Today's Paper

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · VOL. CXXXVIII, NO. 75 · yaledailynews.com

INSIDE THE NEWS MORNING EVENING

SUNNY CLOUDY

46 34

CROSS CAMPUS

LIVER LET DIE STUDY EXPLORES NEW TREATMENT

ARE YOU CHINA?

LAURANS LEAVING

Chinese market dips will not affect Yale investments, experts say

UNIVERSITY SEEKS NEW NCAA REPRESENTATIVE

PAGES 12–13 SCI-TECH

PAGE 3 UNIVERSITY

PAGE 5 UNIVERSITY

Anti-discrimination website launched

Cocky after the caucus.

Yesterday, residents of Iowa voted in the caucus and kicked off the 2016 primary elections.

Sen. Ted Cruz led the Republicans and Sen. Marco Rubio saw a surprising thirdplace finish. Even with 99 percent of votes counted, the race between Hillary Clinton LAW ’73 and Sen. Bernie Sanders was too close to call.

The primary will continue in New Hampshire next Tuesday.

yesterday, Metro-North trains heading from Grand Central to New Haven and back were experiencing delays of up to one hour because of heightened police presence in the area of the New York Botanical Gardens. Photos shared on social media showed over 1,000 commuters waiting in Grand Central.

One of the president’s men.

Legal philosopher Robert George, who is a professor at Princeton University and who received the Presidential Citizens Medal from former president George W. Bush ’68 in 2009, will speak on “Academic Freedom and Liberal Arts Ideals” at Yale.

The Buckley Program will host George at 4:30 p.m. in Sudler Hall tomorrow.

If you’re someone who goes to office hours. Mayor Toni

Harp will host a “mayor’s night in” this evening at City Hall from 5 to 7 p.m. During the designated office hours, Harp will invite city residents to provide input on the city budget for fiscal year 2017, which is due to the Board of Alders at the end of the month.

For the open bar. Seats for Y Fashion House’s show “Synesthesia” — on Friday evening in the Silliman dining hall — can now be reserved on Facebook. Attendees are also invited to enjoy an open bar at 116 Crown after the show.

Join the News. Writers, designers, copy editors, coders, illustrators, photographers and videographers, bring your talents to the nation’s Oldest College Daily. Interested in joining the staff of the Yale Daily News? Come by 202 York St. at 8 p.m. this evening to learn how to get involved.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY

1981 According to the Registrar’s office, the top three majors at Yale are English, history and economics. This is a significant jump from 1971 when only one female student graduated from Yale with a major in economics.

Follow along for the News’ latest.

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Popular Facebook group replaces Blackmon with two new moderators PAGE 7 UNIVERSITY

Alders sue BOE for charter violation

BY REBECCA KARABUS STAFF REPORTER

behavior that may violate the University’s nondiscrimination policies, as well as a Nov. 17 email from University President Peter Salovey titled “Toward a Better Yale” promising to do just that.

Goff-Crews told the News that

The New Haven Board of Alders filed a lawsuit on Jan. 26 against the city’s Board of Education and BOE member Daisy Gonzalez — widely regarded as the voice of New Haven Public Schools parents — for Gonzalez’s allegedly illegal membership on the BOE. The New Haven City Charter, which was revised and approved by voters in a November 2013 referendum, mandates a seven-member BOE. But after the November election of Darnell Goldson and Edward Joyner, the board currently has eight members. Though the BOE voted last month to permit eight members to sit until the end of 2016, the BOA claimed this action was illegal and voted the next week to end Gonzalez’s term. The 2013 referendum failed to specify how the BOE would drop from an eight- to a seven-member board with the adoption of a hybrid board through the election of two new members, leading to the current controversy.

The BOA decided Gonzalez should be the member to step down because she is the most recent mayoral appointee, confirmed by the alders on Oct. 20, 2014.

“The Board of Alders is taking this action to enforce the properly exercised, legally binding and cost neutral legislative remedy it carried out in December,” Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker and Majority Leader Alphonse Paolillo Jr.

SEE WEBSITE PAGE 4

SEE LAWSUIT PAGE 4

On camera. Lupita Nyong’o DRA ’12 is one of 13 actresses featured in a photo spread shot

by Vanity Fair photographer Annie Leibovitz. “She will almost certainly trip the lightsaber fantastic in the force awakenings ahead,” Vanity Fair wrote about Nyong’o. Other featured actresses included Jennifer Lawrence and Viola Davis.

Off track. During rush hour

OVERLORD @ YALE

COURTESY OF CHRIS MELAMED

The website was compiled by the office of University Secretary and Vice President for Student Life Kimberly Goff-Crews.

BY MONICA WANG STAFF REPORTER Administrators have launched a new website detailing the resources available for students responding to cases of discrimination and harassment on campus.

University Secretary and Vice

President for Student Life Kimberly Goff-Crews announced the website, which is titled “Student Discrimination and Harassment Reporting & Response,” in a University-wide email Monday afternoon. Its creation follows demands from student activists last semester for clearer mechanisms to address

Harp lauds Elm City “transformation”

BY NOAH DAPONTE-SMITH STAFF REPORTER A month after beginning her second term at the helm of New Haven’s city government, Mayor Toni Harp touted the progress the city has made over the past two years.

Harp used her annual State of the City address Monday night to highlight New Haven’s “transformation” in recent

years. That transformation, she said, has come in a wide variety of fields, ranging from lowered absentee rates in the public school system to tighter finances in the city’s administration. As a result, New Haven has begun to attract national attention and is now often counted among wealthier cities, she said. City officials at the event agreed, adding that New Haven will face a series of new

Interest in sororities increases

challenges in coming years.

“New Haven is in a state of transformation,” Harp said near the end of her remarks to the crowd of 150 people at City Hall.

“It has, in many ways, already transformed over the past two years … New Haven is emerging as a destination city for more students, more residents, more business and more visitors.”

Harp’s 45-minute speech touched on an array of initia-

tives developed under her leadership. New Haven, Harp said, is shedding its history as a hub for industry and manufacturing and is becoming a center for growing industries like biotechnology.

Harp cited the recent opening of Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ new headquarters on College Street as evidence that New Haven is attracting a fresh wave of businesses to guide it through

the coming decades. The headquarters, which will house over 1,000 employees, will help provide a strong base of jobs in the city, she said.

For Harp, further evidence of New Haven’s transformation came last week, when a storm that was forecasted to drop six inches of snow on the city ended up leaving 14. In previous years, SEE STATE OF THE CITY PAGE 6

Local 34 confronts Yale on ITS layoffs

BY JOEY YE STAFF REPORTER Despite the addition of a fourth sorority at Yale last April, more students signed up for sorority rush this semester than could be accommodated by campus sororities for the third year in a row.

From Jan. 13 to Jan. 22, roughly 250 female students registered for the rush process.

This year, 164 women were offered bids to one of the four sororities, said a sorority sister who asked to remain anonymous. Multiple members of Yale’s Panhellenic Council declined to give the exact number of females who did not receive bids from any sorority, though several sorority sisters confirmed that some students did not receive a bid.

Last spring, 238 women registered for rush, and in 2014, 239 registered for rush with 30 ultimately not offered bids to any sorority. In response to increasing demand over the past few years, Yale Panhellenic announced last spring that Alpha Phi, Yale’s newest sorority, would come to campus.

“Since our members are the backbone of our organizations, this process is incredibly meaningful to all Panhellenic groups,” Skyler Inman ’17, president of Yale’s chapSEE SORORITY PAGE 6

COURTESY OF LOCAL 34

Members of Local 34 submitted a petition to Salovey and Polak to rescind the recent Yale ITS layoffs.

BY FINNEGAN SCHICK STAFF REPORTER Yale union members who were laid off last week petitioned University President Peter Salovey and Provost Ben Polak Monday after-

noon to rescind the layoffs.

Several Local 34 leaders accompanied the 10 staff members from Yale’s Information Technology Services who learned on Jan. 24 that the University was laying them off as part of cost-cutting measures

that have affected Yale’s administrative staff over the past few years.

Neither the president nor the provost was in their offices when the union members arrived to deliver SEE PETITION PAGE 6

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YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

OPINION

.COMMENT “I wonder if the author has taken an actual science class at yaledailynews.com/opinion

GUEST COLUMNIST K AT H E R I N E A DA M S

W

the desire, idealistic though it may seem, to engage ideology directly — whether campus racism or “P.C. culture” — rather than to meet it with passionate gestures and sweeping claims.

The expressions that arouse sympathy or ire may ultimately divert attempts to work through difficult conflicts. We must be willing to engage with opponents who understandably balk at student reactions that treat even confessions of confusion and calls for discussion as forms of oppression in and of themselves. When it comes to lasting change — which takes time — everyday engagements and open discussions are potent and subversive tools for improving campus climate.

UNCERTAINTY OR RESPECTFUL SKEPTICISM ABOUT ISSUES ON OUR CAMPUS DOES NOT MAKE ONE A HANDMAIDEN OF THE OPPRESSOR

KATHERINE ADAMS is a junior in Berkeley College. Contact her at katherine.adams@yale.edu .

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The News’ View represents the opinion of the majority of the members of the Yale Daily News Managing Board of 2017. Other content on this page with bylines represents the opinions of those authors and not necessarily those of the Managing Board. Opinions set forth in ads do not necessarily reflect the views of the Managing Board. We reserve the right to refuse any ad for any reason and to delete or change any copy we consider objectionable, false or in poor taste. We do not verify the contents of any ad. The Yale Daily News Publishing Co., Inc. and its officers, employees and agents disclaim any responsibility for all liabilities, injuries or damages arising from any ad. The Yale Daily News Publishing Co. ISSN 0890-2240

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

Around the red tape L

ike many universities, Yale has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, Yale pledged to reduce its emissions by 43 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

Now, as universities and even Fortune 500 companies commit to 100 percent emissions reductions, it’s time to check up on Yale. Though Yale has been putting forward new sustainability, beneath the public eye, the University has only reduced emissions by 16 percent — a decrease too slow to meet the 2020 goal.

Now, as a community, it’s time to look for alternatives. We have a duty not to let our dollars be wasted on fuel rather than being put towards scholarships or programming.

But why wait for the administrators? The path to big decisions can be a slow one for a university. To reduce emissions, why not start with your math professor’s home instead?

Students have been working to decarbonize Yale through formal channels, but progress can begin with the Yale community, inspiring institutional change through private consent. Yale Project Bright, an undergraduate team, has publicly requested the 100 percent decarbon-

One must admit that implicit collaboration with oppressive ideology has a tendency to be masked as high-minded intellectualism. There are grounds for claiming that those who retreat from campus unrest are eggheads preoccupied with “reasonable” approaches that ignore actual impact. Yet as the support for ethnic studies has shown, protestors admit that even academic discourse constitutes a crucial means of evaluating institutional forms of oppression, and that such work takes place within existing structures.

It’s one thing to change policies, but it’s quite another to establish a campus culture that is stimulating and challenging while still being respectful. As we continue to try to learn from each other, we would do well to remain open to ambivalence and to the reflections that develop in private and academic forms of discourse. While certain work may be best achieved in a very public and even radical way, we should admit the possibility of ethical uncertainty and allow that the margins of our public spaces can be politically robust.

Editorial: (203) 432-2418 editor@yaledailynews.com Business: (203) 432-2424 business@yaledailynews.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Stephanie Addenbrooke

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Direct all letters, columns, artwork and inquiries to: Larry Milstein and Aaron Sibarium Opinion Editors Yale Daily News opinion@yaledailynews.com

COPYRIGHT 2016 — VOL. CXXXVIII, NO. 75

'GENESIS 6:9' ON CHUA: THE RISE OF THE CULT CLASS

GUEST COLUMNIST TESS MAGGIO

The role of uncertainty hen protests unfolded last term, it was not uncommon to hear more politically visible members of the student body scoff at peers who passed over public demonstrations in favor of more private discussions. While protests are surely important tools for change, an unfortunate effect of our campus radicalism is that many Yale students are quick to suspect those who may be ambivalent or politically tentative as ignorant, dismissive or even instruments of an oppressive regime.

Uncertainty or respectful skepticism about issues on our campus does not make one a handmaiden of the oppressor. Disengagement from Yale’s protest culture entails a definite, albeit cautious, rejection of the ecstatic and sometimes militant approach to campus discourse supported by a significant portion of the Yale population, but it doesn’t necessarily dispute the concerns being expressed.

Of course there are students whose disinterest in political performance stems from genuine unconcern or blatant spite.

On the other hand, ambivalent but otherwise sympathetic voices are often cowed into offering lip service to what they may consider unreasonable reactions, and genuine uncertainty is distorted as a special brand of entitlement. The rejection of particular methods and proposals does not entail denial of the genuine experiences so bravely disclosed by students.

Rather, the uncertainty lies in whether these problems were and will be treated in a productive way. In fact, certain contradictions within our student “radicalism” can even render it less revolutionary than it sometimes purports to be.

