Op Ed

Brand ’26, Lew ’26, Larkin ’26: Brown is failing to support the Providence community. Students can change that

By Garrett Brand , Henry Lew and Christelyn Larkin | March 23

As first-years, we had no idea what it really meant when we stepped through the Van Wickle Gates and, finally, into Brown for the first time. For so long, getting here had been the mission that defined our lives. We all came from unique backgrounds, but one unifying goal tied us all together: making ...

Shashoua ’25, Abdelaziz ’25, Maffa ’25: CS TA unionization will improve democracy, institutional memory in our workplace

By Joseph Maffa , Ronnie Shashoua and Yasmine Abdelaziz | February 27

This week, undergraduate teaching assistants in Brown’s Department of Computer Science will vote to determine whether the Brown administration must legally recognize and bargain with our union, the Teaching Assistant Labor Organization. We are pursuing unionization because we believe in democracy, ...

Collins ’23.5: In limbo: Participating in Commencement as a 0.5er and cancer survivor

By Elon Collins | February 23

As a result of commencement policies that need to be revised, I have been barred from fully participating in what should be one of the happiest ...

Vanderpool ’24: Reclaiming our student democracy means voting ‘yes’ on the recall

By Christopher Vanderpool | February 5

An election to recall Undergraduate Council of Students President Ricky Zhong ’23, finally, is imminent. As this election begins, there are two topics I’d like to address: why I helped organize this recall, and what it can accomplish.

Wellisch ’26: Consumers must put pressure on companies to intervene on political issues

By Yael Wellisch | October 12

Turning on CNN and then visiting Fox News might be the best way to see how polarized American politics have become. News anchors report on the same national issues, yet their presentation of these events are often diametrically opposed. Polarization has hijacked our politics, making legislative response ...

Vanderpool ’24: Where is our democracy?

By Christopher Vanderpool | October 2

After a tumultuous student council election last spring, another article concerning the Undergraduate Council of Students is likely the last thing this campus wants to read. ...

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Opinions

Glickman ’23: Not censorship, respect.

By Noah Glickman | September 21

Self-censorship must have existed since humans first formed groups. Some powerful majority always decides which values, ideas and ways of being are permissible, and those who transgress these norms face the backlash of the community. As a result, we often censor ourselves, filtering out certain thoughts ...

Opinions

Johnson ’24: Rural students deserve more

By Colby Johnson | April 20

I recently presented a group project to my EDUC 0830: “Sociology of Education” classmates. On one slide, my group featured a link to a Mentimeter word cloud (a tool used to visually arrange keywords from respondent answers) for our classmates to anonymously respond to questions. The first question ...

Opinions

Hemmatian GS: No amount of weapons can end the Ukraine war, but a peace mindset might

By Babak Hemmatian | April 20

In 2017, I co-founded Brown War Watch, a student-led activist group driven by the vision of a more peaceful world. One mechanism for advancing this goal has been to strive for a change in U.S. public discourse, and consequently a less aggressive foreign policy. This strategy is driven by the outsized ...

Opinions

Khan '24: This is Narragansett Land

By Shazain Khan | March 21

This is Narragansett land. This is Narragansett land. This is Narragansett land. I could say this phrase 1,000 times, and it still wouldn’t change the centuries of oppression the Narragansett tribe has faced in the Providence area. But saying it still matters ― in order to start ...

Opinions

Gupta ’22: Learning to acknowledge our loss

By Deepak Gupta | March 16

“I’m just thankful to end my Brown career with a semi-normal semester.” Every time I’ve been asked how my senior year has been going, that has been the answer. And it is certainly true. After missing a year at Brown due to coming in as a sophomore transfer student and then spending ...

Opinions

Fasseas ’23: French hijab ban in sports should be seen for what it is — gendered Islamophobia

By Alex Fasseas | March 1

On Jan. 19, the French Senate voted 160 to 143 in favor of banning the hijab in sports competitions, the latest in a long line of gendered Islamophobic policies that expose the state’s willingness to police and target Muslim women in the name of secular liberation.

Opinions

Buckley ’23: Pleasant winter weather is an omen of climate change

By Mark Buckley | February 18

Strawberry Switchblade’s song “Trees and Flowers” can lull you into a drowsy, blissful state. The guitar strums with a lazy elegance, the drums and bass follow with hippie simplicity and Rose McDowall sings in an elongated, careful tone. The grace captured in this song's instrumental is that ...

Opinions

Schiller ’25: Romanticizing eavesdropping to connect with those around us

By Eva Schiller | February 16

Before beginning my work for the day, I unabashedly require an oat milk chai latte as served by the Barus and Holley Cafe. However, as much as I love those morning visits (and hate the constant draining of my Flex Points), I resist the urge to sit down in the warm, bustling cafe to start my studying. ...

Opinions

Slusarewicz ’23: Brown should offer minors

By Megan Slusarewicz | February 9

At the beginning of this semester, I shopped an introductory photography class. As usual, the classroom had more prospective students than seats available, so the professor informed us that VISA concentrators would be prioritized in class registration. After all the concentrators had been admitted, ...

Opinions

Votta GS: COVID-19 policy has forgotten people who are immunocompromised

By Amanda Votta | February 9

In March 2020, right before the United States began to shut down due to COVID-19, I woke up so sick I could barely stand. My joints were inflamed, and my throat felt like it had been mangled by barbed wire. When I looked at it in the mirror using my flashlight, the deep crimson color I saw did not ...

Opinions

Ohman GS, Ortiz-Alvarez GS, Hutfilz GS: Brown's COVID response is lacking amid Omicron spike

By Anders Ohman , Melanie Ortiz-Alvarez de la Campa and Corinne Hutfilz | February 7

On Jan. 12, Brown University updated COVID-19 policies for the spring semester. With two days’ notice, the PCR testing program for vaccinated community members was replaced by self-administered rapid antigen tests. The University discontinued the “Healthy Brown'' dashboard, which had been showing ...

Opinions

Ranney MPH ’10: U. community is ready to face Omicron but can’t let down its guard

By Megan Ranney | January 26

Students are returning to Brown’s campus in the midst of a nationwide spike of infections with SARS-CoV-2. The volume and speed of new infections, driven largely by the Omicron variant, is greater than anything we have seen during our two years living with this virus. This variant, the arrival ...

Opinions

Gao ’24: CAPS must be more proactive serving students

By Joyce Gao | November 10

As a member of the class of 2024, I share the pervasive feelings of burnout with my peers as we trudge through three consecutive terms. While the University has put Counseling and Psychological Services forth as an available resource for students, frustrations about CAPS still abound.

Opinions

Barboza: Brown’s commitment to dining employees and dining services on campus

By George Barboza | October 22

In the weeks since Brown returned to more traditional operations for fall 2021, a news story,