Columns

Dorris '15: Is religion the scariest word?

We've all met them. 

Enzerink GS: Not gone with the wind, yet

Just 147 years after the Civil War, political mudslinging and the economic crisis have accelerated fears that the country might find itself on the eve of another devastating national conflict. Cooperation in Congress is at a low. The pressures of election season have created a culture of decisions that ...

Eppler '13: Rethinking social entrepreneurship

If there were a list of things Brown students say, "social entrepreneurship" would be up there with "hegemony" and "spicy with." Social entrepreneurship has attracted a great deal of institutional attention. Countless extracurricular programs, fellowships, courses, conferences and other initiatives ...

Thomas '15: Changing the dialogue around food

This spring, some 2,760 bright high school seniors anxiously and excitedly received acceptance letters from the University. Many of these eager young minds also received similar letters from our peer institutions and are now faced with the important question, "Why Brown?"

Gordon '14: Brown's motto should change

Husted '13: Rebuttal

Husted '13: Don't change the motto

Gordon '14: Rebuttal

Hefer '12: How I learned to stop worrying and love lit crit

Literary criticism ­- by which I mean the discipline practiced by the comparative literature, modern culture and media and other related departments - has its fingers in a lot of pies. Race and gender/sexuality studies are rife with critical thought. It seems that each of the humanities has picked ...

Lebovitz '14: Diversify my options

At the Sharpe Refectory and Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, Brown students are privy to a wide assortment of means to get their news. They can pick up a copy of the New York Times, the Providence Journal and the finest publication of them all, The Herald. For those more visually inclined, "Good Morning ...

Johnson '14: An inspired choice for World Bank president

Clarkson '12: Putting the farm back into the Farm Bill

Bouche '14: Time for spring ideological cleaning

Though I have nearly completed half of my time at this school, Brown continuously amazes me. At any moment, a student can simply pop open his Brown Gmail inbox or read the signs splattered on our walks and greens to find the flurry of information shot our way. Potentialities and possibilities radiate ...

Chizen '14: SafeRide's makeover

Brown University SafeRide is a failed institution. From personal experience, SafeRide proves to be inefficient and simply ineffective in providing its potential users with safe and accessible transportation throughout campus. Given Brown's condensed campus, the shuttle's route is overly circuitous. ...

BFA: Boldly moving financial aid forward

In her final State of Brown address, President Ruth Simmons asserted that "financial aid should be a top priority for the University." We, the members of Brown for Financial Aid, could not agree more. In February, BFA formed with the purpose of committing Brown to this top priority and ensuring that ...

Tobias'12: Better living at Brown

On-campus housing will get a new look by fall 2013 ("Campus housing to be renovated, transformed," Feb. 13). Keeney Quadrangle will be split in three and, along with Pembroke, will become exclusively first-year dorms, while sophomores will be clustered in doubles near the Main Green. Most juniors and ...

Tobias '12: No, Brown should not have required classes

"The various courses should be so arranged that, in so far as it is practicable, every student might study what he chose, all that he chose, and nothing but what he chose." These words, stated in 1850 by Francis Wayland, Brown's fourth president, have been the foundation for academics at Brown for more ...

McGoldrick '12: Rebuttal

First, I concede Ethan Tobias' point that free choice can be a powerful psychological tool for creating positive motivation and a sense of ownership over one's education. Brown should be applauded for treating its students as mature adults. That was a significant factor in my decision to enroll here. ...

McGoldrick '12: Yes, Brown should have required classes

Brown's New Curriculum - poorly named since it is nearly half a century old - is a point of pride for many Brunonians, and rightfully so: It's a manifesto for creativity, self-definition and personal motivation. These are certainly noble values we should embrace. But a large portion of people at Brown ...

Tobias'12: Rebuttal

McGoldrick for thinking that two or three required courses might enhance a Brown education. Certainly, her example courses would be very valuable for some first-years. However, the question at stake is whether Brown should award degrees to students who have not completed certain required coursework. ...