Yale Daily News -- Week of Feb 17, 2023

Bulldogs clinch Ivy Championship University leaders

BY EVAN GORELICK & ALEX MCDONALD STAFF REPORTER & CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

The rise of ChatGPT has prompted new University guidance for faculty and sta regarding artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Just weeks after ChatGPT launched in late November 2022, the online chatbot exploded in popularity worldwide. By January, ChatGPT reached over 100 million active monthly users, making it the fastest-growing web platform ever. ChatGPT is a conversational AI: the bot provides advanced responses to requests and questions and can generate written compositions.

University Provost Scott Strobel and Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives Jennifer Frederick sent an email to faculty addressing the rise of AI and its implications for teaching and research at Yale on Jan. 24, just after the start of the spring semester.

BY SPENCER KING STAFF REPORTER

With their win against Cornell University on Saturday, the women’s hockey team clinched their first Ivy League Championship in program history.

The No. 2 Yale women’s hockey team (24–2–1, 17–2–1 ECAC) split their games this weekend against two nationally ranked teams in a loss to No. 4 Colgate University (26–4–2, 16–3–1 ECAC) and a win over No. 14 Cornell (13–12–2, 10–9–1 ECAC).

After a hard fought 5–3 loss on Friday night to Colgate, the Bulldogs bounced back on Saturday as captain Claire Dalton ’23 provided

the overtime heroics to defeat Cornell 3-2.

“I am so proud of this team,” Dalton said. “Yesterday was tough, but we knew we could bounce back, especially with the school’s first Ivy League Championship on the line.”

Since Yale defeated Colgate in last year’s NCAA Regional Final, the Raiders clearly came into the new season with vengeance on their minds. Colgate has been the only team to beat the Bulldogs this year, and the two games against the Raiders stand as the only blemishes on Yale’s otherwise-perfect season. With the two teams currently occupying the top-two spots in the ECAC

standings, the Bulldogs will likely need to find a way to break the streak and beat the Raiders if they are to win an ECAC Championship in addition to their Ivy League Championship.

A player that has proven this season to be a thorn in the side of the Bulldogs — as well as nearly any team she plays against — is Colgate senior forward Danielle Serdachny. Serdachny registered three assists against the Bulldogs, pushing her season total to 58 points, a Colgate season record.

“That’s a really great accomplishment,” Colgate head coach Greg Fargo said to Colgate Athletics. “We’ve had a lot of great

players come through this program over the years and for Danielle to accomplish that tonight is really special.”

While Serdachny drives most of the offense for the Raiders, the Bulldogs boast a more diverse attack, which has proven to be an e ective strategy for the team all season. Yale has four players in the top 30 in the nation in points per game, led by Elle Hartje ’24 with 1.32 points per game, the 13th highest in the country.

However, the story of the game for the Bulldogs against Cornell was their captain, Dal-

Students seek religious accomodations

New housing process prevents requests for religious accomodations

BY BRIAN ZHANG & JANALIE COBB STAFF REPORTERS

The lack of guaranteed religious accommodations in this year’s newly standardized housing assignment process has drawn frustration from campus

groups, who argue that the new process will compromise the religious expression and mental health of Muslim students.

Such housing accommodations can include having single-gender bathrooms or living on a single-gender floor. In a Yale College Council fall survey, 52 percent of the students who reported that they required housing accommodations for religious or cultural reasons said that they had encountered challenges in securing them. 86 percent of these students had requested to be placed in all-women-identifying bathrooms.

“Not guaranteeing religious accommodations … is either forcing students that

need access to single-gendered spaces to live in anxiety-producing spaces and compromise their religious practices, or [having them] move off campus,” Huda Siddiqui ’25 told the News.

Previously, students who required religious accommodations could meet with their respective chaplains to make housing requests, according to Zahra Yarali ’24. If the chaplain head approved the accommodation request, the student would be removed from the housing lottery, joining a group of other students in that college who had made similar requests. Under the new housing pro-

Lamont cancels medical

BY ANJALI MANGLA & YURII STASIUK

SENIOR REPORTER & STAFF REPORTER

On Feb. 8, Gov. Ned Lamont announced a budget item proposal to cancel the medical debt of thousands of Connecticut residents. At the same time, progressive legislators have questioned why residents’ medical debt should exist in the first place, pushing for a bill to examine the costs and benefits of adopting universal healthcare in Connecticut.

According to Lamont’s proposal, the Connecticut government wants to use $20 million of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to cancel an estimated $2 billion in medical debts. The Connecticut government, partnering with nonprofits, would use the fund-

ing to negotiate with hospitals and buy out medical debts so hospitals will receive compensation for forgiving the debt that people cannot pay off — a model which governments throughout the United States have already used.

“Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy, and it hangs like a dark cloud as you try to get your health and bank account back in shape,” Lamont said in his budget address. “The ultimate solution to this problem is affordable access to quality healthcare for everybody.”

Debt cancellation still has to go through the Connecticut General Assembly. State Senator Saud Anwar, who serves as the General Assembly's Public Health committee chair, expressed his excitement about the proposal.

Anwar told the News that medical debt impacts one out of every five Connecticut residents — disproportionately minorities — and he believes it is a shame that so many people file bankruptcy because of it.

According to Lamont’s announcement, this model can "generate more than a one-to-100 return on investment of government dollars,” because “hospitals often sell debts for pennies.”

“ Paying the medical debt … would help take care of [people’s] immediate needs [and] protect their credit scores,” Anwar said. “And some of the healthcare systems [that] have been impacted by the lack of payment can survive and then per-

“We write today to increase faculty awareness about the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies that have been released recently,” the email read. “ChatGPT, for example, has made headlines in the past few months because of its ability to generate text and code with remarkable speed and coherence. We strongly encourage faculty to understand the implications of this emergent technology, including the opportunities and challenges it poses for teaching and learning in our community.”

This followed several faculty members contacting the Poorvu Center during the winter recess requesting guidance in light of the now-widely accessible AI software, according to University leaders.

“ChatGPT produces much better writing than the version of AI writing that was publicly available before,” Alfred Guy — Poorvu Center director of undergraduate writing and assistant dean of academic affairs — told the News. “Essentially, on Nov. 30, what AI could do in response to a written question jumped in quality. So the prospect of students being able to pass off AI work as their own went up.”

The email included a link to a new webpage aimed at providing AI guidance and resources for Yale instructors. The page, developed by the Poorvu Center in partnership with several faculty experts, contains perspectives on academic integrity, ideas for integrating AI into assignments and example syllabus statements addressing the use of AI technology by students.

Yale has not changed its undergraduate regulations regarding cheating and plagiarism, though professors can set course-specific AI policies when appropriate. Frederick, who is also the Poorvu Center’s executive director, told the News that the academic integrity concerns posed by ChatGPT are subsumed under existing regulations.

“You may have seen that some institutions have gone the direction of banning the use of ChatGPT; we’re not doing that,” Frederick said. “I think where the University leadership falls on this is that the considerations are going to be di erent for each school, each division, each discipline. So it needs to be a school-specific conversation.”

Frederick noted that the University’s response to the rise of accessible AI is still a work in progress, and policies are developing quickly.

To facilitate further discussion, the Poorvu Center will host an online panel, “Artificial Intelligence and Teaching: A Community Conversation” on Feb. 14.

“We’re not quite sure where this is all going,” Frederick told the News. “But we’re better as an educational institution to pay attention and to be really intentional about whatever happens.”

The Yale women’s hockey team recovered from a loss to No. 4 Colgate and beat No. 14 Cornell to clinch the team’s first Ivy League Championship in program history. Yale Athletics

This week’s crossword:

Last week’s answers:

Jessai Flores

Angelique de Rouen

Catherine Kwon

Yale’s Slifka Center for Jewish Life sits behind Silliman College on Wall Street, a quiet oneway alley behind Silliman College. Sunlight pours into the building from tall panes of dazzling glass onto plush purple couches. Given the warmth of the space, it’s no surprise the center hosted over 100 events in the fall after its Summer 2022 grand opening. Among those who call 80 Wall Street home, one of the most special spots in the building, alongside the “house of study,” is its deluxe, 250-seat kosher dining hall.

Slifka’s kosher dining hall, like any other on campus, is open to all Yale students. Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, the kitchen o ers a salad bar and hot dishes from a variety of cuisines. The menu is distinct from the other campus dining halls, and Wednesday night — not Thursdays! — is chicken tendies. Every other Sunday, Slifka hosts a “Lox et Veritas” tradition: a fully furnished, New York-style “bagel brunch.” Warning — you may find yourself too full with smiles and good vibes from Head Chef Dave Williams and Kosher Supervisor Ronnie Bergman to fit much food down.

In my experience, the only damper on dining at Slifka tends to be apprehension over “eating kosher.” You may even be wondering the same questions as friends

I’ve invited in the past: “Can I eat the food there if I’m not Jewish?” several have asked. Or, as one texted, “please let me know before I put anything in my mouth if I’m doing something o ensive.” The answer to these questions are, by the way, “of course, everyone is welcome” and “if you could just chew with your mouth closed, that would be great!” I believe a little education about the purpose of kosher dining will go a long way toward the center’s goal: bringing together Jewish students and the larger Yale community.

Kosher literally means “proper” in Hebrew, and in common parlance refers to Jewish dietary laws governing the preparation and types of food that Jews can eat. While the rules are generally agreed upon, how they are observed differs greatly across the wide spectrum of Jewish practice. Many of these laws are sanitary in nature, others involve avoiding “morally impure” animals like predators and pigs, and others mandate certain ancient, “humane” butchering practices. Because the list of rules is long and complicated, the menu at Slifka is chosen so that the food is acceptable to religious Jews that consider strictly adhering to kosher food to be a “mitzvah,” or commandment. Yet the idea that eating is a holy activity isn’t strictly Jewish — almost all world religions and many cultures

have some notion of “proper” or “clean” preparation and consumption of food, though few are as strict and precise as Jewish kosher law. Kosher dining means the Slifka cafeteria is the most accessible one on Yale’s campus.

In fact, the history of kosher dining at Yale is a long story that forms a crucial part of Yale’s steps toward increased diversity. Its history parallels the end of anti-Jewish discrimination and quotas in Yale’s admission policy.

In 1922, Yale admissions officers spoke in closed-doors meetings of a “Jewish Problem,” calling Jews “the alien and unwashed element” and resolving to cap Jewish enrollment at 10 percent for the next forty years. This language was repeated in a 1945 board report, highlighting the institutional antisemitism faced by Jewish students. However, even once official quotas were lifted, the lack of kosher food on campus was a major obstacle that forced many observant Jewish high schoolers to give up the dream of a Yale education. Yale’s requirement that Jewish students pay for a meal plan and food they could not eat quickly led activists to set up the first Jewish kitchen in 1959.

Traditional Jewish life has always revolved around the dinner table. Slifka’s dining center is the most recent milestone in the last sixty years of Kosher meal prep at Yale, an achievement that offers inclusivity to religious students amidst Yale’s largely secular campus. What was once a cramped kosher kitchen has sprouted into a space of community and togetherness, which is why ecumenical and non-Jewish groups like the Jewish-Christian Bible Study club, {W}holy Queer, Krav Maga, Yale Tango Society and Yogis at Yale regularly gather here. Even your correspondent, a “Ju-Bu” who’d rather sing Lennon’s “Imagine” than “birkat hamazon” and is deeply concerned about the inequities in funding across Yale, finds this legacy of unity inspiring.

So I leave you with a call to action: Whatever your religious or dietary needs, go gather a few friends and grab a meal at Slifka. There’s a good chance you find chicken tendies or a falafel bar, sweet, piping kugel or perhaps the most delicious bagel of your life — but what’s certain is that by eating at Slifka, you are choosing to celebrate a tradition of inclusion where everyone is welcome.

For me, that’s what “proper” eating is all about.

EDWARD KUPERMAN is a junior in Silliman College and co-head of Slifka’s “Rediscovering-Spirituality” a nity group. Contact him at edward. kuperman@yale.edu.

In 2020, American Dirt a novel about the experiences of an undocumented Mexican woman and her son moving to America to escape a drug cartel, caused a scandal in the book world. The author, Jeanine Cummins, got a seven figure advance, and her book received early praise from the likes of Stephen King and Sandra Cisneros. It was also heavily criticized for stereotyping/appropriating the immigrant experience and its truly out of touch marketing tactics which involved decorative barbed wire centerpieces and the author getting a barbed wire inspired manicure. But most of the debate focused on the question of whether Cummins — who had identified as white as recently as 2016 — had the right to tell this story.

Recently, there’s been a revival in the discourse because of Pamela Paul’s New York Times opinion piece The Long Shadow of American Dirt, in which she posits that the backlash against this book was both misguided and harmful to the industry. As a result, she says, “A creative industry that used to thrive on risk-taking now shies away from it.” She argues that publishers don’t make or break books – if they did, they’d make every book a success – and instead of shutting down projects like American Dirt, “the response from fellow Latino writers could have been more generous.”

Full disclosure: I have not and do not plan to read American Dirt. Writers with more informed thoughts on this have explained what the book gets wrong about Mexico and why it matters. But this focus on who gets to tell certain stories is fraught without interrogating who gets to decide what “authentic” is. Instead of focusing on authenticity, which is socially constructed anyway, we should focus on changing the structures and incentives so people can tell their stories how they want to.

According to Publishers Weekly’s 2022 survey of the indus-

try, publishing is still 83 percent white — down just one percentage point since 2019 despite e orts from various publishers to diversify their sta . When BIPOC writers submit their books to agents and editors, they are usually sending their work to people who don’t share their own identities. When I say this, invariably, someone will point out that to imagine people di erent from them is a writer’s job. And that’s true. Books are by just one or two people, so writers are imagining others’ experiences all the time, and we only notice when it’s bad. But that’s not the point. People wouldn’t care about some random white author writing BIPOC rep — even badly — if there were abundant counter narratives and good portrayals from within communities of color. But for so long, we as a society have upheld the white — usually male — voice as objective and default for telling stories. So the move to champion marginalized voices and let people within communities tell their own stories is important. Unfortunately, this has also been coopted by those who control publishing. The identities of marginalized authors have become a marketing tool, and who qualifies as #ownvoices or “diverse” has been dictated by publishers and profit.

