Westboro Baptist PARTY UPDATE

So you may be aware that Innermost Parts is a project of a Brandeis club called The Justice League.
We’re thinking of holding a general meeting for all campus to plan our response. 10pm Sunday. Good idea? Would you go to that?

Here is every idea from the comments and facebook event so far:

Which ones do you like? What would you like to add?

Ideas:
– Buy a bus/carpool and follow them during the day
– Dance the Hora around for the entire visit
– Kissathon
– Party
– Fundraiser
– Sing songs of counterculture (RENT, internet is for porn, etc)
– Glitter
– Rickroll
– Don’t pay attention
– Free Kippas and Rainbow flags

Longer ideas:

  • Let’s make it really positive! Let’s make it about what a great place Brandeis is, and not about WBC at all! We should do charity donations and channuka songs, like people mentioned!
  • I think it is very important that we organize a response that celebrates Brandeis diversity and pluralism rather than attack the group itself
  • Let’s reclaim this campus as a home for the sexually liberated and put on a good show.
  • We should just make a big circle around them with our backs turned toward them. And fart a lot in their general direction
  • Use cardboard/other materials to build a genuine MEDIA CONTROLLING DEVICE on the Great Lawn. Make a lot of aerials and knobs and stuff. Then go at it, controlling the media through secret, clandestine connections.
  • I leave these tools at your disposal. While it may seem funny, in all seriousness I urge you: WHAT SETS THESE PEOPLE APART IS THEIR UTTER LACK OF SUBTLETY AND LACK OF CREATIVITY. This means whatever you do has to be subtle, creative, and, (the one attribute I suggest you mimic) ludicrous.
  • CRAZY-SIGNS: Everyone bring a picketing sign or a poster, but DO NOT COORDINATE what they will be, and then full-heartedly devote yourself to supporting the signs other people bring as well as your own, expounding their virtues to the utmost.
  • Cake Party: If you really want a party, get a lot of cake. Then everyone should eat cake, and only be allowed to say the word cake. This will be silly for three minutes, and funny after five, and eventually if you can be louder than them but only say the word cake then it will be epic.

Westboro Baptist PARTY! Brainstorming

Update: Brainstorming continued here: http://innermostparts.org/2010/11/20/westboro-baptist-party-update/

This is going to be fun.

The Westboro Baptist “Church” is a bona fide hate group, according to the Anti Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. They’re also quite small – basically this guy Fred Phelps and his large extended family rove around the country throwing absurd protests that no one supports.

They’re coming to Brandeis on December 3.

Why?

“remind these Jews that they bear the curse of their forefather’s murder of Christ. Further these college students of doomed america live for the devil himself, spending their energies on drunkeness, lust, sloth and greed rather than serving the Lord Almighty.”

How are we going to respond?

I’m thinking, if these loonies are going to get me up at 8:45 in a morning for the inevitable counter-protest, it’s going to be for something that doesn’t just respond to them, but instead affirmatively builds something positive here. Something to make us feel more like a community.

It’s easy to make fun of these guys, but how can we take this and turn it into something positive?

I propose some sort of party.

I asked the reddit hivemind. Some answers have been:

  • Invite your local LGBT groups to have a KISSATHON for charity right next to them. Raise money for a good cause with some very pleasant in-your-face affection!
  • The biggest, most visible sign – I’d even say the only one – should just be a truthful explanation: WBC PROVOKES PEOPLE TO VIOLENCE, THEN SUES. IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY.
    You can also stage a fundraiser: http://www.phelps-a-thon.com/Home.html
    Don’t stage a circus. That’s what they want. It attracts people who might flip out and throw a punch, which is THEIR fundraising strategy.
  • Greet them with milk and cookies, and repeatedly tell them what you want for christmas

What do you think we should do?

I am willing to spend money on making this happen gloriously.
Facebook group here.

Apply for a Festival of the Arts Grant!!

Do you have a creative visual or performance based art project that you would like to showcase? Then why not get it funded? Applying for a Festival of the Arts Grant requires only a few short essays regarding the goals and intentions for your project, and could additionally help you flesh out a simple idea into a fully fledged proposal via their guiding questions. Last May’s Festival of the Arts Grant Recipients organized a folk stage at Slosberg, produced a theatrical work with students from the Waltham Boys and Girls Club, showcased drawings of feet of various people in various cultures, and much more.

