Naomi Stephenson
September 16, 2025
At one point in one’s life, one will walk into a burger joint—one with 30-dollar burgers, a neon sign and entree names that belong on the back of Too Faced packaging—and be met with a little box of TV static instead of a menu. If this is your first time being alive, you might look at your waitress with confusion, before she kindly explains to you that you have to scan the code with your camera and it will show you the menu. So, you pull out your phone and scan the code. It doesn’t work. The dim lighting in the establishment is making it impossible for your phone to read the code. Your date sits across from you, looking more and more embarrassed at your lack of technical prowess. Eventually, the waitress suggests your date use their phone flashlight to illuminate the code. So, now, you’re shining a bright
Earlier this month, Interim President Arthur Levine issued a response via email, to the demonstration held on April 4 by the Brandeis Jewish Bund, “While we encourage debate over difficult topics at Brandeis, we can never permit threatening, harassing, hateful or antisemitic speech on our campus.” President Levine accused the Bund of bringing “… masked protesters on Friday [that] were not members of the Brandeis community.” In response, Levine reinforced Brandeis’ policy on trespassing, threatened disciplinary action against the organizers and declared that “face coverings may not be used to avoid responsibility for one’s actions, they may only be worn for medical and religious purposes.” “It’s completely unfounded,” said Bund officials. “They have provided absolutely no evidence whatsoever that the majority of people came from off campus. Of course there’s
In a letter released on April 22, more than 260 university presidents and other higher education leaders, including Brandeis Interim President Arthur Levine, promised to oppose the “undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work
On April 15, Brandeis revealed information about a residence hall in the works. Construction is set to begin in June 2025 and is expected to be completed in Spring 2027, with students being allowed to live in the residence hall
Fizz, an anonymous messaging app that aims to allow students to connect with their campus communities “safely, authentically, and vibrantly,” is one of several anonymous messaging apps that have become popular on college campuses across America. Students are able to
On Oct. 31, 2019, people all around the world woke up, ready to celebrate Halloween. I was in eighth grade, and in true middle school fashion, was in the thick of my emo phase, harnessing every cringey cliche out there. I had already planned to dress in the aesthetic of My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade and had stolen just enough black eye makeup from my mom to complete the look. As I walked out of school and onto my bus, a text hit my phone. I could have never anticipated that on guitarist Frank Iero’s 38th birthday, as my best friend informed me, My Chemical Romance was reuniting and playing their first show in six years that upcoming December. 13-year-old me was screaming, crying off all the eyeliner I
“We’re Twenty One Pilots and so are you!” is a familiar statement. It’s what frontman Tyler Joseph has ended several concerts with since the band formed in 2009, but also one that can be quite misleading. Of course, listeners are
Starting in May and ending in August, the Brandeis school year has returned from vacation (and for those who stuck around during the heat, God bless your air conditioning units). But even as the last breaths of summer lift students
There is a place. On the other side of the wall. I can’t tell you what that place looks like. I see it in my dreams. A castle. It’s made of marble. And millions of gemstones. They are embedded in
Imagine being a high school student, already exhausted from the state of the world and your fluctuating hormones. It’s a struggle to make it to class when you suddenly feel a debilitating pain in your abdomen. Ugh. It’s your period. The search for a tampon begins since you weren’t expecting to need one today. In the rush to not miss any class time, a trip to the bathroom turns into a trip to the nurse when you find that the tampon dispenser in the bathroom is empty, again. In addition to missing even more class time, this trip to the nurse results in humiliation when she asks how heavy your flow is. In Massachusetts, menstrual products are not accessible to everyone. Now, next to being a high school student in
I am a proud movie person. I love watching movies, arguing about movies, learning about movies … you get the picture (no pun intended). I can tell you who directed “Sleepless in Seattle,” who won Best Actress at the 2012
I’ve had this article’s title in mind since my freshman year, when I first started working for the paper. Back then, I’d include a reference to my favorite video game, Destiny, in each and every single one of my articles.
I will graduate from Brandeis University in less than a month. Even typing that out feels weird. For four years, I was living my life at Brandeis, and a month from now, I will be living a completely new life.
I was talking on the phone to a colleague last month—I know what you’re thinking: “Where is he going with this?” But bear with me for a moment. He was complaining about something or other as professors do, while I was aimlessly walking around my study at home. I was looking at books and sorting papers while he rambled, when my eyes rested for a moment on a photograph of my late mother’s family—framed and hanging on the wall, among other pictures and tchotchkes accumulated over the years. The photograph was taken in Lithuania in about 1914. There are my great-grandparents, looking like Sigmund Freud married Madame Curie. The children are easily recognized even at their young ages. There is my grandmother and her sister Gussie. Great Uncle Meyer is
On Sunday nights in Porter Square, a quiet community center transforms. Fiddles fill the air, feet pound the floor and dancers move in spinning, stomping patterns. This is Boston’s folk dancing scene, and for Brandeis junior Elena Giacoletti ‘26, it’s
I had the opportunity to sit down with Brandeis alumnus, Eitan Joseph ’22, to talk about his new platform, Giveasy, which he created in part with a team of two others: Isaac Gorelik of Stanford ’24 and Jack Moldenhauer of
Hundreds of students, faculty and staff filled the seats of the Spingold Theater Center to experience a unique performance of a revolutionary mathematician. “Diving into Math with Emmy Noether” is a dynamic play celebrating the life and achievements of mathematician
Recently, the Brandeis Baseball team has played in two University Athletic Association (UAA) Conference series. The first was an at-home four-game series against the Emory University Eagles, and the second was against the Washington University at St. Louis (WashU) in Missouri. Unfortunately, the Judges lost all eight games, but there were some close calls that certainly could have gone in the Judges’ favor. Baseball is a game of failure and sometimes the only way through the growth and development stage for players is to trust the process. In the Judges series against the Emory Eagles, they had three relatively close games and one blowout. When the teams first faced each other, the Judges lost a long 14-inning battle against the Eagles 9-10. This game was back-and-forth throughout, with the
Since the last publication of The Hoot, the Brandeis softball team has played seven games. The first three were a part of a home-series against the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Tartans. The next three were away against the Washington University
Since our last publication, both the women’s and men’s tennis teams have played four matches. The women faced Endicott College, the #12-ranked Wellesley College, Trinity College (Conn.) and Springfield College. On the men’s side, they faced the US Coast Guard
As the University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Track and Field Championships approach quickly, the Brandeis Judges’ men’s and women’s track and field teams have been competing at invitational meets across the country. On April 11 and 12 at Smith