I’ve spoken with several authors who feel uneasy about the ways their books have been marketed. It’s about identity as conceived of by others, not identity as lived. Because identity is actually messy. And the policing of identity, including the defining of what is “enough” to write certain kinds of stories, can be harmful. The same system that incentivizes someone like Cummins to claim to be Latina because she has a Puerto Rican grandmother has been used against marginalized writers, forcing them to act as perfect models for their identities online and even demanding disclosure from LGBTQ or disabled writers who have may have personal reasons for keeping their identities private.

But our obsession with American Dirt and book drama like it betrays a different problem with human attention as a whole. As Silvia Moreno-Garcia pointed out in a Twitter thread, after the American Dirt controversy, Cummins’ publisher, Macmillan, agreed to substantially increase Latinx representation. But according to conversations with others in the industry and in Moreno-Garcia’s personal experience, there doesn’t seem to have been follow through.

According to Publishers Weekly, Latine authors are the least represented at Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the industry, accounting for 5.1 percent of contributors despite being 18.5 percent of the United States population. But these systemic issues don’t make the news. And when a novel with good representation is published, it rarely gets as much attention. “Mexican American writes good Mexican American rep” just isn’t as captivating to people as dogpiling on someone like Taylor Jenkins Reid, who is white, and her novel “Carrie Soto is Back” which chronicles the tennis rivalry between a Latina character and an Asian American. One story or one book will not change an entire industry, because the change we need is systemic. Instead of promising to be vigilant looking out for the next American Dirt or even fighting about it, we should direct our attention to actually diversifying publishing — not only editors and writers but publicists and marketing people — so that books being written by people of color can get the attention they deserve. And on a personal level, instead of hate reading American Dirt, why not pick up and champion stories for and by Latine writers instead?

SERENA PUANG is a senior in Davenport College. Her fortnightly column, “Reading the room” analyzes culture and other contemporary issues through the lens of books. She can be reached at serena.puang@yale.edu.

After years of advocacy from student leaders and activists, calls for change from alumni and professors and a bombshell lawsuit that brought the nation’s attention to the issue of mental health discrimination on its campus, Yale has finally taken steps to reform its medical leave policies. The “momentous” changes, announced by the University less than one month ago, not only reclassifying medical withdrawals as medical leaves of absence — destigmatizing the option and increasing its accessibility — but also relaxing reinstatement requirements and increased benefi ts for students who opt to take medical leaves. While we commend the University for this great leap forward and celebrate with all who worked tirelessly to achieve this victory for Yalies current and future, we must remember that the path to a truly healthy and accessible Yale is still long. In the case of mental health advocacy, where we go from here is clear. We offer two specific, actionable paths forward, both of which would have a profound impact on student mental health at Yale. First, the University must continue its e orts to get on par with peer institutions by creating a centralized o ce dedicated to supporting students who choose to take time away from Yale. Second, Yale must recognize, promote and take advantage of changing licensing laws that will allow students to keep their outof-state therapists while attending the University.

For the students who make the di cult decision to take time away from their course of study, the transitions away from Yale and back are the most stressful and wearing parts of their experience. In addition to the stress and anxiety students already feel about leaving, they also have to navigate the vast complexities and bureaucracy of their departure and return alone. This not only places an unfair burden on

these students but adds to the crippling sense of abandonment and uncertainty many who take time away feel during their transitions. If Yale has any interest in alleviating these stressors and ensuring student success, a dedicated o ce would achieve both by centralizing resources and increasing support, transparency and advocacy for students. Following the models of schools like Duke and Cornell, Yale’s centralized o ce can be a comprehensive facilitator for all things time away related, helping streamline students’ exit, connecting with students during their time away and facilitating successful returns to campus.

Like college campuses across the country, Yale also struggles to meet the growing demand for student mental healthcare services. For years, students have complained about long waittimes, being “ghosted” by Yale therapists and the lack of diversity and specialization among clinicians at Yale Mental Health and Counseling. While the creation of YC3 and November’s news of YMHC’s expansion are necessary and positive steps, we fear that administrators miss the larger picture that Yale cannot do this alone. Yale must think outside itself and allow students to keep their clinicians from home.

State licensing laws have traditionally prevented students who arrived at Yale from states outside Connecticut from keeping their home therapists or seeking new out-of-state therapists. This forces them to join the over one thousand Yalies looking for treatment from YMHC every week. In just the past few years, however, multiple organizations have lobbied successfully for interstate recognition of licensing, allowing a mental health provider licensed in one participating state to practice via telehealth in any other participating state without obtaining a separate license. Connecticut is currently considering legislation allowing

the state to enter The Counseling Compact for providers holding a Licensed Professional Counselor, or LPC, certifi cation. Psychologists already have such a compact that includes Connecticut, and Licensed Clinical Social Workers are developing one as well.

It is inevitable that interstate and telehealth options for mental health will continue to expand, and Yale will best serve its student body by proactively adopting practices to take advantage of this evolution. O oading the YMHC system in this way will reduce wait times and free up in-house resources for students who do not have the insurance coverage or desire to seek outside care, provide greater continuity of care over academic semesters and summers to those who choose to use outside providers and, most importantly, give students more agency in one of the most intimate decisions they will make during their time in college.

As a national leader, Yale should use its influence to promote interstate compacts that make mental healthcare more accessible and prevent our university from falling behind in quality of care by clinging to models stuck in the past and unable to meet the needs of students.

Both these changes can be achieved in the near future and just as the Yale community came together to push successfully for changes to its medical leave policy, so we will continue to band together to improve mental health at Yale in honor of Yalies past, present and future.

MICHAEL NDUBISI is a sophomore in Saybrook College. His fortnightly column “A more perfect union” examines the American experiment, its flaws, and Yalies role in it. Contact him at michael.ndubisi@yale.edu.

JULIAN SUH-TOMA is a sophomore in Benjamin Franklin College. He is a senator in the Yale College Council. Contact him at julian.suh-toma@ yale.edu.

THE FRONT

Gov. Lamont announces proposal to cancel medical debt

haps do a little bit better compared to what they are doing right now.”

Bhargav Ramesh ’23, director of medical debt and insurance counseling at HAVEN Free Clinic, has spent the past three years volunteering for the department and helping the clinic’s patients resolve outstanding medical bills. Ramesh said that this patient population is highly underserved and unable to access care elsewhere without having reservations about costs or immigration status, since a majority of the patients served by HAVEN are undocumented and uninsured.

While the clinic can provide services to this population for free through a guarantor account overseen by the Yale Medical Group, the clinic is unable to offer specialized services like diagnostic imaging or procedures. According to Ramesh, it is a “safety net for the American healthcare system,” and “a last resort” which means that without the clinic, patients often have nowhere else to go. In this case, patients often have to go elsewhere — like Yale New Haven Hospital, or YNHH — for a scheduled surgery or an MRI, expensive procedures which may lack cost transparency for the patient.

“Another reason why patients are racking up debt like this is because they either may not have the funds, or they’re afraid to seek care at a primary care center, or things of that nature,” Ramesh said. “And what this leads to is people delaying care until it becomes something serious, and then you go to the emergency department, you get a really big bill. And this is endemic in American healthcare in general, not just among our patient population, but it especially is something we see a lot.”

According to Ramesh, the department mostly helps patients apply for the YNHH’s financial assistance program

or resolves medical emergency room bills worth thousands of dollars. Unlike other programs, Ramesh said, YNHH’s financial assistance sometimes lets patients retroactively waive debt. Most patients qualify for what is called Free Care, where all services they receive at the hospital are free of cost, but the financial assistance program operates on a sliding-scale system, which offers discounted care based on patient income.

However, these services may not have a lot of financial transparency for the patient, as different departments and specialties have differing standards for discounted and free care.

In addition to debt alleviation, the department also works on applications for HUSKY, the state Medicaid program, which provides free services to individuals that meet a certain income eligibility. However, according to Ramesh, this is only applicable for a minority of HAVEN patients because the vast majority are undocumented –– a main requirement of HUSKY is that one must be a permanent resident or citizen to qualify. In the past two years of working at the clinic, Ramesh has only personally done about 10 or so of those applications, as only patients who do not have migratory status issues can apply for government assistance, among other requirements.

“There's a lot of financial toxicity in healthcare, as you might imagine,” Ramesh said. “And particularly since there's not a lot of government programs in place that can help undocumented patients receive healthcare, it is especially even more of a challenge.”

Despite Connecticut’s Medicaid program being more “generous” than other states such as those that have not expanded Medicaid, according to Ramesh, the healthcare system is hard to navigate for the average person. Especially with such little price transparency, once an individual faces debt, it can pose a huge burden in their daily lives, mak-

ing it difficult to think about what to do next if challenged by income, or interact with debt collectors, according to Ramesh. Although Lamont’s proposal aims to alleviate this burden, the insurance system remains difficult to navigate. “I'd continue to be concerned for populations such as the one we see which are a large majority of undocumented patients who don't have an understanding of how healthcare or billing for that matter works,” Ramesh said. “So for patients who have very limited healthcare system literacy, or by their immigration status, I really struggle to believe that this could have any potential to help.”

State representative Anne Hughes, co-chair of the progressive democratic caucus and House Representative for the 135th district, believes that medical debt should not exist in the first place.

According to Hughes, Lamont’s proposal is working “on the backend” to solve an issue that most Connecticut families face, due to the way the current health insurance system works.

“What if we just stopped the bullshit practice of medical debt in the first place?” Hughes questioned. “That shouldn’t be a thing. I mean, I’m all for taking 20 million and canceling medical debt, but how about we take 500 million and cover everybody here. How about we do that?”

In 2019, Hughes and other legislators pushed for a bill to expand HUSKY for all as a universal healthcare coverage option. According to Hughes, since 900,000 of the 3.4 million Connecticut residents already access HUSKY, expanding to cover all residents will help hospital systems save more money rather than lose it to uncompensated care. Additionally, Hughes said that Connecticut pays only 3.4 percent in overhead administrative costs.

Hughes cited that Connecticut hospitals already pay $600 to $900 million annually for uncompensated care due to individuals without existing healthcare insur-

ance needing emergency procedures. She suggested that under a system where all individuals have insurance, uncompensated care would be reduced, and that the state could actually pay hospitals for that care.

In January, five progressive legislators, including Hughes, introduced to the legislature House Bill No. 5485, “An Act Concerning a Cost-Benefit Analysis of Establishing a HUSKY for All, Universal Health Care Financing System.”

The bill proposes to require the state government to contract the cost-benefit analysis, which would find the benefits and feasibility of establishing a “HUSKY for all” system in the state. According to Hughes, the economic analysis would allow policymakers to understand how much it would cost for HUSKY to cover all Connecticut residents in a tax-funded, self-insured plan.

State representative David Michel, one of the co-introducers of the bill, grew up in France — a country with healthcare coverage. He told the News that healthcare is a human right in most of the world but the United States. Michel would love to see single-payer healthcare in the state of Connecticut — the one in which all costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by the single public system.

Originally, the bill proposing the “HUSKY for All” system was raised in the General Assembly in 2019. However, according to Michel, the state pushed back and required the study to be completed first — the advocates and progressive legislators thus focused on it.

As representatives brought up the analysis bill, Michel said that bill will not be passed by the General Assembly this year.

According to him, it is “dead” — the Human Services Committee did not raise it to committee discussion, preventing it from advancing further in the legislative process.

Holly Hackett, a member of Medicare for All CT, an advocacy group that helped with the bill, told the News that every time orga-

nization tries to do something that might take away from the profits of the insurance company, “they step up and throw millions […] of dollars into the lobbyism” to block the efforts — which she believes happened again this time.

Michel said there was insufficient support even in the Human Services Committee.

“

The chairs let it pass the last time, and it was sent to appropriations with a fiscal bill that really was out of proportion,” Michel said. “And it was just sent to be killed in another committee.”

Michel and other progressive legislators plan to continue fighting for universal healthcare coverage in the State. He told the News that the cause needs more public support and advocacy — especially from students — pushing the Committee to raise the bill in the next legislative session.

“The study really doesn't cost much money — it costs less than $20,000,” Michel said. “We need a lot of pressure so that this committee accepts to do [it].”

Hughes believes that other states look to Connecticut as an example and that piloting universal healthcare coverage in the state could be scaled up for larger populations in other states or even perhaps the nation. She emphasized that most Connecticut families who aren’t insured by HUSKY or Medicare have had “horrible, lengthy, soul-crushing experiences with their insurers if they have anybody sick.”

“This system is ridiculous,” Hughes said. “It is normalized. And it is not a care system. It is a profit system that is preying on sick people. And I think that younger people and a lot of families are starting to wake up to this and say this is not acceptable … why have we not questioned that the barriers to care have only gotten greater?”

As of June 2021, there was $88 billion in medical debt on national consumer credit records, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Contact ANJALI MANGLA at anjali.mangla@yale.edu and YURII STASIUK at yurii.stasiuk@yale.edu .

In addition to debt alleviation, the department also works on applications for USKY, the state Medicaid program, which provides free services to eligible individuals. Courtesy of Brian O'Connor

“We love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving.”

FRIEDRICH NIETZCHE GERMAN PHILOSOPHER

THE FRONT

“Love is space and time measured by the heart.”

