm Manager Annie Bayer, volunteers quickly decided the appropriate distance between plugs, where to place empty trays and how to establish a work rhythm. While they took over the field, Bayer, despite being distracted by “so many plant babies,” explained the history of the nonprofit.

The approximately 23 acres of property are owned by the town of Smithfield but leased to Revive the Roots as they work to steward the land. According to Bayer, the organization was founded 12 years ago “by a bunch of folks that were 19 and 20.” The project was originally to construct a community garden, but, with the incentive of the town, it grew (in)to a larger community space with the goal of “teaching people how to grow alongside nature,” she said.

The property includes a food forest with chickens and ducks, a beekeeping space, a community garden, a composting program and a new pavilion for gathering and hosting events. The organization also produces vegetables for Hope’s Harvest, a hunger relief organization.

Bayer was excited by ReSeeding RI’s effort to work with farmers, since “conservation movements tend to not work alongside farming movements,” she said, explaining how agriculture can cause much damage to land. For her, the project can also help foster “a balance to create a food system that works for us and the environment.”

The benefits of bringing native plants to Revive the Roots are multiple, Bayer explained. The plants can “act as a hedgerow,” she said, stopping wild animals from reaching the crops, and can bring in pollinators that would help with farming. The plants are also “another really beautiful teaching tool,” she said.

According to Shaughnessy, this first year functioned as a trial run for the project and, so far, they are happy with the results. With four years remaining, Shaughnessy believes it’s important to highlight that “the plants really don’t need us, we need them.”

Foley is optimistic about the initiative. “We tend to overstate our ability (as humans) to do good, but I think we are doing good here. We are trying to let nature heal.”

Department and the Office of then-Mayor Jorge Elorza, the University would pay close to $50 million annually if it paid full taxes on all of its properties, The Herald previously reported.

“The MOU includes text which would prohibit the City Council from taking any further steps to tax Brown, such as through an endowment tax,” Brand said.

The proposed MOU states that for the duration of the agreement, if passed, “the city shall not challenge or otherwise contest or seek to amend or circumvent through ordinance or statute or enabling legislation or any other means the tax-exempt status” of non-profit institutions.

“It’s unacceptable for Brown to use its position of economic strength to restrict the way in which a city can govern itself,” Brand said.

The University did not respond to a request for comment at press time.

SEE Co-President Niyanta Nepal ’25 said that “the new agreement is not what Brown is capable of providing to the city … there are lots of provisions that restrict the ability of the City Council to properly represent their wards” due to the restriction on pursuing further institutional taxation policies.

The hearing encouraged a diverse array of perspectives on the MOU and MOA to be heard. Providence resident and President of the Jewelry District Association Sharon Steele testified that the University gifted $5 million to improve the labor and delivery center at Women & Infants Hospital.

The money Brown donated “went to service (programs) that are utilized in neighborhoods,” Steele said. “That’s why (the money) Brown gave us this year is going to make a difference” and improve underfunded systems.

Brand disputed this framing: “Even

if Brown did something good like donating to a hospital, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t pay their taxes,” he said.

Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, expressed her support for the MOU at the hearing. She testified that institutions will “make the value of the investments in our neighborhoods and our communities to the extent of $162 million.” She said that, as a result of these payments, the city would still be able to fund “high-quality services and launch new initiatives.”

“This is one of the strongest PILOT initiatives in the country and it provides Providence with predictable, long-term financial support,” White said. With this agreement, institutions help “the local city, the small business community (and) the future economic development” of Providence, she added.

But it’s important to look at the whole picture, according to Slevin. Brown, which

has “the highest visibility and the most expensive land in the city, gobbles up resources and drops pennies behind it in the name of philanthropy.”

“I watched the University snap up properties in the Jewelry District, taking them out of the tax base, and then asking the city … to (think) $8 million a year… is enough,” Slevin testified.

In an interview with The Herald, Slevin added that the MOA was negotiated by “the mayor and the University administration,” criticizing the lack of community engagement throughout the process.

“Rooted in a spirit of partnership and a commitment to helping Providence and its residents thrive, tentative agreements represent Brown’s sustained and deepening dedication to Providence and Rhode Island,” President Christina Paxson P’19 MD’20 wrote in a Sept. 5 message to the Brown community, highlighting the community contributions as well as monetary payments.

“In the last decade alone, we have made more than $80 million in direct payments to the city — and thanks to the work of so many students, faculty and staff across campus, we’ve served also as an invaluable community partner, through myriad services, public health initiatives, educational programs for local kids and more,” Paxson wrote.

According to a press release from the University, it is estimated that Brown will “provide community contributions valued at an average of $6.4 annually” as well as directly paying the city an average of $8.7 million annually.

“Ideally, the new agreement should include more money from Brown and should not have the (restrictive) provisions,” Brand said.

Discussion of the proposed voluntary payment agreements will continue, and the memoranda have not yet been voted on by the City Council.

PILOT from PAGE 1

KAIOLENA TACAZON / HERALD

The nonprofit focuses on education, working closely with schools, libraries and college students, aiming to increase the number of native plants in RI.

‘Out of the box’ thinking to address RI’s housing crisis: Adaptive reuse

A look at the plan to convert a middle school into roughly 150 apartments

BY STELLA CHEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Woonsocket Middle School closed its doors 14 years ago. Today, in the largest abandoned school in New England, glass crunches underfoot, water damage warps the floors in the basement and the ceiling tiles flake with age.

Now, organizers hope to breathe new life into the abandoned building, which clocks in at over 200,000 square feet, by transforming the structure into around 150 apartments.

Woonsocket Middle School is just one of various adaptive reuse projects in Rhode Island that recycle buildings, such as storage space and office buildings, for purposes different from what their original architects imagined.

This year, Rhode Island state House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi introduced a sweeping package of housing bills, 13 of which are set to go into effect next year. One of the bills allows for adaptive reuse in local zoning ordinances and makes the process easier in the hopes of increasing the state’s affordable housing stock. While Woonsocket Middle School’s reuse plans began before the bill went into effect, it might serve as an example of one key solution that will address the state’s housing crisis.

Built in 1914, Woonsocket Middle School was abandoned in December 2009. Boston-based developer The Goldman Group purchased the property for $1 million in 2022 and hired

PROVIDENCE

David Sisson Architecture to redesign the building into market-rate apartments.

“Large buildings that are very expensive to reconfigure for any use are often in rough condition and have a challenge at the local approval level,” said David Sisson, principal architect at David Sisson Architecture and the architect for the Woonsocket Middle School redevelopment. “Sometimes the zoning is not favorable.”

With the new law not in effect, Woonsocket’s City Council created a “spot zone” making an exception for the building’s zoning allowing it to be transformed into apartments, Sisson said.

“Getting a use variance is very difficult,” Sisson said. “You basically have to prove that there’s no other beneficial use of the property than what you’re suggesting.”

The new law only allows developers to reuse buildings if the building

dedicates a certain portion of units to low- and moderate-income housing, Sisson said.

Renovating an old building like the middle school comes with a host of challenges, Sisson said. While developers purchased the building for $1 million, “the actual conversion is going to be tens of millions,” he noted. “It is always a challenge to get somebody to fund that.”

Woonsocket Middle School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This status both opens up funding opportunities through tax credits and creates limitations due to the register’s requirements.

For example, the pre-existing doors in the middle school may not measure up to apartment buildings’ minimum fire resistance rating. The challenge is for the team to design a door that has a fire rating but still looks very similar to the original. By doing this for every door, the price tag grows.

Many other issues need to be addressed: “The floor has asbestos in it, guaranteed. The paint has lead in it, guaranteed,” Sisson said. “We have to deal with putting in modern electrical systems, modern plumbing systems, modern heating and air conditioning systems. Those are just some of the challenges we deal with.”

“The goal is that when this is done, it should look like a school,” Sisson said. “You should feel like you’re living in a school. That’s the flavor we hope to get.”

Even if Woonsocket Middle School successfully transforms into apartments, it’s one building in a larger crisis throughout the state. And according to Shekarchi, Rhode Island’s housing crisis is part of a national issue: “The thing that has been proven across the country is that you have to increase the housing stock,” he said. “If there’s more housing available, the price is stabilized, the prices come down and then people are able to afford clean, safe housing.”

Brenda Clement, director of HousingWorks RI, explained that most funding to build affordable housing comes from the federal level, with less coming from the state. Decisions on what is built and how the construction process will work are left up to local officials.

The laws aim to “unclog the cogs that exist at the local level with local zoning ordinances, local regulations and trying to streamline the process a little bit,” Clement said.

“There’s still a lot of changes that have to happen at the local level,” Clement said. The bills try “to pro -

vide a pathway and an incentive and more importantly, some support for technical assistance and support for communities to change those local regulations.”

According to Shekarchi, adaptive reuse is attractive to developers because the buildings’ foundational infrastructure, like elevators and pipes, already exists.

“It makes sense from a whole lot of perspectives to repurpose and reuse existing buildings rather than building out on green fields … particularly when we look at our climate change goals,” Clement said.

While the bill may have made it easier to get the go-ahead for adaptive reuse projects, “there’s still a lot of checks and balances,” Shekarchi noted. “These projects are not going to be just overnight turned into housing, but nevertheless, it will be a lot easier for a developer who looks at it.”