As an incentive for activist minded artists, and those who feel that their project serves to positively impact the community as a whole, the Justice League, in conjunction with the Office of the Arts, will be subsidizing some of the projects which we feel best embody our progressive values.

The application for the grant, due November 30th at 5 p.m., can be found right here. Questions can be directed to Ingrid Schorr, Festival Director, at ingrids@brandeis.edu.

DON’T MISS OUT on art by Brandeis faculty!

Yesterday, at lunch with Ingrid Schorr, we learned of an amazing opportunity for Brandeis students- to see beautiful works of art! JustArts is an exhibition showcasing artwork by Brandeis faculty and staff, will be on display in the Dreitzer Gallery, Spingold Theater Center, from November 16 to 22. This means MONDAY is the last day!! It is an amazing exhibit, and I encourage everyone to go!

More than 100 works will be on display, by individuals from across campus, including the departments of psychology, theater, fine arts, and politics; the mail room; LTS, and the department of athletics.

Last year’s exhibition, the first in Brandeis history, was “a joyous occasion, with so many people truly paying attention to the art and talking about it,” Professor Mick Watson of the Department of Psychology wrote in an email to the organizers. “And the art work was good — well worth looking at. Best of all, the works came from so many diverse members of the Brandeis community — people who may have been doing art as a hobby, but who took it seriously and had created aesthetic and often moving pieces.”

JustArts is sponsored by the Office of the Arts.

Brandeis Interfaith Group: What If Speak-In and Beyond!

For those of you who don’t know, Brandeis Interfaith Group is a newly formed club on campus, centered around interfaith dialogue and service. We meet in the Peace Room every Thursday at 9- check it out. I personally look forward to BIG every week, because we have collaboratively fostered some of the most meaningful dialogue I have taken part in thus far in my three semesters at Brandeis.

On Monday November 15th in the Rappaporte Treasure Hall, Brandeis Interfaith Group along with several other co-sponsors on campus had our first “big” event. The What-If Speak-In was a night of kosher dessert, meaningful stories, Q and A with President Elect Fred Lawrence, and interfaith dialogue with members of the Brandeis community. The goal of the event was to foster meaningful dialogue and expose ourselves to different ideas from faiths and belief systems, centered around fighting homelessness in Waltham, the greater Boston area, and the world.

Members of BIG (including yours truly) read stories and poems about our own faith journeys and how we apply our faith traditions and belief systems to serving others. President Elect Fred Lawrence honored us by offering his unique perspective about religious pluralism and its role at Brandeis. Students had the opportunity to ask the President Elect about his faith own faith journey, and how it applies to serving others. Following President Elect Lawrence, students, faculty, staff, and others from the community discussed in small groups their own personal experiences in faith and service.

The What-If Speak-In was the first of a series of events and projects as part of the larger Better Together Campaign. Over the rest of the academic year, BIG and the community will be working on projects to elevate local homelessness. We will (eventually) be looking for co-sponsors. If you think your club or organization is interested, or if you as an individual are interested in getting involved, join our listserve, facebook group, come to our Thursday meetings, or e-mail me, Rachel Downs at red1103@brandeis.edu.

Get ready for our next BIG (big) event coming in December! Monday December 6th from 8-9:30 around Massell pond and in the Shapiro Dorm Lounge, there will be hot cocoa, cookies, and conversation and lights and holidays, both physically and metaphorically. Hope to see you there!

love- Rachel and BIG

Diana Buttu

Hey Brandeis! I know I am a little late, but here are my thoughts on last week’s speaker Diana Buttu “who has negotiated for the Palestine Liberation Organization and will address the legal aspects of the occupation ” .

She arrived early last Wednesday, November 10th, in Pearlman lounge to greet students and enjoy some Palestinian sweets!

Diana Buttu was born and raised in Canada, in what she called a “depoliticized” household. She wasn’t heavily involved in the Israeli Palestinian Conflict until she was a student at Stanford in the year 2000 during the Camp David negotiations. She recalled how Israel would undo Israeli control over Palestine and undo colonization… which still hasn’t occurred ten years later.

Buttu moved to the Middle East and lived in Palestine under Israeli laws. While she lived in Palestine, she observed two goals of Israel and made them a focus of her speech: Israel wants to “take away Palestinian land and confine Palestinians into a small space”.

