On April 22, 2013, Mars One, a Dutch-based nonprofit venture, announced its search for volunteer astronauts to travel one-way to Mars. Immediately, the news was met with colossal skepticism. Anthony Weir, author of the best-selling novel “The Martian,” said, “I don’t take Mars One seriously ...
Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels are a tragic reminder of the world’s vulnerability to acts of terror. Despite investments aimed at preventing terrorism, the nature of such attacks makes them difficult to completely eliminate. Their continued presence in the world’s consciousness is a testament to ...
This year, Brown’s housing fees have seen a surprising change — and it’s not the price increase, silly; I said “surprising.” Next year, many rooms in Vartan Gregorian Quad will no longer require the infamous suite fee. While lovely for the future residents of New Dorm, this shift points out ...
Within the past year at Brown, we have all witnessed a heightened discussion about our Department of Public Safety amid an ongoing national dialogue about how officers handle weapons and force. Especially in light of recent events — namely, the Latinx Ivy League Conference incident and the termination ...
Next week, while many college students fly off to tropical destinations or binge watch “New Girl” in the comfort of their cozy childhood rooms, others will be getting their hands dirty building houses for Habitat for Humanity, helping out with environmental issues in another state or immersing ...
Monday was World Poetry Day, and coffee houses carrying Julius Meinl roasts around the world offered coffee in exchange for a poem. I have always considered coffee quite a poetic beverage, but I have not always recognized its symbolism. As well-seasoned caffeine connoisseurs, college students should ...
Recently, President Christina Paxson P’19 published the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, a 19-page proposal announcing her intention to spend over $150 million to create “a just and inclusive campus” with “a concrete set of actions to promote diversity and inclusion and confront the issues ...
The course announcement for the 2016-2017 academic year, along with the new website, Courses@Brown, was released not long ago, and ever since, many of us have been working on plans for the next two semesters. As we excitedly read course descriptions, fill our shopping carts and imagine next year’s ...
Before coming to Brown, I had the false impression that spaces would assume well-defined roles in my public or private life, as they had during my high school years. But that is not the case; the university environment does not entitle me to spatial security, so to speak. Consolidation of public and ...
With the Senate Republicans trumpeting their opposition to President Barack Obama’s nomination of a respected, qualified moderate Wednesday, it’s hard to figure out their long game. Merrick Garland is as palatable as any Democratic nominee could be — U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, has called him ...
Since this year’s primary season began Feb. 1, just over half of the 50 states have gone to the polls to express their preferences for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. With the exception of the border region containing Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, all of the ...
It’s been over two weeks since Viola Davis spoke at Brown, and I have yet to stop thinking about her opening line and message about the power of storytelling. It’s something we should all still be thinking about. She pronounced, “My name is Viola Davis, and I am a hero” before using the narrative ...
Recently, I have begun to think more deeply about what I believe politically. This year I will be voting in my second presidential election, and I have changed a lot as a person since the last. I hope that any student planning on voting gives their political beliefs similar thought. Some might not find ...
Several months ago, as a wide-eyed freshman eager to call Brown her new home, I purchased more Brown merchandise than I wish to admit. Where did the sudden burst of school pride come from? Maybe it was the repressed cheerleader inside me, who hadn’t had the chance to tap into her pep in a European ...
When U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, who represents the predominantly black localities of Baltimore County, spoke in MacMillan Hall Tuesday, he was unsparing in his excoriation of the new American condition. In a talk that was largely extemporaneous and unprepared — “My speeches come from my heart, ...
When I first saw the emerging presidential field last January, I remember making a rather obvious pronouncement: “Well, at least 2016 will be entertaining.” As part of the generation raised on election coverage from “The Daily Show” and “Saturday Night Live,” I had high expectations. Given ...
For us African students here at Brown, culture shock comes in many forms — some trivial, some funny and others grim. You never know when it might strike. So, when I attended a social event one week into my freshman year, I was thrilled to devour some of the highly acclaimed American cheese and scavenge ...
I don’t have to convince anyone reading this that Brown is a costly school to attend. The school covers about a third of my costs, but even so, every semester my family and I shell out a veritable fortune to allow me to be here. Almost 71 percent of the nation’s class of 2015 took out loans to pay ...
I rarely like to make a big to-do about religion because I feel like it is a very private, personal thing. But I have recently begun noticing that religion is often pitted against academia and intelligence, as if the two cannot exist together. I wanted to take the chance as a columnist to write a two-part ...
I always laugh at the idea of taking a “fourth class” — the idea that three of the courses we take relate to our concentration and the fourth is “just for fun.” I understand the principle behind the phrase, but the wording is peculiar. Is a course outside of your discipline less important? ...
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