Talk:Brown University
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[edit] Removing claim to sole Egyptology department in Western Civilization
Dartmouth's claim of having the sole Western Egyptology department is incorrect. Oxford University has a long history of Egyptology, and has had an undergraduate degree program in the subject for many years.
This edit is a little baffling to me. First, the school in question is Brown not Dartmouth and the claim is that Brown has a department of Egyptology, not merely a degree. This is not to say that the field is not studied elsewhere -- UChicago, UPenn and Yale spring to mind immediately. However, none of these schools have a "Department of Egyptology," as such. At these universities, the field is more broadly considered as Near Eastern Civilization or such. However, Brown seems to be in the process of expanding the department, as evidenced by the change of name from "Egyptology" to "Egyptology and Western Asian Studies."82.226.175.224 12:29, 13 March 2007 (UTC)micahross
[edit] Removing unsourced material: Naked donut run, Naked party.
The following items have been tagged with requests for references for about a week; none have been provided. I am removing them from the article and parking them them here. They can be reinserted in the article when they are accompanied with verifiable source citations, per Wikipedia's verifiability policy and citation and reliable sources guidelines.
The verifiability policy is linked at the bottom of every edit box, and can be summarized: 1. Articles should contain only material that has been published by reputable sources. 2. Editors adding new material to an article should cite a reputable source, or it may be removed by any editor. 3. The obligation to provide a reputable source lies with the editors wishing to include the material, not on those seeking to remove it. Dpbsmith (talk) 00:21, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Naked donut run
At the end of each semester, usually on the night before the first day of exams (the last day of "reading period"), naked students walk (despite the word "run" in the name) through the Rockefeller and Sciences Libraries and hand out donuts to their peers. Neither the organization nor the precise timing of the "run" are publicly known, with the recruitment of participants usually occurring within 24 hours of the actual run. The role of head organizer is secretly passed from an upperclassman to an underclassman every year or two, and has usually been associated with one of the campus's co-ed fraternities or residential co-ops. If a naked donut run fails to occur during a semester, a new organizer will often take up the tradition the following term.
[edit] Naked party
Every fall, the Brown Association for Cooperative Housing (BACH) throws an invitation-only "naked party" where all guests remove their clothes upon entry. The hosts aim to create a comfortable setting where people of all body types can celebrate the naked human body. In contrast to the sexually suggestive dancing that can be found at many college parties, dancing at a "naked party" is paradoxically much more tame and devoid of physical contact.
[edit] A capella
Back in my day, the a capella groups often sang under Wayland Arch; is this still done? The strong tradition of a capella appears not to be noted anywhere in the article. stylobix 19 May 2006
- The a capella groups still sing under Wayland Arch, in addition to several other places around campus, such as the Mochamp arch. NBS525 23:36, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Concentration List/Organization section
I've edited out the concentration/graduate school offerings list and placed it in a separate article; however, the entire section could probably use an overhaul. billobob 25 Jun 2006
[edit] History of Mathematics.
I edited the line that "Brown has the only undergraduate History of Mathematics Department in the world." The last faculty member who had an interest in teaching undergraduates retired in 1986. The last faculty member died in November 2005. Currently, there is one graduate student finishing a dissertation and no courses are offered.
- I don't think it ever offered undergrad. degrees, did it? JJL 00:01, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
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- No, it never did. Although it is a bit unencyclopedic, it might be interesting to preserve the history of the dept. [1] ----micahross —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.226.175.224 (talk) 12:39, 13 March 2007 (UTC).
- Your statement, "The last faculty member who had an interest in teaching undergraduates retired in 1986," is incorrect. As of only a few years ago courses were still offered to undergraduates in the department. Here are reviews of some of those courses, for example: [2] [3] NBS525 13:11, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] FROM ARMPIT OF THE IVIES TO HOT IVY
Consider adding a discussion about this part of Brown's history.
