On concluding undergraduate studies at Brandeis University

On August 24, 2014, I woke up at 6 a.m. on the dot. From what I remember it was a cool Sunday morning set to become a typical humid Long Island summer day. When I emerged from my home about an hour later I turned around and took a good look at the front. I […]

Brandeis’ academic atmosphere has become too pressurized

These last few months have been among the toughest for me at Brandeis. The select few who follow my articles religiously may have noticed a sharp downward trend in my work. They may have noticed that I am no longer on the editorial board of this paper. I’ve dealt with health uncertainties and the existential […]

Film screening brings human rights discussion to Brandeis

On Oct. 4, the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life hosted a film screening of “Never Again: Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity.” The 40 minute documentary paints a stark picture of an international criminal legal system unable to fully deliver justice to war-torn areas around the world. The film opens by […]

Pay attention to Puerto Rico

Devastation struck Puerto Rico on Sep. 20. Hurricane Maria, at Category 4 intensity, rocked the densely populated American territory to a point of crisis. A beautiful Caribbean Island home to nearly 3,500,000 people (almost as much as Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, South Dakota and North Dakota combined)—American citizens—is on the brink. The federal government, meanwhile, is […]

Leaning towards studying abroad? Don’t overthink it.

Like many of my peers in the Class of 2018, I have recently returned from a most memorable study abroad experience. I spent the Spring 2017 semester living and studying with the Brandeis in The Hague program, out of Leiden, The Netherlands. There are too many positive adjectives in the English language that qualify for […]

On leaving Brandeis

I have written for The Brandeis Hoot for well over two years now, and have been an editor for nearly two. I’ve edited this section for a year and a half. But as time moves on, so must I to begin a new journey in my academic career: my semester abroad. In late January 2017, […]

We did not do enough

We’re down, but not out. It has been a difficult two days to say the least. Brandeis University was and still is in a state of shock and disbelief. How does one go about comprehending the once-incomprehensible? The level of confidence that we would be building upon the progress of the last eight years was […]

Brandeis inaugurates its ninth president

Ronald D. Liebowitz was officially inaugurated as the ninth president of Brandeis University at a ceremony in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center on Thursday, Nov. 3. Liebowitz succeeds Lisa Lynch (interim president) and Frederick Lawrence as the university’s highest ranking administrator. The ceremony weaved musical interludes by the Brandeis Chamber Singers and University Chorus […]

Proposition: build an access point to Squire Bridge on road level

In the March 11, 2016 edition of The Brandeis Hoot, the importance of campus walkways for the use of pedestrians and emergency traffic was discussed, in an article which mentioned the issue of crossing South Street on the west side of Squire Bridge. The bridge is the conduit that is supposed to allow students to […]

This is unacceptable.

CW: Trump’s comments about sexually assaulting women are mentioned below. According to an article published to CNN Money on Oct. 17, Donald Trump, the GOP’s nominee for President of the United States, pledged to “stop” the media, presumably because he’s tired of the industry being mean to him. At Wednesday’s debate, he refused to say […]

Politically charged vandalism does not adhere to Brandeis values

All students at Brandeis know that the student body is a political one. We love to talk national politics. We love to talk about the issues that are most relevant to us. Most importantly, we all have our differing opinions, and we should be accepting and constructive about this. Unfortunately, some of us are not. […]

MLB postseason: Born to be wild

Major League Baseball’s 2016 campaign came to a conclusion two weeks ago, on Oct. 2. Two days later, the postseason kicked off with two extraordinary Wild Card games in Toronto and in New York. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, Edwin Encarnacion channelled his inner 1993 Joe Carter and walked the Toronto Blue Jays off into an […]

Install visitor check-in center at campus base

South Street is a heavily used open-access road: the gateway from two interstates and places west of the City of Waltham. Scores of vehicles pass by campus going one way or the other on South Street on a regular basis, and any one of them can waltz right into Brandeis’ campus via the wide and […]

The problem with calls to upgrade older residence halls

Time and time again, calls to upgrade or renovate older campus buildings arise. The buildings of Massell, North and East Quads are well over 50 years old, and obviously they show their age. The even older Castle Quad is set to close in a few months due to the effects of the years. In the […]

A toast to the Brandeis Ski and Snowboard Team

As an incoming first-year in 2014, there was not much I was certain about. Like my friends and peers, I attended the activities fair on a scorching late-August day and signed up for countless activities on a whim. I’ve devoted much of my time after that day to two clubs, one of which was included […]

Don’t read this; did you vote?

On March 11, 2016, The Brandeis Hoot’s Editorial Board published an editorial titled “Don’t read this, go vote!” to pre-emptively spur more students into voting, instead of characteristically panning low turnout after the fact. According to an article in The Hoot in the following issue, “1,053 out of a total 3,610 undergraduates voted for president. […]