Dear members of the Brandeis community,
I am very pleased to inform you that Brandeis and the four plaintiffs involved in the Rose Art Museum litigation have reached an agreement to settle the case. As a result, their claims have been dismissed. In addition, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General has officially terminated its review of Brandeis.
The agreement emphasizes that the Rose is and will remain a university art museum open to the public and that Brandeis has no plan to sell artwork. This position reflects the Board of Trustees’ adoption of the two key recommendations of The Future of The Rose Committee Report in March, 2010.

More on Brandeis Now.

This obviously seems like good news. If I remember correctly, the Massachusetts Attorney General was of the opinion that Brandeis doesn’t have the legal authority to sell off Rose Artwork in the first place, and the decision still stands.

Ariel Wittenberg understands these issues the best – she’s one of (if not the) best reporter Brandeis has seen in years. I’ll do some more research and report back.

There are a few different ways to get involved and actively demonstrate your support for the campus’ dining services workers:

1. Sign the online petition and pass it along to your friends.

2. Attend a meeting this Wednesday with Unite Here representatives, campus workers, and members of the BLC at 2:30pm this Wednesday in Lower Usdan

3. In Waltham/Brandeis over the summer? You can have the opportunity to join the negotiation team and bargain directly with Unite Here reps, workers, and Aramark staff

4. Contact Rachel Sier, rsi...@brandeis.edu, if you want more information about the upcoming campaign

The Office of Experiential and Community-Engaged Learning and the Department of Corporate and Foundation Relations have teamed up to offer two workshops next week focused on successful fundraising and grant writing, two of the most viable non-profit jobs on the market today.

These workshops were specifically designed to fit the interests of the Brandeis social justice focused undergraduate, and depending on student feedback and participation there is a strong possibility that a longer workshop series will be offered in the fall semester. So make sure to RSVP for one (or both!) sessions through Hiatt NACElink https://brandeisu-csm.symplicity.com/students.

Fundraising 101 | Tuesday, April 5th 5-6:30pm | Shapiro Campus Center Room 313
• Terminology and acronyms
• How to get started
• Where to look for grants
• Deciding where to apply
• Reviewing RFP’s (Requests for Proposals)

Successful Grant Writing | Thursday, April 7th 5-6:30pm | Shapiro Campus Center Room 313
• Overview of grant writing
• Writing a letter of inquiry
• Crafting a convincing proposal
• Group analysis/writing exercise

Either way, I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I was thinking of the subject of sex the other day. Go figure. Not just sex in the normal sense, of enjoying the act itself, but more about some kind of broader meaning of our generation’s sexuality and what we see of ourselves in the reflection. Ew. It isn’t pretty. I guess if we are going to talk about this we have to figure out what exactly we are looking at. What reflects it to us? Pornography. That public face of our collective sexuality. Digitalized for the 21st century. Like everything. I don’t like what I see, though. To me, it looks like the production of our pornography is going the way of our food. Factory porn — like factory food — is mass produced, standardized, cheaply made, focus-group tested, boring, and soulless. Likewise, the consumption of this factory porn is analogous to the consumption of that McDonald’s cheeseburger. Both requiring the smallest possible amount of effort, money, and human connection — both leaving you feeling disgusting and ashamed. Maybe you’ll need a shower, also.

We need to talk about this. We are in a battle for one of the pillars of our very existence. And the less we talk about it, the more ground we lose. Who is opposing us though? Who is squeezing the creativity, joy, and excitement out of our communal sexuality — like a python does a rabbit? Fuck, we’re barely aware we’re even in a fight. Well, let’s make a list. At the top are those internet purveyors of corporatized pornography. They combine all the worst characteristics of a street corner pimp and a yuppie Microsoft computer programmer. I think that really sums up the core of their existence. Those leeches aren’t worth the pixels it takes to discuss them. Then there are the advocates of certain anti-pornography strains of feminist thought, which no matter how hard they try to argue otherwise, strike me as sex-negative. They fight like cats and dogs with the pornographers. Not entirely dissimilar to the situation between Hamas and Israel. Each side justifying its own attacks with the hostility of the other party and claiming to represent righteousness and freedom. While all the real people are getting fed up and are starting to think we should maybe just kick the whole lot of ‘em to the curb.

