I’ve always fancied a certain similarity between my new home of Rhode Island and my old home, the Netherlands. The founding stories of both certainly emphasize a tolerance that was far ahead of their times: Just as the Netherlands offered refuge to the persecuted pilgrims and Huguenots who would later ...
Students at Brown are quick to support a cause, and their plea for coal divestment is no exception. On Oct. 27, President Christina Paxson wrote an email informing the Brown community that the Corporation would not divest the University’s endowment from major coal companies. “The existence of social ...
I understand the harms coal creates. I support moving away from coal as an energy source. But I cannot support Brown Divest Coal. The letter the campaign submitted to The Herald on Monday (“An open letter to President Paxson and the Corporation,” Nov. 4) felt melodramatic, hair-brained and all-around ...
Last weekend, President Christina Paxson sent an email to the Brown community informing us that the University would not divest from coal. This was a setback for Brown Divest Coal, a group that has been working to convince administrators to remove the University’s endowment assets in various utilities ...
This past week showed an excitement and vitality that arguably hasn’t existed on Brown’s campus since the struggle for need-blind admission in the 90s. Despite highs and lows and victories and frustrations, the feeling that something important is happening on this campus is undeniable. This feeling ...
A few weeks ago, Zach Ingber ’15 wrote a column lamenting the prevalence of “intolerance for certain political perspectives” (“Free speech at Brown?” Oct. 20). Ironically, much of the student body received his plea for free inquiry with the exact type of intolerance that he described. And ...
It is telling that of all the reflections on last Tuesday’s events circulating on Facebook, The Herald and other media, those that only superficially engage the concept of “free speech” as an abstract principle and couch their arguments in the rhetoric of respect and civility bewail the protesters’ ...
We regret your decision. We regret your continued and deliberate willingness to invest in an industry quickly consigning our generation to life on an inhospitable planet. Understand that you do so in defiance of thousands of students, hundreds of faculty members and members of the Brown community ...
Thanks to Associate Professor of History Naoko Shibusawa P’14 for conveying her support and admiration for those who protested against New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly last Tuesday. I join her in standing in solidarity with these students and members of the Providence community. We live in a ...
I strongly oppose stop-and-frisk. Experts disagree on whether or not it reduces crime, but that begs the point. It is an affirmation of racial profiling and collective guilt. It humiliates its victims, mostly minorities, in a society that often holds prejudices against people of color. Humiliation is ...
Last Sunday, President Christina Paxson informed the Brown community of the Corporation’s decision not to divest the University’s endowment from its holdings in large coal companies. Many were disappointed, given the strength and energy of the campaign by student activist group Brown Divest Coal ...
I thank Professor of Biology Ken Miller ’70 P’02 for sharing how he was able to withstand the pleas of Holocaust survivors and walk past them to gain a lesson on the attractions of fascism from an American Nazi. I don’t think I could have done so. On the other hand, as a historian, I wouldn’t ...
Most first-years quickly learn Sex Power God is one of Brown’s most famous — or infamous — traditions. The SPG Facebook event page calls itself “the greatest party of the year.” So who wouldn’t want to go? SPG is intended to be an inclusive event, during which students can feel free to explore ...
On Feb. 25, 2006, I gathered with more than 40 students on a cold Saturday morning on the then-Faunce House steps, urging the Corporation to divest Brown’s assets from foreign companies aiding the Sudanese government’s genocidal campaign in Darfur. At the conclusion of the rally, which was the pinnacle ...
Back in March, rhetoric surrounding the upcoming 2013 MLB season was uncharacteristically pessimistic in Boston. Coming off their worst season since 1965, the Red Sox had slashed $33 million in payroll during the offseason and seemed poised for a second consecutive year in the cellar of baseball’s ...
I went to scores of seminars and talks during my four years as an undergraduate at Brown, but the one I will never forget took place on the evening of Nov. 30, 1966. The speaker, a Brown alum, had been invited by the Faunce House Board of Governors to take part in its fall lecture series. But once his ...
Memories of the specifics of Ruth Simmons’ presidency are quickly fading, replaced by a larger-than-life mystique. At this point, Simmons is perhaps best known for her prodigious fundraising and sky-high approval ratings, but few may remember that she arrived on campus after a controversial free speech ...
Just before his speech was canceled by the relentless interruptions of protesters, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, “I thought this was the academy … where we’re supposed to have free speech.” So did I. But at Brown’s most recent demonstration of its inability to foster healthy ...
I have read the letters and comments about the Ray Kelly heckling, so I’ll simply add this: I have touted Brown’s virtue as a place of open dialogue and vibrant debate to my students who have considered applying. Just recently I wrote a letter of recommendation with pride and excitement for a student ...
You could excuse an observer to the spectacle at Ray Kelly’s talk this afternoon for confusing it with a Tea Party rally. For a university that claims to hold sacrosanct the values of free speech, open dialogue and exchange of opposing ideas, we put on a display which left the distinct impression ...
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