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

David Fudman


Articles

Former jurist balances Israel's security with human rights

Achieving a balance between defending human rights and protecting national security interests is essential for the preservation of democracy, Aharon Barak, Israel's most influential and controversial jurist, said to a crowd of 200 Sunday afternoon in the Sherman Function Hall.Barak, who resigned as the eighth president of Israel's Supreme Court in 2006 after serving on the court for 28 years, participated in and oversaw some of the most significant rulings in Israeli jurisprudence, significantly expanding the court's role and reach while also attracting criticism from both domestic and international sources."I see my role as a judge on the Supreme Court of a democracy as the protection of the constitution and of democracy," said Barak, who last visited to speak and receive an honorary degree at commencement in 2003.


Embracing the Law

The chief justice of Massachusetts' highest court, who authored the November 2003 majority opinion to permit gay marriage in the state, delivered the University's 54th commencement address to 998 seniors and graduate students in a packed Gosman Sports and Convocation Center Sunday.In a speech that seemed to answer accusations that she legislates from the bench, Margaret Marshall, a former anti-apartheid activist from South Africa, defended what she called an "assault on an independent judiciary, the gatekeeper of our constitutional freedoms.""I worry when people of influence use vague, loaded terms like 'judicial activism' to skew public debate or to intimidate judges," she said.


What's next?

Life beyond the peripheral road is beginning to set in for Brandeis' 814 graduating seniors. For most, this means confronting the tight job market or spending more time in the classroom.


04 Senator resigns after robbing paper

Amid calls for accountability for his role in the theft of 4,000 copies of the Justice, Class of 2004 Senator Mark Brescia resigned at the Union Senate meeting Sunday.Nearly all printed copies of the Justice were lifted from the loading dock outside Usdan between 2 and 4 p.m.


Finances off to the polls

A proposed financial amendment to the Union Charter will be voted upon by the student body in polls that opened Thursday and will close Tuesday at 5 p.m.


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