Fun things you can do on Workday
Brandeis Workday has so many fun features (I promise). The platform holds all of your information about your grades, course registration and student work hours—this will not stop me from showing you how you can gamify the platform. There are hidden features that I feel obligated to share. 1. Fake declare a new major You […]
Brandeis Quests
As you continue your journey at Brandeis University, there is so much more to be explored than your lecture halls, than your dorm room, than the exact route you use to get between buildings and never deviate from. Below, you will find (unofficial) Brandeis Quests. They have been chosen for their difficulty, complexity and sometimes, […]
The Quest for the Quest
Introduction: As Abby and Jamie sat for dinner in a Sherm kosher side booth on Thursday night, engaging in a much-needed catch-up conversation, Jamie brought up her need to quest for a new study spot, as her old one had lost its luster/consistent results on her mood and productivity. The spoken aloud phrase of “the […]
What every Brandeis student should have in their backpack
Picture this: your alarm goes off, you eat breakfast, get dressed, shoulder your backpack and head out for the day. You have multiple classes today—spread out across campus—not to mention the club meeting later in the evening and a friend meet up midday. You are not returning to your room before 10 p.m. at the […]
Can you guess a Brandeis student’s major based on their computer stickers?
With a sea of open computers in a lecture hall, how are you going to compete and stand out against the other students? The answer lies in how you decorate your computer. Students often plaster their computers in any number of stickers but sometimes with nothing at all. Is there any connection between how students […]
Crickets vs. cicadas vs. grasshoppers
The summer skies, filled with the noises of insects, will soon darken with fall leaves. Before summer leaves Brandeis campus entirely and the cool autumn wind blows in, I feel it is important to discuss these insects. The three insects of summer, without a doubt, are crickets, cicadas and grasshoppers. Each one has its drawbacks […]
Waltham Public Library: the coolest place on Main Street
There is nothing like stepping into a room and seeing books, wall to wall. Better yet, there is nothing like seeing a room filled with books that you can take home to read—at any time. The Waltham Public Library (WPL) is one of these special places. Located on Main Street, practically just down the road […]
Coffee cakes should have coffee in them: marketing coffee adjacency
Coffee tables do not come with coffee when you buy them from IKEA. The concept of a coffee table is that it is a table that is the ideal kind of table to put a cup of coffee down on. However, the presence of coffee is not required. It is a table. Similarly, coffee cakes […]
Minecraft multiplayer servers struggle with excess money supply and inflation
As a middle schooler, I often played on Minecraft multiplayer servers. The sandbox video game offered almost infinite ways to play, but I would almost always spend my time in multiplayer Skyblock servers. Skyblock is a gamemode offered by many Minecraft servers. In it, a player starts on a small floating island over a void […]
Global Thrift: a Waltham staple
Having just passed its 27th anniversary in July, Global Thrift is a Waltham establishment located along Moody Street. The thrift store is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. most Mondays through Saturdays, and Brandeis students frequently spend their afternoons wandering up and down the different aisles. In an interview with The Brandeis Hoot, Global Thrift […]
CinderBeth, or Cinderella MacBeth
Upon a time in a land faraway, Within the great green plains of old Scotland, There outside town a creaky mansion lay, The penned sheep bleated and the postal donkey brayed. Once with a lovely father now quite dead, Upon the hearth lay our lady CinderBeth. Slept among ashes instead of a bed, Plotted and […]
Things found on the ground: A sophomore year collection
There are bits and pieces all over the ground. They are left behind in a moment. They pockmark sidewalks and university campuses, stubbornly determined to stay put. Throughout my sophomore year (fall 2022, spring 2023), I have documented some of my many things found on the grounds of Brandeis University’s campus and the immediate surrounding […]
Peeps, Peepsi and puzzling ingredient choices
Cooper Jamie will make some very valid points about Peeps Pepsi (Peepsi), a soda which I can only describe as “bleh.” But actual Peeps are even worse than their soda-based counterpart. These marshmallow candies hide something wicked behind their soulless eyes: Peeps are actually carcinogenic (and they taste disgusting). Some Peeps, including the pink and […]
Movement to reform Brandeis housing emerges after DCL’s ‘blatant failure’
For the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year, the Brandeis Department of Community Living (DCL) is not currently guaranteeing housing to all of the students who received approved housing accommodations. Students with higher housing numbers are no longer guaranteed housing despite having approved accommodations for specific on-campus housing. Before housing accommodations are approved, a student must undergo […]
An interview with Susan Dibble, creator of ‘Five Doors One Room’
“Five Doors One Room,” an original dance production by Susan Dibble, took place at the Mainstage Theater of Spingold from March 10 to March 12. This show was three years in the making, with Dibble collecting music, gestures, objects and steps over the time span. The cast, composed of current students, alumni and faculty, were […]
Hardcover vs. softcover books: Which one is better?
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative column by Gonny Nir and Jamie Trope. In this column, the authors explore questions big & small, worthwhile & worthless, obvious & absurd, all for the humble pursuit of knowledge, truth and sanity (or lack thereof). Dear Jamie, Now this question truly does boil down to […]
Jelle’s Marble Rally Season 6: Race 6
It’s here, folks. The midpoint of the marble rally season. Ghost Plasma continues to maintain a strong first place position over the other marbles, with 77 points overall to second place Silver Bolt’s 62 points and third place Ducktape’s 53 points. Will the point gap be closed over the next six races, with a different […]
The behavioral economics of TikTok’s ‘double it and give it to the next person’ trend
Somewhat recently, a new trend on TikTok has arisen. Someone will approach another person on the street with an offer (a glass of milk, a dollar, a watermelon) and will pose a question to this person: “Do you want it, or do you want to double it and give it to the next person?” A […]
BookTok worth it or not: ‘This Time Next Year’
Welcome back goons to the column that has persisted longer than I ever intended it to. I don’t have TikTok, but I write this BookTok—a subset of TikTok—column. Why, you may ask? Because it’s a fun log of books I read and hopefully it will help someone choose their next read or decide to pick […]
Jelle’s Marble Rally Season 6: Race 5
As the sixth season of the marble sand rally almost reaches its midpoint, Ghost Plasma stands in first place overall, 57 points, with Silver Bolt second, 52 points and Ducktape third, 48 points. The marbles entered the fifth race confidently, though cautious. The sand has given the marbles obstacle after unexpected obstacle, showing no remorse, […]
