Surviving ‘Promising Young Woman’

Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers. A woman is parked in an intersection. A pick-up truck pulls up next to her—inside, a man screams at her to move. She steps out calmly and takes a tire iron to his windshield as a chorus of violins surge. In that moment Cassie (Carrie Mulligan) shows us what […]

New presidential administration will likely bring some student loan debt cancellation

As a new presidential administration takes office, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren hopes to cancel some student loan debt. Canceling that debt would impact about 40 percent of Brandeis students—students who rely on federal loans to pay Brandeis’ higher than average tuition. The federal government has paused payments and involuntary collections on federal student loans due […]

‘Supernatural’ ends long run with wacky finale

“Supernatural” ran for 15 years, devouring days of our lives and taking years off of it. For a decade and a half, Jared Paledecki and Jensen Ackles have played the iconic brother duo Sam and Dean Winchester. Both of us binged an unholy amount of the show in recent weeks, frantically trying to catch up […]

Endings

I had hoped to write this piece, graduation cap in hand, with some great and optimistic future draped across my shoulders. I hoped to follow it by standing in a crowded room of my peers as we celebrated our winter graduation from Brandeis University. I won’t belabor the point. We all know that social anxiety […]

Brandeis Justice Initiative hopes to provide prison education

While the Brandeis Justice Initiative may be a mostly virtual operation without a physical office on campus, the initiative hopes to tangibly impact the local community through education and awareness programs about the criminal justice system. It launched in early September 2020 and is recruiting students to educate incarcerated people and provide education, tutoring and […]

In the Senate Oct. 25

The Student Union Senate chartered the club Students Demand Action in their weekly meeting on Sunday. The club is part of a national organization of campus groups with the goal of educating students about gun violence prevention. The national organization advocates for gun control laws, according to its website. The club was chartered unanimously and […]

Brandeis administration discusses spring semester at community check-in

Brandeis administrators responded to questions about the upcoming spring semester, coronavirus-related restrictions and Brandeis’s financial health in a community check-in on Monday night. Students should not expect restrictions to be loosened on the Brandeis campus, said President Ron Liebowitz, and the university is working to follow state guidelines on the pandemic.  On the panel answering […]

Univ. receives bomb threat

Brandeis community members were notified of a bomb threat on the Brandeis campus on Aug. 20 at 10:50 a.m. via phone call, text and email through the Brandeis Emergency Notification System (BENS). At 1:40 p.m., community members were notified that the threat was “all clear” and that public safety had concluded their search and determined […]

Brandeis Rabbi responds to criticism of student union president

Rabbi and Executive Director of Brandeis Hillel Seth Winberg responded to social media criticism of Brandeis’ Student Union president’s Instagram comments about a New York Senate Bill—a bill that would require school children in the state to be educated on the meaning of swastikas and nooses as symbols of hatred and intolerance—according to its text.  […]

ICE rescinds guidance, international students can remain in U.S. with only online courses

Counsel for Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) and the U.S. government announced today that they had come to a resolution—allowing international students with only online courses to remain in the U.S. for the fall semester. The hearing followed a challenging week for international students and administrators at Brandeis, who worried that international […]

‘Space Force’? More like Space Flop

The first season of Netflix’s original series “Space Force” shoots for the stars and lands flat on its face. It’s an attempt at a punchy, political comedy about the United States Space Force—a real branch of the U.S. military created by President Donald Trump in 2019. But like the actual Space Force, the series’ propagandizing […]

A captivating look behind Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’ with series co-star John Finlay

The fever over Netflix’s documentary series “Tiger King” spread nearly as quickly as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which series star John Finlay believes is in part responsible for the show’s widespread success. Finlay spoke to a group of 200 attendees logging on from all over the country to hear him describe his experiences—and what […]

Studying is the least of my abroad experience—and that’s how it should be

I was at a bar on a Wednesday night when I realized that I might have a problem. Not with alcohol—though I’m sure I left some unconsumed—but with my head. I no longer felt stressed. Two weeks into my abroad experience and the normal cloud of anxiety that hung from my shoulders had disappeared.  That […]

Union reports on 2019, looks ahead to 2020

Brandeis Student Union President Simran Tatuskar ’21 and other Union representatives reported on their progress on various Union initiatives—including diversity training for Union officials and campus accessibility—in the student government’s State of the Union report on Dec. 10. Diversity Union Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Nakul Srinivas ’21 spoke about his efforts to reach out […]

BLC wants dining workers to be retained in new contract

Over 20 students led by members of the Brandeis Labor Coalition (BLC) walked to President Ron Liebowitz’s office on Nov. 22 to ask that Brandeis guarantee the retention of current dining workers as the university considers new potential dining providers. Brandeis is seeking proposals for a new dining provider since the university and its current […]

Students run in Racial Minority Senator race after Union apology

Three students are running for the single open racial minority senator seat on the Student Union, which Brandeis students will vote in on Dec. 10. The three students, Ishaan Khurana ’23, Kurtis Lee ’22 and Sampada Pokharel ’23, spoke with The Brandeis Hoot at a meet the candidates event Thursday night.  The special election comes […]

Greek life requires bystander training for all new members

Student violence prevention educators trained the 77 new members of Brandeis’ fraternities and sororities this semester. The bystander trainings, required at Brandeis by all Brandeis club officers but not members of Greek life, are aimed at preventing violence by providing students with skills to address different situations. The students, Lexi Foman ’21 and Aaron Pins […]

BCC working to address increased student need

The Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) has seen an increased demand in students seeking help, especially for anxiety and depression, The Brandeis Hoot reported last week. To address this increased demand, the BCC will hire a new full-time therapist along with maintaining current therapy programs, according to the Director of the BCC Joy von Steiger.   The […]

Chapman elected, speaks at ‘debate’

The single vice presidential candidate running in Thursday’s special election, Kendal Chapman ’22, was elected last night by a vote of 120 in favor to 36 votes of no confidence. Seventy students wrote in other candidates and 10 abstained in the vote.  Chapman answered questions from both The Brandeis Hoot and the Justice on Tuesday […]

Climate survey illustrates rape, assault and harassment experiences at Brandeis

Brandeis released the results of its second ever campus climate survey on Thursday, which described respondents’ experiences with rape, sexual assault, harassment, intervention in those situations and reporting.  The survey asked 1,148 students—or about 22 percent of the student body—about their experiences with harassment, sexual misconduct, knowledge of how to report harassment or assault, sense […]