Dear Editor,

My favorite walks I took in college, before I graduated in December, were always the ones at 2 AM or later from the Justice office after production night back to my apartment about a mile away on South Street if I couldn’t land a ride home. The streets would be really misty and feel surreal and my headphones would be dead because I always forgot to charge them until right before I left in the mornings, but I didn’t mind because the quiet was so peaceful. Except for the times when I’d hear a weird nose and get scared and roll my ankles like 40000 times trying to speed-walk through the night in platform boots. Whatever. 

I think the reason that the walks meant so much to me is because they gave me a space to reflect on what I loved about The Justice, even amid exhaustion. In my opinion, there are so many cases in journalism where preconceived ideas of what “objectivity” should look like stop people from truly listening to and hearing what a person has to say. But working alongside you guys -- a team of 18-22 year-olds who cared SO MUCH about the people around them that they’d spend 14+ hours a week unpaid listening to people and researching and writing and rewriting and rewriting again and pushing themselves to learn and grow and take accountability for the sole reason of wanting their community to be heard fairly -- was invaluable to be around. My hope for the future is that the Brandeis administration takes a note out of your book and starts listening to students to correct systemic issues around housing, food, and the policing of grief — motivated not by money or donors, but by care for our community. 

I miss the office, but am also happy to be able to write run-on sentences again without getting them slashed to bits. Also, I still take 2 AM walks, and think of the Justice when I do. But my headphones don’t die on me anymore, because I remember to plug them in before I go to sleep. Maybe that’s what growing up is? 

Happy 75th (and with all my love), 

Cayenn Landau

Former Associate Editor

Brandeis University ‘23

Psychology, Creative Writing & Journalism