One of Brandeis' numerous trademarks is its desire for diversity in our histories, our nationalities and our interests. And the latter shows itself in the great variety of clubs that are available to the student populace. This semester, several students have brought forth a new collection of groups that will unite students from all points on the spectrum and educate us on everything from fashion to Buddhism.

The Floor is Lava

If you've read The Blowfish as of late, you may already be familiar with The Floor is Lava on account of their recently published plea in the aforementioned paper for "those boots Link gets when he gets to the fire temple." However, contrary to what name and supposed needs may imply, The Floor is Lava isn't a club dedicated to coalwalking so much as it is Brandeis' newest comedy troupe.

The FL first manifested in the minds of founder Matt Hope '09 and his fellow organizers Shaked Hoter '09 and Will Friedman '09 during their sophomore year, but the group has only recently begun putting on shows. This past year, the FL's members kicked off their first season and ever since have enjoyed "bringing many different people together in one space to relax, laugh, and enjoy themselves," Hope wrote in an e-mail.

Hope-who has spent considerable time in several of Brandeis' other comedy groups and believes that "being in several comedy groups is not mutually exclusive at all"-had a distinctive sort of humor in mind when he formed the FL.

"The Floor is Lava is different from other comedy groups on campus for two reasons: We perform a [unique] style of comedy, and our structure is also [atypical]. We do sketch comedy which is different from the many wonderful improvisational groups on campus in that all of our jokes are written down into a script before the show. . We do long-form sketch, which is comedy written as an episode or mini-theater performance with plot to go along with the jokes," Hope said. Other aspects of FL that make the troupe unique are its aversion to the audition process and its inclusion of guest stars in every episode .

However, although the FL doesn't conducting tryouts, those of you who would like to be a part of this clan should not be discouraged; the FL does take on new members, just sans the traditional screening process.



Fashion Design Club

When Aimy Tsao '10 was six years old, her mother showed her how to sew on a button. Ever since, Tsao has been interested in needlework and fashion, collecting Neiman Marcus catalogs and designing her own clothing. And when Tsao met another student who shared her interest in fashion, Maya Siegel '10, she decided it was time to form a club dedicated to clothing design.

"I wrote a constitution for a fashion design club over a year ago and didn't do anything with it until I met [Siegel], who wanted to start one too. We just thought that there was enough interest in such a club and there wasn't anything like it at Brandeis yet. . At Brandeis, I [felt] that opportunities for students interested in fashion design [were] limited to costume design for theater productions."

However, with the Fashion Design Club, Tsao hopes to provide a haven for those "who share a common interest so that we can learn together and learn from each other. The club will be a resource for anyone who needs access to sewing machines and fashion design textbooks, which aren't easily available on campus." And one need not have previous experience with a needle to stop by one of the meetings; anyone is welcome to stop by. At present, Tsao says, meetings are primarily informal gatherings. "People can just stop by and work on their projects, and we'll probably have Project Runway playing in the background. I think members should feel free to suggest projects, so we'll work on whatever people are interested in. That could be anything from hand-sewing, dyeing, patternmaking, [to] fashion illustration."

More elaborate outings are also being planned to supplement the FDC's meetings. For example, Tsao is currently arranging a field trip to the Natick Collection in order to view an exhibit by students from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

In the future, Tsao and Siegel also hope to offer inexpensive tailoring services to students who can't (or won't) darn their own socks, hem their own jeans and the like. On a grander scale, Tsao would like the FDC to work with SEA during its eco-friendly fashion show and for the FDC to host its own fashion show in the spring.



Film Club

Although there is a club dedicated to the production of movies, prior to the introduction of the Film Club there was no forum in which students could discuss this particular medium on a regular basis.

Denisse Dubrovsky '10 has taken it upon herself to fill that void by launching the Film Club, an organization that is dedicated to uniting "film lovers and admirers on campus . [and providing] an excuse to watch films and find people who are similarly interested, discuss movements, theories, ideas, images, possibilities. Interested people should come-interest is the only [criterion]."

