Columns - The Brown Daily Herald

Opinions

Fong ’14, Kwon ’14, Li ’14, Rajan ’15, Furuyama ’15: Freedom of speech or freedom to silence?

By Cynthia Fong, Juhee Kwon, Jenny Li, Radhika Rajan and William Furuyama | October 29

In light of the Taubman Center of Public Policy and American Institutions’ decision to host Ray Kelly, police commissioner of the city of New York and creator of the controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy, members of the Brown and Providence communities have come together to demand his lecture ...

Opinions

Moraff '14: Ditch the Corporation

By Daniel Moraff | October 29

“Work with us” is the mantra of the modern university administrator. Collaborate. Compromise. Be polite and considerate, and you will be heard. You have a voice. We will listen. Brown Divest Coal did everything right. Its members collected petitions. They held peaceful and nondisruptive rallies. ...

Opinions

Hauptman '14, Soloway '14.5, Souza '14: It’s not about crime…

By Megan Hauptman, Sophie Soloway and Josette Souza | October 28

It’s about Brown’s legitimization of racial profiling. Imagine that New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly’s aggressively promoted stop-and-frisk program were to be implemented at Brown. If New York stop rates were replicated proportionally on campus using data from last year, 411 undergraduates ...

Opinions

Isman ’15: Cheating — a result of a society that won’t let us fail

By Samantha Isman | October 25

We’ve all done it. We spend hours studying for that one final, and then in the face of pressure, we forget one word, one formula, one number, so we sneak a glance to the side and then continue as if nothing happened. It’s not cheating, because we didn’t copy a whole sentence or a whole answer. ...

Opinions

Freitag ’14: The tax we can agree on

By Scott Freitag | October 25

“We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence,” said President Obama. “Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it’s ...

Opinions

Carrigg GS: A deepening divide in the Democratic party

By Daniel Carrigg | October 24

In the wake of last week’s end to the government shutdown, a slew of national commentary has focused on an apparent rift forming between the Tea Party and mainstream Republicans. But here in Rhode Island, a local political rift appears to be brewing in the Democratic Party. Disagreements over the ...

Opinions

Breuer ’14: Clearing the air: Free inquiry at Brown is alive and well

By Matt Breuer | October 24

I recently had the pleasure of reading Zach Ingber’s ’15 opinion piece in which he suggested that the bias against minority groups at Brown — particularly against political conservatives — threatens the spirit of free inquiry embedded in the University’s mission (“Free speech at Brown?” ...

Opinions

Feldman '15: Let’s leave being paid to the professionals

By Andrew Feldman | October 22

At the start of this year’s college football season, reigning Heisman Trophy winner and Texas A&M University quarterback Johnny Manziel was suspended amidst reports that he was paid to sign autographs for the first half of his team’s opening game. Some would argue these reports suggest that ...

Opinions

Sundlee '16: A word of caution for Iranian sanction negotiators

By Robyn Sundlee | October 22

Last week, representatives from the United Nations Security Council and Iran engaged in talks about Iran’s nuclear program in Geneva. In exchange for loosening economic sanctions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claims to be willing to employ greater transparency in Iran’s nuclear development. ...

Opinions

Sukin '16: What a public Twitter means for the industry and you

By Lauren Sukin | October 21

It wasn’t that long ago that we watched with wonder as social media went public with Facebook’s initial public offering. For a moment, as Facebook stock plummeted, many shook their heads and declared the moment a failure for the company and for the future of social media companies. Ironically, ...

Opinions

Ingber '15: Free speech at Brown?

By Zach Ingber | October 20

With all the buzz about the strategic plan, there has been no shortage of discussion surrounding Brown’s mission statement and larger purpose as a university or university-college. And while the debate has often revolved around the centrality of undergraduates to our educational philosophy, I’d ...

Opinions

Firn ’16: The unfair demands of a glaring spotlight

By Mike Firn | October 18

When I tell people Tiger Woods is my favorite athlete, I invariably receive either a quip about the irrelevance of golf or a quibble about Woods’ infamous marital problems. Either way, I seem to be pretty alone in my opinion — Woods currently ranks as the third-most hated athlete in America. Woods’ ...

Opinions

Brown Divest Coal: An honest vote on divestment

By Brown Divest Coal | October 18

In one week, the University’s Corporation will meet, discussing and likely voting on whether the University should continue to profit from any of the 15 largest coal companies it’s currently invested in. This decision is critical: for those suffering in communities impacted by mountaintop removal, ...

Opinions

Enzerink GS: Tonight, Islam comes to church

By Suzanne Enzerink | October 18

It has been almost nine years since Dutch film director Theo van Gogh was murdered while biking to work in Amsterdam. Dutch-Moroccan terrorist Mohammed Bouyeri shot Van Gogh while he begged for mercy, slit his throat and used a dagger to pin a warning message to “America, Europe, the Netherlands and ...

Opinions

Montes '16: Autofill — A Gender Study

By Jessica Montes | October 17

Last week, Emma Hall ’16 created the short film “Autofill: A Gender Study.” This 4 minute and 41 second video focuses on societal microaggressions that have become “norms” and stereotypes of gender and feminism revealed through Google searches, including one-line statements such as “rape ...

Opinions

Powers '15: Let’s talk facts about guns

By Andrew Powers | October 16

It seems to be almost a constant background fixture of national debate — periodically taking to center stage in the aftermath of horrific tragedy. Just last month, Nico Enriquez ’16 wrote a column calling for stronger firearms regulation (“The blind gun,” Sept. 20) in which he made many points ...

Opinions

Upadhyay '15: Student startups: a sense of reality

By Jay Upadhyay | October 15

A quarter of all startup businesses will fail within a year of inception. After five years, over half of all small businesses will have failed. In fact, research released last year by Shikhar Ghosh, a professor at Harvard Business School, concluded that three out of four startup companies don’t return ...

Opinions

Hudson ’14: Internships for concentration credit

By Oliver Hudson | October 15

President Calvin Coolidge once said, “the chief business of the American people is business.” Indeed, to many, America is the land of entrepreneurs. Plenty has changed since 1925, but entrepreneurship remains popular today. College-age students especially are drawn to join or found startups, ...

Opinions

Madison '16: No size fits all

By Armani Madison | October 15

As an African-American man, I have long been surrounded by the images and ideas of the ideal — albeit subjectively determined — black man. This man should be confident and prepared at all times, in a world in which many will try to strip him of his self-worth. He should be articulate, and, as a ...

Opinions

Bungiro PhD’99: Lonergan ’72 just doesn’t get it

By Richard Bungiro | October 14

John Lonergan ’72 writes of higher education as many in the business world do, as just another “product” that needs to be packaged for consumption (“What’s the future for professors at Brown?” Oct. 7). But education, like health care, doesn’t always fit neatly into the capitalist equation. That’s ...