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University News

Locke: Sophomores to have choice between remote spring courses or summer term if not allowed back on College Hill next semester

By Jack Borris | October 25

At a virtual town hall event hosted by the Undergraduate Council of Students Friday, students discussed the University’s COVID-19 plans, policing on campus, academic concerns and more with administrators, including President Christina Paxson P’19, Provost Richard Locke P’18 and Dean of the College ...

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University News

GSC works to promote graduate student mental health amid COVID-19 pandemic

By Aanchal Sheth | October 25

The Graduate Student Council has been planning self-care activities to bolster support for graduate students’ mental health, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic and the additional stress it causes. As a graduate student, “often you dig yourself a very deep mental hole, or get so engrossed ...

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Science & Research

Brown researchers contribute critical components to EXCITE telescope

By Jared Zhang | October 25

Beyond the bounds of Earth’s solar system, exoplanets revolve in space and are the target planets of ongoing research efforts, including those of Professor of Physics Gregory Tucker. Tucker is leading a team of Brown students to build key parts of the Exoplanet Climate Infrared Telescope, aptly referred ...

University News

UCS discusses class year representatives vote, delays vote on potential endorsement of Decolonization at Brown statue initiative

By Jack Borris | October 22

At its general body meeting Wednesday, the Undergraduate Council of Students debated whether the general body passed an amendment to introduce class year representatives after a previously overlooked Council rule left the status of the proposal uncertain. UCS was scheduled to hear Decolonization at ...

University News

UCS kicks off modified first-year representative election process

By Jack Borris | October 22

The Undergraduate Council of Students kicked off its election process for first-year representatives last week with two information sessions. First-year elections will take place entirely virtually this year, with freshmen candidates campaigning from home in accordance with the University’s tri-semester ...

Metro

Chinatown and Metro Mart expand amid pandemic financial troubles

By Ben Glickman | October 22

Despite financial difficulties stemming from the pandemic, two businesses on Thayer Street are expanding their physical spaces. Chinatown on Thayer and Metro Mart, located at 277 Thayer St. and 221 Thayer St., respectively, have both leased the storefronts adjacent to them and are expanding their ...

University News

Students reimagine activism under COVID-19 restrictions

By Karlos Bautista | October 22

While the conditions that shape the “new normal” have made it exceedingly difficult for community members on campus to safely organize, they have only made activism and advocacy more urgent. The coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation “exposes the worst imbalances, inequalities, corruption ...

Science & Research

From within the Vatican walls: Brown professor unveils insights into the history of the pope during the Holocaust

By Claire Liu | October 22

On the morning of March 2, a group of researchers gathered outside of a gate in Vatican City. They were waiting to view the archives of Pope Pius XII — a collection of millions of documents, which had been sealed since the end of his pontificate in 1958 and have only now been opened to scholars under ...

Metro

Soban plans to reopen following renovations with new menu options

By Ben Glickman | October 22

While multiple businesses on Thayer Street closed their doors for good because of pandemic financial troubles, Soban Korean Eatery plans to reopen this weekend with a new menu and renovated space. Soban’s menu will feature items from bb.q Chicken, a South Korean restaurant franchise with locations ...

University News

Wellness Center and Residence Hall construction expedited for summer 2021 occupancy

By Caelyn Pender | October 22

The University has expedited the construction of the new Wellness Center and Residence Hall in preparation for hosting students and staff for a summer semester. The residence hall is the University’s first new dorm to be built in about 35 years, and was initially planned to be completed in August ...

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University News

Brown instigates initiative to change status quo surrounding climate change

By Shilpa Sajja | October 21

Effectively addressing climate change entails changing a status quo that has been accepted for decades. The University’s new three-year Climate Solutions Initiative aims to use research, innovation and collaboration to overcome climate inertia — the tendency to maintain existing structures and systems, ...

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University News

Meiklejohn Program remotely welcomes Brown’s first-years

By Aubrey Li | October 21

Although first-years will not arrive on College Hill until at least the spring semester due to the coronavirus pandemic, the University’s Meiklejohn Program is currently working remotely to prepare and mentor the class of 2024 for life at Brown. First-year students do not have a full class load this ...

Metro

‘When is this going to feel more possible?’: PPSD teachers describe challenges, anxieties of teaching during a pandemic

By Benjamin Pollard | October 21

The last thing Cindy Castellone’s students need to know is that she’s angry, angry at a system said “can’t be fixed by me.” Castellone is an English ESL teacher at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence, and said she’s not alone in her feelings. “The staff, we’ve got to take our ...

University News

Brown turns to virtual touring for current admission cycle

By Caroline Nash | October 20

Despite the University’s cancellation of on-campus tours for this year, many prospective students and their families are finding ways to get a sense of Brown’s campus and learn more about the school. The Admission Office maintains a consistent policy position with the University and Rhode Island ...

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University News

Students struggle with navigating CAPS’ resources remotely

By Livia Gimenes | October 20

Counseling and Psychological Services is working hard to offer consistent telehealth appointments and “services have been going well,” CAPS Director Dr. Will Meek wrote in an email to The Herald. But many on-campus groups and students have said that CAPS’ operations fall short of their goal of ...

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University News

Students expressed split opinions on DPS enforcement of COVID-19 Campus Safety Policy

By Corey Gelb-Bicknell | October 20

Since the start of the academic year, the Brown Department of Public Safety has been responsible for monitoring campus, educating students about the COVID-19 Campus Safety Policy and reporting some violations to the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards, according to DPS Chief of Police ...

University News

Corporation accepts $121 million in gifts and pledges at October meetings

By Caelyn Pender | October 19

The Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Brown as well as evaluated progress on several long-term plans at its virtual fall meetings. The meetings, which were forced to change their usual format because of restrictions on in-person ...

University News

Several departments suspend PhD admissions for 2021-22 academic year amid pandemic

By Mia Barzilay Freund | October 19

Several departments have suspended doctoral admissions for the 2021-22 academic year, the University announced Oct. 7. The decision comes amid budget constraints and logistical challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduate School leaders will direct their attention and resources to supporting ...

University News

The 1619 Project’s Nikole Hannah-Jones unpacks anti-Blackness, history of slavery in Watson talk

By Liza Mullett | October 19

Nikole Hannah-Jones wants to reframe the way we perceive American history. “Our political, cultural, legal, educational systems can be traced back to slavery and the anti-Blackness that grew from it, and yet slavery is treated as an asterisk,” Hannah-Jones, who is spearheaded the Pulitzer-Prize ...

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University News

Sexual health resources on College Hill take new shape during pandemic

By Grace Park | October 19

Sexual health care on campus has had to adapt to the new reality of the pandemic following Health Services’ shift to using both telehealth and in-person services, The Herald previously reported. Sexually transmitted infection treatment will be addressed both remotely and in-person, wrote Associate ...