Latkes vs. hamantaschen settled
Hillel and Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society (BADASS) came together on the third night of Chanukah Thursday with the aim of answering that age old question: Which is the quintessential Jewish food, latkes or hamantaschen? Professor Jonathan Sarna (NEJS), and Professor Reuven Kimelman (NEJS) sought to answer this question at the first annual Brandeis […]
Much to love about The Love of the Nightingale
The Free Play Theatre Cooperative wrapped up its Fall 2007 season last week with Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Love of the Nightingale, directed by Rebecca Webber ’08. The play is immensely challenging, both intellectually and emotionally, dealing with weighty matters such as rape, violence, and silence; however, Webber, the actors, and the designers met and exceeded […]
The top ten albums of 2007
It seems that with every passing year, the musical creative output continues to grow and prosper. Whether or not that’s true remains to be seen, but 2007 has presented an odd array of sounds from newbies and old hats, with plenty of surprises abound. While there has easily been more than ten great albums produced […]
Editorial: Online evaluations looked better on paper
It is becoming painfully obvious that online course evaluations are not working. The plethora of e-mails, the tables at Usdan, and the offer of prizes have not been enough to entice students to take a few minutes in front of their computers. While it might have looked good on paper, there are a couple of […]
Book of Matthew: Politics as usual
There are not many politicians that have my respect, but former President Bill Clinton is one of the few. His Dec. 4th address, honoring Eli Segal, was quite possibly the most inspiring speech that I have heard in a long time. It served as a pleasant reminder that a president can be intelligent and articulate, […]
Letters to the Editor:
(In respose to “Student Events”) Dear Editor, It seems, in the last week or so, that our campus has been divided by the recent decision of the administration to set aside a portion of the Student Activities Fee for Student Events. Everywhere I turn, I am assaulted by propaganda and rhetoric – vague references to […]
Shopping for Truth: Winter Break: what to do?
This week, for my final opinions column of the semester, I decided to reflect on some ideas of what to do during Winter break. So, I’m sure most of you are like me in that you’re ready to collapse and do nothing for a few weeks. Ahh, wishful thinking! Knowing myself, though, I know I […]
One Tall Voice: Memoirs of a Conservative: Part Two
My first ever opinions article in The Hoot was written back in October 2006. The title of the piece was “Memoirs of a Conservative at Brandeis Part One” and the negative response I got from composing the article made me give up this line of writing altogether. Still, being a conservative at Brandeis has given […]
Fighting with Pinpricks: The Civil War in Venezuela
Early on Monday morning, Hugo Chavez conceded that voters in Venezuela had rejected the constitutional referendum which he championed by the narrow margin of 50.7% to 49.3%. It was the seventh election in Venezuela since Chavez’s Bolivarian Revolution began nine years ago and the first loss for the president and his supporters. I’ve been following […]
Sexiled: Hard-Core
Let’s talk about porn. That’s right. I love porn. I’m a woman, and I am admitting that it’s one of my favorite ways to release pressure: stress. I used to pretend that I only watched pornography to make fun of it. The “acting” is, of course, humorous. But there’s only so much funny that I […]
The Gold Standard: Spectral Evidence: the race weapon
During the Salem witch trials, Abigail Williams and her friends are able to obtain guilty verdicts and secure capital punishment for the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts, on the basis of rather unusual attestations. As former practitioners of witchcraft themselves, they could “see” the foul spirits that were being controlled by the Salemites; while on the […]
The Point: Working Girl: laziness and workplace ennui
I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone that I am very, very lazy—at least, it won’t to the people who write us letters like “DEAR EDITOR: WHY DOES EMMA NEEDLEMAN HATE THE POLICE?!?” (just kidding—love you, guys!). Anyway, the point is that I hate doing work. Of any kind. I hate […]
Clinton promotes ‘citizen involvement’ at Brandeis
President Bill Clinton spoke to an audience of over 4,000 on Monday, as the first speaker for the Eli J. Segal ’64 Citizen Leadership program. Segal, who passed away in 2006, founded Americorps and worked as Clinton’s campaign chief of staff in 1992. “[Throughout] his all-too-short life, [Segal] used his genius at organizing…to help benefit […]
Residence Life considers subsidizing CA meal plans
A Department of Residence Life proposal outlining ideas to further compensate Community Advisors with meal plans was presented last Friday to administrators. Currently, according to Rich DeCapua, the Director of Residence Life, Brandeis is one of only a few schools in the area that does not offer incentive programs to become a CA beyond free […]
Union protests SE funding decision
The Student Union organized a protest on Thursday to express discontent with the administration’s acceptance of a proposal from Student Events, which would give them 17% of the Student Activities Fee with oversight from the Department of Student Activities. Union members and approximately 100 students gathered outside of the administration buildings shouting, “students united will […]
Student Union to draft Bill of Rights
The Brandeis Student Union has unveiled plans to draft a Student Bill of Rights, which will be a major union project during the Spring. “The Student Union ought to be defending student rights,” explained Director of Union Affairs Jason Gray ‘10, who initiated the plan along with Union Advocate Brian Paternostro ‘08. Paternostro could not […]
Participation drops with initial online evaluations
Only approximately 35 percent of the student body had filled out online course evaluations by Dec. 6, said sources from the Provost’s Office. The deadline to complete evaluations, which are used for teaching awards, tenure decisions, and the Course Evaluation Guide, is Dec. 12. “We’re basically pleased with where we’re at in this stage of […]
New dean appointed for Heller School
The Heller School for Social Policy and Management has announced the appointment of a new Dean, Lisa M. Lynch, effective as of July of next year. Lynch’s appointment ends a two-year search to fill the position. Administrators are looking forward to Lynch’s presence next year. Heller School Dean Stuart Altman mentioned in an administrative email […]
Library to switch to WhoCash for printing and copying
Students will soon be able to use Whocash to pay for photocopying and printing services in the Main Library, said Lisa Wiecki, Assistant Director for Public Services and Outreach for LTS. In an effort to make students’ lives easier, members of Library and Technology Services and the Campus Card Office have been working for the […]
New committee to head search for Jewish Chaplain
A new committee will be installed to head the search for a new rabbi on campus, sources from the Chaplaincy have said. The position has been vacant since the departure of Rabbi Allan Lehmann last spring. Following the dissolution of negotiations with Rabbi Elizabeth Goldstein, Senior Vice President Jean Eddy has announced “the formation of […]
