Columns
Opinions
David Sheffield '11: Don't hesitate to vaccinate!
By David Sheffield | January 27The second wave of novel H1N1 influenza — the swine flu — is over, and the number of new cases continues to decrease. However, this does not mean that the virus is finished. The 1918 flu swept the world in three waves: first in the spring and summer of 1918, then in the fall, and finally ...
Opinions
Mike Johnson '11: Money can't buy me ... text
By Mike Johnson | January 26As spring kicks into high gear far too early for any of us to handle, all of our hard-earned summer cash is doomed to spiral (counter-clockwise, since we're in the northern hemisphere) straight down the drain. The city of Providence is looking forward to the Brown community returning to its stores and ...
Opinions
Ethan Tobias '12: Who is this for?
By Ethan Tobias | January 26The semesters are always extremely busy, with tons of classes, exams and papers. On top of all the coursework, students have many extracurricular responsibilities. Most students can barely cram in a social life, let alone an occasional full night's sleep. Overwhelmed by the breadth of work and ...
Opinions
Kate Fritzsche '10: Is 'good and getting better' enough?
By Kate Fritzsche | December 3Yesterday, Psychological Services announced its plans to hire a new psychotherapist in order to expand resources available to students. This move will increase the number of free visits students are allowed each year from five to seven, and it should also reduce the waiting time before students are ...
Opinions
Mike Johnson '11: Sticky fingers
By Mike Johnson | December 3If you're like me, you look forward to the crime updates that the Department of Public Safety sends us. Perhaps it's a healthy dose of schadenfreude, but the Campus Safety reports are much more interesting to read than Morning Mail messages, as they practically embody an e-mail version of "Cops," minus ...
Opinions
Simon Liebling '12: Et tu, Ruth?
By Simon Liebling | December 2If there has been a poster child for shameless corporate excess in the throes of the Great Recession, Goldman Sachs — payer of $17 billion worth of bonuses so far this year — must be it. Fortunately, the firm's outlandish compensation, heedless disregard for its civic debts and cynical attempts ...
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Dan Davidson '11: Think of the children!
By Dan Davidson | December 2Much was made of the GOP's mid-summer conversion to the party of seniors, despite years of diatribes against Medicare and Social Security. Equally astonishing is Republicans' assertion that by stonewalling the Democratic agenda they are acting as the noble guardians of young people.
Opinions
Adrienne Langlois '10: There's no vote like home
By Adrienne Langlois | November 30Time for a warm and fuzzy moment: after nearly four years at Brown, I've come to consider this University, as well as Providence, another home. While I still look forward immensely to returning home to Asheville, North Carolina each and every break, I equally relish returning to Brown and the surrounding ...
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Brian Judge '11: Teach teachers how to teach
By Brian Judge | November 30Publish or perish. This is the mantra of the aspiring professor in the American university system. If the only purpose of universities was research, this wouldn't be a problem. "Publish or perish" is merely a narrower version of the more comprehensive mantra of the American economy: do your job, or ...
Opinions
Susannah Kroeber '11: How far should democracy go?
By Susannah Kroeber | November 30Once you look beyond apple pie, Thanksgiving and the consumer culture of the Christmas season, there are few things that are more American than sports. The Super Bowl is the most watched television event in America, and March Madness, the World Series, and NBA and NHL playoffs do not disappoint sponsors ...
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Will Wray '10: Tobin plays hardball
By Will Wray | November 30Rhode Island's own Bishop Thomas Tobin went head-to-head with Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball last Wednesday. While it is uncertain who won the confrontation, it is quite clear that Matthews was wrong. Whatever Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy is, he is not a good Catholic. Bishop Tobin is ...
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Anish Mitra '10: Top three movies to live your life by
By Anish Mitra | November 29Movies are amazing because we get to live vicariously as some of the most evil, kind, adventurous, intelligent and/or entertaining characters of all time. Through their trials and tribulations on screen, we can learn from their mistakes and successes alike and apply those lessons to our own lives without ...
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Fatima Aqeel '12: To go or not to go (to class)
By Fatima Aqeel | November 29Several high schools, mine included, have a requirement for the number of days of school a student attends. The student's failure to meet this requirement is ultimately recorded on his or her transcript, and this then finds its way to the colleges to which the student applies.Why did the school think ...
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Jared Lafer '11: The one that got away
By Jared Lafer | November 22The open curriculum provides us with a framework for incomparable academic freedom. We can take basically whatever course we want, choose our grading system, add and drop courses on a whim and create courses and concentrations if the current availabilities don't meet our fancies.
Opinions
Ethan Tobias '12: Bicycle bewilderment
By Ethan Tobias | November 22It is not surprising that many students bike around campus. The bicycle is the most efficient means of transportation ever invented. For environmentally conscious Brown students, biking is a way to avoid having a car or renting a Zipcar. For those who have jobs, volunteer off-campus or are in a rush, ...
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Anthony Badami '11: A death in Bobst
By Anthony Badami | November 22It was in the early hours of a Tuesday morning this month that Andrew Williamson-Noble, a 20-year-old student at New York University, leapt to his death from the 10th floor of the Bobst Library. He was found on his back, with nothing but a suicide note left in his dorm to give his grieving family and ...
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Tyler Rosenbaum '11: Ever vigilant
By Tyler Rosenbaum | November 21Sean Hannity is fond of proclaiming America the "greatest, best country God has ever given man on the face of the Earth." Bill Maher has an interesting response: "America must stop bragging that it's the greatest country on Earth and start acting like it."Obviously Bill Maher's job depends on his saying ...
Opinions
Julianne Fenn '11: Too much information, not enough context
By Julianne Fenn | November 19Due to a production error, an outdated version of this column ran in Friday's print edition. The correct version of the column is below.
Opinions
Jonathan Topaz '12: Killing the boredom-killing business
By Jonathan Topaz | November 19In the satirical movie "Network," Howard Beale, an established and respected nightly news anchor, is fired for his newscast's poor ratings. In his farewell address, Beale goes on a shocking tirade and consequently earns the name "mad prophet." Beale starts a new show, which quickly becomes the most ...
