Posts by Blog Daily Herald

Simmons, pictured while not speaking at RISD. (Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald)

Ruth Simmons had several commencements on her plate this season, following up Brown’s festivities of last week with a keynote address at RISD’s commencement Saturday.

She told the Herald in May that she couldn’t reveal her remarks because she hadn’t written them yet — but BlogDailyHerald has learned the real reason for Simmons’ reticence: she didn’t want us to know she was going to badmouth us behind our backs.

Lucky for us, the ProJo was there to report on the speech. Remarking on students’ fun costuming — and, we guess, unaware she was speaking into a microphone — Simmons told the crowd, “I hope no one will repeat this, but the Brown commencement was last weekend, and it was a sleeper compared to this.” She also spilled the beans about all our innermost desires, revealing to the crowd that “people up the Hill are very envious” of RISD students’ style.

“Did you know there is someone here with antlers on their head?” she asked. (We weren’t, but that does sound pretty stylish.)

Et tu, Ruth? But maybe the Prez had a point. As the ProJo notes, RISD grads get to wear “festive and zany” costumes — and as one senior told us of Brown’s ceremony, “it was a sleeper.” Just one more thing to be envious of.

A documentary co-directed by Professor of International Studies James Der Derian, David Udris ’90 and Michael Udris ’91 opens at 4:15 Saturday at Avon Cinema, with proceeds going to a fund named for a fourth collaborator, Michael Bhatia ’99, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008. It’s the Providence premiere for Human Terrain, which takes its name from the “Human Terrain System” in which the military has employed social scientists like Bhatia.

Bhatia, a former Watson Institute fellow, was a member of an Army Human Terrain Team at the time of his death. Since then, his family donated a collection of his books to the Brown library. Of course, the Human Terrain System, and the broader role of scholars in war is not uncontroversial at Brown and elsewhere. Trailer for Human Terrain below.

Kenya Tourist Board

The African elephants over at Roger Williams Park Zoo are probably feeling a little embarrassed after the zoo announced to the world that they’re too old to have children. According to a zoo press release, five different “artificial insemination procedures” in past years failed, and at 25 years old, the three females are considered risky candidates for a first time pregnancy.

To all those who may have hoped to celebrate the circle of life, our sympathies. The same to the three potential mothers who will never experience the joy of that giant anteater mother from March.

The Brown Daily Herald editorial page board is looking for new members for next fall. The board is responsible for formulating and writing The Herald’s editorials and meets once a week on Sunday to discuss ideas and potential positions. Board members work together closely to present thoughtful, well-researched stances on school and local issues. The board is a great chance to work with a small group of experienced writers and have an impact on campus discourse. Students with no prior Herald experience are welcome to apply.

The application is available here. It’s due Monday at 5 pm, but if you think you’re going to have trouble meeting the deadline, contact me and we can come up with an alternative.

Matt Aks
Editorial Page Editor
Matthew_Aks@brown.edu

“At Snoop’s Behest” by Natan Last ’12.

Look for “Across to Bear” — crosswords made by Brown students for Brown students — Thursdays in the Brown Daily Herald and here. Send ideas, comments or complaints to brownpuzzles@gmail.com, view this week’s solution here, and archives here.

Spring Weekend has come and gone (we have lots of photos in case you missed them). Dave Binder won our sideshow poll, with 65 percent of the vote, but who was the best musical act of the weekend?

 Loading ...

“Per Simmons” by Jonah Kagan ’13.

Look for “Across to Bear” — crosswords made by Brown students for Brown students — Thursdays in the Brown Daily Herald and here. Send ideas, comments or complaints to brownpuzzles@gmail.com, view this week’s solution here, and archives here.

“Hide Those Extra Pounds!” by Natan Last ’12.

View the solution here.

“Redefining Dining” by Jonah Kagan ’13.

View the solution here.