Month: January 2010

Board of Trustees member Meyer Koplow ’72, in conjunction with Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe, announced that academic programs at Brandeis are to be potentially trimmed in order to save long term funds. To clarify, “To be concrete, what we’re talking about are academic programs that would be phased out, ” says Jaffe.

 The Aronin case carried on Jan 24th, during which justices of the Union Judiciary heard oral arguments presented for and against the removal of Aronin from office. 

 Housing options for students planning on studying abroad have expanded to include suites in the Village and Ziv Quad . Entire suites will be occupied by students planning to study abroad in the spring, opening up the previously filled suites to midyear or transfer students arriving at that time.

 In a town hall meeting held last Saturday, the Constitutional Review Committee heard a proposal concerning the allocation of Student Union Finance Board funds to chartered University clubs. Those posing the proposal suggested that clubs are not encouraged to fundraise and raise awareness due to the simplicity of being granted funds, and that the Finance board currently exerts excessive control over chartered clubs.

 Students applying for a Justice Brandeis Semester were recently informed that on-campus housing will not be provided for them during the duration of their semester program, but that they will be eligible following the completion of the program. For those wondering, a Justice Brandeis Semester is ‘”…an engaging, immersive academic program in which small groups of students explore a thematic topic through inquiry-based courses linked to real-world experiential opportunities.”

 The South Street crosswalk near the entrance of campus will now be periodically featuring Waltham police officers , who plan to educate Brandeis students in the usage of walk buttons and crosswalks, as well as to issue speeding cars in the area tickets. The measure is admittedly a reaction to safety hazards, and an attempt to enforce more lawful pedestrian and vehicular habits on the crosswalk. 

 A growing number of fundraising events aimed at benefitting Haiti are scheduled to be held, including the sale of Valentine’s Grams, the hosting of concerts, vigils and various spectator sports with prices attached.

The US News and World Report, known for its college ranking system, has announced Usen Castle to be one of the eight coolest dorms in the US. The article refers to the structure, not the students within it; that is entirely your call.

 The W. M. Keck Foundation has recognized Brandeis as a national leader in the study of active matter, a substance that, despite being non-living, can move independently. The foundation has therefore awarded the University one million dollars to continue conducting research on active matter.

 The newly available presidential search website offering ongoing information on the University’s hunt for a new president confirmed that a search firm will be chosen by the end of February. Brandeis alum Meyer Koplow, the current Chair of the search committee and member of the Board of Trustees, informed the Hoot that a presidential search firm  will be necessary to take the initiative in the presidential search. 

 “A Heart Full of Grace”, the MLK event featuring poetry, music and performances recently held at Shapiro campus theater featured not only a reprisal of many of Dr. King’s speeches by various guest speakers, but a plea for social justice, namely engaging in projects aiding Haiti. Brandeis student Shaina Gilbert ’10, a Haitian-American was among the speakers to express the necessity of reaching out to Haiti in this time of need. There is no doubt that this event was enriched by the inclusion of the Haiti’s current needs, the meeting of which is entirely in the spirit of Dr. King’s focus on kindness, social outreach and justice. Brandeis students have been involved with projects concerning Haiti for years ; the recent engagement of further students in outreach, such as the ‘Hope for Haiti’ vigil, is merely an expansion of Haiti’s special place in the Brandeis social consciousness. 

 Citing a 25$ budget shortfall , Meyer Koplow ’72, a member of the Board of Trustees, has announced that cuts to academic programs at Brandeis must be made. Some of the projected losses include the removal of certain majors, PhD programs and Master’s programs. Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffee has apologized for the imminent cuts, explaining that ‘the Board gave [the administration] no choice.’ Koplow insists that Brandeis will retain the programs that ‘make [Brandeis] special,’ though he failed to elucidate further.

 Those following the charges made against Union Secretary Diana Aronin should set aside time this Sunday, as the UJ has announced that the trial will be made public . You can catch the circus at the Lemberg Academic Center starting at 4 p.m. 