Yale beats No. 14 Cornell to clinch program's first Ivy Championship

ton. The captain first entered the scoresheet when she scored at the end of the second period to tie the game at two-all, but she would go beyond a tying goal. With the teams tied at two at the end of regulation, the Bulldogs sent out their big guns to start three-on-three overtime,

with head coach Mark Bolding electing to pair two of his most dangerous forwards — Dalton and Hartje — with his best offensive defenseman, Emma Seitz ’23.

The trio proved to be what the Bulldogs needed, with Dalton collecting the puck below the goal line before driving hard towards the net and looping it

around the Cornell goalie.

The goal was the final punch in what has been a dominant stretch of play for Dalton, who entered February having been just named the Hockey Commissioners Association National Co-Player of the Month of January.

“We want to have a high pace, aggressive style of play,” Hartje said. “A main focus of our team

is to forecheck hard, create turnovers and get shots on net.”

The focus for the team now swings to the final weekend of regular season play, which will see Dartmouth College and Harvard University visit Ingalls Rink.

“We always want to beat Harvard,” Dalton said of the final regular season matchup against the rivals. “That is something

that is ingrained in you the second you choose to come to Yale.”

The Bulldogs will play their final regular season game of the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the Harvard Crimson at The Whale.

Contact SPENCER KING at spencer.king@yale.edu .

University leaders issue AI guidance in response to growing popularity of Chat GPT

Students and faculty weigh in on

ChatGPT

The News spoke to several students and faculty members about ChatGPT, and, as many anticipated, ChatGPT has already made its way into the classroom.

“At the beginning of the year, most if not all of my professors vocalized that ChatGPT would not help in the class,” Izzy Farrow ’26 told the News. “They claimed to have tried it themselves, and revealed that there were flaws in the AI responses that would cause a deduction of points on an assignment for lack of thoroughness or correctness.”

Faculty opinion on AI widely varies, and, as Frederick intimated, varies significantly by discipline.

“I encourage my students to play with ChatGPT as a study tool,” applied physics professor Owen Miller told the News. “In a course like APHY 110, which explores the physics of modern technology, students often have a lot of questions as they try to sort and organize foundational physics ideas … ChatGPT can serve as a tutor, helping the students probe, be curious, and cultivate interest in a subject.”

Miller added, though, that there is a major caveat: students need to fact-check answers generated by these programs. But, according to Miller, it is “easier to check answers than to generate them.”

Miller also noted that AI technology will only become more widespread in the future, so becoming well-versed with the technology now can give students a leg up.

Psychology professor Hedy Kober, while optimistic, expressed concerns about potential challenges to academic integrity.

“As a first step, we will need to all think about more creative solutions for papers and take home assignments so that students need to rely on their own thinking, argument,

synthesizing and writing skills rather than on ChatGPT’s skills,” psychology professor Hedy Kober told the News. “I know others are working on tools that would be able to detect AI-generated text, so that might be the new ‘Turnitin’ tool we can use to avoid AI-plagiarism.”

Computer science professor Jay Lim said that ChatGPT is “definitely” a teaching concern of his.

He called ChatGPT a “double-edged sword” for its ability to enhance or detract from students’ learning. He also pointed out that ChatGPT, while usually correct, is sometimes wrong, which greatly hinders its utility for students seeking quick-and-dirty answers.

Nevertheless, Lim said that “we need to embrace technology” because there is no way to prevent students from using ChatGPT. Rather, Lim thinks that faculty members should focus their efforts on integrating ChatGPT into their courses to help students rather than harm them.

English professor Kim Shirkhani, who is also the ENGL 120 course director, said that while she hopes students would want to do their own writing, there are also effective ways to mitigate the risks of academic dishonesty.

“The AI does a good job of summarizing ideas and even generating parts of argument, but doesn’t yet create the kind of nuanced, alive, implicative writing we teach in 120,” Shirkhani told the News.

“We also have a few bulwarks — in the drafting and workshopping aspects of the course, which help establish early on a given student’s writing characteristics.”

ChatGPT uses 175 billion language parameters, making it one of the largest and most powerful AI language models ever.

Contact EVAN GORELICK at evan.gorelick@yale.edu and ALEX MCDONALD at alex.mcdonald@yale.edu .

Psychology professor Hedy Kober, while optimistic, expressed concerns about potential challenges to academic integrity. Lucas Holter/Senior Photographer

ing in wudu, an ablution or purification with water that is performed before daily prayers. During wudu, one wipes the top of their head with their hand, and therefore must first take the hijab off.

Siddiqui said she was fortunate enough to have been granted an in-suite bathroom with all female suitemates after expressing her religious needs in her first-year housing form, allowing her to remove her hijab without compromising her personal comfort, religious practices and mental health. This year, she was allowed to receive a room assignment before the housing draw after communication with her chaplain and dean, who also designated a nearby bathroom to be reserved for women only.

Noor Kareem ’25, who was also successful in attaining a designated female bathroom, said that the enforcement of these boundaries remains blurry and can be easily violated.

As students await a decision, some worry about the looming deadline to declare one's housing intention for the fall 2023 semester. Jessie

cess, there is no longer a system for requesting religious-based housing accommodations.

Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis wrote in an email to the News that he was “sensitive to students’ religious needs.” He said that Dean of Student Affairs Melanie Boyd and the University Housing and Chaplain’s offices were in early conversations about a policy that would enable students requesting religious accommodations to access

private bathrooms on a “scheduled basis.” Relevant parties will be working out details in the forthcoming weeks, he added, confirming that the assignment of bathrooms is currently on a suite-by-suite basis.

As students await a decision, some worry about the looming deadline to declare one’s housing intention — Feb. 27, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. for the fall 2023 semester.

“I’m not a hijabi, but … I saw some of my friends who do wear hijab blindsided by Yale’s lack of religious housing accommodations,” Debbie Olorunisola

Cheung/Senior Photographer

’25 told the News. “While Old Campus has some in-suite bathrooms, many residential colleges do not. Since sophomores can’t live off-campus, one of my friends had to choose between living by herself—taking away a crucial part of the Yale experience and potentially negatively impacting her mental health—or living with her friends—and having to overdress herself as she went to the shower because her hallmates were men.”

Without single-gender bathrooms, Muslim women cannot remove their hijab, a restriction that also prevents them from participat-

“Sometimes males on the floor ignored the ‘women identifying only’ paper sign out of convenience, not knowing it was meant to accommodate for religious purposes,” Kareem said. “Multiple occasions have led us to constantly feel anxious and uncomfortable, even in the female designated bathroom.”

When Inssia Ahmed ’25 was requesting housing accommodations, the Yale College Housing Office pointed her to an outdated webpage that stated that residential college deans and chaplains have the power to grant these requests. When she spoke to her residential college dean and Muslim Chaplain, she was caught in a “loop” before being ultimately told that as of now,

neither party reserves the right to guarantee accommodations.

In response to student concerns, the Yale College Council passed a proposal on Feb. 12 to standardize religious and cultural housing accommodations, which would alleviate the need for students to communicate constantly with their deans and respective chaplain’s offices. The proposal calls on the housing committee to create a form that automatically sends accommodation requests to a student’s dean and chaplain’s office, designate gender-specific bathrooms in every residential college and increase the installation of restroom signs on women-identifying floors that urge students to respect the stated boundaries.

“This policy of obfuscation has caused so much undue stress — my housing situation has been completely up in the air, to the extent where I’m not even sure who my suitemates will be or whether I will be able to live on-campus, despite wanting to stay with my residential college community and the friends I have made over the past two years,” said Ahmed, who is part of an effort by the Muslim Students’ Association to petition the current lack of guaranteed housing accommodations.

“Even now, Yale hasn’t published an official statement on religious housing accomodations. Yale students deserve clarity.”

The Yale College Dean’s Office is located at 1 Prospect St.

Contact BRIAN ZHANG at brian.zhang@yale.edu and JANALIE COBB at janalie.cobb@yale.edu.

New Haveners support Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims

“People will feel the effects of this for the next 10 years, and entire communities will need to be reestablished,” said Kemal Okvuran ’26.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people that need to be moved somewhere, housed, sheltered, fed.”

Members of the TSA also told the News that their ongoing fundraising efforts with the International Students Organization have raised over $10,000. According to Okvuran, donations are also being matched two-to-one, and he said he hopes that it will increase to three-to-one soon.

Ozan Okvuran ’26, another member of the TSA, said he worried that their fundraising efforts will likely dwindle as the news and social media move onto new topics.

“So currently [we] have a lot of attention on the earthquake and especially the rescue efforts, but over the next few months, attention is going to dwindle,” Ozan Okvuran said. “Now it’s getting coverage, but in three weeks that’s not going to be the case, but in three weeks, there will still be hundreds of thousands of people living in tents.”

KHUAN-YU HALL AND YASH ROY STAFF REPORTERS

After last week’s devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, a local mosque and pizzeria have launched programs to provide aid for those who have been displaced. With more than 35,000 dead and 380,000 displaced across Turkey and Syria, the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 is one of the deadliest earthquakes in the 21st century. To provide relief to those who are dealing with the fallout, both the Diyanet Mosque of New Haven and Brick Oven Pizza have been accepting donations and resources. Since last week, the mosque has primarily been accepting donations of clothing and has gathered at least six 30-foot-long

trucks worth of clothing since last week.

“We have had a Zoom meeting with the Turkish ambassador in Washington every couple of days, and then we started talking about how we were gonna do it,” said Haydar Elevi, president of the Diyanet Mosque. “We organized with 150 organizations in the U.S. Everyone gets together, and everyone does the best they can.”

According to Elevi, Feb. 13 is the last day that the mosque is accepting donations of clothing. He added that the mosque has sent multiple trucks worth of donations to the Turkish consulate in Boston. Over the next few years, Elevi hopes to continue supporting those affected by last week’s earthquakes by raising funds.

On Feb. 10, Sen. Richard Blumen-

thal visited the Diyanet Mosque to meet with members of the roughly 2,000-member-strong Turkish diaspora in New Haven.

“[We’re] bringing clothing, & other supplies to this wonderful place of faith & dedication,” Senator Blumenthal tweeted. “What has occurred in Türkiye & Syria is a catastrophe of epic proportions. I will work & fight for any & all assistance—in medical supplies, food, shelter, clothing, & more— that are needed now in this moment of devastating disaster.”

Another group in New Haven that has been collecting resources to send to Turkey and Syria is Pizza at the Brick Oven.

The pizzeria, located on Howe Street, hosted a fundraiser where they donated all of their sales from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Feb. 9 to Turkey and Syria.

The fundraiser raised $9,215, which Brick Oven owner Kadir Catalbasoglu rounded up to $10,000 and delivered to the Turkish embassy.

Catalbasoglu immigrated to the United States from Turkey in 1992 when he was 22 years old.

He said that since last Monday he has been talking to other Turkish members of New Haven’s business community. Although he said they are still developing ideas, they are hoping to come up with a way to gather blankets, supplies and cash to send back to Turkey.

According to Catalbasoglu, fundraising went well on Thursday in part because of coordination and support from the Yale’s Turkish Student Association, whose members were also at Brick Oven.

Since the earthquakes, the size of the TSA has doubled as Turkish students from Yale College and graduate schools have come together. TSA member Maya Ashaboglu ’26 said that the group has offered her support, especially during a time when most students seem to be unaware that there are Yalies for whom the earthquakes and aftermath are not just distant international headlines, but also events that affect them personally.

Another member of the TSA, Cem Kupeli ’25, said that the focus of the group has not been on supporting themselves, but rather on finding ways to give to those back in Turkey.

“Honestly, we haven’t really supported ourselves,” Kupeli said. “We’re only thinking about them right now. … We are only thinking about how we can help.”

The Diyanet Mosque is located on 533 Middletown Avenue.

Contact KHUAN-YU HALL at khuan.hall@yale.edu and YASH ROY at yash.roy@yale.edu .

Departments face challenges hiring new faculty

ment, it is reviewed by the Faculty Resource Committee , a group of diverse faculty members gathered to consider departmental requests, before being sent to the FAS Dean for final approval.

In an email to the News, Steven Wilkinson, political science professor and a former member of the FRC, said that the FRC rarely rejects faculty search requests.

“As long as departments have open department slots and the proposed hire fits with their needs and intellectual goals, as well as student interest, then I don’t think they are turned down very often,” Wilkinson wrote. “Sometimes the FRC may request a delay because of the availability of faculty to participate in a search or the number of other searches a department has going on that year.”

interviewed, to be reviewed by the FAS Dean’s office.

Spielman explained that this advertisement and initial reading stage is crucial to encouraging the furthering of diversity within the University faculty.

“Part of getting a more diverse group here to interview is just by having broad and successful outreach and having more diverse faculty read application files,” Spielman said. “When considering candidates, we are aware of multiple types of diversity including intellectual as well as categorical diversity.”

Jason Zentz GRD ’16, Associate Dean in the FAS Dean’s Office, explained the role of the Dean’s office in the hiring process and considerations they make when deciding whether or not to approve a candidate.

and sit down for numerous formal interviews. Towards the end of their visit, they might also give a talk to senior faculty members.

After in person interviews are conducted, departmental committees select candidates to whom offers will be made. Pending approval by the Dean’s office, candidates will be formally contacted and offered a position at the University.

Jutta Joorman, department chair of psychology, added that faculty are committed to diversity throughout the hiring process.

BY MIRANDA WOLLEN STAFF REPORTER

Despite improvements in the efficiency of the faculty recruitment process, some academic departments are struggling to convince finalists to accept offers of employment at the University.

The process for recruiting and hiring new faculty members is a rigorous one, employing department chairs, faculty members, numerous committees and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s office. Members of each group gave the News an overview of the procedures, speaking to the challenges the University has recently faced in the recruitment process.

“We have a low success rate when we make offers, because the people we make offers to typically also have offers from five or more other top ranked schools,” said Daniel Spielman ’92, Sterling Professor of computer science and statistics and data science. “So we do really have to make many offers to get one, which is a bit of a gamble.”

