Students celebrate Lunar New Year in ShapiroMore than 300 people attended a Lunar New Year celebration held in the Shapiro Campus Center last Saturday night. The event, sponsored by the Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection, Chinese Students and Scholars Association and the Korean Student Associatoin, rang in the 4,702nd lunar year with a program of performances in the Shapiro Theater, followed by dinner and a night market in the Atrium. The show began with a moment of silence to remember the victims of the tsunami last December, to whom a portion of the night's proceeds were donated. [See related story, page 3.] The performances that followed consisted of a variety of traditional Chinese dances and arts, ranging from a "lion dance" and kung fu demonstration to classical and folk dances, a traditional instrumental performance and spoken word. Special guest performers included Dance Revelasian, a Boston area Chinese dance troupe, and a Chinese yo-yo group. After the show, guests flowed into the Shapiro atrium to eat dinner, explore vendor booths and play games. A raffle was held throughout the evening, and door prizes included gift certificates and an iPod shuffle.
-Stacey Chan

Seniors pen Brandeis fight song to foster school spirit

Let's be honest: Brandeis isn't exacting bursting with school spirit. Yet seniors Mike Goldsmith and Yev Bronshteyn-inspired partly by the success of the Women's Basketball team-have composed an original fight song to rally crowds at Brandeis athletic events. They hope their song will soon be approved as an official school anthem and are eager to teach the tune to the University's choral ensembles.
The two frequently collaborate artistically. Goldsmith wrote the lyrics for the fight song while Bronshteyn composed the music. "I used the standard motif for fight songs at other schools, with battle references about winning the day," said Goldsmith. "But at Brandeis we also have a mission of social justice, and I wanted the lyrics to reflect a sense of winning greater battles in life."
Working off of Goldsmith's lyrics, Bronshteyn explained, "The verses talk about such things as truth and our battle for social justice, so I tried to set them to a grand and bright march. The refrain is more focused on actual confrontations, and so it ended up sounding like a Soviet World War II song."
Above all, they hope their song will reflect a communal love for the school, and hopefully help unite the generations of Brandeis scholars.
"Individually, Brandeisians have a great deal of school spirit," Goldsmith said. "However, there is not a broad connection among the generations that have passed through the University. One purpose of a fight song is to tie together students and alumni. They associate it with the best moments of their time at school and the values that Brandeis stands for."
The following is an excerpt from "A Fight Song for Brandeis":
"From Sachar's gift of virgin woods to the summit of Rabb hill echoes Louie's credo: No law abjures good will! And so we follow in his path unto this very date. May the righteous efforts of our youth make Brandeis ever great!
"Wave on, blue and white, forever! We put enemies to shame. We stand side-by-side together to uphold the Judges' name. Rivals tremble at our power. Our bodies burn with might. We shall rule this precious hour in a blaze of blue and white! We shall white!"
-Jenn Rubin