It’s no secret that many of the demonstrations and demands of last term may have invited the practice of the prejudice they opposed. We will need to be on our guard against enabling a culture of a condescension that treats minorities as too fragile to navigate the vicissitudes of discourse, and an environment that belittles and marginalizes people of color in the very ways the protests opposed. Conservative claims of threats to free speech and academic freedom were rightly challenged, yet there are reasons for progressives to be wary of obsessive fears of offense. While frantic censorship of even the most “micro” of aggressions can cloak reproachable sentiment and ease discomfort in the short term, it can also foreclose and derail cross-cultural conversations.

Radical students should (and in many cases do) respect

Yale?”

ization of all faculty and staff households where it would be cost-neutral or profitable to do so. Other student groups have voiced support, including the Yale Student Environmental Coalition. But the agreement has stretched beyond campus as well, to major solar installers who can help make the vision a reality.

Here’s the agreement Project Bright made: any homeowner (with a 650 credit score) can get a panel installation for free on their roof. The homeowner (your professor or favorite dining hall staffer) pays the installer the cost of their old electricity bill (or less) for fewer than five years, and after that, they get free electricity. Absolutely free.

And they get the additional benefit of increased property value.

If they sign on through a student, they get an extra month of energy for free. So in that case, it’s free with a bit more free included for free.

Students can take a stand and ask their professors if they might consider a solar array on their home. It’s a proposition many haven’t thought through, but one that even the most nefarious hater of trees could still embrace as a risk-free source of profit.

75 percent of the millions of American households that have gone solar cite reduced electricity costs as their main reason for the switch. Installations are completed in a single day. An average homeowner can expect $714 in annual savings on their electricity bill.

How would you spend $714?

The question may be more relevant than you think, as Project Bright and the Yale College Council have partnered to reward students handsomely for encouraging Yale homeowners to go solar.

Imagine a city full of faculty and staff members with roofs adorned in solar panels. The financial savings and emissions reductions they experience will signify to the administration that solar at Yale can have a positive impact on the community.

This display of a cost-effective and progressive energy solution will illustrate Yale as a fiscally and environmentally responsible institution. Yale’s status would make this type of solar project even more visible, creating the potential for this strategy to serve as a replicable model for other universities. As we face a climate change crisis, we can no longer waste our energy fretting

about red tape.

For this green endeavor, I would suggest walking around the red tape.

Financial savings with environmental benefits is a fantastic double bottom line. Private consent can offer the most clear and convincing evidence for why the University should commit to further carbon reduction.

With an ever-expanding campus, Yale’s power plants will supply a decreasing percentage of our necessary energy. A recent installation at West Campus has demonstrated that solar can be a fiscally sound choice for Yale.

But this is just a first step and we need to expand this vision. If greater solar installations prove to provide economic benefits to our community, it is our obligation to convince the University to begin this transition as well.

We hope to engage a large group of students to expand the reach and impact of this initiative by having the right conversations with faculty and staff.

It’s easy to talk about change, but we need to take action, and this starts with us.

TESS MAGGIO is a senior in Davenport College. Contact her at tess.maggio@yale.edu .

AYDIN AKYOL/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Reorient the classics I

was only two years old when I first encountered Yale’s Classics Department — entirely by accident. My parents, recent immigrants to Newark, Connecticut from Taiwan, stumbled across Yale’s campus one autumn afternoon while taking me out for a walk. Enthralled by the panoply of striking Gothic architecture and completely unaware that they were standing in the middle of an Ivy League institution, they decided to take a picture in front of the most impressive edifice they found there. The result was an inexplicably prescient photo of my parents proudly lifting me in their arms before the imposing shape of Phelps Hall, as if offering their baby to the Classics Department.

Now that I am a Yale undergraduate pursuing a major in the Classics (and surrendering my body, soul and sanity to the department), that photo, showing my parents so excited in the country they’d made their new home, has taken on new meaning. After six years of studying the Classics, certain things cannot escape my notice — the absence of women and people of color in antiquity from “great works” canons, the frustrating elusiveness of women in primary-source texts about Classical civilization, the mere fragments of Sappho which are all that survive of a female Classical literary voice. I have been made aware of the history of Classical scholarship, which has long been

dominated by white men, and of Classical reception, which has long been designated to reinforce conserSHERRY LEE vative politics.

As often as I A classical hear the familiar refrain that act the Classics are “dead,” I hear women and people of color denouncing Classics as irredeemably “old,” “white” and “male.” To the modern mainstream, the civilizations of Greece and Rome exist as a distant monolith peopled by ancient white men whose outdated values are reproduced today on the lips of sexists, racists and elitists asserting their intellectual superiority. Many modern leftists reject the works of Cicero and Herodotus, conceiving of them as part of a Western discipline that inherently discriminates against the marginalized.

Sometimes, I still feel like an immigrant in the Classics.

Perhaps the greatest crime of the Western critical tradition is the political whitewashing it has applied to the Classics. Because conservatism in the West has traditionally identified itself closely with the Classics, those with different political standpoints have accordingly adopted a hostile attitude to Classical texts. But there is an important distinction

to be made between the Classics and the constructs of antiquity developed by its scholarship. We forget that these constructs are not static and infallible, that they should be critiqued and questioned just like any other academic subject. We forget that the Hellenic and Roman worlds consciously coexisted with Asia and Africa. We forget the ancient presence of women and "people of color" who have been abandoned for so long by the political interests of the Western critical tradition and now again by the left.

I cannot describe the shiver of excitement I felt when I first read Euripides’s tragedy “Andromache” and realized that the titular character was, too, a female Asian immigrant. In Homer’s Iliad, she appears as the wife of the Trojan Hector. This play explores her disorientation — in all senses of the word — and enslavement after the Trojan War. Geographical differences between Taiwan and Asian Thebes notwithstanding, I felt an intuitive affinity with Andromache, a transcendent sympathy for her plight as a woman displaced from her native country and constantly stigmatized because of her ethnicity. “I will help you — even though you are a daughter of Asia,” the Chorus tells her. Another character furiously accuses Andromache of seducing her husband, saying, “Asian women are experts at such evil things!” Throughout it all, Andromache heartbreak-

ingly yearns for her native land, “brightest gem in all of Asia.”

Across a gulf of two millennia, those words continue to resonate with me and the alienation and exoticization I have experienced as a native-born Taiwanese woman in America.

The character of Andromache reflects how I sometimes feel about being a woman of color in the Classics — the sensation of entering a space that is not mine.

However, it is also Andromache who causes me to realize that my political beliefs and alliances have implications for my scholarship.

Classics is a discipline that needs the perspectives that women and people of color can bring to it, especially in light of its highly politicized history. In truth, women of color abound in the Classics: The sorceress Medea, for example, of the famous Euripidean tragedy “Medea,” is an Ethiopian woman. But scholarship that engages with them must embrace the perspectives and motivations that have been excluded from the critical tradition. Far from being harmful or anachronistic, diversity in the Classics — and the subversion it brings — can only further the discipline's intellectual mission.

We for antiquity do, in fact, exist.

SHERRY LEE is a sophomore in Ezra Stiles College. Her column runs on alternate Tuesdays. Contact her at chia.lee@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 3

NEWS

“We have our own history, our own language, our own culture. But our destiny is also tied up with the destinies of other people.”

MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICIAN

YCC recommends new LGBTQ policies

BY JOEY YE STAFF REPORTER After soliciting student feedback over the past year, the Yale College Council is calling on the University to improve campus resources and policies for LGBTQ students.

After releasing a report recommending new LGBTQ-related policies to high-ranking administrators on Sunday, the YCC published its findings to the student body in a 28-page report Monday night.

The report recommends that Yale focuses on improving three main areas: LGBTQ resources — many of which stem from the Office of LGBTQ Resources — gender-neutral housing and identity competence. The report states that while the turn of the century brought some significant changes to campus, Yale has recently fallen behind peer institutions in implementing and updating policies that LGBTQ students need in order to flourish on a college campus.

“Yale prides itself in being a leader, a trailblazer, in higher education, not just in academia but also in student life, and this is one of those chances,” YCC President Joe English ’17 said. “In the past we’ve had the reputation of being a ‘gay ivy,’ but that was due to student efforts and almost nothing with administrative support.

I hope in the coming years we’re able to match student support with administrative support.”

Max Goldberg ’17, one of the authors of the report and leader of the YCC’s LGBTQ Resources Task Force, said one of the report’s main focuses was on identity issues, such as pronoun use for those who do not follow the traditional gender binary. While the Office of LGBTQ Resources provides a number of services to queer and transgender students, including pronoun notification to faculty members and staff, these services are not listed on the office’s official website. The University also does not provide teaching faculty with training on personal pronouns.

Yale College currently offers sophomores, juniors and seniors the option of living in genderneutral housing. However, the policy only applies when students are forming suites, as undergraduates do not have the option of choosing a roommate of the opposite sex. Goldberg said allowing students to live in the same room as someone of the opposite sex would solve logistical rooming difficulties and increase the number of possible suite combinations.

“There’s compelling peer institution research that shows gender-neutral housing does not lead to any issues at all,” Goldberg said.

“Brown for example, has a fully gender-neutral rooming policy and since its three-year history, they haven’t had a single report, complaint, let alone an actual incident happening.”

Other recommendations include extending Yale College’s current policy to include freshmen in gender-neutral housing arrangements. Gender-neutral housing is already available

to all undergraduates at fellow Ivy League institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell and some houses at Harvard, according to the report.

The report includes information compiled from a survey administered by the YCC last fall to gauge student sentiment on LGBTQ issues and solicit policy recommendations. In the survey, students reported being frustrated by the lack of resources available to the LGBTQ community, adding that the Office of LGBTQ Resources should be better integrated with the rest of campus.

The Office of LGBTQ Resources is located in an annex dorm behind Payne Whitney Gymnasium. Of 1,457 undergraduates surveyed, only 32 percent of LGBTQ students said they had been to the office and only 44 percent of those approved of its location. In addition, 74 percent of all respondents and 85 percent of LGBTQ respondents believe the office should be funded at a level comparable to the cultural centers on a per-student basis, according to the report.

“The result of our peer institution research was rather simply that Yale has a lot of catching up to do,” said Adam Michalowski ’19, another author of the report. “We are the only Ivy League university other than Columbia without an LGBTQ student center, our funding of student groups is far behind schools like Penn and we simply lack a lot of administrative infrastructure with regard to resources for LGBTQ student groups.”

Michalowski said having no fixed gathering place for LGBTQ students impedes community development and limits the work student organizations can do. The major obstacle to the creation of a student center is securing a suitable space, he added, and the most important next step in doing so is gaining administrative support.

The report also notes that the absence of these resources has implications even before students come to Yale. In last year’s Yale undergraduate admissions application, there was no option for students to indicate LGBTQ status. Goldberg said the inability for LGBTQ applicants to specify their identity preferences could deter them from matriculating.

He added that prospective students may choose to attend other institutions because they feel they are not allowed to be who they are here. While Yale currently does not provide an option for applicants to identify LGBTQ status, peer institutions like MIT and Dartmouth allow students to describe their gender identity on their college application.

“It’s interesting to think Yale is the ‘gay ivy,’ but it’s emphatically not the ‘queer ivy,’” Goldberg said. “This is the place where they accept the part of the LGBTQ community that doesn’t stray far from the social norm.”

Yale College approved gender-neutral housing for seniors in 2010.

Contact JOEY YE at shuaijiang.ye@yale.edu .

OPINION. Your thoughts. Your views. Your page.

Send submissions to opinion@yaledailynews.com

yale institute of sacred music presents Liturgy Symposium Series

When Chant Became Gregorian henry parkes

assistant professor of music

monday february 8 4:30 pm

ISM Great Hall (409 Prospect) Refreshments for body, mind, and spirit. ism.yale.edu

Beloved Turkish lector dies at 60

BY VICTOR WANG STAFF REPORTER Etem Erol, a senior lector in Turkish, passed away after suffering from a heart attack in January while on vacation in Bulgaria. He was born in 1955 and was buried in the town of his birth, Akçay, Turkey. He was 60 years old.

Erol, who had taught at Columbia University before coming to Yale, was a historian and language pedagogue. He taught all of the University’s modern Turkish and Ottoman Turkish classes, and his colleagues and students said his presence was felt far beyond the classroom, from interacting with the New Haven Turkish community to sponsoring cultural events and film screenings. In all such endeavors, they said, Erol brought his signature energy and smile, qualities that will be sorely missed.

“Etem Erol loved life, loved Turkey, loved his students and loved Yale. We will miss his energy, his laugh and his presence in our community,” said Alan Mikhail, a history professor who teaches on the early Muslim world and the Ottoman Empire.

Erol’s enthusiasm and warmth, as well as his rich historical and cultural perspective, brought the Yale Turkish language program to life and made class enrollments soar, according to acting chair of the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department Christina Kraus.

Beyond his teaching duties, Erol was also an active member of the Council on Middle East Studies, and he participated on the council’s Cinema Series and served on its

fellowship committees.

Erol’s colleagues and students said they best remember him from anecdotes about his energy, happiness and passion for Turkey. One of his popular sayings was that everyone in New Haven should “speak Turkish and be a [Turkish soccer team] Fenerbahçe fan.” He was also a part of a New Haven “Turkish Club,” an informal community of local Turks.