Then there are the performers themselves. Now this is where it gets tricky. On one hand, they deserve sympathy and support in their own struggle against the tyranny of that capitalist hierarchy the way any workers do. On the other hand, I can offer the criticism that applies to any worker employed in an equally shitty, exploitative, soul-sucking, creativity killing institution such as pornography, fast food, or the military. Stop it. You are carrying out a campaign of repression and destruction against all that is nourishing and joyful. Still, I can’t feel let down by them and that apathetic, shallow, drab product they put out. I wouldn’t expect excitement or arousal from a drive through window, either. Contributing to all this in no small part is our own failure to look at pornography as a medium for expression and liberation. I suppose a bit of our own callousness is reflected in the final product as well then.

So wow, it really looks like someone has their work cut out for them to fix this mess, right? Who is going to do it? Well, the only people that can, of course — US! So if you are about to fuck (in which case why are you reading this?), just fucked (right on!), or are fucking right now (and enjoying it) you are with us. If you are making crazy porn on your own that is making people FEEL something (because that’s what art does, really) you are with us. If you can talk about and participate in porn, sex, all that jazz, without picking up a paycheck for it at the end of the day-you are with us. Here is the call for us to re-appropriate our generational sexuality from the dark corner of our consciousness where it has sat abused and neglected, left to atrophy.

So now what do we do? How do we put our ideas into action? Do you really have to ask? We make our own porn! We have to starve that depraved beast by creating for ourselves. What we and our campus need is a forum to express our own sexual propaganda. Somewhere we can be porn stars for a weekend, not a lifetime. We’ve got other business to take care of, after all. In Seattle, the alternative newspaper The Stranger sponsors its own local amateur porn festival every year. What a brilliant idea. One weekend a year they screen the collection of films, the audience votes to choose winners in multiple categories, there is prize money for the winners, and all the tapes are destroyed at the end. Sign me up.

If nothing else, I’m sure the existence of this free expression of youth sexuality — without corporate sponsorship — would piss some people off. That’s a worthwhile goal in and of itself.

When I was a freshman I lived in Massell quad. My dining options were A) schlep up the hill to Usdan for every meal or, B) walk 50 feet to Sherman. You can probably guess where I ate at least 20 meals a week. Turns out, I was as lazy as every other student in Massell, so Sherman became somewhat of a hang out spot. My friends and I would sit in Sherman for hours just talking about, well, anything really, but the conversation would eventually turn to the quality of the food.

One of the terms I heard used around this time was “Sherman shits.” The idea was that the amount of time you spent eating Sherman food was directly proportional to the amount of time you would spend on the toilet that day. I don’t know who coined the term, nor did I take it too seriously at first. Then my boss at the Stein (also the manager of Sherman building) heard me say it in passing and gave me a stern talking to. Not sure whether he was trying to hide something or if he was just fed up with people insulting the quality of his food. I’ll let that speak for itself.

Anyway, a few days later, my friends and I were eating in Sherman once again. Ben, a friend I now live with, announced he would be eating a Sherman burger. We all warned him of the danger, but he would have none of it. How do I say this . . . Ben has a terrible constitution. He has asthma, uses an inhaler, trips often, is mildly lactose intolerant, and is just generally known for having a weak immune system. It was the perfect storm. As we all watched Ben eat he just smiled and said he would be fine, and that he had burgers at Usdan all the time. Ok we said, Ok. A few minutes later Ben left, still smiling, to go the bathroom, said he’d be right back. 45 minutes later a much paler looking Ben sat down at our table and kept to himself. All we could get out of him was, “I don’t wanna talk about it you guys.”

Although there are even more strains of anarchist thought than aliases for Diddy, anarchism considers the state undesirable and unnecessary and seeks to abolish authority of individuals over others. Read about it yourself. Its interesting. I promise. Anyways, see any resemblances to what is going on in Cairo right now? There isn’t any kind of organized union like the CNT/FAI in Spain openly advocating for anarchism in the crowds, it just happened spontaneously. That’s the beauty of Egypt.