Buttu described the West Band and Gaza Strip from the Oslo Accords to present day. She gave emphasis on the illegal Israeli settlements and outposts, military zones, and nature reserves. She suggests all three types of structures are strategically placed in between Palestinian neighborhoods to keep Palestinians separated. The roads which connect Israeli settlements create further barriers around Palestinians and the Wall (and other fences) segregates communities entirely. Buttu emphasized the increase of Israeli settlements and reduced supplies to Palestinians. She recalled cheese, yogurt, bread, and even shampoo shortages.

To end her presentation, Buttu called on the international community to hold Israel accountable. Ever since the international law ruling which declared the wall illegal, she hopes the US and other countries will make a stand. She believes the following actions will help:
1. Boycott Israeli goods
2. Divest from holdings
3. Sanctions

She also believes a large part of the problem is that Israeli’s do not accept Palestinians as equals. However, she offered no solution to help bridge equality between the two communities.
When questioned as to the violent reactions of Palestinians, she said “lack of freedom equals lack of security”.

I personally highly enjoyed her presentation. She gave a legal and detailed account spotted with personal reflection. Her arguments were easy to follow and clearly demonstrates where the law falls in this particular circumstance. I do wish she was able to offer better solutions for the reconciliation for the two communities. However, she did approach the question and answer potion as an open conversation and listened intently to everyone’s point of view.

I hope this recap was helpful to anyone who missed her talk, and feel free to ask any questions! I took notes!

Cage-Free Eggs. Here. We won.

We’ve known for a while, but we were sworn to secrecy.

Now we can finally tell you – Cage Free Eggs are coming.
All food on campus will use solely cage-free eggs starting next school year.
The added cost of a meal plan will be 8 dollars per semester.

We’re throwing a party with the Real Food Campaign on Dec 2 to celebrate.
Info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125861680808372

There’ll first be a soiree with (real) Food, where people will brainstorm plans for the Real Food Campaign next semester. Then afterparty (location tbd).

High-Five! We did it!
Continue reading “Cage-Free Eggs. Here. We won.”

Live-blogging the Fall 2010 SOTU

For those of you who can’t make it tonight, here’s what is being said (refresh for frequent updates).

6:30- Still hasn’t started, food is very good.
6:42- Ryan Fanning is doing the introduction. He thanks Aramark. Nice plug.
6:43- Ryan: Financial Situations, Pachanga, it has not been a quiet semester. But we will succeed through the struggles. We as a community are stronger than we can possibly imagine.
6:45- Ryan thinks Acheampong is a snappy dresser.
6:45- Daniel: Thanks to the Union. General welcomes. The Union means “you”.
6:46- Financial History of the last 2 years: Despite our hardships, we chose to do something unique. We moved together as one, as Brandeis.

Continue reading “Live-blogging the Fall 2010 SOTU”

Massive student protests are alive and well, just not here

In Berkley, in Puerto Rico, and now in the UK, students are putting on massive demonstrations – in the last month, even.

In the UK:

Around 52,000 students marched through London in protest at plans to increase tuition fees while cutting state funding for university teaching.

• Around 200 people from the march occupied 30 Millbank – the building that houses the Conservative party’s campaign headquarters – and a stand-off with police ensued.

• Police in riot gear clashed with protesters, who had smashed windows and mounted the roof of the building. Fourteen people – police and activists – were injured and police arrested 35 demonstrators.

In California yesterday:

As of 6:30am this morning, students at UC Berkeley have begun blocking the entrances to the California Hall, the main administrative building on campus. All entrances are surrounded.

In Puerto Rico (Google Translation): (Also see this)

The Board of Trustees will choose a new president amid threats of strikes and demonstrations in various sectors of the university community if this body appoints Guadalupe.
…
On Tuesday, Humanities students will take their power with an event that constitutes a “clear expression” of rejecting the new fee of $ 800 that takes effect next January, said Adriana Mulero Claudio, a spokeswoman for the Action Committee Humanities coordinating the one-day stoppage.
…
“To implement the quota in January, more than 10,000 students would be out of the UPR, while encouraging the dismissal of more non-teaching staff,” says the Action Committee for the Humanities in a press release.
…
On Thursday, students in education and social sciences also paralyze the work in their schools to protest the special assessment, which according to estimates student deprive 10.000 university to continue studying at UPR.