Etem Erol loved life, loved Turkey, loved his students and loved Yale.

ALAN MIKHAIL History Professor Michael Rapoport GRD ’18, one of Erol’s students in the NELC Department, said Erol would be remembered for “being a happy person.”

“It may seem unremarkable to characterize someone as a happy person, but Etem was always laughing, smiling and joking,” Rapoport said.

“And he had a lovely ability to share his laughter, smiles and jokes with those around him. Even on those days when I may not have been looking forward to going to class, I would always look forward to seeing Etem. Knowing that he would be laughing and smiling in class would always brighten my mood. Even now, the memory of him has the same effect.”

NELC will hold a memorial celebration of Erol’s life on Feb. 12.

COURTESY OF TOLGA KOKER

Etem Erol, a senior lector in Turkish, died of a heart attack over winter break.

Contact VICTOR WANG at v.wang@yale.edu .

Yale endowment weathers China market woes

BY FINNEGAN SCHICK STAFF REPORTER Even as Chinese stocks falter and falling oil prices spur worries of global economic instability, the Yale Investments Office may have little cause for concern.

China’s stock market has plummeted in recent months and the yuan has steadily declined in value, triggering fears that China’s economy may trigger the next world economic crisis. Although Yale’s investment portfolio allocates around 9 percent of the University’s endowment toward emerging foreign markets, Yale economists and endowment-management experts said a crisis in China’s economy would have a negligible impact on the Yale endowment. They added that economic concerns overseas may be overblown — the result of unfounded anxiety and public speculation rather than careful analysis of China’s economy. In a Jan. 21 interview with Bloomberg News, Yale economics professor and Nobel laureate Robert Shiller said that China’s stocks have little impact on America’s financial health, and urged economists and the media to resist “overhyping” China’s influence on U.S. markets. Although Shiller did not specifically speak about the University’s endowment during the interview, Yale professors and experts said his insights would also apply to the University’s investments.

William Jarvis ’77, managing director of the Commonfund Institute, an institutional investment firm, said that because a portion of Yale’s investments in China are illiquid, they do not need to be sold immediately and thus, if China’s stocks were to fall, “the effect is going to be relatively negligible” on Yale’s endowment.

“The whole strategy of the Yale endowment is to stay away from liquid markets,” Jarvis said.

The crisis in China’s stock markets began when the Chinese government tried to encourage average consumers to invest in the stock market. The Chinese wanted their economy to look more like

America’s, Jarvis said. Stocks, particularly those in the Shanghai stock exchange, initially gained value, but have slumped recently, causing global speculation and sparking a flurry of conversation in financial circles about the safety of China’s usually strong economy.

But Yale does not have to worry, at least for now. The University is safe from a decline in stock values on the Shanghai exchange, Jarvis said, because those Chinese stocks are not eligible for investment by foreign investors — the stock market is closed to outsiders and open only to Chinese investors.

To be sure, a small number of companies have multiple listings, traded both in Shanghai and in other markets, but those companies are not numerous enough to impact the broader market.

“The market turmoil itself will have a hard time having a transmission mechanism to get from China to this country,” Jarvis said.

Yale economics lecturer Michael Pascutti expressed a similar view on China. He said that a drop in China’s stock market would have a minor impact on Yale’s endowment because so little of it is actually invested in Chinese stocks.

Another reason Yale should not worry about overseas markets is that, according to Jarvis,

the U.S. economy is relatively self-contained. A crash in overseas stocks might hurt emerging markets, but it could ultimately benefit American companies.

Pascutti acknowledged that emerging markets like China have “gotten killed” recently, despite their strength in previous years. This might be cause for concern, but as Pascutti pointed out, much of Yale’s exposure to Chinese stocks is through U.S.-based companies that invest overseas, which protects it from any serious fluctuations in China’s market.

Still, changes in the Chinese economy are only part of Yale’s broader investment picture overseas. Indeed, Jarvis said China’s economy is old news compared to other emerging markets in countries like Nigeria or South Africa, where he guessed that Yale might be investing in many smaller “frontier markets.” Yale does not disclose how much it has invested in a stock at any given time, so there is no way of knowing precisely where the University has its money.

Part of Yale’s endowment model purposefully prevents Yale from making fast, spurof-the-moment decisions. For example, Yale’s endowment investment committee decides asset allocations once a year.

However, Yale does have methods of selling and buying stocks

regularly throughout the year, in a “rebalancing” process that could foreseeably react more quickly in case of a crisis overseas, Jarvis said.

The real problem is not that China could damage U.S. stocks, but that instability abroad could induce “sympathetic selling” on Wall Street as a result of purely psychological anxieties over the falling stocks, Jarvis said.

Similarly, Shiller described the lack of investor confidence to Bloomberg News as a “psychological phenomenon” brought about by investors picking and choosing facts to make their investment decisions.

In the end, Yale has the responsibility of any investor to protect itself from unstable stocks and to find ways to minimize risk, Jarvis said.

“Any investor understands not only why they’re getting into an investment, but how and why they want to get out of it,” Jarvis said. “There is a constant dynamism to that process.”

The Shanghai Composite Index — a stock index of all stocks traded on the Shanghai exchange — has fallen 2,414 points from its high of 5,166 in June 2015.

Contact FINNEGAN SCHICK at christopher.schick@yale.edu .

CHART PROPORTION OF YALE’S ENDOWMENT INVESTED OVERSEAS Emerging Markets Foreign Equity

9%

11.5%

Total Endowment

Foreign Equity ELEANOR HANDLER/PRODUCTION & DESIGN EDITOR

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YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

FROM THE FRONT

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

ARTHUR CLARKE BRITISH WRITER

Alders file suit against BOE, alleging misconduct LAWSUIT FROM PAGE 1

NOAH DAPONTE-SMITH/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

The New Haven Board of Alders filed a lawsuit against the city’s Board of Education, alleging that it violated the City Charter.

said in a statement. “We are doing so on behalf of our constituents because the Board of Education persists in defying the Charter, the law of the City and the will of the voters.”

On Jan. 12, Mayor Toni Harp, the BOE’s current president, attempted to veto the alders’ ordinance to end Gonzalez’s term.

Joyner told the News earlier this month that Harp’s submission of a scanned signature to the City Clerk’s Office came two days late, rendering the veto null and upholding the alders’ ruling.

Walker signed the Jan. 26 complaint against Gonzalez and the BOE. The lawsuit calls for an injunctive relief barring Gonzalez from continuing to serve on the board and an injunctive relief barring the board from acting with eight members.

Norm Pattis, a New Haven-based criminal defense lawyer with Pattis & Smith Law Firm, the firm representing the alders, said the BOA has every right to file the complaint against Gonzalez.

“I think Gonzalez was mistakenly appointed for a four-year term,” Pattis said. “For Ms. Gonzalez to claim she has some

divine right to occupy that office because of that error is ludicrous.”

Pattis added that while the BOA made a mistake that resulted in the eight board members, the BOA seeks to correct this error via litigation against Gonzalez. Pattis said boards of education across Connecticut have a history of overreaching their authority and that New Haven’s current case is “yet another chapter in that history.”

Gonzalez, who is the current chair of the BOE’s Finance and Operations Committee, said the BOA has yet to present her with the lawsuit. She declined to comment, claiming the suit is a rumor for the time being, as far as she is concerned.

Harp said she was unable to comment because she has not seen the lawsuit either.

“While I’m certainly disappointed to learn this recent move made by the Board of Alders, I haven’t yet seen or read the lawsuit and therefore can make no comment about it,” Harp said in a statement.

Gonzalez was initially appointed to serve until Dec. 31, 2018.

Contact REBECCA KARABUS at rebecca.karabus@yale.edu .

Admins launch website for discrimination reporting WEBSITE FROM PAGE 1 the website’s launch is just the first phase of the administration’s response to student demands for anti-discrimination procedures. In the second phase, the administration will continue to review existing procedures over the course of this semester. It will also consider importing successful mechanisms from other universities and developing new methods of its own. Additionally, GoffCrews said administrators have enlisted the help of leaders in the Yale College Council, the Graduate Student Assembly and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate to better incorporate student voices into the process.

“This new website marks another step in our work [to make Yale a more inclusive place],” Goff-Crews wrote in her email. “You will find information on reporting, seeking guidance and advice and resolving situations that raise concerns about discrimination or harassment.

Trained staff will assist students with their options.”

Sectioned off according to different possible scenarios that could lead to student complaints, the website provides information about informal and formal processes for reporting, as well as how to discuss and file different types of complaints about

discrimination and harassment.

It also explains University policies as well as state and federal laws and provides links to existing campus resources, such as the Sexual Harassment and Assault Response & Education Center and the Mental Health & Counseling department.

Among the formal procedures that students can pursue are the Dean’s Procedure for Student Complaints, through which a student can lodge a complaint against a faculty member or administrator of his or her school, and the Provost’s Procedure for Student Complaints, through which a student can make a complaint against a faculty member or administrator of another school. Students are encouraged to contact the Office for Equal Opportunity Programs, headed by director Valarie Stanley, to formally complain about acts of discrimination besides sexual harassment that are perpetrated by other students. A fourth venue — the President’s Procedure for Addressing Students’ Complaints of Racial or Ethnic Harassment — is reserved for students who wish to make a complaint against any member of the Yale community. Interviews conducted by the News in December showed that students were largely unaware of these existing procedures.

“The new website is an impor-

tant step in widening the channels of communication between students and administrators,” University Deputy Press Secretary Karen Peart told the News.

“The site is meant to provide all students with information on reporting, seeking guidance and advice, and resolving situations that raise concerns about discrimination or harassment.

Student leaders are an integral part of these initiatives and will continue to play a key role in our efforts.”

YCC President Joe English ’17 told the News that the website plays an important role in providing students with information and access to the available resources.

“One of the biggest barriers for students seeking action is not knowing where to turn — it’s very difficult for students to know which resources to utilize,” English said. “The website explains which ones students should be utilizing, so access to information is the biggest gain here.”

English added that the YCC works closely with the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life, and will assist Goff-Crews and other administrators going forward. One specific way the YCC can help the administration, English said, is to contact student governments at Yale’s peer institutions to see

what mechanisms for addressing similar issues have worked well for them.

The website is a “great first response,” English added, and the next step for Yale administrators will be to assess the existing resources to see if they are functioning fairly and effectively. The administration has been making changes to similar processes, such as the Title IX process as well as the UniversityWide Committee on Sexual Misconduct, and resources like these are constantly being altered and improved, according to English.

Highlighting the importance of including student voices in the development of these mechanisms to address discrimination and harassment, Goff-Crews included an online feedback form at the end of her email through which students can directly send their comments about the site.

“This website, and the review of policies and procedures related to reporting discrimination or harassment, are part of our University’s ongoing work toward a more inclusive Yale,” Goff-Crews wrote in her email.

“I look forward to hearing from [students] as we continue to refine the website to provide clear and helpful information.”

Contact MONICA WANG at monica.wang@yale.edu .

KAIFENG WU/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

The website comes after student activists demanded clearer mechanisms for reporting discrimination.

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 5

NEWS

“So distribution should undo excess, and each man have enough.”

GLOUCESTER FROM SHAKESPEARE’S “KING LEAR”

New NCAA rep. needed

Contact DANIELA BRIGHENTI at daniela.brighenti@yale.edu and DAVID SHIMER at david.shimer@yale.

8

6.7

7 6

3.1

3.1

2.9

Boston, Mass.

Cincinnati, Ohio

1

Stockton, Calif.

2

Knoxville, Tenn.

3

2.6

2.5

2.5 St. Louis, Mo.

3.4

Lakeland, Fla.

3.4

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Cape Coral, Fla.

4.3

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Boise City, Idaho

different from those at other schools because of the quality of Yale and the Ivy League, citing the fact that she does not typically have to worry about whether athletes will graduate.

The informal aspects of the FAR role are also important, she added, in the sense that they connect her with the broader athletics community.

“Unwritten, but what I consider a part of my role, is knowing as many coaches and athletes as I can and supporting them, being a champion of athletes and athletics and taking joy in their accomplishments, being available for problem-solving, knowing people in the athletics administration, working closely with Mr. Beckett on issues that arise on a weekly matter — too numerous to list and too various to list as well, working with Dean [Jeremiah] Quinlan in admissions on various issues related to athletics, working with members of the Faculty Athletic committee [and] attending events as much as I can,” Laurans said.

Both student-athletes and athletics administrators interviewed expressed appreciation and compassion for the significant role Laurans has played in their lives.

Yale football head coach Tony Reno added that Laurans has served as a “mentor” to him as well as to players.

She has also played an important role in the recruiting process, including meeting with families on campus visits.

Former football player Isaiah DeLeon-Mares ’10 said he met Laurans his first day on campus as a recruited athlete, and that she was present throughout his entire recruiting trip to provide advice and support. Once admitted, DeLeon-Mares continued to have a close relationship with Laurans, who met with him frequently to check in on both his academic and athletic performance.

