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Brandeis University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1949 | Waltham, MA

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In the fall, anonymous users Zoom-bomb virtual panel about Uyghur Muslims

(02/09/21 11:00am)

In November, anonymous users interrupted a virtual panel discussing the oppression of the Uyghurs Muslim minority group in Xinjiang, China. One user played the Chinese national anthem and others used the annotation function of Zoom to write “Bullshit” and “Fake News” across the screen. A joint statement from the event sponsors said that just before the Nov. 13 event they were notified about “threatening emails from members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association” urging the University to cancel the panel. The emails, according to the sponsors' statement, were sent to the President’s Office, the International Students and Scholars Office and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.




The life of a freelance composer: Music meets business

(02/14/21 3:38pm)

The work of freelance music composers is not as solitary as it may sound. They collaborate with institutions, theatres, and individuals. They work on solo pieces, operas, orchestra pieces, chamber pieces, and more. They have a flexible working schedule for exploring and envisioning creativity in music, yet they live a busy lifestyle managing their music careers and businesses at the same time. Last Thursday, Feb. 4, the Music department invited freelance composer Stacy Garrop to share experiences and reflections on her career in the first Music Department Colloquium of the semester. 


Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy discuss their new book about the politics of American-Israeli relations

(11/17/20 11:00am)

Brandeis hosted authors Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy to talk about a new book they co-authored, “Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People,” in a virtual event on Monday, Nov. 9. In the book, Sharansky and Troy explore Sharansky’s extraordinary journey from being a dissident and a prisoner in a Soviet gulag to a public figure and leading activist in the Israeli political sphere. University President Ron Liebowitz, Prof. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS), Prof. Shirley Idelson (DEPT) and Associate Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies Dr. Shayna Weiss joined the event and participated in the conversation with Sharansky and Troy.


University president and columnist discuss the presidential election

(11/03/20 11:00am)

In light of the U.S. presidential election today, Tom Friedman ’75, H’88, a New York Times columnist and author, joined the Brandeis community on Thursday, Oct. 29 for a virtual discussion with University President Ron Liebowitz. During the event, which was titled “Thinking Ahead to the Presidential Election,” Friedman discussed a wide array of concerns pertaining to the election and voiced his predictions for the outcome.


David Ohannessian: bringing Armenian ceramics into Jerusalem

(11/03/20 11:00am)

Last Thursday, the Brandeis Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research invited Sato Moughalian, a renowned flutist and the author of "Feast of Ashes — The Life and Art of David Ohannessian,” for a virtual lecture on David Ohannessian, a well-known Armenian ceramicist. Moughalian is Ohannessian’s granddaughter, and she spoke about his art and how his experience in the Armenian genocide and being deported influenced his interpretation of ceramics. The event was supposed to happen last spring in person, but because of the pandemic it was rescheduled for this fall. 


Who was Jackie Robinson?

(11/03/20 5:00am)

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays last week in the 116th Major League Baseball World Series. It may be easy to overlook this recent event with an upcoming contentious national election and the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Still, baseball has played a large part in our national identity and culture and has earned its title as our “national pastime.” This reality has not been lost on Madison Avenue, who told us that “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet, they go together in the good ol’ USA,” according to a June 2016 Tri-County Times article. Thus, it is not surprising that changes within baseball, and in all sports, will reverberate into society as a whole. With the Dodgers' historic win in this unimaginable year, the Justice looked back at another historic Dodger moment: when Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play Major League baseball in the spring of 1947. It was a monumental moment in American history. This leads to the question: who was the man behind the ballplayer? 



You’ve got mail!

(10/27/20 10:00am)

It’s a sunny Wednesday morning and you have two classes before 1 p.m. and a class at 2:30 p.m., enough time to squeeze in lunch with your friends. You foresee the microwavable mac and cheese from your freezer being your dinner for tonight, while you attend your Zoom lecture with your camera turned off. You got the “DO NOT REPLY You have received a Package” email this morning — you're expecting your Amazon package today — some clothes that you saw on a TikTok and your favorite chocolate that you can’t find at the Hoot Market. You figure, you can pick up your package in between class and lunchtime, stuff it in your backpack, and open it when you get back to your dorm. You head to the Usdan Student Center, stand in a short line, swipe your ID card and wait. You see the mailroom workers look at some computer, call out a number, disappear for two seconds, and come back with your package in hand. You say “thank you,” and just like that you go up the stairs and get on with the rest of your day. This is the level of interaction that many Brandeis students have with the mailroom. But what goes on behind the curtains of the Brandeis mailroom? What stories do the workers behind the plexiglass have to tell? 


Chloe Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’ more than earns its praise

(10/27/20 10:00am)

Moments into its opening scene, “Nomadland” invites us to witness a deeply private moment: after leaving behind most of her belongings in a remote storage post, Frances McDormand’s Fern pulls her white van onto the side of the road, runs out into a vast field, disrobes below her waist and relieves herself. It is a definitive moment in a film full of them, one that makes clear from the outset that “Nomadland” will be unsparing in its depiction of reality. 


Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion creates a ‘white affinity space’ as one of its first steps in its racialized education programming

(10/23/20 2:19pm)

 Following the June 2 event hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion — “Coming Together to Face Systemic Racism” — that had a whopping 714 participants, students requested smaller, identity-focused spaces where they could share their pain and grievances, call for action and support, find community and create plans to address systemic racism, both interpersonally and at the institutional level. 


Three University students create app to assist nonprofits negatively impacted by COVID-19

(10/13/20 10:00am)

This past summer, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, three University students who participated in the Perlmutter Fellowship at the Brandeis International Business School worked together to create the Perlmutter App. They combined their interests of technology, business and social justice to create an app that would help organizations who were negatively affected by the outbreak. 


RBG Is One of My Heroes

(10/06/20 10:00am)

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on the first night of Rosh Hashana. Having no access to technology because of my religious observance, a friend notified me of her passing by a friend at a socially distanced service Saturday afternoon. It was not until Sunday morning — still with no access to technology — that I was able to read the full story from the newspapers my aunt and uncle brought me. It is very possible that I would not have been aware of the passing of one of my heroes until two days afterward. 



The Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center goes remote in response to the pandemic

(09/15/20 10:00am)

The Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center is the office on campus dedicated to “providing education, empowerment and support related to sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating/domestic violence and stalking.” PARC consists of two professional staff members —  Director Sarah J. Berg and Assistant Director Vilma Uribe — a number of undergraduate Peer Advocates and Violence Prevention Educators and four lead student staff members. PARC offers a wide range of free, confidential services, including bystander training sessions, individual meetings/drop-ins, an online chat feature and a 24/7 hotline. Prior to the campus shutdown last semester, PARC — like other departments and clubs — conducted many of its activities and programs in-person. With new social distancing policies and limitations on gatherings enforced as part of the University’s fall 2020 plans, staff and volunteers at PARC have worked tirelessly to reinvent the ways in which they offer their services virtually, while ensuring the same level of privacy, confidentiality and support granted in previous years. 


The Justice elects Gilda Geist, editor in chief and Luke Liu, managing editor

(09/08/20 10:00am)

The Justice unanimously elected Gilda Geist ’22 editor in chief for the 2020-2021 academic year on a Zoom call on Aug. 16. Geist presented her vision for the paper’s future, reflected on the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic and answered questions from Justice editors and staff before being voted EIC.


NY Met Legend Tom Seaver Dies at 75

(09/08/20 10:00am)

On Monday Aug. 31, Tom Seaver (aka Tom Terrific, The Franchise), widely considered one of the greatest baseball pitchers of all time, passed away at age 75. In a statement from Seaver's wife, Nancy, and daughters, Sarah and Ann, they expressed, "We are heartbroken to share that our beloved husband and father has passed away. We send our love to his fans, as we mourn his loss with you," per a CBS Sports article. He passed away from complications of Lewy Body Dementia and COVID-19.  


Brandeis students help their communities in quarantine: ‘Beyond the Pandemic’

(06/18/20 5:13pm)

No longer able to discuss issues face to face because of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals all over the world have turned to Facebook, Zoom, FaceTime and Instagram for social support and interaction. Sophie Phillips ’23 joined a Facebook group for college students affected by the pandemic soon after Brandeis announced its campus closure. Phillips realized that the group was not just about sharing funny memes; it also served as a platform for people to share their experiences, thoughts and opinions about the pandemic and other current issues. Inspired by the diversity and passion of the students in the group, Phillips began to wonder what it would be like if everyone could turn to “one place where they could share their ideas … and write about whatever was on their mind.” After discussing the idea with other members of the group, she co-designed and launched “Beyond the Pandemic,” a blog where college students across the country could submit pieces about what was going on in their lives now that they were back home. 


EDITORIAL: Standing with Brandeis’ Black and Brown communities amidst police violence and civil unrest

(06/10/20 6:30pm)

In recent weeks, people all over the United States and around the world have been using their voices in a renewed call for racial justice. This board condemns anti-Black racism, as highlighted by recent incidents of police brutality, and is implementing  concrete ways that we can address systemic racial inequity in our own organization.