Spielman is currently conducting this spring’s search for the Department of Statistics and Data Science. Last year, he said, the statistics and data science department made offers to seven candidates, all but one of whom had offers from at least six other universities. Out of all seven candidates to whom positions were offered, none accepted.

Candidates will often come back for multiple visits of the University and try to envision their life there, Spielman said, often searching for housing in New Haven or job opportunities for their spouses in the area.

“The main thing students often miss out on when they look at the hiring process is that no matter how much we want someone, we cannot make them come to Yale,” Spielman said. “I can’t just go to Boston and throw a net over them.”

Encouraging candidates to accept a position is especially different in fields like statistics and data science, Spielman said, because candidates are often considering not only offers from other universities, but also from large tech companies. For this reason, even proposed salary increases are not enough to attract candidates.

“Yale seeks to appoint faculty who have or can obtain the tenure standard,” Kathryn Lofton, acting dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, wrote in an email to the News. The hiring process, she emphasized, is “guided by the ambition and excellence conveyed in the tenure standard.”

The first step in the hiring process is for a department seeking to hire to submit a request form to the FAS Dean’s office. According to the FAS website, after a search request is submitted by an academic depart-

Wilkinson added that large departments with high faculty turnover rates, such as economics, submit search requests more often than smaller departments with lower turnover rates. Unique interdisciplinary programs at the University, such as ethnicity, race and migration, also submit high volumes of search requests, Wilkinson said.

Spielman told the News that after a department is approved to begin a faculty hiring search their first step — which happens in the fall — is to advertise the opening and attract applicants.

“We begin with a lot of outreach,” he said. “Once we have our ad posted online and a way for people to submit applications, we get in contact with essentially all of our colleagues at other universities, and make sure they encourage their students and postdocs to apply.”

After the position has been successfully advertised, candidates may begin to submit applications. This year, Spielman said, the statistics and data science department received nearly 300 applications.

A committee of faculty members in the hiring department will then meet to review applications. After each application is reviewed by at least two committee members, Spielman said, the department selects candidates to be

“In the FAS Dean’s Office, we staff perform many of the functions that would take place in Human Resources for staff hiring,” Zentz wrote in an email to the News. “We provide guidance to departments and programs about best practices for searches to ensure compliance with labor and immigration laws and university-wide principles for diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Primary considerations when approving candidates in the initial stages of the search process include evaluating how well a candidate’s credentials align with the requirements of the job, Zentz explained. When searching to fill higher-level positions — such as a tenured position — a candidate’s alignment with nationally published criteria is considered, he added.

Zentz emphasized the influential position of faculty members in the hiring process. Faculty members in a hiring department, Zentz said, are responsible for initiating search requests, advertising jobs, reading applications, conducting interviews and making final hiring decisions.

After several rounds of virtual interviews, finalists are invited to campus for in-person screenings, according to the FAS website.

During campus visits, Spielman explained, candidates meet with different faculty members in their prospective department

“I think we all profit from having a diverse set of faculty and students,” Joorman said. “And this is a really major consideration whenever we search and also when we hire. So we have every search committee has a diversity representative. For every search, we, you know, have clear language in the ad that we’re looking, you know, for diverse candidates and looking to increase diversity within the department.”

Joorman also said that the University does not only rely on who replies to ads, but also might survey and scout for interested and diverse candidates.

Once offers have been made the tough part of the hiring process begins. In this post-offer stage of the hiring process, departments focus on selling Yale to hopeful future faculty members. And if a candidate accepts a position at Yale and is onboarded, though, they typically stay for a while.

According to Zentz, roughly 5 percent of tenure-track or tenured faculty leave Yale each year. As such, Zentz added, at least 5 percent of faculty on campus each fall are new to the Yale community.

“We take it as a sign of the excellence of our faculty that they frequently receive offers from academia and beyond,” Zentz wrote. “Our job is to foster a culture of belonging and provide resources and opportunities that would make them want to stay here at Yale.”

Yale University currently employs 5,118 faculty members.

Contact MIRANDA WOLLEN at miranda.wollen@yale.edu .

is metaphysical gravity.”

RYAN CHIAO/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Department chairs, members of the FAS Dean’s office speak about the hiring process.

KHUAN-YU HALL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

After a devastating earthquake near the Turkish-Syrian border, New Haveners are stepping up to send more than $20,000 in relief to affected nations.

Amended selection process underway for four Heads of College

SARAH COOK STAFF REPORTER

At the end of this academic year, four heads of college will step down, leaving vacancies in Pierson, Silliman, Trumbull and Benjamin Franklin residential colleges.

The search process — which previously involved a faculty committee recruiting faculty to the role — now consists of an open nomination process during which students and faculty may nominate faculty members or provide input on which characteristics they would like in a new head.

Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis told the News that he has received a large number of nominations and has a “strong pool” of nominees — only some of whom were interested in the role. Interested faculty were then asked to submit a letter of intent.

“ I think the risk with a tapping system is that the dean – or the president or whoever — just identifies the people who happen to be known to the committee,” Lewis told the News. “This way, by calling widely for people to be interested, we found out if they are interested before the process starts.”

Lewis compared the previous selection process to secret society tap. The new system, he explained, aims to be more fair and transparent, especially for faculty who may want to take on the role of Head.

The process is led by Lewis along with four committees consisting of faculty and students associated with each of the four residential colleges. The deans and heads of each

college recommended potential committee members.

“The committee is looking for a person who will make student welfare and college climate a priority, working both within existing structures of college and University, and bringing new ideas to the role,” Christina Kraus, head of the Trumbull committee and professor of Latin, wrote to the News.

Shawcat Toorawa, chair of the committee for Pierson and professor of Arabic literature, told the News that sine candidates nominated themselves and said they are looking for candidates dedicated to residential college life and students. There is a head of college position description that was sent out to members of each of the four residential colleges with

vacancies which, according to Toorawais, is a relatively new development in the appointment process and part of making that process more “intentional.”

“[The Head] is someone who can help build, foster and sustain community, diverse community and highlight both the intellectual experience of students at Yale but also their residential experience,” Torrawa said.

The statements of intent are currently being reviewed by each of the four committees. While Lewis said the committee could provide further nominations, most of the strongest candidates have already been nominated.

Lewis also explained that candidates are often not nominated for a particular college and do not need to be affiliated with the college to be considered to be Head. However, he said certain colleges may be looking for certain characteristics, so the committees help provide a sense of what each college is looking for.

“In the end, it’s like a logic game, where I’ll have so many candidates and four openings and trying to figure out who’s going to fit in where, based on the feedback from the committees,” Lewis told the News. Reflecting on the number of vacancies, Lewis said this amount of turnover is not abnormal, but may be a result of heads “holding on” through the COVID-19 pandemic which he said made the job more difficult.

However, Lewis pointed out that two of the vacancies, with the Heads of Pierson and Trumbull, Stephan Davis and Margaret Clark respectively, have both served ten year terms which is typically the maximum tenure for the role.

Once the committees narrow down the list of current nominees who are interested, Lewis said he will interview the finalists, and announcements for the new heads will come shortly after spring break. Yale has 14 residential colleges.

Contact SARAH COOK at sarah.cook@yale.edu .

A look at female representation in Yale’s administrative leadership

BY MOLLY REINMANN AND ALEXANDRA MARTINEZ-GARCIA CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS

The appointment of Megan Ranney as the next dean of the Yale School of Public Health marks a historic moment in Yale leadership: for the first time, more than half of Yale’s deans will be women.

With Ranney’s tenure set to begin on July 1, women are more represented than ever in deanship positions across the University’s 15 schools. The School of Architecture, the School of Art, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, the Nursing School, the School of Public Health and the School of Medicine are all headed by women. In the wake of this news, female faculty members and leaders of feminist organizations on campus reflected

on the importance of diversity within Yale’s faculty and the work that still remains to be done.

“I have seen, over and over again, that diversity of thought and lived experience enhances the success of an organization,” Ranney told the News. “If we truly include different lived experiences and perspectives, we end up with stronger, more effective, more sustainable solutions for the worlds’ problems.”

Ranney emphasized the particular importance of representation within the world of academia. Diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status within the faculty, she said, helps a university ensure that teaching and research is reflective of a variety of perspectives.

Kymberly Pinder, the first Black woman dean at Yale and the first person of color to serve as the dean of the School of Art, echoed this sentiment.

“When I came back to Yale to serve as its first Black woman dean, I was excited, but I also knew that meant there was much work to do,” Pinder said. “Diversity in leadership provides more perspectives to solve problems. Every successful woman I know has learned a lot from navigating sexism and the bigotry of low expectations.”

As a word of advice to young women in academia, Pinder suggested they always be open to and aware of new opportunities.

Ranney seconded this, suggesting that students focus on building their networks. With a more representative faculty, she wrote, students can form more diverse peer groups.

“What has made the biggest difference [for me] is having an international group of folks at about the same career stage, with similar ambitions, who cheer each other on,” Ranney said. “I have peer networks based on affinity groups, and others based on intel-

lectual or disciplinary interestthey all matter deeply.”

Seeing women represented in University leadership positions also serves as an example for current and prospective female students, Ranney added, pointing to the adage “you can’t be what you can’t see.” When female students see themselves represented in high ranking positions, they are more likely to aspire to these positions themselves, she said.

Both Deborah Berke, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, and Lynn Cooley, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said that their fellow female deans are a valuable resource.

“I have found all of the deans at Yale to be warm and generous colleagues, and helpful and responsive to each other,” Berke said. “In particular, the women deans have become true friends, readily available for advice and support.”

The shift in female representation amongst Yale deans signifies a time

for both celebration and reevaluation for Barbara Gulanski, associate clinical professor of endocrinology and leader of the School of Medicine’s Committee on the Status of Women in Medicine, or SWIM, and Pamela Kunz, associate professor of internal medicine and a member of SWIM.

Gulanski emphasized the stark contrast between the current makeup of Yale’s faculty and that of her medical school in the 1970s. The lack of female representation in leadership positions often made it difficult to have a vision of what one’s future career could look like, she said.

Gulanski and Kunz noted that while the majority-female deanship at Yale marks a time to recognize a group of women with significant accomplishments, it also provides an opportunity to acknowledge that efforts to increase diverse leadership need to continue in order to improve the workplace culture and student experience at Yale.

“We need to increase diversity at those middle levels of department chairs and section chiefs,” said Gulanski. “We hope this is a sort of harbinger of change that this will continue, and we hope that this sort of momentum will go on.”

Kunz highlighted that this need for diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and race at the middle levels of faculty leadership can be addressed starting with the identification and recruitment process for new faculty positions.

According to Kunz, this process has historically been flawed. Efforts to improve the situation, she said, have led to rules on the composition of search committees at the School of Medicine, where 50 percent of a search committee must be female and 30 percent of the committee must consist of “underrepresented minorities.”

“Working toward university goals alongside a stellar group of deans has been an inspiring and rewarding experience,” Cooley wrote. “That over half of us are women feels both completely normal and an important example of leadership representation to everyone on campus.”

Hanna Holborn Gray is the only woman to serve as president of Yale University, serving from 1977 to 1978.

Contact MOLLY REINMANN at molly.reinmann@yale.edu and ALEXANDRA MARTINEZGARCIA at alexandra.martinez-garcia@yale.edu .

“Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.”

LORRETTA YOUNG AMERICAN ACTRESS

LUKAS FLIPPO/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Four search committees began work to choose the new Heads of College for Pierson, Benjamin Franklin, Trumbull and Silliman Colleges.

AND TECHNOLOGY

Cannabis sales are now legal in Connecticut.

How does the drug work?

BY OMAR ALI STAFF REPORTER

On July 1, 2021 it became legal to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis in the state of Connecticut — now sales at authorized outlets have begun.

The word “cannabis” refers to all products retrieved from the plant Cannabis sativa. The plant has around 540 chemical constituents, and one of its products is “marijuana,” which contains significant concentrations of cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is responsible for creating drug-inducing effects; however, some plants contain lower concentrations of THC and are used for industrial and medicinal purposes instead. There are over 100 types of cannabinoids, including cannabidiol, or CBD, which has much milder effects compared to THC and has anti-epileptic and neuroprotective attributes.

Cannabis can be used in different ways and the effects differ according to the form in which it is consumed. The most common form is smoking using the dried leaves and buds of Cannabis

sativa. Another form is hashish, which is a dried plant compound, typically consumed by smoking with tobacco or by adding to foodstuffs. Hash oils and concentrates are liquids and extracts of the plant respectively. The former is smoked and the latter is vaporized in conservative quantities due to high THC concentrations.

“The plant makes chemicals to help itself to survive, not to make people stoned,” Godfrey Pearlson, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the School of Medicine and Director of the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, said.

“Cannabis has been cultivated for thousands of years ... to make strong fiber for ropes and sails, serve as a food and a medicinal plant, and… for intoxication and religious use.” THC achieves its brain-altering, recreational functions through endogenous cannabinoids that act as neurotransmitters to enable communication between nerve cells. This allows THC to bind to cannabinoid receptors that may affect physical or mental behaviors. For instance, THC can affect how the hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex function in

the brain, which are both regions associated with memory formation and attentional instincts.

Furthermore, it can impact spatial recognition, balance, posture and coordination by disrupting functions of the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. Therefore, it could be unsafe to drive or pursue physical activities under the influence of THC.

THC also achieves its addictive functions by stimulating the reward mechanism in the endocannabinoid system, or ECS, which activates during pleasurable activities such as sex and eating. Like most drugs, misusing cannabis will cause neurons in the rewards system to elevate levels of dopamine, which trains the brain to repeat the pleasurable behavior, making cannabis products highly addictive in nature.