“We’ve been underproducing since the mid-1980s,” Clement said. “It’s really exciting for me to finally see us talking about how do we actually do this and then, more importantly, (getting) some resources to actually do it.’

“A lot of it is really new,” Clement said, referring to the new housing bills. “It’s changing the status quo, and lots of people don’t like change.”

“It’s new, it’s significant and there’s always pushback,” Shekarchi said. “We need for everybody to think out of the box.”

“This is a crisis that we need all hands on deck,” he added. “We’re going to need everyone’s help.”

Malian artists at PVDFest reflect on musical careers

of his music.

Providence later that night, Maïga wrote in a message to The Herald.

BY JACK TAJMAJER METRO EDITOR

Set to take the stage for the Afrika Nyaga Drum Festival’s 11th annual performance during PVDFest on Sept. 10, Malian Djembe Master Sidy Maïga and his selected group of artists were practicing constantly in the weeks leading up to the festival.

The festival — a “series of African-culture performances” meant to celebrate and uplift the African diaspora within Providence, according to the City’s website — was headed by Maïga and included performances by Oumou Sangaré, Wunmi, Master Soumy, Manolo Mairena & La Pura Vida, Projetu Batuku and Haus of Glitter Dance Company.

When curating the drum festival’s lineup, Maïga said he looked not just to influences from Mali, but also to “Senegalese, Congolese, Afrikaans” and “Afrobeats” styles.

While this year’s performance was halted part-way due to poor weather conditions, the festival’s acts were able to complete their performances at The Parlour

“It is unfortunate that we couldn’t share this incredible experience with festival goers because of the storm, but we look forward to welcoming Sidy and our many PVDFest artists back to next year’s festival,” Mayor Brett Smiley wrote in an email to The Herald.

Maïga, who has resided in Providence for roughly 18 years, has been practicing music since his childhood. Originally from Bamako, Mali, Maïga said he started drumming when he was five years old, adding that while “all young Malian(s) do that … most of us don’t keep playing.”

“I had nobody in my family that was (a) musician,” Maïga said in an interview with The Herald conducted in a mixture of French and English. “I did everything on my own. … I grew up with not a lot of money.”

Though Maïga’s musical pursuits eventually began to interfere with his academics and strain his relationship with his father, he continued to pursue music and was “able to complete school.”

“If you work, you can get (almost) everything you want,” Maïga said.

Maïga later moved to the United States, where he attend -

ed Berklee College of Music and “got to meet more people from different backgrounds,” allowing him to incorporate multiple musical styles into his music today. After finishing his college career, Maïga moved to New York and eventually followed his then-wife to Providence for her studies.

Maïga said his family is now “very proud” of his career and mentioned that his son, who has been “playing with (him)since (he) was two,” performed with him during the last PVDFest.

“Sidy Maïga is an incredible local artist of international renown in his own right,” Smiley wrote. He “is a true visionary when it comes to curating performances for PVDFest.”

Soumy, also originally from Mali, has worked as a singer, rapper, composer and producer for over 20 years. Soumy said he sings about “social problems” and discusses issues such as “injustice, corruption, bad governments, democracy and human rights.”

“My music is hip-hop,” Soumy said, describing his music as a blend of modern and traditional music. It’s “young people music … (that talks) about problems … (and) revolution.” Soumy aims to highlight traditional instruments like the djembe as integral parts

Soumy first came to the U.S. in 2014 to perform across the East Coast, though he described having a particular soft spot for Providence, the “city where art lives.”

According to Soumy, PVDFest’s Afrika Nyaga Drum Festival is intended to convey themes of “authority” that resonate with U.S. audiences.

Maïga, who arranges the festival’s lineup, said that he works directly with musicians and aims to put on a balanced show, featuring artists from all different parts of Africa.

“The festival has evolved more and more each year,” Soumy said. It is “important that the festival (is promoting) African music in Providence (and) the USA.”

He added that “you can listen to African music” in nightclubs, restaurants and other public spaces in a way that wasn’t previously possible, highlighting the importance of greater performance opportunities for traditionally underrepresented artists.

Though audiences in Providence may be less familiar with the styles of music in drum festival performances, Maïga emphasized that “we have an African community here” and the aim of the festival is to introduce audiences to the vivid cultures of

African nations and people.

“Only the problems make it to the news,” he said. Not “how we raise our kids, how we started music, how we take care of our animals. … We are more than just famine and war and poverty.”

Maïga added that, while Providence was taking positive steps towards improving African musical and cultural representation, he and other artists “need more coverage.”

The City “should invest more, ... then we can try (to) also educate people about (African music and cultures) so it’s not (seen as) weird,” Maïga said, though he acknowledged that he has “received a lot of love and help and support” from the Providence community.

Soumy mentioned that U.S. exposure is crucial for the promotion of African music and encouraged the public to “listen to the music on social media and (other) platforms” or come see performances in person.

Speaking to the future, Maïga said that “success depends on how many people you can reach (or) make happy with your music.”

“I’m hoping to sell more, as many (shows) as possible until I can’t anymore,” he said. “Reach as many people as possible … motivate them … (and) help them raise money. … Anything I can provide.”

STELLA CHEN / HERALD

Woonsocket Middle School’s woodworking shop is in the basement, while the floor’s condition is the result of years of water damage.

Sidy Maïga, Master Soumy discuss importance of Afrika Nyaga Drum Festival

BY LINUS LAWRENCE SPORTS EDITOR

The Bears did not go gentle into that good night, but when the clock hit zero at Friday’s highly-anticipated showdown at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, it was the Crimson (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) who exited with their eleventh consecutive win against the Brown football team (1-1, 0-1 Ivy).

Despite the loss, the 34-31 final score was the closest the two teams have been since Bruno’s last rivalry victory on Sept. 25, 2010.

“That was a very hurt locker room in there,” said Head Coach James Perry ’00 following the game. “In years past, it (was) kind of like, ‘if you’re close enough, you feel good enough.’ When you have older guys that you can trust like I do right now, I trust that they’ll be proud of their efforts but also be hungry to get better.”

With the lights at their brightest before a packed crowd of over 15,000, two of the Bears’ captains — quarterback Jake Willcox ’24 and wide receiver Wes Rockett ’23.5 — posted career-best performances.

“On offense, we have two captains,” Perry said. “In a big game, they played like it.”

Willcox, fresh off a career-high 357 passing yards against Bryant in Brown’s season opener Sept. 16 which earned him Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors, broke his personal record yet again

Bears bested in dramatic back-and-forth battle against Harvard

with 364 yards.

After his standout 2022 season was cut short due to injury, Willcox has now thrown for nearly 200 more yards than any other Ivy League passer this year. Following the game, Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy in an interview with ESPN+ remarked that Willcox “might be the best player in the Ivy League.”

“The stats don’t tell the story about what he brings to this team, (and) I know they’re impressive stats,” Perry said. “He’s exceptionally tough. He’s smart. … I know Jake will come ready to work on Sunday. He’s that type of kid.”

Rockett, Willcox’s go-to receiver, racked up a career-high 147 yards. Of his several sensational catches, a sprawling 51-yard grab in close coverage landed the No. 3 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.

“In my opinion, he’s the best player on every single field he steps on. Like he showed tonight, he catches everything,” Willcox said of his co-captain. “Off the field, he’s one of my best friends in the whole world, and I think you can see that connection when we’re on the field.”

Rockett praised Willcox for his leadership and skill. “He’s just a gutsy guy,” Rockett said. “He’s a great leader, great teammate. You know he’s gonna put everything out there on the field, and he did again today. He always will. You can count on him for that. He’s just such a playmaker.”

“He’s always looking for us, which motivates you as a receiver,” Rockett continued. “You always know you’re gonna have a chance no matter what — you might have

ten seconds, fifteen seconds to get open.”

The highlight-reel reception by Rockett from Willcox came near the conclusion of a first quarter which saw Bruno go up 10-0, with seemingly all the momentum. It was the first time Brown led entering the second quarter against Harvard since 2016.

The Bears got out to a fast start with an interception by linebacker Ethan Royer ’23.5 — the first of his career — before Harvard could earn a first down following the opening kickoff. Playing their trademark brand of fast-paced, substitution-filled offense, Brown promptly scored on an endzone-bound rush from Stockton Owen ’25 and added a field goal by Christopher Maron ’25 before the conclusion of the quarter. Owen finished the game with a career-high three touchdowns.

But Harvard stormed back with a dominant second quarter, scoring two touchdowns and stifling the Bears’ offense to pull ahead 14-10.

On their first possession of the quarter, the Bears made it to Harvard’s 2-yard line on second down, but failed to score after three straight rush attempts, opting against a short field goal attempt on fourth down. On their following possession, a perfect Harvard punt put Bruno all the way back at its own 1-yard line, narrowly avoiding a safety before punting the ball away.

The second half became a dramatic back-and-forth battle, with six consecutive scoring drives, including six straight touchdowns. To rival Bruno’s Willcox-to-Rockett connection, Harvard’s fleet-footed quarterback Charles DePri-

ma got in a groove with receiver Cooper Barkate, who finished the night with a career-high ten receptions for 132 yards.

“He obviously can run. He can run run,” Willcox said of DePrima. “And he made some great throws down the field too. He did what he had to do to win.”

Receiving the ball up by three with just under seven minutes left in the game, Harvard ran out the clock as the Bears struggled to come up with a stop when needed, falling 34-31.

