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Editorials

Opinions

Editorial: College rankings promote flawed systems

This past week, the U.S. News and World Report released its annual ranking of colleges — though as usual, little change is discernible between this edition and the last. The usual big players top the lists, with Princeton, Harvard and Yale leading the national universities, and Williams College, Amherst ...


Opinions

Editorial: U. should facilitate study abroad process

As the University weighs and looks to further its commitment to internationalization, the concept of studying abroad — and the way in which it is actually practiced at Brown — merits fresh scrutiny. Though opponents of studying abroad characterize programs as endless parties or continuous field ...


Opinions

Editorial: Save the housing lottery

There is one magical moment in the academic year when students gather together to learn from the past, relish in the present and prepare for the future. Though the answer — the housing lottery — should be obvious to all, the night’s magic seems to have been forgotten by administrators and the ...


Opinions

Editorial: Syrian conflict calls for campus discussion

We stand at a pivotal moment as President Obama bids Congress to support a diplomatic — or, if necessary, military — intervention in Syria to halt President Bashar al-Assad’s regime’s reported use of deadly chemical weapons. While we may feel detached from the conflict or powerless to influence ...


Opinions

Editorial: STEM reform should return to basics

Over the next three years, the University will seek to revamp its introductory courses in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics — known as STEM — with a grant partly sponsored by the Association of American Universities. This study is long overdue and could significantly affect the experience ...


Opinions

Editorial: Thank you for the music

Last weekend, the Main Green was transformed into an oasis, where students could experience a few carefree days away from the pressures of outside jobs, school and other stressors. In order for us to enjoy this brief respite, security staff, administrators, student leaders, Brown Concert Agency members ...


Opinions

Editorial: The dangers of new vigilantism

At the height of the Boston Police Department and FBI’s pursuit of the two suspects of last Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing, something unprecedented occurred: Hundreds of people, across social networks like Reddit and Twitter, tuned into police scanners and claimed law enforcement officers had ...


Opinions

Editorial: Changing the immigration debate

On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight proposed legislation that would provide a path to provisional legal status for undocumented immigrants, one step on a road to citizenship. While the conservative base is still wary of granting amnesty to immigrants it considers lawbreakers, ...


Opinions

Editorial: Sending thoughts and prayers for Boston

On Monday, it happened again. Most of us students are members of the 9/11 generation, and after two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, we were immediately taken back to the attacks that happened during our formative years. Though, thankfully, the casualty count appears to be much lower than that ...


Opinions

Editorial: A minor problem

In The Herald’s most recent undergraduate poll, about 61 percent of students expressed the opinion that the University should offer minors. Though important arguments for the introduction of new programs exist, we strongly believe minors should not be implemented. Introducing minors at Brown would ...


Opinions

Editorial: What does UCS even stand for?

In five days, undergraduates will have the opportunity to fulfill their civic responsibility as members of the Brown community. But the reality is that little of substance seems to happen during the election for the Undergraduate Council of Students and Undergraduate Finance Board. And candidates running ...


Opinions

Editorial: Cutting off what sustains us

With government funding for research reduced from $140 billion to $130.5 billion — a nearly 7 percent decrease — many have expressed concern about the federal sequester’s effects on funding for research grants.  As scientific research and development becomes increasingly politicized in the national ...


Opinions

Editorial: The next (flawed) generation

An April 4 New York Times article, titled “Essay-Grading Software Offers Professors a Break,” examined a futuristic and troubling initiative in the world of higher education: essay-grading software. The software, released last month for all institutions of learning, was developed edX, a nonprofit ...


Opinions

Editorial: The trouble with moneyball

College athletics has roots in the Ivy League, but in the 160 years since the first intercollegiate rowing competition between Harvard and Yale, its scope has far exceeded expectations. Brown and the other Ivy League institutions maintain varsity sports teams, but the prohibition of athletic scholarships ...


Opinions

Editorial: Deconstructing the college admission culture

The class of 2017 faced one of the toughest admission cycles yet, with this year’s admit rate to Brown the second-lowest in the University’s history. As the college application process grows increasingly competitive, we worry about the culture that comes to surround higher education and, in particular, ...


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