Op Ed

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Atal ’08, Kraemer ’08: We donated to fend off Trump. Paxson let us down

By James Kraemer and Maha Atal | August 10

We write today with sincere disappointment and disgust at the news that Brown has voluntarily reached a deal with the Trump administration to restore federal research funding and thereby open the University to federal compliance reviews.

Souweine: Brown’s so-called deal is a win for authoritarianism

By Daniel Souweine | August 8

On July 30, Brown announced an agreement with the Trump administration to end three spurious investigations into the University and reclaim over $50 million in unpaid federal research grants. In President Trump’s preferred parlance, they ‘made a deal.’ But a deal is a voluntary agreement ...

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Gourevitch: What is Brown’s deal?

By Alexander Gourevitch | August 6

On Wednesday, July 30, President Christina Paxson P’19 PMD’20 announced the University had come to an agreement with the Trump administration. She struck a reassuring tone: “The agreement preserves the integrity of Brown’s academic foundation, and it enables us as a community to move forward ...

A photo of the bear statue on Brown's Main Green with Salomon Hall in the background on a cloudy day.

Cooper-Nelson: Gratitude in a time of grievance: a Chaplain’s farewell

By Janet Cooper Nelson | April 25

As another academic year comes to a close, it seems like only yesterday that I mailed my annual letter to incoming Brunonians. Maybe you remember receiving or reading it? Now, I send a final grateful goodbye through the pages of The Herald. Though in my retirement, the situation on College Hill will ...

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Lonergan ’72: Brown’s admissions practices are exclusionary

By John Lonergan | April 21

As an alum, I have watched with growing concern as Brown clings to outdated admissions practices that undermine its mission and tarnish its legacy. Over the years, I have written to President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 and published three op-eds in The Herald with suggestions for making the ...

Geller ’71: The story of Passover gives us the courage to fight against the Trump administration

By Laura Geller | April 16

During the holiday of Passover, Jews around the world retell the Exodus story — the Israelites’ passage from bondage in Egypt to freedom, from narrow places of fear and intimidation to a more expansive world. As Michael Walzer taught in his book “Exodus and Revolution,” Passover serves as a ...

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Nine Brown alumni respond to the Trump administration’s threats to federal funding

By Daniel Souweine | April 16

Earlier this month, the Trump administration broke news about plans to freeze $510 million of Brown’s federal funding. The threatened cuts are nothing short of extortion, an attempt to use the power of federal research dollars to force universities like Brown into policy changes that would destroy ...

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Grossman ’24: Academic freedom is a collective right

By Eli Grossman | April 11

Brown faculty must reject or revise the recent “Draft Statement on University Values” to ensure that it includes strong, explicit protections for shared community governance in every aspect of University operations.

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Miller ’70: What if Brown just says no?

By Kenneth Miller | April 6

Brown is just the latest major university to be threatened with the loss of federal funds by the Trump administration. But while the White House has not yet formally frozen Brown’s federal funding nor presented the University with a list of demands as conditions of restoring that funding, we can be ...

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Walhout ’25: It’s time to close the Open Curriculum

By Samuel Walhout | April 4

I first began giving tours of Brown as an impressionable first-year. On the second stop of the tour outside University Hall, I would gather my modest crowd of overachieving high schoolers and their anxious parents to extol the virtues of Brown’s unique curricular system. After responding to a host ...

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Theodoropoulos ’27: John Hay helped colonize the Philippines. The least Brown can do is give us a language class.

By Alexa Theodoropoulos | March 31

About a year ago, I received a text from Brown’s Southeast Asian Studies Initiative about an upcoming course, taught by SEASI and Filipino Alliance ally Grace Talusan: ENGL 1050Y: “Traces of Empire: Writing Filipino and American Experiences.” The title alone lingered with me — an invitation ...

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LeVine ’93 P’25 P’27: We can thwart Trump’s attack on our nation’s universities

By Suzan LeVine | March 20

Earlier this week, inspired by a Harvard Crimson op-ed, I sent a letter to President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 and Provost Francis Doyle with recommendations on how Brown might help our country’s academic institutions escape the Trump administration’s encroaching darkness.

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Ziegler GS: Protecting freedom of expression at Brown requires a proactive approach to authoritarianism

By Michael Ziegler | March 18

Last week, Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor of medicine at Brown, was deported from the United States at Boston Logan International Airport despite holding a valid H-1B visa. Her deportation was on the heels of the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident of the United States who, as of ...

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Bolton: Protestors should understand the history of antisemitic rhetoric

By Josh Bolton | March 17

I am deeply concerned by the relentless — and also maybe clueless — use of antisemitic tropes that continues to pervade campus protests. This includes Thursday’s rally protesting the arrest and detainment of Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil. Considering the overt use of these antisemitic elements, ...

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Rogers: Universities need courage in the age of American authoritarianism

By Melvin Rogers | March 13

A few weeks ago, I had the extraordinary opportunity to discuss my work — the role of faith and struggle in democratic politics — with a group of students at the University of San Diego. Despite being in sunny California, we found ourselves drawn to the troubling question: What will we do when our ...

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Mackie ’59: Brown’s unfinished business: pedestrianizing Brown and Benevolent Streets

By Peter Mackie | March 9

On April 30, 2012, Brown and the City of Providence signed a Memorandum of Agreement in which the University purchased sections of Benevolent, Brown and Olive Streets. In addition, the City licensed 250 revenue-producing on-street parking spaces to Brown for faculty and staff use. In turn, the University ...

Graphic with the quote: "Every inch of green space is more critical to student physical and psychological well-being. These barren streets do nothing to promote intimacy, connectedness and a sense of community."

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Rackoff ’25: Reflections from an anti-Zionist academic echo chamber

By Maya Rackoff | March 3

Last month, I attended the “Non-Zionist Jewish Traditions” conference hosted by the Cogut Institute for the Humanities. The conference consisted of five panels and two roundtable discussions across two days. I attended one each day. While I, unfortunately, did not experience the full program, the ...

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Adriano ’25: Before you go to Puerto Rico for spring break, understand your responsibility as a tourist

By Sebasstián Adriano | March 2

U.S. tourists have a global reputation. They’re known for their college merchandise, poor sense of geography and very loud conversations. While some of these traits may be comical or even endearing, the nature of such tourism can also be harmful. As a native of Puerto Rico — a destination where ...

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Ziegler GS: In ‘tough waters,’ Brown needs a better team at the helm

By Michael Ziegler | February 27

Over the last four months, Provost Francis Doyle has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the state of the University’s finances. In December, he announced a series of “community actions” that aim to tackle Brown’s 2025 $46 million structural operating deficit. Notably, these actions include reductions ...

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Tribe ’27: Democracy is under attack. Where is your outrage?

By Isabel Tribe | February 25

Experts are calling it a coup. Law professors warn of a constitutional crisis. And we’re just one month into the second Trump administration.