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The Justice Editorial Board would like to extend a warm welcome to the Class of 2025 as they begin their first year of college and the Class of 2024 as they begin their first year of in-person classes. This board has compiled a list of its favorite survival tips on the Brandeis campus for navigating these new and exciting times.
Every year, a book forum is held for Brandeis' first-years. A book is chosen by the school, and sent to incoming first-years. It is supposed to be an intellectually stimulating book which the entire class can analyze and connect to. The forum includes receiving the book, reading the book and finally discussing the book in classrooms on campus with other first-years during orientation. On the University’s website, the event is described as “the first of many experiences that will begin to build your community and a sense of belonging at Brandeis. The forum is the only time your entire class will have a shared academic experience, reading the same book, and bringing you together for a meaningful connection with your peers and members of our outstanding faculty. This special experience is the beginning of creating a unifying connection that will last for years to come.”
Keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson, a human rights lawyer and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, spoke to the graduating Class of 2021 about overcoming racial injustice and inequality.
At its final meeting of the academic year on May 2, the Union Senate voted in favor of chartering –– and by extension, securing –– Branda as a club. This step was made possible because of a constitutional amendment, passed last week, which would add Branda to the list of nine secured clubs.
The Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center hosted a panel discussion last Friday about transformative justice, its implementation in higher education and the ways it can benefit the Brandeis community. PARC invited Brown University alumnus Camilla Pelsinger, Brown senior Izzy Acevado and social justice organizer Dara Bayer to speak about their experiences implementing the first formal transformative justice program in a U.S. institution of higher education.
Throughout his career, master wood engraver Barry Moser left his footprints in many categories of books, from children’s books to religious texts. He is accomplished not only in watercolor illustrations and wood engravings, but also as an “engineer” of books’ creation, as he described. On Friday, April 30, Director of Brandeis Arts Engagement Ingrid Schorr invited Moser — along with author, poet and gallery owner Rich Michelson — to talk about the new edition of Moser’s classic book, “The Art of Wood Engraving & Relief Engraving,” published by Brandeis University Press. In the event, Moser shared his experience and insights on his career.
On April 29, Professor Aida Wong hosted a lecture with Dr. Robert C. Anderson on the topic of Japanese architecture as part of her course, “The Art of Japan,” and the Brandeis Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. With the focus on three contemporary Japanese architects, Anderson took the audience on a virtual aesthetic tour, introduced Japanese aesthetic principles and tracked the connective threads of Japanese architectural forms across time.
Being busy with school and everything else for the past few months, I have had little time to watch any movies, or to keep up with the latest movie news. Although I have put several of the nominated films on my watchlist, I was not even aware of the date of the Academy Awards ceremony this year and had not seen any of the nominated movies to write a prediction piece. For that, I tip my hat to Mr. Dinlenc, Mr. Weintraub and those who come after me who can meet the task. Motivated by hot shame, as someone who considers himself to be a “fan of cinema,” I watched “Sound of Metal” this weekend.
Something that many people have been craving throughout the pandemic is the return of live music. Brandeis’ all-female a cappella group, Too Cheap For Instruments, helped satisfy this desire as a part of Brandeis’s annual Folkfest. On Thursday, April 29, the group put on a virtual concert via YouTube Live, and four members of the group performed their original songs.
The Psychology department released the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and General Climate survey survey on Monday, May 3 for members of the department. The survey is confidential and open to everyone within the department, including all faculty, staff and students.
On Tuesday, April 27, India reported 320,000 new COVID-19 cases and 2,771 deaths, as a second COVID-19 wave ravaged the country's healthcare system. The Indian government has responded to the crisis by restricting its own exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has had drastic repercussions on impoverished nations. Last week, President Biden defended the current ban on exports of raw materials used in vaccines in response to urgent requests to lift it, citing obligations to prioritize vaccinating the American population first. In a recent turn of events, the Biden Administration proposed a plan to export up to 60 million AstraZeneca doses to India when available, and countries such as the UK have sent ventilators and additional medical equipment to assist in navigating the catastrophe. In light of the situation, some physicians have alluded to ‘vaccine nationalism’ — when nations procure doses on behalf of national interests at the expense of other countries. How does vaccine nationalism or pandemic profiteering factor into the current nature of global and domestic vaccine distributions, if at all? Many of our own community also have loved ones in the impacted area. At a local level, how can the Brandeis administration and faculty support South Asian students at this time?
