Opinion Archives - Page 130 of 219

Swarthmore in Solidarity with the West Virginia Water Crisis: An Invitation

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG. Laura Rigell

March 28, 2014

Opinion

Leveraging institutional power

As we look back on the last 150 years of Swarthmore, we might ask: what will Swarthmore look like in 150 years? At its sesquicentennial, Swarthmore can claim a long history of envisioning a better world. Founder Lucretia Mott envisioned a world

March 27, 2014

Opinion

MOOConomics and the overhaul of higher education

The rising cost and deteriorating quality of American Education has demanded the media’s spotlight numerous times in the past two decades. Despite recent optimistic reports of rising degree attainment, the United States is consistently outpaced by its first-world counterparts. Last year, the

March 27, 2014

Opinion

The inequity of Swarthmore’s endowment, revisited

I have been asked specific questions as a result of my op-ed concerning intergenerational inequity and Swarthmore’s endowment spending (The Phoenix, March 20, 2014, page 2). This short note contains a bit more data and as a result illustrates the issue more

March 27, 2014

Opinion

Proaction and complexity: a sincere hope for the (perhaps distant) future

What do civilians do to survive conflict? This sounds like a fairly straightforward question, but it’s not. Until very recently, scholars of violence and practitioners of violence prevention saw civilians as entirely reactive parties that did little to shape the course of

March 27, 2014

Opinion

Uncovering the details of student activism

Historically, student activism has played a key role in shaping the Swarthmore of today, and must continue if student concerns and interests are to be advanced. It is the role of Student Council to support and promote student interests — and a

March 27, 2014

Opinion

An unconstitutional violation of student press freedom

In her spring 2013 platform, then-candidate and now Student Council co-president Lanie Schlessinger ’15 wrote, “I would like to continue to do whatever possible to increase the transparency and accessibility of StuCo. Though we publicize our efforts and accomplishments across many mediums,

March 27, 2014

Opinion

In defense of introductory courses

To the editor: Your recent editorial about co-taught introductory courses (“Bias 101”, March 20, 2014) suggests that professors from one academic sub-discipline bias introductory courses by emphasizing the doctrine or methodology of that sub-discipline at the expense of alternative perspectives. While some

March 27, 2014

Opinion

How Swarthmore invests: a response to Peter Collings

I write in response to Peter Collings’ open letter, “The Inequity of Swarthmore’s Endowment Spending.” I am often called on to explain why we are not spending more freely from the endowment. For many of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities,

March 27, 2014

Opinion

Dumbing down the SAT

As a former tutor and poor public school student who excelled on the SAT, I hold strong feelings about the College Board’s decision to overhaul the exam’s future structure. In March, College Board President David Coleman publicized some changes: a more generous fee waiver

March 27, 2014

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Opinion - Page 130