Opinions

Barnett ’24: Metaverse: the next frontier

By Spencer Barnett | December 13

Everyone’s favorite human being Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be changing its name to Meta in October. Although it may be true that this rebranding took place in response ...

McGough '23: A return to normalcy: repoliticizing America

By Jackson McGough | December 6

For far too long, Americans have blissfully pretended that some things are simply “apolitical” and devoid of potential controversy. Prior generations allowed civics to become a small and contained affair, idealizing politics and slowly devastating our country’s ability to form a more perfect ...

Editorial: Brown is back

By Editorial Page Board | December 6

We spent the last year and a half craving the small pleasures, the ones we took for granted before the pandemic hit. Hugging friends and seeing their unmasked smiles. Chatting with classmates before and after lecture.

Simon ’25: White women vote Republican. Feminism needs to reckon with that

By Alissa Simon | December 6

This year’s Virginia gubernatorial race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin was a nail-biter. Coming at a critical juncture in post-Trump politics, this race had serious implications ...

Papendorp and Sindhu: GLO members demand workplace democracy

By Carin Papendorp | December 3

As members of our graduate union, we were proud to agree to a contract with the University on issues that matter to graduate students, such as wages, parental benefits and a grievance procedure. We have also continually done our best to respect and honor the words of our contractually binding agreements ...

Liu ’25: Anti-Black appropriation in Asian American pop culture must end

By Melissa Liu | December 3

Asian Americans are racialized in confusing and contradictory ways. Existing somewhere between oppression and privilege, we are often viewed as being closer to whiteness than other racial minority groups. Concepts like the model minority myth have contributed to this unique racialization, one that ...

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Fleischmann ’22: Here’s how selective schools can actually become meritocratic

By Will Fleischmann | December 2

On Oct. 20, 2021, Amherst College officially ended legacy admissions. This decision came amid a growing national debate concerning the ethics of prioritizing applicants based on inherited association — a debate which has also reached Brown’s campus. While ending legacy admissions is a meaningful ...

Opinions

Bahl '24: CS classes should have a reputation for being supportive, not just stressful

December 1

Before the pandemic, it was apparently common knowledge for incoming first-year students that computer science classes could be overly stressful and

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Han ’23: An ending, and a beginning: What has my experience as a columnist at The Herald taught me?

By Bliss Han | November 29

Looking back through my previous columns for The Herald, I can see the faint outline of the five semesters I have spent at Brown. For my first ...

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Opinions

Editors’ note: What we’re thankful for

By 131st Editorial Board | November 22

A safe and healthy staff, finally in person. 88 Benevolent, a new website and functional chairs. Reliable couches and unreliable design software. Glowing orbs for mood lighting, disposable photos and the cauldron of snacks. Props and staff portraits scrawled on scraps of paper. Slug Lig. ...

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Levine ’23: Extreme prosthetic makeup isn’t acting. It’s distracting.

By Isabella Levine | November 22

In the past decade, Hollywood has seen a proliferation of prosthetics, fatsuits and other extreme body-altering materials transform recognizable actors into real, very different-looking people — Jessica Chastain’s recent ...

Opinions

Editors’ note: The Herald announces 132nd Editorial Board

By 131st Editorial Board | November 22

The Herald is proud to announce the members of its 132nd Editorial Board, who will oversee the paper through its 131st year.

Opinions

Gao '24: My first semester in CS: Not as bad as I thought it’d be

By Joyce Gao | November 22

For first-year me, computer science meant an erasure of individual identity behind lines of identical code and rows of seats in giant lecture halls.

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Bahl ’24: Big data isn’t always better

By Anika Bahl | November 19

From popular Reddit threads to the discussions that happen in my own computer science classes, “big data” — the usage of large-scale datasets to extract patterns — has become one of the hottest buzzwords in tech. Big data holds incredible potential, enabling insights of unprecedented ...

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Gaber ’23: Why did we move on so quickly from the bomb threat?

By Yasmeen Gaber | November 19

Twelve days ago, there was a bomb threat on Brown’s campus. There were also threats at Columbia and Cornell, as well one at Yale two days prior. And yet, from my experience, it seemed that the notable event on campus from that day was the deer that was mysteriously trapped in the lounge of Morris ...

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Barnett '24: The ongoing dilemma in justifying art school: the death of the wallet and artistic innovation

By Spencer Barnett | November 17

This fall, millions of Americans packed their bags and kissed their parents goodbye as they left home to pursue a four-year college degree. Upon graduation, these students will join the nearly 40% of Americans who hold a bachelor’s degree. However, only a slim proportion of those — two million to ...

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McGough ’23: To cut down on end-of-year waste, Brown must start planning now

By Jackson McGough | November 17

Brown students generate tons of trash — literally. In 2019, the University collected over 540 tons of compost alone, a number likely dwarfed by the mountains of non-compostable waste produced every year. Over the years, Brown has made commendable efforts to reduce and reuse, including the introduction ...

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Editorial: CAPS must expand access

By Editorial Page Board | November 17

Despite high demand, mental health resources remain in short supply on College Hill. Counseling and Psychological Services, Brown’s main provider of therapy and mental health support for students, is failing to address the needs of a struggling student body.

Opinions

Simon '25: Sustainable fashion is a class issue

By Alissa Simon | November 17

Fast fashion is wasteful beyond belief. Its models of constant production in many ways represent the very worst of the industry, and slowly but surely, these brands are falling out of favor. I’ve watched it happen in my own closet.

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Liu ’25: Social media and fan spaces offer indispensable community to women and queer people

By Melissa Liu | November 15

Experiencing girlhood and queerness surrounded by the ubiquity of social media is at once confusing and liberating. At points, the whirlwind of information and videos and posts and strangers that social media presents is overwhelming — like a bunch of voices shouting at you all at once, telling ...