“She would sit through the rain [at games] and it was easy to spot her amongst students and fans because she always had a glowing smile on her face,” former women’s soccer captain Jennifer Butwin ’13 said. “Her exuberance and big heart helped lift up both students and coaches.”

Moving forward, Director of Athletics Development Alison Cole ’99 said she believes Laurans would want her replacement to be someone that, while upholding the hard work Laurans has done over the years, wants to leave their own mark on Yale’s athletic department.

“Someone who would think ‘What would Penny do?’, but hopefully forge their own path in this role,” Cole said.

Laurans has served as Master of Jonathan Edwards College since 2009.

New Orleans, La.

With Jonathan Edwards College Master and Special Assistant to the President Penelope Laurans retiring in June, the University will soon begin searching for a new NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative for the first time in over two decades.

In 1990, Laurans assumed the role of NCAA representative, a position whose responsibilities include acting as a liaison between the faculty and the athletic department, monitoring the well-being and education of student-athletes and ensuring that they are all eligible under NCAA regulations. Senior Advisor to the President Martha Highsmith said she and University President Peter Salovey have yet to begin searching for a new representative.

“I think we need to find someone who is a great articulator of the values of the Ivy League scholar-athlete and who can use the occasion of NCAA meetings to continue to reinforce the idea that we have a different model than non-Ivy universities and that people should sit up and take notice of that model,” Salovey said.

Salovey added that Yale’s approach to athletics in many ways addresses the more negative characteristics of nonIvy “powerhouse” schools, though he did not specify to which traits he was referring.

Members of Yale’s athletics community all commended Laurans’ dedication to these values and the FAR role, highlighting the support she has provided Yale athletics throughout her tenure.

“Master Laurans on a daily basis is always there for Yale students and also for our coaches and staff and for me,” Yale Director of Athletics Tom Beckett said. “She will find time to meet with any of us who are in need or who just need someone to listen. Master Laurans is a living legend.”

As the NCAA representative, Laurans said her responsibilities include regulating the degree to which athletics influences the lives of students, the well-being of student-athletes and their educational attainment.

She said at the time she was offered the position in 1990, she was an associate dean of Yale College with a “real interest” in athletics.

“I wouldn’t say my being chosen was quite random — I had the credentials and the interest,” Laurans said.

“But there is something to the fact, as I tell JE students, that I was there at the right moment. Like many things that happen to you in life, you happen to be there when someone is looking for someone who can and wishes to do something. You step up — and your life is changed.”

Laurans said her role has proven

INCOME INEQUALITY 95/20 RATIO CHANGE, 2007-2014

New Haven, Conn.

BY DANIELA BRIGHENTI AND DAVID SHIMER STAFF REPORTERS

N.H. inequality fastest growing in U.S.

MERT DILEK/PRODUCTION & DESIGN EDITOR

BY REBECCA KARABUS STAFF REPORTER Income inequality since the 2007 recession has grown faster in the city of New Haven than in any other American city, according to a Jan. 14 study.

Natalie Holmes ’10, a senior research assistant at the Brookings Institution — a nonprofit publicpolicy organization based in Washington, D.C. — and Alan Berube, a senior fellow and former policy advisor to the U.S. Treasury, led the study. It analyzed income inequality in both major cities and surrounding metropolitan areas. Holmes said she and her co-author took 2014 data from the Census Bureau to determine the gap between what the top 5 percent of earners make relative to the bottom 20 percent in each city and region. To determine the rate at which income inequality is growing, Holmes and Berube compared the 2014 data to the income inequality from 2007 to 2014. While New Haven topped the list for the rate at which inequality is widening, it placed sixth on the list of cities

with the largest disparity between the top 5 and bottom 20 percent of earners. In 2014, the residents composing New Haven’s top 5 percent made 15.3 times as much as those in the bottom 20 percent.

In 2014, the bottom 20 percent of New Haven residents earned $12,293 or less, while members of the top 5 percent earned $187,984 or more.

“In New Haven between 2007 and 2014, we saw a 30 percent decrease in what bottom income earners were making,” Holmes said. “That merits investigation.”

According to the data, income inequality has been increasing across the country since the 2007 recession.

Holmes said while she and Berube have conducted the study for three consecutive years, the previous two papers looked exclusively at cities, which are legal entities whose legislation affects income inequality within their jurisdictions. But, Holmes noted, economies are often regional in scale, which is why she and her co-author examined metropolitan areas for this year’s study.

She said one of the larg-

est problems posed by income inequality is the challenges it raises for municipal authorities who may then struggle to maintain a tax base large enough to support services for residents. Berube added that inequality also causes significant housing problems, limiting the availability of affordable housing for those in lower income brackets.

“Local officials concerned about maintaining economic diversity and vitality should use housing and land-use policies to ensure that rising inequality doesn’t foreclose opportunities for a wide range of households to live in their cities,” Berube said in a statement.

But New Haven Economic D e ve l o p m e n t Administrator Matthew Nemerson SOM ’81 said income inequality in the city is not a mark of failure. He said an effective economy is one in which members of higher income brackets have money to invest and spend in a way that benefits lower earners living in the same geographic location.

Nemerson said cities should focus on getting “more money into every-

one’s pockets” — especially into the pockets of the bottom 20 or 40 percent.

“I think there’s not any necessary correlation between wealth and poverty within the defined g e o g ra p h i c a l a r e a ,” Nemerson said. “The healthiest places on Earth have wealthy people living next to poor. I believe the saddest and least sustainable places are monocultures.”

Nemerson added that one factor that may drive Elm City inequality is its appeal to both immigrants and low-income residents.

He said New Haven is a “sanctuary” featuring a mayor with a vested interest in providing services to residents, a strong housing authority and a host of nonprofits such as IRIS. Because New Haven is welcoming and inclusive, Nemerson said, it offers benefits to lower income individuals that other cities do not.

Between 2007 and 2014, the income of the bottom 20th percentile in New Haven fell by $3,767.

Contact REBECCA KARABUS at rebecca.karabus@yale.edu .

Yale Dems, lawmakers talk legislation

BY MICHELLE LIU STAFF REPORTER

MICHELLE LIU/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

A group of state Democrats spoke about the upcoming year’s legislation at a panel Monday evening.

A handful of state Democrats sat down in the Branford Common Room Monday evening to map out this year’s legislative landscape, mere days before the 2016 legislative session is slated to start.

In a panel hosted by the Yale Democrats and moderated by Yale Dems President Maxwell Ulin ’17, upcoming bills for the year and worries for the state budget were discussed by Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, Sens.

Mae Flexer and Gary Winfield and Reps. Roland Lemar and Matt Lesser. The legislators stressed the limitations of their peers during the current election year, and shared advocacy strategies with the students who filled the room.

“The overriding concern is going to be the budget deficit,” Looney said.

Like Looney, Flexer also voiced concerns about the state budget in light of the severe budget cuts Gov. Dannel Malloy is set to present to the General Assembly at the start of the legislative session Wednesday.

The legislators expressed optimism about a mandatory paid family leave bill — a topic currently of national interest — that would “make a real difference for working families,” Lesser said. Lemar concurred, adding that state Democrats could be expected to garner widespread support for the bill.

“Paid family leave is the most important thing we can do this year,” Lemar said.

Lemar also referred to pieces

of legislation specifically affecting college students and undocumented students that arose during last year’s legislative session — including one that lowered the number of years a student had to spend in high school in Connecticut to qualify for in-state tuition.

I have to thank all of you for your tremendous advocacy last year. Hopefully this year we can get it all the way through.

STATE SEN. MAE FLEXER

Looney addressed concerns of state residents on the other end of the age spectrum, noting a disturbing trend of people retiring both in Connecticut and nationwide with no income other than Social Security. He said he, along with the House majority and State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, were working on a state-sponsored plan that will rely on a payroll-deduction option for retirement savings, as opposed to an additional cost to employers.

Other possible bills mentioned by the legislators included criminal justice bills in line with the governor’s Second Chance Initiative, which aims to reduce crime and reintegrate nonviolent offenders. A bill regarding affir-

mative consent on college campuses, spearheaded by Flexer, which passed the Senate last year but failed to pass the House was also discussed at the meeting.

“I have to thank all of you for your tremendous advocacy last year,” Flexer said of the bill.

“Hopefully this year we can get it all the way through.”

As the legislators segued into a conversation about tactics students could use to persuade other lawmakers to side with them on issues like affirmative consent, criminal justice reform and judicial reforms on rape and sexual assault — several issues the Yale Dems will focus on this year — the legislators highlighted their colleagues’ hesitation to support bills that might alienate their constituents, particularly among those who are up for re-election this fall.

Winfield discussed his previous background as an activist, citing the need to connect with people on a personal, emotional level.

Lemar added that he and Winfield had both participated in training sessions where they role-played this type of persuasive conversation.

“The most important thing is to remember that you’re talking to a human being,” Lesser said.

At the panel, the Yale Dems announced that members can attend meetings or complete other tasks to receive tickets for a new raffle. Prizes include a signed copy of Hillary Clinton’s LAW ’73 book “Hard Choices.”

Contact MICHELLE LIU at michelle.liu@yale.edu .

PAGE 6

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

FROM THE FRONT Rushes exceed bids SORORITY FROM PAGE 1 ter of Alpha Phi and a staff reporter for the News, said in an email to the News. “After all, the new members we find this week might one day become leaders within the sorority and shape the future of our presence on campus.”

While the addition of a fourth sorority has given potential new sorority sisters more options to choose from, the overall process has remained the same. Sororities at Yale allow freshmen and sophomore women to sign up for recruitment, during which they attend a series of meet-andgreets, parties and socials with members of all four sororities at the beginning of the second semester. Inman said the size of new member classes for each sorority is determined based on the number of people who sign up for recruitment.

Many female students interviewed said they wanted to join a sorority to meet new people, both within and outside their classes. Lucy Friedmann ’19 said engaging with upperclassmen is the primary reason for her to join a sorority because outside of her sports team, many of her close friends are in her year.

“I’m going through recruitment because I feel that I want to meet more upperclassmen,” Friedmann said.

“Although I am part of fencing, I feel like I mostly hang out with the freshman class and I think it’s a nice way to meet some more sophomores, juniors and seniors.”

With so many female students interested in rushing, some participants said the process may be too short for each student to become familiar with each sorority. Many students who rush only

have the chance to talk to four sisters per sorority.

Still, many participants interviewed said they enjoyed the past week. Ruth Schapiro ’19 said that as a student from the South, she always thought that she would join a sorority. The highlight of the week was being able to meet and interact with other undergraduates, she said.

Other participants interviewed said they were less acquainted with Greek life and the rush process before coming to Yale, but they nonetheless reported an overall positive experience. Rebecca Persson ’19, who is an international student, said she felt a lot of anxiety going into recruitment, but the sisters and potential new members all had positive, open attitudes. She added that much of her support throughout the process came from her friends who also decided to rush this semester.

“Sororities aren’t really a thing in Taiwan, so I never had a lot of exposure to it and wasn’t sure if it was for me,” Persson said. “However, a lot of the girls I met through [the Model United Nations Team at Yale] were in sororities, and the way they described the friendships they’ve made and the amazing people they’ve met through recruitment and eventually joining a sorority convinced me to give it a try.”

The four sororities at Yale are Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha Phi. Cameron Hill contributed reporting.

Contact JOEY YE at shuaijiang.ye@yale.edu .

JANE KIM/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Roughly 250 female students signed up for rush this spring.

“I want young people to know that they can belong—whatever your culture, your religion, your sexuality.”

JESSIE J BRITISH SINGER AND SONGWRITER

Harp delivers state of the city STATE OF THE CITY FROM PAGE 1 she said, that might have crippled the city’s infrastructure, but coordinated planning and preparation ensured that the city weathered the storm without incident.

The city’s strong financial performance in the last two years was a proud point for Harp, who inherited a city saddled with debt and a negative outlook from ratings agencies.

“Two years ago, when my administration got to work, $14 million of debt, a negative outlook … and no rainy day fund characterized the city’s finances,” she said. “Tonight, we are a city transformed. The debt is eliminated, the last two fiscal years finished in the black and the city has been upgraded by all three ratings agencies.”

In addition to the city’s rosier fiscal outlook, Harp cited the substantial reduction in overtime payments for the police and fire departments as indicative of the city’s financial improvement over her tenure.

Harp also praised the New Haven Police Department. She said the department’s focus on combining onthe-ground walking beats and new technologies like body cameras has made it the “envy” of many forces around the country.

But Harp said the coming years will not be easy, despite the city’s transformation into what she called a hub for the arts and sciences in Connecticut and across the country. Instead, each transformation will bring a new set of problems, and Harp called on the city’s leadership to make the hard decisions necessary for moving the city forward.

Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton echoed that sentiment in her remarks to the Board of Alders before Harp spoke. Quoting a verse from Philippians, she urged alders and city officials to come together “as a collective group” for the benefit of the city.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,” she said, quoting the New Testament passage. “Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

One piece of progress Harp mentioned proved particularly popular: the prospect of a new Dixwell Q House to serve as a center for Elm City youth, which Harp said will likely open early next year after receiving a $14.5 mil-

NOAH DAPONTE-SMITH/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Mayor Toni Harp delivered her annual State of the City address at City Hall Monday night. lion state grant for its rebuilding. The mention of the project, which has dragged on since 2003 and is a focal point for many residents in the Dixwell neighborhood, garnered applause around the room. In remarks to the board after Harp’s address, Dixwell Alder and Board of Alders President Pro Tempore Jeannette Morrison, who has pushed for the redevelopment of the community center throughout her time on the board, singled out strong

community presences like her “mentor” Jorge Perez, former Hill Alder and board president, for advocating for the Q House’s redevelopment.

“We’ve got the baddest state delegation in the city, guys,” Morrison said.

“Always remember that — when they do things for us, just reach out and tell them thank you.”

Contact NOAH DAPONTE-SMITH at noah.daponte-smith@yale.edu .

Workers petition layoffs PETITION FROM PAGE 1 their identical letters of petition. Salovey’s office confirmed receiving the letter. Polak did not return request for comment.

“We … are outraged at the disrespectful treatment of us by ITS management and the University over budget problems,” read the letter, which was signed by members of Local 34, Yale’s clerical and technical workers union.

The letter called on Yale and ITS management to immediately rescind the layoff notices and halt further budget-reduction plans, as well as to engage the union in further meetings with its unionized employees. The letter also claimed that Yale had violated union contractual rights. Administrators denied that any misconduct had occurred.

The layoffs were announced in a Jan. 21 email to ITS staff from Chief Information Officer Len Peters. They were made in an effort to reduce the ITS deficit, which the letter said Yale has calculated at $7 million, although University spokesman Tom Conroy did not respond to requests to confirm the figure.

The union letter questioned the necessity of making administrative cuts after the University announced a budget surplus of $196 million last year.

“Cutting administrative, financial and support staff or eliminating critical operational services is not the solution to the budgetary mistakes of the University and ITS senior management,” the letter continued.

Local 34 President Laurie Kennington said Monday that it is her impression that the decision to cut costs came directly from the provost, which in turn forced ITS management to make layoffs.

The layoffs may exacerbate tensions between Yale and its unions, only one year before the unions negotiate their contract with the University.

Vice President for Human Resources and Administra-

tion Michael Peel told the News Monday that there is very little historical precedent for Yale rescinding layoffs. Only in the case where something changes during the 90-day layoff notice period — a renewed research grant in the case of a researcher, or an unexpected turnover in a department which frees up a position — might Yale rescind a layoff, he said.

“Both of these sets of circumstances are rare, but do occur,” Peel said.

He added that, to the best of his knowledge, the contract between the unions and the University was followed properly.

But Kennington said Local 34 has succeeded in convincing Yale to rescind layoffs in the past, citing an instance in which the University recently rescinded eight layoffs in Patient Financial Services.

“We expect them to rescind [the layoffs] — especially if Yale wants to maintain labor peace in this contract year,” Kennington said. “It’s a matter of whether management is committed to the employees in the department.”

Peel characterized layoffs as an annual part of managing the University’s expenditures.

There have been layoffs even in years in which Yale has had an “abundance of resources,” he said. Although Yale attempts to keep layoffs at a minimum, Peel said, the University lets around 2 or 3 percent of its administrative staff go each year in order to offset new hires.

“Our employment needs are constantly changing,” he said.

“When we have tighter budgets and have to reduce costs, work is prioritized — with some eliminated or done in a less costly way.”

In an interview with the News last week, Kennington called the layoffs of the 24 ITS employees “an unacceptable way for the biggest employer in town to save money.” Kennington also said that job security for union members will be a priority next year during contract negotia-

tions.

Overall, the number of Yale’s clerical and technical workers — who are represented by the two University unions Locals 34 and 35 — has been increasing, not decreasing, Peel added.

One figure shows that in 2009, following the financial crisis that slashed the endowment by a quarter, Yale had 3,406 clerical and technical staff. Now, Peel said that number has risen to 3,617: a jump of 207 workers.

But the picture may not be altogether bleak for the laidoff workers, as Peel pointed out that when a clerical or technical staff member is laid off, he or she does not leave the University but instead is placed in an internal Interim Employment Pool.

These workers have 22 months — a period in which they receive full pay and benefits — in which to find another position at Yale.

Most of the clerical and technical workers in the “pool” do eventually find other jobs at the University, Peel said. If the employee takes a lower-rated job from the pool, they still receive the same rate of pay they got at their previous job.

“While a clerical and technical staff member may have preferred the job from which they were laid off, there is no economic impact,” Peel added.

Kennington said the layoff pool was only created after years of pressure from Local 34.

And last year, Kennington said, Peel threatened to cut the layoff pool, though Peel disputed that claim.

ITS employee Jo-Ann Dziuba described a disconnect between administrative decision-makers and ITS staff.

“There is no conversation with senior management,” Dziuba said, adding that the 10 employees who were laid off were “the meat of the department.”

The size of Yale’s administrative staff currently numbers 9,490.

Contact FINNEGAN SCHICK at christopher.schick@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 7

NEWS

“The road to success is always under construction.” LILY TOMLIN AMERICAN ACTRESS, COMEDIAN AND WRITER

BOE reviews construction, equity plans

BY JAMES POST STAFF REPORTER Though the New Haven Board of Education is currently ensnared in a legal battle with the Board of Alders, its Finance and Operations Committee meeting on Monday was business as usual.

The meeting had two primary focuses: a presentation of a proposal by the New Haven School Construction Program to update infrastructure at three local schools — Strong 21st Century Communications Magnet and SCSU Lab School, Quinnipiac School and the West Rock Author’s Academy — and an

effort spearheaded by Victor De La Paz, New Haven Public Schools chief financial officer, to establish financial equity among the Elm City’s public schools.

The two newly elected members of the BOE — Edward Joyner and Darnell Goldson — both present, took the opportunity to get up to speed on issues in the city.

“Because we have two new board members there’s kind of a renorming that’s happening, and re-education of things that most of the established committee members don’t question,” De La Paz said.

Robert Lynn, director of the New Haven School Construction Program, and NHPS Chief

Operating Officer William Clark presented the construction project to the committee. The proposal involves constructing a new building at Strong Magnet School and renovating a building at West Rock Author’s Academy. For Quinnipiac School, the proposal involves either renovating or demolishing a school

building in place of a new one.

At a minimum, the Strong and Quinnipiac School projects would cost the city $19 million. The estimated completion date for those projects is August 2019. The West Rock Author’s Academy project currently has no financial estimate, but it is expected to be completed by August 2020.

Clark insisted that these upgrades for the school infrastructure are necessary given the high cost of work orders needed to maintain the old building.

“There’s water coming through the ceiling; there’s window repairs … At some point, you’ve got to replace that roof,” he said. “The kids are wearing coats in the winter and sweating in the summer … [The project] remains, in our opinion, a nobrainer.”

Clark also noted that the construction project would create jobs and enhance the resources those schools offer to specialneeds students.

For the most part, the other committee members reacted positively to the proposal.

With regard to establishing financial equity across schools in the district, De La Paz explained that his goal is to ensure schools have the same amount of money per student.

He stressed that his team took an “integrated approach” to planning this project, which included meeting with management from multiple departments of each school.

De La Paz acknowledged that the process of achieving financial equity must happen slowly.

“It’s clear to me that getting to equity in one year is going to be very painful for some schools and in some cases overly generous to others,” De La Paz said.

“Getting to equity in a way that we can manage is important.”

De La Paz’s plans include a 7 percent reduction of the BOE central office budget in order to save money and “make room to do things for schools.”

Though the Board of Alders recently filed a lawsuit requesting that Daisy Gonzalez be removed from the BOE, Gonzalez, the chair of the committee, was present at the meeting.

Gonzalez said she remains focused on her work in the board despite the controversy.

“We all come in knowing that the most important thing that we’re going to tackle is what’s going to be best for the students,” Gonzalez said.

The Finance and Operations Committee’s next meeting will take place on Feb. 16.

JAMES POST/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Contact JAMES POST at james.post@yale.edu .

The Board of Alders Finance and Operations Committee meeting went ahead as normal, despite the alders’ current legal battle.

Overheard at Yale gets new moderators

BY RACHEL TREISMAN STAFF REPORTER Starting this week, Tyler Blackmon ’16 — moderator of the popular campus Facebook page Overheard at Yale — will pass the torch to two new administrators: Wade Southwell ’19 and Xinyu Guan ’18.

Blackmon created the page, on which Yale students can post quotes and photos “overheard” on campus or generally pertaining to the school, in January 2013.

Blackmon, who cited his upcoming graduation as reason for the turnover, selected the new moderators through an application

process at the beginning of this semester.

“I just put the application together, solicited responses and met with the new leaders over coffee,” Blackmon, who is also a staff columnist for the News, said. “Only two people put in serious applications, and those are the two I went with. It just so happens they seem more than capable of handling the group moving forward.”

The moderator’s job, according to Blackmon, is to take inappropriate submissions down as needed and to keep a frequent eye on posts. Moderators are not expected to follow any specific

rules or keep a time commitment, but are only tasked with enforcing the “BNBR” rule — “Be Nice Be Respectful” — as noted on the page’s description.

I just put the application together, solicited responses and met with new leaders over coffee.

TYLER BLACKMON ’16

Blackmon said he hopes this respect will be mutual between posters and moderators.

“I hope that everyone remembers the moderators are students and human beings,” Blackmon said. “They’re nice people and they deserve your respect.”

Southwell could not be reached for comment and Guan declined to comment for this article.

The online application, which was posted on Jan. 7 and closed Jan. 18, requested basic identifying information as well as multiple free responses about past experience that could be relevant to the job, when to take down a post, how to keep objectivity and

Christopher Buckley, Samantha Power, Marie Colvin...

suggestions for improvement.

“I liked the idea of an application rather than [Blackmon] just passing [the job] to his friends or the Overheard at Yale community doing a vote,” said Darby Mowell ’18, who is Guan’s suitemate.

“I’m confident in [Guan] because I know her to be a genuinely fair and caring person.”

Other students, such as Janeen Thomas ’19, said they were not particularly excited or concerned about the change in moderators.

Okoduwa Aboiralor ’19 said he was surprised at the fact that only two students applied, adding that he might have sent in an application himself if he had known

about the lack of competition.

“I wasn’t so heartbroken that I didn’t apply because I figure it’s a lot of responsibility to moderate a page that’s so frequently posted on,” Aboiralor said. “I’m glad for them and I’ll just keep enjoying what’s posted there.”

Blackmon said he anticipates the page will evolve over time but that he hopes it maintains its original purpose of circulating news and anecdotes overhead on campus.

Overheard at Yale currently has 8,200 members.

Contact RACHEL TREISMAN at rachel.treisman@yale.edu .

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PAGE 8

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 9

AROUND THE IVIES

“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” CARL ROGERS AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST

C O L U M B I A D A I LY S P E C TAT O R

C O R N E L L D A I LY S U N

Construction underway

Students, faculty split over College of Business

BY SASHA ZIENTZ Columbia University has long been working to integrate sustainable measures into construction practices at the Manhattanville campus, the first buildings of which will open in the fall.

Construction on the new campus, located 10 blocks north of Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus, began nearly seven years ago.

The Manhattanville campus, a cornerstone of Columbia University President Lee Bollinger’s tenure, is intended to alleviate existing space problems on the Morningside campus. The project is estimated to cumulatively cost over $6.8 billion.

Since the inception of the new campus, the university has implemented “integrated design” practices that bring together the best practices from professionals in design and sustainability, Philip Pitruzzello, senior vice president for Manhattanville development, told Spectator.

The main features that the university has focused on during the design and construction of buildings on the new campus are indoor air quality, natural light and energy efficiency, Pitruzzello said.

For example, the campus has a central energy plant, which will burn natural gas in a “much more efficient way” to provide heating and cooling to buildings, he said.

Furthermore, Pitruzzello emphasized the project’s focus on recycling debris in construction.

Columbia’s practice of recycling debris was exemplified by a 2009 initiative called the Green Salvage Program. The demo project included the gutting of two floors of a brick building, formerly occupied by a substance abuse and HIV prevention program called Reality House.

For the project, the university partnered with the School of Cooperative Technical Education, a New York City program that provides nontraditional employment for low-income young women. Individuals from the school were trained throughout the summer of 2009 as demolition apprentices for the project.

The university stipulated to its contractors that over 90 percent of debris from Reality House — including metal studs, drywall, brick, concrete foundation slabs and wood — be reused in some way. Pitruzzello said that the project demonstrated to contractors that there is a market for reusing and selling debris.

“We said that in order to be competitive, you need to do this,” Pitruzzello said. “We educated [contractors] by showing it can be done. Now they no longer have as many questions and it’s becoming more routine.”

The sustainability of the Manhattanville campus also extends to the architecture.

The Jerome L. Greene Science Center, which will be the first building to open in the fall, boasts a double curtain wall featuring layers of glass separated by a 14-inch air gap.

