Columns

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Kleinman ’30, Tao ’27: Fire safety codes are the quiet culprit of RI’s housing crisis

By Anya Kleinman and Evan Tao | October 30

Housing affordability is a crisis in Rhode Island. According to The Herald, the median salary in Rhode Island is 41% less than what is needed to afford rent. These high prices are primarily driven by a supply shortage: The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that the state lacks 23,222 rental ...

Ahn ’29: Turn your back on learning — literally

By Chandler Ahn | October 29

Brown’s lectures are positively medieval. Consider the 14th-century painting by the artist Laurentius de Voltolina, which depicts a “lecture” around the same time as the first recorded use of the word to mean a discourse delivered before a class. The professor presides from an elevated pulpit ...

Ahn_Ahn ’29: Move your body and your mind will follow _CO_ Lori Lai

Jain ’30: Learn the Brown fight song

By Anoushka Jain | October 29

Before coming to Brown, I studied at three different schools in two different countries. Across these geographic divides, every school had songs that the entire community would sing at numerous school-wide gatherings, whether it was a performance, assembly or a sporting event. A month after arriving ...

Jain_Jain ‘30 Learn Brown’s Fight Song_CO_Adrian Lopez

Kaak ’29: Providence, vote yes on Question 7

By Avery Kaak | October 28

On Nov. 3, Providence voters have the opportunity to make history. The city ballot’s Question 7 is a citizen-proposed ordinance to divest from countries committing and entities complicit in “severe violations of human rights” and is the first city-wide binding divestment ordinance that will be ...

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Obialo ’29: Don’t buy into Blank Street on Thayer

By Izuchukwu Obialo | October 28

When news broke in early October that cafe chain Blank Street would be arriving on Thayer Street, excitement began to brew within Brown’s student body. Whether flocking to the shop for a new hang out spot or because of its status as a cultural symbol, students are likely to patronize Blank Street ...

A line art illustration of Thayer Street. There is emphasis on a shop with a sign that reads “NOTHING BURGER.”

Hilzenrath ’28: Competitive course applications align with the spirit of the Open Curriculum

By Annabel Hilzenrath | October 27

Last spring, I took LITR1110V: “Script to Screen: Scene Work,” an intensive script development and directing workshop. My classmates and I all came from different backgrounds and levels of expertise. When working on group projects, each of our perspectives added something new to create a meaningful ...

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Hammerman ’30: Put Thayer on the meal plan

By Ary Hammerman | October 26

Whenever I walk down Thayer Street, the aromas coming from restaurants like Mala Noodles and East Side Pockets are hard to ignore, especially since they serve dishes I would be hard-pressed to find at any of the Brown dining halls. But before I can take the bait, I’m filled with guilt at the thought ...

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Opinions

Tkachenko ’29: Voting with Providence for the first time? Here’s one way to make it yours

By Maya Tkachenko | October 23

Growing up in a small, tight-knit town in western Massachusetts, voting was part of our social fabric. Elections felt really personal, from greeting next-door neighbors working the polls to mailing ballots in the post office with the same postal clerk who worked there when I was five years old. When ...

Opinions

Edelson ’29: Want to improve free speech at Brown? Talk to a stranger at halftime.

By Clay Edelson | October 22

This year, much to the chagrin of the editorial page board, Brown received a “D” in free speech from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. This rating highlights a very real problem at Brown: According to The Herald’s Fall 2025 Poll, 40.9% of students said they had felt uncomfortable ...

Opinions

The Philosophy Concentrator with Avery Kaak ’29: Is it okay for me to look up the guys my roommate is talking to?

By Avery Kaak | October 21

“Is it ethical for me to ‘stalk’ the guys my roommate is talking to — Googling them or looking at their Instagram and LinkedIn (but not invading their privacy in any way)? I want to know more about them and this information is publicly available.” — Anonymous Brunonian

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Opinions

Jain ’30: Banning Greek life won’t eliminate sexual assault at Brown

By Anoushka Jain | October 19

Last week, Cornell announced that it would ban all parties and social events in fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year. This decision comes as a result of a national conversation about the role that Greek life should take on college campuses in the wake of the Title IX sexual assault ...

Opinions

Rosenberg ’30: Ending study abroad to Israel would be putting politics above education

By Maya Rosenberg | October 19

On Oct. 10, Brown Students for Justice in Palestine officially launched their campaign to end the University’s study abroad programs in Israel during their Rally for Palestine. The University generally approves five study abroad programs in Israel, and Brown’s Global Risk Assessment Committee reviews ...

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Opinions

Hansen ’30: Brown is ranked the lowest Ivy on US News — thank goodness!

By Sophie Hansen | October 19

Brown is officially the worst school in the Ivy League — at least according to the finalized 2027 U.S. News and World Report’s Best National Universities Ranking published in mid-September. This year Brown dropped to No. 16, its lowest ranking in the last 10 years.

A three-panel illustration in which a student asks another what their major is, and they respond with a long list of symbols. The first student responds, “That’s too many!”

Opinions

Kleinman ’30: Don’t be like the ‘Brown 4 Israel’ protest plane — keep your political discourse on the ground

By Anya Kleinman | October 16

In the minutes preceding this year’s Opening Convocation, first-years — still taking in the wonders of College Hill — wandered the Main Green with new friends. A cacophony of bagpipes, bell-ringing and cheering permeated the air leading up to the main event. As the ceremony began, a quiet excitement ...

Opinions

Hammerman ’30: Professors, don’t make students test into your classes

By Ary Hammerman | October 15

Prior to my arrival on College Hill, I spent the summer excitedly scrolling Courses@Brown, inspired by the hundreds of classes offered across disciplines. When September rolled around, I had my exact schedule planned out with my most desired classes. I knew what I wanted and was prepared to begin my ...

Opinions

Gold ’29: Brown must preserve their longer application essays

By Reid Gold | October 15

With Brown’s class of 2031 applications imminent, the University made the decision to eliminate the two shortest responses from our application. In her recent column, Maya Tkachenko ’29 argues that this was a move in the wrong direction. To combat the rising use of artificial intelligence in the ...

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Opinions

Hilzenrath ’28: Trump’s J-1 probe is about everything but American workers

By Annabel Hilzenrath | October 14

Last week, Vice President JD Vance announced an investigation into Brown — and eight other universities — on suspicion the University is exploiting the J-1 visa program by bringing foreign researchers to the country at lower wages than American workers earn.

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Opinions

Obialo ’29: Brunonians, make your politics personal

By Izuchukwu Obialo | October 14

I remember a time when it was easy to forget about politics. Still an elementary student in St. Louis, Missouri, I was oblivious to Michael Brown’s death and the Black Lives Matter movement that followed, and I paid no mind to Donald Trump’s asinine musings on running for president when former President ...

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Opinions

Tao ’27: Moral Ambition isn’t the solution to Brown’s corporate pipeline

By Evan Tao | October 13

Brown has a brain drain problem. A survey of the class of 2025 found that 44% of students marched from the Van Wickle gates into the loving arms of the finance, tech and consulting industries. One need not view these industries as villains to recognize that this number is too high. Brown fashions itself ...

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Opinions

Rahman ’26 MD ’30: Brown pays its fair share to Providence

By Tasawwar Rahman | October 13

In a recent column, my friend and Herald Opinions Columnist Evan Tao ’27 argues that Brown must pay a fairer share to Providence by increasing its voluntary payments in lieu of taxation — payments the University makes to the city by choice since, as a nonprofit educational institution, it is exempt ...