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In a faculty meeting that took place on April 12, President Ronald Liebowitz provided a statement following the recent Board of Trustees meeting regarding the current and future financial state of the University.
Microforests are becoming an increasingly popular method to introduce native greenery into urban spaces. Brandeis Microforest members Audrey de Garmo ’26, Arryn Clanaugh ’26, Katy Tanzer ’25, Maya Haubrich ’24 and Lily McCarthy ’25 aim to make this project a reality. In an April 11 interview with The Justice, De Garmo, Clanaugh and Tanzer discussed their microforest project on the Brandeis campus.
On Apr. 9 at approximately 12:15 p.m., a group of members from facilities, students and assorted staff entered the Wien Faculty Center through its back entrance to present a petition communicating their discontent with administration’s recent decision to The Board of Trustees.
On April 13, director Sam Ho ’20, visited the University to screen his documentary, Hero Camp!. The screening took place in Mandel G03, and was followed by a brief Q&A with a couple of the documentary’s primary subjects and part of the production team alongside Ho. The event was part of the 2024 Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts.
On April 4, the annual Joshua A. Guberman Lecture took place at the Heller School for Social Management and Policy to honor Prof. Anita Hill for her prolific social justice research and advocacy.
On April 3, Carol S. Kornworcel, the Student Union Secretary and Chief of Elections, sent out an email detailing future election information, including open seats as well as constitutional amendment updates.
On April 1, the Prevention, Advocacy, and Resource Center sent out an email with details and events concerning Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the U.S., which started on April 1. The email started by recognizing that “sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual harrassment impact all members of our community, both directly and indirectly,” and “all of us have a role to play in creating a culture of care, support, and safety.”
Over the past few years, Brandeis’ lack of housing availability has become one of the most frequently discussed topics on campus. According to Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dine, Brandeis administration has been making efforts to respond to these criticisms. In an April 2 interview with The Justice, Dine discussed the University’s plans to build a new residence hall, expected to open no later than fall 2027.
On April 8, the Brandeis community watched a near total eclipse elapse in the sky between 2:15 p.m. and 4:39 p.m., reaching peak coverage at 3:29 p.m. Community members mainly congregated on Fellows Garden, Chapels Field and the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center’s deck to get a glimpse of the phenomenon. Since the eclipse’s path of totality traveled over Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, Waltham and the rest of western Massachusetts saw the eclipse at 93 percent totality.
On April 3, the Samuels Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation hosted a discussion on book bans with author Julian Winters, student organizer Cameron Samuels and Dr. Tanishia Lavette Williams, a Brandeis Florence Levy Kay Fellow in Racial Justice, Education, and the Carceral State.
DISTURBANCE
In its April 7 meeting, the Student Union Senate began with committee reports, discussing the various accomplishments each committee has achieved over the course of the semester, along with possible next steps to take in the Fall. Yoni Kahn ’24, the co-chair of the Social Justice and Diversity Committee, had the senate take note of a Mielle product pop-up shop taking place Thursday, April 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mielle, a hair care company that promotes natural and organic hair products, will have a selection of hair products available for people with hair that is not typically carried in on-campus stores due to curly or kinky textures. This is the final event SOJO will be holding for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Although Brandeis prides itself on holding a strong commitment to inclusivity and diversity, the athletics department has faced several allegations of racism in the past six years, most recently against the head coach of the women’s basketball team, Carol Simon.
On April 5 the Prevention, Advocacy and Resource Center at Brandeis University hosted their annual Take Back the Night event to raise awareness about sexual violence during National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
On Friday, March 29, the Student Union sent an email revealing that their proposed constitutional amendments, including consolidating several seats, removing several identity-based seats, such as racial minority and midyear, and reducing elections was rejected by the undergraduate student body. The changes would have required a two-thirds majority vote to pass, but only 64% of voters were in favor of the changes.
A little over four miles away from Brandeis University, in Waltham, Massachusetts, sits the 180+ acre campus of the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center. Originally established in 1848 as the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded by Samuel Gridley Howe in South Boston, the center’s inception marked a pivotal moment in the history of disability care in the United States.
On March 31, the Brandeis Asian American Student Association held its second event to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This year's theme of “Reflection” aims to “celebrate the efforts by our predecessors to create an hospitable and safe environment for AAPI,” an Instagram caption from BAASA’s account states. Sunday’s event included a screening of “Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story,” followed by a question and answer session with director Jennifer Takaki.
After securing the requisite number of delegates from their respective parties, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are officially the presidential nominees for the 2024 election. Trump’s eight-month election campaign, according to The New York Times, is “one of the longest in modern American history.” This presidential rematch will be the first of its kind in 70 years.
Aiming to bring a diverse group of educators and community leaders together in conversation, CARE, the Carceral Awareness, Reform and Education club at Brandeis, hosted “Health in Prison: A Panel Discussion,” which took place at the Heller School for Policy and Management on Monday, April 1. The panel included Sashi James, the director of Re-Imagining Communities at the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, which is an organization working towards the abolition of the American carceral system. Also contributing her voice and experience was Angelina Jefferson, who provides education services and support to formerly incarcerated people through the Partakers Empowerment Program and the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Rounding out the profuse assembly of perspectives was Stuart Grassian, M.D., who advocates for solitary confinement reform, and Brandeis Prof. Sanaullah Khan (ANTH).
Over Brandeis University’s winter break, Chillbox, a Greek frozen yogurt store in the Charlesbank Shopping Center, announced that it would be closing for renovations over the winter and reopening in the spring. Chillbox was first established in 2012 in Patra, Greece. From Patra it expanded to other parts of Greece as well as the United States and the United Kingdom. Chillbox opened its Waltham location in 2017, replacing a former auto repair shop.