Bruno’s supporters traveling from Providence made their presence felt all night, roaring with every touchdown, howling at close first down calls and waving flags to signal their invasion into Harvard Stadium.

“This is always the game where everybody goes crazy, which is awesome. I love it,” Rockett said. “I think we honestly outnumbered them.”

“I can’t say enough how much that means to us,” Willcox said. “It’s the best feeling in the world when we turn around, especially at an away game, and everyone’s cheering like that.”

“It sounded like a home game,” he added. “I’m very grateful that everyone showed up and hopefully they can keep doing that throughout the year.”

The next two weekends, the Bears will play a pair of home games against nearby opponents Central Connecticut State University and the University of Rhode Island before resuming their Ivy schedule against Princeton Oct. 14.

According to Willcox, fans “can expect (Brown) to keep fighting and playing fast.”

Captains Jake Willcox ’24, Wes Rockett ’23.5 each post career-best performances

CLAIRE DIEPENBROCK / HERALD

The 34-31 loss on Friday was the closest Brown has come to beating Harvard since their last rivalry victory on Sept. 25, 2010.

ThemarginbywhichHarvard defeatedBrown.

Sheyenne Allen ’23.5 powers women’s soccer to Ivy opener win

Allen’s set piece prowess leads to brace in 2-0 victory over Harvard

BY BEN GOLDBERG CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The women’s soccer team (5-1-2, 1-0-0 Ivy) was locked into a frenetic, back-andforth game in the first half of Saturday’s game against Harvard (5-3-1, 0-1-0 Ivy).

As the match entered halftime scoreless, Harvard looked the superior team: The Crimson were controlling the midfield, generating more chances than the Bears — especially through forward Ólöf Kristin sdóttir — and dominating the run of play.

But Brown flipped the script coming out of the break, as a pair of goals off of the left foot of midfielder Sheyenne Allen ’23.5 in the 53rd and 60th minutes made the difference in Bruno’s 2-0 victory.

“It was a great battle between two quality teams. (Brown) and Harvard are always vying for the top of that table at the end of the season, so getting a result against them is a great launching pad for the rest of the Ivy season,” Head Coach Kia McNeill wrote in an email to The Herald. “We made some adjustments at halftime that allowed us to get on the ball more and generate more possession building up the field, which is what ultimately contributed to us getting the two goals we got from Sheyenne Allen.”

“In the first half we were retreating a lot and trying to protect the space in behind, and in effect, we weren’t getting enough pressure on the ball and in the midfield,” she added. “We were really specific about who needed to

Kojo Dadzie ’24 scores twice in 4-0 men’s soccer rout vs. Columbia

Head Coach Chase Wileman earns first career Ivy League win

BY DENNIS CAREY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On a rainy Saturday afternoon, the men’s soccer team (2-4-1, 1-0-0 Ivy) came into their home match against Columbia (2-3-2, 0-1-0 Ivy) looking for their first win since Sept. 1. They delivered, handing the Lions a 4-0 rout to open their Ivy League schedule.

The result marked Head Coach Chase Wileman’s first win in Ivy play after losing or tying every match against Ivy League opponents last season.

“I’m really happy for our team. Some results haven’t gone our way but I don’t think that we’ve been playing bad,” Wileman said. “Full credit goes to them — and this is the happiest, the proudest that I’ve been as their coach.”

The Bears dominated the match, outshooting Columbia 16-6 total and 5-1 in shots on goal and managed their first clean sheet of the season. Kojo Dadzie ’24 scored twice, with Charlie Adams ’24 and Carlo Brown ’27 each adding a goal to give the Bears the victory.

“Earlier in the season, we made too many individual errors,” said defender and captain Taha Kina ’24. “And I think tonight we really worked hard as a team to all be on the same wavelength, and that showed

with our first clean sheet.”

Aside from an opening shot and a corner by the Lions, Columbia never established a presence in the match and their offense went stagnant after only the ninth minute of play.

Scoring opened with a well-executed team goal beginning and ending with Dadzie. The Bears made a short run down the field and after a shot by Lorenzo Amaral ’27 was blocked, Carlo Brown recovered the ball and passed it to Dadzie, who nestled his shot in the top left corner to give the Bears the lead.

“Obviously, (I was) just trying to create a motion (and) to get into dangerous areas and I saw Carlo with the ball on the left, so I just kind of popped out,” Dadzie said. “I thought about going to my right to get a shot off on target. Honestly, I thought I missed. I was looking around like, what’s going on? And then I hear Carlo screaming.”

That team effort resulted in the only goal during the first half by either team.

After dictating the first half mostly with their defensive play, the Bears’ offense finally clicked into place in the second.

In the 49th minute, Greyson Mitchell ’26 placed a long throw directly into the box. After a touch by Langdon Gryglas ’26 and a brief stretch of chaotic play, the ball landed for a right-footed strike by Dadzie to extend the Bears’ lead to 2-0.

“He’s being very dangerous and very direct,” Wileman said of Dadzie, who leads Brown in goals this season.

Dadzie’s brace is his second this season, with the last one coming in the team’s season-opening win over the University of Massachusetts.

Later in the match, a spell of great passes by Levi Pillar ’24 and Tanner Barry ’25 and a dancing effort by Adams notched the Bears another goal. With the score at 3-0 in the 64th minute, Brown effectively put the game out of reach, offering a reminder that the Bears “have other guys as well that can also be dangerous,” according to Wileman.

Not long after Carlo Brown’s 83rd-minute header — his first collegiate goal — the final whistle was blown, sealing a 4-0 victory for the Bears.

The Bears look forward to continuing this momentum into the rest of the season, Wileman and multiple players told The Herald.

“I think as the results have shown, we’ve been close,” Kina said, referring to the Bears’ multiple close losses this season. “And we faced a lot of adversity early in the season. So it’s really great to get a result on the first night of Ivy League play.”

The Bears now look ahead to a Saturday matchup against Cornell (3-2-1, 0-0-1 Ivy), who are coming off a draw with Harvard to open their Ivy slate.

“Every Ivy League game is a battle, and tonight we were up for it,” Kina said. “So we just have to continue to be ready (and) continue to train hard with the right habits, and I think we can do something special this season.”

Kojo Dadzie ‘24 (right) led the Bears with a two-goal effort, his second of the season.

I honestly didn’t even see the ball hit the net initially. I had to do a double take as I was running away.

Sheyenne Allen ’23.5

Letter from the Editor

This past weekend, I celebrated the big two-one. Wahoo! You can imagine my excitement when our lovely EIC gifted me with the heavy responsibility of bestowing this week’s mood, vibe, theme, what-have-you to our beautiful readers. Not so wahoo… just kidding, love ya Kimberly. It’s weird being a “real” adult on a college campus, simultaneously feeling so wise, yet so immature. One day I’m putting on my big boy pants to impart my not-so-wise wisdom to our newest Gendo Taiko members (welcome Gen20!) and the next I’m donning my hood in full sunlight like a rebellious pre-teen (sorry to all my high school teachers). I’m towing the eternal line between what I know and what I don’t, out with the old and in with the new, seeking comfort and embracing discomfort—and I think I’m not alone.

Starting off in Feature, our writer compares her college experience to that of her mother, reflecting on the generational gap caused by time. In Narrative, we’ve got the age-old (actually Matrix-old) debate between blue and red: One writer is reflecting on the struggles of embracing a new world in their first-year; the other finds herself far from home too, using a red pillow to tether her to her past. Meanwhile, A&C embraces two sides of the same musical coin. As one writer thinks about narrative versus emotion in Adrianne Lenker’s music, the other considers the political polarization behind Zach Bryan and Oliver Anthony’s recent breakouts into the mainstream. Of course, we’ve got Lifestyle to round us out with a plan for the new month we find ourselves in and a fittingly named crossword (but you’ll get no hints from this editor).

And here you are at the crossroads between two life altering decisions: Will you slog your way through another partly cloudy Thursday; or will you rock and roll into the weekend by reading the wonderful pieces we’ve curated for you? In all my old man wisdom, I’m going to have to suggest the latter :)

Toodles, Joe Maffa

Managing Editor

“If it wasn’t for QuestBridge

I’d be here on a D1 scholarship for instigating.”

“Unabomber?

I barely even know her."

Leaf-s

1. Japanese Maple

2. Without saying goodbye

3. Tea

4. The ones of grass by Walt Whitman

5. Kkaennip

6.

7. …a message after the beep

8. through a book

9. Eucalyptus (but specifically if u are a koala)

10. Blower

“Somehow, we collide at these exact moments, in these exact ways. Whether or not we’ve met before, somehow we spark an iteration of love. Isn’t that a beautiful idea, that we’re all in love with little bits of each other?”

—Kaitlan Bui, “Head Over Heels” 10.01.21

“I am home, perched in a rusted wooden chair with scars of use across it. Tomorrow’s homework is sprawled on my floor. I am home, yet the isolation strengthens. The house I’ve grown in feels just as far away as the lands I originated from.”

