WRITER'S BLOCK: Loving that dirty water

I have always taken great pride in the fact that I am from Boston. This is obvious, based on the notion that when choosing a college to attend, I just couldnt seem to tear myself away from the state;

not to Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, or even Rhode Island. None of the tri-states would do. There was something about Massachusetts of which I simply couldnt let go.

MAIRSON: Integrated Planning: A French Revolution, Redux

I want Chief Operating Officer Peter French to keep talking about management of the Universitys finances. But I also want a French Department, I said at the March 3 university faculty meeting. The rejection of Dean Adam Jaffes proposals, and their subsequent withdrawal by the administration, were in turn a kind of French Revolution.
In an uncomfortable crisis of competing visions for the University, one advocated by the citizens of the faculty, and another by the executive managers of the administration, the citizens prevailed. Now, like the French Revolution, historians revisionist, apologist, and activist are trying to figure out what happened, and what it meant.

SALTER:Missing the Mediterranean

These past few weeks Ive come to find myself in another happy middle-of-a-Waltham-winter rut. I have watched every episode of Sex and the City more than three times and eaten my way through too many packs of those chocolate-vanilla swirl Jello snacks (which, by the way, I highly recommend;

what genius idea those were). But this morning I woke up and I made a resolution: today I would try to do things the Italian way more relaxed, more hopeful unsullied and fresh.

KOPPEL:Israel small giant in tech field

A new exhibit entitled Israel: On the Cutting Edge is on display in the Shapiro Campus Center this week. The exhibit, sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Combined Jewish Philanthropies, demonstrates how technology developed in Israel influences our daily lives.

BAIME: When Good Housing Goes Bad

Thank God its over. After the two most stressful weeks of my Brandeis career, I have in my hand the product of countless hours of debate, deliberation, screaming matches, and political maneuvering: my housing confirmation for the 2005-2006 academic year. Before starting my freshman year last fall, a current student warned me about the three worst aspects of life at the university. For all Brandeis has to offer, she disclosed, food, registration and housing are not its strong suits. So to some extent, I anticipated a rough housing selection process, but never did I dream it would turn into the disaster it was for my friends and me.

BERKENWALD: Why I heart Reslife

Every year I wait in excitement for that letter in my mailbox– the one that gives me a number that tells me where I live next year. This year, I couldnt be happier to find that my number was none other than 1985! Thats the year I was born! Isnt Reslife clever?
When March 15th finally came, I was lucky enough to participate in the housing lottery for the second time. This time was much more exciting than the first because housing was not guarenteed. I dont know about you, but I love suspense in my life. Those tingles you get when you know you have a pretty substantial chance of being homeless … its almost sexual, in a way.

EDITORIAL: BTVs bid for more money shows poor thinking

After a highly successful year of producing and airing both original programming and movies on a minuscule budget, BTV put forth an amendment, which passed overwhelmingly, making it a secured organization. In the two years that BTV has received secured funding it has received almost $30,000 in student money, and yet the level of programming and services provided to the community has dramatically deteriorated.

UNION ELECTION PREVIEW

Name: Aaron Gaynor, 07 Major: Economics Residence: Pomerantz UNET ID: gaynor Current Office: Union Treasurer Statement: made the decision to run for president because I have a deep love of Brandeis and I want to make it a happier, more unified place for live and to learn. To achieve this, I have decided to focus […]

PERSPECTIVE: Students give gift of life with marrow

Debbie Swarz 03 saved a life. When she walked into the Gift of Life bone marrow drive four years ago as a photographer for The Justice, she didnt even intend to participate. She simply came to cover the event for the paper and to take a few pictures. She certainly had no idea that by going there she would end up saving a life.

Network outages plague campus

Problems with a core network switch in Feldberg caused several hours of intermittent network outages this morning, according to Chief Information Officer Perry Hanson. In a letter to the community, Hanson blamed a software fault for outages that caused phone and data services to be unavailable for periods between 1:30 a.m. and noon on Thursday.

ITS to get new VoIP phones for students

Students will receive new Cisco phones that offer enhanced capabilities next year. The current 7912 model phone will be replaced with the 7940, a larger, two-line phone that is used in most offices on campus. The move comes after ITS discovered conflicts between the existing phones and the proposed IPTV system, which is likely to replace cable television next fall.

Housing fills up at number 1,404

Three hundred juniors and seniors are on a waitlist for housing. The three day long room selection process came to a close Tuesday evening leaving no on-campus residence unfilled.

UJ rejects two BTV bids to fix amendment

BTV, BEMCo and Waltham Group filed a petition with the Union Judiciary (UJ) late yesterday asking the UJ to modify the amendment that BTV had submitted to the Union. The amendment, which originally was to only take money from the Justice, Archon and WBRS in order to increase BTVs budget erroneously also took several hundred away from BEMCo and Waltham group.

LETTER: Vote to require Fair Trade coffee

Fair Trade Certified products, a market-based approach to sustainable development, are an easy and effective way of alleviating poverty. Next Wednesday and Thursday, all of us will have a chance to vote on a poll to let Aramark and our Student Union know that we care about this issue and want more Fair Trade coffee available on campus.

ON YOUR MARKS: Get interrupted and watch PTI

The best aspect of writing a column for a campus newspaper is that you know who is going to read it. My good friends will sit down and read an article with my picture near it. Professors involved in the journalism program will likely read the campus publications. My parents and close relatives will probably find themselves perusing The Hoots website to see what it is that I have to say. And of course the few people on campus who have an interest in sports may happen upon my column, bringing my total readership to nearly 25. It is those few people with an interest in sports that I am attempting to reach with the following column I feel that if they take my advice they will be doing themselves a large favor.

FICTION: Beads Part 5: "Fear"

She woke with a start. Her body felt heavy, weighing down on the mattress. She could hear someone shuffling around her, but she imagined it would take too much effort to open her eyes. Then, the person stopped moving.

Vagina Fest receives a standing ovation

Last weekend, Eve Enslers The Vagina Monologues was performed in Spingolds Mainstage Theatre to cap this years Brandeis Universiy VaginaFest. This is the fourth consecutive year that The Vagina Monologues has been performed at Brandeis, and judging from the enthusiastic reception it received from the audience, this is far from the last.

CLUB SPOTLIGHT: Click to help Tsunami victims

Between Feb. 14 and Mar. 31, Brandeis students are pitted against universities across the nation in the Oxfam America Collegiate Clickdrive, a campaign to raise funds for micro-credit relief for victims of the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia. Students pay nothing as all donations come from site advertisers on a per site visit basis.

OSTROWSKY: On This Day Brady And Her Bunch Ruled

You will not find her name printed all over the womens basketball game summaries on the athletic page of the Brandeis web site. When casually talking about the Brandeis womens hoops team, there are probably five names more likely to come up before hers does. Forget being included in the Sports Illustrated Faces In The Crowd section. She is practically a face in the crowd of Brandeis ladies basketball. This young lady is none other than senior co-captain Catherine Brady.