Author: Jon

I know that it’s break, but I strongly urge everyone who can to take a minute to oppose racism in Massachusetts. The gist of the story is: This Wednesday, the Worcester Public Library is offering a room to the racist organization North East White Pride (NEWP). In essence, this means that there is implicit public […]

As has already been reported, Brandeis the Board of Trustees has selected our next President, Frederick M. Lawrence, dean of George Washington Law School. Reading just a little into his biography, he seems like a stand-up guy, working pretty effectively to uphold civil rights, particularly in the area of bias crimes. More importantly, he’s from […]

Hey Everyone, Come to Bernstein-Marcus TODAY at 3 pm to take part of a demonstration against the choice of Michael Oren as commencement speaker. In collectively voicing our frustration, we can let the administration know that commencement is no place for divisive politics. We will be encouraging discussion, expression, and intend on presenting our concerns […]

Commencement was supposed to be about us. However, with the selection of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, commencement has been hijacked to serve as part of a debate about Middle Eastern politics. Whether this was the intention is not important: in our eyes and the eyes of the world, Brandeis commencement is a stage for partisan […]

As noted in the earlier post “Party Time,” Brandeis has been recieving a fair beat of heat for graphic design. The logo for a conference on right-wing radicalism featured a swastika, which some conservative media figures interpreted as demonizing the Tea Party. Despite the fact that the pressure was coming from a very small (if […]

A breaking update from The Justice: Michael B. Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, will be the keynote speaker at Brandeis’ 59th commencement on May 23, according to a University press release.  Honorary degrees will be awarded to Paul Farmer, a founder of Partners in Health; Judith S. Kaye, the first female chief […]

Last night, the House of Representatives passed the first stage in the most expansive reform of our nation’s health care system since the 1960s. But we all know this didn’t happen overnight: it was a messy, dragged-out, complex, and (for many) unsatisfying experience. But at least how the political sausage gets made is a public […]

Anger at tuition increases, staff and faculty cuts, and the corporatization of education has led to major actions across the University of California system in the last few months. As the UC Board of Regents meets this week, students at several schools have staged protests and occupations to demand greater access to education (as promised […]

I think that The Blowfish is sometimes funny, and it’s a cheerful sight to see them in orange jackets handing out copies on the Rabb steps. But they’re definitely not above criticism, even when they’re ‘trying to be funny’. Case in point: this week’s column entitled “Happy Dating Violence Awareness Week!”, which offered ideas and […]

…your new dorm building is named after coal. The CEO of Alliance of Coal, Joseph Craft, donated money for a new men’s basketball dorm at the University of Kentucky, on the stipulation that it be named after coal. The Board of Trustees voted 16-3 to approve the new dorm; of the three “no” votes, one […]

The Board of Trustees is meeting this week to discuss…well, no-one really knows what’s on their agenda, but I’m sure it’s nothing sinister. Remember the Board has no voting student, staff, or faculty members, effectively shutting the campus out of collective decision making. If you’d like to pass on any suggestions on this or any […]

One of the most common targets for right-wing demagogues is the stereotypical ‘radical leftist university’, a purely fictional construct used to gin up anti-intellectualism and support for slashing education budgets. (For a shocking expose of the corporatization of the university system, check out excerpts from Marc Bousquet’s new book.) According to ThinkProgress the latest innovation […]

Recently, the Class of 2010 received a letter soliciting donations towards the Senior Class Gift. This in itself is nothing out of the ordinary; donating is a great way for students to give back to their school, to ensure that in a time of economic crisis others will have access to the same educational opportunities. […]

Over the summer, the governing Board of the University of California tried to implement a number of changes aimed at harming the campus environment, including: a 32% tuition hike, layoffs of faculty and staff, and “furloughs” (i.e. salary cuts) for those who stay. In response, the students have organized to take back their university! More […]

…when right-wing Americans do it, of course. The Washington Post was trying to do the right thing when it published this article about the reticence of many medical students to take up abortion in their OB-GYN practices. This has been a problem for a while, of course; as the article notes, though abortions are utilized […]

Let the schadenfreude commence.

It’s only a small mention, but significant nonetheless. In an article about the NYC legislature’s attempt to curb the “deaccessioning” (rapid sale) of art collections, the New York Times mentions that the bill “was prompted by a number of recent high-profile moves, including … Brandeis University’s January announcement that it would close its Rose Art […]

A persistent theme of the criticism Brandeis as a whole (and DFA/SDS in particular) have received as a result of Bill Ayer’s visit is the purported connection between the Weather Underground organization and two Brandeis students, Katherine Power and Susan Saxe, who murdered a police officer during a 1970 bank robbery. The assertion of a […]

Art Attack came up with a pretty snappy idea – give out form letters and stamped, addressed envelopes to students, so their parents can quickly and painlessly indicate their disapproval of the Rose Art’s closing. In the interests of saving some paper and postage, I decided to put the letter up here, so either you […]

The scope and reach of the (so-far announced) budget cuts have riled student opinion, but perhaps none so much as the closure of the Rose Art Museum. This should strike us as perplexing; the need to cut a full tenth of faculty, or vastly simplify our academic structure, would seem to be far more worrying […]

The passage of Question 2 does not seem to have settled the question of marijuana’s legal status in Massachusetts. While it is currently decriminalized across the state, several municipalities are looking to roll back this development. Some are considering vastly increased fines for smoking in public places, and others seek to impose jail sentences. This […]

Please welcome guest poster Jon On January 2nd, Question 2, the Massachusetts imitative to decriminalize marijuana possession, came into effect. As (co-)President of Students for Sensible Drug Policy on campus, I am, of course, in favor of any steps that can end the senseless damage the War on Drugs has wreaked on our communities. This […]