To the Editor:
"[O]f what does Brown dream?" pondered Terrence George '13 in his column "A lesson in responsibility" (Sept. 21). Let's try Brown's mission statement for answers. "The mission of Brown University is to serve the community, the nation and the world by discovering, communicating and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry, and by educating and preparing students to discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation."
Recently, Manas Gautam '12 wrote a column ("In defense of Brown, Inc." Sept. 13) in which he claimed that Brown's primary objective was education. George seems to agree. What I would like to posit is that, while the means by which the University proceeds towards its objective is by educating students to be useful and reputable human beings, education is not the objective itself. Our mission statement is explicit on this point — Brown's purpose is to serve our local, national and global communities.
What if, in attempting to provide the best education for our students, we increasingly fail our mission? What if education increasingly becomes educational-product, while students increasingly are reduced to student-consumers, isolated and individualized beings on a track to satisfy themselves no matter the expense to others? We need to redefine our priorities.
I find it sickening that a Brown student would feel compelled to write about "a lesson in responsibility" based upon the University's expenditure of approximately 0.000025% of our endowment to benefit those affected by the floods in Pakistan. Here is my counter-lesson: Those with power and privilege have a responsibility to those who do not.
Julian Park '12
Sept. 21
