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Brandeis announces five new microcredentials for spring semester

Faculty discusses University rankings in the U.S. News and World Report, retention rates and confirmed microcredentials

Brandeis in Print

In defense of the modern novel

There has been a recent discussion in The Brandeis Hoot about the downfall of the novel due to capitalism. To me, this seems like a surface-level argument. The novel chosen as the pinnacle of “pre-capitalist” peak literature in this debate is George Eliot’s 1871 novel “Middlemarch,” a novel that astute readers might point out was written and released at the end of the Victorian period, a time during which capitalism had already sunk its fangs deep into the anglophone world, as demonstrated by Mark Twain referring to the period in American history as the Gilded Age. So, is “Middlemarch” truly unaffected by capitalism? Probably not, but that is neither here nor there. 

Third faculty meeting sheds light on Brandeis University’s financial future

The third faculty meeting of the year convened in Rapaporte Treasure Hall on Nov. 7 with presentations from the Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration, Stewart Uretsky, and the Vice President of Development, Stephen Rodriguez on the University’s budget and Institutional Advancement, respectively. The faculty also heard four handbook amendments. Senate Chair, Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL) outlined these objectives at the start of the meeting. 

Frame of Mind

 When Mona Houjazy ’26 steps into the Aging, Culture, and Cognition Lab each week, she is thinking about what most of us take for granted — how we see, and how those sights remain in our memory. A neuroscience, psychology and biology major, Houjazy is investigating how subtle visual details such as sharpness and brightness affect short-term memory.

President Levine addresses how students will be affected by The Brandeis Plan in coming months

 On Wednesday, Oct. 29, University President Arthur Levine ’70 spoke to a crowd of undergraduates about the Brandeis Plan to Reinvent the Liberal Arts. He touched on the plan’s three major facets: reorganizing the graduate and undergraduate schools, remaking the core curriculum and creating a Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts. The event took place in Rapaporte Treasure Hall and featured small presentations from Levine, as well as members of the faculty and administration involved with the project.  

Paws for Justice: meet Brandeis’ new comfort dog bringing smiles to campus

If you’ve spotted a wagging tail and a pair of eager eyes patrolling campus lately, you’ve already met Justice, Brandeis University Police’s newest and arguably most beloved team member. Justice isn’t your typical officer, she’s a comfort K9 with the Brandeis Police Department, here to spread a little joy wherever her paws take her. The idea for introducing a comfort dog to campus came from Chief Matthew Rushton, who recognized the growing importance of emotional support programs in law enforcement and higher education. “Seeing the success of similar programs at other universities and police departments, it was kind of a no-brainer. The chief saw how effective comfort dogs could be in creating connections and reducing stress, and from there, everything just fell into place” explained Officer Dave Thompson, Justice’s handler in an Oct. 30 interview with The Justice. 

Challenges in European Union Refugee Burden-Sharing

Since 2011, more than 14 million Syrians have fled their homes. At the height of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015, the EU neither provided adequate protection for asylum seekers nor distributed asylum burdens equally across Member States. Turkey accepted 2.5 million refugees — double the number of refugees accepted by the EU as a whole. Within the EU, Germany accounted for more than a third of all asylum applications submitted by Syrians. The EU’s failure to address the Syrian refugee crisis illuminated flaws in asylum policy. This article will explain how the EU’s burden-sharing initiatives have remained ineffective due to a free-rcombination of structural and policy-related pull factors, free-riding problems and implementation gaps caused by the EU’s prioritization of symbolic over effective cooperation. 

Touch grass: The Justice’s self-care recommendations

As we get to the half-way point of the semester and everyone’s work begins to ramp up, The Justice’s editorial board wishes to share all the ways we destress in the build-up to finals after a seemingly endless midterm season.

More than 100,000 take to the Boston streets in “No Kings Day” protest

On Saturday, Oct. 18, protestors gathered globally by the millions to speak against the so-called authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. They united under one simple message, “America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people.” According to the No Kings’ website, more than seven million demonstrators marched, chanted and exercised their First Amendment rights across more than 2,700 locations in the United States.

Brandeis launches Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics

Starting fall 2026, Brandeis will offer a Quantitative Economics major. The major will aptly be housed in the Economics department. The Brandeis website states that the new major “provides quantitatively-oriented students an opportunity to incorporate more advanced mathematics into their Economics degree.” The requirements for the major will emphasize the relationship between in-depth mathematical and statistical study and economic analysis. 

Chasing Particles

DeisRobotics shares past triumphs and plans for this coming semester

Tucked away in the back of Goldfarb Library is the Automation Lab — home to DeisRobotics, Brandeis’ very own robotics club, which competes regularly in National Havoc League tournaments in Norwalk, Connecticut and holds informative workshops for students interested in engineering and associated skills. Last semester, the team qualified for the NHRL world tournament and won second place in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Combat Robot Competition.

“A liberal arts for tomorrow”: Brandeis’ new model for higher education

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, President Arthur Levine ’70 invited academic policymakers, press and alumni to Washington D.C’s National Press Club for a panel discussion about Brandeis’ plan to “reinvent the liberal arts.” The Board of Trustees Executive Vice President, Cynthia Shapira, welcomed panel attendees. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey then provided opening remarks and expressed his desire to see the “Bay State” become the “Brain State” by delivering “accessible, responsible and effective” education to all. Markey concluded that the American Dream should be delivered through “higher education, not less education.” 

The Opinion: Issue two

Welcome back, Brandesians, to the second edition of The Opinion. In the previous edition, I discussed the intensity of University clubs — with many clubs mirroring today’s politics and stressors, which many students prefer to avoid. I argued that clubs should be taken less seriously not only for the betterment of students’ mental health, but also to improve campus culture as a whole. Today’s opinion will tackle a topic that I have heard discussed in the library numerous times. 

Governor Gore and his Waltham Estate

Along Main Street in Waltham, just a few miles past the center of the city, sits a house that doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the neighborhood. It’s large and made completely of brick. The windows on each side are symmetrical, adorned with white trim. The Federalist-style home surrounded by acres of land was perfectly suitable for the federalist that inhabited it: Christopher Gore.

Administration discuss new office, building projects and Trump's campus impact

Faculty and staff gathered in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall for the meeting as Chair of the Faculty Senate, Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL), opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and outlining the day’s agenda. He also noted that a special faculty meeting will be scheduled in the near future to address the implications of recent executive orders on the University which impact federal funding and international student enrollment. Lenowitz then turned the floor over to University President, Arthur Levine ’70.

Is Brandeis better yet?

At the start of this new academic year, marked by leadership changes, University restructuring and ongoing geopolitical issues, The Justice Editorial Board hopes to give the student body a comprehensive look into the state of Brandeis as it stands today. 

Things Are About To Get Loopy

 For a Brandeis undergraduate, the Brandeis Core Science requirement has inevitably brought you to a classroom where the words DNA to ribonucleic acid to protein are chanted almost as a mantra. The process, as we learn it in its most basic form, flows in a straight line: step A, then step B, then step C.