 Lastly, if you haven’t had the H1N1 strain of flu this year or would rather not have it again, the Health Center is offering shots free of charge. Since shortages are still apt to occur, those particularly opposed to spending a week between the bed and bathroom should hurry to the Health Center as soon as possible.

Have you ever felt it difficult to get from Point A to Point B in the Boston area without going through downtown? Say you want to get from Harvard Square to Coolidge Corner in Brookline. You don’t need to go in to Park Street Station on the Red Line and then out again on the Green Line, just take the 66 bus–no transfer. How about if you’re in the Back Bay and want to check out Jamaica Plain (a wicked cool neighborhood)? Just take the 39 bus. What if you were supposed to meet your friend at the Harvard Square shuttle stop but you screwed up and went to Beacon & Mass Ave? Just take the 1 bus.

The MBTA has recently created a new map that has the familiar “T” subway (red, blue, orange), light rail (green, M-line red), and bus rapid transit lines (silver) and adds 12 key bus routes.

You can find it here in a nice printable PDF.

Print it out and put it in your backpack or purse.  When you know that special way to get someplace, all your friends will be wildly impressed.

Student Union Prez Andy Hogan is circulating a survey to students that asks one question: “What do Brandeis students need in dining that we are not getting right now?”

Go fill it out.

Here’s my response, if you find it useful

1. Good, healthy food. What do I mean by good? Simply this: Food made from scratch.

2. The faculty club should be open for longer. I have class from 12-1, or 12-1:30, every day. I love the faculty club – they have the best food on campus, hands down. Can’t there be a way for me to still eat there?

3. Healthy food. See point 1. I don’t mean “health food”, but simply creating food from ingredients, not, for example, heating up pre-made frozen food.

4. It is really hard to keep a good diet at Brandeis when fruit costs over a dollar a piece. Down the road at Hanneford’s it costs roughly that much *per pound*! I need cheaper healthy food.

Hey all. We’re at the much-maligned Union Judiciary trial. The Senate is trying to impeach the Union Secretary, Diana Aronin, because she forgot to put up a constitutional amendment for a vote or something.

Honestly, I approach this trial with mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s bullshit. On the other hand, we should probably cover it. We’ll see if it lasts.

Read on for a running commentary on the trial

Continue reading “The Senate/E-Board showdown begins”

The announcement:

President Reinharz Holds Student Office Hours – Spring 2010 Schedule

President Jehuda Reinharz will be available to meet with students for approximately 10 minutes per student on a first-come, first-served basis beginning THURSDAY, January 21 – 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.  Following is the complete schedule of dates for the Spring 2010 semester:

** Thursday, January 21 – 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
** Monday, February 22 – 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
** Tuesday, March 16 – 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
** Wednesday, April 7 – 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
** Friday, April 30 – 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

This schedule is posted and updated on the “My Brandeis Campus Calendar”  http://my.brandeis.edu/btime/day-view.  Please call x63001 on the scheduled date to confirm that no unforeseen changes have been made. The President’s Office is located in Irving 113 (Bernstein Marcus / Gryzmish Administration Bldgs.).

Remember college admissions? Remember how stressful that was?

We passed through that cruel gauntlet, but our brothers and sisters still have to go through it. I want to start talking about how destructive some of the components of the process are.

One famous example – the SAT’s are weighed towards class and race.
Another – Legacy admissions: affirmative action for rich people.

There’s a big op-ed in the Boston Globe today talking about this sort of stuff:

NOW IS the winter of high school seniors’ discontent. But then every winter is one of discontent as seniors file their college applications with a mix of dread and hope – mainly dread. Those applying to the most selective schools have the odds stacked against them no matter how sterling their high school records, though college admissions officers typically offer the cold comfort that rejection is not equivalent to failure and that, as one Yale admissions officer put it, “It matters far less which strong college admits you than it matters what you do with your opportunities once you are there.’’ To which most high school seniors would say, “Hogwash.’’

