Shaunak Varma

Shaunak Varma is a graduate of Duke University. He double majored in Economics and Public Policy, and receiving a certificate in Global Health. He loves nothing more than spending time with friends and listening to music or watching sports or movies. Born in raised in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, but for some reason, he loves the Detroit Lions. He has a burgeoning interest in politics, and is particularly interested in issues that victims of psychological disorders face.

Most commented posts

  1. Be Aware. Be Kind. Save Lives. — 8 comments
  2. #OccupyWashington — 3 comments
  3. Those Grieving Alone – Seek Support — 2 comments
  4. Making Things Better — 2 comments
  5. Standing Up and Speaking Out — 2 comments

Author's posts

Too Many Choices

I remember being a kid and going to the mall with my mom to pick a birthday gift. Did I want the new Madden game or the new Fifa game? The Barry Sanders jersey or the Chauncey Billups one? I remember agonizing over this decision, worrying that I’d make one I’d regret at a later …

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Standing Up and Speaking Out

Bullying has always been a problem in our schools. It is understandable. I’m sure all of us are ashamed of some of the things we said to others during our adolescence. Bullying has unfortunately ratcheted up even more over the past few years. As social networking sites have developed a more prominent role in teenagers’ …

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Becoming Limitless

I recently watched Neil Burger’s movie Limitless. It started by depicting the main character Eddie Morra as an intelligent writer who struggled in finding inspiration to finish his novel and could not find an appropriate balance between his work and his relationship. This depressing beginning reminded me that so many people, for various reasons, squander …

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Here’s to Silver Linings

I woke up giddy yesterday. My clock read 12:25, and my heart started to pound in anticipation. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. After nine months of waiting, I’d finally woken up to an onslaught of NFL games. I turned on NFL on Fox theme music as I changed to pump me up, …

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Country Over Party

As a college senior, Areeba’s latest post really resonated with me. My friends and I, at the cusp of graduation, are about to get thrown to the wolves. Hundreds of thousands of us will be vying for jobs with much fewer available positions. Some of us will hide ourselves in grad schools, some may take …

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Changing Elite Education

I noted in my last post that educating some people can create a ripple effect that promotes growth in an economy. Thus, spending in education should be seen as investment in the future. If we can increase the amount of human capital in America, we can significantly increase our ability to compete in an increasingly …

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The Silver Bullet

Those of you who have spent any time with me over the past few months have probably noted my burgeoning obsession with reruns of the tv series The West Wing. In his Emmy-winning show, which documents the administration of fictional liberal president Josiah Bartlett, Aaron Sorkin writes intelligent dialogue, develops characters the audience cares about, …

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Killing Genius

Over the past several weeks, I have gotten addicted to chess. I can’t get enough. I got my chess set that had been stashed away for years in my closet so I could play my Dad, played people online, and even stayed up until the early hours of the morning watching videos and commentary of …

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Making Things Better

In my latest article, I claimed “power corrupts when allowed to exist unsupervised.” This claim doesn’t just apply to prison guards. It also extends to politicians, businessmen, and other people in positions of power. The widespread corruption around the world supports this claim. Every year, billions of dollars are laundered around the world. Corruption is …

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Preventing Abu Ghraib

Last spring, I took an ethics class called Policy Choice as Value Conflict. Throughout the semester, we students debated the merits of riveting topics, ranging from pros and cons of moral philosophies such as utilitarianism and deontology to the legality of controversial issues such as capital punishment, euthanasia, prostitution, gay marriage, and even bestiality. Our …

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