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Opinions

Opinions

Editorial: The trouble with moneyball

College athletics has roots in the Ivy League, but in the 160 years since the first intercollegiate rowing competition between Harvard and Yale, its scope has far exceeded expectations. Brown and the other Ivy League institutions maintain varsity sports teams, but the prohibition of athletic scholarships ...


Opinions

Shaw '13: Space Jam 2013: NBA to the rescue

A few weeks ago, I delivered an in-depth analysis of the timeless classic, “Space Jam.” The modern epic in which Michael Jordan and the Looney Tune bunch take on the bad guys in some classic five-on-five action made me wonder: Who in today’s NBA would represent us in a doomsday/basketball scenario? ...


Opinions

Taking Sides: Should Brown have a business degree?

Yes: Brown is not the Wharton School of Business, nor does the administration want Brown to emulate Wharton — but our college should rethink this decision. Having transferred from Wharton, I know what makes an undergraduate business program, the advantages of this experience and the drawbacks borne ...


Opinions

Editorial: Deconstructing the college admission culture

The class of 2017 faced one of the toughest admission cycles yet, with this year’s admit rate to Brown the second-lowest in the University’s history. As the college application process grows increasingly competitive, we worry about the culture that comes to surround higher education and, in particular, ...


Opinions

Dorris '15: An MRS degree from Brown

The clock is ticking, ladies. Susan Patton recently penned a letter to the Daily Princetonian suggesting that female students find a husband before graduation. She claimed couples that share the same socioeconomic status and interests are generally happier. The letter received severe backlash and ...


Opinions

Madison '16: The myth of a post-racial society

On the night of Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, the first black American to hold that position in the nation’s history, overcoming the obstacles that limited the ambitions and successes of people of color to occupy this nation’s highest office. Everywhere, ...


Opinions

Editorial: The innovation institution

According to a recent Herald article, 58 percent of admits to Brown’s class of 2017 “intend to concentrate in the physical or life sciences, with engineering, biology and computer science topping the list.” This illustrates a steady rise in students interested in pursuing careers in the sciences ...


Opinions

Powers '15: Economists need ethics

Present in any discipline is an overarching goal that drives the research and application of the field. In some specialties, these goals are generally uncontroversial. But in others, societal effects have far-reaching ethical implications. A paradigmatic example of this is biological weapons research, ...


Opinions

Brundage '15: Coming out of the marriage closet

I value marriage. I do not believe it is for everyone, I think too many people blindly accept it as a way of life, and I don’t think it is the only sort of relationship that the government should recognize, but I still value it. I say this because over the last month in particular, we have seen just ...


Opinions

Editorial: Just a small town student

With the advent of April, many Brown students look forward to the promises of next year, when the community will welcome the new class of 2017. This incoming first-year class is considered the most diverse ever, with 45 percent identifying as students of color, The Herald reported Monday. But there ...


Opinions

Letter: U. not truly sustainable without divestment

To the Editor: The Herald quotes President Christina Paxson as saying, “I’m not persuaded yet that the action (divestment activists) think the University should take is the most appropriate action” (“Paxson navigates advocacy, leadership,” April 1). As an alum, I am very disappointed. There ...


Opinions

Hudson ’14: Why does the government have a say in love?

Recently, same-sex marriage has made news headlines. In March, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which challenges California’s heterosexual definition of marriage, and United States v. Windsor, which challenges the Defense of Marriage Act’s restriction of federal ...


Opinions

Carty ’15: Every opinion is fallible

I do not agree with John Stuart Mill on everything, but he is far and away the best thinker I’ve ever read on the topic of freedom of speech. The second chapter of his “On Liberty” is filled with philosophical gems, but here’s my favorite quote of all: “The steady habit of correcting and completing ...


Opinions

Editorial: An ever-changing profile

The Supreme Court held hearings last week for the cases against Proposition 8, the California state bill banning same-sex marriage, and the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which restricts federal recognition of marriage and its benefits to solely opposite-sex spouses. Protests and lectures demonstrated ...


Opinions

Letter: U. must recruit low-income students

To the Editor:   Of the 2,649 potential new undergraduate students Brown admitted last week, 17.5 percent will be the first in their families to attend college. While it’s great that this is the largest percentage in Brown’s history, recent research shows just how much it still falls short. Most ...


Opinions

Silverstein '13: A letter to Professor Carberry

Professor Josiah S. Carberry, As your assistant and personal amanuensis Truman Grayson recently shared with me prior to his encounter with a most audacious and agitated affenpinscher, you are currently not planning to make an appearance on campus for an entire academic year. Whether that decision is ...


Health

Corvese '15: Stolen soda is sweetest

When New York State Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling ’75 overturned New York City’s ban on large sugary drinks, I am sure Mayor Michael Bloomberg and countless other New Yorkers were frustrated. But I was very pleased with the ruling. Bloomberg certainly had the best intentions when proposing ...


Opinions

McCoy ’14: The multiple faces of the bracketologist

We’re currently in the midst of arguably the two greatest sports days of the year. With 32 games in 36 hours, from noon ‘til midnight on both Thursday and Friday, the first round of the NCAA tournament promises dramatic upsets, frantic comebacks, epic collapses and Gus Johnson seizure-inducing buzzer ...


Opinions

Taking Sides: Should Brown bring ROTC back to campus?

Dorothy Lutz '13: Yes In 2011, then-President Ruth Simmons upheld the 1972 decision to ban the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program on campus. I urge President Christina Paxson to reconsider this decision and re-establish ROTC at Brown. The University’s ban on ROTC denies students the freedom ...




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