— Laura Tamayo, “Exile” 09.30.22

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kimberly Liu

FEATURE

Managing Editor

Klara Davidson-Schmich

Section Editors Addie Marin

Lilliana Greyf

ARTS & CULTURE

Managing Editor

Joe Maffa

Section Editors

Elijah Puente

Rachel Metzger

NARRATIVE

Managing Editor

Katheryne Gonzalez

by Will Hassett

Crossroads Across

Sweet & salty sandwich staples 1

5

7

Nickname for Brown's nothernmost dining hall

Lesser-known alley, intersects 2D near Le Creperia

8 9 Down

Underwater detection system

With Kit-, chocolate & wafer favorites

Common file format for Canvas submissions 1

2

3

4 6

Section Editors

Emily Tom

Anaya Mukerji

LIFESTYLE Managing Editor

Tabitha Lynn

Section Editors

Jack Cobey

Daniella Coyle

HEAD ILLUSTRATORS

Emily Saxl

Ella Buchanan

COPY CHIEF

Eleanor Peters

Copy Editors

Indigo Mudhbary

Emilie Guan

Christine Tsu

Better-known street, crosses 7A Citizen's Bank

Ortega or Fischer

Perspire, panic, or plug away

Acronym for 15 Soviet-era states

SOCIAL MEDIA HEAD EDITORS

Kelsey Cooper

Tabitha Grandolfo

Kaitlyn Lucas

LAYOUT CHIEF

Gray Martens

Layout Designers

Amber Zhao

Alexa Gay

STAFF WRITERS

Dorrit Corwin

Lily Seltz

Alexandra Herrera

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Marin Warshay

Gabrielle Yuan

Elena Jiang

Aalia Jagwani

AJ Wu

Nélari Figueroa Torres

Daniel Hu

Mack Ford

Olivia Cohen

Ellie Jurmann

Sean Toomey

Sarah Frank

Emily Tom Ingrid Ren

Evan Gardner

Lauren Cho

Laura Tomayo

Sylvia Atwood

Audrey Wijono

Jeanine Kim

Ellyse Givens

Sydney Pearson

Samira Lakhiani

Cat Gao

Editorial: It’s time to kick our U.S. News rankings obsession.

The Warren Alpert Medical School recently announced it would stop submitting data to U.S. News and World Report for its “Best Medical Schools” rankings. In an open letter, Mukesh Jain, senior vice president for health affairs and dean of medicine and biological sciences, wrote that “rankings do not adequately capture the quality of education nor the level of support provided to students at any medical school.” We applaud the administration’s decision — this change is an important step toward aligning the University’s practices with its ideals. But let’s not stop at medical school rankings.

Jain stated that after extensive consideration, the administration at Warren Alpert “reached the conclusion that the approach upheld by the U.S. News rankings simply does not align with our institutional values.” But only considering medical school rankings through this lens sets a double standard. Undergraduate college rankings are equally flawed and deserve the same criticism Jain levies on medical school rankings. They arbitrarily assign numerical values to institutions of higher education and feed a vision of college as a hierarchical rat race. And yet, in a recent press release, the University boasted its high placement across lists ranking undergraduate student experiences and high-impact instruction. Are the values of Warren Alpert so different from those of the College?

U.S. News’s college rankings are perhaps the most followed; they help to color popular perceptions of prestige and quality. In theory, rankings might be a good idea. Navigating the American college landscape can be overwhelming because there is such great diversity among institutions, from large, research-heavy state schools to small, liberal arts colleges. Ordering the vast world of higher education could help confused high school seniors prioritize their interests. Schools like Brown also benefit extensively from these rankings — they keep attention focused on us. And our allegiance to U.S. News paid off this year: Brown achieved its highest rank since 1997.

But it is exactly the attempt to standardize this variety that is concerning. U.S. News assigns varying weights and percentages to different elements of college life. There are many factors in these rankings that should give readers pause. A reputational survey, which asks administrators for their opinions on peer institutions, comprises a whopping 20 percent of schools’ scores. While those working in higher education should theoretically have a better sense of their peers’ quality, it seems methodologically dicey to ask them to numerically rank dozens of institutions. This metric serves to reinforce prior conceptions of a premium education and leaves little room for newcomers. Additionally, U.S. News factors in faculty salaries, per-student spending and alumni do-

nations, which are essentially just measures of institutional wealth. It also considers student SAT scores, which detractors have argued are tied to higher incomes. Rankings also rely on universities to submit data, which can lead to unreliable figures. The numbers under the

School of Design departed as well.

U.S. News will likely continue to rank Brown, as it did with those who left, regardless of the University’s decision. But it’s a matter of values. Halting active administrative participation in the rankings would be an important

hood, evidently, have severe flaws.

The weight of these factors on rankings shifts frequently, leading to huge swings from year to year. The educational quality of these colleges isn’t significantly changing in the span of 12 months, yet schools can rise and fall with alarming speed. Rankings are thus not only subjective but also unstable.

U.S. News continues to adjust its process in an attempt to respond to critiques. It has placed more weight on outcomes in recent years. But rankings fundamentally make college a zero-sum game. This year, minor tweaks led to large public universities moving up significantly. Of course, these changes came at the expense of other schools, which have criticized the latest rankings. Any shift in measurement will not be enough to fairly quantify hundreds of schools.

There’s momentum across higher education in support of ending rankings participation. Warren Alpert followed a host of peers in law and medicine and we wouldn’t be the first to leave undergraduate rankings, either. Reed College pulled out of undergraduate rankings in 1995. In the past year, Bard College, Colorado College, Columbia and the Rhode Island

symbolic move and could catalyze movement among our peers. We’ve led the way before — we were one of the first universities to grapple with our institution’s ties to slavery. And we upended the traditional model of higher education with the open curriculum. Why should a school with a long and storied history of bucking convention be afraid of a single online magazine?

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board and aim to contribute informed opinions to campus debates while remaining mindful of the group’s past stances. The editorial page board and its views are separate from The Herald’s newsroom and the 133rd Editorial Board, which leads the paper. This editorial was written by the editorial page board’s editors Kate Waisel ’24 and Devan Paul ’24, as well as its members Paulie Malherbe ’26, Alissa Simon ’25, Rachel Thomas ‘25 and Yael Wellisch ’26.

Chang ’27: The pandemic isn’t over. Bring back isolation housing.

This fall, the beginning of my first semester at Brown, I had the misfortune of contracting COVID-19. When I tested positive, my first thought was to keep my roommate safe. I called Health Services and asked what options the University had for alternative housing, but to my horror, there were none. If I stayed in my dorm, I would be putting my roommate at high risk of contracting COVID-19. The guidelines provided by Brown were essentially to put on your mask, wash your hands and hope for the best. In order to rectify these inadequacies and give students peace of mind, the University must reinstate a limited amount of isolation housing this year.

As the nation reckons with “pandemic fatigue” and an understandable desire to return to normalcy, Brown is clearly not taking COVID-19 seriously enough. Although disease prevalence nationwide has decreased remarkably compared to 2022, the number of infections detected via wastewater monitoring in Rhode Island began steadily increasing in July 2023.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least five days of isolation for those who are COVID-positive so as to separate “sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.” Yet, the University’s current protocols for students who test positive for COVID-19 are woefully inadequate when compared to this standard. Brown does technically have an isolation pol -

icy that claims to follow CDC guidelines, but not enough resources are provided for students to keep their peers safe on campus. Per Health Services, COVID-positive students living on campus are to stay in their dorm room, but no accommodations are provided for roommates of the isolated student to move elsewhere.

off-campus housing to avoid infecting their roommates, following the University’s suggestion that students can find lodging “with a friend or family (member) who may be in the area.” I am lucky to live close enough to campus that I was able to isolate myself at home. But the lack of support from Brown means that students who can’t move back home or pay for

pus and through reserved rooms at the Providence Marriott. When these forms of formal isolation housing were shuttered in the fall of 2022, students found themselves scrambling to find temporary options whenever they or their roommate caught COVID-19. I can personally attest that this is still the case today. While reopening temporary COVID-19 housing would require funding, it would be a worthy investment in the safety of the student body.

This policy also puts the onus on infected students to obtain food by going into crowded dining halls. I’ve known students who were left bedridden due to COVID-19 symptoms, but were forced to fend for themselves and procure their own food at the dining halls — even if that meant potentially exposing others to the virus.

Some even go to the lengths of finding

outside housing have to roll the dice and risk spreading the virus to their roommate.

Providing temporary housing for students with COVID-19 would provide peace of mind to the roommates of COVID-positive students as well as reduce the overall infection rate on campus. This is far from impossible — after all, Brown previously provided isolation housing during the pandemic, both on cam-

No student at Brown wants to be responsible for infecting their roommate with COVID-19. Many of us are willing to make sacrifices to protect the health of others. A reduced version of temporary housing — say, 10 to 20 isolation rooms — would do wonders to meet the needs of the student body. Furthermore, it would provide an equitable way for all students, regardless of their ability to travel or find lodging, to protect their own health as well as the health of those around them. I applaud the University’s efforts to provide a more traditional college experience as the nation returns to pre-COVID policies, but we must not forget our responsibility to keep each other safe.

Victor Chang ’27 can be reached at victor_a_ chang@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

No student at Brown wants to be responsible for infecting their roommate with COVID-19. Many of us are willing to make sacrifices to protect the health of others.

“

Why should a school with a long and storied history of bucking convention be afraid of a single online magazine?

