"What a long strange trip it's been," the well-known title of the 1977 Grateful Dead album, seems appropriate to describe this past semester. We have experienced immense pain, loss, hate and elevated emotions. It has not been easy contextualizing the unexpected circumstances. First-year students have been presented with a campus continually raw with emotion, wondering what happened to the serene university they thought they were attending. But as we look back on this semester tinged with sadness and pain, we must remember the importance of moving-on while absorbing the lessons we have learned.Loss

While most of us have experienced dealing with the death of an elder, many of us have never lost a peer. This semester we were all affected in some way by the passing of Reggie Poyau '04, Mary Jagoda '05 and Eliezer Schwartz '04. They were all integral parts of the Brandeis community. The class of 2004 has been especially affected, having lost classmate Ian Wacks in the fall of 2000. All of these tragic deaths have forced us to ask, "Why?" There is no simple answer to this basic question, and we are left feeling empty and broken.

The pain these deaths have caused will not disappear. We will forever miss the presence of these remarkable individuals, and many of us will never feel quite whole again. Brandeis has provided its students with many resources to help them get through these times of grief and we commend the university for that.

The Brandeis chaplains and administrators have been a constant source of strength, using their spirituality, knowledge and experience to comfort students. The Psychological Counseling Center has also been a steadying influence. We laud everyone who has provided guidance to students in need.

Hate

This semester has also been marked and marred by a startling amount of hate. It began with the racist comment written by Daniel Passner '05 in the Oct. 21 issue of the Justice, and was followed by the offensive flyers denouncing Muslims circulated around campus. The students of this university have seen their morals and emotions put to the test by ignorance. These hateful comments have caused unquantifiable amounts of emotional angst. As troubling as the comments themselves are the divides that have been created between students as they try to understand what is happening on their campus.

Controversial events, like Daniel Pipes' speech, have only increased the turmoil on campus. Minority students felt attacked and majority students felt unfairly labeled as attackers. It is time for us to look past these glaring examples of hate and racism so we can examine the deeper problems. There is no "solution" to racism and hate. It is a personal and universal struggle that we deal with every day and should be addressed head on. Peer-to-peer communication is key to this, because we will never be able to understand either side of the story until we attempt to look at it through another's eyes. By using individual interaction instead of institutionalized and required steps, such as mandatory classes or seminars, we can begin to suture these open wounds in our community. With those sutures in place, we may finally begin to heal.

Activism

In response to the hate on campus, there have been large mobilizations. This activism is promising because it means that we, as students, are not just willing to talk and hypothesize about problems on campus, but are willing to take tangible actions to fix these problems. The constructive activism we have witnessed - such as the protest/awareness campaign in light of Daniel Pipes' visit - has shown the amazing ability on the part of many students to come together for a cause. It has shown us the strength of the leadership of many groups on campus to take action for the benefit of their members, and their dedication to confronting Brandeis' problems head on.

However, not all activism on campus this semester has been constructive. Indeed, some of these demonstrations have actually divided us. The physical threats issued to protesters at Daniel Pipes' speaking engagement are one example of this balkanizing activism. The abundance of students taking comments or situations out of context and remaining unwilling to listen to others is another. As Brandeis' independent newspaper, the Justice has tried to open itself up and allow itself to become a megaphone through which to address these problems. While the Justice does not always succeed in this goal at all times, we need help of students as we strive to play a role in the healing of the campus. We continue to encourage the Brandeis community to write to and for us, and for any of the numerous other publications on campus.

To help further the goal of constructive activism that has proliferated this semester, we must learn to act instead of to react. Knee-jerk reactions to troubling circumstances have a way of compounding the problems and work against the inherent goal of activism. Activism is meant to create further awareness and to bring people together, not to divide them further. Instead of confrontational and intimidating actions, student activists can incorporate more discussion and one-on-one guidance in order to bring students together behind their cause. By choosing to act rationally instead of talking emptily, we can take steps in the right direction.

Leadership

In these stressful times, many students looked toward the administration for support and guidance. In the face of adversity, some leaders of the university performed extraordinarily, but others were conspicuously absent.

President Reinharz' appearance at the Muslim Students Association (MSA) forum last Thursday was appropriate considering his position of leadership and the fragile state of the community he leads. However, his presence was lacking at other times during this arduous semester. We acknowledge that he is only one person, but he is the president of this university and should have been a more active participant in addressing the disputes and tragedies of these past months. Although his principal duty is to raise funds, his rare appearances make him seem a distant leader. While we understand that he has commitments, it would have been comforting to see our president at the memorial services of our peers.

In spite of our disappointment with the president's office, other members of the Administration have frequently exceeded their calls of duty. Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer and Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett devoted incredible amounts of time to helping students cope. In the early hours of Oct. 28, Bennett desperately tried to maintain the peace as incensed students protested outside this newspaper's office. In the following days, Bennett, Sawyer and Rev. Nathaniel Mays reached out to all sides of that dispute. Their inviting and welcoming nature underscores their commitments to productive communication and a cohesive university. Rabbi Allan Lehmann and Fr. David Michael also worked tirelessly to heal the spirit of the Brandeis community by organizing vigils and memorials to remember the lives of Mary and Elie. They are all deserving of the upcoming vacations.

The Executive Board of the Student Union has spent many hours advocating for the students of this university. They have been most professional, and for this they should be highly commended.

We encourage the faculty, as a significant and influential force on this campus, to respond to future situations that may arise.

As we prepare for finals and the upcoming winter break, we hope students, faculty and staff will use this vacation as a period of reflection, and return to campus next semester rested and healthy. We wish you luck on your finals and a wonderful vacation. It has been a hard semester, but we are going to finish it together.