According to Pitruzzello, t h i s d o u ble-skin COLUMBIA f a c a d e means that the building requires less heating in the winter and less cooling in the summer.

“We take exhaust air that normally is ejected and the energy from that air is waste, so we take that ejected air and we wash it through this double wall so it comes out on the second floor and goes all the way [up to the roof],” Pitruzzello said. “What that means is the temperature of that air, in the winter, is a little bit warmer than outside air.”

“This is a great system and it’s allowing us to heat and cool Jerome L. Greene in a much more efficient way, which ultimately means burning less fuel,” he added.

In earlier phases of construction, Columbia University earned recognition under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, one of the most prestigious green-building certification programs in the world.

The Manhattanville campus was named LEED’s first-ever Platinum campus, earning the Council’s highest accolade in the “Neighborhood Development” category. Although widely praised, this award also drew criticism from opponents of the Manhattanville expansion, who said that the project would irreparably alter and damage the neighborhood.

LEED certifications recognize “best-in-class building strategies and practices.”

In order to achieve a LEED certification, projects must satisfy prerequisites, earning points that correspond with LEED’s different levels of certification.

In the later phases of design and construction, LEED certifications follow criteria specific to individual buildings. Yet there is overlap between categories — the clean construction program, for instance, meets aspects of several LEED certifications.

“Mitigating the effects of construction is very important for the public and for workers,” Pitruzzello said, noting that the university has consulted the Environmental Defense Fund and other projects around the U.S. Pitruzzello also noted that Columbia earned a LEED innovation credit for its clean construction program, which includes keeping trucks and fences on the construction site clean, deadening noise and maintaining an extensive integrated pest management program.

Pitruzzello said that for Columbia, attempting to integrate sustainable measures into construction practices has become second nature.

“The construction industry tends to be antiquated,” Pitruzzello said. “It needs leaders and Columbia has been a leader.”

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BY SAMANTHA ACRICHE While some Cornell students were eager to explore the possibilities of the new College of Business, others decried a decision that they called a rejection of administrative transparency.

Cornell University President Elizabeth Garrett and Provost Michael Kotlikoff’s announcement on Saturday intensified negative sentiments from the Cornell community toward the administration regarding how and when these plans were carried out.

“It is shocking that the president, provost and trustees ignored the unified voice across campus calling on them to allow time for faculty, staff and student governance bodies to deliberate about the proposal to create a College of Business,” said labor and employment law professor Risa Lieberwitz.

Gabriel Kaufman, Student Assembly undesignated-at-large and chair of the academic policy committee, said the “voices of students, faculty and staff have been ignored.”

“I have believed in the promise of shared governance,” Kaufman said. “But today, my confidence has been shaken.”

However, according to professor Chris Barrett, director of the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and deputy dean and dean of academic affairs designate for the university’s new College of Business, the board made the right decision in approving the new college.

“The president and provost articulated a bold vision,” Barrett said. “The board of trustees took the necessary step of creating a space for the College of Business to act on that vision.”

According to Barrett, Cornell has already implemented seven

committees to make for a smooth t ra n s i t i o n and allow Cornell community members CORNELL to actively participate. These committees will consist of individuals from each of the three schools that will comprise the new college, as well as the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“This is intended to be a highly participatory and transparent process aimed at ensuring we tap the wealth of good ideas and good will across the Cornell community, in Ithaca and throughout the world,” he said. “Together, we can build the business [college] of the future.”

Still, many said they find fault with Garrett and Kotlikoff’s email, citing a lack of transparency, “behind the scenes” actions and the strategic timing of the college’s announcement.

Paul Foley, an alumnus of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, said he believes the process of creating the business school was troubling on several levels.

“This lack of collaboration has complicated the process and fueled a palpable erosion in trust,” Foley said. “The fact that it was announced in late December during the winter break makes it look underhanded and sneaky.”

Government professor Richard Bensel said Garrett’s email contained “a number of interesting features.”

“For one thing, she reports that she and the trustees had ‘lengthy and thoughtful discussion’ before the plan was approved … We would be justified in suspecting that there were some tense and contentious moments in this meeting,” Bensel said. “The

announcement of ‘town hall’type meetings with students and faculty also suggest that the trustees urged and may have required that she mend bridges between the central administration and the Cornell community.”

Bensel also said trustees did not issue a statement independently endorsing Garrett’s course of action.

“It is possible that the president was put on some kind of ‘probation’ by the trustees who, naturally enough, would be very reluctant to replace a president this early in her term,” he said.

Cornell’s faculty — through its Faculty Senate — has the right to “consider matters of educational policy,” according to Lieberwitz.

This legislative body, however, was unable to deliberate the proposal before it was approved by the board of trustees.

Like Lieberwitz, government professor Matthew Evangelista said the administration’s unilateral decision challenged the fabric of shared governance at Cornell.

“The Student Assembly, the University Assembly, the Faculty Senate and prominent alumni sought in the first instance simply to have the decision tabled or delayed so that the necessary consultation, required by Cornell’s bylaws and norms of governance, could be carried out,” Evangelista said. “That the provost and the president would insist on going forward with the proposal at this time deliberately puts them and the trustees in opposition to the representatives of the students, faculty and alumni.”

Many Cornell students are taking to social media to voice their concerns over the new business college. The Facebook page “Keep Cornell Hotel School Independent” has garnered over 1,200 likes and is constantly updating members, allowing viewers

CAMERON POLLACK/CORNELL DAILY SUN

The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management will become part of the College of Business.

to comment on posts and build a strong defense against the plans.

On Saturday, one member posted, “Our team has literally tried everything we could think of. This is a very sad day for us all.

Let’s stay strong together. Even though Hotel School will be gone after this semester, we will remain as #hotelies4life.”

Members of the Cornell community also voiced concerns at the SA weekly meeting on Thursday.

“I am pleased that the Student Assembly provided the opportunity to serve as an outlet for student voice and to fully listen to all viewpoints,” SA President Juliana Batista said after the vote. “It is unfortunate that the trustee vote on the College of Business appears to disregard the perspective of shared governance including the University Assembly, Student Assembly and faculty. Let alone alumni and influential Cornell figures.”

Hotel administration professor Rohit Verma, dean of external relations designate for the Cornell College of Business, said he understands the public response, but emphasizes that each school will remain intact and that this new structure will only foster a stronger business program.

“At their foundation, the concerns raised so far are a healthy expression of a broader issue — concern for the reputation and integrity of each of the schools,” Verma said. “I can assure everyone, as a School of Hotel Administration faculty member and a leader of the future college, that it is the preservation and strengthening of those unique qualities that will distinguish the College of Business from its peers.”

Bensel urges those with any questions or concerns to attend the information session on Tuesday and the town hall meeting on Wednesday.

“My own feeling is that everyone who is interested in this decision and relations between the central administration and the Cornell community should attend the Faculty Senate meeting on Feb. 10, when we will take up these issues,” Bensel said.

As the administration moves forward with the College of Business, SA undesignated-at-large Matt Indimine said he encourages the administration to consult with and inform students, faculty and alumni.

“This plan was approved very undemocratically,” Indimine said. “I do hope, though, that the administration seeks wide student, faculty and alumni input in developing the plan. As students, we can only hope that this college does not take away from the uniquely individual missions and characteristics of our respective programs and majors.”

T H E H A R VA R D C R I M S O N

Group begins reviewing university Title IX policies

BY ANDREW M. DUEHREN A group of professors and students across Harvard University has begun meeting to review Harvard’s Title IX policies and potentially recommend changes.

The committee — led by former interim dean of Harvard College and current professor Donald H. Pfister — has thus far studied Harvard’s existing approach to sexual misconduct on campus, Pfister said.

Although the committee has no mandated goal or report, according to Pfister, it will recommend policy recommendations when necessary. The committee meets once a month, Pfister said.

“We’re not charged a specific end point, but rather to be a kind of ongoing group that is monitoring and thinking about these issues,” he said. “If we find a place where policies need to be modified, we would come up with suggestions about it.”

The committee begins its work as Harvard’s Title IX policies and procedures, overhauled in July 2014, continue to be the subject of scrutiny. Professors at Harvard Law School have publicly and privately criticized the university’s approach to the issue, charging in an open letter in

the Boston Globe that H a r v a r d ’s process for investigating sexual harassment is stacked HARVARD against the accused. After prolonged pushback, the school eventually adopted a separate set of procedures that broke from Harvard’s centralized model. The federal government, meanwhile, continues to investigate Harvard College’s compliance with antisex discrimination law Title IX. Beyond debates about policy, sexual assault became a central focus on campus last semester, after administrators released the results of Harvard’s sexual conduct climate survey. The survey found that 31 percent of senior undergraduate female respondents at Harvard College reported they had experienced some kind of sexual assault during their time at Harvard. In the aftermath, Harvard University President Drew G. Faust called the results “deeply disturbing” and said Harvard’s response to the issue was “completely insufficient.”

Pfister said that the commit-

tee is reviewing data from the survey and cases that have gone through the Office for Sexual and Gender-Based Dispute Resolution, the centralized office that leads investigations into sexual misconduct at every Harvard school except HLS. The members of the committee come from almost every Harvard school. In addition to Pfister, the committee includes: Jean M. Cunningham, an associate dean at Harvard Business School; Christine A. Desan, a law professor who signed the letter in the Globe; David E. Golan, the dean of graduate education at Harvard Medical School;

Sonia Hernández-Díaz, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health; Mark D. Jordan, a professor at the Harvard Divinity School; Pamela A. Mason, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Margaret E. Newell, deputy provost; Felix Oberholzer-Gee, a Harvard Business School professor; Julia M. Rogers, a graduate student; Tommie Shelby, an African and African American Studies professor; Blair Storie Johnson, a graduate student; Sarah E. Wald, the dean’s chief of staff at the Kennedy School of Government and a lecturer there; and Langston Ward.

CONNIE YAN/THE HARVARD CRIMSON

Donald H. Pfister shares his thoughts on the importance of building a supportive community within the world of academia during a panel last fall.

PAGE 10

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

SPORTS

“A lot of people run a race to see who’s the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts.” STEVE PREFONTAINE AMERICAN OLYMPIC RUNNER

HYP goes to Princeton MEN’S SWIMMING FROM PAGE 14 year. Hyogo also earned a fifthplace finish in the 500-yard freestyle to head all Yale competitors, after finishing second in the 500 at last year’s HYP. “My performance at the meet definitely gave me confidence for the championship season, and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with another year of experience under my belt since my first Ivies,” Hyogo said.

Of Yale’s four podium finishes, Hyogo captured two of them, as he also placed well in the 400yard IM. Dueling with Smiddy yet again, the two exchanged the lead three times in an intense backand-forth race that wound up with Hyogo placing second, just 0.27 seconds behind first.

On the diving end, the 3-meter resulted in a career-best performance for the Bulldogs. Wayne Zhang ’18, a staff reporter for the News, managed to earn a thirdplace result with 311.90 points, as one of the three competitors who were able to break the 300-point mark. Zhang, who also led all Yale

divers with a seventh-place finish in the 1-meter event, is the first Yale diver this season to break the 300-point plateau.

“All of the divers dove to the best of their abilities on the 3-meter, and it got us really pumped for Ivies, and we demonstrated that we are competitive,” Zhang said. “There is definitely room for improvement on [the] 1-meter, though.”

M u l t i p l e u n d e rc l a ss m e n praised the success of Yale’s seniors at the meet, such as the 100-yard breaststroke by Kendrick McDonald ’16. He took sixth place with a 55.83 time, besting his career record by almost a second.

Swimmers Victor Zhang ’16 and Milan Sandhu ’16 each swam season-bests while swimmer Brian Clark ’16 recorded a career-best over the weekend. The Bulldogs interviewed highlighted those personal achievements as exciting and encouraging moments that kept spirits up in spite of the lessthan-stellar final result.

“We had some guys on the team do exceptionally well at the meet, especially some seniors ending

their swimming careers with lifetime personal-best times,” swimmer Derek Kao ’18 said. “This really helped boost the morale of the team, despite our losses.”

With the historic three-school meet in the rearview mirror, Yale will turn its attention to Ivies and begin tapering for the leaguewide Championships. Coming into HYP, the three teams had varying levels of rest because of the differences in their competition schedules. Ivies could present a more level playing field with most teams resting for the next few weeks.

“HYP is usually the meet where all three teams come in with different levels of preparation and this year was no different,” Hyogo said. “For those of us that still have a month left in our 2015–16 season, I think the meet gave all of us a good idea of where our rival teams will be in a month from now at Ivies.”

The Ivy League Championships will be held in Providence, Rhode Island starting on Feb. 25.

Contact ANDRÉ MONTEIRO at andre.monteiro@yale.edu .

ROBBIE SHORT/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Entering HYP, the three schools were a combined 13–1 in conference meets.

Senior Day for Elis FENCING FROM PAGE 14 records. Reed Srere ’17 and Ian Richards ’17 both dominated in saber, taking four wins and a loss apiece. Avery Vella ’18 impressively won one of his bouts by a score of 5–0 in epee, ending with a flick to his opponent’s foot.

