Columns

Gordon '14: Rebuttal

Hefer '12: How I learned to stop worrying and love lit crit

Literary criticism ­- by which I mean the discipline practiced by the comparative literature, modern culture and media and other related departments - has its fingers in a lot of pies. Race and gender/sexuality studies are rife with critical thought. It seems that each of the humanities has picked ...

Lebovitz '14: Diversify my options

At the Sharpe Refectory and Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, Brown students are privy to a wide assortment of means to get their news. They can pick up a copy of the New York Times, the Providence Journal and the finest publication of them all, The Herald. For those more visually inclined, "Good Morning ...

Johnson '14: An inspired choice for World Bank president

Clarkson '12: Putting the farm back into the Farm Bill

Bouche '14: Time for spring ideological cleaning

Though I have nearly completed half of my time at this school, Brown continuously amazes me. At any moment, a student can simply pop open his Brown Gmail inbox or read the signs splattered on our walks and greens to find the flurry of information shot our way. Potentialities and possibilities radiate ...

Chizen '14: SafeRide's makeover

Brown University SafeRide is a failed institution. From personal experience, SafeRide proves to be inefficient and simply ineffective in providing its potential users with safe and accessible transportation throughout campus. Given Brown's condensed campus, the shuttle's route is overly circuitous. ...

BFA: Boldly moving financial aid forward

In her final State of Brown address, President Ruth Simmons asserted that "financial aid should be a top priority for the University." We, the members of Brown for Financial Aid, could not agree more. In February, BFA formed with the purpose of committing Brown to this top priority and ensuring that ...

Tobias'12: Better living at Brown

On-campus housing will get a new look by fall 2013 ("Campus housing to be renovated, transformed," Feb. 13). Keeney Quadrangle will be split in three and, along with Pembroke, will become exclusively first-year dorms, while sophomores will be clustered in doubles near the Main Green. Most juniors and ...

Tobias '12: No, Brown should not have required classes

"The various courses should be so arranged that, in so far as it is practicable, every student might study what he chose, all that he chose, and nothing but what he chose." These words, stated in 1850 by Francis Wayland, Brown's fourth president, have been the foundation for academics at Brown for more ...

McGoldrick '12: Rebuttal

First, I concede Ethan Tobias' point that free choice can be a powerful psychological tool for creating positive motivation and a sense of ownership over one's education. Brown should be applauded for treating its students as mature adults. That was a significant factor in my decision to enroll here. ...

McGoldrick '12: Yes, Brown should have required classes

Brown's New Curriculum - poorly named since it is nearly half a century old - is a point of pride for many Brunonians, and rightfully so: It's a manifesto for creativity, self-definition and personal motivation. These are certainly noble values we should embrace. But a large portion of people at Brown ...

Tobias'12: Rebuttal

McGoldrick for thinking that two or three required courses might enhance a Brown education. Certainly, her example courses would be very valuable for some first-years. However, the question at stake is whether Brown should award degrees to students who have not completed certain required coursework. ...

Stephenson '13: Why I hate the Internet

Schleimer '12: Thoughts on stealing from a (former) BuDS Cashier

If you've been to Josiah's on a Friday night, you know theft is rampant in on-campus eateries. You've seen - or been - that student slipping Odwalla bars into a pocket or scooting past the register with a cup of soda claiming, "It's just water."

Kalyanpur '13: Why commit to a concentration?

As the concentration declaration deadline nears, there is a familiar buzz surrounding the sophomore class. With only two weeks to go, many students are scurrying about looking for an adviser to casually sign off on their forms. Unfortunately, convenience frequently trumps serious reflection. Our declaration ...

Johnson '14: Hope in POLS 1130

Watching the news these days tends to fill me with pure, unadulterated cynicism. Nobody in government agrees on anything, except for the fact that the system in Washington, and Providence, is broken. In a country where Occupiers scream, Rush Limbaugh calls law students sluts and Angel Taveras makes ...

Davidson '14: A place for strangers

Brown needs a place for strangers - a place where it is not only permissible but expected to engage with an unknown fellow student.

Husted '13: Why I hate smartphones

I confess that I do not own a smartphone. I am a member of a dying breed of regular phone users, and my sin does not go without punishment. This summer I went into a store to replace my old phone, which I purchased in 2007, and was ridiculed by the store clerk when I pointed to the "new" phone that ...

Enzerink GS: The dual soul of Brown

Brown has traditionally been an institution that acknowledges the value of both undergraduate and graduate education but values even more the ways in which the two can complement and enhance each other. The College and the Graduate School are the perfect Hegelian synthesis, together adding up to more ...