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Opinions

Opinions

Rowland ’17: Questioning the budget

The University released its budget for fiscal year 2018 this week, which unsurprisingly includes tuition increases that outpace inflation by almost twice as much. Because Brown is a tuition-dependent school, especially compared to peers with heftier endowments, this is to be expected. Indeed, reasons ...


Opinions

Smith GS: Beyond ‘Pence’s Poodle’

Columnists for major news organizations, like the New York Times, criticize President Donald Trump formulaically: They combine critique of his latest policy decisions with creative personal attacks — many of which are pointed and often amusing. New York Times columnist Charles Blow called Trump a ...


Opinions

Okin ’19: Reconsidering the sophomore slump

Before entering my second year at Brown, upperclassmen warned me about the “sophomore slump.” According to their precautionary tales, this is a period ridden by paradox: You appreciate not being a newbie, but miss when everything was novel; friendships grow deeper, yet seem boringly familiar; classes ...


Opinions

Mitra '18: Fox News' obsession with Brown misses the mark

On Jan. 25, Brown had a famous — or rather, infamous — visitor: Jesse Watters, the host of Watters’ World on The O’Reilly Factor. Watters came to Brown, ostensibly to interview students about toxic masculinity. In a short day on campus, he managed to interview bystanders about safe spaces, push ...


Opinions

Kumar '17: The great American identity crisis

Is the United States an isolationist hermit or a welcoming haven for immigrants and refugees? Do we still hate Russia’s guts, or have we finally put the Cold War behind us? Is Australia among our closest allies or not worth even an hour of our time? Were we founded on Judeo-Christian values or the ...


Opinions

Colby '20: The left can be fake, too

Just weeks after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, statements from the White House have led many journalists to call Trump’s tenure a “post-truth presidency.” This allegation is a result of Trump’s claims that “any negative polls are fake news” and that CNN is a “terrible... fake ...


Opinions

Hyland GS: Ellison — a progressive future for the Dems

There has been terrifyingly little introspection by the Democratic Party in the months following the election. It has instead preferred to blame anyone but itself for what happened on Nov. 8. James Comey, Russia, Wikileaks, the media, Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein and the rural, working class have been ...


Opinions

Campbell '18: Left in the cold

When I first heard that Brown was introducing Wintersession, I could not wait to enroll. I carefully factored the time difference from my program abroad and skipped a communal dinner to ensure I could be one of the first to register. It seemed like a wonderful chance to return to Brown early, take one ...


Opinions

Letter: “International”: An artificial race

To the Editor: The problems that Aliosha Bielenberg ’20 addressed in his op-ed are absolutely essential. However, “International” is a race. It is an artificial race created by and for the American federal government to legally persecute, oppress and discriminate against the foreign population. ...


Opinions

Jacobs '18: The conservative assault on free speech

My conservative friends tell me that free speech is under assault by American liberals. A brief interaction with on-campus Republican groups or a glance at right-wing social media communities reveals similar sentiments. Conservatives claim that political correctness has gone wild and that attempts to ...


Opinions

Rosen '19: Change in progress

In some way, small or large, everyone wants to see change. But the blessing and the curse of change is that it never happens without concerted effort. Each of us has a choice: to stay or to move. In the wake of an administration full of hate in its many ugly faces, we know we need to move — this much ...


Opinions

Bielenberg ’20: ‘International’ is not a race

“International” is not a race. So why is data collated for such a heterogeneous group? Brown’s Office of Institutional Research classifies students according to racial categories such as white, black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native and International. The equation of these disparate categories ...

2.6-Bielenberg

Opinions

Friedman ’19: We are who we are

In the fifth grade, I applied to become a news anchor for my elementary school’s morning news show, “Good Morning Centennial Elementary.” The show’s anchors discussed the lunch menu and weather on a daily broadcast to every classroom in the school. The selection process was actually quite extensive, ...


Opinions

Steinman '19: Tag yourself

Misery loves company. This saying is as old as humanity. Communities have come together in times of grief as far back as we know. When times are hard, we band together to sympathize, to comfort and often to identify a common enemy. This year the forum for much of that grief was online via social media, ...


Opinions

Paxson P'19: Supporting our students and scholars

I want to thank the Brown alums who shared their concerns about the executive order on immigration and refugee policy in a Letter to the Editor in the Feb. 2 issue of The Herald. This is indeed an issue of the utmost importance for Brown, principally because it has significant implications for the personal ...


Opinions

Shemano ’19: The perils of executive overreach

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s recent executive actions, it’s time to talk about the system and precedent that affords him the power to circumvent Congress and create policy unilaterally. You may be surprised to hear that when the legality of Trump’s executive orders goes to court, the ...


Opinions

Johnson '19: Taking control of our birth control

When a personal health choice like birth control is placed in jeopardy, it is a sure sign that our nation is in retrogression. In addition to repealing portions of Affordable Care Act, including rolling back its provisions for free birth control, Congress is likely to defund Planned Parenthood and cut ...


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