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(09/16/03 4:00am)
While students should typically spend summers frolicking in the sun, many Brandeis students began this school year with a slightly paler complexion, as they spent the precious few summer months in class, working to complete their major requirements. The top courses that students chose to take were organic chemistry, physics, calculus, general chemistry, and various economics courses. Prof. Bruce Foxman (CHEM), the undergraduate Chemistry advising head, has helped many students plan their studies around summer school. He said he noticed two major reasons for making the sacrifice. First, many transfer students have to make up classes and credits in order to graduate on time. Second, summer courses allow students to have greater flexibility when it comes to planning schedules during the school year. Foxman did, however, point out a disadvantage when students take summer school classes: "A year's worth of information has to be assimilated in eight to ten weeks," he said. Within the sciences, students mainly take general chemistry or organic chemistry. Students that take general chemistry have, for the most part, decided during the year to become a science major and need to stay on track with their required courses. Those that take organic chemistry usually do it to free up their schedules for other classes in their second year. Foxman underscored the importance of finding a solid and prestigious summer school program. "If an admissions committee is looking at a transcript, they would be more impressed by seeing that the student had done his/her summer work in a comparable or better program," Foxman said.Students take classes in other subject areas during the summer as well. Prof. Michael Coiner (ECON) said students enroll in economics summer courses in order to complete the popular major and fit another into their schedules. Prof. Ralph Thaxton (POL) has taught courses at the Brandeis Summer School for the past five years. He likes the summer atmosphere because it is a different type of learning environment. According to him, the most popular politics courses during the summer are comparative and international politics. Students take courses like these because they are looking for something they can relate to. "I think that they deal more with current events than most classes do," he said. Jonathan Sham '06, a Biochemistry and Philosophy major, took Organic Chemistry at Southern Methodist University in Dallas this past summer. He needed the extra time and space to logistically fit in the required courses needed for both majors. He also wanted to relieve himself of the stress of taking two sciences during the school year. Taking organic chemistry during the summer allowed him to focus solely on that class and not have to worry about other subjects. The drawbacks included the time he needed to put in, both in class and out of class study, and not having free time. "I had the stress of tests while all my friends were going out to the movies," Sham said. Sham, a pre-med student, said that his advisors told him that as long as he was taking a summer school course for very specific reasons, it would help him out with your medical school application. "The big thing is planning everything out beforehand," Sham said. Anya Turetsky '06 took organic chemistry at University of Massachusetts Boston. Turetsky, who has not yet declared a major but is a pre-med student, went to Umass-Boston mainly because it was cheaper, easier to get to, and had a less rigorous science curriculum. She said that she was offered financial aid to take classes at Brandeis but the factors of transportation and workload pointed her towards Umass. She added that credit transfer was not a problem for her. Jane Partensky '06 took general chemistry here at Brandeis. She is already a European Cultural Studies major and she wants to study either Biology or Biochemistry. It was necessary for her to take chemistry to do this. The benefits of doing summer school here at Brandeis included the convenience of working with the home school financial aid office in addressing financing issues. However she found that there were many drawbacks. The intensity took a mental toll and made it impossible to get behind. "Its kind of a rush. If you miss something, you have a hard time catching up," she said. Partensky also said that doing summer school has allowed her to pursue two majors, which leaves her two different options for graduate study.
(03/25/03 5:00am)
In the Computer Repair Shop on the bottom floor of Feldberg Communications Center, lie stacks of out-of-date computer hardware. But this technology has not been set aside for disposal. Rather, it is part of the computer-recycling program under the supervision of the Brandeis University Information Technology Services (ITS) Computer Repair Shop. Rick Brabander, the shop's manager, is the coordinator of the program, initiated by the University in May 2001. Brandeis had a legal reason for doing this: It is against Massachusetts state law to deposit cathode ray tubes, found in computer monitors, in landfills. But the program has benefited many on campus as well.Since the program's inception it has handled almost 1100 pieces of hardware. During the recycling process, both Windows and Macintosh machines are picked up from the departments that no longer need them, and are checked to see that they are in working condition. They are then reformatted with up-to-date computer software program and redistributed to different faculty, clubs, organizations and graduate students who don't have access to computers in their work areas. Recycled computers are also donated to charitable organizations. "The ITS computer recycle program endeavors to give greater access to computer technology for members of the Brandeis community who could benefit from it," Brabander said.Until two years ago, each department was responsible for buying new computer technology and relied on ITS to remove the dated technology when newer computers arrived. It is by virtue of this process that the ITS repair shop was able to acquire the hardware currently being recycled. But now, because Brandeis leases all new computer equipment without purchasing, the recycling program will be difficult to maintain, according to Brabander. "(ITS) will have less opportunity to distribute used computers around campus in the future as the university has switched to leasing computers instead of buying them," he said, adding that the program is not accepting newer models of computers for recycling. Brabander emphasized the critical role of his student workers in helping to coordinate the delivery, pickup, distribution, and reformatting of the systems. "Essential to the successes of the recycle program is the hard work of the computer repair shop student workers," he said. The students and clubs receiving the technology are offered a selection of features. They have the choice of either Windows or Macintosh macintosh, as well as the installation of basic web browsing and word processing software. Brabander said ITS is not responsible for any other software or for any additional hardware repair costs. "As with all computers on campus, ITS will help with general tech support, but the repair shop is not responsible for costs if hardware repair is required," he said. ITS will accept an old computer in just about any condition, Brabander added, and encourages students to donate their old systems after erasing everything in the hard drive. These students, however, are responsible for bringing their own computers to the ITS repair shop. Additionally, if a person or group on campus is not interested in having a particular model, ITS can make arrangements to donate them to local charities. "If we can't find a home on campus for older computer equipment we will do our best to get it to a good charity," he said. But Brabander stressed that recycled computers are not currently offered to students for personal use in their dorm rooms. This is mainly due to liability and policy issues that come from distributing computers that are property of the University.
