Brandeis Considering Demolition of East Quad Following Completion of New Residence Hall
Following the completion of the new residence hall, which is currently under construction on the lower campus, Brandeis is considering plans to demolish East Quad. This plan was first revealed to The Hoot during our exclusive interview with Arthur Levine in early October as something that was a possibility. East Quad has approximately 400 beds, […]
A.I. video generators are terrible for society
Last week, President Donald Trump released an A.I.-generated video of himself playing hockey for Team USA and punching members of the Canadian team. Three weeks ago, he shared an A.I.-generated video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. These videos are not unique; the president has shared at least […]
The Equal Time Rule is outdated and should be repealed
On Monday, Feb. 16, late-night television host Stephen Colbert planned to interview Texas senate candidate James Talarico. However, he was told by his network’s lawyers that he was not allowed. The reason was because of a ruling that requires radio stations and broadcast television channels to give equal airtime to all candidates in an election. […]
Am I the only one that liked the ending of Stranger Things?
If it wasn’t obvious by the title, this article contains spoilers for “Stranger Things.” Despite the fact that there are only five seasons, I’ve been watching “Stranger Things” since I was 11 years old. After nine long years, we finally got to see the ending to one of the most popular TV shows in Netflix […]
How is Bill Belichick not a Hall of Famer?
I don’t expect that a lot of Hoot readers are huge sports fans. After all, this school doesn’t even have a football team. Those of you who do pay attention to the National Football League (NFL) are probably focused on Super Bowl LX (Go Pats!). So many of you may have missed the biggest sports […]
Enough is enough. It’s time to abolish ICE
On Jan. 7, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis as she attempted to drive away. Statements from ICE and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claim that Good was attempting to hit Ross with her car. Multiple videos show the events in Minneapolis, from several different angles, […]
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 […]
Reflections on the 2025 elections
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, multiple major elections were held in several different states across the country. In Virginia, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears to become the state’s first female governor. Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated businessman Jack Ciattarelli to become the next governor of New Jersey. In a race many people were […]
The Primary from Hell: Responding to the 2026 Maine Senate Primary
Since I imagine most of you don’t follow politics as closely as I do, you may not have heard about the primary campaign currently taking place in Maine. Sen. Susan Collins, a so-called moderate who always votes for the Trump agenda–despite publicly expressing concern–was the deciding vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. […]
The Hoot interviews President Arthur Levine
On Friday, Oct. 3, The Hoot had an interview with Brandeis University President Arthur Levine, who recently started in the role full-time after serving as interim president from November 2024 until September of this year. The Hoot was able to ask Levine about topics including his recent reorganization of the schools, federal pressure from the […]
Brandeis rises in FIRE’s free speech rankings, but still earns an F
On Sept. 9, 2025, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released its sixth annual college free speech rankings. The rankings are based on several factors, including the university’s written policies, any free-speech-related controversies that occurred on campus and survey data of college students. In the 2026 annual rankings, Brandeis placed 149th out of […]
Brandeis ranking continues to drop for third consecutive year
In the 2026 edition of the U.S. News and World Report Best National Colleges Ranking, Brandeis University was ranked as number 69. This ranking puts Brandeis in a four-way tie along with Tulane University of Louisiana, the University of Connecticut and the University of Pittsburgh. The ranking of 69th reflects a drop from 63rd in […]
Why Democrats shouldn’t be afraid of the upcoming government shutdown fight
If the Senate does not pass a funding bill by Oct. 1, the government will shut down. Because of the Senate’s archaic filibuster rules, any potential continuing resolution will require 60 votes to pass. This means that if every Republican votes for the bill, they will also need the votes of at least seven Democrats […]
Parking Office changes leave juniors without parking
In an email to the Brandeis community sent on Aug. 13, Assistant Vice President of Public Safety Matthew Rushton informed students that on-campus parking would only be available for seniors and students with disability accommodations. This represented a major change from last year, when parking was available to both juniors and seniors, as well as […]
Arthur Levine signs letter criticizing government overreach
In a letter released on April 22, more than 260 university presidents and other higher education leaders, including Brandeis Interim President Arthur Levine, promised to oppose the “undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses” by the administration of President Donald Trump. The letter was published by […]
Sweeping tariffs are a really bad idea
On Wednesday, April 2, President Donald Trump announced new “liberation day” tariffs. This was something that he had promised during his campaign; however, the magnitude of the tariffs and the careless way in which they were calculated and enacted was shocking. Trump enacted a 10% tariff on all imports, as well as higher “reciprocal” tariffs […]
Track and field teams kick off outdoor season
Since our last edition of The Hoot, the Brandeis Judges track and field teams have competed in four different meets. On March 29, the Judges attended both the Black & Gold Invitational at Bryant University and the Tufts Snowflake Classic at Tufts. On April 4, the Judges attended the Regis Spring Classic, and on April […]
ADL gives Brandeis an A on annual antisemitism report card
On March 3, the Anti-Defamation League released their second annual college antisemitism report cards for 2025. Brandeis University was given an A, one of only eight colleges to receive the top grade. Brandeis was one of only two colleges to receive an A last year. In their report, the ADL cited Brandeis’ partnership with […]
Three Judges compete in NCAA indoor track finals
On March 14 and 15, three athletes from the Brandeis Judges track and field team competed in the NCAA Division III indoor track finals. Garrett Rieden ’26 won his heat in the 800-meter relay with a time of 1:53.67 to advance to the finals. In the finals, Rieden finished in sixth place with a time […]
I tried the Brandeis sushi
In my time at Brandeis so far, I had tried almost every food that was offered on campus. One of the few things that I hadn’t tried was the sushi offered at the Kosher Table in Sherman Dining Hall. I was scared to try it. I’d never had sushi before. I know it contains raw […]