Opinions
Vishwakarma ’29: Skipping college for a white-collar job can’t end well
By Arya Vishwakarma | November 30“Skip the debt. Skip the indoctrination. Get the Palantir degree.”
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Noxon ’27: Brown needs to reclaim the legacy of semiotics
By Oscar Noxon | November 25Once upon a time, there was a program at Brown called semiotics. Robert Scholes, an English professor, was hired to teach at Brown in 1970, arriving on College Hill to discover a “campus whose openness to new lines of teaching and research would make it the perfect incubator for these new ideas,” ...
Opinions
Editors’ Note: What we’re thankful for
By 135th Editorial Board | November 24So many fresh faces at 88 Benevolent and the dedicated staff who have stuck with us through a year of challenging coverage.
Opinions
Cheong ’27: Brown needs an expanded on-campus housing requirement
By Daniel Cheong | November 24Off-campus apartments offer an attractive option for juniors and seniors looking for better housing. Some, such as 257 Thayer St. and 21 Euclid Ave., offer private bathrooms, modern kitchens and even gyms and fire pits that no residence hall could realistically compete with. But as more undergraduates ...
Opinions
VP Poitevien ’94 MD’98: Equitable access is foundational to enabling students to thrive at Brown
By Patricia Poitevien | November 24This summer, when I began my new role as Brown’s vice president for campus life, I shared with students and families that my sense of belonging at Brown was formed in my residence hall. My first-year floormate and I came from entirely different worlds, yet the community we built together shaped my ...
Opinions
Azhar ’29: Why we love victimless crime
By Dua Azhar | November 24When news broke of the recent heist at the Louvre — a meticulously executed theft that felt straight out of a movie — the internet’s reaction was oddly celebratory. Commentators joked about “modern Robin Hoods,” meme accounts praised the thieves’ taste and TikToks romanticized stealing from ...
Opinions
Mooney ’29: Brown must treat student food insecurity as the crisis that it is
By Max Mooney | November 24On Oct. 1, the federal government shut down, halting federal programs and services across the country and partially freezing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits starting at the beginning of November. In a typical month in 2024, SNAP helped 41 million low-income Americans afford a healthy ...
Opinions
Davis ’29: Students must continue to shape Brown’s future, not stay complacent
By Demetrius Davis | November 23Before coming to Brown, I knew that higher education was under threat from an increasingly polarized political climate. But, before beginning my tenure as first-year representative on the Undergraduate Council of Students, I did not anticipate how deeply students themselves could shape an institution. ...
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Yeung ’29: Food for Thought: Rong Chic
By Christian Yeung | November 23There’s nothing I miss more during a cold New England storm than a warm, home-cooked meal. Particularly, I find myself craving a Chinese meal. Unfortunately there are not many authentic Chinese restaurants in Providence. And no, Chinatown on Thayer definitely doesn’t count.
Opinions
Tesler ’29: Brown needs real third places — and student clubs can help
By Zeke Tesler | November 21College introduces us to a hectic version of life. In the bubble that is being a university student, our social lives are often smushed together with the academic and domestic spheres of college. This results in a lack of spaces purely dedicated to voluntary and informal social gatherings — also known ...
Opinions
Editorial: When it comes to the changes to program housing, the University’s agreement with the federal government cannot be ignored
By Editorial Page Board | November 21In July, the University entered a voluntary resolution with the Trump Administration to settle civil-rights investigations and restore federal funding. With over $500 million in contracts and grants at stake, we supported this settlement, viewing it as an effective balance between maintaining the University’s ...
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Wrighten ’25: Triple concentrations represent the best of the Open Curriculum — they should come back
By Gabriella Wrighten | November 19I graduated from Brown last spring with a triple concentration in modern culture and media, literary arts and English. Every semester, someone would ask why I would willingly take on five classes of work to fulfill my requirements. My answer was simple: I like learning these subjects, and I’m using ...
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Manhardt ’26: Professors and students should embrace cold calling in the classroom
By Batisse Manhardt | November 19In far too many of my classes, I see students shopping for a new outfit, playing an intense game of Catan or watching their favorite shows. Even if you are doing the readings and acing the homeworks, an essential part of attending Brown is contributing to an engaged classroom — whether that means ...
Opinions
Lindemann ’29: ‘Just Kids’ reminds us how to be human
By Beatriz Lindemann | November 18I was gifted Patti Smith’s “Just Kids” on my 16th birthday and was instantly enamored. Since then, I have been known to gift it to my friends. Sometimes college students feel that they need to have their futures all figured out — this book shows that you don’t. In an Ivy League culture obsessed ...
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Cannuscio ’92 P’26: Vaccines save lives — far beyond your own
By Carolyn Cannuscio | November 17Well before you jam into trains and cars and planes for the holidays, please get your flu shot, and your COVID-19 shot, too.
Opinions
Kaplan ’92: What the celebration of Jewish life says about Brown
By James Kaplan | November 17Everyone worried it might rain, but the night of Nov. 7 was crisp and clear, as beautiful an evening as you can imagine in New England. Under a tent on Pembroke Field, Cantor Lizzie Shammash ’91 sang Shalom Aleichem and Rabbi Ayelet Cohen ’96 recited Motzi and Kiddush — the Jewish blessings for ...
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Noel ’25.5, Smith ’27, Duff ’27: Program houses should be self-governing safe spaces
By Madison Duff, Shamariah Smith and Vanya Noel | November 14On Nov. 11, The Herald reported that residential theme and program house leaders will no longer be allowed to select their residents, with the current system being replaced by a lottery starting next year. As current and former presidents of Harambee House — “a place where Black scholars and allies ...
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Edelson ’29: Understanding geography will help us understand our friends
By Clay Edelson | November 14“And that’s … where again?”
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Gupta ’25 MD’29: The worst break-ups are the ones that never happened
By Anusha Gupta | November 14There’s a particular kind of heartbreak that can feel almost embarrassing to admit out loud.
Opinions
Editorial: Brown must oppose the Providence Student Impact Fee
By Editorial Page Board | November 14Providence was recently ranked the least affordable city for renters in America. To address the cost-of-living crisis, the Providence City Council plans to embark on an ambitious housing and affordability agenda. One proposal on the table is a Student Impact Fee, which would require college students ...