The state of Massachusetts opened COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 years of age or older on April 19. Assistant Provost for Strategic Initiatives Morgen Bergman sent an email to all Brandeis students on April 16 announcing an on-campus COVID-19 vaccine clinic. The clinic was organized with the University’s pharmaceutical partner, PelMeds Community Pharmacy, located in Waltham. The clinic took place in the Zinner Forum, located within the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, on April 22 and 23, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., according to an email sent to the Brandeis community by Provost Carol Fierke and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Stew Uretsky.
Like many students, I’ve spent the past year brooding over the switch to online learning that has replaced in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But after getting my vaccine last week and hearing about the hopeful return to mostly in-person instruction next semester, I realized that some part of me will miss attending a Zoom class with my camera off, bare-faced, while cozy under a blanket. Online learning has provided many students with more substantial conveniences and accommodations, such as allowing them to watch recorded lectures on their own time and when they felt best prepared to absorb the materials. In future non-COVID-19 times, will we be nostalgic and miss some elements of our experiences with online learning?
Though there were no club recognitions, charters or decharters, the April 11 Senate meeting was still full of activity, being just one of the few meetings from this semester to run the full two hours. The meeting was broken down into four blocks, during which University administrators were invited to answer questions submitted by senators — a deviation from the standard meeting procedure.
Five senator positions and three representative positions, with a total of 10 seats, were open in the second round of Student Union elections this semester. Students voted on April 21, and Secretary Alex Park ’22 held a debate between the candidates on April 18. Park announced the results on April 22.
The University is in the process of replacing its student information system, Sage, with Workday Student. As with Sage, faculty, students and staff will use Workday Student to access and manage student information regarding class enrollment, grades and more. Workday Student is launching in phases: the Workday platforms of Human Resources, Finance and Payroll launched in summer 2019; the basic structure for Workday Student launched in fall 2020; class registration and advising will be made available in April and May; financial information will be available this summer and all remaining features will go live in fall 2021. As of April 20, Workday Student is available for students to use to manage their personal information. Student information will remain in Sage up to the 2021 summer semester, so students will access Sage to look up spring 2021 course grades and access Workday Student to apply for fall 2021 classes. By fall 2021, the University will have fully transitioned to Workday Student, and Sage will no longer be necessary.
This board would like to congratulate the Brandeis COVID-19 vaccination program on a largely successful first COVID-19 vaccination clinic. Brandeis offered approximately 1,200 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to students on April 22 and 23, and the clinic itself was well-run and efficient. However, there were some frustrating hiccups with the vaccine appointment sign-up process, and this board still has some concerns about the plans for the second vaccination clinic scheduled for May 13 and 14.
As climate change becomes an increasingly urgent issue, climate-friendly lifestyle choices are gaining popularity. On April 6, the Center for German and European Studies hosted “Could Veganism Cool the Planet? A Conversation with Vegan Activist ‘Earthling Ed,’ Ed Winters.” Ed Winters is the co-founder and co-director of Surge, an animal rights non-profit organization. Following his introduction, Winters discussed the role of veganism in the climate movement with the founder of 350PDX, Adriana Voss-Andreae, Surge Project Manager Tatiana von Rheinbaben and 18-year-old climate and animal rights advocate Juliana Voss-Andreae. The event was moderated by Prof. Sabine von Mering (GRALL).
Jewish communities and individuals around the world observed Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as Yom HaShoah in Hebrew, on April 8. The day is an internationally acknowledged commemoration of the atrocities of the Holocaust in which six million Jews perished. In Israel, a siren sounds and everything stops — including traffic and pedestrians — and for two minutes everyone stands in silence to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Other communities around the world commemorate with services, educational programs, survivor stories, Holacaust themed films and more.
On April 6, Carali McCall, a London-based artist and co-author of “Performance Drawing: New Practices since 1945,” gave a virtual talk as part of the “Brandeis Post Baccalaureate in Studio Art Lecture Series.” McCall is fascinated by the passage of time, physical energy and bodily movement. Her research and artwork question an artist’s role and uncover new ways to understand the body. She explores the performative nature of human activities and demonstrates how the act of drawing can become a tool of performance. In this relaxing talk interspersed with video clips of her performance work, McCall charted her journey as an artist and the development of her vibrant and expressive practice: the “performance drawing.”