Author: Lev

Sign the Petition! www.includejvp.org Brandeis University Hillel has voted to exclude the campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace from becoming a member group. JVP advocates for a just resolution between Israelis and Palestinians, and is the only Jewish group on campus denied inclusion. Hillel based their decision on partisan political considerations: namely, JVP’s support […]

I’ve been pretty silent amidst the sea of self-congratulation in the wake of ‘Celebrate Brandeis,’ but there were a lot of things that bothered me about this response to the WBC. But after reading Liz Posner’s op-ed in the Justice today, I had to respond. Titled, “In legitimizing WBC, Brandeis trumps Harvard,” Posner notes that […]

Hey folks, On the eve of the first ever Israeli Occupation Awareness Week at Brandeis, Jewish Voice for Peace and Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine are proud to present their self-published magazine supplement to the week. With contributions from Liza Behrendt, Renana Gal, Lev Hirschhorn, Madeleine Stix, Jon Sussman, and Paraska Tolan, this zine […]

I want to share here with the Brandeis community one of my favorite pieces written on the matter of anti-Semitism within left-wing movements. Unlike most commentaries on this matter, it actually comes from the left. It’s a pamphlet entitled: The Past Didn’t Go Anywhere: Making Resistance to Antisemitism Part of All of Our Movements by […]

After months of meeting behind closed doors, the Constitutional Review Committee has released its final report. In a previous post, I discussed how critical it was to change the Union to make it a less self-important body. While the changes recommended the Constitutional Review Committee fall short of where I’d like – they certainly do […]

No, really, fuck the Student Union. In this post, I will thoroughly bash the Student Union. I’ll offer my insight as a former Union insider and then conclude with some ideas on how to make it better. This will be a long post, but the jist of it can be summarized in the title. For […]

Today, I and a number of other students (the exact number I do not know – I estimate conservatively around twenty) stood briefly during Dore Gold’s speech during the debate (regardless of what the organizers say, this was a debate). Surely many believe that this was inappropriate and rude – and for the most part […]

Andy Hogan has sent out his first email to the “Involved Students” listserve, it includes a link to a mybrandeis survey asking for student opinions on dining. http://my.brandeis.edu/survsimp/one?survey_id=4831 The last question is a space for us to say what we would like to see. Thomas from the Brandeis Labor Coalition suggests: where it asks “what’s […]

This Friday the Student Union is hosting a meeting open to all students with Tim Hickey to give him feedback on his proposal for a Justice Brandeis Semester. The meeting will be held from 2-3 PM in SCC 313. This is a great opportunity to help shape the JBS and the future of the University.

Win for the Brandeis Community! Judgment of the Court: This Court was unable to come to any majority opinion, meaning that no single decision or rationale gained the support of a majority of the Justices. When such a situation occurs, we issue a plurality opinion, which has been explained thus: “When a fragmented Court decides […]

The Boston Globe has an article today covering Bill Ayers visit to Brandeis, its worth a read!

For those interested. Klionsky and McElhaney v. The Student Union will take place today at 3:30 in the Art Gallery. I won’t be there myself, but I’m certain that innermostparts will be there to liveblog it.

To the Brandeis Community: On Thursday, April 30th, Bill Ayers, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and co-founder of the radical anti-war group, The Weather Underground, will speak on social justice movements and lessons from the anti-war movement. The event will be held in the SCC Theater, and doors will open […]

Dear Justices, We are writing to you to ask that the case regarding the Senator for Racial Minority Students be dismissed. We feel that the position of Senator for Racial Minority Students plays an important role in the minority community at Brandeis. This position allows for the voices of minority students to be heard through […]

On August 29, 2008, in a column entitled “Celebrating Racial Diversity is Pointless” Jordan Rothman, Justice of the Union Judiciary wrote in the Hoot: Celebrating racial diversity does not accomplish its stated mission of bringing greater perspectives and experiences to intellectual discourse. One way in which it fails is that not all members of racial […]

For those who saw the announcement, Ryan McElhaney and Gideon Klionsky are suing the Elections Commission for prohibiting white students from participating in the election of the Racial Minority Senator and Racial Minority member of F-Board. Astonishingly, the Union Judiciary has agreed to hear the case against the Elections Commission. This is problematic on so […]

bumped -Sahar Woah. I don’t have time to comment on this just yet. But breaking news, the UJ has agreed to hear a case on whether or not the positions of Senator for Racial Minority Students and F-Board Representative for Racial Minority Students are inherently discriminatory. A fascinating case. I’ll offer my full commentary when […]

I know we don’t like posting non-Brandeis related news on innermostparts usually, but I felt compelled to post this article. The jist: At the end of this month, gay and lesbian couples in Iowa will be able to legally marry. A sure victory for the gay rights movement. Iowa joins the likes of Massachusetts and […]

In case you didn’t get the Email from Tia, or the facebook messages from every candidate on the planet, or otherwise live under a rock…. Elections are today! DFA endorsed the following slate of candidates: Andy Hogan – President Nathan Robinson – Vice President Diana Aronin – Secretary Daniel Acheampong – Treasurer Sahar Massachi – […]

Interfaith Awareness Week begins today! Sponsored by the Brandeis University Interfaith Leadership Development (BUILD), Interfaith Awareness Week is meant to form a bridge between people of different religions (or at least I assume from the title). For information on events, see the facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/event.php?eid=72921140238

Just in case anyone cares… Congrats to Alex Norris, the new Senator from North Quad and Jenna Rubin, the new Senator from East Quad.