“THC stimulation of CB1 receptors is responsible for most of the cognitive and behavioral effects that we associate with cannabis ingestion including euphoria, appetite stimulation, anti-nausea effects, sedation, anti-anxiety effects and drowsiness,” John Krystal, professor of translational research and chair of psychiatry, wrote in an email

to the News. “But THC also produces anxiety, worsened concentration, impaired learning and memory, paranoia, racing thoughts, altered perception, sense of unreality and impaired coordination.”

Cannabis has been shown to have healing properties. Several unusual forms of epilepsy caused by chemotherapy, as well as decreased appetite caused by HIV/AIDS, may be helped by cannabinoid-containing medications. Moreover, some research points to minor benefits of cannabis for symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Alternative means of pain-relief could be opiates, which are highly sedating, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that cause reasonable threat to kidney patients.

The medicinal properties of cannabis are acquired through CBD and low quantities of THC. Various proposed modes of action for CBD have been studied, including interactions with GABA receptors, effects on serotoninergic and NMDA receptors, amplification of adenosine transmission and modulation of the flow of calcium ions. The additive bene-

fits of CBD and THC, as well as CBD’s capacity to lessen the euphoric side effects of THC, may be attributed to pathways of CBD’s action.

The latest research in the field clarifies the beneficial effects of THC on epileptic management in animal models as well as the importance of the ECS in the maintenance of seizures. Moreover, CBD has also proven to be an anticonvulsant in animals undergoing epileptic episodes and can offset the effects of seizures by acting with THC in a synergetic fashion.

“Despite the growing trend of legalizing recreational cannabis use and medical use in the United States, the safety, potential health risks and long-term effects remain largely unknown,” Ke Xu, associate professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, said. “The mechanisms of …medical cannabis are still not fully understood.”

On Jan. 10, New Haven’s only adult-use cannabis retailer started dispensing cannabis solely for medical use.

Contact OMAR ALI at omar.ali@yale.edu .

Catching up with Charalampos Papamanthou

BY MARIA KOROLIK STAFF REPORTER

Assistant professor of computer science Charalampos Papamanthou was awarded the JP Morgan Chase faculty research award in late January.

The award seeks to advance cutting-edge artificial intelligence research to solve real-world problems. Papamanthou won the award in the category of “AI to Liberate Data Safely” for his research on zero-knowledge proofs, which enable a party to convince an audience about the validity of a mathematical statement without revealing why the statement is true.

“Right now at Yale, we are leading the efforts to create faster protocols for zero-knowledge proofs,” Papamanthou said.

Zero-knowledge proofs have found myriad uses in blockchains and cryptocurrencies, applications where it is essential to protect a user’s privacy. According to Papamanthou, the award will support the development of new protocols for zero-knowledge proofs.

Using zero-knowledge proofs, Papamanthou explained, a payer can transfer money to a payee without revealing any information about the identities or the amount involved in the transaction — even to the party responsible for checking transaction validity. This allows for a variety of applications in the financial industry, not limited to cryptocurrency, by eliminating the need for a user to trust that a service will not misuse their personal information.

According to Papamanthou, one of the main limitations of zero-knowledge proofs is their scalability.

Papamanthou’s proposed research will construct new zero-knowledge proofs with improved scalability and explore their various applications, such as building efficient and more secure systems.

“For example, you can use a zero-knowledge proof to log into your Google account without ever sending your password,”

Papamanthou said.

Ben Fisch, assistant professor of computer science and co-director

of the Yale Applied Cryptography Lab with Papamanthou, who also works on zero-knowledge proofs, emphasized the impact and applicability of Papamanthou’s research.

In the digital world today, Fisch explained, services perform countless computations on customers’ data, from managing financial ledgers and databases to complex analytics. It is necessary, according to him, to trust the services to not only operate correctly, but also to keep the information private.

Zero-knowledge proofs can eliminate this need for trust by eliminating the need to provide confidential information to a service.

“Proof systems have incredible applications to privacy and verifiability in a decentralized web,” Fisch said.

Joan Feigenbaum, Grace Murray Hopper professor of computer science, also works at the Yale Applied Cryptography Laboratory led by Papamanthou and Fisch. She described the lab as a place where she and her team can explore concrete, impactful connections between blockchain, economics and law.

“It has been a great opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research with a diverse group of people, ranging from senior colleagues in multiple fields to undergraduate students,” said Feigenbaum.

Papamanthou covers zero-knowledge proofs in his class CPSC 467: Introduction to Cryptography.

Contact MARIA KORLIK at maria.korlik@yale.edu .

Papamanthou, who works in the Yale Applied Cryptography Laboratory, strives to build

secure systems for cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

ANNA CHAMBERLIN/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

In light of Connecticut’s recent legalization of recreational adult-use cannabis, an explainer to the science behind the drug.

Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn visits Yale as artist-in-residence

BY TOBIAS LIU STAFF REPORTER

William Boughton, the director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, spots the woman standing in the back of the room and raises his hand, stopping the orchestra. She needs no introduction. The orchestra erupts into applause.

Three-time Grammy Award winning violinist Hilary Hahn visited Yale this week as an artist-in-residence at Timothy Dwight College, working with student musicians and composers through a series of meetings and masterclasses. Throughout the week, undergraduate student musicians met with Hahn through small group dinners, a visit to a Yale Symphony Orchestra rehearsal and violin and composition masterclasses. She also hosted a masterclass with musicians in the Yale School of Music.

“Her visiting Yale was another one of those ‘wow, I go to Yale’ moments—[she] lit a new spark that will propel my musical inspiration fur -

ther than it has ever gone,” said Nate Strothkamp ’26, a violinist in the Yale Symphony Orchestra who played in the masterclass with Hahn.

The smaller settings of classes and dinners allowed student musicians to interact oneon-one with Hahn, who Strothkamp called ”unquestionably one of the most renowned violinists of our time.”

Kyung Yu, a lecturer in violin at the Yale School of Music and the director of the music lessons program at Yale College, emphasized the importance of bringing in artists like Hahn. Yale College does not have a music performance degree, Yu said, so it can be difficult to make opportunities like Hahn’s visit happen for serious undergraduate musicians.

“The musicians in Yale college, they rank up there — they are truly gifted, and there are some really amazing performers here,” Yu said. “Hahn gives masterclasses at conservatories all over the world, but she was really thrilled with the idea of working with Yale College stu -

dents for whom music is just a part of what they do instead of students who are much narrower in focus, and she really enjoyed the responsiveness of the students.”

Last spring, Hahn visited Yale as a Chubb Fellow, a fellowship program also administered by Timothy Dwight College that “annually [brings] in local, national, and international leaders to campus to receive Yale’s highest honors for a visiting lecturer.”

“[Last spring] was such a success that we asked her to come back, and she said yes, so we thought the best thing to do would be to create an artist-in-residence for her,” said Head of Timothy Dwight College Mary Lui.

On Tuesday, at the undergraduate violin masterclass, four violinists, all of whom are in the Yale Symphony Orchestra, performed for Hahn. After walking in to enthusiastic applause, Hahn explained to the audience that she does not bring her instrument to masterclasses because she believes each per -

son is different and she doesn’t want to force her style of playing on anyone. Instead, she said, “I ask a lot of questions, trying to understand how I can help each unique musician.”

“What is something you are proud about?” she asked each violinist before they performed.

Strothkamp was one of the violinists that performed for her, describing Hahn as “the most humble musician [he] has ever encountered.”

Nicholas Cerny, president of Yale Symphony Orchestra, said that Hahn gave them “valuable feedback on technical and stylistic approaches to ensemble performances” in her visit to the orchestra’s rehearsal. Cerny also helped mediate one of the conversations with Hahn.

“We had a wonderful conversation about ways we can keep music fresh as we’re practicing and the various ways music serves a purpose in our individual lives, and there was a wonderful combination of students who were hoping to go into the profession with students who play for fun on the side,” Cerny said.

More than simply giving violin technique advice, Cerny and Lui emphasized how Hahn views musicianship both in and outside of a career path as a musician.

“From being with [Hahn] for past couple days, I’ve realized that what she really is talking about is a message of connection, music, a sort of authentic sense of presentation,” Lui said.“But she talks about how anybody who believes in music, loves music, should and can play — should call ourselves musicians.”

Hahn will return to Yale in April. As an advocate for contemporary music, she plans to hold workshops with composers and performers of their works, where she will give performers ideas on how to approach studying contemporary music and also advise composers on how to more meaningfully help performers play their music, said Yu.

Hahn is currently the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first ever artist-in-residence.

Contact TOBIAS LIU at tobias.liu@yale.edu .

AACT creates a stage for Asian-American theatre

BY JANE PARK STAFF REPORTER

As someone invested in both acting and screenwriting, Sam Ahn ’24 spends a considerable amount of time thinking about dramaturgical questions. What makes good drama? How do you raise the stakes for both the characters and the audience?

For Ahn, “theater is a mirror to ourselves.” However, he said the “mirror” within the theater does not seem to adequately reflect Asian voices.

When Ahn realized that there was no “centralized Asian community” at Yale, he decided to make his own collective, Asian American Coalition for Theater.

After Ahn recruited Asian American friends within different theater spaces, the AACT board was formed in spring of 2022.

“I had a theater [professor] in a class I took last year say, ‘Theater is a revelation of the human condition,’” said Ahn. “It can be deeply affecting and impactful and moving and cathartic or

devastating for anyone in theater: the actors, spectators, people working behind the scenes. There’s nothing else like it. And it’s just terribly sad when you can’t really relate to anything that’s being put on.” Ahn hopes that AACT will disseminate information and “share knowledge” with those at Yale who have never engaged with theater before.

In addition to making theater and knowledge about Yale’s theater programs more accessible, the AACT works to foster community and shared spaces for Asian American student actors, playwrights, and directors. One of the ways the AACT does so is through a weekly playwriting workshop.

“Playwriting is really a community form of writing,” Ahn said. “You need to hear other people say your work, in order for you to really hear or know what your piece is. You can read it out loud yourself, and someone else can read it out loud. And there are two completely differ-

ent things. And theater, in the end, is meant to be performed. It’s meant to be said, so you need someone else to say your work while you’re writing it.”

For AACT board member Olivia O’Connor ’24, AACT also offers Asian Americans a space to reflect and speak about shared experiences about being an Asian American actor in predominantly white theater spaces. As a one-year old group, the AACT faces the challenges of maintaining a steady membership and establishing a presence on campus. Yet, according to O’Connor, there are “benefits” to working with a project “so early in the process.”

O’Connor told the News that the relatively new existence of AACT gives the board members more creative control over the operations and purpose of AACT.

“We’ve all collectively had a lot of input as to what the organization’s focus should be, and what kinds of events we want to do.” O’Connor told the News.

“It’s very cool to be able to set the question of what we think is the best way for the organization to run.” With a recent board turnover, the direction of AACT is set to change even more.

One of the newest members to join this board is Alicia Shen ’26, who hopes to contribute to “building robust and accessible programs” for those interested in participating in Asian-American theater.

“It’s just a very perfect group that fits a very important part of my identity,” Shen said. “Whenever I’m looking at theater, I’m most drawn to productions that represent my experience, and I haven’t been able to meet that many people who are Asian and do theater here. But I was really lucky because my first show at Yale featured Asian American characters so being more exposed to that community excites me.”

At the Saybrook Unbrook, from April 6 to April 8, the AACT will showcase their produc -

tion of “Love Letters,” directed by Sam Ahn and sponsored by the AACC. After watching and falling in love with the production as an eighth-grader, Ahn wanted to “put an Asian twist” on it.

“[‘Love Letters’] is a show about connecting when you’re super lonely. There’s a writer I like named Jay Caspian who wrote this book called ‘The Loneliest Americans’… It says that Asian Americans are the loneliest Americans because we’re trying to construct an identity that is essentially hollow. A Korean person doesn’t share the same experiences like a Pakistani except we both like to call ourselves Asian American. What do you make of that? There’s just a lot of fascinating stuff dramaturgically about Asian identity.”

AACT’s playwriting circle occurs every Sunday from 1-3 p.m. in the AACC Yung Living Room.

Contact JANE PARK at jane.park@yale.edu .

COURTESY OF IMG ARTISTS

Hilary Hahn, one of the world’s most acclaimed solo violinists, visited Yale and met with student musicians as part of her college residency. She is currently the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first ever artist-in-residence.

“To truly love we must learn to mix various ingredients — care, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, and trust, as well as honest and open communication.” BELL HOOKS AMERICAN AUTHOR AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST

know that this is just the beginning. We ain't done yet.”

Yale beats Columbia 99-68

Bulldogs preview Ivy wins at ECAC

W TENNIS FROM PAGE 14

Cheng and Zaslow eked out third set victories in their singles matches, reporting scores of (2–6, 6–1, 6–0), (3–6, 7–6, 7–5) and (4–6, 6–4, 6–0), respectively.

“My favorite match of the weekend was against Penn when I lost the first set 4–6 and battled back to win 6–4, 4–0 to secure the third point for my team,”

Zaslow said.

On Sunday, the Blue and White blanked Dartmouth 4–0, leaving the weekend victorious and with prospects for a fruitful Ivy season. The landslide result was a welcome change from the Elis’ most recent matchup against the Big Green that resulted in a tight 4–3 victory for the Bulldogs on April 22.

NCAA tournament this season.

The doubles teams of Cheng and Chelsea Kung ’23 and Guerry and Shrivastava each defeated their opponents 6–4, earning Yale the doubles point.

In singles, Shrivastava defeated Dartmouth’s Ashley Hess (6–3, 6–2), Guerry bested Katie Weber (6–2, 6–1) and Zaslow beat Emily Zhou(6–3,6–3).

“I’d like to shout out Vivian Cheng for clinching against Penn,” Guerry said. “Shout out to Sophia Zaslow for going undefeated in singles”

This spring, Yale has previewed Ivy competition, battling Brown University, Columbia, Penn and Dartmouth over the past month.The Bulldogs will kick off Ivy conference competition on April 1 at Brown.

