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Brandeis University’s Economics Department has announced the creation of a new Quantitative Economics major, designed to give students a deeper grounding in mathematical and empirical methods.
On Oct. 9, Brandeis Hillel held a vigil for the victims of the attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The vigil, formatted as a service, was held in Berlin chapel. Between the accounts of community members who spoke about the lives of the deceased, a number of prayers were offered to honor the deceased. A screen at the front of the chapel displayed photos of victims of October 7.
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 faculty gathered in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall on Oct. 10 for the second faculty meeting of the 2025-26 academic year. The meeting consisted of a presentation on the new Moodle Learning Management System policy, an update on the University’s marketing plans, an introduction to the new Center for Careers in Applied Liberal Arts and a discussion on a proposed handbook amendment to change the language describing the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice committee.
CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of sexual assault, rape and fondling
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.
The new Communication and Media major seeks to study the “multitudes of communication more generally,” said program Undergraduate Advising Head, Prof. Laura Miller (SOC) in an Oct. 16 interview with The Justice. The Brandeis website states that students enrolled in this major will engage with “the theory and practice of communication: message creation, form and content; technologies and channels of delivery; reception and interpretation; and the larger impact on our society and culture.” Miller explained that the choice to name the program as “Communication” rather than “Communications” was very intentional. Brandeis’ new program seeks to incorporate and study communication and media beyond public relations, marketing and other popular uses for the program. The major will take both a theoretical and hands-on approach to course material. Miller’s hope is that as the program progresses, internships and in-field experience will be integrated into students’ learning experiences, similar to other programs such as the Journalism minor, which provides access to local newsrooms in the classroom.
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps is undergoing various policy changes in the 2025-26 academic year. There has been confusion and speculation among the student body surrounding these changes.
On Wednesday Sept. 17 the Jewish Bund held a “Study in for Palestine” gathering in Farber Library from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. At one large table several Bund members laid out maps of Palestine and Israel, posters naming those dead from the conflict, and a banner reading “Stop Supporting Genocide.” About 10-15 other Bund members and supporters flanked the central table and sat at adjacent tables leading toward Starbucks. At around 4:00 p.m., a small opposition of at most 10 students huddled in a circle deliberating the Bund a little more than five feet away from the table. At the time, most of the opposition appeared to be male students, some wearing religious apparel and similar white button downs and black slacks. The men did not interact with the Bund beyond standing within the vicinity of the study-in and glancing at the table.
On Thursday, Sept. 25, members of the Brandeis Jewish Bund gathered with students and community members in the Shapiro Campus Center for a “vigil to honor and remember those murdered by Israel in Palestine, Iran, Yemen and Lebanon,” according to a Sept. 24 Instagram post. The vigil’s organizers entered the atrium and established themselves at the steps, laying banners and distributing surgical masks to attendees to be used as face coverings. Six members carried in a wooden coffin covered in a keffiyah, imagery which is synonymous with Bund gatherings. Two of the Bund’s banners, which have been used in previous demonstrations, read “Stop Supporting Genocide” and “Bund” written in Yiddish. A new banner with white lettering on a black background presented, “New Year No Genocide.” This vigil intentionally occurred one day after the celebration of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
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.
Becky Behar, winner of the 2025 Isaac Anolic Jewish Book Arts Award, presented a viewing of her photos at the Kniznick Gallery at The Women’s Studies Research Center from Sept. 4 to Sept. 18. A new-age photographer, Behar was brought up under Sephardic Jewish heritage and descends from the diasporic population expelled during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th century. Her work titled “Tu Ke Bivas” has been derived from a Ladino — or Judeo-Spanish — language, blessing her parents often invoked: “May you live, grow and thrive like a little fish in freshwater.” Behar’s photos imbibe her culture and traditions through the enactment of her mother and daughter performing these rituals today. Although her family’s migration led her through Turkey, Columbia and ultimately the United States, her Ladino language, Jewish religion and Sephardic customs remained few of the only constants in her life.
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.
The Brandeis Board of Trustees has named Arthur Levine ’70 official president of the University at the Sept. 16 installation ceremony held in the Napoli Room at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. Joined by about 60 trustees, senior administrators and several local alumni and donors, Levine was sworn in and presented the University medallion and charter. Having served as interim president since Nov. 1 2024, following president emeritus Ron Liebowitz’ resignation, Levine has taken office as tenth president of Brandeis.
On Thursday, Sept. 11, History of Ideas faculty and students gathered in Rapaporte Treasure Hall for an annual panel featuring faculty and student speakers. This year’s discussion theme was centered around the idea that we live in a “garden of forking paths,” and speakers were prompted to discuss a chance encounter from their lives or fields of study that ended up having an enormous impact. The event was moderated by Professor David Katz (HIST), director of the History of Ideas program.
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
On Saturday, Sept. 6, five tornadoes hit Massachusetts in varying locations just west of Brandeis’ campus and Waltham. The closest tornado ended its destructive path about 15 miles away from the University. They were all level EF-1 tornadoes, with wind speeds ranging between 94 to 104 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. The first two tornadoes hit down in Paxton. The first hit at 4:02 p.m. with estimated winds of 100 mph and a path of 0.17 miles long. The second one hit four minutes later, with estimated winds of 94 mph and a distance of 0.13 mph. The third tornado landed in Holden at 4:08 p.m. with winds of 104 mph and traveling at a rate of 0.15 mph. The fourth tornado hit Berlin at 4:25 p.m. with a wind speed of 104 mph and traveled an estimated 0.60 miles. The final tornado touched down in Stow at 4:30 p.m. with a wind speed of 104 mph and traveled 2.38 miles. It caused extensive damage to the trees in the surrounding area.
Correction: A source familiar with the matter has clarified that the Oscar Sorts implemented at the University are part of a free two-year trial. The University was selected for this trial through its partnership with Pepsi.
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.”