Canceled campus play progresses off-campus years later

“Buyer Beware,” a play which was originally meant to be performed on the Brandeis campus in Fall 2017 but was canceled following controversy and concerns over its content, is “in development” for performance elsewhere, according to the playwright Michael Weller ’65. Weller, a Brandeis alum, first drafted the play after he had a chance to […]

Students beat faculty in fundraising basketball game

Students beat faculty and staff 50-40 in a basketball game that accompanied a fundraiser to support causes at Brandeis. The causes included the Brandeis Food Pantry, the Student Emergency Fund, the General Scholarship Fund, The Green Fund for Campus Sustainability, World of Work (WOW) Fellowships and the Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC). The six […]

Measles case in greater Boston, Brandeis has high vaccine compliance rate

A person was diagnosed with measles in the greater Boston area on Sunday, March 31, 2019 and, while infectious, traveled to several places—including locations in Waltham—where others may have been exposed, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). Measles is spread more easily than almost any other disease, according to the Massachusetts website. […]

Commuter rail subsidy program to begin next semester

Students may request reimbursement from the university for educational trips to and from Boston starting next semester thanks to a new program funded by the Student Union and Campus Operations. The program—which will apply to full time undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at Brandeis—will cover the cost of trips occurring outside the normal hours of […]

Free speech order unlikely to affect Brandeis

President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at improving free inquiry on campus is ambiguous and universities such as Brandeis already promote free speech, according to a statement from Julie Jette, Director of Media Relations at Brandeis. The order, which Trump signed on live television after claiming that American students and values are “under siege” and […]

Brandeis institute founder accused of sexual assault

Michael Steinhardt, a billionaire Jewish philanthropist with ties to Brandeis, including an institute bearing his name, was accused of a pattern of sexual harassment in an article published by The New York Times on Thursday. Steinhardt, a former Wall Street hedge fund manager, donated $12 million to establish the Brandeis Steinhardt Social Research Institute in […]

Photobook reflects on collective power of Women’s March

“We Who March,” a book of photos from the 2017 Women’s March shot by 30 photographers—28 of which were women—is a “book for the community, by the community and of the community,” according to the book’s creator Ellen Feldman. The self-published book, which features photos shot primarily at marches in Washington, D.C., New York City, […]

Students with disabilities discuss their experiences with self-advocacy

Four upperclassmen discussed their experiences with self-advocacy as students with disabilities in a panel Thursday, sharing advice on how other students with disabilities might advocate for themselves both in the classroom and on campus. The panelists—LilyFish Gomberg ’20, Emily Dana ’19, Irving Perez ’20 and Shoshi Finkel ’20—described self-advocacy as the skill of figuring out […]

Lurie Institute names eight members for fellowship

The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis named eight members to the inaugural class of the Nathan and Toby Starr Fellowship on Thursday. The program aims to cultivate research expertise to increase undergraduate students’ understanding of disability policy, according to a press release. The eight students named to the fellowship—Julia Brown ’19, Monica Chen […]

Prosthesis club holds interactive workshop

Brandeis Prosthesis Club (BPC), a group which has made 3D printed prosthetics for children and young adults, hosted an interactive workshop on Wednesday inviting interested students to join in constructing flexible hands and other jointed limbs. The group focuses on creating prosthetics for growing children and have shipped out six prosthetic body parts including hands […]

Brandeis alumni recount experiences leading to careers in law

Four alumni described how their life experiences and time at Brandeis guided them to careers in law and criminal justice in a panel discussion on Monday night. A criminal defense attorney for the Roxbury Defenders, Aaron Bray ’13, said that his life experience was the main force leading him to a career in criminal justice, […]

Framework task force members named by Liebowitz

Members of three task forces were named in an email from President Ron Liebowitz on Monday which urged members of the Brandeis community to “participate in charting our future” and addressed calls for improving accessibility on campus. The three task forces—the Task Force on the Student Living/Learning Experience, the Task Force on Supporting Research, Creativity […]

How to spot a coyote on campus

Seen any coyotes on campus lately? If you answered no, you’re kidding yourself. From Grad to the Rabb Steps, coyotes abound. You see them in dining halls, in classrooms, in the library and in the dorms. The fact of the matter is, at this time of year, coyotes are everywhere and if you’re not seeing […]

Former Comey, Mueller official shares perspective on Russia investigation

A former federal official spoke about the Trump administration and the Special Counsel investigation into 2016 election interference with members of the Brandeis community at the Heller School on Wednesday. Chuck Rosenberg, who resigned from his role as the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) after criticizing President Donald Trump in September 2017, previously […]

Research may face delays amid government shutdown

As the longest government shutdown in United States history approaches its fifth week, researchers who are applying for or who receive federal funding from affected departments may face increasing delays and uncertainty, according to Vice Provost for Research Edward Hackett. While Brandeis’ largest source of research support, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), remains unaffected […]

Univ. speaks out on proposed Title IX changes

Brandeis joined the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM) in submitting a public comment against the proposed changes in Title IX rules to the Department of Education. President Ron Liebowitz announced the decision, criticizing the overly prescriptive and “one size fits all” proposed model in an email to the Brandeis community on […]

Student Union seeks financial aid ‘horror stories’

Student Union President Hannah Brown circulated a Google form in Brandeis Facebook groups earlier this month which invited students to share bad experiences or “horror stories” with financial aid at Brandeis. The form—which can be submitted anonymously or with identifying information—is part of a larger effort by the Student Union to address student concerns with […]

With new investment policies, board adopts ‘wait and see attitude’

After adopting new policies on investments in fossil fuels late last month, the Board of Trustees will take a “wait and see attitude” to assess how these policies have affected Brandeis’ endowment at the end of three years, according to President Ron Liebowitz. The policy changes come after students and faculty have pressed the board […]

Brandeis students discuss gun violence

Ten Brandeis community members joined in a conversation about the effects of gun violence, on Tuesday night in the Christian Lounge. Students and members of the chaplaincy who attended the event spoke about the personal feelings and insecurities they deal with living in a society which has seen mass shootings in schools, churches, synagogues and […]

After Board of Trustees vote on divestment, advocates push for more

The Board of Trustees adopted new investment policies related to fossil fuels in a November meeting with President Ron Liebowitz, according to a campus-wide email sent Wednesday. In interviews with The Brandeis Hoot, campus advocates for divesting university funds from the fossil fuel industry said the new policies are a good first step but do […]