University News - The Brown Daily Herald

Maniar_Senate-Special-Session_NaomyPedroza-650x434-1

Metro

R.I. COVID-19 Roundup: Pfizer to test new vaccine in Ocean State, as Mayor Elorza limits gatherings to five in Providence

By Olivia Burdette | November 17

As Rhode Island continues to report record rates of positive COVID-19 tests, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza signed an executive order limiting social gatherings to five people. Additionally, Pfizer is set to test its new COVID-19 vaccine in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, several colleges and universities across ...

Metro

Climate Action RI demands Chase Bank fossil fuel divestment in latest protest

By Ben Glickman | November 16

Protesters demanded JPMorgan Chase divest from fossil fuels during a demonstration outside the Chase Bank on Thayer Street Monday morning, the latest in a series of protests of the bank organized by activist organization Climate Action Rhode Island. Attendees of the protest, which began at 11:30 a.m. ...

Science & Research

Biological manifestations of childhood adversity explored in virtual seminar

By Katie Chen | November 16

When she was a psychiatry resident at Rhode Island Hospital and Butler Hospital, Audrey R. Tyrka noticed one common thread among her patients suffering from mood and substance disorders: childhood adversity. In a virtual lecture titled “Childhood Adversity, Race and Biological Mechanisms of Risk ...

University News

Brown sees highest number of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in single week. Administrators ‘watching it carefully’

By Marlene Goetz | November 15

Brown saw its greatest number of COVID-19 cases in a single week so far during the week starting Nov. 8, with a total of 26 cases reported from the asymptomatic testing program. With this increase from 17 positive asymptomatic test results the week of Nov. 1, administrators hope that students will take ...

Metro

Brown Dems ‘excited to see’ Democratic R.I. House Speaker Mattiello ousted from seat

By Benjamin Pollard | November 15

Rhode Island House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello was defeated in an upset win by Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung in the race for Cranston House District 15 on Nov. 3. Mattiello, a conservative Democrat long considered to be one of Rhode Island’s most influential political figures, had been in the ...

Science & Research

THE COVID Pod with Dr. Ashish Jha: The Future of Pfizer's Vaccine and President-Elect Biden's Transition Team

By Cate Ryan, Emilija Sagaityte, Rahma Ibrahim and Colleen Cronin | November 13

On Friday, Nov. 13, Dr. Ashish Jha joins The Herald’s COVID Pod team to discuss the aftermath of the 2020 Election and President-Elect Joe Biden’s announcement of a COVID-19 Task Force. Dr. Jha also walks us through news from Pfizer that the company may have a highly effective vaccine in the development, ...

Victoria-Yin_2_ProvidenceRI_ElectionDay-1

University News

Amid anxiety over U.S. Election results, professors pressed on with class

By Corey Gelb-Bicknell | November 13

For students like Renee Clairvoyant ’23, the uncertainty of last week’s election made it difficult to focus. “It was like my chest felt heavy,” Clairvoyant said. “I kept checking the maps every five minutes. I couldn’t really think about anything else.” As the election dominated thoughts, ...

University News

Brown receives $20 million gift to help provide full scholarships for U.S. veterans

By Jack Walker | November 12

A recent $20 million gift from Joseph P. Healey P’22 P’24 will create a permanent endowment for a scholarship for U.S. military veterans. The gift was announced at the University’s annual Veterans’ Day Ceremony on Nov. 11 by President Christina H. Paxson P’19. While the event normally takes ...

University News

Logan Powell’s road to the Brown Admission Office

By Caroline Nash | November 12

Logan Powell always admired Brown when he was in high school, but never viewed it as a realistic option for himself. He was raised by a single mother in a trailer park in Jacksonville, Florida, where very few people ever went to college at all, and he doesn’t think he would have known at the time ...

