Improve the Branvan system
One of the most essential—but least popular—services the university provides is free transportation within Waltham through the Branvan. It is common to hear students complaining about the Branvan being late, slow or crowded—in fact, it’s a running joke. But with long, cold winters and an unsolved housing shortage forcing students off-campus, university-provided transportation, particularly the […]
How to stay sane after graduation
When I leave Brandeis next spring, I don’t know where in the world I will end up. I will become a nomad, following a job or a person, an opportunity or a dream. I am sure that shortly after establishing myself in a new place, I will be forced to put down roots somewhere else. […]
The Boston protests and the Paradox of Tolerance
There is a comic floating around the more liberal parts of the Internet entitled “The Paradox of Tolerance” that makes the argument that it is immoral to tolerate intolerance. “When we extend tolerance to those who are openly intolerant,” it says, “the tolerant ones end up being destroyed. And tolerance with them.” This argument came […]
Don’t regret staying at Brandeis
I expected this semester to be a lonely one because I am a junior at Brandeis, and many of my friends are currently overseas. I worried that I would look at the empty seat at the dinner table or calculate the time difference between me and my friend or see on social media the photos […]
How to make the housing lottery more effective
Complaints about DCL and the housing lottery have abounded in the last several weeks, but the core issue is not with number distribution or confusing choosing processes, but rather with the lottery system itself. The current system creates an individualistic atmosphere where people compete with one another for the best housing, agree to live with […]
Figuring out where home is
“What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” Everyone asked these questions during the first few months of college. When every face is a new face, it’s good to start by establishing some basic information, and it only took me a couple days to get into a rhythm when I first met someone. “I’m Carolyn. I’m […]
Noisy neighbors and the selfishness epidemic
Please, by all means, continue standing in the doorway to have a conversation with a friend. Nobody else needs to get in or out of the building five minutes before class starts. Please, leave more hair in the public showers and sinks. It’s not at all disgusting for other people to clean up. Please, invest […]
No texting and walking
There is something deeply irritating about the way people walk around on campus. Crowds of students take up the entire sidewalk. Classmates stop in doorways or in front of stairwells to have conversations. Some even come to a complete halt in the middle of a sidewalk or a hallway to read something, oblivious to the […]
The housing lottery: where the odds are never in your favor
Dealing with the Department of Community Living (DCL) housing lottery is the bane of my existence at Brandeis. It is how I imagine many people feel about dealing with the IRS. Many people have already discussed the problems with the amount and quality of housing, but my beef is with the system of choosing itself. […]
