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Hu '18: The conversation on DPS: What about our voices?

Within the past year at Brown, we have all witnessed a heightened discussion about our Department of Public Safety amid an ongoing national dialogue about how officers handle weapons and force. Especially in light of recent events — namely, the Latinx Ivy League Conference incident and the termination ...


Opinions

Johnson '19: Ode to coffee

Monday was World Poetry Day, and coffee houses carrying Julius Meinl roasts around the world offered coffee in exchange for a poem. I have always considered coffee quite a poetic beverage, but I have not always recognized its symbolism. As well-seasoned caffeine connoisseurs, college students should ...


Opinions

Yu '19: Regicide!

Recently, President Christina Paxson P’19 published the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, a 19-page proposal announcing her intention to spend over $150 million to create “a just and inclusive campus” with “a concrete set of actions to promote diversity and inclusion and confront the issues ...


Opinions

Malik '18: In favor of the changed writing requirement

The course announcement for the 2016-2017 academic year, along with the new website, Courses@Brown, was released not long ago, and ever since, many of us have been working on plans for the next two semesters. As we excitedly read course descriptions, fill our shopping carts and imagine next year’s ...


Opinions

Meyer '17: The GOP’s auto-obstruction

With the Senate Republicans trumpeting their opposition to President Barack Obama’s nomination of a respected, qualified moderate Wednesday, it’s hard to figure out their long game. Merrick Garland is as palatable as any Democratic nominee could be — U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, has called him ...


Opinions

Kumar '17: Don’t dismiss the South

Since this year’s primary season began Feb. 1, just over half of the 50 states have gone to the polls to express their preferences for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. With the exception of the border region containing Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, all of the ...


Opinions

Steinman '19: How to get away with telling your own story

It’s been over two weeks since Viola Davis spoke at Brown, and I have yet to stop thinking about her opening line and message about the power of storytelling. It’s something we should all still be thinking about. She pronounced, “My name is Viola Davis, and I am a hero” before using the narrative ...


Opinions

Reynolds '17: Towards a united public opinion

Recently, I have begun to think more deeply about what I believe politically. This year I will be voting in my second presidential election, and I have changed a lot as a person since the last. I hope that any student planning on voting gives their political beliefs similar thought. Some might not find ...


Opinions

Vilsan '19: I’ve got spirit, how ’bout you?

Several months ago, as a wide-eyed freshman eager to call Brown her new home, I purchased more Brown merchandise than I wish to admit. Where did the sudden burst of school pride come from? Maybe it was the repressed cheerleader inside me, who hadn’t had the chance to tap into her pep in a European ...


Opinions

Krishnamurthy '19: Republic of dreams

When U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, who represents the predominantly black localities of Baltimore County, spoke in MacMillan Hall Tuesday, he was unsparing in his excoriation of the new American condition. In a talk that was largely extemporaneous and unprepared — “My speeches come from my heart, ...


Opinions

Mitra '18: Elections and the entertainment quotient

When I first saw the emerging presidential field last January, I remember making a rather obvious pronouncement: “Well, at least 2016 will be entertaining.” As part of the generation raised on election coverage from “The Daily Show” and “Saturday Night Live,” I had high expectations. Given ...


Opinions

Murage '17: Simba

For us African students here at Brown, culture shock comes in many forms — some trivial, some funny and others grim. You never know when it might strike. So, when I attended a social event one week into my freshman year, I was thrilled to devour some of the highly acclaimed American cheese and scavenge ...


Opinions

Campbell '18: Between a rock and a hard place

I don’t have to convince anyone reading this that Brown is a costly school to attend. The school covers about a third of my costs, but even so, every semester my family and I shell out a veritable fortune to allow me to be here. Almost 71 percent of the nation’s class of 2015 took out loans to pay ...


Opinions

Al-Salem '17: Turquoise faith

I rarely like to make a big to-do about religion because I feel like it is a very private, personal thing. But I have recently begun noticing that religion is often pitted against academia and intelligence, as if the two cannot exist together. I wanted to take the chance as a columnist to write a two-part ...


Opinions

Rowland '17: Economics and Enlightenment

I always laugh at the idea of taking a “fourth class” — the idea that three of the courses we take relate to our concentration and the fourth is “just for fun.” I understand the principle behind the phrase, but the wording is peculiar. Is a course outside of your discipline less important? ...


Opinions

Johnson '19: Political conviction or self-righteousness?

A memorable line from the Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan Sunday came from Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT: “Democrats are not always right.” That truth should be acknowledged more often than it is, especially in our contentious political climate. Bernie’s assertion is important because even though ...


Opinions

Savello '18: Success: not a numbers game

If you ask Brown students why they like their school, chances are the S/NC option and related academic freedom will be within the top five reasons. In fact, it’s this lack of emphasis on grades — and the complete nonexistence of GPA — that draws so many of us to Brown in the first place. Lower ...


Opinions

Malik '18: The gatekeepers of knowledge

As an ardent defender of the humanities who believes they should be valued and encouraged as fields of study, I am disturbed by a news article published recently in the New York Times. The piece, “A Rising Call to Promote STEM Funding and Cut Liberal Arts Education,” describes a growing trend in ...




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