Features
Brandeis celebrates its 11th annual Kindness Day
To celebrate, Brandeis hosted a number of in-person and virtual activities.
Forum
Views on the News: Biden-Harris victory
On Saturday Nov. 7, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was elected the 46th president of the United States. After a tumultuous election season, Biden beat lame-duck President Donald J. Trump with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 electoral votes. Biden’s win is largely attributed to support in swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Biden’s win also marks a historical moment for California Sen. Kamala Harris, who is the first Black and South Asian woman to be elected vice president of the United States. What was your reaction to the Biden-Harris win? What do you think should be the top priorities for the new administration? Also, what do you anticipate as the biggest resistance to the new administration?
Editorial: The University needs to reevaluate its communication strategies surrounding the anti-racism plan
In June, during the resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests after police killed George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, University President Ron Liebowitz announced the administration’s intention to create an action plan to address systemic racism on campus. After six months of work, Liebowitz and Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Mark Brimhall-Vargas unveiled the University’s Draft Anti-Racism Action Plan in a Nov. 10 email to the Brandeis community. This board commends this critical step to address long-standing issues of racism on the Brandeis campus and encourages the student body to review and critique the administration’s plans, while also highlighting concerns we have about the way the University presented the action plan to the campus community.
Editorial: The University must reckon with its racist history and systems that harm BIPOC students
In his recent email about the Draft University Anti-Racism Plan, President Ron Liebowitz linked to a list of appendices that go into detail about the plan. Appendix B, “Our History of Anti-Racism Initiatives,” touches on several initiatives that the University has spearheaded, including the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. scholarships, the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program and the Brandeis Posse program. However, it largely focuses on the history of protests and occupations led by Black students and other students of color at the University. This board feels that the emphasis on these protests in a section titled “Our History of Anti-Racism Initiatives” incorrectly focuses on examples of the University’s commitment to social justice, rather than examples of the University’s racist systems and history.
Sports
The COVID-19 pandemic flipped the world of sports upside down
Following the shutdown, people guessed sports would come back more popular than ever.
Dodgers clinch first World Series since ’88, controversy ensues
The Dodgers won the World Series but not without debate, particularly surrounding Justin Turner’s positive COVID-19 test result.
Who was Jackie Robinson?
Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play Major League baseball in the spring of 1947.
Arts & Culture
A bit of color
In his latest photojournalism project, “A Bit of Color,” Vicente Cayuela ’22 documented the changes that the arts community at Brandeis has been going through in the past few months.
Interview with Prof. Gannit Ankori: The reopening of the Rose Art Museum
Although so much is closed or virtual this semester, Brandeis students will be happy to learn that one campus institution is still open in-person: the Rose Art Museum. It offers, as Prof. Gannit Ankori (FA) described it in a Nov. 1 email to the Justice, “a quiet space for reflection, contemplation, and enjoyment” that could be a good mental break from the chaos of 2020 for students, staff and faculty alike.
Doctor discusses role of opioids in treating chronic pain
Race and accessibility on a college campus
Dr. Andrew Kolodny responds to protest calling for the University to fire him
Former South Carolina senator discusses his path to politics
Want to win over moderates? Be progressive