Opinions

Moraff '14: Lesser of two evils not that important

Editorial: Put the brakes on campus corporatization

College students are aggressively pursued by corporate America. From clothing retailers and technology firms to beer companies and banks, corporations are intensifying their efforts to make lifelong customers of us. This week, the New York Times reported that on-campus marketing has proliferated at ...

Moffat '13: Who is left if no one is right?

Public confidence in American political institutions is abysmal, and it is no great insight to recognize that our national psyche is suffering an identity crisis. Many succumb to the temptation to characterize the root problem as all those greedy, good-for-nothing politicians. While I do not want to ...

Cao '13: Should we eat that much?

My roommate, who works the closing shift at the Friedman Cafe, called me up Friday night and said, "Would you mind coming to (the Sciences Library) and taking a couple of the leftover muffins for us? It's so sad to see them going into the dumpster. I feel like a rampage killer." I went there and took ...

Editorial: Institutional diversity

As members of the class of 2015 may be noticing, Brown is fortunate to attract a diverse student body. Unfortunately, this diversity is not mirrored among the faculty. As The Herald reported in February, roughly one-third of Brown faculty are women, and one-fifth are members of  racial minorities. ...

Johnson '14: A different kind of diversity

The Brown website describes its campus as a "vibrant, diverse community." But the truth is that the Brown campus is one of the least diverse places in the United States. The sheer homogeneity of the school is overwhelming. It is evident in almost every serious discussion and every poll taken of the ...

Fast '12: Correct market forces, don't ignore them

The recent attempt by students to form a market for seats in courses with capped enrollment ("Econ caps spur black market controversy," Sept. 12) elicited a response from the University administration that was grossly insufficient in its redress of the factors that compel students to offer cash for ...

Editorial: Looking back, looking ahead

Yesterday, the Brown community marked a decade since a sunny Tuesday morning morphed into a national nightmare. Our thoughts are with our classmates, faculty and staff who lost loved ones on that terrible day.

Trupin '13: An African student's suggestions

I feel strongly that the African community at Brown could benefit from increased cohesion. As I argued in my final column of last semester ("The African Student's Burden," April 18), African students in higher education are generally subject to certain expectations regarding their ability to contribute ...

Henriques '12: Honor to whom honor is due

As the summer in Washington, D.C., revealed leaders acting ever more stubborn and childish, thank goodness, at least, that we at Brown know how to be adults. Even at a school where the student body is, admittedly, a bit one-sided in its political leanings, we spend our four years here buffeted by diverse ...

Letter: In defense of PLME and of facts

To the Editor:

Letter: A fond farewell to the Saunders Inn

To the Editor:

Shanks '12: African-American matriculation is a Brown issue, not a Black issue

As we return to Brown this year, we have the pleasure of welcoming the class of 2015 to our campus. These undergraduates will come to love the place that we call home. It is my special pleasure also to congratulate what has been called "the most racially, socio-economically and geographically diverse ...

Seol '14: The program in lax medical education

"The goal of Brown's PLME is to graduate doctors, scholars and leaders in medicine who have been exposed to a wide, sensitizing view of the human condition." So reads the educational philosophy of Brown's Program in Liberal Medical Education. On paper, the spirit of the PLME is admirable. Train doctors ...

Tobias '12: Free to learn

Welcome to Brown, first-years, and congratulations for making the foresighted decision to invest in your future. By now, you have cracked open a textbook or two, shopped several classes you never plan on taking and made some invaluable connections at Ratty lunch. Every step taken is an opportunity to ...

Curry '51: A proposal for a novel fiscal measure

To the Editor:

Editorial: Cleaning up after Irene

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irene, it seemed that the storm had been hyped up. After all, many of the direst predictions failed to come true — particularly massive flooding in the New York metro area.  

Hefer '12: Productive debate among reasonable people

This fall, you'll find yourself engaged in familiar conversations. You'll be lounging on the Main Green or trying to get the Keeney hallway to stop spinning for just one second when a friend will say, "Those idiots in Congress ought to x!" or "The average person needs to realize that z!" What these ...

Rosenbloom '13: Even on liberal campuses, you're not as free as you think

The prevalence of restrictive speech codes on college campuses is an underreported travesty of our time. The modern university ought to be a bastion of intellectual freedom where every idea is protected, and the college experience should empower individuals to learn how to deal with adult freedom responsibly. ...

Lebovitz '14: STEM degrees for green cards

Mid-September last year, members of Brown's activist student body took to the Main Green in what was the first act in their three-month-long campaign to rally support for the DREAM Act. The proposed federal DREAM Act would have provided undocumented immigrants with U.S. residency in exchange for their ...