“

The educational quality of these colleges isn’t significantly changing in the span of 12 months, yet schools can rise and fall with alarming speed.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT LIFE

Birbs at Brown sends students on crochet bird scavenger hunts

Anonymous Instagram account invites students to participate in scavenger hunt

BY JENNIFER SHIM & KATIE LI SENIOR STAFF WRITER & STAFF WRITER

Every day, hordes of Brown students run across campus. While some of them might be late for class or tak ing a morning jog, many have an en tirely different goal in mind: finding the latest “birb.”

Last spring, the Instagram account @birbsatbrown began posting about hidden “birbs” — petite crocheted bird plushies — scattered across campus for students to find. The team behind the account has created an ongoing scav enger hunt, developing a cult following among Brown students.

The account, whose founders have remained anonymous, has garnered a following of almost 3,000 Instagram users, many of whom say they are will ing to drop everything to search for the latest birb. Never easy to find, the avian crafts have been hidden behind library stacks, bushes and shrubbery, swim ming pools and even refrigerators.

The founders were inspired by a similar account run by students at Ohio State University called @osuoc topi, wrote Daphne Lo GS, spokesper son for Birbs at Brown, in an email to The Herald.

Lo added that the anonymity of OSU Octopi’s founders is part of why the founders of Birbs at Brown also chose to remain anonymous, as well as a desire to “keep the spotlight spe cifically on the birbs.”

Birbs at Brown is “close-knit.”

founders hope to give students a break from their busy days, foster friendly competition and bring people together, Lo wrote. “The spirit of the birb is simply to spread positive en ergy on campus in a small and creative

way,” she wrote.

She explained that the team chooses locations largely out of convenience, though they do intentionally alternate their placement between indoor and outdoor locations, different buildings and areas of campus.

According to Lo, the birbs are crocheted using a pattern that is “extremely customizable, so we’ve begun to accessorize and make all different

’24 said that he loves being a part of the crowds running around campus in search of the latest birb. “It’s like an inside joke we’re all a part of,” he said.

Dasha Dmitrieva ’27 said that her entire friend group closely follows the account, explaining that after each post they would immediately “put away everything” and search for the new birb.

In recent weeks, Lee finally found

and procure funding but ultimately decided against it to preserve anonym ity, according to Lo. She added that the founders plan to pass the project on to underclassmen after they gradu ate. They imagine “some sort of selection process to help” Birbs at Brown continue, she wrote.

Students at other schools have also begun to create accounts similar to Birbs at Brown and OSU Octopi; @stanford.sprouts and @ whalesatwashu both cite Birbs at Brown in their Insta gram bios as inspiration.

the Harvard stadium in celebration of the Harvard-Brown football game last Friday.

Students who have participated in birb searches expressed that the account provides a fun way to bond with friends. In an interview

(a) scavenger hunt.” Dmitrieva added that for many of her upperclassmen friends, “the goal while at Brown is to find a birb. It is on (their) bucket list.”

Birbs at Brown had considered becoming a recognized student group to

Dadaruki, a local sushi restau rant, last semester. On May 17, Dadaruki customers could enter a raffle for the chance of

entire Brown community. University Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 wrote in an email to The Herald that the account is “a fun, creative idea, and the birbs are adorable!”

“I haven’t found a birb yet,”

This article originally appeared online at browndailyherald.com on Sept. 24, 2023.

ARTS & CULTURE

Stellar acting keep ‘Jaane Jaan’ afloat despite predictability

BY SAHIL BALANI STAFF WRITER

Netflix’s long list of movie offerings is continuously in flux, with new releases dropping and fading from memory every month. But this will hopefully not be the case with “Jaane Jaan,” which arrived on the streaming service Sept. 21. The film stars Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat — some of the biggest names in the Indian streaming media space — and Kareena Kapoor Khan, one of the most popular commercial actors in the country.

Written and directed by Sujoy Ghosh, the film is an adaptation of the 2005 Japanese novel, “The Devotion of Suspect X,” by Keigo Higashino. It follows the story of Maya D’Souza (Khan) and her daughter Tara (Naisha

Khanna), who find themselves at the center of a murder investigation led by Inspector Karan Anand (Varma). The mother-daughter duo acquire unexpected help from their genius, albeit creepy, neighbor Naren Vyas (Ahlawat), who goes by “Teacher.”

Set in Kalimpong, West Bengal, the remote nature of the film’s location becomes the perfect background for this mystery-crime thriller. The rolling fog, quiet streets and small-town vibe where everyone knows everyone contributes to building suspense throughout the film and helps advance its plot.

The cooler visual tones of “Jaane Jaan” also keep the film’s general mood uneasy in anticipation of its climax. The film masterfully utilizes color changes to draw attention to particularly important moments, such as the abrupt red lightning used during the scene where Maya and Karan sing at a karaoke bar or during one of the first interactions between Maya and Naren.

The acting in the film also remains

superb. After two decades in the industry, Khan proves that she is here to stay. From the delivery of her dialogue to the chemistry she has with the other actors — particularly during her fight scene with Saurabh Sachdeva’s character Ajit — Khan’s portrayal of Maya showcases her skill as an actress.

Ahlawat comes forward as another show-stopping actor. His expressions and nuances convey the coldness, insecurities and weirdness radiating from the “Teacher” to the audience. Ahlawat effortlessly delights with every on-screen interaction he has and certainly deserves a few awards for his performance.

Varma is effervescent and charming in his portrayal of Karan. From his first scene in the kickboxing ring to his romantic storyline, Varma’s determination and quick wit make his presence on screen enjoyable.

While most crime mystery thrillers are fast-paced, “Jaane Jaan” takes time to build to its climax. But while

the slower pace of the movie helps in giving the actors time to impress audiences with their prowess, it also makes viewers want to watch the movie at 1.5x speed — potentially detracting from its not-so-obvious nuances.

The film’s plot, however, lacks a surprise element that makes for an overall unsatisfying watching expe -

rience. While the plot is interesting enough, anyone who has seen recent films in the mystery genre will be able to easily predict the ending.

Ultimately, “Jaane Jaan” is an entertaining one-time watch, with its leading actors managing to shine even with a predictable and underwhelming plot.

‘Sex Education’ holds final session in emotional, hilarious fourth season

Series’

BY DAPHNE DLUZNIEWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The fourth and final season of British dramedy “Sex Education” — released on Netflix Sept. 21 — is as shocking, heartfelt and bawdy as its predecessors.

After their high school is dramatically shut down in season 3, the students of Moordale Secondary School are starting off the academic year in a new locale: Cavendish College. The school is the antithesis of a typical TV show high school: gossip is taboo, mental health support includes sound-bath rooms and silent discos and everything is student-run.

There is one thing that Moordale and Cavendish have in common: the presence of a sex therapist. But Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield), who previously held a sex therapy clinic monopoly at Moordale, is frustrated to learn that “O” (Thaddea Graham), who has a highly professional and innovative therapy approach, holds an established role as a student counselor at Cavendish. Otis’s mission is to supersede O’s clinic as the go-to on campus, but his campaign doesn’t prove to be as easy as he anticipates.

His inner circle also experiences their own problems. Following her and Otis’s long-awaited kiss in season 3, Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) has started the semester in the U.S. to study writing in a prestigious course taught by a disapproving, moody author (Dan Levy). After a family emergency suddenly calls her back to Moordale, Maeve struggles with imposter syndrome and grapples with whether she should return to the U.S. to finish her studies. Her experience at fictional Wallace University uncovers issues of wealth and class not only in the American university system, but also in the larger professional world.

Meanwhile, things seem to be looking up for Otis’s best friend, Eric Effiong

(Ncuti Gatwa). He has been integrated into Cavendish’s popular posse and feels more confident in his skin now than ever before. Yet his relationship with religion is increasingly called into question. As his mother encourages him to get baptized, Eric is torn over whether to hide his sexuality from his church or lose his community forever. His spiritual journey brings a little flair of magical realism into the series, as he is frequented by God and uncanny prophetic visions.

While Otis, Maeve and Eric may share the most screen time, the season dives into many of the other students’ lives as well. One of the show’s most impressive feats is its ability to juggle so many different characters’ background stories, central conflicts and personality developments without distracting viewers. Each character is brilliantly written to be complex and multidimensional, inviting viewers to feel invested in their future. Audience members without as much exposure to

some of these struggles can still glean ways to support their peers who may be going through such things. Conversely, those who identify with the characters are provided with a space to see their struggles worked through and validated in a thoughtful, deliberate fashion.

By having characters with diverse backgrounds and identities, the series is able to address a plethora of social issues that often only receive a small or underdeveloped feature in modern television.

“Sex Education” does not shy away from any topic, whether it is postpartum depression, gender dysphoria or ableism. In a way, the show is a subtle therapy session in itself — through poignant writing and realistic dialogue, the series presents a possible roadmap for navigating through various difficulties.

What makes “Sex Education” such an enjoyable watch is that it never fails to add a comedic edge to its depiction of teenagers clawing their way out of pu-

berty. Every deep portrayal of real-life struggle is wonderfully balanced with hilarious and awkward scenes, like Otis accidentally Bluetooth-presenting lewd photos of himself to the entire school. The actors’ impeccable ability to move through such varying emotions makes the series even more of a joy to watch.

Since its start, the show has been particularly distinct from other television shows set in high school because of its incredibly frank and explicit presentation of sex-related themes. By airing all of this junk out in the open, the show destigmatizes topics that may feel uncomfortable for people to approach on their own. And while the show might be something of an anomaly in this way, this openness about real issues faced by people of all ages should be the norm in modern media.

