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Daniel Bernstein

Daniel Bernstein is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore majoring in physics and mathematics. His column, "Mind You," runs on alternate Mondays.

BERNSTEIN: Enjoy fall while it lasts

Even from within New Brunswick's noisy cityscape, gelid whispers in the breeze and the occasional crackle of a fallen maple leaf caught underfoot have once again heralded the beginning of autumn. Humid summer nights give way to crisp moonlit evenings, tank top barbeques turn to flannel shirt bonfires and jugs of apple cider fill supermarket shelves.Oct 18 2021

BERNSTEIN: Squishing lanternflies brings us closer together

Back when I was living this past summer at the Livingston Apartments, on my walks between the parking lot and my building, I would often notice the presence of unusually oblong, red-winged bugs dotting the sidewalk. I had just figured that they were a species of insect not native to my hometown — their pleasant patterns engendered a sort of affection in me, and I actively avoided snuffing them out with the underside of my sneakers.Sep 20 2021

BERNSTEIN: Spend your free time wisely

There is a surreal normalcy to buses so obscenely packed that passengers might fail to hear, over the cacophony of chattering students, the sound of leaking water descending from vents to splash their backs and bookbags. After more than a year of remote learning, Rutgers University is back to bustling.Sep 7 2021

BERNSTEIN: New Rutgers bus system is primed for failure

I am sure you have heard, by now, about Rutgers University's plans to restructure its bus system this upcoming fall. In an attempt "to provide more frequent bus service between each campus," the University is stripping down the number of bus stops from 33 to 10, reducing the number of routes on weekdays from nine to six.Apr 26 2021

BERNSTEIN: Need something to distract yourself? Try magic

Not long after the beginning of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, I came to a shocking, if not mundane, realization. You can, in fact, be bored and busy at the same time.Apr 12 2021

BERNSTEIN: Mindfulness should accompany our return to normalcy

With the announcement of a mandatory vaccination requirement for on-campus students, it looks like Rutgers will finally reopen this Fall 2021 semester.Mar 29 2021

BERNSTEIN: Concerns posed by vaccine conspiracy theorists are hypocritical

I always find it mildly startling how easily so many people simultaneously entertain both an unwavering skepticism of their government and a wholesale acceptance of modern culture's most invasive and powerful institutions.Mar 8 2021

BERNSTEIN: McConnell's impeachment decision damages public trust in experts

When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted to acquit former President Donald J. Trump on charges of inciting insurrection, he emphasized that his decision was not based on the former president's guilt or innocence, but his interpretation of the purpose of impeachment. Feb 21 2021

BERNSTEIN: Spread of QAnon comes as response to social instability

Recent American politics and general hubbub have exceptionally mirrored the narrative trajectory of a television series in creative decline. No sooner had the 45th president shuffled out of D.C. and into obscurity –– signaling the apparent end of a five-year era in which the whole of our news cycle revolved around the blunders and misadventures of a single man––than the entire country erupted in a bizarre smorgasbord of socio-economic fissures both grand and microcosmic. Feb 8 2021

BERNSTEIN: Mindfulness, self-control good virtues during pandemic

Although I fancy myself a conscientious person, I always have thought "discipline" as a virtue was overrated. Jan 25 2021

BERNSTEIN: Supreme Court ruling on Cuomo's restrictions based on faulty logic

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against an order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) to limit the number of attendees at places of worship in "orange" and "red" zones, areas where the threat and concentration of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was deemed dangerous, on the basis that this order violates First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion. Dec 4 2020

BERNSTEIN: Congress needs to get its act together to help Americans

Within the last few weeks, America and the global community at large have had the luxury of shifting the target of its collective anxiety from questions about the development of an effective coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine to questions about its deployment. Nov 20 2020

BERNSTEIN: We live in two different Americas

As I write this piece, the United States has still not declared a victor for the 2020 presidential election.Nov 6 2020

BERNSTEIN: Sensationalist science harmful in age of coronavirus, climate change

In an age when science, innovation and empirical inquiry have proven our most powerful tools both in elevating humanity and protecting it from danger –– an age in which, for example, we wait patiently for a vaccine to lift us out of the coronavirus pandemic, we look toward renewable energy sources to combat climate change and we imagine a future in which space travel and artificial intelligence redefines our concept of civilization –– it is important that we keep our science rigorous. Oct 23 2020

BERNSTEIN: Beware of 'inspiring' presidents

As the 2020 presidential election nears and a new wave of college students prepares to participate in a general election for the first time, I have noticed a common sentiment among fellow young, Democratic voters-to-be: They will cast their ballot for former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, but they will do so unenthusiastically, begrudgingly, with a marked lack of gusto.Oct 9 2020

BERNSTEIN: We need to adapt quickly, or face despair

You know, there was a time when global pandemics and impending climate disaster were the stuff of wistful late-night conversations with dear friends. Sep 24 2020

BERNSTEIN: Fear coronavirus, myocarditis relationship

When I heard that coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-positive Big Ten Conference athletes were presenting with symptoms of myocarditis, I knew immediately that I would have to write an article about the thoughts bouncing around in my quarantine-fatigued brain. Sep 11 2020

BERNSTEIN: This pandemic, its irony can teach us lessons

BERNSTEIN: Consciousness research could be science's next big step

DUNLEVY: Economic harm of coronavirus cannot be understated

BERNSTEIN: Post-truth world proves more harmful during pandemic

BERNSTEIN: Impeachment shows how partisan U.S. Senate is

BERNSTEIN: Debt mitigation needs to attack sources of problem