The Brown University Spectator:A Journal of Conservative and Libertarian Thought

Author Archive

Against Waterboarding

By Gregory Halenda • Feb 20th, 2008 • Category: Lead, National

In some sort of magical trick involving water, bad guys, and heroes, terrorists are thwarted and disasters are averted. The CIA itself purportedly waterboarded top Al-Qaeda suspects after the 9/11 attacks. What exactly, then, happens in a waterboarding session? The details are somewhat murky – skewed by media and word of mouth – but general [...]



Drink Liberally? A visit to Thayer Street’s new hippie hangout

By Gregory Halenda • Sep 9th, 2007 • Category: Brown University

Reading period is the best time to read the Jolt. The summer, on the other hand, is weak; a quick read every few days is lucky to reveal even a handful of interesting threads. Still, great stuff sometimes appears. One such post, entitled “Blue State Coffee,” piqued my interest.

It turns out the new coffee place [...]



Kidney Mart

By Gregory Halenda • May 1st, 2007 • Category: National

Several years ago, a California inmate convicted of armed robbery was dying. A viral infection damaged his heart—he desperately needed a transplant. The inmate, whose name was not released due to medical confidentiality, was placed on the organ donation waiting list, and eventually a match was found. The state of California paid somewhere in the [...]



Panda Porn

By Gregory Halenda • Feb 1st, 2007 • Category: Brown University

In the aftermath of this year’s Sex Power God party, sophomore Amy Littlefield drew attention to a group of students standing outside the party and using numbered signs to rate the attractiveness of the attendees. Her Brown Daily Herald column highlighted several important issues concerning sexual harassment. None were surprised when freshman Sean Quigley soon [...]



The Second Amendment At Brown

By Gregory Halenda • Nov 16th, 2006 • Category: Brown University

Nobody would be surprised to learn that Brown University disallows its students to keep and bear arms. At any college today, and especially at progressive Ivy League institutions, it is assumed that firearms are vestiges of a time far different than our own, dangerous, and unnecessary—ultimately, they are abhorrent instruments of destruction and nothing [...]