(01/28/03 5:00am)
Brandeis has always had a reputation for being a very competitive University, whether it be with admissions, grades or even housing selection. In addition, many students find it necessary to develop a very competitive, demanding and multi-faceted course load, which includes pursuing two or more possible majors. The growing popularity of this choice in Brandeis is mirrored in a trend in universities across the United States. While students, professors, and deans said they see the advantages of seeking multiple majors, they also recognize the drawbacks. Class of '04 dean and premedical advisor Andrew Simmons plays a major role in helping students plan their course of study at Brandeis and has had to consult many students majoring in more then one subject. Upon his arrival at Brandeis, Simmons said seeing the number of students who chose to double-major was striking for him. But, he said he recognized that this phenomenon is not unique to Brandeis and is occurring nationwide.Simmons said that the source of the students' decision to double-major comes mainly from competition for good jobs and seats in the best graduate and professional schools. "I think there is a feeling that you can't get ahead unless you have multiple majors," he said. As far as advising students who are unsure of what they want to study, Simmons talks with students about what interests and excites them and how it can be related to their academic career at Brandeis. "I tend to feel that is the most honest starting point because they may think only about the job market or down the road as opposed to pursuing (their) interest. If they say 'I need to be a cosi major or an econ major' and it isn't something they are interested in, they may (eventually) regret it," he said.Simmons also said that multiple majors are not always helpful. When advising students, he asks them why they really need a double-major and stresses the importance of planning in order to assure the majors can be completed. "Not all double-majors are created equally," he said, and it is much easier to do a biology/neuroscience major than to do a biology and theatre arts majorAs pre-med advisor, Simmons reported that out of last year's 89 applicants to medical school, which is a relatively competitive group, only 16 were double-majors, with seven social science/science double majors, six biology/neuroscience double-majors and three in humanities. Additionally, a lot of biology majors that are on the premed track are minoring in other subjects. Department chair Professor Steven Burg (POL), said for students there is a lot of mutual reinforcement with students that take courses in different disciplines, especially when politics students take courses or do a second major in economics or history. "It is difficult to understand any major political conflict without having historical or economic background under your belt," he said.In terms of advising students that want to double-major, Burg said he feels double majoring with politics, especially beyond history and economics, would be spreading themselves too thin. He said too many majors, especially with subjects that are not closely related, would mean the student was headed for more breadth, while fewer majors would allow for more detailed understanding. He said he feel the attempt to fulfill the numerous requirements for a double-major prevents a students from achieving intellectual depth. "You want to avoid an education that is a mile wide and an inch deep," he said. As far as benefits, he said students who do choose to multiple majors become more intellectually well-rounded. Undergraduate Advising Head Professor Michael Coiner (ECON) said there is too much emphasis on double and triple-majoring, although in certain cases it does make sense. "Sometimes students seem to pursue a double-major not out of great interest but as a second credential and sometimes it is a mistake," he said. "I think students ought to take courses they are most interested in." When Coiner sees students try to twist their schedule so they can fit in a second major, he said he asks them whether it is really worth it. Coiner wanted to emphasize that depending on where they are in their Brandeis careers, he would work with them differently in terms of planning double majors. "If it is early in their careers I will definitely work with them to plan it out, but if it is second semester of junior year and someone has just discovered and interest in economics in addition to their first major, I would question it." But he added that although he would question it, he realizes that the students are in charge and would work with them to create the program even if it meant all they were taking were courses for their major. Among students that are double majoring, both future benefits and negative consequences are recognized. Lonn Drucker '03 is an economics and history major. He started out solely an economics major, but took an interest in history and realized the major was not to difficult to complete, so decided to add it to his program. Drucker said he didn't even consider the possibility of multiple-majoring until he got to Brandeis. "I probably didn't even know something like that existed," he said. As far as post-undergraduate benefits, he said he believes that in addition to pursuing an interest, double-majoring will open up doors for him, especially in the job market. Also, he said it allows a student to pursue both interests if he couldn't otherwise decide. However, Drucker said he recognizes that a drawback of double-majoring is the restriction of classes one might want to take. In terms of trying to tie together his studies from different majors, it allows Drucker to do research in one subject on themes from other subjects he studies. "It helps you out with different perspectives," he said. Claudia Le '03, an economics and computer science major, started out with a major in computer science, then realized that she had a lot of room in her schedule and took Introduction to economics, sparking a general interest in economics. From that she saw an opportunity for a major. Claudia came to Brandeis thinking about a double major but did not have definite plans for pursuing one. She said she thinks double-majoring was beneficial because it gives her the opportunity to pursue a topic that interests her. "It is something that I thought was fun and I enjoyed it," she said. Le said she also recognized that double-majoring doesn't allow for the opportunity to take too many elective classes. In terms of post-graduate opportunities, she says that for graduate school and the job market, double-majoring will demonstrate that you are more accomplished and are more willing to achieve. Additionally, she said she is happy to have the opportunity to tie in her majors with classes such as business and the internet as well as apply her two majors to her job as student manager of UNET.
