Columns

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Gardiner ’28: Why Brown should stop discarding admissions records

By Isabella Gardiner | December 4

As the next generation of Brunonians walks through the Van Wickle Gates, these students may be left wondering how they ended up on College Hill. But that’s not a question any of us can completely answer. The journey an application takes from the Common Application portal to an acceptance letter is ...

Lindemann ’29: The key to intentionality is analog living

By Beatriz Lindemann | December 4

Almost every weekend, I walk past groups of friends snapping photos together before a night out, taking bursts of nearly identical shots. I often find myself in the same situation, posing for hundreds of pictures for the perfect Instagram post. You then overanalyze each photo, trying to find one that ...

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Berkwits ’29: It’s time for Brown’s plastic silverware to go

By Talia Berkwits | December 2

As soon as meal times approach, hoards of students can be found across campus munching on Ivy Room salmon bowls, grabbing a Blue Room salad or slurping pho from Andrews Commons. All of these dining options have one thing in common: They are served with a side of plastic silverware. Every day, Brown ...

Manhardt ’26: President Paxson’s $3.1 million salary is not that inconceivable

By Batisse Manhardt | December 2

In 2023, President Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 was paid $3.1 million, a noticeable 74% increase from her 2022 total compensation. Some students have expressed anger toward this figure — understandably so. With talks of budget deficits and freezes over the past few years, it’s easy to conflate Paxson’s ...

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Leggat-Barr ’28: It’s our fault our politics lack principles

By Tommy Leggat-Barr | December 2

“Have you heard about the new Marjorie Taylor Greene?” resounds across the Thanksgiving table. Immediately capturing my attention, I looked up from a filled plate and the conversation that I had been half-listening to beside me. My well-meaning aunt continued on explaining Greene’s reconciliatory ...

Rahman ’26: Economic populism offers campaign wins, not solutions

By Tasawwar Rahman | November 30

During my 9th-grade student council election, I campaigned in a crowded field with a simple promise: an end-of-year school-sponsored trip to Cedar Point. Needless to say, I won in a landslide. Though well-intended, it became clear to me that I had overpromised and underdelivered. Voter backlash was ...

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Vishwakarma ’29: Skipping college for a white-collar job can’t end well

By Arya Vishwakarma | November 30

“Skip the debt. Skip the indoctrination. Get the Palantir degree.”

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Noxon ’27: Brown needs to reclaim the legacy of semiotics

By Oscar Noxon | November 25

Once upon a time, there was a program at Brown called semiotics. Robert Scholes, an English professor, was hired to teach at Brown in 1970, arriving on College Hill to discover a “campus whose openness to new lines of teaching and research would make it the perfect incubator for these new ideas,” ...

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Cheong ’27: Brown needs an expanded on-campus housing requirement

By Daniel Cheong | November 24

Off-campus apartments offer an attractive option for juniors and seniors looking for better housing. Some, such as 257 Thayer St. and 21 Euclid Ave., offer private bathrooms, modern kitchens and even gyms and fire pits that no residence hall could realistically compete with. But as more undergraduates ...

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Azhar ’29: Why we love victimless crime

By Dua Azhar | November 24

When news broke of the recent heist at the Louvre — a meticulously executed theft that felt straight out of a movie — the internet’s reaction was oddly celebratory. Commentators joked about “modern Robin Hoods,” meme accounts praised the thieves’ taste and TikToks romanticized stealing from ...

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Mooney ’29: Brown must treat student food insecurity as the crisis that it is

By Max Mooney | November 24

On Oct. 1, the federal government shut down, halting federal programs and services across the country and partially freezing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits starting at the beginning of November. In a typical month in 2024, SNAP helped 41 million low-income Americans afford a healthy ...

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Yeung ’29: Food for Thought: Rong Chic

By Christian Yeung | November 23

There’s nothing I miss more during a cold New England storm than a warm, home-cooked meal. Particularly, I find myself craving a Chinese meal. Unfortunately there are not many authentic Chinese restaurants in Providence. And no, Chinatown on Thayer definitely doesn’t count.

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Tesler ’29: Brown needs real third places — and student clubs can help

By Zeke Tesler | November 21

College introduces us to a hectic version of life. In the bubble that is being a university student, our social lives are often smushed together with the academic and domestic spheres of college. This results in a lack of spaces purely dedicated to voluntary and informal social gatherings — also known ...

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Lindemann ’29: ‘Just Kids’ reminds us how to be human

By Beatriz Lindemann | November 18

I was gifted Patti Smith’s “Just Kids” on my 16th birthday and was instantly enamored. Since then, I have been known to gift it to my friends. Sometimes college students feel that they need to have their futures all figured out — this book shows that you don’t. In an Ivy League culture obsessed ...

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Edelson ’29: Understanding geography will help us understand our friends

By Clay Edelson | November 14

“And that’s … where again?”

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Gupta ’25 MD’29: The worst break-ups are the ones that never happened

By Anusha Gupta | November 14

There’s a particular kind of heartbreak that can feel almost embarrassing to admit out loud.

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Leggat-Barr ’28: Political hobbyism has no place at Brown

By Tommy Leggat-Barr | November 12

Nov. 4 wins in New Jersey, New York City and Virginia, as well as staggering blue margins across the country, have given the Democrats a gift that we have yearned for since the beginning of the Trump administration: a rebuke to the president’s cruel agenda that gives reason for the Republican caucus ...

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Davis ’27: Diversity in higher education is a state issue

By Christian Davis | November 11

It has been just over three years since oral arguments began in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled race-based affirmative action in higher education unconstitutional. Since that moment, selective universities have seen sharp declines in the number of Black ...

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Gardiner ’28: Man vs. the machine: the case for Wikipedia

By Isabella Gardiner | November 11

Since we were old enough to use Google, Gen Z has been told Wikipedia is unreliable. I remember sitting criss-crossed on the floor of my elementary school classroom, listening to my teacher lecture about how, since anyone on the internet can edit a Wikipedia page, it shouldn’t be trusted. To this ...

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Kaak ’29: Neitzsche’s advice to ‘live dangerously’ serves as a meaningful guide to taking advantage of the Open Curriculum

By Avery Kaak | November 11

Few philosophers have been more misunderstood than Friedrich Nietzsche. While his more flamboyant assertions — like his claim that God is dead — are crucial to understanding his work as a whole, discussion about Nietzsche is often limited to these statements alone. Among his more profound teachings, ...