The Brandeis Undergraduate Theater Collective’s recent production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” directed by Hannah “Phoenix” Feldman ’27, details the lives of the Webb and Gibbs families, along with the stories of several other people in Grover’s Corners, NH, in three beautifully done acts. As one of the most famous American plays, “Our Town” is no easy tale to tackle, but the company of the UTC’s production did a fantastic job. Also, spoilers ahead! Franny Gindi-Chiafullo ’28 led the ensemble as the Stage Manager, someone who exists outside of the same pattern of time everyone else in the play follows. She was not only an excellent storyteller but also an evocative performer; her actions commanded both the timeline and the audience alike, and effectively drove the story forward. The Stage Manager guided the audience through time, specifically following George Gibbs (Luke Benanav ’29) and Emily Webb (Natalie Conklin ’29) as
Extracurricular clubs are a core part of the college experience, and Brandeis has no shortage of them. The official list online touts over 200 unique student-run organizations covering just about every subject an undergraduate could hope for. Running a club isn’t cheap, though, and it seems that yearly budgets just keep going down. Student leaders are right to be stressed, but there’s a great deal of information that people don’t know about. What’s really happening here? Most of the money clubs fund their events with comes out of the Student Activities Fund (SAF), a large pool of money comprising a small cut of every enrolled undergraduate’s tuition and any unspent SAF money from the previous school year. Every spring, clubs apply for money they expect to spend in the following
On Friday, Nov. 7, the Brandeis Jewish Bund held a sit-in. According to the digital flyer posted on the Bund’s Instagram, the event was held in honor of Palestine. When asked about the intentions behind the event, a member of
Two million Americans and more than 2,700 locations around the nation took to the streets on Oct. 18 for a second round of coordinated protests against the Trump administration. These protests were organized by and bear the name of “No
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell visited Brandeis University on Oct. 21, where she was named the 2025 Justice Brandeis Practitioner-in-Residence. The one-day residency, which includes a $10,000 honorarium, featured a packed audience of students, faculty, and staff, and was
This time of year is all about listening to melancholic music by terrible people, or at least that’s what I do every fall. In revisiting some of my favorite mournful musicians, I was once again enthralled by the album “The Queen Is Dead” by The Smiths. I love The Smiths. “The Queen Is Dead” was the third album of the band, released in 1986 to universal acclaim. It consists of 10 songs over the span of 37 minutes and 11 seconds. The album has come to encapsulate the band’s identity and, for a while, defined the genre of indie-rock. Even today, the worst man you know is probably blasting “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” with no sense of self-reflection. The album opens with the song “The Queen Is Dead,” a six and
I Hate Thanksgiving The Turkey is always dry What is in stuffing? I Hate Thanksgiving The Pilgrims are repugnant Let’s do better, please I Hate Thanksgiving The Macy’s Parade is fine Get better guest stars I Hate
There is a bug trapped The window is open Its buggy body is pressed against the screen The window is open I cannot tell you what kind of bug it was, I am not an entomologist, Yet, I can
It is hopeless, I think, muffling my anger in this hauntingly familiar environment. I slip the spear back in its sling, where it belongs. I breathe in, the air smelling like sweat and cut wood. I look down and flex
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, multiple major elections were held in several different states across the country. In Virginia, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears to become the state’s first female governor. Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated businessman Jack Ciattarelli to become the next governor of New Jersey. In a race many people were following closely, State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become mayor of New York City. Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard retook two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission in an upset victory. Voters in California passed Prop. 50, giving Gov. Gavin Newsom the ability to redraw the state’s congressional maps. Three Democratic justices won re-election to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. All around, it was a good
Background: On June 24, 2025, New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani overcame frontrunner former Governor Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. While Mamdani secured a clear plurality from the outset, New York City’s
Since I imagine most of you don’t follow politics as closely as I do, you may not have heard about the primary campaign currently taking place in Maine. Sen. Susan Collins, a so-called moderate who always votes for the Trump
In a time not long after dinosaurs went extinct shortly before the innovation of smart fridges, being a provocative jerk on the internet was rightly frowned upon as a negative character trait and nothing more. Beginning at the turn of
Thanks for reaching out! An STI (sexually transmitted infection) is a serious condition that can develop after sex; they can have symptoms, but most cases are asymptomatic. Most are curable, and all are treatable, but it is important to get tested for them to catch them early and start treatment! STIs can be transmitted through genitals, pubic hair, kissing and penetrative sex. This means that even if you use a condom with your partner(s), you still run the risk of having shared or received an STI. Something to consider is that if you have multiple sexual/romantic partners, you may want to increase the frequency of testing to once every three months. Additionally, communicate boundaries relating to comfort and expectations surrounding testing (how often, are you testing genitals, anal or urine).
On Friday, Oct. 17, the Brandeis English Department held its annual Novel Symposium. This year’s event focused on the novel “The Bostonians” by Henry James, and it featured a series of three panels consisting of both graduate students and professors.
By some twisted, freak accident of God, the weather in London was clear and sunny during the four days I was there. I’m well aware that because of this, I may have a more positive impression of the city than
Thank you for writing to SSIS! We want to start by reassuring you that this is a very common and completely valid concern. Despite the messaging we often hear that genitals should be “tasteless,” that’s not realistic—all body parts have
Brandeis will be introducing a new varsity sport to the roster for the first time in more than forty years. Soon, Brandeis women will be able to compete on the new lacrosse team. The addition will be the 20th varsity sports team and the 11th women’s team offered by Brandeis. Along with the announcement of the new team, the name of the coach has been released: Anne Campbell. Head Coach Campbell has worked as head coach of Mount Holyoke’s lacrosse team since 2022, assistant coached for Bates College during the spring of 2022, was the head coach at Newbury College in 2018 and served as the head coach at Curry College from 2019 to 2021. The new team is expected to start competing during the 2026-27 school year. Over the
Brandeis doesn’t have a football team, gymnastics team or marching band. There are no massive Game Days where the entire student body gathers in a stadium to watch men jump on each other. Depending on your personal relationship with sports,
On Sept. 28, seven college quadball teams from the New England region came to Brandeis for Openers, an unofficial tournament hosted by the Massachusetts Quadball Conference (MQC). The purpose of Openers is to give new players real-game experience without the
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
