‘Cheers, mate!’: Where nobody knows your name

When I returned from my semester abroad in London, some of my friends were disappointed that I didn’t turn into a British person, or, at the very least, have a swanky accent. But—though it may seem counter-intuitive—if anything my stay in London made me more of an American. Faced with cultural differences, especially in the […]

Midyears and upperclassmen share Village residence quad

The midyear class of 2013 moved into the Village Residence Quad earlier this month, making it the first time ever first-years are living in direct proximity to upperclassmen. Up until last year, the university housed midyears in dorms in the traditionally first-year North and Massell Quads. The university would choose one building a year to […]

Panel discusses future of conflict in Afghanistan

The American conflict in Afghanistan received special attention Thursday at a panel presentation delivered in the International Lounge at the Usdan Student Center. Sponsored by the Center for German and European Studies, the panelists included both German Deputy Consul for New England Claudia Schuett and Asbed Kotchikian, a lecturer in Bentley University’s Global Studies office. […]

Prominent sociologist Hilary Levey speaks about competition in children

Sociologist Hilary Levey spoke at Brandeis yesterday about her recent studies in adolescent competition as part of the Sociology Spring 2010 Colloquium Series. The session was entitled “Playing to Win: Raising Children in a Competitive Culture,” and focused on research over 16 months regarding why children have become so competitive, and why the competitiveness is […]

Panel discusses future of conflict in Afghanistan

The American conflict in Afghanistan received special attention Thursday at a panel presentation delivered in the International Lounge at the Usdan Student Center. Sponsored by the Center for German and European Studies, the panelists included both German Deputy Consul for New England Claudia Schuett and Asbed Kotchikian, a lecturer in Bentley University’s Global Studies office. […]

NYTimes Jerusalem bureau chief to speak on campus Tuesday

New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner will speak at Brandeis Tuesday about the challenges he faced reporting from Israel in an event entitled “Covering the Middle East in 2010: A report from the field.” The event will be held in the International Lounge of the Usdan Student Center. Brandeis will be the first […]

Chabon no ‘amateur’

As someone who is neither a husband nor a father (I hope), it may seem puzzling that I would choose to read Michael Chabon’s “Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures of a Husband, Father, and Son,” a collection of 39 essays that, as the title implies, focuses primarily on marriage and children. I’m simply not in […]

Drowning in ‘The Deep End’

It’s hard to tell what inspired ABC’s decision to produce and air the new legal drama, “The Deep End,” which premiered Thursday night. Perhaps the corporate execs figured that, with their success with “Grey’s Anatomy,” focusing on another profession would be just as profitable. Whatever the reason for green-lighting this project, I doubt it’s because […]

Of fists and fist pumps

MTV’s “Jersey Shore” has come and gone, and it was undoubtedly a goldmine. Before the season was even halfway over, the cast members were making appearances with Jay Leno, getting paid upwards of $5,000 to make club and bar appearances and receiving condemnation from commercial sponsors and government officials alike. They even graced the pages […]

Things that go BMOP in the night

If you attended a performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra last fall, chances are pretty good that you heard one or more of Beethoven’s symphonies. The BSO, widely recognized as one of the world’s most elite orchestras, presented a complete set of these vaunted works throughout October and November and has several additional performances scattered […]

Of fists and fist pumps

MTV’s “Jersey Shore” has come and gone, and it was undoubtedly a goldmine. Before the season was even halfway over, the cast members were making appearances with Jay Leno, getting paid upwards of $5,000 to make club and bar appearances and receiving condemnation from commercial sponsors and government officials alike. They even graced the pages […]

Film ‘Measures’ extraordinary

In the film “Extraordinary Measures,” an ill eight-year-old, Megan Crowley (Meredith Droeger), has one request for a medicine that could very well save her life—it needs to be pink. But the medicine can’t be just any pink; it has to be dark pink because, as she maturely assesses, light pink is for babies. Like many […]

An album of ‘Contra’-dictions

The problem that’s plagued Vampire Weekend as a band has been that, while audiences might enjoy music that can be played while yachting, that won’t change the resentment and distrust towards those select few that dare to be part of a yacht club. And though I have no idea if any of the members of […]

Outer space on the upper campus

Day in and day out, students and professors alike take on the Rabb steps. Most, however, are unaware that beneath those steps lies the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Lab. Under the direction of Professor James Lackner (PSYCH) and Professor Paul DiZio (PSYCH) the lab was built in 1982 to study how people adapt to foreign […]

Alumni share Brandeis experience through new video challenge

In an effort to keep alumni connected to the university and to solicit donations, the university’s Department of Development and Alumni Relations has instituted a Brandeis “Alumni Video Challenge.” Inspired by entrepreneur and producer Daniel Adler ’85 and Emmy Award winning film and TV producer Stanley Brookes ’79, the video challenge asks alumni to “tell […]

Women’s basketball splits the weekend

The Brandeis women’s basketball team opened up home University Athletic Association play this past weekend. The Judges bested the Rochester University Yellowjackets on Friday night 55-48, but fell 73-65 to the Emory University Eagles on Sunday afternoon. With the split Brandeis moved to 9-6 on the season and 2-3 in conference play. The Judges got […]

Men’s basketball defeats Rochester

The men’s basketball team extended their winning streak to five games with a win Friday night over the University of Rochester Yellowjackets before falling on Sunday to the Emory University Eagles. The Judges moved to 12-3 on the season and 3-2 in University Athletic Association play. The Yellowjackets got the first basket of the game […]

Women’s fencing claims Northeast Conference title, excel against Wellesley

The Brandeis women’s fencing team had a dominating performance last Saturday at the Northeast Fencing Conference Meet at Boston College when they finished 6-0 to take the Conference crown for the second year in a row. “I’m very happy with how the season [is going],” captain Alex Turner ’11 told The Hoot. “We lost six […]

The Snow Men

It rained all day long on Monday. It rained all day long and the wind blew hard—breaking umbrellas and soaking shivering students as it pushed bloated raindrops sideways. Walkways became streams, doorways of buildings became safe havens and the shoes of anyone not wearing rain boots became soggy. On the whole, the weather was miserable. […]

Castle Quad one of coolest dorms in U.S.

U.S. News and World Report recently dubbed Usen Castle one of the eight “coolest dorms in the nation” also including dorms at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, and College of William and Mary. Usen Castle, built in 1928, predates the founding of the university, making it the oldest building on campus. It was […]