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Seahawks stomp out competition

Recently dealt players face former teams following NBA’s trade deadline

100 Days 'Till Graduation

On Feb. 7, the class of 2026 gathered in the Faculty Club to celebrate 100 days until their graduation. The lively event featured catered food, a bar at which the seniors could get three free drinks and a live disc jockey. 

Senate Log

On Sunday, Feb. 8, the Student Union Senate hosted its weekly meeting. They discussed chartering the Brandeis Mountain Club, changing the Guitar and Bass Club’s name to JAM Club, and passing Senate Resolution One, which calls for the Brandeis University Administration to publicly oppose the Compact for Academic Excellence and Higher Education.

Police Log

MEDICAL EMERGENCY 

“Iron Lung” Review: Blood, Voices and More Blood

A new independent horror film has landed on the big screen with a bloody splash. “Iron Lung,” based on the 2022 video game of the same name, is the most recent passion project from Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach, who wrote, directed, produced and acted in the feature film. For those who are unfamiliar with Fischbach, he is a YouTuber who has been posting gaming content primarily for the past 13 years. At the time of writing “Iron Lung,” he had over 38 million subscribers. Although Fischbach is known for his “let’s plays” videos — especially of the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” games — he has experimented with filmmaking and storytelling on his channel many times over the years. However, “Iron Lung” is his first foray onto the big screen. 

Bad Bunny’s America: The America We all deserve

In times of political instability, art has been a refuge for many time and time again — which you could argue is supremely unsurprising. Art is a fundamentally political sphere, but also one where ideas of progress and liberalism have almost always dominated. The Grammy Awards are meant to recognize the best of the best in musicianship and recording prowess and span more than three hours of scripted speeches, jokes, wins and losses. With this in mind, one would think that the Grammys would be a similarly political event — one where common values of community, compassion and activism are mutually agreed upon. This hasn’t been the case, however. Up until now, the Producers have carefully distanced the event and its place in the cultural zeitgeist from any sort of unequivocal political stance, which seems antithetical to its purpose to begin with. Recognizing art means to recognize the values that come with it — but to the Grammys, high viewership, overly scripted jokes and luxury have been the main priorities, so it seems. That being said, we as a nation are in a time of great stress. America is going through a politically unstable period: large swaths of communities across the country are being targeted, injured and killed and millions of voices have risen in an outcry. If there was a time to get political, it would be now, and the Recording Academy seems to have come to the same conclusion. The question is: Is it enough? 

Artificial Intelligence wants to be your friend, for a price

More and more often, we see the term “Artificial Intelligence Induced Psychosis,” or AIIP, being used by journalists and psychologists to describe the reports of individuals experiencing breaks from reality after interacting with AI chatbots. Despite the popularity of the term, there have been no clinical or longitudinal studies that definitively prove that chatbots are causing psychosis in their users. There were, however, several reports of chatbots actively encouraging their users’ delusions of grandeur, paranoia, as well as acts of bodily harm towards themselves and others, with evidence being found on the site’s chat logs during criminal investigations. More often than not, users of all ages engage with AI socially, as one would engage with a friend or romantic partner. How could these chatbots be getting so close to users in the first place? One scholar offers an explanation for why some users trust these chatbots so willingly. 

The performative male epidemic

A few months ago, I was transported to the frontlines of the performative male epidemic when I attended a Geese concert, a band that has become synonymous with tote-bag-wearing men in their twenties. Having become a fan after being entranced by their sound upon the release of their 2023 album “3D Country,” and having loved frontman Cameron Winter’s solo album “Heavy Metal,” I was anxiously waiting for their next album. By the time the concert came, I had seen them go from a lesser-known band, with iffy ratings on music-rating websites, to being seen as the successor to the Isaac Wood era “Black Country, New Road.” Both bands, in fact, had a beloved lead singer with a unique voice and unique lyrical styles, which, combined with their art rock fusions, proved popular among a certain sect of people. With this rise in popularity came the flooding of what has been termed “performative males” into their fanbase. 

