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Brandeis University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1949 | Waltham, MA

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Editorial: Feedback on appendices D, N, F and P in University’s draft anti-racism plan

(12/01/20 6:41pm)

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.



I’m still a Republican

(11/17/20 11:00am)

I’m still a Republican, but I voted for Joe Biden. It’s not my first vote across party lines, and it won’t be my last. I’ve been receiving a lot of remarks inquiring about why I’m still a Republican, and that’s a question I’ve asked myself a lot in recent years. You see, I’ve been a Republican since the Carter administration. I was quite young and upset with how Carter was handling the economy back then, and since I was all of nine-13 years old during his administration, I obviously thought I knew better. As soon as I could, I registered as a Republican, despite being in a very liberal state, Massachusetts, and again when I later moved to California.


2020 On the issues

(11/04/20 11:00am)

During the election cycle, both race in the United States and the COVID-19 pandemic have been controversial topics. The Justice asked students of the Brandeis community about these issues and more. The participants include columnists for the Justice Reena Zuckerman ’23 and Vandita Malviya Wilson M.P.P ’22, as well as Clay Napurano ’24 and a member of the Brandeis Democrats, Noah Risley ’24.


TEDxBrandeisUniversity streams pre-recorded speeches by its five speakers

(11/03/20 11:00am)

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.



You’ve got mail!

(10/27/20 10:00am)

It’s a sunny Wednesday morning and you have two classes before 1 p.m. and a class at 2:30 p.m., enough time to squeeze in lunch with your friends. You foresee the microwavable mac and cheese from your freezer being your dinner for tonight, while you attend your Zoom lecture with your camera turned off. You got the “DO NOT REPLY You have received a Package” email this morning — you're expecting your Amazon package today — some clothes that you saw on a TikTok and your favorite chocolate that you can’t find at the Hoot Market. You figure, you can pick up your package in between class and lunchtime, stuff it in your backpack, and open it when you get back to your dorm. You head to the Usdan Student Center, stand in a short line, swipe your ID card and wait. You see the mailroom workers look at some computer, call out a number, disappear for two seconds, and come back with your package in hand. You say “thank you,” and just like that you go up the stairs and get on with the rest of your day. This is the level of interaction that many Brandeis students have with the mailroom. But what goes on behind the curtains of the Brandeis mailroom? What stories do the workers behind the plexiglass have to tell? 


Editorial: As Election Day approaches, professors should adjust their expectations so students can exercise their civic duty

(10/27/20 10:00am)

With the 2020 presidential election exactly a week away, tension is mounting, and voters are flooding to the polls. As this board wrote last week, it is incredibly important that Brandeis students vote up and down the ballot this election cycle. We now turn to professors and ask that they accommodate students on and around Election Day to ensure that everyone who is eligible can vote without it interfering with their academics.


Editorial: An informational guide to voting in the 2020 presidential election

(10/20/20 10:00am)

As the 2020 presidential election approaches, questions about registration deadlines, mail-in voting requirements and other available forms of voting participation have become prevalent. With the number of COVID-19 cases rising, these concerns have been magnified as individuals around the country search for the safest way to participate in the voting process. This board would like to encourage all eligible individuals, particularly Brandeis students, to use available resources to facilitate their participation in this year’s presidential, state and local elections. Links to these resources can be found at the bottom of this article.



The University’s Jakob Ziskind Poet in Residence and English professor discuss role of identity in poetry

(10/13/20 10:00am)

Prof. Yuri Doolan (HIST) moderated a discussion on the role of personal identity in poetry and academia with Prof. Elizabeth Bradfield (ENG) and Chen Chen, the University’s Jacob Ziskind Poet in Residence. The discussion, which was conducted through a Zoom webinar Oct. 7, was part of the Critical Conversations series, a segment of the First-Year Experience which introduces students to the interdisciplinary conversations and intellectual pursuits of the University’s academic community. 



Dr. Samuel Myers spoke to University students about planetary health

(10/06/20 10:00am)

 Dr. Samuel Myers, the Director of the Planetary Health Alliance and the Principle Research Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, spoke to the Brandeis community at an online event on Friday, Sept. 25 about his newly published book, “Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves.” Prof. Charles Chester (ENVS) hosted the talk.



Liar liar pants on fire

(09/22/20 10:00am)

As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough, California is literally on fire. Wildfires have engulfed millions of acres of land across California, Oregon and Washington. These wildfires are the worst that California has seen in over 18 years, and it has been reported that San Francisco, Portland and Seattle have the worst air quality in the entire world. Oregon’s air quality is so poor that it has surpassed the state’s Air Quality Index scale, which is a tool used by the government to measure the level of pollution in the air. On this scale, the highest possible score an area can receive is 500 and is considered to be the most hazardous. The city of Sisters, Oregon, recently scored a 582. Back in August, major cities in Oregon were scoring an 11. I could continue to list depressing facts about this crisis. I could even mention how a firefighter lost their life to the El Dorado wildfire that began as a gender reveal party. No matter how many news organizations cover the horrors of the wildfires or middle-aged moms post a picture on Facebook “sending their prayers,” the only people who have the power to enact lasting change are our government officials.


Students share their experiences with accessibility on campus

(09/15/20 10:00am)

On July 25, 2020, the United States celebrated the 30th anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA protects people with disabilities by prohibiting discriminatory behaviors against them in workplaces, government entities and private entities that are open to public accommodation (such as Brandeis). In 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act passed, expanding the definition of “disability.” Although we as a country have come a long way in terms of disability rights, there are many areas in which Brandeis’ campus and its culture are not up to par. 



The Justice elects Gilda Geist, editor in chief and Luke Liu, managing editor

(09/08/20 10:00am)

The Justice unanimously elected Gilda Geist ’22 editor in chief for the 2020-2021 academic year on a Zoom call on Aug. 16. Geist presented her vision for the paper’s future, reflected on the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic and answered questions from Justice editors and staff before being voted EIC.



Sports and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

(07/03/20 4:00am)

In the wake of the coronavirus, there is a void in the world of sports without college and professional athletics. For many who took the availability of live-broadcasted sports for granted, this can be a trying time. However, what has not stopped is scientific research, including some important research surrounding the impact of sports-related head injuries.