Mental health care needs to be addressed holistically

by Angela Self | 10/22/2019

  In honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week, I wanted to address one major issue facing a segment of the community at Brandeis. I would like to preface this by making a distinction between mental health and mental illness. Mental health refers to an individual’s psychological, social and emotional well-being. Mental illness is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health “as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder.” At one point or another we all experience a time in our life when our mental health is challenged. From my experience as a Brandeis student, I can say that the stress from academics has at times put a strain on my mental well-being. Mental illness is a health condition and should be treated as seriously as any other disease. As the Canadian Mental Health Association says, “Just as it’s possible to have poor mental health but no mental illness, it’s entirely possible to have good mental health even with a diagnosis of a mental illness.” It is important to clearly define these two terms because they are too often used interchangeably. 

Heal the rift between STEM and the humanities

by Abigail Cumberbatch | 10/22/2019

 It’s been nearly two months since I started school at Brandeis. In my conversations with numerous people on campus, I began to discover a pattern among students’ majors. I cannot count how many times I have asked an individual about their interests and am greeted with the same series of responses:  “Biology,” “pre-med,” “HSSP” or some other STEM-related field. I understand that Brandeis is a research institution geared towards producing the best results within each of its research labs, but I thought that in a big university such as Brandeis there would be more diversity among what students are studying. It seems as if the more people are geared towards the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math majors and that those interested in humanities fields are dwindling.  

Conflicting emotions surrounding 70th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party

by John Chen | 10/15/2019

 70 years ago, Mao Zedong conquered all under heaven, driving the last remnants of General Chiang’s forces onto a barren island known as Taiwan. In the following years, chaos ensued as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution devoured the mainland, decimating the population and destroying the culture. 

Ellen and President Bush's hangout is more problematic than it seems

by Judah Weinerman | 10/15/2019

 When you think about politically charged debates regarding the nature of the Iraq War and the morality of American military activity on the world stage, does Ellen DeGeneres cross your mind? Until very recently, I’d assume that answer was a definite no.  

Commending University's support for DACA and DREAMers

by The Justice Editorial Board | 10/15/2019

Last Tuesday, Oct. 8, University President Ron Liebowitz emailed the Brandeis community stating the University filed a “friend of the court brief in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program,” along with 164 other universities, as a part of an upcoming Supreme Court case. President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to rescind DACA, which “provides work permits and protection from deportation to nearly 700,000 undocumented people, known as ‘Dreamers,’ who were brought to the U.S. as children,” Liebowitz explained in the email. This board commends the University for taking a stance in support of DREAMers both on the Brandeis campus and around the nation, as it is consistent with the University’s values of social justice. 

Greta Thunberg: moral exemplar

by Gabriel Frank | 10/08/2019

 If you have been paying attention to the news recently, you’ve likely seen numerous headlines from numerous major news outlet regarding 16-year-old Greta Thunberg and her international protest movement, which is centered around combating climate change and its effects on a global scale. Thunberg, who hails from Stockholm, Sweden, rose to international prominence in 2018. Then, she spent her days outside of the Swedish Parliament demanding stronger action on global warming, holding a sign which declared, “School strike for climate.” Depictions of Thunberg’s valiant protests went viral, and her address to the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference sparked worldwide protests against inaction on the part of world leaders in the face of an unprecedented existential threat. Those protests were primarily led by students seeking to emulate Thunberg’s actions —  many walked out of school in a similar fashion.  

EDITORIAL: Progress made on campus sustainability efforts

by The Justice Editorial Board | 10/08/2019

 On Sept. 26, the Office of Sustainability, the Senate Sustainability Committee and the Brandeis Sustainability Ambassadors sponsored the State of Sustainability presentation. At this event, various new environmental initiatives were announced. Upcoming campus sustainability initiatives include the elimination of approximately 10,000 plastic bottles annually from many on-campus vendors, the addition of about 40 more compost bins around campus and the investment in renewable energy efforts around the country to compensate for Brandeis’ carbon footprint. These are outstanding steps toward making the University more sustainable. 

A love letter to affirmative action

by Harrison Paek | 10/08/2019

 When I read the takeaways from Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard, I stepped out onto the top of the Rabb Steps the next day and took a good hard look at a 2:00 p.m. rush, a hundred strong. I felt two things. The first was immediate relief. Affirmative action is safe for now, and the diversity I saw only stands to grow from here. The second feeling I had, however, was more malignant. Would this campus be better with less people like me? 

University donations are noble but in need of scrutiny

by Vandita Wilson | 09/24/2019