The race to move in and the fees one incurs

In the first two weeks of this semester, many Brandeis students received an email from the Department of Community Living notifying them of winter housing fees costing between $200 and $300. This email was a notice to any students living in housing without kitchens who moved in before 9:00 a.m. on Jan. 11 about the money they owed the school for moving back to campus early. Of these fees, $220 was for using the Brandeis dining services, such as Sherman Dining Hall, before they reopened for the spring semester. DCL only allowed Brandeis students to avoid these fees by returning to their residence halls on Sunday, Jan. 11; the first day of classes was Monday, Jan. 12. Additionally, many students received this dining fine despite there being no record of them swiping into any campus dining hall facilities before they reopened for the spring semester. 

Forum, Unfiltered — Ellie Harris

The Rabb Steps aren’t that bad

Letter to the Editor — Mateo Levin

To the editor:

Letter to the Editor — Jon Hochschartner

Support the PROTEIN Act

Surviving Through Art

On the edge of Brandeis University’s campus, sits the Kniznick Gallery, located within the Women’s Studies Research Center. Each year, the gallery hosts an exhibition organized by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, a research institute dedicated to promoting scholarship at the intersection of Jewish studies and Women’s and Gender Studies.

Bike Sharing Program on campus works to spread sustainable transportation

After more than a year of planning and revisions, Brandeis has approved $25,500 in funding for a student-run bike share program that will be launching its pilot phase this April with 12 bikes.  In a Jan. 23 interview with The Justice, the student organizers for this project, Ruben Seaman ’29 and Allan Feldman ’26 shared that they planed to expand the program to 20 bikes by the time the program “hard launch[es]" in the fall semester. The funding for this program came from the The Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund and the Campus Sustainability Fund following a revised proposal that addressed logistical and sustainability concerns that were raised in the previous application cycle. Seaman and Feldman said that the updated proposal focused on long-term continuity, cost efficiency and broader student participation. The initiative was first reported by The Justice in October 2024, when they outlined early plans for a campus bike share program but had yet to secure funding. 

“We can’t sit this one out”: Prof. Sabine von Mering reflects on December arrest

On the cold morning of Dec. 16, Prof. Sabine von Mering (WGS/CEGS), Fred Small, Eric Segal and Roger Rosen arrived at Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s New England Regional Headquarters in Burlington with the intent to deliver aid to individuals detained inside. Within hours, the group found themselves in handcuffs, facing two civil court charges: trespassing and disturbing the peace. 

Anti-ICE demonstrations carried out on campus garner support

On Friday, Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m., a group of about 30 individuals convened in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium to protest the escalating actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. The event was preceded by another protest the previous week on Tuesday, Jan. 20, in what was called a “Free America Walkout.” This was part of a larger nationwide initiative led by the organizers of the Women’s March, which inspired Professor Sabine von Mering (WGS/CGES) to organize on campus. 

Hassenfeld-Sherman Fire

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2, students and staff were issued a Brandeis Alert concerning “ongoing fire activity” in the Sherman-Hassenfeld building. The email, with the subject line “HazMat/Fire/Gas Leak,” instructed community members to stay away from the area surrounding Sherman-Hassenfeld and to adhere to the detours Public Safety has administered. Those leaving campus were instructed to use the Cedarwood gate or the Tower Lot. Both Brandeis Facilities and Public Services did not immediately respond to our request for comment. 

Police Log, 1/16 - 1/29

MEDICAL EMERGENCY 

Psychology department colloquium: “What we value in human empathy”

Artificial Intelligence chatbots have become a convenient option over the last three years for many individuals in search of an emotional outlet. In an age where immediacy counts, what exactly happens to the value of human relationships when a faster, more effortless alternative to emotional responses exists? On Thursday, Jan. 22, the psychology department hosted speaker Anat Perry, Ph.D., at the Rapaporte Treasure Hall. In the lecture, Perry compared different perceptions of human and AI-generated empathetic responses according to her research as an advanced fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.