Anish K. Mitra ‘10
Apparently, “[Senator] McCain doesn’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed.” Ludacris, the southern rapper responsible for the aforementioned quote, has supported Sen. Barack Obama in many colorful ways; his latest rap freestyle is the most interesting one. Not only does McCain get a majority of the verbal lashing, but even Sen. Hillary Clinton receives her fair share. Of course, Sen. Barack Obama is never criticized for accepting such aggressive, offensive support, yet when Sen. John McCain reveals Obama’s friendship of former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, his advisors and he take far more heat. Alas, this is just one more example in the years-long trend of the media actively diminishing criticism of Mr. Obama and maximizing that of Mr. McCain. Hopefully, the good folk of Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and other contested states will see through all the garbage and put their country before superficial ideas of “hope” and “change” come November.
Christina Cozzetto ‘10
While I don’t have the level of hatred that some do for the new mailroom (the interior is not offensive to me and the only trouble I’ve had with my mailbox is my own stupidity), I do have a little bit of anger to direct towards those coming and going. Yes, you receive mail in the mailroom. This does not excuse your standing in a major walkway to read it. Yes, you often need to carry around packages. This does not excuse your plowing into people because you are blocking your vision with it. Yes, the temporary entrance is a terrible design. This does not excuse coming around that corner at a sprint, nor does it excuse two people attempting to fit through the opening of just one door. Brown students, I urge you to be the rebels you are stereotyped as, and not conform to the (building) standards set for you: go ahead and open the entrance’s second door.
Kristina Kelleher ‘09
Did you know that Brown’s John Hay Library hosts one of the world’s largest and most distinguished collections of Abraham Lincoln paintings, sculptures and artifacts? Neither did I until I was given a tour of the exhibit by Holly Snyder, Scholarly Resource Librarian, who explained the history and the significance of all five of the Lincoln portraits painted from life in the collection. I highly recommend that all Brown students take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to see these artifacts from American History and all that the John Hay Library has to offer. You will not be disappointed.
Susannah Kroeber ‘11
Since Watergate, the American political arena has been dominated by scandals that have all been given a “-gate” suffix. Winegate, Rathergate, Plamegate; and the list goes on. The latest to be added to this list is the now infamous Troopergate, involving the questionable firing of the Alaskan public safety commissioner by Sarah Palin. There are many problems with this name including the fact that it is the third Troopergate, the more notable predecessor of this name was a scandal involving state troopers in Arkansas who may have arranged sexual liaisons for then Governor Bill Clinton. Perhaps the more pertinent question is why must every scandal be a gate? A gate implies entry into something, and in almost all these cases it leads to people being fired or going to prison. And besides that, Watergate was the name of the building where the infamous Nixon scandal began: i.e. gate is part of the word, it was not a suffix! The media is stuck with a silly convention that has no basis, so please, CNN, stop!
Sean B. Quigley ‘10
Has anyone ever noticed that, in this famously tolerant age of ours, behaviors previously regarded as indicative of bonding or close spiritual kinship have now been categorized as deviant? Of course, since nothing can now be considered deviant in abstract terms (never!), those behaviors are defined as perfectly acceptable, though clearly (!) not in line with traditional thinking. Bawdy activities, or supposedly ‘homoerotic’ actions (consider the drawing on this page), are therefore excoriated by some on the right as the result of a debauched age, while lauded by some on the left as the result of a more accepting age. Lord, what fools these mortals be. Perhaps both traditionalists and modernists need to reconsider what it truly means to cultivate a respect for radition and traditional relationships in our personal lives. In the meantime, though, I won’t be caught saying, ‘No Homo’, when I should really be saying, ‘No Liberal’. In other words, pass the soap, ‘No Liberal’.
