Festival shows art is the ‘Source’

Ordinarily rain spoils outdoor events, but Wednesday’s rainy weather felt appropriate for the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts’ opening ceremony, which celebrated the symbolic importance of water as it unveiled a temporary installation by artist-in-residence Michael Dowling. The festival officially presented Dowling’s “Source/ReSource,” a temporary installation constructed out of copper and stone, to […]

Paul Simon to serenade seniors

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon will sing at commencement on May 23, helping Brandeis seniors to end their four years at the university on a happy note, despite some senior’s remaining anger over the choice of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren as the speaker at the ceremony. The news broke Wednesday when University President Jehuda Reinharz sent an […]

Pearlstein discusses partisanship, conservatives, the Tea Party at Q-and-A

Rick Pearlstein, a historian and journalist who focuses his coverage on political parties and their movements, spoke about the conservative movement, the Tea Party and President Barack Obama’s role in partisanship in a question-and-answer session Monday in Usdan’s International Lounge. Pearlstein discussed the role of the conservative movement in America after World War II and […]

Scientists, artists come together at festival

The “Art of Science … Science of Art” event Wednesday opened the 2010 Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. The presentation featured artists Daniel Kohn, Guhapriya Ranganathan, Jessica Rosenkrantz, Christopher Janney and Nancy Selvage, and two scientists, Professor James Bensinger (PHYS) and Professor. Elinor Karlsson of Harvard, who spoke about the intersection of these two […]

Sustainability fund amendment to Union Constitution passes with student body vote

The student body voted Monday to pay an extra $15 per year as part of their Student Activities Fee in order to create the Brandeis Sustainability Fund, reaching the required two-thirds majority in a special campus-wide vote. The fund created by the vote to raise the Student Activity Fee, currently $324 a year, will give […]

First orthodox ‘rabba’ discusses role of women in Judaism

When asked, the majority of the Jewish community, especially the Orthodox Jewish community, reports with absolute conviction that women cannot be rabbis. Those polled would either be giving their own belief or what they know to be the religious rule. Rabba Sara Hurwitz, the first Orthodox woman to become a rabbi in the United States, […]

Helping Haiti: A semester summary

The Brandeis Haiti Relief Effort, co-chaired by Nate Rosenblum ’10 and Shaina Gilbert ’10, has worked throughout this semester to take part in the global campaign to aid Haiti after the earthquake that took place there Jan. 12. As the semester winds down, the Brandeis Haiti Relief Effort is growing closer and closer to its […]

In Memoriam: Saul G. Cohen, 93

Professor Saul G. Cohen, Brandeis’ first chemistry department chair, dean of faculty and university professor, died last Saturday due to heart failure. Cohen was 93. Current Chemistry Department Chair Irving Epstein described Cohen as a “man of enormous breadth of intellect and interest, not only in science but in literature, politics and many other areas.” […]

So long and thanks for all the fish

My interest in journalism started while I was studying abroad in Australia. Up to that point I had planned on taking the most popular path among my peers: law school. After all, I have always loved writing and, on more than one occasion, my father has declared that I can talk my way into or […]

Baseball: Judges beat Bowdoin in marathon game, fall to Keene St.

The Brandeis baseball team presented fans with a lot of excitement this week, earning a come from behind victory against the Bowdoin Polar Bears (21-11), the seventh ranked team in the region. The Judges (11-22) claimed a 17-15 victory in their last regular season home game despite trailing by seven runs in the eighth inning. […]

Growing up with golf

I remember a warm spring day. I walked onto the mat tee—a green square made of beat-up Astroturf—and carefully placed a small white ball onto the rubber tee. About 60 yards ahead of me, a yellow flag with a large number one blew in the wind. Dad sat on the bench behind me, watching as […]

Women’s track and field places fifth, men seventh at outdoor UAA Championships

In a weekend full of stiff competition, the Brandeis track and field teams stepped up their game and walked away from the University Athletic Association Championships in St. Louis with three championship performances, one meet record, two school records, two NCAA qualifying standards, and five all UAA honors. “The amazing success our athletes had this […]

Men’s tennis finishes fourth at UAA Championships

On the courts of Carnegie Mellon University last weekend, the Brandeis men’s tennis team wrapped up a successful season at the University Athletic Association’s yearly tournament. The Judges, who entered the tournament with an 8-8 record, left with a fourth place finish, the team’s best under fifth-year coach Ben Lamanna. The journey for fifth-seeded Brandeis […]

Brandeis completes road schedule with two wins

Occasionally, usually less than once a week, the Brandeis softball team has actually lost a game this year. I know, this seems shocking given their stunning season so far. Never fear, though–they just made sure that their national ranking of 18 can only improve following another perfect week on the diamond. To be fair, they […]

Former poet laureate Louise Glück reads from new book

In a series of powerful readings, former United States poet laureate and Fannie Hurst visiting professor Louise Glück shared with Brandeis students a few selections from her new book of poetry “A Village Life.” According to event coordinator and Glück’s friend, Professor Mary Campbell (ENG), the renowned poet doesn’t like to do readings. Campbell hypothesized […]

Chico Colvard presents a ‘Family Affair’

For the average member of a family that has been rocked by abuse, it isn’t exactly easy talking publically about your own situation. Filmmaker Chico Colvard is not average in this regard, as he spent the last eight years crafting a documentary titled “Family Affair” which delves into the way his own family has handled […]

Early Music Ensemble rocks the Renaissance

Two weeks ago, the Brandeis Music Department was catapulted into the 1500s, and it still has yet to return. Following on the heels of the University Chamber Choir’s exploration of Renaissance-era a cappella, the Brandeis Early Music Ensemble presented “Mixed Blessings: Beatitudes and Benedictions from Another Age” to small, intimate audiences on Sunday, April 25, […]

Don’t panic! ‘Guide’ a scrappy tribute to original

I went to the Brandeis Official Readers’ Guild’s (BORG) production of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” with some reservations. I love Douglas Adams’ radio play, with its talented vocal cast, nifty sound effects and killer theme song. I couldn’t bear to see what carbon-based life forms would do to it. I gulped a pan-galactic […]

Moving beyond skinny jeans and shaggy hair

Quick: name five female artists you listen to on a regular basis. Now name five artists of color. I came to the somewhat startling realization, as someone who identifies as a feminist and is interested in anti-racism, that the vast majority of music I own has been produced by white dudes. Most of it is […]

Dancing to the beat of my own drum

I discovered African dance during the fall of my junior year while I was studying abroad in Chile. Valparaiso was putting on its huge annual street parade. It featured, among other things, African dance and drumming. Hearing that more dancers were needed, I immediately volunteered. Mind you, I’d never taken an African dance class, had […]