The basic points of this section would be:
1. From the late 19th century until after 1960, Brown was a regional college drawing students mostly from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Nationally it was known as a less rigorous elite college, where less ambitious, more sociable sons could study. (I am trying to find the source for this - I read it in a history book while an undergrad at Brown, I think example students of this ilk were son of IBM founder, Tom Watson Jr., (1937) and son of the Standard Oil founder, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1897).)
2.In the early to mid 1970s, Brown had to draw down its endowment to meet operating expenses and was considered to be on the verge of bankruptcy.
3. The combination of Howard Swearer's leadership (he was president from 1977 to 1988) and the appeal of the New Cirriculum in attracting top applicants led Brown to be labelled the "hot Ivy". It had one of the lowest acceptance rates and in 1988 was ranked #4 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings (they put more emphasis on selectivity and reputation and less on financial resources).
4. From the mid 1980s, Brown differentiated itself through its reputation for drawing children of celebrities and left wing politicians, and as a hip and trendy place. The 1998 Vanity Fair article on this subject captured the dominant campus culture from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s.
(An aside: as the student body continues to become truly national and less New York-centric, and more conventional and career oriented, question whether Brown will continue to differentiate itself from financially stronger peers).
Cbmccarthy 14:56, 14 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Pacifica House the remaining active secret society on campus?
I am confused to the "long standing consensus" of the diminished activities of Pacifica House at Brown. One quick example I found of recent Pacifica work is noted on the CCC (College Curriculum Council) Report on Grading, http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/documents/Grading_Report.pdf Would someone please enlighten me before I revert the edit to include the portion in the 'secret society' section to include Pacifica as an active society?
- Here's the last time we discussed it. "Present-day existence of some organization related to Brown calling itself 'Pacifica House'" isn't the issue. The specific problems to my mind is (still) lack of WP:V WP:RS for it being a "secret society", it being related to the secret societies from the days of yore, vs being anything WP:NOTABLE beyond any other student club giving itself that name. Note that the CCC report does not speak to the concept of a "secret society". The only ref to Pacifica House in it is to that organization's own publication (which again does not support the secret-society connection nor notability of the present-day group) and as a self-pub does not really qualify as a good source for info about the group itself. DMacks 06:54, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Trivia
The Trivia section says that Andrea Sachs from "The Devil Wears Prada" graduated from Brown. If I remember correctly, they went to Northwestern. The Northwestern page says this also... Can someone verify this for me? --Sbrools (talk . contribs) 04:19, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Modern Traditions Section
I deleted the entire section. It consisted of three "scandalous" parties and a naked run. These issues were carrying far too much weight in the article, and not painting an accurate, dispassionate picture about Brown. The issue of scandalous parties should maybe be condense to one small section, but I don't think it belongs in the article at all.
- The modern traditions have had a long and troubled history on this page, but they have always endured. You're more than welcome start another discussion about whether they should be removed, but until then, it should stay. --seliopou 21:13, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Ok. I feel entirely justified in removing the Starf*ck section though. While Sex Power God is a big deal on campus, Starf*ck is poorly attended and just not a very important fact at Brown. It's a total joke that it should have a line in the index. There are dozens of traditions and recurring campus events that are far more significant. Whatever the past discussion has been on this issue, I'm definitely in the right on this. Its inclusion in an encyclopedia article on Brown University is indefensible. I feel the same way about the naked coop party, but I'll other users decide if it should be deleted. The coop party is of interest to a few hundred undergraduates, at most. Basically, the modern traditions section makes a point: Brown has some edgy parties and is sexually progressive. This is fine, and it's true. But a short item about sex power god would communicate that just fine--seperate info about all the coop party, naked doughnuts and starf*ck is overkill. It misrepresents Brown and makes for a sloppy encyclopedia article.
[edit] 24 spoof video
I've removed its link twice now. Anyone at all think it's actually notable, please speak up... DMacks 19:22, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Conservapedia vs Brown
On today's front page Conservapedia claims Brown are racist vandals. Here are the details and be sure to read the talk page. Mr Christopher 18:19, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Who's Joe?
"Joe will never get into this college"
??