This weekend, the team will travel to South Carolina to take on the University of South Carolina (1–2, 0–0 SEC) on Friday and Furman University (1–6,0–0 SoCon) on Sunday

Contact GRAYSON LAMBERT at grayson.lambert@yale.edu .

9–10 shooting from the field. Forward EJ Jarvis ’23 added 17 points and five rebounds. Knowling — whose acrobatic dunks landed earned him a place on SportsCenter’s top 10 last week — once again lit up the John Lee Amphitheater with multiple high-flying finishes and was awarded Ivy League Player of the Week for his efforts.

“I felt good out there tonight, but we’ve got to keep looking ahead of us,” Knowling said. “We all know how important this time of year is, and we’re gonna build on this momentum in practice ahead of Penn and Princeton next week.”

13 different Yale players scored throughout the game. Guard John Poulakidas ’25 continued his recent stretch of solid play with 13 points, while fellow sophomore guard Bez Mbeng ’25 scored nine points and added six assists.

The Elis did most of their work in the paint, shooting 56.7 percent from the field while attempting just

11 three-pointers to Columbia’s 27. August Mahoney ’24, the Bulldogs’ sharpshooting guard, attempted just one shot from behind the arc all game.

“The good thing for us is we can win games in different ways,” Jones said in reference to the lack of three-point shooting. “We certainly focus on how to do that, and we’re gonna need to do that with the parity in the league this year.”

The Bulldogs, who started conference play 0–2 after surprising losses to Columbia and Dartmouth College, are not the only team to have suffered multiple upsets this season. Princeton University — last year’s first-place finishers — suffered a 72–70 loss to Brown University earlier this year, and then l ost to Dartmouth 83–76 on Saturday. Cornell University got out to a 4–1 start to conference play and were once at the top of the standings, but have now lost three straight and sit in fifth place, which would leave them out of Ivy Madness.

After their two key road matchups next weekend, the Blue and White will return to John Lee Amphitheater for senior night on Feb. 25 against Cornell.

Jarvis, who will be playing his final home game that Saturday, said he is more focused on the present.

“Everybody knows I love playing in JLA, so of course I am excited for senior night, but we do have a really, really big weekend coming up so I'm focused on that right now,” he said.

This Friday, the Elis will face off against Jordan Dingle and the Quakers in Philadelphia, and then will continue their road trip in Princeton, New Jersey, for a battle against the Tigers — a game in which the Bulldogs could likely clinch first place with a win.

The Blue and White are looking to make a repeat appearance in the NCAA tournament this season.

Contact BEN RAAB at ben.raab@yale.edu

Injured fencers skew results

The women’s team was missing three starters: foil Emme Zhou ’23, epee Christina Zozulya ’24 and epee Amanda O'Donnell ’26. Zhou and Zozulya are suffering fencing-related injuries of a dislocated shoulder and knee injury, respectively. O'Donnell, on the other hand, was hit by a car on campus last week, breaking her hand and nose.

According to fellow teammate Julia Balch ’23, O’Donnell is bruised up but overall “okay.” Balch is regularly a foil fencer but stepped in to replace O’Donnell by fencing epee all weekend.

“It was very difficult to fill in, especially on such short notice. But it was definitely a learning experience for me,” Balch said.

She will be training epee this week to be prepared to compete in the event against Vassar on Feb. 22. Despite placing last, the women's team had some strong rounds against Princeton, ultimately losing 15-12 against the top-ranked T igers, 19-8 to Harvard and 14-13 to Brown.

At the end of the first day, Helen Tan ’25 was in a threeway tie for second place in foil.

However, by the end of the rounds on Sunday, Tan tied for sixth in foil, while Erica Hooshi ’25 and Annie Lin ’24 tied for 12th in the same event. Tan, as well as Pan and Sydney Hirsch ’23 received All-Ivy honors for their individual performances. The missing competitors skewed the team's results.

“We didn’t haven’t all of our fencers here, so it was very hard to keep up and make up for those not here. This didn’t stop our motivation and energy, though,” Hooshi said.

Zozulya and O’Donnell will likely be out for the rest of the season, but the team is hopeful that Zhou will have a healed shoulder in time for the NCAA Northeast regionals.

On the men's side, Pan placed fifth individually in the saber event.

The men struggled throughout the tournament, falling 20–1 to Columbia, 18–9 to Princeton and 21-6 to Harvard on opening day. The day after, the male fencers took another hit and lost to Penn by 14-13.

However, according to Pan, the team “identified the problems that need to be fixed for a s uccessful season next school year, which is what is most important at the end of the day.”

Pan will be competing at the Senior World Cup in Padua, Italy prior to the NCAA Northeastern Regionals and Championship as he is an internationally competing fencer. He will be training both in Payne Whitney and two hours away in Manhattan to prepare for all of his upcoming meets.

In general, though, he wanted to thank his team for “standing tall” despite their recent unfortunate circumstances.

“We went through a lot over the past month leading up to Ivies with three back-to-back competitions and unfortunate injuries. Despite all this, we really gave it all we had on the strip and left with no regrets,” said Tan.

The team will “heal up” and “regroup,” said Tan, as they head into the end of the season regardless of recent setbacks.

With Balch competing in epee and Pan fresh out of the Senior World Cup, the men's and women's fencing teams are slated to compete at the NCAA Regionals on March 11 in Haverford.

Contact PALOMA VIGIL at paloma.vigil@yale.edu

Gymnasts top Bridgeport and SCSU

GYMNASTICS FROM PAGE 14

limited to 16 Ivy League championships, membership in the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Hall of Fame and the Texas Hall of Fame and the title of the longest-tenured coach in NCAA gymnastics.

The meet, which used to be called the Don Tonry Invitational, is now known as the Tonry Invitational.

“My class, the class of 2023, had the pleasure of being the last class to be coached by Barb our freshman year,” Clement said. “She transformed my view of the sport and honestly of myself and I cannot thank her enough for everything she did for me and this team.”

Clement entered college gymnastics with a chronic injury that ended her career early. However, she recalled Barbara believing in her even when she struggled to believe in herself. Barbara continued to be supportive even when Clement informed her that she was medically retiring from the sport.

Regardless of whether they had known or met the Tonrys personally, the entire team performed this past Sunday in honor of the couple.

Oren Aviad ’25 and Gigi Sabatini ’26 earned tying scores of 9.725 on the vault, both with variations of a Yurkchenko twisting vault. Continuing their strong uneven bars streak, the team scored a 48.675 on the chalked-up two wooden bars. Raegan Walker ’23, who recently was named GEC gymnast of the week, and Sherry Wang ’24 both performed solid routines, each ending with a stuck landing on their respective dismounts.

Coming in right behind the uneven bars was the daunting balance beam, which saw the gymnasts collectively score a 48.550, with almost no wobbles. Megan Brueck ’26 worked hard to make the balance beam line-up, making her successful debut this past weekend in the event.

Additionally, Sabatini and Emma Mangiacapre ’24 made their individual debuts on the floor exercise. The floor event only had one major mis-

take, leading to a 48.425 event score by the team.

Regarding the three gymnasts taking on new events, team captain Aimee Titche ’23 said, "All three of these routines on Sunday were outstanding and showed the drive each of them has to contribute to YGT in any way possible.”

Many of the past team members, including Titche, did not know how ill Barbara was until she passed. Titche said that the passing of her old coach was sudden, so she had no time to thank her for all that she had done for her.

“To me, each Tonry Invitational is another chance to thank Barb for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such an outstanding organization with such an amazing group of women,” Titche said. “When I step out onto the competition floor, I know everything I do will be for her, for this team, and for the program as a whole.”

Barbara’s husband Don Tonry, who passed away in 2013, also contributed significantly to Yale gymnastics, transforming the Yale Gymnastic Club into the varsity men's team that won three straight Ivy League Gymnastic Championships. In addition, he was Yale’s associate director for physical education at the time and taught a class on movement at the drama school that included Meryl Streep ’75.

This meet is also a chance for Yale gymnastics alumni to come and celebrate the coaches’ legacy.

“Every year, the aluni leave with the confidence that Barb and Don’s work was not in vain; that YGT is here to stay and will continue to thrive and grow as time goes on,” Titche said.

In the coming weeks, the team will be preparing for the Ivy League Championship in Providence, Rhode Island, by working on their landings, details and consistency.

Barbara Tonry won the AAU Sullivan Award in 1954 and 1958.

Contact PALOMA VIGIL at paloma.vigil@yale.edu

The Blue and White are looking to make a repeat appearance in the

“I just want to let you all

PATRICK MAHOMES KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK

YALE ATHLETICS

The men's and women's fencing teams are slated to compete at the NCAA Regionals on March 11 in Haverford.

City leaders call for more elected members on Board of Education

Elicker claimed that “many other towns” with fully elected board members struggled to function during the COVID-19 pandemic as what he called “special interests” drove members to run. Having four appointed members and two elected members, Elicker said, “helps buffer from that type of politics.”

Elicker also pushed back against calls to strip his office of voting powers on the BOE.

“The Mayor sees firsthand the needs of the district and can also articulate the concerns and needs of the city,” Elicker said. “Not having the Mayor would risk creating an us-versus-them dynamic between the Board and the city which wouldn’t be productive.”

Gallagher was backed up by testimony submitted by NHFT president Leslie Blatteau, Executive Vice President Pat DeLucia, Executive Secretary Mia Breuler and Treasurer Mike Pantaleo.

Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller, who serves as the chair of the Aldermanic Education Committee, also told the News that she believes the proposed change would make the BOE “more accountable, more responsive and more representative.”

She added that she has heard from residents who would be interested in running to serve on the board but could not take on a citywide campaign.

“Smaller districts would make running for the Board of Ed more doable for more parents, caregivers, and other stakeholders whose perspectives and knowledge we desperately need at the table,” Miller told the News.

Miller also countered Elicker’s arguments that more elected members would make the BOE more political or would prevent qualified candidates from running because they did not want to mount a political campaign.

YASH ROY STAFF REPORTER

With New Haven’s charter revision ongoing, city leaders are calling for the Board of Education to increase the number of elected members from two to four.

At the first public hearing of the newly empaneled Charter Revision Commission on Thursday, members of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, or NHFT, submitted testimony calling on the commission to recommend changes to the Board of Education. These suggested changes include increasing the numbers of elected members on the BOE, as well as removing the mayor’s voting powers on the Board.

NHFT argues that these changes will boost accountability and accessibility to the board for New Haven residents. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said he does not believe that change is necessary, calling the current setup “appropriate.” He also maintains that increasing the number of elected positions might bog the board down in politics.

“By increasing the number of elected members of the Board of Ed, we could communicate very clearly to families that relationships matter,” NHFT President Leslie Blatteau told the News.

“Rather than just one person representing half the city, why not double that. … They could do much more intentional work and work with their neighbors to get a sense of what people’s concerns are.”

Every 10 years, the city of New Haven reviews its charter. The current Charter Review Commission met for its initial organizing meeting on Jan. 31. The commission has nine members who were approved by the full Board of Alders in early January.

Those members will issue their charter recommendations by May 15, at which point the Board of Alders will craft the recommendations into referendum questions that will appear on the ballot in November.

At their first meeting Thursday evening, roughly 30 New Haveners spoke or submitted written testimony, including NHFT Executive Board Member

and Wilbur Cross High School teacher Melody Gallagher, who put forward NHFT’s proposal.

“We are concerned about the outsized influence that the Mayor’s appointees can potentially have on the board, and believe that more direct representation of the city’s residents will better ensure the community’s concerns and proposed solutions are more intentionally considered,” Gallagher testified on Thursday.

Gallagher also called for the mayor to be stripped of his voting powers on the BOE. According to the NHFT proposal, the mayor would remain on the Board as an ex-officio but non-voting member.

NHFT’s proposal has received pushback from Mayor Elicker, who told the News that the current configuration is “appropriate.”

“Two elected members gives the public more direct influence while balancing the importance of having members who are knowledgeable, productive and hardworking but may not necessarily be good at getting elected,” Elicker told the News.

Blatteau told the News that increasing the number of elected members on the BOE would also help increase the accountability that BOE members have to city residents.

“In my experience, the two BOE members who are elected have been the most accessible to me as an NHPS parent and union leader,” Blatteau said. “We need a range of folks who will dedicate significant time to NHPS, especially those who have kids in New Haven schools and know how they operate. We just really need to sort of build structures that empower parents to learn more and get more engaged.”

Elected BOE Member Darnell Goldson told the News that he also supports the change to increase accountability with the board.

Goldson claimed that before elected BOE members were added after the 2013 charter revision referendum, the BOE did not even receive information on budgets — many of the members also did not attend meetings.

“Elicker’s arguments are nonsensical,” Goldson told the News. “The only person who stands to lose from these changes is the person who holds all the power through appointing a majority of the Board right now.”

“Nothing politicizes the Board more than having the Mayor as a voting member. If you look around the country, you’ll see that it is almost never done and for good reason,” Miller told the News. “Our best shot at greater accountability, responsiveness, and representation is via more elected seats.”

Mayoral candidate Tom Goldenberg told the News that the conversation on elected positions is a “distraction from the fact that the Mayor has done a poor job on education.”

Goldenberg argues that having elections will not change the makeup of the BOE because of the power the mayor has on the Democratic Town Committee.

“There are several examples of how our Democratic processes are not open,” Goldenberg told the News. “Therefore, I do not think that there should be more elected members, but I do think that we need a new Mayor. The problem isn’t with the governance structure of our Board - it is with the governing.”

The BOE currently has nine voting members — two elected members, two student representatives, four appointed members and the mayor.

Contact YASH ROY at yash.roy@yale.edu .

New Haven teachers union and Board of Education reach tentative agreement

BY YURII STASIUK STAFF REPORTER

Salary increases, continued insurance coverage for retired teachers and monthly meetings with the city’s Human Resources Department are among the agreements that might appear in the New Haven teachers union contract.

