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Brandeis University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1949 | Waltham, MA

Dan Hirschhorn


Articles

When the racial tension reaches a boiling point

On Jan. 8, 1969, more than 50 black students walked into Joseph and Clara Ford Hall, insisted the day's classes be cancelled and staged a sit-in they vowed not to end until the University met their demands.Among those demands were the formation of an African Studies Department, the hiring of more black professors and the creation of an Afro-American Center, an idea that eventually inspired the Intercultural Center.


How a campus diversifies itself

How committed to diversity-in all its forms-is Gil Vilanueva?So much so, the dean of admissions said, that were it legal, he would ask applicants to share their sexual orientation with his office."Unfortunately, it's not legal to ask people if they're gay," he said.Such is the nature of the buzzword "diversity," the broad concept that has taken higher education by storm in recent years.


Administration wants to be notified before high-profile speakers are invited

Three months after a visit by a former U.S. president ignited campus debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the administration has asked to be notified before students invite high-profile speakers to appear on campus.Provost Marty Krauss made the request in a campuswide e-mail Friday, stipulating four conditions under which she wants students and faculty to notify the administration prior to issuing invitations: if University President Jehuda Reinharz would be expected to attend or participate, if security issues would be involved, if the visit would cause disruption to other campus activities or if University funding would be needed.Though the guidelines Krauss authored leave some room for interpretation, she described them as "common sense" and stressed that they were intended only to encourage high-profile visits."If you're contemplating inviting a high-profile person where one of these situations exists, you'd know that," she said.Although some students and faculty expressed reservations about the guidelines, Krauss said they would not be used to stop students from hosting events, and that their purpose is to increase coordination for such events."I think the guidelines convey an eagerness to have high-profile speakers on campus, and an eagerness to coordinate such visits, and I hope that they prove helpful to people," she said in a phone interview Monday.The administration's request will not affect visits that have already been scheduled, such as next week's appearances by Norman Finkelstein and Daniel Pipes, according to Krauss.Since former President Jimmy Carter visited Brandeis in January to discuss his controversial book, administrators have watched with apprehension as students have engaged in the early stages of what some describe as a race to invite high-profile speakers.


News analysis: an intriguing step in Israeli-Palestinian discourse

Technically, it wasn't a debate. But, for those who saw Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz take the stage to rebut former President Jimmy Carter almost immediately after Carter hurried off campus to catch a plane away from Brandeis, it sure seemed like one.Both guests were introduced to thunderous applause and spent the opening minutes of their speeches dispelling what they said were misconceptions about their own beliefs.


NEWS ANALYSIS: An intriguing step for Israeli-Palestinian discourse on campus

CORRECTION APPENDED (SEE BOTTOM)Technically, it wasn't a debate. But for those who saw Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz take the stage to rebut former President Jimmy Carter almost immediately after Carter hurried off campus to catch a plane away from Brandeis, it sure seemed like one.Both guests were introduced to thunderous applause and spent the opening minutes of their speeches dispelling what they said were misconceptions about their own beliefs.


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