A lover of the movie medium, Dubrovsky believes that one's interest in film is a clear reflection of one's personality and personal growth.

"Movies are inseparable from memories of childhood and Disney princesses-there is just one year when we grow up and realize movies are something to talk about, something to get excited about, something that can be intellectual. And then there's that age when your parents actually let you watch the good movies, and you get what the characters are talking about,"?Dubrovsky writes. She likens film to books, in that with both one "can escape into beautiful intricacies of dialogue."

Dubrovsky isn't looking to produce her own movies ("I'd rather bide my time and simply enjoy what masters have achieved before me and wax poetic about their efforts"), and thus the purpose of her brainchild pertains more "to [increasing] awareness of theoretical and aesthetic aspects of film."

"By exposing students to the world of film through philosophical, psychological and conceptual perspectives, the club hopes to increase awareness of the complexities and histories of the classics."



Soka Gakkai

The Brandeis branch of Soka Gakkai International is part of the effort by Kathleen Fischman '10 and Miriam von Guggenberg '10 to bring Nichiren Buddhism to the campus' student body.

Nichiren Buddhism, explains Fischman, is named for the 13th-century Buddhist monk Nichiren Daishonin. Daishonin studied the lessons of the Buddha and found that the Lotus Sutra held his essential teachings, as "this sutra declared that all people have the potential to attain enlightenment in this lifetime," Fischman says. "Nichiren established the practice of chanting 'Nam myoho renge kyo,' the title of the Lotus Sutra, in order to raise one's [quality of life] and attain enlightenment." Essentially, Nichiren Buddhists believe that by chanting and studying Buddhism they can cultivate wisdom and compassion, thus realizing their own potential for enlightenment and changing their karma while helping others to become happy.

Fischman herself has personally practiced Buddhism for eight years and believes the practice has helped her achieve goals and overcome obstacles in addition to reshaping the way she sees her life and the world. "For example," Fischman says, "the [Buddhist concept] of turning poison into medicine has taught me not to avoid my problems but to challenge them and view them as an opportunity to learn from them and become stronger."

With SG, Fischman and von Guggenberg hope to find other students with whom to study Buddhist texts and share daily struggles and victories and explore how they relate to Buddhism. Of course, SG also exists as a means by which to educate other students on the practices and various sects of Buddhism, and Fischman anticipates that film screenings and exhibits meant to expose more of the student body to Buddhism will be forthcoming.



Brandeis Humanists

Joyce Wang '10 and Tom Charging Hawk '10 were inspired to start their own secular community after attending the New Humanist Conference at Harvard last year. The event, which was staged to celebrate the 30 years the Humanist Chaplaincy had existed at the university, produced the Brandeis Humanists, an organization dedicated "to offer[ing] an alternative point of view to students, besides that of religious organizations," Wang said.

"Brandeis is quite diverse religiously, and we have plenty of organizations devoted to that, but before us, there was no group devoted to a secular way of life," says Wang. "The idea of a secular existence is very powerful to me, because it makes the life I have that much more valuable, knowing it is the only one I have. I think some people have this belief that atheism has to be this negative meaningless thing, and it doesn't. It just means that there's no inherent meaning in life; you have to create it."

Wang and Charging Hawk have made great strides in introducing humanism to Brandeis even before bringing the BH to fruition as a resource; last year they brought to campus Greg Epstein, the current humanist chaplain of Harvard, as their first guest speaker. Epstein's lecture was followed by a visit from philosopher/novelist Rebecca Goldstein for the event "Morality Without God." Lori Lipman Brown, the only secular lobbyist for Congress, also came to campus at the behest of Wang and Charging Hawk.

The BH hopes to continue the trend this year with more speakers and events, including, Wang hopes, a debate with the Chabad/Christian Fellowship in October.