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Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the Trump administration and Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, have been on a crusade to find “waste” within the government.
Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, his administration has introduced a slew of changes to immigration policies, many of which have instilled fear and led to questions surrounding immigrant rights.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often portrayed in stark, binary terms. Yet, within this landscape of division, individuals like Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Khaled Abu Awwad offer a testament to the power of human connection and the potential for transformative change, both individually and systematically. Their work, through the organization they co-founded, Roots—Judur—Shorashim, seeks to bring together West Bank Palestinians and Israeli settlers, sparking a quiet revolution of connection and offering a glimmer of optimism in a remarkably bleak landscape. The two activists came to Brandeis on Feb. 26 to share their individual journeys and the creation of Roots.
Following months of observation, discussion and planning, Interim President Arthur Levine ’70 recently announced his plan for the future of the University, splitting academic programs into four different “buckets” with individual leadership teams. On Friday, Feb. 28, the faculty held a special meeting to receive a presentation regarding the evolution of the University, following conversations that have taken place over the past month.
On March 3, the Student Union meeting was called to order by Vice President Ria Escamilla-Gil ’27. The Student Union heard from clubs to grant probationary status, heard from senate committee chair reports, and heard proposals.
Medical Emergency
On Friday, Feb. 7, faculty gathered in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall for their monthly meeting. The meeting began with a presentation from Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean Charles Golden. Golden presented on cuts to open admissions spots this year, explaining that they are “going for roughly 55 admissions across GSAS.”
From Friday, Jan. 24 to Sunday, Jan 26, members of the Brandeis community took over Farber Library in order to make a difference in the operations of non-profit organizations in Waltham. Deis Hacks, “an annual social justice hackathon … [is] sponsored by Brandeis International Business School, [and] brings together students, faculty and community members to tackle challenges faced by local nonprofits.”
During the Feb. 5 Waltham School Committee meeting, members of the committee voted in favor of establishing three pathways to meet competency determination requirements for the Waltham High School 2025 graduating class. The decision comes almost three months after Massachusetts voters passed a law eliminating the requirement that students pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests in order to receive a high school diploma.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5 the student organization Jewish Deis Bund hosted a vigil to “honor and remember those murdered in Palestine and Lebanon,” as announced in an Instagram post on Feb. 4.
On Feb. 9, Rabbi Seth Winberg sent an email to the Brandeis community with the subject line “Addressing Misinformation About Hillel at Brandeis.”
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
On Feb. 9, the Student Union Senate’s first meeting of spring semester was called into order by vice president Ria Escamilla-Gil ’27. The meeting was composed around granting clubs probationary status, budget concerns and chartering clubs.
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.”
On Jan. 22, the Brandeis community received an email from Provost Carol Fierke containing the news that Prof. Arthur Holmberg (THA) had passed away at the age of 80. Holmberg was a part of the Brandeis community for 30 years, having joined the Theater Department in 1994 and teaching up until fall 2024.
At a typical gun buyback, the firearm is turned into the authorities in exchange for a monetary gift. The gun is then taken apart under police supervision and its disembodied metal parts are scrapped, discarding a large amount of serviceable scrap metal with no hope of re-use. Such was the case for Goods for Guns, a gun buyback initiative in Worcester, Massachusetts, until blacksmith John Hayden proposed an alternate solution in 2019. His new initiative, Guns2Gardens MA, aims to transform the scraps of gun metal and repurpose them into gardening tools, which would then be donated to local gardens in the Boston area. He named this organization in recognition of the national organization New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence’s buyback program, named Guns to Gardens.
On Jan. 27, a 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck approximately six miles south of York Harbor in Maine. It ran approximately eight miles deep but caused no fatalities or damage. The earthquake was the fifth largest in the state’s history, the strongest being a 4.7 magnitude earthquake in 2012, and the second-strongest a 4.5 magnitude in 1987.
Medical Emergency
The Waltham Police Department has set out to make a difference as they partner with Dedication to Community to host workshops from the end of January through early February. Made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, these workshops are free of charge and open to all above the age of 18.
On Jan. 14, Brandeis students, faculty and staff received an email from the Office of Equal Opportunity stating that the University would be rescinding the Title IX policies that were issued on Aug. 1, 2024 and reinstating the policies created by the Trump administration in 2020. Until Aug. 1, the Title IX policies had not changed from 2020, the ones Brandeis was following. In the email, the Office of Equal Opportunity reassured that this change “in no way limits the protections Brandeis extends to our community.”