They know that it does matter where you go to college, if not educationally then in terms of social recognition and opportunity. They know that America, for all its professions of meritocracy, is a virtual oligarchy where the graduates of the Ivies and the other best schools enjoy tremendous advantages in the job market. They know that Harvard or Stanford or MIT is a label in our “designer education’’ not unlike Chanel or Prada in clothes.

So here is another, more realistic comfort to those anxious seniors who will soon be flagellating themselves as unworthy: The admissions system of the so-called “best’’ schools is rigged against you. If you are a middle-class youth or minority from poor circumstances, you have little chance of getting in to one of those schools. Indeed, the system exists not to provide social mobility but to prevent it and to perpetuate the prevailing social order.

Why is college admissions messed up? The op-ed provides these arguments:

• “the so-called “best’’ schools give heavy preferences to the wealthy; as many as one-third of admissions, he writes, are flagged for special treatment at the elite universities, one-half at the elite liberal arts colleges, and the number of open spaces for the non-privileged is reduced accordingly. “
• Affirmative action for the rich comes in through three vectors:

Legacy admissions

Athletes, who are “primarily wealthy white kids who are adept at lacrosse, rugby, crew and polo.”

Admissions slots for kids with parents who pledged to donate to the school

• Early admissions is great for the rich, because they don’t have to worry about being saddled with inadequate financial aid if they do get in. Thus, they are more likely to apply early, and applying early increases your chances of getting in.
• “A well-rounded student body” means lots of people who are exceptional at different things. Yet, become a great musician, for example, implies a lot of money sunk into lessons, instruments, etc.”

The full quote: Then there is the “well-rounded student body’’ argument, which any parent accompanying his child on the college tour rounds has heard ad nauseam. According to this approach, colleges are not looking for the well-rounded individual student. They are aiming instead for a diverse student body: an exceptional athlete, an exceptional musician, an exceptional scientist, an exceptional poet. Except that exceptionality, as most parents can attest, doesn’t come cheap. Athletes require coaching and often traveling teams; musicians require lessons and instruments; scientists require labs and internships; poets require classes and opportunities for publication. None of these things is readily available to the average middle-class family, to say nothing of the high school student who must work at McDonald’s to earn spending money (even though colleges say they take this into account).

• “Racial Diversity” usually means admitting African students instead of “African Americans” (instead of a good amount of both, you get a lot of one group disguised as another)
• “Need Blind” admissions aren’t as great as you might think:

“Any admissions officer, she said, could tell from your zip code whether you were likely to need aid or not, and students needing aid were much less desirable than those who didn’t need it.”

• The SAT reflects class biases: “SAT scores correlate highly to family income – an average of 12 point increments for every $20,000 of income, which this year amounted to a 130 difference on critical reasoning, 80 points on math and 70 on writing between the lowest income and highest income groups.”

I’m going to call Brandeis tomorrow and ask what percentage of their admissions is set aside for legacy admissions. My goal: getting it down to 0%. Beyond that, I’d love for someone from Brandeis to reassure us on how they’re aware of these problems, and the extent that Brandeis is working to ameliorate this rigged system.

During the whole Budget-cut craziness of the Spring 2009 semester, I remember Jehuda telling people that he would look into putting the budget (or parts of it) online, and I also remember reports that the SAT would be optional for admissions in the future.

Did “the administration” really say they would do that, or is my memory off? If they did say that, has anything happened on that front?

I’m concerned. Martha Coakley, the Democrat to replace Ted Kennedy, might, incredibly, lose against a Republican challenger in freaking Massachusetts.

The reason? The vote takes place on Jan 19th, on a special election. Special elections are notorious for super-low turnout, which means that the outcome is only in doubt. If Republicans vote and Democrats don’t, then we are kind of screwed.

Up till now, this was a theoretical worry. But now polls are coming out showing that Coakley could lose.

The vote is on the 19th, the first day of school at Brandeis. Someone should organize them all to vote.