Respect student journalism: mic drop

Campus journalism is vital at any university. Maybe I sound biased, as someone who has worked on The Brandeis Hoot the past four years. But if anything, my experience with The Hoot has shown me that campus journalism is not understood enough. Especially in my role as Editor-in-Chief this year, I have learned that students […]

Brandeis employee proves tough competitor on ‘Jeopardy’

A Brandeis employee and alum who competed on “Jeopardy” came the closest to beating the show’s current reigning champ after over two weeks of runaway games. Adam Levin ’94 is the sports information director at Brandeis. He lost to champion James Holzhauer by $18 in the episode that aired on April 29. Levin was the […]

Anna Deavere Smith accepts 2019 Richman Fellowship

Actor, playwright and educator Anna Deavere Smith is this year’s Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life. Deavere Smith accepted the award from President Ron Liebowitz in a packed Sherman Function Hall on Thursday. Deavere Smith’s recent work involves the creation of over 15 one-woman shows based on hundreds of interviews she conducted around the country. […]

‘The Visitors’ an immersive musical and emotional experience

Ragnar Kjartansson’s exhibit “The Visitors” is a masterpiece. Held in one gallery at the ICA, “The Visitors” is a sweeping nine-screen experience of video and audio recordings of a performance at a mansion in upstate New York. Each screen features one musician, who are seated in different rooms of the house—one sits on a bed, […]

$20k grant to increase diversity and inclusion in STEM classes

Brandeis received a $20,000 grant from the Association of American Universities (AAU) to improve diversity and inclusivity in STEM classes. The goal is to create less of a barrier in STEM classes for students from all backgrounds and levels of experience. The grant funding will provide for three to four student-faculty partnerships in select STEM […]

New open access resource promotes peace at a low cost

An open textbook for the course PAX 120b: Inner Peace and Outer Peace was launched on Jan. 23 in a growing university effort to help combat the high costs of textbooks and educational resources. The textbook, titled “The Inner Peace Outer Peace Reader,” is written by Peter Gould and John Ungerleider, lecturers in the Peace, […]

‘My Ex-Life:’ Professor McCauley’s smart, witty new novel

Stephen McCauley, co-director of the Creative Writing Program, is not only a professor of short fiction workshops, but a successful novelist. McCauley held a variety of jobs before focusing on writing full-time (his website lists travel agent and yoga instructor, among others). His latest book, “My Ex-Life,” is a witty and poignant look at how […]

In support of a decentralized, intersectional Women’s March

There is nowhere you should be this Saturday aside from the Women’s March. This year’s Boston march centers around the theme, “Until All Voices Are Heard.” While it is bound to not be as large as the original 2017 march, it’s still an important reinvigoration of the fight for equality and a rebuttal to the […]

Student team launches new Branda app

This week marked the launch of the new app Branda, designed and managed by a team of students to make campus life easier. The app has eight features: Brandeis news, hours, calendar, shuttle tracker, laundry tracker, work order requests, a Brandeis map and a tech support contact page. The app opens onto the news page, […]

How to be an artist in today’s political climate

It seems that every time I look at the news, there is another tragedy, political scandal, natural disaster––the list goes on. In today’s political climate, it is hard to remain positive and feel that I can have faith in the government. And while we live in a much more accepting society than the previous generation, […]

Disciplinary sanctions not recorded on student transcripts

Sexual assault charges will not be recorded on a perpetrator’s transcript after a Title IX investigation concludes. Any record of disciplinary actions can only be found in a separate disciplinary file. A Brandeis student and survivor of sexual assault spoke to The Brandeis Hoot about their experience with the Title IX office and their frustration […]

PARC open house welcomes students and advocates

The Prevention, Advocacy and Resource Center (PARC), which consolidated the Office of Prevention Services (OPS) and the Rape Crisis Center (RCC) into one office, held an open house on Tuesday, Oct. 2. PARC’s mission is to provide education, empowerment and support for members of the Brandeis community who have faced sexual assault or harassment, domestic […]

Coming-of-age ‘La Familia’ reflects cyclical urban violence

“La Familia,” a Venezuelan film about growing up amidst urban violence, was shown at Wasserman Cinematheque on Friday, Sept. 28, as part of the Boston Latino International Film Festival (BLIFF). “La Familia” won Best Film in the 2017 Miami Film Festival and was selected as a finalist at Cannes this year. In its 16th year, […]

The many benefits of living off campus

When I found out my housing lottery number for my senior year at Brandeis, I was crushed. It’s a typical scenario—getting an abysmal number, checking with your friends to see if anyone has a number good enough to pull everyone into a suite, assessing your on-campus housing options. And then, as slowly but surely all […]

Lather, rinse, don’t repeat (until next week)

There’s something that most people are doing wrong in the shower: washing their hair. More specifically, washing it every or every other day. Many people naturally think that their hair will be cleaner the more they wash it. However, the opposite is true—hair actually becomes greasier the more often it’s washed. This is because once […]

You don’t have to ‘find yourself’ abroad

Studying abroad is the best decision I made in college. I spent last spring semester in Madrid, Spain and learned more than in any semester at Brandeis. If you’re thinking about studying abroad, I highly encourage it. But you don’t have to subscribe to the myriad cliches out there, such as the idea that you’ll […]

Brandeis cheerleading brings more than pep

Basketball isn’t the only sport you’ll find on the Gosman court—it’s also the stomping ground of the Brandeis cheerleading team, a club sport that cheers at basketball games and enters local competitions. Cheerleading is a fun yet challenging sport. Brandeis cheerleaders are trained in stunts, dance choreography, jumps and tumbling, combining school spirit and gymnastics […]

BASO’s seventh annual Night for Africa, vibrant and powerful

Brandeis African Students Organization (BASO) held its stunning, seventh annual Night for Africa in Levin Ballroom on Saturday, Nov. 11. In celebration of the various cultures of the African diaspora, this year’s theme was “Nyumbani,” which means “home” in Swahili. Against a beautifully painted backdrop of a woman’s head in side profile and “Nyumbani” cascading […]

Crenshaw delivers thought-provoking lecture on intersectionality

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, the influential scholar who coined the term “intersectionality,” received the Joseph B. and Toby Gittler prize on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Crenshaw has spent several days in residency, speaking with classes and at campus events. On Wednesday, she delivered a lecture on the intersectionality of racism, sexism and other forms of systematic discrimination […]

‘Ebony Axis’ touches upon race and intersectionality with Kimberlé Crenshaw

This past week marked the launch of the third installment of “Ebony Axis,” a poetry zine for black women founded by LaShawn Simmons ’18. The launch event was held on Oct. 23 in the Intercultural Center (ICC) to a packed audience, which included special guest Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading critical race theorist who coined the […]