I just received a letter from President Christina Paxson. I understand that as an administrator tasked with the orderly functioning of the University, Paxson disagrees with the tactics used by the protesters at the New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly lecture. However, I’m disappointed because this ...
I understand the harms coal creates. I support moving away from coal as an energy source. But I cannot support Brown Divest Coal. The letter the campaign submitted to The Herald on Monday (“An open letter to President Paxson and the Corporation,” Nov. 4) felt melodramatic, hair-brained and all-around ...
Thanks to Associate Professor of History Naoko Shibusawa P’14 for conveying her support and admiration for those who protested against New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly last Tuesday. I join her in standing in solidarity with these students and members of the Providence community. We live in a ...
I strongly oppose stop-and-frisk. Experts disagree on whether or not it reduces crime, but that begs the point. It is an affirmation of racial profiling and collective guilt. It humiliates its victims, mostly minorities, in a society that often holds prejudices against people of color. Humiliation is ...
I thank Professor of Biology Ken Miller ’70 P’02 for sharing how he was able to withstand the pleas of Holocaust survivors and walk past them to gain a lesson on the attractions of fascism from an American Nazi. I don’t think I could have done so. On the other hand, as a historian, I wouldn’t ...
I have read the letters and comments about the Ray Kelly heckling, so I’ll simply add this: I have touted Brown’s virtue as a place of open dialogue and vibrant debate to my students who have considered applying. Just recently I wrote a letter of recommendation with pride and excitement for a student ...
You could excuse an observer to the spectacle at Ray Kelly’s talk this afternoon for confusing it with a Tea Party rally. For a university that claims to hold sacrosanct the values of free speech, open dialogue and exchange of opposing ideas, we put on a display which left the distinct impression ...
In the wake of the coal divestment dispute, it is important to remember the history of coal. Coal, for all the destruction it brings, is what propelled the industrial revolution. In fact, without the aid of coal, many of us would not be here. Many of our families, peasant farmers and tradesmen for generations, ...
In deciding not to divest from companies involved in the production of coal, President Christina Paxson and the Corporation are ignoring the voices of students, faculty and staff members and alums, as well as the opinion of their own advisory committee. Paxson’s letter to the community acknowledges ...
The Herald editorial acknowledging the beneficiary growth in computer science (“Undergraduates benefit from studying computer science,” Oct. 15) is a positive statement to Brown students’ desire to be educated in our current age of technology and information. The department leaders at the Center ...
I am writing in response to recent conversations on this campus about the importance of ensuring the strongest possible advising system at Brown. I fully support this dialogue and hope it continues. The ideals of the Brown curriculum have always called for robust advising, and for that we need the best ...
Daniel Carrigg GS, in his opinion article, “History matters for Rhode Island education” (Sept. 23), gave a misleading interpretation of colonial Rhode Island’s aversion to public education. Far from being “laggards,” Roger Williams and the various groups of Baptists, Quakers, Huguenots and ...
I condemn the administration’s decision that “the draft of the (strategic) plan will not be revised prior to October’s Corporation meeting.” Such action only proves the decisions have already been made, and greater community input is an afterthought. The administration may as well abolish these ...
Robyn Sundlee (“Sundlee ’16: Let Yourself Look,” Sept. 20) invokes the example of “murdered children in Palestine” to promote a brand of apolitical, unconditional empathy for victims of violence. I commend her for this. I hope she also chooses to apply this same apolitical, unconditional empathy ...
I understand that liking or disliking the housing lottery is a matter of personal choice. I also think that most students, myself included, detest the housing lottery just like they detest when there are long lines at Mail Services, that the Blue Room doesn’t always take meal credits and when the ...
The strategic plan released yesterday by President Christina Paxson is woefully inadequate. While committing to freely spend on yet more master’s programs and building renovations, the report does not make a single commitment to increase financial aid. The plan only commits to “maintain need-blind ...
As a Brown alum who spent more days than he can count in the Third World Center and its various programs, I am a bit skeptical about the move toward a name change that threatens to dilute the great historical and political meaning embedded in “Third World Center.” Princeton’s move from “Third ...
To the Editor: Today marks 12 years since the 9/11 attacks, but the memory is already starting to feel distant. Walking around campus, engrossed in studying and meeting up with friends, one might feel like today is just any other day. But most of the Brown community lived through that treacherous ...
To the Editor: Daniel Moraff’s ’14 accusation that the Undergraduate Council of Students appointed “people in the social circles of student government kids” is a gross mischaracterization (“The bogus strategic planning process,” April 24). The provost approached UCS and asked us to suggest ...
To the Editor: In response to the column written by Brown Divest Coal (“It’s time to vote yes on coal divestment,” April 18), the Socially Responsible Investment Fund would like to express its strong support for the cause in this crucial time, right before the Corporation makes a decisive ...
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