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Opinions

Opinions

Editorial: Back to the future

The recession’s effects on student attitudes toward higher education are clear. In a survey of 283 four-year colleges and universities published by the University of California at Los Angeles, a record high 88 percent of freshmen said “ability to get a better job” was a “very important” motivation ...


Opinions

Gianotti '13: When tragedy strikes

In ancient times, a natural disaster was often thought of as a collective punishment from the gods. Whether that punishment was just was irrelevant. It was served. Mankind today is an Olympian force of 6.9 billion strong and growing. Climate scientists tell us we are the cause of massive changes in ...


Opinions

Romero '14: The boundaries of comedy

Last summer, famous comedian Daniel Tosh performed at a Los Angeles nightclub and reportedly began his stand-up set with a joke about rape. Tosh said, “Rape jokes are always funny. … How can a rape joke not be funny?” A female audience member yelled back, “Actually, rape jokes are never funny!” ...


Opinions

Letter: Financial aid should be fundraising priority

To the Editor: The members of Brown for Financial Aid strongly disagree with Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Beppie Huidekoper’s assessment in Friday’s article (“Full need-blind unsustainable under current finances, says finance VP,” Jan. 25). No one suggests today’s ...


Opinions

Letter: Economics degree requires mathematical rigor

To the Editor: In a recent editorial (“Rethinking undergraduate economics,” Jan. 25), Lucas Husted evaluates Brown’s economics concentration by considering its requirements. He writes that the lack of rigorous math detracts from the program. As a graduate math student, I like it when math is ...


Opinions

Editorial: Re-entering the Van Wickle Gates

The weekend before most students returned to campus, the Brown Conversation hosted its inaugural “Re-Orientation Boot Camp,” which engaged over 50 students and faculty members in discussions about the meaning of a Brown education. The program, aimed at underclassmen, allowed students to evaluate ...


Opinions

McCoy ’14: Confronting gun culture in the NFL and NBA

It is no secret that in the NFL and the NBA, a gun culture exists among the same players whose jaw-dropping athletic exploits bring family and friends together on a nightly basis. There is no official data on the exact number of professional athletes who own guns, nor on how many guns each athlete ...


Opinions

Husted ’13: Rethinking undergraduate economics

When I tell people I concentrate in applied math-economics, I get a handful of responses depending on the inquirer. “Oh wow, so you’ll definitely have a job,” is one. “Oh jeez, that sounds tough,” is another. Aside from making me uncomfortable, these comments dismay me. They are emblematic ...


Opinions

Carty ’15: Brown and its hidden conservatism

Though we may be both a bastion and a stalwart of Progressive America, Brown and Brown students will always have their conservative moments, elements and attributes. That should be obvious, but what parts of us do reflect conservatism? That is far from obvious because two of our most Brunonian attributes, ...


Opinions

Ingber '15: Constructive Irreverence

Seeing the inauguration of a new university president is thrilling. We are lucky our time at Brown overlaps with the end of one president’s tenure and the beginning of another’s. But it is not just the inauguration ceremony that intrigues me. Watching a new leader come into the Brown community and ...


Opinions

Editorial: Dealing with drug culture

It’s been years since Bill O’Reilly went into hysterics over ecstasy and alcohol at Sex Power God, but the well-known secret of drug cultures at colleges and universities has been around for much longer. As the semester begins, we call on students to reevaluate Brown’s drug environment. As a school ...


Opinions

Katz '14: Why we need pluses and minuses

The average college student currently studies for a scant 14 hours per week — significantly fewer than in 1961, when the average was 24 hours, according to research conducted by University of California Santa Barbara professor Philip Babcock and University of California Riverside professor Mindy Marks, ...


Opinions

Tennis ’14: Waste no time banning automatic-style weapons

In the past year, close to 100 people died as the result of mass shootings. The sites of these killings included universities, high schools, movie theaters, malls, a Sikh temple, a soccer tournament and even a funeral home. Of these victims, 20 were elementary school students, gunned down as systematically ...


Opinions

Editorial: The lost piece to Brown's diversity puzzle

Brown and other institutions of higher education often label student diversity as essential to the college experience and aim to attract students from diverse paths. But despite attempts by Brown and its peer institutions to increase veteran enrollment, veteran representation at elite universities remains ...


Opinions

Dorris '15: Snap out of it

It started during spoken word and slam poetry readings. Then it spread to the occasional jazz club and improvisational performance. Now it even occurs during academic discussions. These days, before you see a good idea, you will probably hear it. I am talking about finger snapping — the act of snapping ...


Opinions

Husted's Rebuttal

On second thought, I agree wholeheartedly with Jared. Brown would be a desolate nightmare without the beacon of hope that is the opinions section, but based on his points, I think the current situation is not tenable either. What we really need is for The Herald to get rid of all of its normal content ...


Opinions

Husted '13: The Herald should not publish opinions

Why is it that at a school of 8,454, we find the need to publish two opinions a day? How many things happen here each day that are worthy of critical thought and analysis? Not many. How many times have you ever lost your way and needed the tender guidance of The Herald's opinions page to lead you true? ...


Opinions

Moffat's Rebuttal

On second thought, I agree wholeheartedly with Lucas. The opinions page is a disgraceful blemish in an otherwise venerable newspaper. On the average day, a full eighth of The Herald is dedicated to nothing but Brown students complaining about something and sparking unnecessary feuds - I can see why ...


Opinions

Moffat '13: The Herald should publish opinions

My opponent must secretly be a genocidal tyrant bent on the destruction of humankind. There's simply no other explanation. Supporting the dismantling of The Herald's opinions section is like advocating for the torture of infants or promoting cannibalism.




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