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As another semester on campus dominated by COVID-19-related restrictions kicks into gear, this board would like to offer an appraisal of some of the recent changes to dining on campus.
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.
In light of the Nov. 10 release of the University’s Draft Anti-Racism Plan, the Justice’s editorial board will be reviewing and providing feedback on prominent sections. We hope that these forthcoming editorials will serve as a resource for students to provide feedback to the administration. We also recognize, however, that our editorial board is predominantly composed of white students, and we will work to ensure that we are not taking space or attention away from the voices of the BIPOC students who are most directly affected by racism on campus. In line with this goal, we have grounded our analysis of the appendices in the demands put forward by the Black Action Plan.
In light of the Nov. 10 release of the University’s Draft Anti-Racism Plan, the Justice’s editorial board will be reviewing and providing feedback on each section of the plan. We hope that these forthcoming editorials will serve as a resource for students to provide feedback to the administration. We also recognize, however, that our editorial board is predominantly white, and we will work to ensure that we are not taking space or attention away from the voices of the BIPOC students who are most directly affected by racism on campus. In line with this goal, we have grounded our analysis of the appendices in the demands put forward in the Black Action Plan.
This year, Brandeis celebrated its 11th annual Kindness Day on Nov. 12, per the Department of Student Activities’ website. The event was sponsored by several groups and departments on campus, including Academic Services, Admissions, Community Service, Sodexo and the Student Activities and Division of Student Affairs. All events are organized by the Kindness Day Committee in collaboration with the above mentioned sponsors.
President-elect Joe Biden and the Democratic Party support a $15 minimum wage. President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are completely against the idea. Yet, in the election Trump won with over 51% of the vote in Florida while a ballot initiative for a $15 minimum wage passed with 60.8% of the vote. To many, this would seem completely contradictory, but as someone who has grown up in Florida, it makes complete sense. Bill Clinton, the last Southern president from the Democratic Party, encapsulated this perfectly with a sign he hung in his Little Rock Campaign Headquarters that listed three messages: “The economy stupid,” “Don’t forget Healthcare” and “Change vs More of the Same.” People from the South may overwhelmingly vote Republican, but they are not against progressive ideas. Southerners want higher wages, better healthcare and socioeconomic change. This does not only apply to the South, but also for those living in the Rust Belt, a region in the midwest and any rural areas. It is the reason why Trump was so successful in the first place; he promised real change to people who felt as if they had been left behind. So, the question is, why was Biden and the rest of the Democratic Party’s performance in Florida and other Southern states so lackluster? The answer is how Democrats ran their campaigns.
Although so much is closed or virtual this semester, Brandeis students will be happy to learn that one campus institution is still open in-person: the Rose Art Museum. It offers, as Prof. Gannit Ankori (FA) described it in a Nov. 1 email to the Justice, “a quiet space for reflection, contemplation, and enjoyment” that could be a good mental break from the chaos of 2020 for students, staff and faculty alike. She is an active member of the Rose's Advisory Board, and I recently had the chance to correspond with her about the museum’s current programs and upcoming developments.
Starting on Oct. 25, the Brandeis Wellness Programmers hosted a number of events as part of “Eat, Sleep, Move Week,” a program aimed at promoting self-care and wellness. The Wellness Programmers group consists of students and staff from a wide range of offices and clubs on campus, including Health and Wellness Promotion; the Brandeis Counseling Center; the Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center and the Bridge to Wellness Peer Educators. “We embrace a broad definition of wellness that includes multiple dimensions (physical, emotional, social, spiritual, financial, intellectual, occupational, etc.),” Director of Health Promotion and Wellness Initiatives Leah Berkenwald ’07 wrote in an Oct. 30 email to the Justice. The Brandeis Wellness Programmers typically host multiple events throughout the semester, including Sleep Week, Wellness Week and Stressbusters. Per Berkenwald’s email, “The goals of these weeks are to create and organize programming that highlights wellness challenges of that particular semester or time of year.” For this year in particular, which has been filled with a number of challenges and stress-inducing changes, the Wellness Programmers decided to “return to basics and focus on the fundamentals of self care: eating, sleeping and moving your body,” added Berkenwald.
Student club TEDxBrandeisUniversity hosted its annual event on Nov. 1. The event, which had been postponed twice, once because of COVID-19 restrictions, featured speeches from Ruben Kanya ’14, Prof. Kristen Lucken (IGS), Eric Moyal ’17, M.A. ’18, M.S. ’21, Henry Chen ’23 and Mendel Weintraub ’21, all under the topic of “Wellness in the New Age.” These speeches, recorded on Oct. 14 by Media Technology Services, were streamed on Facebook Live and in a Zoom watch party. Each of the speakers interpreted this prompt differently, all expressing some sort of vulnerability to their virtual audiences.
