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Opinions

Opinions

Savello '18: Thesis writing — passion or pressure?

The summer before my senior year, I swore to myself I wouldn’t write a senior thesis. I wanted to spend my final year at Brown making the most of my classes and activities — not stressing over a random 40+ page research paper I had no interest in writing. When I returned to campus in the fall semester, ...


Opinions

Powell: Dispelling legacy myths should help focus on access

In recent weeks, there has been a call for full disclosure about the role that “legacy” status plays in the college admission process at selective institutions. At Brown, legacy applicants are those whose mother or father, or both, received an undergraduate degree from the University, and who seek ...


Opinions

August '19, Rock '19: Beware the PTP

In response to recent debate about the Brown Political Theory Project, we feel the need to warn students that the PTP is not a center for “thriving intellectual discourse,” in the words of Daniel Shemano ’19. Instead, we must be critical of what it means to have a political center on our campus ...


Opinions

Letter: Why does the PTP feel the need to pay students?

To the editor: Regarding the March 2nd op-ed, “In defense of the Political Theory Project,” by Daniel Shemano ’19: Does The Herald or Shemano have any obligation to disclose that Shemano is paid $500 per semester to participate in PTP programming? The program — the Philosophy, Politics and ...


Opinions

Shemano '19: In defense of the Political Theory Project

Over the past few months, we have seen the narrative that Brown’s PTP is a corrupted right-wing think tank at the mercy of the Koch brothers gain acceptance on campus. This narrative alleges that the “Koch-backed” Political Theory Project has an agenda to manipulate helpless Brown students into ...


Opinions

Letter: Suspension of elementary MAT track was uninformed

To the editor: A recent letter to the editor by Provost Richard Locke P’18 inadvertently sheds light on the problem with the decision to suspend the elementary Masters of Arts in Teaching track: The people who made this decision were not adequately informed. Locke wrote: “Ultimately, we want to ...


Opinions

Letter: Why does review require suspension?

To the Editor: In a letter to the editor published by The Herald yesterday, Provost Richard Locke P ’18 states that “the University decided to suspend acceptances of new applicants to the elementary education track for the current cycle. This pause will enable us to fully evaluate our current program ...


Opinions

Flynn '20: What would John Stuart Mill say?

When speaking on Feb. 13 at Brown, conservative journalist and author Guy Benson faced pushback from students who expressed disappointment with the decision to invite him to speak on campus. In a public statement, a collective of students opposed the event, arguing that Benson’s message was not merely ...


Opinions

Thomas ’21: The case for a men’s revolution

The idea of masculinity has been on my mind for some time now. I was first introduced to the concept in an English class my junior year of high school. Fast forward a few years: I now find myself serving as a student co-coordinator of the Masculinity Peer Education program here at Brown. Our program ...


Data

Miller '19: I, not a robot, wrote this article

Computer science has impacted almost every aspect of our world, linking individual minds in a searchable format. Every field has responded to, and many have benefited from, the innovations brought by the computer and its increasing capabilities. Journalism has been no exception. Artificial intelligence ...


Opinions

Foster '19: Against hackathons

Hackathons seem to be the hot new thing. A portmanteau of “hack” and “marathon,” hackathons began around the turn of the millennium when programmers gathered to solve problems related to sending data over a computer network.  In the following decade, hackathons have gained traction in the tech ...


Opinions

Letter: MAT program article does not capture intention

To the Editor: The recent article on the University’s decision to suspend acceptances to the elementary education track of the Master of Arts in Teaching program for the 2018-19 academic year did not accurately capture the purpose of this action or the process that we followed. As provost, one of ...


Opinions

Okin '19: Making good choices in an age of Tinder swipes

Perhaps the only phenomenon that rivals the prevalence of dating apps on campus is the amount of energy we spend discussing them. A familiar scenario: At Ratty dinner, the “ping” of a new match breaches your roommate’s black iPhone display, and suddenly everyone is debating the virtues of messaging ...


Opinions

Tomasi: The Political Theory Project and the essence of Brown

I am the director of Brown’s Political Theory Project. The mission of the PTP is to investigate the ideas and institutions that might make societies free, prosperous and fair. We focus on the interplay of democratic and market-based ideals, with a commitment to examining issues from a variety of ideological ...


Opinions

Mulligan '19: Let it go

Dear Brown Daily Herald, Breakups are hard. They’re messy, and they hurt, and I understand that sometimes the only thing that can keep you going is spite. You take that anger and you turn it into fuel. There’s no better way to get back at someone who hurt you than by going forward and flaunting ...


Opinions

Letter: Landscape the hardscape

To the Editor: Now that the University has wisely changed course about the site of the future performing arts center, it should also turn its attention to the area around the five historic structures which were spared from the wrecking ball or relocation. The ugly, barren hardscape behind the Waterman ...




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