Medicine

The Prindle Institute is excited to welcome Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black, to campus in February as part of the Ubben Lecture series. Stay tuned for programming that we are putting together to lead up to her visit!

This article, by DePauw History professor David Gellman, originally appeared in Historians Against Slavery on August 15, 2014. If all the great abolitionists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were cryogenically frozen, who would you reanimate to help liberate the world from the scourge of slave labor and human trafficking today? Frederick Douglass? William Lloyd … Continue reading "Abolitionists Unfrozen"

What do people talk about when they talk about Nelson Mandela? Carolyn Holmes, ’06, asked this question at last week’s symposium on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. The answer may not be as straightforward as you think. For decades, Mandela has been a symbol of justice, hope and dignity for the nation of … Continue reading "Deconstructing Nelson Mandela’s Legacy"

Turn on CNN. The anchor is most likely dissecting what may have happened to missing Malaysian flight 370 or the ferry that sunk off the coast of South Korea. The two disastrous events have prompted extended coverage on many television networks. The question becomes: does the information deserve such extended coverage, or is it merely … Continue reading "The Media and Tragedies: Coverage of Flight 370 and the Sewol Ferry Accident"

If education is competitive, getting a job is even more competitive. Most college students are pressured to join clubs, to play on teams and to take on leadership positions. We’re told that travel experience, studying abroad and having an internship or two will set us ahead. All of this, of course, on top of your … Continue reading "Cost of a Resume: Competing to Get the Job"

“What obligations do we have to our adversaries? Do virtue and integrity enhance or impede our quest for victory? Is competition an obstacle to or an essential component of a meaningful life? How should competition be effectively regulated?” These questions and others will be addressed by visiting students and scholars from across the country in … Continue reading "Competitive College: Does competition help or hinder our academic performance?"

How important are college rankings? As prospective students size up educational institutions, what is it that attracts them, their parents? Time and time again, we’ve seen DePauw’s name on the top party school list across the nation, but does that invalidate the academic standard we hold ourselves to? A new list was recently published by … Continue reading "The A-Listers: Can College Rankings Define a School?"

In light of recent discussions on campus, I’d like to offer up my own understanding of privilege.

On Sunday, March 2nd, Blake Mycoskie, the president and founder of TOMs will deliver a speech about his story and his revolutionary Buy One Give One (BOGO) business model. I don’t need to point out that the Ubben Lecture Series has a reputation for bringing in impactful speakers from varying fields. The Ubben guests I’ve … Continue reading "Ubben Lecture by TOMS founder offers chance to think and act"

We have all seen the stories about the less-than-perfect conditions of the 2014 Winter Olympic games. There are stories of un-flushable toilets, malfunctioning snowflakes, and even an athlete breaking out of a jammed bathroom door like something out of a Kool-Aid commercial. Despite all of this, you can’t say that the Russian government didn’t try … Continue reading "Sochi Olympics’ ethical problems overshadow spirit of cooperation"

All actions have consequences, and it turns out that the production of goods on the other side of the globe has consequences for air quality in the United States. It’s a well-known fact that air pollution in China has reached alarming levels, supported by the horrifying fact that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities … Continue reading "US outsources production and pollution to China with unintended consequences"

As we return from Thanksgiving feasts and our families, we may remember the holiday as a few days of rest, relaxation, and appreciation for all of our blessings. However, when contemplating the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday and its history, it’s time that we look past the modern traditions and the classic story of Native … Continue reading "In Recognition of the Men and Women Who Came Before Us"

International Education week is a joint operation of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that encourage worldwide exchange. The main objective is to prepare Americans for a globalized market and encourage students from abroad to study and share cultural experiences in the United States. This provides a … Continue reading "International Experience is Crucial for Our Education"

“Imagine if you were [confined] to a bathtub for twenty-five years, don’t you think you’d get a little psychotic?!” exclaims an opponent of animal captivity, more specifically that of killer whales. Marine mammal scientist, Dr. Naomi A. Rose attributes various reasons as to why concrete surroundings are a terrible idea for these smart, complex, powerful … Continue reading "The fight for the quality of life for all living organisms"

When you think of meditation, it’s likely that you think of Buddhist monks as well. Meditation has been practiced by Buddhists for centuries, and has more recently made its way into the Western mainstream under the umbrella term of “mindfulness training” (Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is especially popular). Defined as “being aware and attentive … Continue reading "Events on Mindfulness and Art: Nawang Khechog’s Visit to DePauw"

Humans are sometimes self-contradicting. They are well aware of the violence and social and economic disruptions caused by war, but war, ironically, has been one of the most recurring themes throughout human history. One thing that might have justified this contradiction could be the cost and benefit analysis through which people think the harm caused … Continue reading "Forgotten Casualties: War and the Environment"

Greencastle’s USDA office was closed. Indiana’s Social Security office was closed. The federal government was closed. The government shutdown on October 1st shocked citizens across the country. Reporters on CNN, CBS, and ABC performed live shots outside Capitol Hill. Families watched in their living rooms to hear they could no longer order passports and all … Continue reading "Greencastle Feels Repercussions of Government Shutdown"

There is a certain truth to the saying, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” After all, practically everyone, man and woman alike, enjoys a good meal now and then. However, the immense sociocultural power of food is not limited to trite, gendered stereotypes. In fact, it offers one of the most … Continue reading "Food, Ethics, and Culture"

America is a culture of opinions. A proud tradition of democracy and suffrage has precipitated a society in which people take it upon themselves to be informed and critical. Although some may be persuaded by the wit of a politician or the bias of a media outlet, many of us take it upon ourselves to … Continue reading "Syrian Youth for Peace: Securing Syria’s Future"

Tuesday night, DePauw students gathered in the Prindle Courtyard for an outdoor screening of Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield, a recent documentary that zeroes in on the covert military operations happening in several Middle Eastern countries including Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen. Journalist Jeremy Scahill serves as tour guide, traveling from city to city … Continue reading "Review of “Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield” Film Screening"