Big Beautiful Bill Guts Graduate Federal Loans; Law & Medicine among most affected.
Higher education has long been one of Massachusetts’ greatest strengths, a cornerstone of its economy and a defining feature of its national reputation. But a series of sweeping changes under the so-called Big Beautiful Bill threatens to unravel that foundation, reshaping how students pay for college and how institutions survive in an already challenging environment. […]
Why political debates are little more than stupid fun
Everyone has seen clips of the recent New York Mayoral debate, or at least has heard about it; if you haven’t, I’m sorry about the coma. Now, this debate has had the far-reaching effect of giving people funny lines to quote and more ammunition to hate on Andrew Cuomo; beyond that, the actual political effects […]
A Brandeis Tradition: All Languages Dinner
While Brandeis doesn’t have many traditions, a conversation that seems to be at the forefront of the collective mind, the All Languages Dinner, is certainly an event that falls into this category. Starting in 2013, the event consists of a dinner with all 13 languages offered at Brandeis coming together to speak in any language […]
The greatest storytelling medium: concept albums
Being able to create an entire album is an incredible feat, but it is even more impressive when it tells a cohesive story. Many artists have created songs that ultimately have a greater meaning when paired with other specific tracks, but a concept album is an album that’s songs all connect to a story or […]
Chuck Schumer needs to step down as Senate Minority Leader
If you read my articles in the last issue of The Hoot (here and here), you’ll know that I’m not a particularly big fan of Chuck Schumer. Schumer has been the leader of the Senate Democrats since Harry Reid’s retirement in 2017, serving either as majority or minority leader depending upon which party controlled the […]
Spotify Wrapped, Wrapped
Spotify Wrapped is one of the most anticipated pop culture events of the year. For those who don’t use music tracking software like Last.fm or stats.fm, early December is the time of year to discover personal listening habits. Officially starting in 2016, Spotify has rolled out personal statistics in several categories, with top albums, artists […]
The best albums of 2025
I’m back at it again with my favorite albums of the year! 2025 has been a fantastic 12 months for music, featuring releases from various genres and styles. Admittedly, this year’s list was far harder to make than last year’s; while 2024 had great albums like Charli xcx’s “Brat” and Bring Me The Horizon’s “POST […]
Can we go back to calling people jerks: The proliferation of therapy speak
Have you ever been sitting around the lunch table in the middle of Usdan and heard one of your friends suddenly start talking like a psychologist? “Gaslighting” this, “boundaries” that. You might even use phrases like “intrusive thoughts” or “psychopath” in your daily vocabulary. These words and phrases are all examples of therapy speak, the […]
Will you conquer your backlog?
The Backlog is a pillar of gaming discourse and general self-deprecating humor. A never-ending list of titles, new and old, at the whims of the player, sounds perfect on paper. You always have something to play … or so it seems. The backlog is a list of games; they aren’t the literal games themselves. […]
The Purple State Problem
Sometimes it feels like being from a semi-rural area and a purple state is equivalent to being from the moon. The majority of American Brandeis students come from blue states, with the top five states students come from being Massachusetts, New York, California, New Jersey and Connecticut. To assist those who think the phrase “socially […]
Sympathy for the Procrastinators—Pushing Past Boredom
I am a chronic procrastinator. I am haunted by the specter of many missed assignments and have risked failure of classes many times in my life because of it. Even as an adult, I continue to fight this battle between a desire to get things done and embracing life’s simple comforts. It can be hard […]
Arthur Levine Describes Working with Faculty in Podcast Interview
On Nov. 24, 2025, Brandeis President Arthur Levine continued to publicize his intentions for the future of liberal arts at Brandeis in the EdUp Experience podcast, a podcast focused on figures in higher education. The podcast episode was titled: “Why 88% of Faculty Voted to Blow Up the Liberal Arts Model (& How Your Institution […]
“Ride the Cyclone”: An almost perfect performance
“Ride the Cyclone” is a show that is near and dear to many theatre and theatre-adjacent kids’ hearts, mine included. With some challenging vocal performances and a dreamlike setting that gives the show the option to experiment visually, “Ride the Cyclone” can be a difficult show to attempt. However, Director Greg Roitbourd ’26 and Assistant […]
Finals Philosophy, Quandaries and Thought Experiments
There is a lot of variation in the description of what a final actually is. For some, it’s a cumulative examination that demonstrates a student’s complete understanding of a class’s subject matter. For others, it’s a project like any other that happens to be the last of the semester. There is an abstract concept of […]
News Made Small 12/4
Some stories don’t need entire pages to get their message across. Still, we must find some way to get the information from our brains to yours. For this purpose, we bring you News Made Small. Brandeis reportedly accepting no midyears for Spring 2026 With the end of the fall 2025 semester approaching, The Brandeis Hoot […]
Sunblighted: Chapter 4
And so I run. Down the burning smoking hill through the field of fire. No erfl gets in my way as I kick up dirt, running through a world that has become merely a bright tunnel surrounding a singular point of darkness. The closer I get to the darkness in the forest, the colder the […]
Hoot Recommends: Best Holiday Songs
Welcome to the final Hoot Recommends of the semester! At this time of the year, the holiday magic is in full swing, and one of the main contributors to this is the incessant holiday music being played everywhere, from the radio to the stores. So, at The Brandeis Hoot, we are going to answer the […]