Interviews with Brandeis University’s academic leadership: the Italian studies program
The co-chairs of Brandeis University’s Italian Studies program, Professor Paola Servino and Professor Ramie Targoff, sat down for an interview with The Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the Italian studies program, its future and themselves. This interview is part of a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of different […]
It’s about time!
On Sunday March 13 most Americans resumed daylight saving time (DST), and moved their clocks ahead by one hour. The U.S. will resume standard time in November, when the clocks get pushed back by an hour. Like nearly 75 percent of Americans, I feel that we should do away with the practice of changing our […]
Sodexo’s mobile ordering app is almost as bad as their food
As Brandeis prepares to choose a new dining vendor, I feel myself drawn to reflect on our current vendor, Sodexo. They do many things wrong, but there is perhaps nothing more egregious than their mobile ordering solution: BiteU. This app, which is intended to be a universal remote for ordering on-campus food, is an unwieldy, […]
Interviews with Brandeis University’s academic leadership: the theater arts department
The chair of Brandeis University’s theater arts department, Professor Dmitry Troyanovsky, had an email interview with The Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the theater arts department, its future and himself. This interview is part of a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of different academic departments and programs at […]
Interviews with Brandeis University’s academic leadership: the history of ideas program
The chair of Brandeis University’s history of ideas program, Professor David Katz, sat down with The Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the history of ideas program, its future and himself. This interview is part of a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of different academic departments and programs at […]
Brandeis students organize ‘Rally to Defend Dining Workers’
On Friday, Feb. 18, dozens of Brandeis students joined dining workers in a protest for the dining workers’ union rights. The protest, organized by the Brandeis Leftist Union (BLU), was held with three demands regarding the treatment of union workers. “We will not stand for this. Labor issues are student issues, and it is our […]
It’s a long road. Enjoy it.
The three most common words on any college campus: “what’s your major?” It’s a question that everyone that’s ever gone through an undergraduate education has had to answer countless times. Some folks will have a solid answer, and some have even planned out the rest of their college careers course by course. It’s amazing to […]
Interviews with Brandeis University’s academic leadership: the anthropology department
The chair of Brandeis University’s anthropology department, Professor Charles Golden, sat down with The Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the anthropology department, its future and himself. This interview is part of a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of different academic departments and programs at Brandeis. Why did […]
The first Nintendo Direct of 2022
Nintendo’s first “Nintendo Direct” of the year took place this week. As usual, this 40-minute broadcast was full of news on what’s coming to the Nintendo Switch. In this article, I’ll give my thoughts on most of what Nintendo revealed on Feb. 9. Nintendo revealed that “No Man’s Sky” is coming to the Switch. […]
A reflection on two weeks of remote learning
Having attended online classes during my junior and senior years in high school, and now my first year in college, I’ve developed a fair amount of ill will for them. Zoom classes bring with them many difficulties and distractions, and I’ve always found it difficult to adapt to the new challenge of attending school virtually. […]
Interviews with Brandeis University’s academic leadership: the business program
The chair of Brandeis University’s business program, Professor Daniel Bergstresser, sat down with The Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the business program, its future and himself. This interview is the first in a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of different academic departments and programs at Brandeis. Why […]
Adjustments to the spring semester due to COVID-19
If you’re reading this article, chances are you’ve read Brandeis’ recent email detailing the changes to the COVID-19 policy and the upcoming remote return to classes. In case you haven’t, here’s a brief summary. Brandeis will be holding classes remotely for the first two weeks of the spring semester. A return to in-person instruction […]
Wrath of the machine: Workday is evil
With registration for spring semester classes looming, I’ve been spending a lot of time on Workday to find the classes I’d like to enroll in next semester. The process of choosing classes is stressful enough as it is, as there are seemingly endless requirements to fulfill. But, the software that Brandeis students are being forced […]
An interview with President Ron Liebowitz
President Ron Liebowitz sat down with the Hoot to help the student body get to know him better. In a half-hour dialogue with The Brandeis Hoot, President Liebowitz gave some insights into himself, Brandeis, and his job. Why Brandeis? Well for me personally, I had no interest in a second presidency. The first one […]
Think different: MacBooks suck
Breaking news: most students are using MacBooks. A huge majority of college students, nearly three quarters of them, use or would prefer to use a Macbook, according to TechSpot. At the risk of sounding like massive contrarians, MacBooks suck. For a device that claims to do it all, the functionality of Macs is severely lacking […]
Professor Joel Christensen: Collective trauma and going to war
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the School of Arts and Sciences Joel Christensen (CLAS) wrote an article about the relation between the 9/11 attacks and ancient warfare for The Conversation, a news organization with articles by academic experts for the general public. In an interview with The Brandeis Hoot, Christensen expanded on the […]
The case against American cheese
We’ve all heard the old adage: “everything’s better with cheese”. For the most part, I agree with that notion. From burgers to chicken to pasta, most foods really do taste better with cheese on them. That is, of course, unless that cheese is American cheese. American cheese is the scourge of the culinary world, and […]
Test-optional is not far enough, Brandeis should go test-blind
The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) are disturbingly evil. They’re statistically invalid tests that favor wealthy students, and they’ve been around for far too long. The standardized tests don’t measure a student’s abilities, they measure their socioeconomic background. Brandeis is currently test-optional, but I believe that Brandeis should go test-blind and […]
My thoughts on the Nintendo Direct
Nintendo had their third “Nintendo Direct” of the year last week, and I left with very mixed opinions. There was a lot covered in this 40-minute broadcast, so I’ll focus on the more important reveals. Nintendo opened the presentation by announcing a DLC pack for “Monster Hunter Rise,” titled the “Sunbreak Expansion Pack.” This […]
Why everyone should build a PC
I built a PC back in September of 2020. Prices for components weren’t massively inflated like they are nowadays, and I was able to build a solid system with the money I saved up from my first job. It took a lot of help from my knowledgeable friends, but I got everything assembled in just […]
