I would like to tell those advanced-degree recipients who sat in the rain this year that their suffering was not in vain. Since Commencement belongs as much to graduates getting advanced degrees as it does to those getting bachelor's degrees, this is a welcome change in policy. It will ensure that future Graduate School classes won't have their fond memories of Brown washed away in a Commencement downpour. The writer is dean of the Graduate School and research. Count me among the outraged as well - outraged that Magaziner and colleagues chose to cede all power to the private insurance industry, which is largely to blame for the mess we're in.
Lawns are an ecological waste.
They consume petroleum to mow and to fertilize. They produce little agriculturally. Lawns originated as grazing grounds. When animals grazed pastures in front of palaces, lawn-like areas originated. Mrs. Gregorian may or may not have had this in mind.