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Flynn '20: Brown should calculate GPA

Most undergrads who have applied to an organization outside of Brown — virtually everyone — have had to take the annoying step of calculating their GPA. In the spirit of its unique educational philosophy, Brown refuses to calculate GPA; but other organizations, obviously, do not share this philosophy. ...

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Opinions

Calvelli '19: Exploration/No Credit

On Oct. 2, the Sastifactory/No Credit deadline passed without much fanfare. Forty-nine years after its inception, the S/NC option is so ingrained in the Brown experience that it doesn’t stand out as abnormal. That’s a problem. S/NC is truly unique; Brown is one of just a handful of schools that ...

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Opinions

Aman '20: U. should cover students’ STI tests

At the start of the semester, I visited Health Services for my annual screen for sexually transmitted infections. Before going to the lab, my doctor asked me to call my insurance provider to make sure Lifespan labs — where Health Services sends patients’ bloodwork and other samples — was “in-network,” ...

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Opinions

Foster '19: Keep the pressure on Amazon

Last week, Amazon announced a wage hike for all its employees — everyone, even temporary employees, would make at least $15 an hour. This is great news — more money in the pockets of workers isn’t something to dismiss. But we should be clear about one thing: It was the power of people, not the ...

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Opinions

Steinman '19: When writing a thesis, learn from your peers

For many incoming students, the first tangible links to Brown are advisors, people who will be guiding and looking out for us from the moment we reach campus and begin to pick classes. In addition to our academic advisors, first-years are surrounded by all forms of student-led guidance: Meiklejohns, ...

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Opinions

Simshauser '20: Can progressive values flip Texas?

With the 2018 midterm elections less than a month away, much of the optimism for Democrats has been focused on the House of Representatives. This is for good reason — a “Blue Wave” is more likely to manifest in the larger sample of 435 House races, in which 432 have a Democratic candidate. Moreover, ...

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Opinions

Miller '19: Secrecy reigns in U.S. intelligence

In a post-9/11 world, in pursuit of its mission to thwart terrorism in the United States and ensure national security, U.S. intelligence agencies have become larger, more complex and, if possible, even more secretive. There has been no concomitant change in oversight, however, allowing almost imperial ...

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Opinions

Vilsan '19: The simple pleasures

He is nine years old, 10 at most. His feet dangle above the ground. His tiny arms rest uncomfortably on the dinner table. He is holding in his miniature hands the newest iPhone, swiping and scrolling as though it were second nature. Conversation swells around him, but he is unaware. Then, minutes later, ...

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Opinions

Clark '19: A reminder of reality to those who judge

Earlier this week, Aidan Calvelli ’19 wrote a column calling to ban consulting firms from campus, arguing that “the mad rush to help rich companies get richer obscures a search for employment animated by an independent quest for meaning and social fulfillment.” But Calvelli’s argument relies ...

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Opinions

Aman '20: Give rising juniors off-campus permission

Complaints about off-campus permissions for rising juniors aren’t new. For example, in 2017, The Herald reported that many students thought the process was a hassle and faced pressure from landlords to sign leases before receiving permission to live off campus. Ultimately, this frustrating process ...

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Opinions

Flynn '20: Learn to look beyond the sensational

“The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic,” Joseph Stalin was reputed to have said. This (likely misattributed) quotation still bears a certain eeriness by its connection to the 20th century dictator, whose regime bore responsibility for millions of deaths by ethnic ...

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Opinions

Foster '19: Don’t fall into the fall recruiting trap

The career fair is today. As Brown students weave through a sea of recruiters, they’re likely to see table after table of technology, finance and consulting companies. These large, moneyed corporations have something very attractive to offer students — certainty. In a 2017 Financial Times piece, ...

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Opinions

Calvelli '19: #BCG: Ban Consulting Groups

When fall dawns on campus, you’re sure to see two things: first years with lanyards around their necks and upperclassmen in business-casual-but-don’t-worry-I’m-still-chill outfits flocking in hordes to consulting recruiting events. The lanyards fade away with time and wisdom, but on-campus recruitment ...

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Opinions

Steinman '19: Requiem for the Bear’s Lair

I should probably start by admitting that I was never much of a fan. Like the Sharpe Refectory and the Sciences Library, the Bear’s Lair fell into a category of places on campus that I frequented not because I liked being there, but because they were steady and reliable — they got the job done. ...

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