In an unprecedented semester, the University has implemented a number of policies both to provide students with necessary campus services and to contain the spread of COVID-19. One such policy is the University’s use of a Campus Passport Portal system, where, in order to access certain services on campus, students must fill out a daily health assessment and confirm their COVID-19 biweekly testing status. Students receive a color and status through the passport system, which corresponds to their eligibility for navigating the campus and accessing dining halls, classrooms, the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center gym and testing sites. This board commends the University for its efforts to ensure the safest possible campus at this time. The passport system is a well-intentioned attempt to deliver a safe yet effective means of both ensuring the best possible campus experience, and making sure students, staff and faculty alike can navigate the campus safely. However, key issues remain with the passport service’s accessibility and ease of use.
“Portrait of A Lady on Fire” is a romantic drama film written and directed by French filmmaker Céline Sciamma. Set in a house in 18th-century Brittany, an island in France, the film tells the story of an unfruitful love between Héloïse, a daughter of an aristocratic family who is reluctantly being forced to marry an Italian courtier, and Marianne, a painter who is hired to paint her portrait. Sciamma challenges conventional feminism and lesbian love through sisterhood, female artisitc recreation and the genuine love accompanied with emancipation.
2020 has been a year of losses and challenges, whether it is the virus that surged across the world from the beginning of the year, or the escalated social tension that got its momentum in the summer. And while the United States is preparing for its presidential election, we were hit by the death of two champions of civil rights: Rep. John Lewis and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On Oct. 1, Brandeis Film, Television and Interactive Media; the Department of African and African American Studies; the Department of History and and the Edie and Lew Wasserman Fund invited CEO of Participant David Linde, film director Dawn Porter and Professor Chad Williams (AAAS) for a discussion on the impact of the documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” and the relationship between arts and activism.
Sodexo will continue to serve as the University’s food service vendor until June 2022, under a new contract that is currently being finalized. This new two-year contract is a departure from the University’s pre-pandemic plan to sign a longer-term contract following a Request for Proposals process, which would have potentially replaced Sodexo with one of three other dining contractors.
On Monday, Sept. 14, the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies had its fall kickoff event: “The Jews are Coming to Brandeis: A Conversation with the Creators of Israel’s Hit Satire Series.” The event featured Natalie Marcus and Asaf Beiser, creators of the Israeli Academy Award-winning TV show “The Jews are Coming” (Ha-Yehudim Baim) in conversation with Shayna Weiss, Associate Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. Currently in its fourth season, the show features sketches about Jewish history from biblical times to the present. Think “Horrible Histories,” but with an older target audience and darker, Jewish humor.
It is unbelievable that, as a sophomore, I’ve spent half of my college experience so far in the COVID-19 pandemic. People call it the new normal, but it will never be normal. As many of us are physically hundreds of miles away, language becomes pale, and our interactions are limited to just a small box on our computer screen. As we are apart from our friends and family, I turn to music to find tranquility. In April, I attended the “Together At Home” online concert initiated by Lady Gaga. When I saw the number of attendees climbing up in the lower-left corner of the video, which showed that millions of people across the globe were attending this concert with me, I felt supported.
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.
My first impression of actress Dominique Jackson was that she was absolutely stunning. She was sitting comfortably in the chair with her legs crossed in an elegant pose and her body turning in an appropriate angle facing the audience. Jackson, the 45-year-old transgender advocate and actress, was invited by the Brandeis Film, Television and Interactive Media Program for a conversation on Sept. 10. In the next hour, she shared her stories as a fashionista and a proud transgender woman.
Every year, the new first-year class is introduced to the Brandeis community through a number of Orientation programs and activities. “Designed by students for students,” Orientation typically takes place over the few days before the first day of class and includes a number of traditional events like “This is Our House” and the “Light of Reason.” Given the coronavirus pandemic, planning and conducting Orientation for the Class of 2024 looked drastically different. The Justice spoke to Jenny Abdou, Director of New Student Orientation; Scott Berozi, Associate Director of Community Living and Orientation; and Skye Liu ’23, a 2020 Orientation Leader, to discuss the challenges and upsides of preparing for and hosting a virtual Orientation. The Justice also talked to Ethan Kerstine, a member of the Class of 2024, about his personal experience with the program.
To promote social distancing, Brandeis has added some outdoor features to campus. Brandeis placed tents around campus — including outside of Skyline Residence Hall (pictured) and the Shapiro Campus Center — to add outdoor seating due to restrictions in dining hall capacity.
An open letter to the Division of Science: