Tkachenko ’29: Brunonians, take the plunge

There’s a very specific moment somewhere between your first step in the ocean and the total loss of feeling below your ankles when you realize two things: first, this was entirely your choice, and second, this is crazy. Perhaps you start to regret everything as a chilly breeze sweeps across the bay, ...

Vishwakarma ’29: The Brown Spectator has a substantiation problem

Last month, the prospect of responding to two Spectator articles on anti-ICE protests in Providence came up during a meeting with Herald opinion writers and editors. However, as we discussed arguments, I realized that those pieces contained instances of poor journalistic integrity. In our era of misinformation, ...

Berkwits ’29: Find a friend twice your age

When I go home for spring break next week, one of my first stops will be walking over to Beth’s house. Beth and I met at our neighborhood synagogue ten years ago, and our relationship flourished when we started taking daily walks together during the COVID-19 pandemic. We chat about everything from ...

Gold ’29: Brown needs to hear the buzz on pollinator population decline

As spring returns to College Hill, there is plenty to look forward to: flowers blooming, joyous tour groups and a much needed melting of the snow. One spring staple, however, may not return in full force — the bees. Pesticides, invasive parasites and habitat loss have overwhelmed colonies and keepers ...

Murray ’29: Brown must re-commit to teaching students about its history with slavery

Last spring, after nearly two decades, the University quietly retired its first-year reading program. The program required that first-year students come to campus having read an assigned text that they would discuss as part of New Student Orientation. In the five years leading up to the end of the First ...

Food for Thought with Yeung ’29: Regarding Irregardless

When my family and I showed up to a tiny, colorful shack in Federal Hill with “Irregardless” painted on the front, we weren’t sure what to expect. But when I saw four cramped tables inside filled with diners happily feasting on their food, I knew we had come across a gem. A small line was forming ...

The Philosophy Concentrator with Avery Kaak ’29: Is it unethical to ghost your marriage pact match?

“I know the Marriage Pact is supposed to be about finding a connection with someone new based on shared values. However, after getting my match, I’m really not sure what to do. Is it unethical for me not to reach out to them because I don’t find them attractive? I was initially enthusiastic about ...

Organic Chemistry with Gupta ’25 MD’29: Being single or taken is not your identity

At some point in college, many friend groups assign roles to one another. “She’s always in a relationship.” “He just doesn’t date.” “He's always seeing someone but can never commit.” While not always intentional, the labels stick. There’s the hopeless romantic, the serial dater, the ...

Tao ’27: The Diocese of Providence must repent

Leggat-Barr ’28: The violence of nostalgia in Providence

We’ve all done some selective remembering — convincing ourselves a time in our life or an experience was all sunshine and rainbows and forgetting the storm clouds. Painting an idealized picture of the past helps us escape from the reality of the present. I often find myself yearning for what I remember ...

Murray ’29: Embracing Brown’s culture means embracing ‘pre-personalism’

Brown does things differently.

Gardiner ’28: Georgia’s attack on its universities should be a warning for Brown

On May 22, I was listening to music at the wryly named 1984 Jazz Club in Tbilisi, Georgia when I learned that President Trump had attempted to revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll international students. Five months later, Georgia’s government introduced a similar restriction on its own universities. ...

Mooney ’29: Professors should gatekeep lecture recordings

Picture this: It’s 9 a.m. on a Monday morning and a professor is lecturing to a half-empty room. Presumably, some students are sick and others didn’t feel like making the trek across campus. Probably, a few students are still asleep. Although a Herald poll from 12 years ago estimated that 25% of ...

Gold ’29: Brown, it’s time to bring the party back

It’s orientation week — the first Friday of the year. Outside Metcalf Hall, a horde of first-years have gathered. In the basement, partygoers pack shoulder to shoulder. The air is a hot, musty haze of cologne and nerves. The scene is gritty, but a palpable energy buzzes the room: the joy of Brunonians ...