Michael’s travel guides: London, England
By some twisted, freak accident of God, the weather in London was clear and sunny during the four days I was there. I’m well aware that because of this, I may have a more positive impression of the city than others. Indeed, London may seem like a hard city to romanticize; as a global city […]
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 […]
Michael’s travel guides: Paris, France
Before going to Paris, I was given a lot of warnings. “Paris is overrated. You’re going to be disappointed. You’re going to develop Paris syndrome.” Having returned from Paris, however, I can confidently say that the city met, and even exceeded, my expectations. Is Paris the utopic city we all know from the media? No. […]
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 […]
Reviewing all five ‘Indiana Jones’ movies—part two: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Welcome back everyone! Last year, I started writing reviews of all the Indiana Jones movies, beginning with the original trilogy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade. These are thrilling, timeless masterpieces that represent the height of the franchise (except for the weirdly racist scenes in Temple of Doom, of […]
Brandeis Hospitality announces new dining options for upcoming semester
In a post on their website, Brandeis Hospitality has announced several new dining options on campus during the fall semester. The website states, “As students from across the globe begin their journey back to Brandeis University for the start of the fall semester, the Brandeis Hospitality team has been hard at work to welcome students […]
Reviewing all five ‘Indiana Jones’ movies—part one: The original trilogy
The first article I ever wrote for The Hoot was a review of the latest “Indiana Jones” movie, “Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny.” To summarize: it was not a good movie. But since then, I have always wanted to revisit the intrepid archaeologist. Now feels as good a time as ever to do […]
BenAvram places 10th and eighth at NCAA Fencing Nationals
On March 20 and March 21, Lev BenAvram ’25 went to Penn State University to participate at the NCAA Fencing Nationals. On the first day, he placed 10th, and on the second day, he placed eighth. On the first day of nationals, BenAvram started the day off strong by scoring five out of seven victories […]
Men’s and women’s tennis teams play two matches
Since the start of March, both the Brandeis men’s and women’s tennis teams have played two matches. The women faced the #23-ranked Bowdoin College Polar Bears and the #17-ranked Babson College Beavers. On the men’s side, they hosted Franklin Pierce College and Nichols College. The women unfortunately lost both of their matches, but the men […]
Father, I cannot click the vinyls
Oh my god, I get it now. By “it,” I mean vinyl records. Over the past few months, I may have developed a bit of an addiction to collecting vinyls. This isn’t the healthiest habit. Vinyls are incredibly expensive, and you could probably find some of these songs for free on YouTube or on a […]
Brandeis professor Arthur Holmberg dead at 80
Arthur Holmberg, the Blanche, Barbara and Irving Laurie Professor of Theater Arts at Brandeis University, has died at the age of 80. An email sent to the Brandeis community by Carol Fierke, the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, on Jan. 22 announced his tragic passing. According to Fierke, Holmberg died on Jan. […]
Retired Brandeis Catholic Chaplain Walter Cuenin accused of sexual assault
Disclaimer: This article discusses sexual abuse. Reader discretion in advised. A former Brandeis Catholic Chaplain, Rev. Walter H. Cuenin was recently accused of “forcing a 20-year-old male [in 2014] Brandeis University student to have oral sex with him in a Manhattan hotel room,” according to a lawsuit filed in New York City. Rev. […]
Reviewing The Killers’ discography
Consisting of frontman Brandon Flowers, guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr., the Las Vegas-based band, The Killers, are perhaps one of the greatest rock bands of this century, but sadly, perhaps one of the most underrated. We’ve all heard some of their flashy, high-powered songs at some point–especially the inescapable […]
Brandeis celebrates MLK Day
On Jan. 20, 2025, Brandeis University celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In an email sent out on Jan. 13, Assistant Director of Community Engagement and Leadership Taisha White, Chaplain & Coordinator of Christian Life Karl LaClair and Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Lee Bitsóí listed some of the ways that the […]
More details on the wrongful death lawsuit filed against Brandeis and three of its police officers
On Oct. 31 at 10:32 a.m., a “wrongful death lawsuit” concerning “Eli T. Stuart, a 20-year-old student who died in December 2023” was filed in the Superior Court in Middlesex County. This lawsuit named Brandeis University, former Brandeis Police Officer Kimberly Carter, Brandeis Police Officer Thomas Espada and Brandeis Police Lieutenant Detective Dana Kelley as […]
Michael’s guide to wasting time on the internet
The academic year is ramping up again, with more tests, quizzes, papers and projects looming menacingly over the horizon. But never fear! There are literally endless opportunities for you to procrastinate, wasting precious time that you could have spent studying for that horrifying midterm. There are always going to be far more interesting–if less productive–ways […]
Wrongful death lawsuit filed against Brandeis and three of its police officers
Content warning: This article mentions the death of a Brandeis community member. Reader discretion is advised. On Oct. 31 at 10:32 a.m., a “wrongful death lawsuit” concerning “Eli T. Stuart, a 20-year-old student who died in December 2023” was filed in the Superior Court in Middlesex County. This lawsuit named Brandeis University, former Brandeis Police […]
Megalopolis is the greatest bad movie of the year.
Warning: contains full spoilers for “Megalopolis.” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” is certainly a movie that exists. It’s hard to figure out where to start when describing this bizarre failure of a film. It genuinely is. Francis Ford Coppola may have actually lost his mind during the more than 30 years (!!!) it took for this […]
‘Minecraft Parkour Civilization’ is the shonen anime I never knew I needed
Every once in a while, you stumble across a piece of media that you never knew existed; an undiscovered masterpiece of fiction. Last year, this happened when I watched Dune: Part One for the first time, instantly became obsessed with Dune and read all six books (not that all of these were particularly good books, […]
President Ron Liebowitz announces resignation
On the morning of Sept. 25, 2024, Ronald D. Liebowitz formally announced his resignation as the President of Brandeis University, a post he had held since 2015. The resignation, reported on by national media outlets such as the New York Times and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, comes after a year dogged by controversy surrounding campus […]