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Opinions

Rosenbaum '11: State of the state

Late last month, Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 gave his final State of the State address. For me — and I venture to suppose for the majority of The Herald's readers as well — the governor's imminent departure from Smith Hill is a rare ray of sunlight in what will undoubtedly otherwise be a cloudy ...


Opinions

Editorial: Making us sick

Last Friday, we presented one of our many grievances against the U.S. Senate. By stalling on an important student loan reform bill already passed by the House of Representatives, the Senate is standing in the way of major steps to reduce the extraordinary cost of higher education in America. This alone ...


Opinions

Editorial: Senate slowpokes

We have a number of grievances against the U.S. Senate. Here's one more to add the list: The dysfunctional chamber is stalling on an important bill that would expand student aid and go a long way towards making college affordable.


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Martinez '08: Ending educational inequity

My 30-minute commute to work, with the potent three cups of coffee en route and the beauty of the sun shining between sporadic trees, offers a nice snapshot of my past two years. Teaching fifth-grade science to 140 wide-eyed students at PFC David Ybarra Middle School in Edcouch-Elsa, Tex., has been ...


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Liebling '12: Police brutality comes to College Hill

There are days in Providence when it feels like the only thing more common than rain is the police, when, with the Brown, RISD and Providence departments, you can't turn a corner, right here on the East Side, without running into yet another cop car. But even though we live next door to a precinct office, ...


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Editorial: Learning curve

This January, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges unsurprisingly reaffirmed Brown's status as an accredited institution. The team of NEASC evaluators praised Brown as "one of the premiere educational institutions in the United States," but NEASC's Jan. 8 letter informing President Simmons ...


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Badami '11: The importance of being earnest

I must thank a friend who recently encouraged me to seek out a salient university document that I had treated, at best, with indifference. This noteworthy piece of text is the oft-disputed Brown University mission statement. From what I am told, it received considerable revision in the past two decades, ...


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Ratledge '11: Plastic or plastic?

Last Friday afternoon found me at the Brown Bookstore, searching for that elusive species of textbook which has a "love me, I'm marginally less expensive" used sticker without six thousand markers' worth of unnecessary highlighting. The bookstore's Web site had lured me in with the promise that the ...


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Andrea Matthews '11: Eating a hole in our wallets

I love hosting prospective freshmen. Last semester, I showed a delightful young woman from New York City around campus. I took her through the Main Green, to Jo's for a late night snack and, the next morning, to the Ratty for breakfast.  (I figured it would be honest to expose her to ...


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Editorial: Sober solutions

More positive alterations are in the works for Rhode Island's developing cannabis laws. State Reps. Joseph Almeida and John M. Carnevale are seeking to streamline the distribution of medical marijuana and discourage abuse of the substance. The state already allows patients with chronic pain or their ...


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Yue Wang '11: Repeal Rhode Island's Amazon tax

Between the two sure things in life — death and taxes — Amazon.com seems determined to eschew at least the latter in many places in this country. Collecting sales tax on Amazon.com was a largely ignored issue because, in most states, the online store has no legal obligation to collect taxes ...


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Sarah Yu '11: Our say in academics

During a reception for international students at the Faculty Club last month, Vice President for International Affairs, Matthew Gutmann, was questioned by concerned students about why the Watson Institute has not yet taken to starting programs on contemporary China and Southeast Asia.


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Editorial: Syllabus day

The last time the Brown community broached the subject of holidays, the University eliminated Columbus Day amidst fierce debate and controversy. We are certain, though, that Columbus Day enthusiasts and detractors alike will appreciate our new recommended tradition.


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Corrections

In a column in Thursday's Herald ("In defense of Ruth," Jan. 28), an incorrect value was given for the losses to the Brown endowment over the course of the current financial crisis. In fact, the endowment lost $740 million over the 12 months ending June 30.


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Brian Judge '11: Haiti: where morality meets reality

As I read the heart-wrenching accounts of people being pulled from the rubble in Port-au-Prince, I couldn't help but wonder what we hope to do for Haiti in the long term. Eventually the streets will be cleared of rubble and the wounds will start to heal. But what comes next?




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