To many, including Skyler Chin ’19, this meet carried added significance as it is the only meet hosted at Yale.

Having watched the Bulldogs fall in this same event last spring as a prospective student, Chin said he was out to avenge that loss.

“The epee squad lost a bunch in a row and [Yale] actually lost 14–13,” Chin said. “That made me want to do well at this specific meet.”

The freshman delivered on his promise, taking four of his five bouts.

The women’s 17–10 victory over Vassar came with notable finishes from underclassmen, including saber Ilana Kamber ’18, who defeated her opponent to become one part of an Eli saber unit that dominated the Brewers 7–2. The Bulldogs proceeded to defeat Vassar 5–4 in both foil and epee.

Foil Sarah Pak ’19 also won 1–0 in a defensive battle against her Sacred Heart opponent to secure a 5–4 Yale victory at that weapon technique . Pak credited the team’s support in aiding her performance.

“I’m really proud of how well we worked together as a team,” Pak said. “I’m really glad I had the team’s support.”

With all of its nonconference regular season opponents behind them, the Bulldogs now turn their attention to the Ivy League Round-Robins, which take place at Cornell this weekend.

Neither team managed to earn a single victory at last year’s conference event, resulting in a last-place fin-

COURTESY OF YALE ATHLETICS

The Yale women’s team won in both foil and saber against Sacred Heart, but a 6–3 deficit in epee cost the team the meet. ish for both the Eli men and women. After the results this weekend, however, Lew remained optimistic about Yale’s prospects.

“I am really happy with what I saw, [and am] looking forward to Ivies,” Lew said.

“We are doing really well with squad unity. Everyone is getting on strip and

coaching each other and supporting each other. In terms of team bonding and sportsmanship Yale always stands out, especially this weekend.”

Ivy Round-Robins start on Feb. 6.

Contact FLORA LIPSKY at flora.lipsky@yale.edu .

Team takes third place at annual HYP meet TRACK & FIELD FROM PAGE 14 go with the pace,” Schmiede said. “We went out a bit slower than 4:40 pace, but by the second lap we were a little bit under pace so I knew it was going to be what we had anticipated.”

Sullivan’s record-breaking performance put him second among Ivy pole vaulters for the season and top 30 in the nation.

The senior eclipsed his previous indoor personal best by 0.18 meters and narrowly bested the Yale record, held by Jesse Stern ’97, by just 1.25 inches.

“Brendan has always shown signs that there were some big jumps coming,” head coach David Shoehalter said. “He’s been relatively healthy and that has allowed him to train consistently. I think both [he and Schmiede] have more in the tank.”

The other first-place finish on the men’s side came in the 4-by-400 relay. A squad consisting of Connor Hill ’19, Chandler Crusan ’17, Paedyn Gomes ’18 and Gregory Campbell ’19 not only edged out Princeton for first place by four hundredths of a second, but also recorded the 14th fastest time in Yale history.

Short-distance standouts included Gomes, who followed up his firstplace performance in the 60-meter hurdles last week against Columbia and Dartmouth with a secondplace finish this weekend. In addition, Campbell and Crusan placed third and fourth in the 400-meter dash, respectively, while Alexander McDonald ’16 secured a third-place finish and new personal best in the 500-meter run.

This meet was also the season debut of many upperclassmen distance runners for the men’s team, among them Andre Ivankovic ’17, who placed third in the mile with a personal best time of 4:11.12. Another Yale personal best came in the 1000meter run, when Matt Chisholm ’18 impressed with a second-place finish.

As a unit, the Yale men narrowly missed out on second place, tallying 33 points while Harvard scored 35 and Princeton dominated with 112 points.

“Obviously we would’ve liked to have beaten Harvard, but given that a few of our top runners weren’t com-

peting, I think we have a great shot at beating them at Heps,” Sullivan said. “As long as everyone remains as focused as they have, I see us doing well at the championship meet.”

Schmiede’s performance in the mile was the primary highlight for the Yale women, who finished well behind second place with 28 points compared to Harvard’s 62 and Princeton’s 90.

Schmiede, who had not competed in the mile since her freshman season, finished almost a full second faster than the previous record, formerly belonging to Kate Grace ’11, a four-time All-American who now runs professionally.

“It’s really cool knowing it was held

by Kate Grace, as she has been such a trailblazer for Yale track and field and has gone on to have an amazing career,” Schmiede said. “She ran 4:28 in the mile at The Armory last weekend, which is very inspiring.”

Schmiede, who won both events she competed in last weekend, then continued her perfect indoor season in the 4-by-800 relay event alongside teammates Meredith Rizzo ’17, Katherine Raphael ’18 and Shannon McDonnell ’16. With a time of 8:54.17, the group won the race and posted the fifth fastest time in Yale history.

Other highlights for the women included Dana Klein ’18 grabbing second place in the 3000-meter run, followed by fellow Bulldogs Kelli Reagan ’18 and Andrea Masterson ’19 in third and fourth, respectively.

“The women’s middle-distance and distance group continues to impress,” Shoehalter said. “We still have work to do across the board at the Heps, but I’m confident that we are on the way to some very good things.”

Outside of the longer-distance events, McDonnell achieved a second-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:09.12, marking the 15th fastest time in the nation thus far for that event.

After two straight weekends of competing outside Connecticut, the Elis will return to Coxe Cage this Friday and Saturday for the Giegengack Invitational.

Contact SEBASTIAN KUPCHAUNIS at sebastian.kupchaunis@yale.edu .

BRIANNA LOO/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

The Yale women’s team found the most success in distance events, producing four top-two finishes in events 800 meters or longer.

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 11

BULLETIN BOARD

TODAY’S FORECAST Sunny, with a high near 46. Wind chill values between 25 and 35 early.

TOMORROW High of 54, low of 43.

A WITCH NAMED KOKO BY CHARLES BRUBAKER

ON CAMPUS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 7:30 PM A Reading in Celebration of the 2015 Norman Mailer Student Writing Awards. This event will present the work of the recent honorees of this annual national writing competition sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English. LinslyChittenden Hall (63 High St.).

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 4:00 PM Stephen A. Schwarzman Discusses the Schwarzman Scholars Program. Stephen A. Schwarzman ’69 and other guests will share the latest information about the new Schwarzman Scholars Program, designed to foster the next generation of global leaders through a one-year Master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. 55 Whitney Ave., Rm. 369.

5:00 PM Allocating Resources Wisely: Willful Blindness, Unbridled Choice and Other Ethical Errors. The Yale School of Medicine Program for Biomedical Ethics seminar presents Millie Solomon, the president of the Hastings Center. The Hastings Center is the premier bioethics think tank in the United States, led by Solomon, one of the leading American scholars in this field. Child Study Center (230 South Frontage Rd.), Cohen Auditorium.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4 8:00 PM Yale Cabaret: How We Died of Disease-Related Illness. How We Died of Disease-Related Illness is an absurdist comedy about an epidemic disease that infects a state-of-the-art American hospital when an American social scientist returns from a foreign country with a fatal life-threatening illness. An all-tooreal present-day crisis gets imaginatively upended in a seriocomic playground. Yale Cabaret (217 Park St.).

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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle CROSSWORD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis ACROSS 1 Weight-watcher’s bane 5 Pea jackets?

9 Little marketgoer of rhyme 14 Winans of gospel 15 Long-necked pampas bird 16 Cheri of “SNL” 17 Obeyed the corner traffic sign 20 Coach Steve of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors 21 Philosopher Descartes 22 North Carolina university 23 Place to buy a Nikon 26 Hors d’oeuvres bit 29 Capital of Yemen 31 Cosmetics giant 32 Turkey club spread 36 Uses Redbox, say 38 Soft pitch 39 Conceal, as misdeeds 41 Bank acct. entry 42 Track team member 44 Stuns 45 “I’m ready for the weekend!”

46 Ballerina artist Edgar 48 Gets weak in the knees 50 “For Better or for Worse,” e.g.

54 Nanny’s nightmare 56 Message from the teacher 57 Swedish furniture retailer 60 Warning about sealed-off escape routes from the police, four of whom are aptly positioned in this puzzle’s circles 64 Cow on a dairy container 65 Over and done with 66 Prayer start 67 Oozes 68 Meadow moms 69 State fair structure

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DOWN 1 TV/radioregulating agcy.

2 Job for a plumber 3 Top spot 4 Part of many a six-pack 5 Country club instructor 6 Windy City hub 7 Put off 8 Steamy room 9 D.C. big shot 10 “Dinner’s ready” 11 Energetic enthusiasm 12 Grasp intuitively, in slang 13 “Eek!” 18 Ensnare 19 Not as costly 24 Message to employees 25 Plucked instrument 26 Far from rattled 27 Dodge 28 Raising money for a children’s hospital, say 30 Had food delivered 33 Actress Gardner 34 Fine-grained wood

Monday’s Puzzle Solved

2/2/16

SUDOKU IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE

9

©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

35 Ironworks input 37 Sunscreen nos.

39 Prepare frantically for finals 40 Amer. ally in WWII 43 Self-gratifying pursuit 45 Man bun 47 Greed and pride, for two 49 Xbox One rival

2/2/16

51 Sporty wheels 52 Smoothie insert 53 Curt 54 What top seeds may get in tournaments 55 Film part 58 Perimeter 59 Very long time 61 Some Caltech grads 62 NHL tiebreakers 63 Banned pesticide

4 9 5 3

6 5 7 2 8 1 6 5 7 6 2 6 2 7 5 6 7 4 4 1 8 3

THURSDAY High of 46, low of 28.

PAGE 12

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Obesity and liver disease connection may aid possible treatment

BY GRACE CASTILLO STAFF REPORTER New research from Yale could lead to more effective treatment for people suffering from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a common and serious affliction in the overweight and obese.

Researchers used several groups of mice to hone in on the protein TLR9 in hopes of determining its role in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which is often called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH. In two groups of equally-at-risk mice, those who were given a TLR9 blocker had much lower rates of liver disease than the other group, a finding that points towards potential drug treatments for humans.

“NASH is the most common liver disease, and most people who have NASH don’t know

about it,” said Wajahat Mehal, study co-author and director of the Yale Weight Loss Program.

He said the research team wanted to uncover how obesity leads to NASH, and why some obese people do not develop the disease.

Researchers took blood samples from three groups of human patients — those who were lean, those who were obese without evidence of NASH and those who were obese with evidence of NASH — to see if there was activated TLR9 present.

T h e study

found that human subjects with NASH showed elevated levels of TLR9-activating molecules.

“Plasma from mice and patients with NASH contains high levels of mitochondrial DNA and intact mitochondria, and has the ability to activate TLR9,” Sonia Caprio, study co-author and Yale School of Medicine professor noted.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a serious condition in which tissue in the liver begins to scar, potentially leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer, Mehal said. As the national waistline has increased, so have rates of

this affliction, he added.

Caprio said that fatty liver is fairly common in obese children and adults, with this group suffering at a rate of about 30 percent. Mehal added that, unlike heart attacks or strokes, which are usually associated with middle and old age, NASH affects people of all ages.

Mehal emphasized that simply knowing one’s BMI can help patients know if they are in a higher-risk group. Those at 27 to 28, a BMI in the overweight but not obese range, should consider asking their physician about their risk, according to Mehal. Unfortunately, there is not a simple test for NASH, Mehal said. According to the American Liver Foundation, people may have it for years without any noticeable symptoms.

Future studies based off of this research are very likely.

Researchers hope to replicate the success of the TLR9 blocker in clinical trials with animals, which could potentially lead to a similar drug developed for human use.

Mehal also noted that a study about mitochondria — which are inherited completely from the mother — could help elucidate the risks obese mothers pass down to their offspring.

According to data from the 2009–10 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, more than two in three American adults are overweight or obese.

Contact GRACE CASTILLO at grace.castillo@yale.edu .

YANNA LEE/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Women opt for hysterectomy with negative effects

BY NATALINA LOPEZ STAFF REPORTER Over 94 percent of women opt to remove their ovaries when undergoing a hysterectomy, a choice which might lead to negative health effects, according to Yale researchers at the School of Medicine.

The new medical school study found that most women do not choose to conserve their ovaries when they have their uteri removed, even though studies have shown that ovary removal causes adverse health effects including bone, cardiovascular, cognitive and sexual health problems.

Bilateral salpingectomy with ovarian conservation — removal of the fallopian tubes while retaining the ovaries — is an often-advised practice by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 2015.

Medical school professors and study co-authors Xiao Xu and Vrunda Desai studied the 2012 National Inpatient Sample for benign hysterectomies in adult women, which revealed that only 5.9 percent of women go through bilateral salpingectomy with ovarian conservation, leaving over 94 percent of women to remove their ovaries along with their fallopian tubes when undergoing the procedure.

“Keeping the ovaries is important,” Desai said. “Their removal can some-

times lead to … premenopause, or brain, heart and bone issues.”

The fallopian tubes are the major site where ovarian cancer develops, Desai explained. She added that the cancer exhibits few symptoms other than bloating and mild pain, making it hard to diagnose. Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer, but it is the most deadly gynecological cancer, she said.