While it is disappointing that season 4 is the show’s last, this strong finish will help preserve the legacy “Sex Education,” unlike many other shows that keep run-

ning even though they are well past their primes. The final episode delivers a perfect ending because it offers no real sense of closure. No character is awarded any clean or complete resolution; in this way, “Sex Education” precisely captures the constantly dynamic and imperfect nature of life itself, just as it has through its entire run.

newest season embraces social issues, encourages open conversations

Even with unsurprising resolution, star-studded cast shines in film

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

After two decades in the industry, leading actress Kareena Kapoor Khan once again proves that she is here to stay.

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

By having characters with diverse backgrounds and identities, the series is able to address a plethora of social issues that often only receive a small or underdeveloped feature in modern television.

ARTS & CULTURE

Lindemann looks forward to jam-packed fall after busy summer

Performing center’s public opening to take place Oct. 21, will feature block party

BY RYA VALLABHANENI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

With the fall semester in full swing, some students are finding themselves in class settings far different than the familiar rooms of Sayles Hall, Salomon Center and Page-Robinson Hall. With its spaces currently being used for rehearsals and classes, as well as a kickoff concert right around the corner, the Lindemann Performing Arts Center is just about open for business.

Although construction of the Lindemann was nearly complete at the end of last spring, much work still remained to be done over the summer, according to Avery Willis Hoffman, artistic director of the Brown Arts Institute. The past few months have been dedicated to testing the Main Hall’s various configurations, developing room reservation software and finalizing construction tasks, such as the installation of Leo Villareal’s “Infinite Composition” in the Atwater Lobby.

Testing the Main Hall

The Lindemann’s Main Hall is a reconfigurable space: It has retractable seats, a mobile stage and moving walls that allow the Hall to be arranged in a total of five distinct ways, The Herald previously reported.

“It’s a chameleon of a building,” said Peter Chenot, director of marketing and communications at BAI. “It reflects each different event.”

In the spring, BAI tested the Main Hall’s orchestra configuration through practice rehearsals with the Brown University Orchestra and Brown University Chorus.

Over the summer, BAI worked with the Artistic Innovators Collective’s Urban Bush Women dance ensemble and artist Sabine

CAMPUS EXHIBIT

Theunissen’s “White Box” residency to test the “acoustics and technical capabilities” of the Main Hall’s theatrical configuration, Hoffman wrote in an email to The Herald.

BAI also partnered with Brown’s Music Department and RISD’s Studio for Research in Sound and Technology to test the Main Hall’s ambisonic cube configuration. According to Chenot, the cube configuration uses about 40 speakers.

This past Wednesday, the BAI held its final major tuning event, which involved testing the flat floor configuration of the Main Hall. The performance featured Artistic Innovator Chachi Carvalho and Cape Verdean-Dutch musician Nelson Freitas, Hoffman wrote.

Throughout the testing process, Brown and Providence community members were invited in as audience members. “Surveys revealed great excitement about the new space, the versatility of each configuration and … anticipation of inspiring projects to come,” Hoffman wrote.

Lindemann in use

The Lindemann opened for classes at the start of shopping period. Some courses being offered in the building this fall include MUSC 0642: “World Music Ensemble,”

MCM 1205F: “Black Queer Diasporas,” TAPS 1342: “Ballet II” and ARTS 1006: “Playing the Villain on Camera.”

Riley Hall, the largest rehearsal space in Lindemann’s lowest level, is also the new weekly rehearsal space for the Brown University Orchestra, according to Director Mark Seto.

“It has been exciting to have the opportunity to use a new facility that was designed with the performing arts in mind,” Seto wrote in an email to The Herald. “There are many moving parts, literal and metaphorical, involved in the rollout of a new space, so there are still plenty of details we are figuring out as we get acquainted with the building.” Oboist and orchestra

member Anna Ryu ’25 said that rehearsing in Riley Hall has been somewhat of an adjustment from the spaces traditionally used by the orchestra, such as Alumnae Hall and Sayles Auditorium. “Whenever I walk into the Lindemann, I still feel like I’m walking into an area under construction or some sterile museum where I shouldn’t touch things and don’t know what rooms I’m allowed to be in,” Ryu said. “But I think I also trust that this new space will become familiar with time.”

Ryu added that she’s particularly excited to see friends and family in the audience this year, made possible by the slanted seating arrangement of the Main Hall’s orchestra configuration.

“It really does make a difference to me when I can see people’s faces as I play in a performance,” she said. “I feel like I can play towards something or for someone.”

Student musicians have additionally been able to store their instruments and reserve practice rooms in the Lindemann. Scheduling software that allows students, student groups and faculty to book these spaces went online this week.

Chenot added that some of the Lindemann’s larger spaces, such as the Movement Lab, will likely not be available for reservation in the scheduling portal until later in the semester.

Upcoming events

Hoffman described the Main Hall as a “collaboratively curated space.” She wrote that the BAI will be working with student groups to prepare projects, such as orchestra performances, in addition to larger student performances, which will be announced as part of the inaugural IGNITE series, which aims to showcase projects from across the “Brown Arts ecosystem.”

On Saturday, Sep. 23, the Lindemann will host a Labor Appreciation Event for the many people responsible for its construction and design, Hoffman wrote. Students

and community members who are still looking to get involved in the maintenance and daily operations of the new building may also apply to be a part of the BAI’s ArtsCorps workforce program.

The Lindemann’s official opening will take place on Oct. 21, with a block party, tours, public conversations and public performances by the Brown University Orchestra, Brown University Chorus and special guest violinist Itzhak Perlman P’92, Hoffman wrote.

“Student ensembles will also premiere a newly commissioned piece by the Brown Arts Institute, composed by Associate Pro-

fessor of Music Eric Nathan and set to poetry written by Assistant Professor of Literary Arts Sawako Nakayasu,” she added.

After the Lindemann’s official public opening, Carrie Mae Weems’s “Varying Shades of Brown” will be set up as the inaugural project in the building. According to Chenot, portions of the installation are already on view in various sites on campus, such as the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and List Art Center.

“Collaborative curation takes time and intention,” Hoffman wrote. “We are excited to work with students to build their skills for presenting in this large, complex space.”

‘Momentum’ exhibit presents socially-conscious art from around world

humanities, arts and social sciences.”

BY NED KENNEDY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The University’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America opened its year-long exhibition, “Momentum,” on Thursday, Sept. 14 in the Frederick Lippitt and Mary Ann Lippitt House. The exhibition encompasses a range of works by a “diverse set of artists,” all of which interpret the theme of sustained movement in a complex time, according to a press release.

The exposition is the latest annual installment in a series of exhibitions put on by the CSREA and features artists “who use their creativity and vision to speak to questions of justice, human suffering and migration in ways that enliven, encourage and connect,” Tricia Rose, the Center’s director and professor of Africana Studies, wrote in an email to The Herald.

“Momentum” is one of the latest projects of the CSREA, which focuses on supporting “accessible, timely and relevant research on race and ethnicity in America,” Rose wrote. “We also provide robust public programming of various kinds across the

“When we chose ‘Momentum,’ we wanted to exhibit instances of retained energy and forward motion under difficult conditions,” Rose wrote. In a time characterized by a relentless struggle for justice, the exhibition encourages visitors to contemplate the ways in which contemporary circumstances inhibit and necessitate progress.

Rose cited the Supreme Court’s recent restrictions on race-conscious college admissions as one such circumstance. “We cannot be rendered immobile,” she wrote.

“How do we keep moving forward despite these setbacks, and what are the sources of momentum under such conditions?”

Preparations for the exhibition began in 2022, Stéphanie Larrieux MA’01 PhD’08, associate director of CSREA, wrote in an email to The Herald. “The conceptualization process for the art exhibit begins a year in advance. Once we’ve decided upon a theme that resonates with the current moment and the ongoing research environment at the Center, the team begins reaching out to artists whose work explores that theme for purchases, loans and commissions.”

The artists featured in “Momentum” come from a wide variety of backgrounds, some working locally and others globally.

“We chose works as a team in an iterative

process over several months with a focus on broad representation of medium, content and identity,” Ellie Winter, communications specialist and the executive assistant to the director of the CSREA, wrote in an email to The Herald.

While distinct in their visual interpretation and style, all of the works reflect shared themes. “We get the chance to learn about each artist’s unique process and their creative relationships to engaging topics of race and ethnicity,” Winter said, reflecting on the process of collaborating with the

exhibit’s artists. The result of this extensive collaboration is a wide-ranging collection of engaging works.

One artist featured, Trinh Mai, is based in Long Beach, California, interpreting themes of suffering, faith and community through her multimedia work. “The artwork informs my life heavily, and that’s a good thing.”

“My practice involves thinking about the things that affect us, observing life in this grieving world, and processing the hope that we have for it to be better,” Mai

said.

Her piece “And we shall come forth as gold” is featured alongside work from accomplished artists Spencer Evans and Jiyoung Chung, as well as two pieces from Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political activist who was convicted of murder in 1982.

One of the two panels that comprise Mai’s work features a young child being hoisted up by an American goldfinch. The accompanying panel is marked by two lightly painted Vietnamese greenfinches embellished with red crosses. The multimedia piece contemplates the role of suffering in the process of refinement and transformation.