The days of massive student protests aren’t over. That tactic just hasn’t hit Brandeis.
Continue reading “Massive student protests are alive and well, just not here”

Jewish Yelling for Peace

Right before Brandeis’ Israel Occupation week, a group of students Jewish Voices for Peace (not from Brandeis) gained notoriety as they heckled Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as he spoke to the Jewish General Assembly in New Orleans.

Benjamin Netanyahu was interrupted five times by protesters who shouted and held up signs while the Israeli prime minister was delivering an address on Monday to the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.

The protesters shouted “the loyalty oaths delegitimize Israel” and “the occupation delegitimizes Israel” while being escorted from the room. Their signs bore similar messages.

The disrupters were members of a group of young protesters convened by Jewish Voice for Peace, a left-wing activist organization. The protesters said that they were responding to the General Assembly’s focus on what has been called an international effort to delegitimize Israel.

There’s a lively discussion about whether they were justified. For the “their tactics deligitimize their cause” argument, see Ben Sales’ piece in the New Voices magazine. For an opposing view, read the comments to his piece, and also read the explanation of the activists in their own words.

I really like what JewSchool has to say here and also here. Lots to unpack – I could quote all three articles but I suggest you just read them.

Here’s what struck me:

But the most experienced protester on the team rightly said that people would take down our signs within seconds and we would be unable to make our point. We also considered singing. After lengthy discussion, we decided we had to yell “Young Jewish Proud!” and then the sign content. We all agreed it was the absolute right decision, but we had to sacrifice the feeling of solemnity we had preferred. We weren’t there to “heckle”- we were there to take a stand.”

We knew people would not be pleased, but we didn’t anticipate the level of violence and frankly it was not our intention to make people in the room look ugly. I have mixed feelings about that- I dont consider federation people “The Other”. That’s family in there, for almost all of us, so I don’t take pleasure in the unmasking of the mob mentality. On the other hand, I understand it’s critical for our movement that it has been revealed-many others in the room were shocked. But we would not have purposely engineered it with that particular group.

Continue reading “Jewish Yelling for Peace”

Turn the Campus Green — One Room at a Time

Have you gotten your room Green Certified yet? If not, do it now!

The Certified Green Room program is run by the Campus Sustainability Initiative as a way to get more students thinking — and living — in an environmentally conscious manner. To sign up, you simply need to choose 15 green pledges from a list of 25, and put them to action in your daily life at Brandeis. The pledges are simple, such as “I bike with my own bike or ‘DeisBikes” and “I use reusable shopping bags”; you probably follow many of them already.

Why is it important to sign up? For starters, getting your room certified automatically puts you in a weekly raffle to win one of several useful prizes — we’ve already given away smart power strips and solar-powered chargers. If you’re certifying your room for the second year in a row, you’ll also receive a free travel mug. More importantly, however, getting Green Certified is a reminder to stay eco-friendly and a declaration that you care about living sustainably.

So get yourself certified right now! It’s quick, painless, and open to all Brandeis students (even if you’re living off-campus). The College Sustainability Report Card gives us an A in Student Involvement — let’s keep leading the way to a greener future.

Washington State University gets all the fun

This seems like a fun thing:

An anonymous hacker wearing a Guy Fawkes mask took over classroom projection screens at Washington State University last Friday, the fifth of November, to broadcast a prerecorded message adapted from V For Vendetta, in a prank that evidently alarmed administrators and amused students.

The nearly four minute video, which was also posted on YouTube, and has its own website, Facebook page and Twitter hashtag, criticizes the university’s IT department. It also urges the student body to rise up against squirrels on the campus grounds. The rodents, the ersatz V complains, do nothing but “eat, drink and breed.”
…
A spokeswoman told the Chronicle of Higher Education that campus police were working to identify the perpetrator. “Childish pranks just don’t have a place anymore,” said Darin Watkins. “What may have been seen as cute and clever years ago really doesn’t get that kind of reaction today.”

(Emphasis mine)

My question – why? Why do they react in fear when before they would’ve laughed at a joke? I wish something like this would happen at Brandeis – it’d be fun and interesting. I wonder if we’d hear something like that out of Ed Callahan. I doubt it – he’s a decent man and I don’t think he’d try to pin “serious charges” on something like that.

Also of note – the prank also has its own website and facebook page, and it is sparking discussion of serious issues like “university governance, course cuts, and tuition hikes.” What an interesting take on campus activism. I like it.

Continue reading “Washington State University gets all the fun”

Ice Cream and Party Politics.

