Columns

Waite '11: Settling Catan, winning the future

Trupin '13: A Call for Consumer Activism

This February, as you head to the bookstore in search of a wardrobe that matches your school spirit, something will be a little different. A few of the Brown-emblazoned items will not be your typical Under Armour or Champion brand wear. You may see a hoodie or a tee that says "Alta Gracia" on the label. ...

Morris '88: Don't Ask, Don't ROTC: Why it's still a bad idea

Over winter break, Congress finally eliminated the discriminatory doctrine of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." We should be proud that one more vestige of legal discrimination has finally fallen away. Over many years, opponents of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps have asserted that the University should ...

Wicken GS: (Some Of) The British Are (Sort of) (Still) Coming!

During the break, dear reader, I chanced across an astonishing car commercial. You might have seen it. The one where the Dodge Challenger defeats the Redcoats, heralding the dawn of a new nation that gets "two things right: cars and freedom." "Auto-industry bailout!" I spluttered. "PATRIOT Act!" Before ...

Johnson '11: Walk a mile in my waterproof boots

It starts with a sinking feeling in your chest that moves all the way up to your throat. You're not sure whether to cry out in despair or to stoically weather the embarrassment. After a few seconds, a chilling throb of pain seizes your foot, making it seem to weigh six tons. What is drowned beneath ...

Villegas GS: No discipline of the body: OMAC schedule fails recreational users

I would like to express my displeasure towards how the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center's schedule is relayed to recreational users. The OMAC administration must make a publicly accessible and regularly updated schedule for the Brown community at large.

Rosenbloom '13: ROTC and the tyranny of the masses

Democracy and freedom are often assumed to be codependent. In truth, these two concepts are often in direct conflict. In many cases, majorities vote to rob minorities of freedom. This despotism of the masses can be seen throughout the world. It can also be seen right here at Brown.

Sheffield '11: Pirates of the Narragansett: curse of the Brown pearl

Brown students are kind, sharing people. As The Herald reported last week ("Despite enforcement, copyright violations steady in recent years," Feb. 3), the University received reports of roughly 750 copyright violations by students. As most of the reported violations come from distributing copyrighted ...

Tobias '12: Solving a "sinning" state's budget

Rhode Island, like much of the nation, is facing a major fiscal crisis. The state has a projected 2012 deficit of $295 million due mostly to rising costs, declining revenue and the loss of federal stimulus money. In his recent opinions column, Hunter Fast '12 ("Just say ‘no' (to the nanny state)," ...

Yu '11: Tiger mother? Dragon lady

Over this past winter break, I realized, with some surprise, that my Chinese-speaking, Chinese literature-teaching parents who reside in China are not, in fact, Chinese parents.  How did I come to this somewhat random and seemingly illogical realization? I used my extraordinary skills to reflect ...

Kroeber '11: ROTC at Brown: When a statement becomes a policy

In a recent Herald column, Chris Norris-LeBlanc '13 rightly cautioned students against disregarding the political and historical contexts that led to the removal of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps from the University ("The ROTC Question," Jan. 28). As a history concentrator, I applaud his column ...

Fast '12: Just say 'no' (to the nanny state)

In recent years, Rhode Island's fiscal woes have repeatedly made national news. With a deficit of $427 million for fiscal year 2011 and a projected shortfall of $290 million for fiscal year 2012, legislators are hard pressed to engineer solutions to the budget crisis. Sin taxes — taxes on alcohol, ...

Waite '11: Politics and patriotism in the ROTC issue? No thanks

Two recent opinions columnists have expressed different views on the Reserve Officer Training Corps issue. Chris Norris-LeBlanc ("The ROTC Question," Jan. 28) paints a political picture: Brown should not endorse the army by allowing an ROTC presence on campus. Heath Mayo ("The ROTC Answer," Jan. 31) ...

Walters '11: How we compete

In President Obama's recent State of the Union address, we heard repeated appeals to renew America's long-term competitiveness and to "win the future" against emerging rivals like India and China. Similarly, in the decade following Ruth Simmons' hiring as President in 2001, Brown has seen a heightened ...

Trupin '13: WikiLeaks: More good than bad, and the best may be still to come

About the middle of last December, I was pleasantly surprised to read that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, had taken up the defense of WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange on the floor of the House. "Is there not a huge difference between releasing secret information to help the ...

Najera GS: Natural questions will save your life

"Idle reader..."

Mayo '13: The ROTC answer

This past December, as the "lame duck" session of Congress rolled back the Clinton-era "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding the service of gays and lesbians in the military, elite universities were encouraged to rethink campus bans on Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs that resulted from ...

Nicholson '12.5: A weighty issue

Norris-Leblanc '13: The ROTC Question

After 18 years, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"  was finally repealed by a Senate vote of 63 for and 33 against. This historic legislation marks the end of an almost two-decade period when gay and lesbian members of the armed forces had to face a dishonorable discharge if they divulged their sexuality ...

Sarah Rosenthal '11: Has Brown got the write stuff?