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Brandeis University COVID-19 Statistics: Week of March 7

Judo world champion Sagi Muki advocates for unity between nations

The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies hosted a Zoom conversation on Feb. 28 with Israeli judo world champion Sagi Muki. With Keren Schneidinger ’22 moderating the event, Muki talked about his career as a judo player, or judoka, with particular emphasis on how his experiences shaped his commitment toward using sports to promote empathy between countries with fractious relationships.

justBRIEFS: University cancels in-person Commencement, recognizes Juneteenth, increases COVID-19 capacities

Virtual Commencement

Economist Simon Maxwell discusses climate compatible development

Simon Maxwell, a renowned international development economist, spoke to the Brandeis community about climate change and development on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at a virtual event titled “Next Steps in Climate Compatible Development.” This discussion was hosted by the Center for Global Development and Sustainability at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Executive Board member proposes the creation of a new Student Union website

No clubs were chartered, de-chartered or recognized at the Feb. 28 Student Union Senate meeting. Vice President Krupa Sourirajan ’23 was unable to attend, so Executive Sen. Joseph Coles ’22 ran the meeting.

Police Log 3-2-21

MEDICAL EMERGENCY

Brandeis University COVID-19 Statistics: Week of Feb. 21

Students celebrate Lunar New Year 2021 amid COVID-19

Lunar New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is a two-week celebration of the first new moon of the year in the traditional lunar calendar of many East Asian countries. Members of the Asian American community at Brandeis usually hold celebrations for the holiday, but due to COVID-19 they have had to alter their typical events. 

Experts discuss Black Lives Matter movement in Biden era

Past recipients of the Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize and the Richman Distinguished Fellowship in Public Life discussed the potential directions of the Black Lives Matter movement at this pivotal moment in our nation’s history, speculating on what is to come as we transition from a Trump administration to a Biden administration. Brandeis community members gathered over Zoom Wednesday, Feb. 17, to hear the insights of panelists including 2014 Richman Fellow and founder in residence of PolicyLink Angela Glover Blackwell, 2017 Richman Fellow and founder of Rebuilding Every Community Around Peace Rev. Jeffrey L. Brown and 2018 Gittler Recipient and president emerita of Spelman College Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. 

Professor explores environmental importance of virtual gatherings post-pandemic

Academic travel largely stopped with the pandemic, and new remote meeting formats have increased accessibility and opened opportunities for worldwide collaboration in ways that were once impossible. As travel and in-person events start to become options again, scholars are questioning if returning to pre-pandemic 'normalcy' is the best choice.

Community members discuss white supremacy, nationalism in relation to Jan. 6 insurrection

Brandeis community members gathered over Zoom on Friday, Feb. 19 to discuss the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, white nationalism and white supremacy. “Let’s Talk About… White Supremacy” debuted as the Sociology department’s first anti-racism event of the semester. This discussion is part of a new series aimed at creating informal spaces outside of the classroom to talk about world events in an academic setting. 

Senators discuss club rebranding, initiatives, amendment to Student Union bylaws

Sen. Joseph Coles ’22 announced at the Feb. 21 Union Senate meeting that the Brandeis Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance planned to split off from its national parent organization and rebrand itself as the Intersectional Feminist Coalition.

Carol Fierke begins work as University's new provost

Dr. Carol Fierke Ph.D. ’84 has been named the next Provost of Brandeis University, according to a Nov. 30 email from University President Ron Liebowitz. Fierke, who began as provost at the start of 2021, succeeded Lisa Lynch, who announced her intention to step down from being provost at the end of the spring 2020 semester. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynch remained provost for an extra semester — fall 2020 — before taking a position as the Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Police Log 2-23-21

MEDICAL EMERGENCY 

Governor Charlie Baker shares updates to Massachusetts’ COVID-19 policies

The Baker-Polito administration announced changes to Massachusetts’ COVID-19 guidelines on Feb. 8. The changes were made following an overall decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state. In November, when the state implemented stricter guidelines to slow the spread of the virus, Massachusetts had a positive test average of approximately 5.94% for a data collection period of seven days. As of Feb. 18, the rate of weekly positive cases was 2.13% in Massachusetts and 1.18% in Waltham. The number of active cases, hospitalizations and deaths has also declined over the past weeks. 

Views on the News: Former President Trump acquitted following his second impeachment trial

On Saturday, Feb. 13, the U.S. Senate acquitted former President Donald J. Trump in his second impeachment trial for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The final vote was 57 guilty to 43 not guilty, which was just 10 votes short of the total 67 guilty votes needed to convict Trump. Unlike his first impeachment trial where only one Republican Senator, Mitt Romney (R-Utah), found Trump guilty, seven Republicans voted to convict Trump this time. Do you think that Trump was exercising his constitutional right to free speech or inciting violence and violating the law? What do you make of seven Republican senators voting to convict Trump, and what consequences might these senators face in the future? 

Brandeis University COVID-19 Statistics: Week of Feb. 14

Proposal to add a senator for Chinese international students draws controversy

Sen. Noah Risely ’24, chair of the Social Justice and Diversity Committee, informed the Senate at their Feb. 14 meeting that because of an “incident” involving Chinese international students, he was proposing adding a new senator position specifically for an international student from China. Making such a change would require an amendment to the Union Constitution. Vice President Krupa Sourirajan ’23 instructed senators not to discuss the incident Risely referred to during the public session. 

Police Log 2-16-21

MEDICAL EMERGENCY

New director of Student Accessibility Support shares her plans, goals

Dr. Cara Streit is the new director of Student Accessibility Support, according to a Nov. 30 BrandeisNow article, following the unexpected departure of Beth Rodgers-Kay in the fall of 2019. The Justice reached out to Streit to learn about her plans for the department.