On the list of things that I find interesting, alongside vegetarian recipe blogs, the hindi festival holi and baby animals, is the idea of party based politics.

This comes to mind when thinking about last week’s election and some of the conversations that I had about the election with some of my less politically minded friends.

When questioned about how they were voting, many simply replied with sentiments such as “oh, I’m a democrat, I’m just voting for whoever the democrat is.”

There is something about that mentality that rubs me the wrong way.

While I understand the idea of identifying heavily with a party, I cannot imagine having so much faith in an institution that I let it decide my vote, which I have always been taught is my most direct and effective tool to affect national politics.

I feel like in theory, parties are intuitive.

They give us the ability to associate and identify with likeminded people who share common values and opinions with ourselves.

But, at some point, human nature kicks in and our desire to define ourselves by the group that we are associated with takes over.

What once might have given a forum to conversation and learning among likeminded people now serves as an excuse for people to throw their political weight around without exerting any intellectual effort.

This is, of course, a generalization, but I have had enough of the aforementioned conversations to convince me that if this phenomenon is not common among voters now, it will increase as current young voters take the political reigns.

This is the original blog post that inspired me to think about this topic and eventually write this post.

This article makes an analogy that political parties are like ice cream carts.

It argues that the party system currently functions by pressuring its consumers to subscribe solely to one party (or brand of ice cream, think Ben and Jerry’s and Haagen Dazs). When, in reality,

It’s a model which is meant to predict which ice cream cart you choose out of two, not one that’s meant to persuade you to buy an ice cream if you don’t want one.

Yo. This makes so much sense.

Both types of ice cream are there if I want them.

Generally I prefer Ben and Jerry’s but if there is a day where Haagen Dazs is what I need, then you can bet that I am going to get Haagen Dazs.

I am sick of people telling me that I have to choose what type of ice cream I want and then stick to it for the rest of my life or else I risk earning such career ruining nicknames as flip flopper.

The moral of the story is that party loyalty isn’t always all that it’s cracked up to be and that-in my eyes-it’s better to make your own decisions based on the issues as opposed to party lines.

Calling All Foodies!

If you are interested in food and social justice and you love to meet people doing food justice work then get ready for this Tuesday! There will be a regional student Real Food meet-up at Suffolk University on 73 Tremont st. (park st. T stop) in Boston on November 16th 6pm with plenty of desserts to go around. This is a time for students on campuses in the greater Boston area to meet, mingle, and discuss the sorts of change they are trying to create in terms of food sustainability. We can all collaborate and connect with other students as well as some of the national Real Food Challenge coordinators. We will be getting input and ideas about the Real Food Northeast Spring Summit, which will be 500+ person conference on food justice and sustainability. Email mturesky@brandeis.edu if you are interested or just show up in Boston at 6pm, no prior Real Food experience necessary!

News Roundup: Hoot 11/12

Hope that your weekend is going well!

For more stories, check out The Hoot Website!

Tips on Activism Volume II: Writing an Effective Letter

Letter writing is often considered to be a lost art in a world of emails and text messages. However, the ability to write a competent letter is another skill that will be useful in all aspects of life, not just in activism.

AND, it’s a tried and true way to let elected representatives know what you’re thinking.

So, lets get to the good stuff.

Make it Immediately Clear to the Official Who You are Writing to That You are a Constituent of Their District

  • This is why they care about what you have to say!

Keep Your Letter Focused One Issue

  • This puts maximum emphasis on the message that you’re trying to project.
  • If you have more to say then write another letter!!!

Focus on Facts and Figures

  • Although emotional arguments are legitimate, facts generally make a more convincing argument.
  • Try to incorporate technical terms and bills and pieces of legislation.

Be Aware of Pre-Existing Positions

  • If you know that your congressperson has a view that opposes yours, incorporate it into your letter and use it to drive your points.

Follow Up

  • Request a reply!
  • If you receive a reply telling you that your legislator is supportive of your view, write back and thank them!
  • If you receive a reply telling you that your legislator is voting against your view, write again. Be persistent! Don’t give up!
  • If you don’t get a response or get a form letter that has nothing to do with the issue that you are concerned, write again!!

Remember, a well-written letter is one of the best tools to let legislators know what you’re thinking!
Know how to do it right.

Peace, Love and Active Activism
Morgan

ps. Here’s another how-to!

Kindness Day!