The latest idea to emerge from the CARS committees is a proposal for a required semester of Service to Society (STS). The proposal originates from the problem that Brandeis will face over the next five years as it increases enrollment from 3,200 to 3,700. Brandeis will have to figure where these students will live and […]

Unlike last week’s closed door faculty meeting, the authorties have agreed to let campus media in to report on the meeting. Innermostparts.org was granted a seat to report on the proceedings. I will give a full report on the meeting later, but I’d like to give a brief update while the Deans of IBS and […]

For those who didn’t get the memo, today President Jehuda Reinharz, Chief Financial Officer Peter French, and Provost Marty Krauss held an open forum with students in Sherman Function Hall. It wasn’t an ideal situation, the forum was only announced the evening before and it was held during a time when most students have classes. […]

The flurry of attention Brandeis has recieved in the last few days has allowed major newspapers to report on the main issue, the lack of student input in the decision making process here at the University. The Boston Globe today has an article today entitled “Crisis Raises Questions on Brandeis Campus.” The article quotes Professor […]

As the Budget Cut Crisis continues, it is important to remember that life at the University still goes on, and there are other activists causes and events going on that should get our attention. First up, DFA is hosting a Student Health Organizing Coalition (SHOC) Training on Wednesday evening (January 28) at 9 PM in […]

Now made available to the public: To the Faculty and Academic Administrators, As the Student Government President, I have been given a unique vantage point on the realities of the University’s financial situation.  The budget gap that Brandeis faces is large, and its current and continuing impact on the Student Body and the future of […]

This document was given to Innermost Parts by President Reinhartz shortly following the faculty meeting and the student demonstration outside. They were given to the faculty to show Brandeis’ commitment to preserve the elements that make this a great institution. I have my own thoughts about these which I will post tomorrow. What do you […]

As a Jewish American I find myself struggling to find a place in the anti-war movement against Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. Last evening I went with a small contingent of Brandeis Students to attend a demonstration in front of the Israeli Consulate which then marched over to the Massachusetts State House. I wanted […]

This post is written by the members of SDS and people who attended Radical Film Night (every wednesday at 9 PM in Pearlman 202)! What has been cut? As we sit in this room, we’ve found ourselves upset with the the large number of programs that have been cut in response to the budget crisis. […]

Help the Union fix it! The Campus Operations Working Group meets with Facilities every other week to talk about things around campus that aren’t working a need fixing. Cracks in the sidewalk? Flooding in your room? Door won’t open? Tell us ASAP! Send an email to cow-g@lists.brandeis.edu, or post a reply to this thread and […]

If you guys haven’t heard about Proposition 8 yet, here is the deal: Currently California is one of three states that has legalized gay marriage. For the last few months gay couples have been able to go to city hall and get married to someone they love, just like any other couple. Proposition 8 would […]

I just wanted to share with the communinty a few items of interest that were brought up in tonight’s senate meeting. Firstly, a few weeks ago Nathan Robinson wrote angrily about the lack of free newspapers on campus. He said: WTF? Where did the papers go? Why can’t I grab a Times in the morning? How […]

Yesterday I and twelve other Brandeis Students traveled to Boston to join thousands of others in a protest against the War in Iraq. It was actually quite exciting; we relaxed on the Boston Commons for awhile talking to strangers at various booths, listening to music and rousing speeches. In the afternoon, during the march, we […]

I used to be able to say that I lived in the only two states where Gay Marriage is allowed, Massachusetts and California. As of today this is no longer true; the Supreme Court of Connecticut has ruled that banning gay marriage is unconstitutional because it discriminates! Three states now grant full rights to gay […]

The Coalition for Food Service Reform has their first public meeting tonight in Pearlman Lounge at 10 PM. They plan on unveiling a draft of their list of proposals. Everyone who is interested in Aramark’s environmental, labor, financial, social practices should show up. It should be very interesting.

As an active member of the Student Union and a writer for innermostparts.org the article in “The Hoot,” by Ariel Wittenberg, about the blog disturbed me. The premise of the article was based on one post by Phil Lacombe ’10, who tried to claim that a Brandeis Progressive Party had been formed and was gaining […]

Ben Brandzel ’03 created the Social Justice Committee with the purpose of allowing the Brandeis Student Union to take on social justice projects; to make Brandeis and the community around us better. This semester we started off great with a meeting this last Thursday. Though we have not yet decided on a project to take […]

Not Brandeis or Student Union related in the slightest bit! Not even social justice-y. Google is now letting people search as thought its 2001. This is a super nifty tool, try searching for Sarah Palin! It doesn’t work! Explore.

That’s right, the Social Justice Committee will meet tonight at 8 PM in the Student Union Office (3rd floor of Shapiro). Want to know your rights? Want gender-neutral housing? Solar Panels? Want something else at Brandeis social justice related? Come to the meeting!