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Brandeis University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1949 | Waltham, MA

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Who decides now? Autonomy, identity and the ethics of dementia care

(09/30/25 10:00am)

This article addresses the question: How should caregivers ethically respond when a person with dementia expresses present preferences that conflict with their past values? In this article, I argue the claim that when caring for people with dementia, one should balance considerations from the past with more weight than considerations from the present. This view draws from the works of Ronald Dworkin and Agnieszka Jaworska. I side more with Dworkin. I claim that even if there is a possibility that people with dementia can form new values, the ability to have an integrated view of one’s life as a whole gives past values more weight than present. My argument for ethically caring for people with dementia follows three guidelines: uphold advance directives, maintain past valued commitments, and allow compromise when past values conflict with current comfort​​. 





The politics of influence

(09/16/25 10:00am)

At what point does an influencer become more than just an influencer? The word itself suggests persuasion through visibility — someone who can guide taste, spark conversations or capture attention. But in the political arena, “influencer” can take on a different weight. A political influencer is not simply shaping trends but helping frame how people see power, identity and society itself.




The Opinion: Issue two

(09/16/25 10:00am)

Welcome back, Brandesians, to the second edition of The Opinion. In the previous edition, I discussed the intensity of University clubs — with many clubs mirroring today’s politics and stressors, which many students prefer to avoid. I argued that clubs should be taken less seriously not only for the betterment of students’ mental health, but also to improve campus culture as a whole. Today’s opinion will tackle a topic that I have heard discussed in the library numerous times. 




Exclusion at the Involvement Fair

(09/09/25 10:00am)

During Brandeis’ 2025 Fall Involvement Fair, which showcased 201 varied clubs and organizations to the student body, one organization found itself facing major intervention from other students and the Department of Student Engagement. The Brandeis Jewish Bund, an anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist group, has been operating on campus for the past year, hosting vigils, sit-ins, protests and Jewish culture events. As I was walking around the Involvement Fair, I witnessed Bund members “tabling” on a blanket near the Shapiro Campus Center, facing verbal aggression and intimidation from students holding “Brandeis Students Support Israel” signs. Five anonymous students gave statements of what they witnessed happening between the Bund and other students at the fair. 


A snapshot of the personality of Brandeis students

(09/09/25 10:00am)

I’ve recently set about collecting data that might give me a peek into the general personality of Brandeis students. For this study, I used the “Big Five personality traits” framework because it’s one of the most frequently used models of measuring personality. It observes all personalities as having varying levels of the same five traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These traits are defined by Mark Dziak in his article, “Big Five personality traits.” Openness is defined as “a person’s willingness to engage with novel ideas and experiences.” Extraversion is “marked by sociability and assertiveness.” Conscientiousness is one’s tendency to be “organized and goal-oriented.” Agreeableness is one’s tendency to be “kind and empathetic” towards others. Finally, neuroticism is “associated with emotional instability and anxiety.”





Letter to the Editor — Betzalel Hochberg

(05/19/25 10:00am)

Let us call a spade a spade. The Jewish Bund is a Pro-Palestine group first and a Jewish group second. They have held far more Pro-Palestine events than they have Jewish ones, and at their events there are always more keffiyehs than kippahs. There is nothing wrong with this, nor is this statement meant as criticism, it is simply a fact. However, it is also the case that they are not interested in any form of dialogue in good faith, else they would not have protested the Hillel Israel fest. Celebration of Israeli culture is in no way an endorsement of Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank. In fact the event had a memorial explicitly for civilians tragically killed in Gaza. The Bund may hold up their name and their Jewish identities as a paper shield, but there is a word for the belief that the only good Jew is an anti-Zionist Jew, and the rest are culpable for genocide: antisemitism.




Thank you to our seniors!

(05/19/25 10:00am)

This editorial board wants to take this opportunity to recognize the incredible contributions made by our ten graduating seniors over the past four years. Despite being a club, the ample amount of work and dedication that goes into maintaining The Justice can often feel like a full-time commitment, but these graduates have taken these challenges in stride. Although we will miss sharing our late nights in the office with them, we are more than excited to see what their bright futures have in store for them! 


A home run for homeless families

(05/19/25 10:00am)

Meritocracy does not exist — privilege does. Sorry, but one’s understanding of someone else’s hard work and merit guiding their life’s outcome is not always true. While hard work certainly matters, it is rarely the case that someone’s hard work alone will determine their life’s outcomes. Luck and arbitrary circumstances matter just as much or even more. This is especially true for people dealing with homelessness. Those experiencing housing instability have higher instances of adverse childhood experiences than the general population, according to a publication in the Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology journal. Additionally, a study from the American Medical Association has revealed that people sleeping outside in Massachusetts die at three times the rate of people sleeping in shelters and around ten times the rate of the general population. The response to homelessness is not blaming the homeless for their “self-inflicted” problems, rather, it is getting the homeless off the streets and putting them in shelters for long enough to help them find permanent housing solutions.