“When we think about the way gold is refined, it is heated up to thousands of degrees and all of the impurities rise up to the top,” Mai said. “What is left is pure gold, the essence of what it is. What if that is what life is doing for us? … What if the suffering was refining our character and our hearts and making us more pure?”

“Momentum” encourages students, faculty and the public to think about the ways society might move forward in times of hardship.

“I hope that gallery visitors take away from ‘Momentum’ whatever they need to,” Mai said. “Whatever it is that their heart needs, is my hope.”

COURTESY OF THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RACE AND ETHNICITY IN AMERICA

Featured in the CSREA’s “Momentum” exhibit is Trinh Mai’s “And we shall come forth as gold,” a multimedia piece reflecting on the exhibition’s theme of forward progression.

COURTESY OF BROW UNIVERSITY/NICK DENTAMARO Final construction tasks over the summer have included the installation of Leo Villareal’s “Infinite Composition” in the Atwater Lobby.

Student journalists discuss experiences reporting on campus shootings

WEB EXCLUSIVE

BY SOFIA BARNETT UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

Content warning: This story discusses gun violence and trauma.

Brown Counseling and Psychological Services: 401-863-3476

According to a report from the Violence Project and Best Colleges from this past spring, “at least 98 people have been killed in 12 mass shootings at U.S. colleges since 1966.” As of February, 75% of those shootings happened in the last 16 years.

On Aug. 28, a professor was fatally shot at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Three weeks later, UNC students were under lockdown once again due to another threat of “an armed or dangerous person” on campus.

On Feb. 13, three Michigan State University students were killed and five were injured on campus after a gunman opened fire in a classroom.

On Nov. 14, 2022, three University of Virginia football players were killed and two other students were injured after a shooter opened fire on campus.

As higher education grapples with an influx of campus gun violence, student journalists are often the reporters closest to the stories. The Herald spoke with student journalists from UNC, MSU and UVA about their experiences covering gun violence as both reporters and people.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: The Daily Tar Heel Maddie Policastro, a sophomore at UNC, is a senior writer for The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s student newspaper. When Policastro first heard about a shooting on campus, they went into lockdown for the night with a few friends. The next day, they snapped into reporting mode.

Policastro remembered thinking: “As a journalist, this is something I’m going to experience a lot of. Things where I’m

personally affected but have to be able to offer that kind of coverage and those perspectives, even when I’m still coping and dealing with it.”

Student journalists, they said, “have a very unique obligation to report,” especially given their ability to “connect on such a deep level with the student body.”

Policastro paused before explaining that “we are the only people that fully understand what happened and what we all went through because we were living in it.”

For Policastro, reconciling the tension between being a student and being a journalist in times of tragedy on campus is a difficult but necessary task.

Three weeks after the initial shooting at UNC, the school went under lockdown again due to reports of a “dangerous” individual who reportedly pulled a gun on a cashier at a campus bagel shop.

What Policastro remembered most about the second threat was the “fear and disbelief that it was happening again.”

While Policastro has not reported on the second incident, they are planning future coverage exploring the impact of both

experiences on students. “As a journalist, I’m definitely still thinking about it,” they said. “Especially living through another lockdown incident like this one and bringing up that same trauma.”

Policastro, who was in a dining hall when the lockdown was announced, recalled watching students run away from windows — “we didn’t know where the person was,” they said.

While Policastro was distressed at the scene around them, they noted that their firsthand exposure to the environment was valuable for their understanding of the scene as a reporter.

Although Policastro doesn’t “think this is something (they’re) ever going to move past,” they explained how their “reporting was really integral to (their) healing process at the time.”

“One of the main reasons I even became a reporter in the first place is because I think it’s really important that other people have an opportunity and a platform to share their experiences and stories with the world,” they said. “So being able to be that person for other people, that person

Brown community discusses bans of LGBTQ+ books

ENGN 0030 given recent retirements and informed in part by a review of the core curriculum that is underway — we decided to pause ENGN 0030 and proceed with ENGN 0032,” wrote Tayhas Palmore, senior associate dean for academic affairs at the school of engineering, in an email to The Herald.

“We recognize that this shift may have been disruptive for some of the students who planned to TA for ENGN 0030, but this decision was made in the best interest of all of our engineering concentrators and students from other academic areas interested in introductory engineering courses,” Palmore wrote.

The course cancellation posed logistical and financial issues for former TAs who had anticipated having employment in the fall semester, the two TAs told The Herald.

“I thought I was going to have this job, I’m going to have this income, but now I don’t know,” the first former ENGN 0030 TA said. “By that point in the semester, a lot of the TA positions that I could have applied to

were closed.” They are currently still seeking campus employment opportunities and have not yet found a job.

Both TAs in the course who spoke with The Herald described the situation as “frustrating,” with one adding that the sudden layoffs were “saddening” for students affected.

“It was important to go from a student to a mentor,” the first former ENGN 0030 TA said. “And then just having that taken away was really frustrating.”

BIOL 0200: Mixed messages

BIOL 0200 TAs were hired at the end of the spring 2023 semester and expected to work six hours a week in the following fall semester, the TAs told The Herald. But in a Sept. 11 staff meeting — the first of the semester for BIOL 0200 — TAs present alleged that the course’s professors informed the group that eight of their roughly 20 staff would be terminated the following week, partially as a result of the campus-wide minimum wage increase for UTAs.

Natalie Chersynth ’24, a third-time BIOL 0200 TA, claimed that faculty

then informed the TAs that “the wage increase that occurred in the past year has put an additional burden on the department.”

The course, which typically sees enrollment between 200 and 300 students, has almost 150 students this semester. But at the initial staff meeting, professors “made it clear that (the layoffs weren’t) due to the course enrollment size,” alleged Camilla Regalia ’24, a first-time BIOL 0200 TA.

“The (Biology Undergraduate Education) office kept us informed about the possibility of resource reallocation, which included adjustments to teaching assistant positions,” Professor Jody Hall, Professor William Holmes and Professor John Stein PhD’95 wrote in an email to The Herald. “This was communicated to us as essential to ensure fairness and equitable support across all courses.”

“While BUE was considering specific details throughout the shopping period, we proactively informed our TAs about potential reallocation at our staff meeting, underscoring our commitment to transparency,” they

that somebody can talk to and know that their story is going to get out there in a very delicate and personal matter is really important to me.”

Policastro’s words of advice to any student journalist who may find themselves in the position of reporting on gun violence on their campus are “to realize that you are also students and that you also need to heal.”

“But also recognize that you have a responsibility,” they said. “One that is very important.”

Michigan State University: The State News

SaMya Overall was the editor-in-chief of Michigan State’s newspaper, The State News, at the time of the February shooting. Overall was in her apartment when she suddenly noticed a swarm of notifications flooding her laptop’s home screen. At first, Overall wasn’t quite sure what the situation was, aside from an elevated police presence on campus.

SEE JOURNALISTS PAGE 15

wrote.

The BUE office denied claims that the decision was prompted by the minimum wage increase.

“We were fully aware of the UTA minimum wage increase and had already secured the additional funds to address the increase, so that was not a factor in this decision,” wrote Dean of BUE Toni-Marie Achilli PhD’14 in an email to The Herald.

Chersynth expressed frustration with the department, describing it as “poor planning.”

Two days after the Sept. 11 meeting, BIOL 0200 TAs were informed that there would not be terminations — instead, most TAs would be getting their weekly hours reduced from six to four. According to TAs, they can choose whether to only manage grading and office hours or lab.

“There has been a shift in enrollment across many of our biology courses this semester,” Achilli wrote to The Herald. “We’ve managed to maintain TA positions for all members of our UTA staff by strategically reducing the hourly commitment of UTAs in BIOL 0200 from six to four hours.

Brown employees, students donate 27 times more to Democrats than Republicans

Upcoming exhibit featuring Mumia Abu-Jamal to center on incarceration

READ IT ONLINE

BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Where possible, we reassigned TAs to other courses to offset enrollment increases in other biology courses.”

Several BIOL 0200 TAs expressed disappointment at the unanticipated reduction in hours and commented that it was disruptive to their expected income.

“I can augment the money that I would have been making (TAing) through tutoring, but I’m lucky I had that backup plan,” Regalia said. “Other people don’t have that.”

“Part of the UTA experience is … doing all the components of the job,” said one BIOL 0200 TA. “It’s a bit disappointing (that) they’re cutting our roles.”

TAs told The Herald that the instability and lack of communication surrounding their positions have created disillusionment surrounding current work experiences and future prospects for course employment.

“I just don’t have a lot of faith in the TA hiring process now,” said the first former ENGN 0030 TA. “Who knows if another course that I want to TA is going to disappear? I don’t know now.”

Student reporters, editors recount ‘unique obligation to report’

COURTESY OF LIN ZEXU, PAUL R. BURLEY, AARON JOSEPHSON | MEDIA BY SOFIA BARNETT / HERALD

“There

is no

how-to-guide. No one ever prepares you for this,” Eva Surovell, the former editor-in-chief of the University of Virginia’s The Cavalier Daily, said.

TA from PAGE 1

“I kind of snapped into more editor-in-chief mode than I did to person mode,” she said. “I was like, ‘Okay, this is breaking news.’ I told my roommate, ‘I’ll see you later’ and started driving toward campus in the dark.”