Desai said the researchers looked at 20,635 adult women who underwent hysterectomies for benign cases in 2012. She noted that the hospital rates of patients who underwent the bilateral salpingectomy procedure varied greatly, ranging from 0 percent to 72.2 percent of patients. Geographic region, patient

volume served by a hospital and patient race were important factors in the likelihood that low-risk women would undergo bilateral salpingectomy and keep their ovaries, according to the study.

In describing the researchers’ challenges in conducting the study, Xu said their data was limited to inpatient hysterectomies, procedures that require postsurgical-recovery treatment in the hospital. But many outpatient hysterectomies, in which patients leave the hospital within 24 hours of surgery, also exist. Because their study examLAURIE WANG/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR ined cases from 2012, Xu underlined their future hope is to assess recent data for any differences.

“Our h o p e right now is to capture attention for providers and patients,” Xu said.

“We want patients to be aware there are other options.”

Hugh Taylor, chief of OBGYN at Yale-New Haven hospital, said Yale-New Haven has shifted, whenever possible, to leaving the ovaries within younger women who have a smaller risk of ovarian cancer.

“Yale’s been ahead of the curve,” Taylor said. “As the public becomes more educated, and the National Society guidelines change, I think more people will undergo [bilateral salpingectomies with ovarian conservation].”

At Yale New-Haven Hospital, there are stronger trends of younger women who prefer not to remove the ovaries at the suggestion of their doctors, especially those patients who are premenopausal, Taylor said. He added that anyone with less risk of cancer should keep their ovaries, as they regulate hormones and other health issues.

Lawson Tait introduced salpingectomies in 1883 as the treatment for ectopic pregnancy.

Contact NATALINA LOPEZ at natalina.lopez@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 13

“Since your liver is your body’s best defense when it comes to filtering out all those toxins, you need to treat it well.”

SUZANNE SOMERS

Study finds monsoons adapt to climate change

BY RACHEL TREISMAN STAFF REPORTER A new Yale study suggests there will be no abrupt shift in monsoon strength in the next century despite climbing levels of aerosol emissions and greenhouse gases.

The study reports that the “tipping-point” theory, the basis previous studies have used to claim that monsoons will suddenly cease due to climate change, is incorrect. Corrected data found that the responses of monsoons to human-induced climate changes — otherwise known as anthropogenic forcings — are linear, suggesting that abrupt change in monsoon behavior would be unlikely.

“There were two studies previously published in [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences] … that stated that monsoons could shut down abruptly — within a single year — in response to human-induced changes in the environment,” geology and geophysics professor William Boos, a study co-author, said. “Our paper showed that the theory on which that previous work was based is wrong.”

Monsoons are continentalscale patterns of winds that bring rainfall to the tropics during the summer season, sustaining billions of lives in parts of Asia, Africa and the Americas. An abrupt shutdown of monsoons would mean a hot and dry climate year-round in regions that depend on a wet season, Boos added.

Previous studies have relied on the tipping-point theory to argue that if human-induced and natural environmental change reaches a certain threshold, monsoon strength would abruptly decrease. According to the study, this theory ignores the fact that air cools as it rises. But the corrected theory reveals that natural changes will not significantly alter the strength or volume of monsoons for at least a century, Boos said.

“Although monsoons are expected to change in response to anthropogenic forcings, there is no reason to expect an abrupt shift into a dry regime in the next century or two,” the study reads.

Anthropogenic forcing describes the ways in which humans have altered the energy of a system, such as changes in greenhouse-gas concentrations, aerosol emissions and properties of land surfaces.

While monsoons may not cease entirely, the study still claims that anthropogenic factors will impact the strength of monsoons over the years.

“We found quite a strong response of monsoons to changes in greenhouse-gas concentrations and to changes in land-surface properties,” Boos said. “Normal year-to-year variability in monsoons will be superimposed on this, so there will be occasional droughts and floods, and such extreme events may even become worse over time.”

Geology and geophysics professor Trude Storelvmo, a study co-author, emphasized that their study did predict “substantial” changes to monsoons but that these changes would be more gradual than abrupt.

The study’s linear model supports the idea that there will not be abrupt nonlinear shifts in seasonal monsoons based on anthropogenic factors, Boos added.

“Previous studies have indicated that monsoons could go through abrupt transitions once a critical amount of atmospheric particles, greenhouse gases or land-cover changes were reached, with obvious implications for the millions of people whose livelihood depend on monsoon rain,” Storelvmo said.

“Our results show no evidence of such abrupt changes.”

The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Jan. 25.

Contact RACHEL TREISMAN at rachel.treisman@yale.edu .

CATHERINE YANG/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Less radioactivity deemed possible for PET/CT scans

BY ANDREA OUYANG STAFF REPORTER A recent study by the Yale School of Medicine could help lower radiation exposure during PET/CT scans, a medical imaging technique that produces functional images of the body.

Published last month, the study sought to determine a threshold for the minimum radiation exposure necessary for PET/CT imaging.

Since evidence from the past decade has indicated that radiation exposure during medical imaging may carry a risk of cancer, scientists have worked to minimize radiation exposure during medical imaging involving x-rays and radiation, lead study author and medical school professor Ming-Kai Chen said. The researchers found that dosage for the radioactive isotope injected during PET/CT scans, fluorine-18, could be decreased to threshold levels lower than the current recommendations of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine without compromising the quantitative accuracy of the image.

“We are trying to provide the best imaging quality while trying to reduce the radiation exposure to patients, so certainly you have to trade off between the clinical information you need to get and also the radiation exposure a patient could receive,” Chen said.

The researchers injected small spheres called “phantoms,” which acted as substitutes for humans, with varying levels of fluorine-18, which is used to detect functional features and abnormalities during a PET/CT scan. They then compared the varying concentrations of fluorine-18 with the scan image’s quality in order to quantify the degradation of scan images using lower radiation doses.

Lower doses of radioactivity correspond to higher amounts of image “noise” which can compromise the clarity of the imaged area. The researchers pursued “as low as reasonably achievable” doses while keeping image noise to a minimum.

The risk of negative long-term

side effects from radiation exposure must be weighed against the more immediate need for accurate imaging from PET/CT scans, as patients who undergo these exams often have an urgent clinical need for medical evaluation, Chen said.

Research in the field of PET imaging seeks to not only lower radiation exposure during imaging but also quantify the amount of radiation detected in a scan, he added. This interest stems from the increase in repeated use of PET/CT scans to track progression of long-term disease in a single patient over time, Chen explained.

“There’s a recent interest in quantification [of radioactivity] using PET because PET has been traditionally used more for detection, while it’s also being increasingly used in evaluation for therapy response now,” medical school professor Chi Liu said.

Chen also noted that human trials are required to validate whether current doses of radioactivity should be lowered in PET/CT scans, as it is still uncertain how the results from phantom imaging can be applied to patients. Even with a determined imaging threshold for PET/CT scans, different individuals may require adjusted doses based on factors such as size and weight, he added.

Future steps for the quantitative PET imaging include determining whether results can be applied to effectively lower radiation exposure during scans, as well as finding ways to standardize scanning settings and harmonize image quality on different PET/CT imaging devices.

“With the current nature of scanners, if each vendor has his own hardware and reconstruction software, even though all PET scans are done the same way, they may not give you the same number [for quantification],” Liu said.

The first prototype PET/CT scanner became operational in 1998.

Contact ANDREA OUYANG at andrea.ouyang@yale.edu .

LAURIE WANG/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

IF YOU MISSED IT SCORES

NBA Cavaliers 111 Pacers 106

NBA Thunder 114 Wizards 98

SPORTS QUICK HITS

BRANDON SHERROD ’16 ANOTHER ONE The former Whiffenpoof, who has drained his last 25 field goal attempts for the Yale men’s basketball team, was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the second straight week. Sherrod scored 19 points in each of Yale’s games this weekend.

YALE GYMNASTICS ELIS TOP SEASON BEST In this weekend’s Don Tonry Bulldog Invitational, Yale impressed at home with a team score of 191.475, the team’s best score thus far in the 2016 season.

Captain Camilla Opperman ’16 led the Bulldogs on the floor with a 9.875, just 25 thousandths off her career best.

NBA Spurs 107 Magic 92

y

NCAAM Louisville 71 North Carolina 65

NCAAW Syracuse 57 Miami 51

FOR MORE SPORTS CONTENT, VISIT OUR WEB SITE yaledailynews.com/sports

“[We] knew that this could be a fast race and that I just needed to trust my body and go with the pace.”

FRANCES SCHMIEDE ’17 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 · yaledailynews.com

Elis topped in regular season finale MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING

ROBBIE SHORT/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

In the loss to Princeton and Harvard, Yale earned a podium finish in four of the 19 events, including one victory in the mile swim.

BY ANDRÉ MONTEIRO CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The Yale men’s swimming and diving team fell to its biggest rivals this past weekend in the yearly HYP meet against Harvard and Princeton, though not without a few standout performances from underclassmen and seniors alike.

Over the course of the two-day, 19-event meet, the Bulldogs were shut out of the top three spots in all but four events. Despite some individual highlights, the team as a whole was unable to compete with the top two squads in the Ivy League — both Harvard and Princeton entered the weekend without a loss in league com-

petition. The final scores for Yale were a 253–98 loss to Princeton and a 263–90 defeat to Harvard, while the Tigers bested the Crimson 224.5–126.5.

“I think we’re in a really good spot at the moment, which might not be terribly evident from the final score,” swimmer Jonathan Rutter ’18 said. “Harvard and

Two Yale records highlight HYP

BY SEBASTIAN KUPCHAUNIS CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The Yale men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to New York this Friday to compete against two storied Ivy League rivals at the annual HYP tri-meet. Facing some of the toughest competition seen all year — the Harvard women and Princeton men won last year’s Ivy Heptagonal Championships — Yale took third place in both meets while Princeton claimed victory in both.

TRACK & FIELD While Yale as a whole only managed

four first-place finishes across both men’s and women’s, the individual victories themselves proved to be historic accomplishments. On the men’s side, captain Brendan Sullivan ’16 set a new Yale record in the pole vault by launching himself 5.18 meters and winning the event. Women’s distance runner Frances Schmiede ’17 saw similar success, etching her name into the Yale record books with a winning mile time of 4:38.87. The junior is currently the third fastest miler in the nation.

“My coach [Amy Gosztyla] and I knew that this could be a fast race and that I just needed to trust my body and SEE TRACK & FIELD PAGE 10

JACK BARRY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Princeton by and large wore racing suits and shaved, whereas most of us went in with Speedos on and still managed to hold our own.”

The contest featured some noteworthy swims despite the overall lackluster performance in a meeting of last year’s top-three teams at the Ivy League Championships. Yale’s distance swim-

mers provided a couple of the standout results, including Yale’s sole victory. In the mile swim, Kei Hyogo ’18 earned a first-place finish in the final individual event of the first day. The 1,650-yard race saw Hyogo start strong and begin to pull away from Princeton’s Samuel Smiddy — last year’s winner — and Yale captain Brian

Hogan ’16 in the latter half of the race to best the competition by nearly an eight-second margin.

The victory bodes well for Hyogo entering the Ivy League Championships, as he took second place in the event at both HYP and the Championships last SEE MEN’S SWIMMING PAGE 10

Yale slashes competition at home

BY FLORA LIPSKY CONTRIBUTING REPORTER On the humid seventh floor of Payne Whitney Gymnasium Saturday, the Yale men’s and women’s fencing teams took on opponents from Sacred Heart and Vassar in what turned out to be a dominant afternoon for the Bulldogs.

FENCING The Eli men bested both the Pioneers and the Brewers by scores of 15–12. No one weapon can be credited entirely for the success of the afternoon: Men’s saber put on an impressive show in the form of an 8–1 victory against Sacred Heart, while men’s foil delivered the fatal blows to Vassar. The Yale women’s team, meanwhile, came out with a 17–10 victory over Vassar but took a narrow 14–13 loss to Sacred Heart despite edging out competition in both the foil and saber categories.

“I think the meet went well,” women’s captain Joanna Lew ’17 said. “It’s always extremely stressful, but it’s privilege to get our parents and friends to see us.”

The meet, dubbed Senior Day in a celebration of the senior men’s Bulldogs, was not lacking in excitement from the event’s honorees, who combined to go 10–8 on the day. Highlighting the meet from the class of 2016 were foils Dillon Lew ’16 and Jin Ishizuka ’16 with 3–1 and 4–0 records, respectively.

But the seniors were not the only ones to end the day with notable

The men came just two points away from taking second place at HYP.

STAT OF THE DAY 4:38.87

SEE FENCING PAGE 10

COURTESY OF YALE ATHLETICS

After a pair of wins over Sacred Heart and Vassar, the Yale men’s team enters Ivy Round-Robins with a 9–5 record, a significant improvement over last year.

THE MILE TIME THAT FRANCES SCHMIEDE ’17 POSTED AT FRIDAY’S HARVARDYALE-PRINCETON WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD MEET. Schmiede shattered the Yale indoor record with a time that is currently third-best in the nation.