Kindness is an act, a process, and/or a positive thought towards a friend, family member, partner, or the world. It is expressed in thousands of different ways. Whatever way we show our kindness, the reward is always a heartwarming feeling of self-gratitude. Here on campus, after having gone through Orientation Week and meeting new friends, it leaves me with no question that our students are extremely kind and respectful towards each other and the world. Even under stress, the students here manage to smile and greet each other with sweet compliments as they rush to class.

In this nationally-celebrated Kindness week, we get to acknowledge our kinder-selves and immerse our community in an even more amicable environment. We can become fully selfless and do the extraordinary things that members in participating groups in the Waltham Group always commit themselves to. This is the time for all of you to communicate how truly thankful you are for the friends you’ve made here, the faculty members, the employees in the dining services, and the Facilities’ workers. It takes not longer than a minute to write a postcard to someone you care for.

Tomorrow, Friday the 12th, is Kindness Day. Volunteers will be tabling all day in Shapiro Campus Center. Please stop by for a few minutes tomorrow to sign random acts of kindness cards, write a note to the workers, make signs to be hung up all around campus, and really good pie tasting!! It has been a great success thus far this week. Tomorrow should be revolutionary. =D

Thank you for all you do!!

Best,
Afzal

Lots going on today

I can’t decide what to go to today. Can you?

4-6pm

No More Arizonas: A Student Tour Against Bigotry
We’ve all heard about the heated battles in Arizona over anti-immigrant laws like SB 1070. But have you ever wondered what life is like inside the most controversial state in the nation? During a week-long tour of the state after the enactment of SB 1070, a delegation of nine students decided to find out. The accounts of what they saw, who they met, and how it changed their lives are riveting. Now these same students are touring the East coast and sharing their stories.

Join them for an upcoming speaking engagement to hear firsthand what they experienced, learn more about the rise of the anti-immigrant movement, and how campuses around the country are finding ways to counter bigotry.

Where: Harlan Chapel, Brandeis University, by the pond

6-8pm

Cohesion: Where Culture Meets Activism. The purpose of this event is to engage students, faculty and staff in a dialogue about the multicultural, political, and intellectual boundaries that we draw between ourselves as students, and how these lines have defined and created a culture of divided student involvement on our campus. This event will be held in the Ridgewood A Common Space from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and will include a special Thanksgiving themed, home-cooked dinner.

6:30-8;00pm

Noam Chomsky will speak on occupation, segregation, and “escalating policies of Apartheid” in Israel today, as part of Brandeis Israeli Occupation Awareness Week, hosted by Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine (BSJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

The (not very) brief opinion of a newbie.

I have never been especially active or avid about activism. Here at ‘deis, activism seems to be all around me — which means that it has become increasingly important for me to understand what activism is. I suppose that at its most basic, is is the promotion of a cause you feel strongly about. It does not get any simpler than that. It seems to me that it can be an incredibly positive force in society when implemented correctly while conversely having the potential to cause irreparable damage to a cause if done poorly. This is execution, and it is touched on in Elizabeth Stoker’s recent editorial in the Justice about activism. Which is a pretty interesting topic, in its own way.

But before I get into this, I want to talk a bit about being informed. For me, being informed means that you have to be proactive about how you take in and process information. You need to question everything, all the time. While this can be confrontational or petty, at times it’s important to perpetually challenge your ideas.

This seems obvious, but most people vastly overrate their ability to be unbiased. As anyone who has taken a psychology or philosophy class can tell you, humans are exceptional in their ability to see what they want to see. Most of us are hypocrites, but that’s alright, at least for me. I accept it and move on, and so should you. But make sure that you are constantly aware of the information around you and remember that it is your job to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is incredibly simple to discover a wealth of information with access to a search engine. So if you care about a cause, you should care enough to do a few minutes of research about it. Be an informed participant in the communities you care about.

An informed public is vital for our future. Information is the heartbeat upon which social justice thrives. The vast majority of the injustices in the world are a result of someone somewhere not having the right information or the proper context. This is why it is important to have free discourse of information, especially in a society in which our ability to communicate and speak freely is being increasingly trampled on.