At this point I should point out that the violence which erupted on Wednesday was fueled by groups of pro-government demonstrators, who I suspect might be plain clothes cops — a la Green Revolution in Iran. As I write this they probably still are kicking the shit out of people, looting, and there have even been reports of them chucking Molotov cocktails at anti-government protesters from the tops of buildings. They’re trying to create an excuse for the regime to crack down, though I don’t know if they could if they wanted to by this point. Either way, leave it to the government to get violent and destructive.

Then there’s Mohamed ElBaradei. The media has pegged this dude as the opposition leader, but he doesn’t seem to carry any real weight with the Egyptian people themselves. I can see why the western media are jockin’ this guy, though. He went to grad school is Switzerland and attended NYU law school. Later he was the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency for about 10 years. He seems like nothing new, really. Another quisling for the capitalists.

People have also raised a lot of concern about the Muslim Brotherhood in these proceedings, too. I heard that yammering stooge Glenn Beck say that they were going to take power and institute a theocracy in Egypt like the clerics did in Iran in ‘79. Wrong again, jerk. The Muslim brotherhood has been in Egypt since 1928. Egyptians know what they’re about, and as the most organized group in the country other than the government, their influence would have been apparent by now. But it isn’t. Rather, the masses are the physical manifestation of the frustration, angst, love, and passion of the people, especially the youth. They know that Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood, ElBaradei, the United States or any of the other powers that be are wont hand them their freedom. They are going to take it themselves. I highly encourage any and everybody to check out this article from the New York Times on volunteers who are providing public services in the midst of the demonstrations in Alexandria. It completely inspired me. Prior to that article I was worrying about the creative capacity of the revolutionary masses. The news really prefers to focus on the destructive aspects of these kinds of things. To me, the creative power of the masses and its exercise is the gauge of success for a revolution as much as the overthrow of those in power is. People and actions like those demonstrate the most noble and loving aspirations of the human spirit and it is precisely those actions that anarchism advocates for.

Also, I really like how TRISK has a dance every year on Halloween (it’s consistent). But… why is it themed? That is lame. People will be dressing up, anyway, because it’s Halloween. It doesn’t really make sense.

Oh well, Halloween is still shaping up to be pretty awesome.

There’s a facebook event for Brandeisians going to rallies. It’s named, appropriately enough, Brandeis people at the Stewart/Colbert Rally. Join if you’re going – we’ll figure out places to meet in DC, it’s a place to find rides, a place to stay, etc.

I’m a bit worried – this rally is right before Halloween and I really wanted to have a Trick or Vote on campus this year – anyone going to be on campus for Halloween and want to make that happen?

Just something I sent to a few friends …

Hey everyone. We won. Read this:

“I do not think that any group or class of persons in the United States should be denied the protections of the First Amendment, not now, not ever … I do not mean to suggest that the Constitution and its order of rights should in any way be abrogated. I would abhor such a prospect. I do not wish upon Muslim Americans the sorts of calumnies that were endured by Italian Americans in connection with Sacco and Vanzetti and Jewish Americans in connection with communism.”

That was Marty Peretz, apologizing this Monday morning. What a change.

Now, his full apology was not that great. He tried to explain away some of his words, instead of fully acknowledging that they were hurtful and incorrect. Still, in the course of a weekend, we were able to persuade the editor-in-chief of The New Republic to swallow his pride and admit he did wrong. That took courage on his part, and solidarity on ours.

We accomplished something special together. With the simplicity of sincerely speaking out for our beliefs – just with the power of speaking from the heart and boldly declaring that attacking the dignity of our fellow man is unacceptable – we made this world a better place.

Good work!

Listen. Peretz apologized; that is victory. Another victory: we as a community publicly demonstrated our commitment to our shared values. Sometimes, it takes courage to stand up for your beliefs. When a member of our family does wrong, the ethical life demands that we condemn his actions, and steer him towards justice. Courage is not found only in censuring your opponents.

Yes, we had the obligation to take a stand, because Marty Peretz is a prominent and honored member of our family. We had this obligation not just because of who he is, but because who we are, and what Brandeis is.

