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On Tuesday, the Student Union released the list of candidates running in their winter election, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 26. Student Union Secretary Carol Kornworcel ’26 sent an email to students providing candidate biographies and other announcements concerning the Student Union. Nine positions with a total of 11 seats are up for election.
The Brandeis Faculty Senate held meetings on Dec. 8 and Jan. 19 to continue to discuss proposed motions following the University's derecognition of Students for Justice in Palestine and the subsequent protester arrests.
As early as March, the weight room in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center will be unrecognizable, featuring brand new machines and equipment for Brandeis community members to use. The renovation plans were spearheaded by personal trainer Mo Re Kim ’24 — the same student who advocated for the significant changes brought to the Village B/C Gym last summer. Following the successful renovations, Kim set his sights on updating the widely used Gosman space.
This semester, the Athletics Department decided to convert one of its multipurpose rooms in the Joseph M. Linsey Sports Center to a dedicated cycling room. Adjusting this room’s function elicited strong reactions from dance clubs on campus, who are no longer able to practice in the room.
On Nov. 22, an anonymous faculty member contacted the Justice with a redacted copy of the police arrest report from the pro-Palestine demonstration that ended in seven arrests — three of which were Brandeis students and four were individuals unaffiliated with the University. The complete report includes testimonies from six Brandeis Police Department officers who detailed their accounts of the demonstration’s escalation.
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
On Dec. 3, city councilors Colleen Bradley-MacArthur, George Darcy, and Jonathan Paz held a town hall meeting at First Parish Church in Waltham to discuss their thoughts about renovating the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center in a way that represents the public’s concerns about memorializing the institution. Residents spoke about the plans to renovate Fernald, modeling public disagreement over what changes should take place. A common theme that residents agreed on was that they expect more communication from the Waltham City Council, with some stressing how the renovations ignore the institution’s history.
Brandeis is holding 14 separate sessions throughout campus today all relating to the continuing war between Israel and Hamas. The lectures are part of a teach-in organized to respond to increased polarization on campus over the last two months regarding various opinions about the war. These events will begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day until 5:50 p.m.
After facing closure in Sept. 2022, the Embassy Theater, located at 16 Pine St. in Waltham, reopened its doors on Oct. 13, 2023. The Brandeis Student Union has joined forces with Tim Nasson, executive director of the theater, to breathe new life into the cultural landmark.
In the aftermath of many complex developments on campus regarding the Israel-Hamas War, debates centered on students’ safety, the boundaries of First Amendment rights, and increasing tensions permeating discussions on campus.
Faculty members held an emergency meeting on Nov. 17 to further discuss the ideas that were brought up during the emergency faculty meeting last Friday, which met to discuss the derecognition of Students for Justice in Palestine. There was also an informal faculty discussion on the night of Sunday, Nov. 12 that had approximately 150 attendees. The purpose of this meeting was to consider the motions that groups of faculty members developed in response to these meetings and to decide if the motions needed any amendments to put to a faculty-wide vote next week.
A small group of approximately 40 students, faculty, and community members gathered in Fellows Garden on Nov. 17 to recognize the one-year anniversary of the tragic Nov. 19 shuttle accident, which resulted in the death of student Vanessa Marks and 27 injured students.
Last year, catalyzed by the Year of Climate Action, an optimistic wave of climate and sustainability-related action — which included new courses, extracurricular programming, a new Decarbonization Action Plan, and more — took place on campus. This year, many of these initiatives have come to a grinding halt — not only because the Year of Climate Action has drawn to a close, but also as a result of former Director of Sustainability Mary Fischer’s departure from the University. As the only staff member of the Office of Sustainability, Fischer’s legacy is striking and simultaneously leaves many unanswered questions about the future of sustainability at Brandeis now that there is no one in her role.
For years, the Brown Social Science Center was seen to many students and faculty as a run-down piece of campus infrastructure with many issues, such as lead in the water. Brandeis administration has planned to renovate Brown for many years and the project is near completion as of this November. The design process began in the middle of 2021 and construction began in 2022. The process was the most comprehensive renovation at Brandeis in many years according to Senior Capital Project Manager Michael Bushey, although the University faced obstacles in their efforts to renovate.
On Nov. 7, the Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies held the Annual Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture, entitled “Choreographies of Black Freedom.” Prof. Shoniqua Roach (AAAS/WGS) had a discussion with New York University Professor Aimee Meredith Cox about her book “Shapeshifters: Black Girls and the Choreography of Citizenship,” as well as the evolution of Black girlhood studies.
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, Jeannette A. McCarthy was re-elected mayor of Waltham, Massachusetts for her sixth consecutive four-year term, defeating Jonathan Paz, a second-term city councilor from Ward 9. McCarthy won 58% percent of the vote, with Paz pulling in nearly 40%. Voter turnout was consistent with previous years, with 11,395 voters casting ballots — accounting for only 32% of registered Waltham voters. McCarthy secured 6,628 votes as opposed to Paz’s 4,551; in 2019, 34% (11,790) of Waltham voters went to the polls, with McCarthy winning 3,770 more votes than all of her competitors combined. Paz and McCarthy were the only candidates for mayor; the election is non-partisan, though based on a Nov. 3 email correspondence with City Clerk Joseph W. Vizrad, the Justice found that McCarthy is “unenrolled” in a party, while Paz is a Democrat.
The Student Union Senate passed two Senate Money Resolutions, gave probationary status to two new clubs, and discussed an amendment to the Union’s bylaws at its Nov. 12 meeting.
On Friday Nov. 10, Brandeis held a special Faculty Meeting and Listening Session with President Ron Liebowitz and Provost Carol Fierke to address the dechartering of the Students for Justice in Palestine organization, the meaning of free speech, and the best approach to support students during this time. The meeting was moderated by Prof. Jody Gittell (Heller), the faculty chair of the Senate. Motions were not able to be made during this meeting, as none were submitted in advance.
On Monday, Nov. 13, nearly 200 students walked out of their classes at 11:30 a.m. to gather for a silent sit-in on the Great Lawn.