Members of top-tier universities like Brown often cite grade inflation as a major problem. But diagnosing grade inflation as the problem is an archaic way to approach college academics. Grade inflation is not the problem — grades are. In actuality, grade inflation is a part of the solution. It reduces ...
In preparation for Spring Weekend, student entrepreneurs are marketing a colorful array of festive tank tops. Most make reference to the headlining artists slated to perform in April. There is one, however, that has seemingly caught everyone’s attention. Its plain white background sports a bright ...
Brown has a requirement that undergraduates spend at least six semesters living on campus. There are exceptions for Resumed Undergraduate Education students, married students, students with special needs and students who live close enough to campus to commute. There are also several dozen juniors who ...
As an avid reader and lover of books, I find the evolution of the physical book both fascinating and unnerving. The slow and gradual shift from reading print to reading on a screen is changing how we relate to what we read and why we read. From the appearance of Google Books to the creation of the Kindle ...
I am not a fan of the spring semester. Sure, it brings sunshine, designated days of revelry with Spring Weekend and podgy squirrels that are sights to behold as they scour campus for Ratty leftovers. But spring semester is also when the real world begins to loom large for juniors as they embark on their ...
Nominations are evil. I am sure I am going to get one or two just for writing this op-ed. I have already received one. In this new age, the modern definition of a “nomination,” at least as long as the fad lasts, has absolutely nothing to do with politics or prestige — it’s more about infamy. ...
Human rights, in the legal framework established by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are absolute and inviolable. The Declaration considers it essential that “human rights should be protected by the rule of law.” In this spirit, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights was ...
Several things logically and immediately come to mind as key themes stemming from the conflict in Ukraine. Some of the obvious ones: Don’t mess with Russia, the Cold War is about to reblossom and I’m seeing a little Berlin reenactment here. Though these are all quite pivotal for the international ...
Not a week goes by when I don’t read or hear a criticism of the Corporation, President Christina Paxson or her administration. Student-run publications are often filled with commentary about our leaders’ purported detachment from undergraduate needs, exorbitant spending and general lack of direction ...
At the end of January, I wrote in a column that the departure of Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 is an opportunity to hire a new provost who genuinely understands the aspects of Brown that make it strong and unique (“A new provost, a new opportunity,” Jan. 30). Significant among these is the centrality ...
On a recent trip down the obstacle course known as Point and Wickenden streets, I couldn’t help but wonder why the Taveras administration has not prioritized the maintenance of the city’s roads. Without question, Providence possesses some of the worst roads that I have ever seen. Every drive is ...
In January 2011, then-President Ruth Simmons organized a committee to explore the possibility of reorganizing a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps unit on the Brown campus. It was a response to the repeal of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation and a challenge by President Obama ...
This weekend, the University began the 250th celebration of the College’s founding. At the center of the celebration, a 3 percent replica of University Hall stood poised to feed 1,400 attendees. There were speakers, pyrotechnics, buttons, bands and little spigots that filled cups with hot chocolate. ...
Smuggling. Labor abuses. Environmental degradation. Money hoarding. These words bring to mind images of the struggling nation. But in reality, these terms perfectly describe the situation in places outside of national borders — international space, the final bastion of lawlessness. There is a widespread ...
Education is a gift and a blessing regardless of the medium through which it is received. Some people benefit from college educations, while others do better with education in technical institutions or outside the realm of universities, in particular through careers or professions. But the common trait ...
Throughout 2010, 14 employees of a factory owned by Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company, committed suicide. As usual, American media sensationalized the incidents and called for improved treatment of workers. Following investigations by the factory’s customers, including Apple and ...
I spent winter break at a retirement community in Florida. It was equal parts boring and fascinating. One day, an old man approached me in the gym and struck up a conversation. After briefly exchanging pleasantries, he asked me point-blank, “So, are you a Democrat or a Republican?” I was completely ...
Here at liberal Brown in liberal Rhode Island, we often feel immune from the nationwide struggle with social politics. Personally, I watch the news and feel relieved to live in a place that is — relatively — socially progressive. Like last week, when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) vetoed SB 1062, a ...
The stereotypical Brown student enjoys talking about hegemony almost as much as explaining that gender is a spectrum, not a binary. And when this stereotypical student talks about hegemony, it is not in positive terms. This student is wary of anyone, or anything, exerting hegemony. He or she knows that ...
Milton Friedman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, once said, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” While Andrew Powers ’15 claimed in a recent Herald opinions column that policy evaluation should be based in ethics (“Powers ...
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