Opinions

Drawing of many different-colored bears protesting with a US flag.

Leggat-Barr ’28: The right has co-opted patriotism. Democrats need to reclaim it.

By Tommy Leggat-Barr | April 10

Since the onset of the Trump administration, the relationship between universities like Brown and the federal government has been adversarial. Characterized by funding fights, illegal campus encroachments and canceled programs, the past year has given many students on campuses across the country and ...

Gupta ’29, Kalu ’27, Theodoropoulos ’27: In our hour of need, Providence kept us safe. We must include the city in our vision of security.

By Kenneth Kalu, Alexa Theodoropoulos and Raya Gupta | April 9

Before Dec. 13, Coffee Exchange was just another busy cafe near Brown’s campus. But when an active shooter sent the University into a 13-hour lockdown, what used to be the place where students grabbed their lattes turned into a site of refuge. Thirty students sheltered there for hours, welcomed by ...

Photo of a security guard walking along a snowy sidewalk.

Lindemann ’29: In the age of AI, write a poem

By Beatriz Lindemann | April 8

In a time when artificial intelligence has grown more and more prevalent, there is absolutely no use for it in my first-year seminar. In LITR 0710: “Writers on Writing Seminar,” my class reads a collection of poems, essays or a novel every week, discusses the works and then has the privilege of ...

Illustration of two girls in a library reading books on poetry.

Editorial: The recent UCS referendum epitomizes the council’s pitfalls

By Editorial Page Board | April 8

On March 20, the Undergraduate Council of Students sent an email to all undergraduates asking them to vote in a referendum on proposed changes to the UCS constitution. The email stated that the referendum’s amendments included “the removal of gendered language, the adoption of required language ...

Letter: Response to ‘At Brown, renowned authors discuss the consequences of banning books’

By Jeremy Mumford | April 7

I appreciated the March 31 Herald article about the Office of Diversity and Inclusion-hosted conversation featuring Edwidge Danticat MFA‘93 and Lauren Groff, two authors I admire and whose conversation on “Banned Books and Troublesome Texts” I was sorry to have missed. When Danticat’s lovely ...

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Murray ’29: Hop on the bus — the importance of the field trip

By Clara Murray | April 7

On top of my four classes, recently I feel as though I am enrolled in an invisible fifth class, BRWN 0010: “Scrolling Through Courses@Brown.” The only assignment in this class is to pick the most exciting, perhaps concentration-fulfilling fall courses available. To complete this assignment, I consider ...

An illustration of a Brown University shuttle bus driving on the highway next to the ocean with students looking out the windows.

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Kaak ’29: Course titles at Brown should be self-explanatory

By Avery Kaak | April 6

With pre-registration around the corner, I’ve turned to Courses@Brown to plan my schedule for the fall. While many courses have clear, precise and direct names, there are plenty of others with odd titles. While these unclearly titled courses are a minority, they matter. Brown challenges students to ...

Opinions

Moffitt, Steffes: To improve shared governance, faculty must work with the administrators with whom we’re sharing governance

By Susan Moffitt and Tracy Steffes | April 6

Brown’s faculty has long shared authority and responsibility for University rules, policies and practices with the administration through a history of shared governance. At this moment of peril and budget constraints in higher education, it is more critical than ever that we review and rejuvenate ...

Opinions

Davis MA’97 PhD’11, Joyrich PhD’90, Roberts, Steinberg: Brown needs to relearn how shared faculty governance works

By Michael Steinberg, Denise Davis, Lynne Joyrich and Timmons Roberts | April 3

In a March 30 op-ed, several of our colleagues argued against the recently passed motion to have an elected faculty member chair faculty meetings. The authors are among a group of faculty who seek to repeal the vote. Unfortunately, their letter is one in a series of misconstruals of the March 3 decision, ...