You know the story as well as I. 1948 was a time when Universities across America were barring their doors to the unpopular, the feared, and the other. As a bold challenge to this mentality, the founders of Brandeis did something amazing. They created a place where everyone, regardless of race, religion, or class, was welcome. That spirit of social justice is baked into the bones of this place. It is the foundation upon which all else is built.

That is why Peretz’s words were so reprehensible. That’s why we had the obligation and the duty to act, to remind him of the Brandeis way. That’s why he realized his mistake.

We love Brandeis. Marty Peretz loves Brandeis. We succeeded for that reason.

Thank you. We’ve done a wonderful thing.

- Sahar Massachi, Kevin Diep, and the rest of the Justice League.

[C]ells that are showing the very earliest signs of cancer start to have errors in the DNA replication process. To fix this, the cells use a number of methods to repair the damage, one of which is known as gene conversion.

Gene conversion repairs the break in the DNA strand by using an almost identical sequence from elsewhere in the cell’s DNA, providing a template from which the original strand can be reconstructed. Although this was once thought to be a mostly error-free process, the new study actually suggests it leads to a far greater number – about 1,400 times the usual amount – of DNA mutations than would otherwise be expected. Once these mutations affect the various genes that provide the cell’s ability to control its own growth, the cell quickly becomes cancerous.

Thus, tumors form where there was once healthy tissue.  Understanding this process is the first step in determining how to correct it and slow the rate at which healthy cells become cancerous.  Congratulations to Dr. Haber and to Wade and Minlee for publishing this important study and for working to ease the pain and suffering of so many people.  As an undergraduate, I find it easy to forget that Brandeis is a research institution as well as a school.  It’s gratifying to remember that so much positive work is being done at our university.

As you might see, I’m new around here. My name is Jesse Vasquez and I am a new member of the Innermost Parts community.

So why would an inner-city New York kid, a self-described mutt of Peurto Rican, British, Dutch and Indonesian decent, want to join the Brandeis activist community and become a part of InnermostParts.org? To be honest, I don’t entirely know. But then again, I have no idea what major I want to choose or what my favorite cheese is either. Ok, well, regardless of that fact, I know that I want to see more change in the Brandeis community and that Innermost Parts is the best way to get my voice out and be a voice for the rest of the community.

As a Racial Minority and Posse Scholar at Brandeis, I identify with a different type of people then the average Brandeis student. I hope to bring a few good things to the table of Innermost Parts, such as a new view and voice and I also look forward to doing something that has been quite lacking in recent years. That is, bringing the activist community to the Student Union. I am fortunate enough to know some great people on the Student Union, and I am also fortunate enough to know some great activists on campus and members of the Innermost Parts community. I know both the Student Union and the activist network are a determined, dedicated and generally passionate group of people and when they come together I do not doubt that great things can happen at Brandeis for the people here and everywhere around the world.

As a new member, I anticipate bringing people together, causing a little controversy and generally trying to help out Innermost Parts as much as I can. Oh, also, I plan on writing quite a bit about racial and religious issues at Brandeis.

Commenting - We at Innermost Parts want to foster a community, not give assholes a platform to attack others. We believe that if you have something meaningful to say, you should be proud to say it openly.

Commenters  are heavily encouraged to use their Brandeis email addresses (which will not be publicly displayed) and real names when posting. We reserve the right to moderate comments, especially anonymous ones.

At the very least, commenters must provide valid email addresses and post under a name that is not something silly or hurtful.

We realize that sometimes there is a real need for anonymity. Remember, we’re a small community here. If you choose to comment anonymously know that  you will be held to a stricter standard of common decency.

We further encourage you to register an account with us to make sure your comment doesn’t accidentally get caught in the spam filters.

In short, use a real name and use a real email address. If you don’t, you better behave yourself.

If you do post anonymously (and you should only do so if you’ll play nice) we renew our pledge to keep your identity secret.

Innermost Parts will not become the means for an individual to bully another. Remember, we are all students here and we should all treat each other with respect. Identifying yourself in your comments reflects the choices you’ve made to be a decent and honorable person. This trust is essential to our community, please do not abuse it or pervert it.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/mostpopular/23337764/detail.html

I don’t think this is a big deal, but you never know. I think that is what it is, but you know, I am not a water expert.  Just chill out and boil water.