Columns

Stephenson '13: Why I hate the Internet

Schleimer '12: Thoughts on stealing from a (former) BuDS Cashier

If you've been to Josiah's on a Friday night, you know theft is rampant in on-campus eateries. You've seen - or been - that student slipping Odwalla bars into a pocket or scooting past the register with a cup of soda claiming, "It's just water."

Kalyanpur '13: Why commit to a concentration?

As the concentration declaration deadline nears, there is a familiar buzz surrounding the sophomore class. With only two weeks to go, many students are scurrying about looking for an adviser to casually sign off on their forms. Unfortunately, convenience frequently trumps serious reflection. Our declaration ...

Johnson '14: Hope in POLS 1130

Watching the news these days tends to fill me with pure, unadulterated cynicism. Nobody in government agrees on anything, except for the fact that the system in Washington, and Providence, is broken. In a country where Occupiers scream, Rush Limbaugh calls law students sluts and Angel Taveras makes ...

Davidson '14: A place for strangers

Brown needs a place for strangers - a place where it is not only permissible but expected to engage with an unknown fellow student.

Husted '13: Why I hate smartphones

I confess that I do not own a smartphone. I am a member of a dying breed of regular phone users, and my sin does not go without punishment. This summer I went into a store to replace my old phone, which I purchased in 2007, and was ridiculed by the store clerk when I pointed to the "new" phone that ...

Enzerink GS: The dual soul of Brown

Brown has traditionally been an institution that acknowledges the value of both undergraduate and graduate education but values even more the ways in which the two can complement and enhance each other. The College and the Graduate School are the perfect Hegelian synthesis, together adding up to more ...

Larson: The engineering program allows flexibility

Matt Brundage '15 asked a very good question in Thursday's column ("Why aren't there more engineers?" March 15). I've been an engineer for over 30 years, and I honestly can't imagine doing anything else. "Engineers create the future" is a well-known saying, and what could be more fun and fulfilling ...

Brundage '15: Why aren't there more engineers?

On a strictly academic basis, the number one reason I chose to attend Brown over other more or less academically equivalent universities was the open curriculum. I appreciate that the open curriculum, along with the S/NC option, gives students the freedom to take classes in unfamiliar subject areas ...

Hefer '12: The irrelevance of gender

When confronting a social issue, people mobilize around gender. The transvaginal ultrasound bill, domestic violence and sexual assault are presented as women's issues. Child custody injustices are men's.

McGoldrick '12: Profiting from medicine

Silverman '13: (Justice) Sheldon Whitehouse: What could have been

Thomas '15: A call for women's activists

March is Women's History Month. Events sponsored by the Sarah Doyle Women's Center will be happening all month, recognizing past and present contributions and experiences of women worldwide. While these events represent a positive approach to the inclusion of women in academia, they remind me of what ...

Ingber '15: Since when has the two-state solution become passe?

For the past 20 years, there has been a consensus on a starting point to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: "Two states for two peoples" is something that experts including government officials, academics and journalists have espoused. The Jewish people deserve a sovereign nation as do the Palestinians. ...

Martinez '14, Medina '14: End sweatshops sponsored by our bookstore

Johnson '14: An open letter to Christina Paxson

Welcome to Brown, home of one the most accomplished and diverse student bodies in the world. You have some big shoes to fill — we all love President Ruth Simmons. But here are a few places that you can make a positive impact on our school, picking up where Simmons left off.

Carty '15: Rebuttal

The point that the academic arena is a cooperative, not a competitive enterprise is a compelling one. But I believe that it is incorrect, as the academic arena has an element of meritocracy inherent to it that is important to society as a whole.

Are "study drugs" a form of cheating?

To state the obvious, Ritalin and Adderall make studying easier. They provide for unnatural focus and absurd alertness during times of high stress and little sleep, to the benefit of thousands of improved grades and to the detriment of countless study habits. Going to a university that provides for ...

Moffat '13: Rebuttal

Carty argues that part of the "test" of college involves stamina and willpower, something that study drugs can induce artificially and, therefore, unfairly. There are a number of problems with this position.

Husted '13: Individualism at Brown

Brown is a place that markets itself on its individualism. This school has no core requirements and strives to accept people who forge their own paths through their academic and personal lives. This is great. It makes for a truly interesting atmosphere, where one feels surrounded by vastly different ...