Opinions

Letter: Response to ‘Faculty vote to replace Paxson as faculty meeting chair’

By Tom Goodwillie | April 2

To The Editor:

Opinions

Bittker ’27, Marcus ’26: Don’t dismiss The Brown Spectator’s arguments — engage with them

By Gray Bittker and Ben Marcus | April 2

In her March 18 column, Herald Staff Columnist Arya Vishwakarma ’29 refused to respond to two recently published Brown Spectator articles about anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in Providence. Instead, Vishwakarma chose to attack The Spectator’s editorial standards, baselessly ...

Photo of the Caesar Augustus statue outside the Sharpe Refectory during a sunny day with clear skies and snow on the ground.

Opinions

Blumstein: Replacing Paxson as the presiding officer of the faculty meetings is a mistake

By Sheila Blumstein | April 2

On March 3, the faculty voted to remove Paxson from her post as presiding officer at University faculty meetings. The chair of the Faculty Executive Committee will now run faculty meetings rather than the University president. This change ends a longstanding tradition at Brown — one that I have witnessed ...

Photo of University Hall during a sunny day with clear skies and snow on the ground.

Opinions

Editorial: Brown needs to rethink its pre-orientation programs

By Editorial Page Board | March 31

This fall, incoming first-year students at universities across the country will have the opportunity to go backpacking, do community service or explore the arts as part of their campus’s pre-orientation programs. These programs offer an opportunity for students to forge friendships and explore new ...

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Opinions

Berkwits ’29: Rethink the Ratty

By Talia Berkwits | March 30

On Sundays, I send an undeniably important text to various friends: “meal this week?” College dining serves a special purpose outside of nutrition — it is a means of social connection and community. But, I, along with many other Brunonians, have let my dining experience be defined by the status ...

A photo showing the outside of Sharpe Refectory dining hall with people walking in and out of the front doors.

Opinions

Dolan, Frickel, Leinaweaver, Nummedal: Restore the president as presiding officer at University faculty meetings

By Jessaca Leinaweaver, Emily Dolan, Scott Frickel and Tara Nummedal | March 30

On March 3, faculty members voted to replace the University president with the Faculty Executive Committee chair as the presiding officer at faculty meetings. This motion was brought to the faculty without substantial prior discussion, and there was not yet a robust, shared understanding of the proposed ...

Opinions

Gardiner ’28, Lair ’28: Spring break cancellations reveal the U.S.’s shallow understanding of Mexico

By CJ Lair and Isabella Gardiner | March 20

On March 11, Mexican investigative journalist Marcela Turati delivered the keynote address at the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies’s inaugural Human Rights Lecture and Symposium. After the killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — also known as El Mencho — two weeks prior, we ...

Opinions

Tkachenko ’29: Brunonians, take the plunge

By Maya Tkachenko | March 19

There’s a very specific moment somewhere between your first step in the ocean and the total loss of feeling below your ankles when you realize two things: first, this was entirely your choice, and second, this is crazy. Perhaps you start to regret everything as a chilly breeze sweeps across the bay, ...

An illustration of a bear wearing a Brown University scarf jumping into a hole in the ice.

Opinions

Vishwakarma ’29: The Brown Spectator has a substantiation problem

By Arya Vishwakarma | March 18

Last month, the prospect of responding to two Spectator articles on anti-ICE protests in Providence came up during a meeting with Herald opinion writers and editors. However, as we discussed arguments, I realized that those pieces contained instances of poor journalistic integrity. In our era of misinformation, ...

Opinions

Berkwits ’29: Find a friend twice your age

By Talia Berkwits | March 18

When I go home for spring break next week, one of my first stops will be walking over to Beth’s house. Beth and I met at our neighborhood synagogue ten years ago, and our relationship flourished when we started taking daily walks together during the COVID-19 pandemic. We chat about everything from ...

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Opinions

Gold ’29: Brown needs to hear the buzz on pollinator population decline

By Reid Gold | March 17

As spring returns to College Hill, there is plenty to look forward to: flowers blooming, joyous tour groups and a much needed melting of the snow. One spring staple, however, may not return in full force — the bees. Pesticides, invasive parasites and habitat loss have overwhelmed colonies and keepers ...

An illustration of three cartoon bees flying in front of buildings on the Main Green.