Forum, Unfiltered — Brianna Earle
Grad is not that bad.
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Grad is not that bad.
Who is Jon Hochschartner and what is he on about?
By now everyone has heard of Artificial Intelligence, but not of the unprecedented ways in which it’s being used. I’m not talking about AI being used to make art, businesses or to assist students with school work; I’m talking about misled people falling in love with AI chatbots. On the social media platform Reddit there is an online community of individuals that have romantic relationships with AI chatbots called r/MyBoyfriendIsAI, with approximately 28,000 members. It was founded on Aug. 1, 2024, and the community description reads as follows:
As of August 2025, Stanford University’s student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging its campaign of censorship and retaliation against student journalists, particularly noncitizens, who share their truth. In Stanford Daily Publishing Corp. et al. v. Rubio et al. the plaintiff accused Secretary Marco Rubio and the administration of abusing two provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to censor lawfully-present noncitizens in the United States. Represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Daily’s case underscores a broader, more disturbing reality: for student journalists, the cost of free expression may now include surveillance, detention and deportation.
Brandeis University earned an overall F in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s 2026 free speech rankings, placing 149th of 257 U.S. colleges and universities. The school’s rules received a “yellow light” designation, meaning Brandeis has chosen policies that may be applied in a way that violates rights to free speech. “That means that there’s one or more speech code policies in a student handbook, faculty handbook, somewhere … that they’re worded in a way that they could be applied unconstitutionally. It’s vague or arbitrary wording,” said Sean Stevens, chief research advisor at FIRE, in a Sep. 26 interview with The Justice.
Associate Editor: Anika Jain ’26
This editorial board wants to take this opportunity to recognize the incredible contributions made by our ten graduating seniors over the past four years. Despite being a club, the ample amount of work and dedication that goes into maintaining The Justice can often feel like a full-time commitment, but these graduates have taken these challenges in stride. Although we will miss sharing our late nights in the office with them, we are more than excited to see what their bright futures have in store for them!
On Tuesday, March 4, the Brandeis Journalism Department invited former New York Times Executive Editor and Pulitzer Prize recipient Dean Baquet to serve as keynote speaker for the 2025 Elaine Wong Distinguished Lecture Program. Baquet formerly served as the executive editor for the Los Angeles Times and made history as the first African American Executive Editor of the New York Times. He spoke about the interplay between the media and polarization in a discussion moderated by Associate Professor of the Practice of Journalism Ann Silvio (JOUR) and adjunct lecturer Adriana Lacy (JOUR), as well as Professor Paul Anskat (SOC).
In March of this year, the permanent collection of the Musée National d’art Moderne — the National Modern Art Museum — of Paris closed its doors for five years. Consecrated as the Centre Georges Pompidou, this modern art museum has housed a large collection of avant-garde art from the early 20th century since 1977. The Pompidou center represents the history of the avant-garde in Paris and the promulgation of modern art as a national art form. Such a closing of a historic collection has been disheartening to say the least. Despite the varied personal opinions of modern art, there is no denying the historical impact of this art style as a social movement.
On Feb. 3, the Brandeis University community received an email from the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Lauren Haynie and Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lee Bitsóí, expressing that they are “delighted to honor the heritage, resilience, contributions and scholarship of Black people during Black History Month in February.”
Political commentator Walter Lippmann described politics in his 1922 book “Public Opinion” as “pictures in people’s heads,” perceptions born out of information people receive and interactions with others. Those pictures influence how people view each other, as well as members of other political parties.
On Nov. 7, the Brandeis Jewish Bund hosted a Study-in For Palestine from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A promotional poster for the event encouraged students to “Join the Jewish Bund as we sit and study in honor of Palestine.” The event, which was attended by a small crowd of students, took place on the first floor of Farber library, around the corner from Starbucks. Organizers offered pro-Palestine reading material for attendees, though most chose to silently do their own work.
On a chilly Tuesday evening, Boston University Radio and the Rose Art Museum collaborated in curating a public forum and conversation surrounding Hugh Hayden and his collection “Home Work.” The conversation, held at WBUR City Space in Boston on Sept. 24, started promptly at 6 p.m. as journalist and artist Arielle Gray led the conversation surrounding Hayden’s work as it pertains to Black and brown communities.
In the face of violence and conflict in our world, we must ask: How can we repair the fractures within our communities? How do we heal, rebuild and grow in the aftermath of strife?
During the early days of June, students took Sidechat, an anonymous forum app designed for college communities, to express anger regarding the rumored elimination of Brandeis Arts Engagement. Brandeis Arts Engagement had long been a vital resource for students involved in or interested in the arts. For years, it provided crucial support and opportunities for artistic growth and expression. As such, the Sidechat post caused quite a stir. At the time, many students were unclear about what the end of Arts Engagement meant, let alone if there was any concrete proof supporting the rumor. However, amidst news of numerous faculty layoffs and program cuts, the possibility of the program’s end was not out of the question.
I was editor of The Justice from January 1964 through January 1965, sharing the position with my friend and classmate Richard Weisberg during fall semester 1964.
On the morning of March 27, a press release titled “After Months of Scandals, Waltham City Council to Hold Community Hearing on the Fernald Developmental Center” was distributed by Jonathan Paz, a founding member of “The People’s Fernald Working Group” and former Waltham City Councilor. Paz publicized this announcement before the citizen input hearing on March 27 regarding “the future of the former Walter E. Fernald Development Center property,” hosted by the Waltham City Council.
On Feb. 6, the students of the course “Black Brandeis, Black History” (AAAS) led a teach-in about Angela Davis ’65 at the Mandel Center of Humanities Forum. The teach-in — which centered the life and activist work of one of Brandeis’ most famed alumni — prompted student and audience discussion about the University’s public treatment of Davis. The overwhelming sentiment was that Davis’ work has historically gone unrecognized by the University and is only acknowledged in a performative context. One student commented on Davis not being invited to speak at the 75th anniversary weekend. Another criticized the University's tendency to pick and choose which causes to align itself with depending on what is most “in vogue” and uncontroversial at the time.
Student photographer Faythe Daly ’26 documents a venture into the city after participating in a prototype public forum on hydrogen power for the Department of Energy at the Museum of Science.
On Jan. 24, the Department of Community Living sent an email to Brandeis students regarding the housing selection process for the 2024-25 academic year. Applications are officially open and due Feb. 14 at 12.