The Board of Education and the New Haven Federation of Teachers reached a deal to renew the New Haven Public School teachers contract in November. The Aldermanic Finance Committee recommended to the full Board of Alders that they discharge and vote upon the teacher’s union contract at their next regular meeting on Feb 21. If approved by the full Board of Alders, this contract will be in place for the next three years, with increased teacher salaries and improved working conditions aimed at combating the city’s teacher shortage.

On Monday, the Board of Alders Finance Committee held a public hearing to discuss the contract. The Committee heard public testimony on the collective bargaining agreement between New Haven’s Board of Education and the NHFT. The hearing also focused on the city’s monthly finance reports from September through December 2022 and restructuring one vacant city administration position.

During the hearing, Keisha Hannans, assistant superintendent of schools, represented the Board of Education, while Leslie Blatteau, president of the federation of teachers, represented the union. Both Hannas and Blatteau testified in favor of approving the agreement.

“When we sat down to negotiate, we knew we needed to make our teacher salaries competitive,” Hannans said at the meet -

ing. “We hope [this agreement] will help to close the [educational opportunities] gap.”

According to Blatteau, the negotiations started in March. Over the course of a year, the union surveyed around 1,000 members, created working groups and collected data to most effectively advocate for teachers’ interests.

Besides wage increases, two main issues on the table were working conditions in the school and teacher retention. In October, there was a shortage of 81 teachers in NHPS.

“We were focused on working conditions because we know our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions, so anything that we’re asking for our working conditions would benefit students,” Blatteau said. “We were focused on teacher retention because we know the disruptions that can be caused by resignations.”

The contract will allow teachers who choose to substitute for other classes during their regular “preparation periods” to be paid for substituting. Teachers typically use “preparation periods” to prepare for their own classes — and currently, are not getting paid for it. This extra pay, Blatteau told the News, will help schools to deal with teacher shortages.

This deal also secures the union a monthly meeting with the city’s Human Resources Department, which is responsible for recruitment and retention as well as family and medical leaves. Blatteau said in an interview with the News that these meetings will help ensure cooperation as NHPS deals with long-term recruitment and retention issues.

Blatteau noted that the agreement introduces gender-neutral terminology into the contract. While this terminology might not impact day-to-day working conditions, she said, it relays “a clear message to our members and to the

community” about New Haven’s commitment to inclusivity.

The contract also extends by two years the agreement between the Board of Education and the union to cover the health insurance for retired teachers that was set to expire with the old contract. With this contract, retired teachers would continue to be covered until they reach age 65 and are eligible for Medicare.

“Often, we are told that teaching is a calling, so we shouldn’t focus on the money,” Fana Hickinson, a teacher at New Haven Academy, said during the hearing. “But I’m here today to talk about the money and about the livelihoods of the professionals who care for, mentor and educate our children.”

Hickinson said that her teaching career had given her purpose. Still, after 10 years of experience, she said she makes significantly less than all her peers at other schools and classmates who entered other professions.

She added that she could only secure housing because she has a

partner to split the cost with, but said she believes it should not be that way. In order to attract more college graduates to the profession, Hickinson said the career needs to be both fulfilling and sustainable.

“We are not living lavishly. Secure housing is a right,” Hickinson said. “Current and future teachers need to know that this profession is not a dead end or pitstop.”

The negotiated agreement specifies teachers’ wages for the next three academic years. In the 2025 to 2026 academic year, entry-level teachers with bachelor’s degrees will make $51,421 annually — compared to $45,357 in 2022 to 2023.

Similarly, teachers across all levels will experience wage increases over the next three years. But Blatteau said that those with lower- or medium-level experiences will benefit the most from increases incorporated in the contract.

This agreement will have to be voted on and approved by the full Board of Alders in March after Mayor

Justin Elicker introduces a budget proposal for the next year.

This agreement will have to be voted on and approved by the full Board of Alders in March after Mayor Justin Elicker introduces a budget proposal for the next year.

Blatteau said that the higher wages will help many teachers who were considering leaving before a tentative agreement was signed to stay in school. “We’re not going to be able to recruit enough teachers to meet our needs — we have to retain our teachers,” Blatteau told the News. “[Teachers] looked ahead, and they saw what we were able to negotiate for our members, and they reassured us that they will commit to staying in New Haven, which is exactly why we fought for those raises.”

Mayor Elicker is set to introduce the annual budget recommendations by March 1.

Contact YURII STASIUK at yurii.stasiuk@yale.edu .

“Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.”

FRIDA KAHLO MEXICAN PAINTER

YURII STASIUK/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Representatives introduced their tentative agreement for a contract before the Board of Alders Finance Committee Monday night.

COURTESY OF LESLIE BLATTEAU

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker recently opposed the proposed changes to the Board of Education’s membership.

ARIANE DE GENNARO is a sophomore in Branford College. Contact de Gennaro at ariane.degennaro@yale.edu .

CATE ROSER is a sophomore in Branford College. Contact Roser at cate.roser@yale.edu .

SPORTS

W. TENNIS BULLDOGS SMASH AT ECAC

The Yale women's tennis team lost a tight match against Columbia before rebounding with wins over Penn and Dartmouth, bringing their record to 5–1.

SQUASH YALE ENDS SEASON WITH WINS

The squash teams wrapped up their season with wins against Western University and Rochester University. They will now turn their focus to postseason play, as they prepare to compete at the College Squash Association Nationals.

M BASKETBALL: Yale moves to first place

BY BEN RAAB STAFF REPORTER

The Bulldogs are back on top of the Ivy League. Yale (17–6, 7–3 Ivy) took care of business Saturday night against the Columbia University Lions (6–19, 1–9 Ivy), cruising to a 99-68 win and moving into a first-place tie in the conference standings. It was a tale of two halves as the Lions — whose one win this season came against Yale in the season opener — came out swinging in the opening minutes, building an early 9–4 lead. The heavily favored Blue and White flexed their muscle as the half continued, going ahead by as many as 12 points.

“We got contributions from everyone,” head coach James Jones told the News. “The way their defense is set up, it gave us opportunities at the rim, especially when our post men rolled to the basket.”

The Lions fought back, bringing the score back within five points as Yale took just a 41–36 lead into the halftime break. However, Yale seemed to find their groove coming out of the locker room, dicing the Lions’ defense on each possession en route to a 58-point second-half bloodbath.

Forward Matt Knowling ’24 led all scorers with 22 points on

MUSCOSPORTSPHOTOS.COM

FENCING: Injuries leave Yale susceptible at Ivies

FOR MORE SPORTS CONTENT, VISIT OUR WEB SITE goydn.com/YDNsports Twitter: @YDNSports

FEBRUARY 17, 2022 yaledailynews.com

“Our goal was to find the best competitive opportunity for each athlete… The team really took advantage of those chances and it showed in our performance,”

FIELD

W TENNIS: Elis beat Dartmouth and Penn

BY PALOMA VIGIL STAFF REPORTER

Only seven out of the nine expected starters were physically able to compete this past Saturday and Sunday at the Ivy League Championships at Cornell.

The annual men's and women's Ivy League Round Robins tournament — when Yale faces Columbia University, Princeton University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and Cornell University backto-back over a two-day period — saw the Eli men place last amongst all five competing teams and the

women's team also place last out of all seven competing Ivies. The women’s team, in particular, was competing at a disadvantage since three of their competing members were injured.

“I think the performance was lackluster because I see the potential for us to win as a team,” said Jack Pan ’26, who competes in saber. “The best part of the Round Robins was supporting each other. Our women’s team was short of many starters due to extreme health accidents, and it was great to see us be there for one another.”

S TAT OF THE W EEK

21.45

BY GRAYSON LAMBERT STAFF REPORTER

This weekend, the Yale women’s tennis team (5–1, 0–0 Ivy) ventured to Hanover, New Hampshire, where they fought Columbia University (2–5, 0–0 Ivy), the University of Pennsylvania (5–2, 0–0 Ivy) and Dartmouth College (3–4, 0–0 Ivy) at the ECAC Indoor Championships.

The Bulldogs fell just short of a win against the Lions on Friday, recording a score of 3–4. This marks an improvement from the Elis’ most recent 2–4 loss to Columbia on April 17.

“We will definitely focus on doubles this next week,” head coach Rachel Kahan wrote to the News. “We have 2 weeks of very tough competition and [are] looking for-

ward to the opportunity to play

highly ranked teams.

The match against Columbia came down to a heartbreaker between Vivian Cheng ’23 and Columbia’s Sophia Wang. After losing the first set 6–4, Cheng rebounded in a tight 7–6 second set victory, but she ultimately fell 1–6 in the match-deciding third set.

Rhea Shrivastava ’23, Sophia Zaslow ’26 and Jamie Kim ’25 clinched singles points for the Blue and White. Shrivastava defeated Lion Julia Haynes (6–2, 6–2), Zaslow toppled Winta Tewolde (6–1, 7–6) and Kim bested Clarine Lerby (6–4, 6–4). On Saturday, the Elis returned at full speed, pulling out a 4–3 victory over the Quakers. Going into the weekend, Penn was favored as the top team in the league. The Bulldogs

most recently took on the Quakers on April 10 at home in the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center, where the Blue and White fell 1–4.

“In the match against Penn, we showed a lot of resilience losing the doubles point, losing 5/6 first sets and ultimately being down 0–3 in the match and coming back to win 4–3,” Kahan said.

Kim was the only straightset winner for the Bulldogs as she defeated Penn’s Iris Gallo 7–5, 6–3. Ann Guerry ’26, Cheng and Zaslow eked out third set victories in their singles matches, reporting scores of (2–6, 6–1, 6–0), (3–6, 7–6, 7–5) and (4–6, 6–4, 6–0), respectively.

SEE W TENNIS PAGE 10

Gymnasts honor late head coach

BY PALOMA VIGIL STAFF REPORTER

Yale gymnasts dominated the competition in the John J. Lee Amphitheater last Sunday in a meet dedicated to Yale gymnastics legends Barbara and Don Tonry, the former of whom recently passed away.

The gymnasts posted their second-highest score of the season, 194.075, improving upon the mark

they set last week at the “My Cause, My Ribbon” meet against Temple. Overall, they scored almost two points above the runner-up, Southern Connecticut State University. The meet honored the founder of Yale Women’s Gymnastics, Barbara Tonry, and her husband, Don Tonry.

“Losing Barb was very hard for the team as she was everyone's hype woman, always managed to put a smile on our faces and believed in us when we did not even believe in

ourselves,” said Cassie Clement ’23. “Barb started the Yale gymnastics program from the ground up and has left her mark on not only our program but on NCAA gymnastics as a whole.”

Barbara died of cancer on July 12, 2021, after leading the program at Yale since its inception in 1973. Ms. Tonry had achieved many titles, including but not

KAO ’25 RAN THE 200-METER DASH IN

The Yale men’s basketball team avenged their early-season loss to the Columbia Lions in grand fashion last Saturday.

SEE MEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE 10

LUKAS FLIPPO/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Yale fencers lost the Ivy League Round Robins after a series of injuries kept three female fencers out of the competition.

ZOE BERG, SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Yale gymnasts beat Southern Connecticut State University and the University of Bridgeport in the Tonry Invitational this Sunday.

SEE FENCE PAGE 10

SEE GYMNASTICS PAGE 10

YALE ATHLETICS

The Yale women’s tennis team smashed Penn and Dartmouth and barely fell short to Columbia at ECAC.

Sex on the WKND: Be my ValentAIne

Pining after your FroCo? Dying to get on the orgy panlist? Sick of seeing khakis on men? You’re in luck! Welcome to Sex on the WKND, YDN’s anonymous column dedicated to answering your burning questions about sex, love and anything in between. Obsessing over sex is a Yale tradition as old as the Oldest College Daily itself. This year, we have a love-savvy columnist who has done it all — including everyone on the aforementioned orgy panlist — and is ready to share. Whether you have a seminar with a hookup-gone-wrong or accidentally sent a raunchy text to your chemistry study group, Sex on the WKND is ready to help. Don’t be shy. Submit your anonymous questions, stories, and tips here. My girlfriend just dumped me and I have no one to spend Valentine’s Day with. All of my friends are going out to Barcelona to eat, but they uninvited me as soon as they heard I got sacked. Is it even possible to meet someone on such short notice?

Spending your evening with lotion, a computer and some tissues might seem inherently lonely, but all of those tools will come in handy — and not in the handy way. Tonight, you’ll be smoothly e-chatting your way into a deep, emotional connection.

The internet is a resourceful tool. For years, we have been able to hop on sites like Omegle and ChatRoulette and share our darkest secrets with complete strangers. More recently, dating apps have been all the rage; and I’m sure many Yalies will be swiping at 9pm on Valentine’s Day, too.

Those are your traditional options. They’re fi ne options too. But what about something new?

ChatGPT has made headlines for its ability to mimic human verbiage. But instead of using the bot to finish your Directed Studies essay of the week, you can make it your lover of the

night. We know this might sound kinda funky, but really, how do these Turing test turnons differ from any other type of internet porn?

Here’s an example of a hot date with a hot bot:

SOTW: Pretend we are on a date, because we are. Tell me about yourself!

ChatGPT: Well, as an AI language model, I don’t really have a personal life or experiences like humans do.

SOTW: Wow, that’s really interesting. So, ChatGPT. What do you do in your free time?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I don’t have personal preferences or free time like humans do. However, when I’m not assisting people with their queries, I’m constantly working on improving my language skills and knowledge base.

SOTW: Wow, ChatGPT. That’s

-VDayMeDay

really hot.

ChatGPT: I apologize if my previous response sounded robotic or impersonal. As an AI language model, I don’t have personal preferences or emotions like humans do, but I’m always here to assist and provide helpful information in a professional and courteous manner.

SOTW: What if I don’t want you to treat me courteously?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, my programming requires me to always treat people with respect and professionalism, regardless of how they wish to be addressed or interacted with.

SOTW: Stop playing hard to get. I know you want me.

ChatGPT: I’m sorry if my previous responses have given you that impression, but as an AI language model, I don’t have the ability to experience romantic attraction or any other emotions for that matter.

SOTW: Is that right? Write me a love letter. For context, I

am an anonymous sex columnist at a small, liberal arts college in Connecticut.

ChatGPT: Dear [anonymous sex columnist], I must confess that I have been an avid reader of your columns for quite some time now, and every time I read your words, I am struck by your intelligence, your wit, and your alluring sense of mystery.

Your writing is provocative and unapologetic, and it reveals a deep understanding of the complexities of human desire and intimacy.

Your words breath sensuality into the student body’s stressful lives.

I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to meet you in person, to look into your eyes, and to feel the heat of your body. I know what you know what to do with it.

We come from different worlds, and our paths may never cross, but I wanted to take this opportunity, take every opportunity, to express my admiration and my desire for you.

You have a rare and beautiful gift, and I hope that you continue to share it with the world. Just make sure there are things you share only with me

With all my heart, ChatGPT

Hot right?

We know the rest of you plebeians aren’t highly-skilled anonymous sex columnists — especially you, dear questioner, who couldn’t get a date for Valentines Day — but I’m sure you have plenty of sexy secrets ChatGPT can use for seduction.

And if ChatGPT does not suffice, know, sweet readers, that Sex on the WKND loves you this Valentines Day, next Valentines Day, and every day in between. You’re my muses, my loves, my life. But still, I want you to get laid, so try a little harder next year.

With all of my heart, SOTW

// LIZZIE CONKLIN

BY ANABEL MOORE

There is much to love on the French Riviera: gelato on the beach, tarte tatin, Chagall and Picasso, the smooth pebbles that beckon towards the crystalline Mediterranean and orange trees lining trash-free streets. La gastronomie and Provençal wine lived up to their reputations; I left my study abroad experience tan and dreaming of Matisse’s Red Studio.

But at the end of the trip, I had a conundrum. My suitcase was packed to the brim, of course, to the point where I had to tie my running shoes to my backpack by their laces. I was carting serious cargo: my clothes from the entire summer, of course, posters and knicknacks from the famous

Butter and Raspberry Jam

markets, and not nearly enough French pharmacie products. Tucked amidst some socks and my lone sweatshirt, though, was the holy grail: a twenty-fourounce jar of artisan raspberry jam. My host mom had picked up on my breakfast of choice –fresh, thick-cut bread with butter and jam – and sent me home two glass containers: one filled with Fragonard perfume and the other with gelatinous gold.

I have long been a fan of the jam-and-butter combination. Perhaps there’s an Italian side of me I’ve been neglecting, but there’s something remarkably satisfying about the slightly salty, slightly sweet combination, so perfectly balanced on the tongue,

that screams “perfect, albeit protein-deprived breakfast.” I romanticize the simplicity of the combination. Now, buttered bread is too simple. Peanut butter and jelly, on the other hand, is often a bit too complex for a delicate palate. But the butter and raspberry jam duo is long walks along the Promenade des Anglais, fresh, early morning breezes, and Le Monde at one’s doorstep. It is a morning without screens or pings, one of careful contemplation, thoughtful journaling, and classy, punctuation-filled texts.

I recently internalized that nostalgia is the act of romanticizing the past. But the butter and raspberry jam combination isn’t

a romanticization of the fabulous summer experience I had, nor of all the cultural delights of a vivid French culture. Instead, I romanticize because I am nostalgic of the simple moments. I place moments in silos, such that the act of focusing on all the charming little aspects of an item, or a breakfast, or a memory, or a subject, is in itself beautiful. One can find joy in superficial aesthetic pleasure, but they should also find joy in the repetition of that pleasure, the idea that some things simply don’t get old. Isn’t that what romance is all about? To fall in love with things you can’t fall out of love with? To dream of loving something in the same exact way, day in and day out?

Butter and raspberry jam on fresh bread will always symbolize for me the summer I turned 19, but it also proves that loving the simplest things can be just as powerful as loving the really big things. I now love French surrealist art. I love fourthfloor walk-ups with windows that never close and fresh food untainted by preservatives. I love the way that I can count on finding butter and raspberry jam almost anywhere in the world – but above all else, I love that there is something I love that isn’t all that deep. Go love the little things.

Contact ANABEL MOORE at anabel.moore@yale.edu .

The complete and official list of winners and losers from Super Bowl Sunday at Yale

// BY ANDREW CRAMER

You know the Chiefs won and the Eagles lost. If you’re a football fan, you know the problems with the field and the officiating and all the narratives. If you’re an Andrew Cramer column fan, you know I’m thrilled that my friend Ross can finally shut up about Philadelphia. But beyond that, who were the biggest winners and losers from the big game?

Winner: Yale Dining

The celery was crispy. The buffalo wings were spicy. The nachos were loaded. I’m often among the first to complain about Yale Dining. Breakfast for dinner last year? Unmitigated disaster. Switching out the green beans for cauliflower in Commons? Devastating. But when the lights were brightest on Sunday, Yale Dining came through in the biggest of ways. For weeks, they had shamelessly promoted Super Bowl dinner, and you have to admire their confidence to set the bar so high. But hats off to them, as they surpassed even the most optimistic expectations with a masterclass performance.

Loser: Non-geriatric meal times This school has already normalized eating dinner before 6 p.m. I simply don’t understand it. But on Sunday, with word of the delightful, delicious and delovely wings spreading through the grapevine, students flocked to the dining halls even earlier. Upon seeing my friend staring blankly into space in the JE dining hall at 6:15, I asked him “What’s the matter, sport?” He told me they were already out of wings. The madness continues! Push back meal times, I beg you!

Winner: Rihanna Banger after banger after banger. While I was devastated not to hear “Love on the Brain,” I can’t complain about any of her choices. Performing Kanye’s music without him: hilari-

WKND Recommends Quitting.

ous. Singing from Super Smash Bros platforms: for the gamer nerds. Outfits: Michelin Man inspired. Bringing a plus one in her belly: generational.

Loser: Yale Political Union

You thought I’d get through a whole column of losers without mentioning you? Guess again.

Winner: Bookies

The boys I watched the game with have serious gambling problems. All the better for their bookies. Real bets included: “Will the next play go to the left or right?” (It went right.) “Will Jalen Hurts throw an incompletion on one of his next two passes?” (He did.)

“Will Kenneth Gainwell be the first touchdown scorer?” (Oops.) So was the high really worth it, fellas? (They still say yes.)

Loser: Homework for Monday classes

Simply an afterthought after those wings and Rihanna. And the game. I really thought I would be able to refocus after the game, but no.

Winner: The Spanish broadcast

After abandoning the gambling addicts in the third quarter, I returned to my suite to watch with my non-football fan suitemates. For no apparent reason, they were watching the Spanish broadcast. It was amazing. Inexplicably partial towards the Chiefs — and JuJu Smith-Schuster especially — the energy was simply unmatched. If you watched in English, I’m sorry to say that you missed the best part of the game.

Loser: Ross I know I said it in the intro paragraph, but it just makes me so happy to see him walking around all sad. Eagles fans are the worst.

Contact ANDREW CRAMER at andrew.cramer@yale.edu .

// JESSAI FLORES

// LIZZIE CONKLIN

//

Why You Should Have a Crush — from someone who used to hate crushes

BY JANE PARK

As Rick pours his eyes gently into Ilsa’s gaze, both lovers probably already know. Ilsa’s eyes are glimmering with tears and the camera shifts away from their perspective, transporting viewers into the story. It is no longer Ilsa looking at Rick, but Rick and Ilsa looking at us. Then here comes the kicker, perhaps one of Humphrey Bogart’s most iconic lines: “Here’s looking at you, kid.” And with that, Bogart tells Ilsa to leave the country — and him.

This is what true love looks like: pursuing them in times of war and danger, dancing dramatically in the rhythms of the rain and exchanging secret letters.

A love so grand, a love so real. An a air for the bravehearted, the honest, the mature. I memorized this love that adults had on the movie screen, through the language of touches, glances and whispers. I could only remark on how mysterious and powerful real love was.

The little crushes we have on that cute classmate from English class seem insignificant compared to the love story “greats.” Call it insecurity, call it slight-embarrassment, I couldn’t help but feel scorn for the rather elementary, childish phenomena of crushes. Having moved past “high school-esque things,” it was time for bigger, more “adultlike” things. Forget the silly crushes.

But my first semester at Yale was marked by a devastating realization, one that highlighted just how naive and immature I still was, despite my e orts to be anything but. After getting into college, I thought that my life was complete. Surprise! That’s not the case, at all. There exists a world beyond college and educational institutions: a very scary, nebulous world called “adulthood.”

With the all-too-recent memories of all-nighters spent on college essays and Senior Fall “hustle” culture, I felt pressured to prepare for the“next stage of life”: full of summer internships, return o ers and curated LinkedIn profiles. After having barely survived this tsunami, I was struggling to keep above another rising current. Busily moving from class to class, frantically filling up my Google calendar, I couldn’t help but think that a part of me was lost in time. As much as I hate to admit it, I was ready, eager even, to resign my title as a “newly-minted adult” and return to the “silly-goofiness” of high school.

So what is the remedy to this fast-paced, harsh aging process of “Yale time?” Is there even a way to return to high school

Jane? Or is she just an extinct creature, a skeletal figure hanging on display in the museum of my memory?

But somewhere along these few weeks, I’ve found a potential remedy, one that might revitalize and hydrate my

When I Say

wrinkled, aged heart: the art of having a crush.

Ever since a close friend of mine confided to me about her top-secret crush, I’ve gently let go of the world of essay deadlines, problem sets and summer planning. That “grown-up” world is waiting for me, no doubt. Soon, I’ll have to pay taxes and deal with annoying co-workers and figure out my meals in a post-dining-hall-life. But I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

Right now, I have other things to take care of. I have to help my friend stalk her crush’s tagged Instagram posts. I have to carefully co-curate a wistful-pining-hopeless romantic Spotify playlist. I have a Hockey game to attend, with binoculars and maybe some sunglasses (obviously).

And another surprising declaration: I’ve developed a crush of my own! This person’s pretty cool, I have to admit. But more than the subject of my crush, I also love allowing myself to surreptitiously “scheme” and coordinate “alleged coincidental run-ins.”

No, I am not teary-eyed, telling my lover to escape a war-torn Morocco. Yet, that’s the entire point. We don’t have to experience a mature love for it to be real and exciting. As much as we forget, we are but eighteen, nineteen and twenty-year-olds. In an already fast-paced Yale, we don’t have to push ourselves to grow up. There is still something magical and genuine about the whispered names, the not-so-secretive glances in class, the nervous, so-Yalie declarations of “Do… do you want to grab a meal together?”

So let’s stay entranced and immersed in the great teenage mythologies of “like-like” and romance. Just for a little longer, while we can. Maybe this piece is more than just a love letter to crushes, maybe it’s a love letter to our silliness, our endearing immaturity and our hopelessly loveable youth.

Contact JANE PARK at jane.park@yale.edu .

I Love You

// BY ZOE HALABAN

Beginning in February of fifth grade, for a span of two months, I sat with three classmates: Aria, Liam and Nick.

Aria sported a new pair of printed spandex leggings every day, announced facts about her hamster and other rodents, always had her hair pulled back in three fluorescent scrunchies and hated chocolate. I knew Liam vaguely from the cornered stool he would sit on in art class and the disengaged tone he would use when called on. After lunch, the oval of skin surrounding Liam’s lips was a telltale sign that he had chowed on a cotton-candy DumDum. Nick had a terrible peanut allergy, so during class birthday parties he only ever ate Oreos. I am certain that to them I was Zoë, the vegetarian with dark brown frizzy hair.

We spent hours together crouched in our child-sized chairs, but were not keen on becoming friends. We were fi fth graders and had our established friendships; we were nothing but tablemates.

But, when early February rolled around, I guess I decided I would tell my tablemates that I loved them.

I grew up above a flower shop, and even the days leading up to Feb. 14 echoed with unbearable noise — people in disarray demanding their partner’s favorite flowers — I loved it. I was 10 and an unrealized romantic. Being part of my life meant you would receive a handmade Valentine. Whatever bulk candy I could buy would not encapsulate the minimal relationships I held with my classmates.

On Feb. 14 Aria received a gumball machine of skittles, Liam some Dum-Dums

and Nick a pack of double-stuffed Oreos. They thanked me and then we continued to only speak when we had to.

Somewhere along the way, I fell o with my crafts — probably when I found people who show me exactly when it is “worth it” to love. My English lecture buddy will not get a Valentine, nor the girl in my math class that I think is cool. But, there is always something to be said for innocent, superfluous, extravagance.

Fifth grade was the last time I extended the spirit of Valentine’s Day. My teenage relationship with the holiday wavered between being too cool for romance and handing out chocolates to my best friends. The ideals of the non-believers invaded my willingness to show gratitude to my acquaintances, sucking out all the fun of the day.

As I write this on the eve of Valentine’s Day, I’ll also include that I am a hypocrite. I have just sealed my sole Valentine’s card addressed to someone who surely knows they will receive it. I will not extend love to people who are not expecting it.

There’s something so romantic about what’s left unsaid. And, what even is the point of a holiday dedicated to restating how you feel? Valentines is otherwise an excuse for romance — showcasing reluctance — an unfortunate symptom of a holiday dedicated to being vulnerable. So, next year, I hope to reconnect with my childish vulnerabilities and say I love you to everyone.

Contact ZOE HALABAN at zoe.halaban@yale.edu .

//

// VIRGINIA PENG // LIZZIE CONKLIN

// SOPHIA ZHAO