University News

'Time doesn’t even have meaning anymore': International students adopt irregular sleep schedules to study remotely

By Grace Park | November 12

11 p.m. in Seoul, South Korea. As his family goes to bed, Joon Nam ’23 awakes and opens his laptop to prepare for his Zoom class. As he studies, the sun rises — and by the time he’s ready to end his day, the rest of the country has only just started theirs. Nam isn’t the only one who’s adopted ...

University News

Transformative Justice Initiative grows in first year at Brown

By Karlos Bautista | November 12

Since accepting the position in summer 2019 as the University’s first Transformative Justice Program Coordinator, Dara Kwayera Imani Bayer ’08 and her team have led a series of education and training initiatives for community members on campus and in Providence. Last year, under Bayer’s leadership, ...

Science & Research

Neuroscience professor Carlos Aizenman ’93 acknowledged for research, dedication to diversity in STEM

By Kathleen Meininger | November 12

Professor of Neuroscience Carlos Aizenman ’93 discovered his passion for neuroscience while studying on campus as a University undergraduate. Now, he plays an integral role in teaching students who share his same scientific interests and helping to increase diversity in the field. Aizenman has taken ...

University News

UCS introduces resolution to rename CIT, discusses student governance and ethics board

By Jack Borris | November 11

The Undergraduate Council of Students introduced a resolution to rename the Thomas J. Watson Sr. Center for Information Technology, continued discussion of the proposed Student Governance, Ethics and Accountability Board and approved the addition of an anti-discrimination clause to the Undergraduate ...

University News

EPA-funded researchers develop bacteria-based water filtration system

By Jared Zhang | November 11

A group of University researchers, funded in part by the Environmental Protection Agency, are developing living filters to sanitize drinking water. The researchers focused on using bacteria to remove arsenic and lead from water in a selective and renewable manner, according to the principal investigator ...

Science & Research

Some Brown undergraduate students expressed preferences for COVID-19 testing procedure, frequency in summer survey

By Claire Liu | November 11

For Brown students in Providence this semester, semi-weekly testing has become the norm: Scheduled online twice a week, booking and receiving a COVID-19 test has become as commonplace as checking a dining hall’s menus before picking up dinner. Before the semester began and these testing procedures ...

University News

‘I don’t want it to end like this’: Senior Lecturer Richard Bungiro pleads for reinstatement following sudden resignation

By Olivia George | November 11

The single email that would come to haunt Richard Bungiro PhD ’99 only took a few minutes to write. But all five sentences were the product of months of stress, anguish and growing disillusionment with University administrators. At 4:37 a.m. on Oct. 30, Bungiro, a senior lecturer in the Molecular ...

Carcieri_Mass-Incarceration-A-Discussion-with-Director-Garrett-Bradley_CO_ZoomScreenshot

University News

Filmmaker Garrett Bradley joins Watson Institute for conversation about “TIME”

By Rebecca Carcieri | November 10

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs welcomed director Garrett Bradley for a Monday evening conversation about her new documentary “TIME.” Bradley was joined by Associate Professor of Sociology Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve and Director of the Watson Institute Edward Steinfeld. ...

University News

Paxson talks Spring Semester housing plans, possible changes to DPS at monthly faculty meeting

By Samantha Molina | November 10

President Christina Paxson P’19 addressed concerns around implementing a denser on-campus housing model for the spring 2021 semester and hinted at “short term, concrete actions” the University plans to take to make the Department of Public Safety more equitable at a faculty meeting Tuesday. Spring ...

University News

UCS does not officially endorse Decolonization at Brown statue initiative

By Jack Borris | November 10

The Undergraduate Council of Students did not vote to endorse Decolonization at Brown’s proposal to remove and replace Roman statues on campus in a vote following the Council’s Nov. 4 general body meeting. DAB’s initiative calls for the removal of the Caesar Augustus statue in front of the Sharpe ...

University News

Students form Zoom study groups to navigate online classes, connect with peers

By Livia Gimenes | November 9

Studying in groups no longer happens in clusters in the Sciences Library or packed booths in the Blue Room. Since many of the University’s academic operations are remote this semester, students have been trying to find new ways to connect with each other to study through computer screens and across ...