As she got closer, Overall realized that barricades around the north part of MSU’s campus were blocking her from driving into the scene, so she parked her car three blocks away from the State News office and walked into the newsroom to start reporting.

“For the whole first night and most of the days afterward, I was almost exclusively reporting,” she said. “Until the managing editor and I met with our advisor at the time and discussed a kind of rescue plan for our reporters and editors — because we had been working on stuff from around the clock from the night of the shooting — I didn’t really process anything.”

Overall coped through leadership and reporting, despite the “shock to (her) foundation of safety at MSU.”

“There were a lot of things that I was avoiding,” she recalled. “Then obviously I was more busy than ever so I was able to … bury myself in State News work” — which simultaneously helped her cope while preventing her from fully processing her feelings, she said.

The week after the shooting, Overall decided The State News would focus its

JOURNALISTS from PAGE 14 UNIVERSITY

coverage on how the shooting impacted MSU students.

“We really wanted to find every angle of how students dealt with that night,” Overall said, noting that students were locked down everywhere from dorm rooms to buses.

“We set up a database on our website … to allow the community to submit their own stories recounting what happened, and we’d publish them basically verbatim.”

In the following weeks, Overall felt The State News had the responsibility to “restore the community” and work to answer community members’ questions about the lockdown.

While national news outlets covered the basics of the incident, student news organizations got into the “day-to-day” as well as “the different stories, like students at MSU who (had) been in previous shootings,” Overall said.

She described leading the paper’s more than 70 staff members as the sort of situation where “you just have to assume that you know what you’re doing” — later Overall wrote a column in The State News titled “There’s no book on how to be editor-in-chief during a mass shooting.”

“It’s something that student journalists should never have to muddle through,” she said. “And now unfortunately, more and more student journalists and student newspapers are having to think about what happens when we have to cover something like this.”

Overall hopes student journalists will hold onto the importance of self-lenience and grace in these situations. “You don’t have to have all of the answers,” she added. “No one does.”

University of Virginia: The Cavalier Daily

Eva Surovell was wrapping up her term as the editor-in-chief of the University of Virginia’s student newspaper, The Cavalier Daily, at the time of the Nov. 14 shooting. Surovell remembers being awake for 72 hours after the shooting happened. National outlets including The New York Times, The Associated Press and The Washington Post called Surovell’s cell phone, one after the other — all between 4 and 5 a.m. Surovell was out to dinner with friends when she heard the news of a shooting. After previously reporting on a situation with an armed individual on campus, Surovell’s instinct drew her to the scene. She threw on a jacket and glanced at her phone. Another security text lit up her screen: Active shooter. “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.”

“It was dead quiet outside as I walked to the bottom of the hill. On my way, I run into a police officer, and he’s like, ‘You need to turn around now,’” she said. Surovell “quickly disassociated,” feeling as though she were operating on auto-pilot.

She met up with a friend and joined fellow students who had barricaded themselves in a classroom. Surovell then mon-

itored police scanners, Twitter and her email while frantically checking in with local journalists.

“I went into a closet in this room and sat there listening to those police scanners for probably like an hour and a half,” she said.

“At some point during all this, I texted my mom. I was like, ‘Mom, there’s a shooting going on. I’m working on paper stuff. I love you and I’m fine.’”

Later, Surovell staked out the scene with other local outlets. “As I’m doing all of this, there’s helicopters circling looking for the guy and police sirens going off nonstop,” she said. “So I wrote a note to our readers (in the newsletter) that was to the effect of, ‘I don’t really know what’s going on. I’m really upset. All I can tell you is that you should tell the people around you that you love them.’”

Surovell remembered receiving an email from a member of The Cavalier Daily’s nonprofit board as the moment when she “lost it.”

“They had emailed me a guide for how to report on school shootings from the Virginia Tech student newspaper,” she said. “I think that was the first moment where I was like, this is insane.”

“No one ever prepares you for this,” Surovell added.

She explained that, in particular, her positionality as a white woman made reporting on the deaths of three Black students difficult to navigate. “I was so young

to be in charge of more than 500 people … and I was not prepared to do what was asked of me.”

After consulting with The Cavalier Daily’s previous editor-in-chief, Surovell gave everyone in the newsroom a choice: Do you still want to report?

“I was like, ‘You don’t need to write if you don’t want to. If you do want to write, participate in whatever capacity you feel comfortable,’” she said.

For Surovell herself, much of the reporting process felt like “an out-of-body experience,” a weight she felt especially at a vigil held for the victims the day after the shooting. “That was the first time when I really, really broke down. I don’t think I stopped crying for several hours,” she said. Trying to stay strong for the paper’s staff, Surovell hadn’t allowed herself to cry up until that moment.

Surovell also strived to avoid a dynamic where the paper was “(preying) on students.” She wrote a statement “saying that we won’t be seeking out interviews. If you are a student and wish to share your story with us, please reach out.”

Leading The Cavalier Daily’s newsroom throughout the shooting and aftermath taught Surovell that “it’s okay to lead with your heart … and that doesn’t make me any less of a journalist.”

“I think what everyone forgets, especially the national media outlets and politicians and lawmakers, is that when the

DPS union, sergeants’ union sign new contracts with U.

Union representatives discuss formations, inflation-aligned wages

BY JENNIFER SHIM SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Over the summer, the University signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the Brown University Security Patrolperson’s Association, the union that represents Department of Public Safety campus police officers, security officers and building guards. Negotiations between the University and the union began in summer 2022 after their existing contract expired that June, The Herald previously reported.

The University also entered into a separate bargaining agreement with a new union of on-campus sergeants that was formed in 2021 under the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

The agreement with IBPO was signed May 3 and the agreement with BUSPA was signed Aug. 17, according to Marie Williams, vice president of University Human Resources. Both agreements apply retroactively from July 1, 2022 and extend until June 3, 2025.

“The main concern of our members was the erosion of purchasing power based on inflation,” said Edward Myers, the president of BUSPA, regarding the union’s negotiations with the University. The new contract

COFFEE from PAGE 1

iary

contains raises to reflect the effects of inflation, though Myers added that the raises are “not keeping up with inflation” entirely.

Sergeants, represented by IBPO, are “first-line supervisors” for campus police officers and other employees within DPS, said Brendan McGrath, president of IBPO Local 863.

During the pandemic, sergeants — who were not unionized at the time — were conducting work outside the scope of their defined responsibilities, McGrath said, which prompted

their

“Our

them to form a union with the goal of receiving the same benefits and compensation as unionized DPS employees.

Sergeants solicited authorization cards from the National Labor Relations Board and filed for the formation of a union in March 2021, according to NLRB filings. Sergeants voted unanimously to unionize at a vote in May 2021 and the University did not contest the union’s formation, McGrath said.

The new union currently rep -

most college students around meals,” Brenda Ice, senior associate dean and senior director of residential life, added in the release. “For us, the idea of adding a retailer in that space that is

resents eight sergeants, McGrath said. The contract contains built-in pay raises and protects union members from having to perform tasks outside the scope of their roles. By joining IBPO, a national union with a state office in Rhode Island, the sergeants also gain access to legal support and guidance from full-time union staff, McGrath said.

The International Brotherhood of Police Officers, formed in 1964 in Cranston, became affiliated with the National Association of Government

centered in food, like quick, grab-andgo sandwiches and snacks is ideal.”

Scott Petersen ’25, who lives in Chen Family Hall, said news of the forthcoming shop is “really exciting.”

Employees in 1970, according to IBPO Local 301’s website. Representatives from the union, which has over 15,000 members nationally, have previously advocated for bills protecting the rights of police officers and opposed bills proposing reforms to the state’s Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.

The union also provided legal services to officers involved in the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta in 2020. The union denounced the charges, calling them “premature and politically motivated,” the New York Times reported at the time.

Both Myers and McGrath described amicable negotiations with the University, with Myers noting that the University’s bargaining representatives were “very good negotiators.”

“You can’t get everything,” McGrath said. “But I think we’ve accomplished a lot.”

“For both unions, our negotiations were productive and collegial, and we were able to successfully arrive at mutually beneficial agreements,” Williams wrote in an email to The Herald.

Regarding the length of negotiations, which stretched for more than a year, Williams wrote that Brown believes “our collective bargaining negotiations should take the time needed for both sides to come to an agreement that is mutually satisfactory.”

“I think it’ll be a nice place to study, grab a bite to eat and take a break from dining hall food,” he said.

CLAIRE DIEPENBROCK / HERALD

By joining the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, sergeants gain access to legal support from full-time union staff, said Brendan McGrath, president of IBPO Local 863.

services and real estate, according to the press release. “The wholehearted approach they take to everything about

business will create an exceptional coffee experience for College Hill students and residents.”

research shows that community and connections tend to happen for

The Rt. Hon. Dame

Jacinda Ardern

Prime Minister of New Zealand (2017-23); Senior Fellow, Harvard University; Special Envoy, Christchurch Call; Board Member, The Earthshot Prize

Global Leadership in the 21st Century

Thursday, October 5, 2023 | 5:30 p.m.

Tickets required.

For more information, please visit ogden.brown.edu

This event is free and open to the public. Exact location provided with registration. Brown or government-issued ID required. Backpacks, large bags and laptops are not allowed.

To request special services, accommodations or assistance for this event, please contact Event Strategy and Management at eventstrategy@brown.edu or 401-863-3100.