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Opinions

Opinions

Reyes '18: Leave safe spaces alone

I remember the first time I heard the phrase “safe space.” I remember how my ignorance motivated me to research its meaning. Through my explorations, I discovered that a safe space was basically just that — a place to feel safe, a place where you didn’t have to maintain a facade of tranquility ...


Opinions

Meyer '17: Protest Trump, don’t protest vote

One of the most pervasive frameworks for discussing the presidential election is as a choice between two bad options. “Roughly four-in-ten voters say it is difficult to choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton because neither would make a good president — as high as at any point since 2000,” ...


Opinions

Murage '17: The tree on Bowen Street

Being more than 7,000 miles away from home, it is rare to find anything on College Hill that closely relates to Kangaita, Kenya. It is even more unlikely to come across something around College Hill that would also occur naturally in Kangaita — apart from the “touristy” paraphernalia some of us ...


Opinions

Mitra '18: Get off the hill

I’m unabashedly in love with Brown’s campus. College Hill is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the country for a number of reasons: It has boatloads of history, eclectic but quaint architecture and world-class coffee shops. In short, it has all I need to survive and then some. But there are times ...


Opinions

Zeng '20: It’s time to talk about homelessness

It’s basic Providence street culture: Keep your head up, shoulders back, walk quickly and avoid eye contact with the people who ask for money. Bottle up the guilt and keep your eyes fixed on your phone. Every day, I follow this routine while walking down Thayer Street, and every day I regret it a ...


Opinions

Savello '18: Bad romance: defending long distance

The summer before my first year at Brown, I remember people in the Class of 2018 Facebook group creating a long-distance relationship support page. It was called “Love Shows no Bounds” or “Miles of Love” or something equally cheesy. The comments section included a wide range of opinions from ...


Opinions

Letter: UCS is committed to transparency

To the Editor: I’m disappointed by the recent Herald op-ed’s (“Shorter ’17: UCS needs to be transparent,” Sept. 28) framing of the Undergraduate Council of Students’ work toward informing our new members of Brown’s context as part of a conspiring liberal agenda. On Sept. 24, UCS went into ...


Opinions

Papendorp ’17: A laptop policy for everyone

My sophomore year, I took BIOL 0530: “Principles of Immunology” in Friedman Auditorium. Every week, as lecture started, I noticed one student take out his laptop, navigate to www.flashgames247.com and begin an 80-minute Brick Breaker marathon. Eventually, I realized that I was dedicating so much ...


Opinions

Diaz-Loza '17: UCS members deserve a safe space

After reading Matthew Shorter’s ’17 op-ed, (“UCS needs to be transparent,” Sept. 28) in yesterday’s paper, I realized that the expectations we hold for our student leaders — and the necessity for their own safe space — needed to be discussed. Shorter began his op-ed by attempting to explain ...


Opinions

Editorial: Peer education and activism

Last week, The Herald’s editorial board urged our peers to “be generous” in speaking with other students who may not have as elaborate an understanding of issues of power and identity as their own. This week, we aim to expand on that notion, explaining why it is necessary and how it will prove ...


Opinions

Malik '18: Time shouldn’t equal credit

We have all probably noticed a new feature on most course syllabi this semester: the inclusion of estimated completion times for assignments and readings. When I first saw these, I was intrigued. I hadn’t seen them before, and I wondered why they were listed. I have never believed that the amount ...


Opinions

Shorter '17: UCS needs to be transparent

The decision to close the Undergraduate Council of Students meeting to create a “safe space” for the student government — and thereby expel the press, specifically The Herald, as well as any other members of the public — is extremely troubling. The idea of applying social justice principles ...


Opinions

Esemplare '18: The line between romanticism and pragmatism

This past Wednesday I read Anuj Krishnamurthy’s ’19 column (“Making a living,” Sept. 21) with interest. The article puts forth fascinating claims and accurately highlights the many issues inherent in tying an individual’s societal worth to one’s employment status. I strongly agree with Krishnamurthy’s ...


Opinions

Letter: Against pets for all in dorms

To the Editor: Grace Johnson’s ’19 column (“Pets should be for everyone,” Sept. 26) in yesterday’s paper was poorly thought out, insensitive and under-researched. I highlight just a few of the problems with the column: 1. “Allowing all students access to an emotional support animal would ...


Opinions

Vilsan '19: Fame, fortune and feminism

Feminism is central to today’s pop culture. Growing up, I was taught that the feminist movement was about abandoning stereotypical gender roles and enjoying the right to choose. Women from Gloria Steinem to Hillary Clinton broke glass ceilings, inspiring many women to reject their status as second-class ...


STEM

Liang '19: STEM courseloads betray the open curriculum

“Shakespeare is stupid.” This came out of the mouth of a good friend of mine, an applied math concentrator, over lunch one day. Having just survived shopping period, everyone at the table was comparing class schedules. Between the humanities and science, technology, engineering and math concentrators, ...

Liang_Illustration_DorothyWindham

Opinions

Jacobs '18: Avoiding the free speech debate

With the immediately provocative title “Should Free Speech be Limited on College Campuses?” the discussion between Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Stanley Fish, visiting professor of Law at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, ...


Opinions

Letter: Meyer ’17 column is what journalism is for

To the Editor: As an alum of The Herald and longtime newspaperman, I was gratified that The Herald had guts enough to publish the Sept. 16 column by Daniel Meyer ’17, “Lamp/Bear sucks,” which was critical not only of that sculpture but also of its lender, former Brown trustee Steven Cohen. It’s ...


Opinions

Johnson '19: Pets should be for everyone

One way that I have tried to adjust to college living is through creating a home-like ambience in my small dorm room. I have twinkle lights, an aroma diffuser, soft rugs and blankets. But the portraits of different cats on my walls don’t quite compare to a real living cat. I can only dream of the ...


Opinions

Silvert ’20: Why a fear of commitments is good

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we all fear the act of committing, which often means deciding to stick with something before truly understanding what it holds. If you are not aware of this aversion in yourself, then you can at least recognize it in people around you. This internal struggle paralyzes ...


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