Benjamin Aizenberg - The Brown Daily Herald

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Aizenberg ’26: Call your grandparents

By Benjamin Aizenberg | February 5

Calling your grandparents is beneficial for both you and them.

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Aizenberg ’26: Land acknowledgements are empty gestures

By Benjamin Aizenberg | April 24

Imagine a bandit breaks into your house. He terrorizes your family, eats your food and then refuses to leave. When you attempt to force him out, he enlists help from the local government, which evicts you instead. Left without your home and most prized possessions, you fall into poverty. Meanwhile, ...

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Aizenberg ’26: Trump needs to take a hike (in Utah)

By Benjamin Aizenberg | April 10

On January 11, 1908, Theodore Roosevelt designated the Grand Canyon as a national monument, declaring: “You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children’s children and all who come after you.”

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Aizenberg ’26: Grades should not be like Uber ratings

By Benjamin Aizenberg | March 16

Back in 2007, the average Uber driver rating was 3.74 stars. Nine years later, that number had increased to 4.85.

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Aizenberg ’26: Don’t worry about doing things the ‘correct’ way

By Benjamin Aizenberg | February 26

South African mixed martial artist Dricus du Plessis was completely written off heading into his fight against former champion Robert Whittaker. Analysts labeled du Plessis “slow,” “mediocre” and lacking in basic kickboxing and wrestling techniques. Oddsmakers deemed him a massive underdog. ...

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Aizenberg ’26: If you are a labor group at Brown, it pays to be an elite one

By Benjamin Aizenberg | February 3

In 2022, Brown faced two major labor disputes. The first organized by computer science teaching assistants and the second led by Brown dining hall workers. In an open letter to the CS department and University administration, the CS TAs described “distressing and exhausting” working conditions and ...

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Aizenberg ’26: Are Brown’s dining halls too good?

By Benjamin Aizenberg | January 22

Let’s play a game. I’ll give you three dinner menus and you guess whether they are from a Brown dining hall or a five-star restaurant. Here’s the first: short ribs, winter squash, cornbread pudding and semolina olive oil cake. The second: birria tacos, yuca fries, green chilaquiles and tres leches ...

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Aizenberg ’26: What a religious Israeli political party and a Nebraskan mechanic can teach the Democrats

By Benjamin Aizenberg | November 19

The 1999 Israeli elections sent shockwaves through the small nation’s political landscape. Though the well-established Likud party and One Israel coalition led the parliamentary vote count, the ultra-religious Shas party emerged as an unexpected challenger, finishing just one percent behind. Led by ...

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Aizenberg ’26: This election is impossible to predict — but I’ll try anyways

By Benjamin Aizenberg | November 5

Ben Aizenberg ’26 shares his prediction for the 2024 presidential election, and why he’ll probably be wrong.

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Aizenberg ’26: Brown needs income-based affirmative action

By Benjamin Aizenberg | October 24

In his column, Benjamin Aizenberg ’26 argues Brown must implement affirmative action based on socioeconomic status.