Stepping off my soapbox, let me say that it is incredibly easy to know about a problem but much harder to act on it in an effective way. You always have to be constantly weighing your ability to make a difference for your cause. You have to understand when your presence does no good or even hinders your cause. When you have limited support, you need to hedge your bets and be conservative about your actions. Activists are not celebrities, and there is such a thing as bad press. As an activist, your function is to challenge preconceptions, and so by being incautious you risk turning people permanently away from your cause, because people are slow to admit that they are wrong, and slower to admit it when they feel they are under attack. You need to be patient, informed and, most importantly, understanding of other people. In my experience I only make significant, lasting progress on anything when I go about it in a careful and deliberate way.

I guess the takeaway here is that as an activist, you need to understand your interests, your limits and never overextend yourself. If you can do that, I can’t imagine it’s possible to do anything but make progress for your goals. Finding and understanding your interests is the easy part for most activists. It’s learning to convince other people in a way that does not alienate them from your cause that’s the really hard part. I’ve certainly found people in my face pushing a cause I’ve never had reason to care about, and I would hazard a guess that most of you have at some point in your life.

Sahar gave me a short lecture on doing “good” – promoting good causes – versus doing “well.” Doing “good” is about social justice and always doing the right thing. Doing “good” is great but I find that if I can’t do something “well” first and foremost, I never end up doing anything at all.

Rootscamp! This weekend. Go Go!

I apologize for not letting you know sooner –
This weekend something pretty cool is going down.

Over one weekend in Boston, RootsCamp will bring together a broad spectrum of organizers from across Massachusetts to discuss and collaborate, share lessons learned, and drive the conversation about best practices in progressive organizing.

Join fellow progressive organizers at RootsCamp Massachusetts next weekend, November 13-14. Take advantage of an opportunity to debrief and recap what went right and wrong in this year’s legislative battles and elections. Learn from the struggles of this election cycle and plan for long-term success. For more information and to register, visit www.bit.ly/rootscamp.

REGISTER HERE: http://bit.ly/rootscampma

So basically the hardworking cool activists from across MA are going to converge in one place this weekend and we get to go meet and learn from them.

Awesome. I’m going. Are you going?
Here’s the facebook group for Brandeis people going to Rootscamp. Will you be there?

An Issue of Safety for Brandeis Students

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan’s sent out an e-mail to the Brandeis campus this afternoon informing us of a mugging of a Brandeis student that occured on South Street last night. (The text of the e-mail is quoted below)

This is frightening news, especially when you add up all of the incidents that have taken place so far this school year: the flasher in Harlan Chapel; the numerous laptop thefts in the Castle and other dorms, the perpetrator of whom was never revealed to have been caught; the International Business School credit card scam, which again, remains an open investigation; and now this, a mugging in Waltham.

Is the Waltham area, or even Brandeis campus not as safe as it once was? In many of the cases listed above the perpetrators could be members of the Brandeis campus or outsiders, so where should attention be focused, and what action should be taken?

I think we need to address the issue of safety that is seemingly being ignored, and perhaps educate students as to how to best protect themselves, or implement new policies TO better protect us. Obviously there are dangers to these suggestions as well, but I think it’s time for SOMETHING to be done, or at least for an administrator to comment on the situation.

Tuesday night, at approximately 10:30 p.m., a female Brandeis student was assaulted while jogging on South Street near the campus. The victim was approached by three young men and knocked to the ground. She suffered bruising and her iPod was taken from her. The student called Waltham Police from a friend’s home nearby after the incident. Police searched the area, but did not locate the three men.

While we hope this was an isolated incident, we remind members of the Brandeis community to be aware of their surroundings at all times — on and off campus. If you have any information that could assist police in this matter, please contact the Brandeis Office of Public Safety at 6-5000 or the Waltham Police Department at 781-314-3600. As always in all matters, if you see something suspicious, please contact Public Safety at extension 6-5000. In case of emergency, please call extension 6-3333.

New Block Scheduling

Good Afternoon Brandeis!

When I opened my e-mail, on the top of the list was Marty W. Krauss’s e-mail about the new block scheduling program.

From the report here is a quick list of the changes (full outline at bottom).
– Less MWT classes
– More TF, MW classes
– Classes start on the hour! No more waking up late!
– No more classes after 2pm on Fridays.
– Using this block system will make it easier to schedule longer classes and labs.

I am personally in favor of the new changes. Next semester I have classes until 4pm on Fridays… such a drag! Under the new system, exceptions will have to be made for teachers to schedule a class — giving us more time to party study.

I am already a fan of less MWT classes, but moving the classes to start at 00 or 30 is a little sad… No more waking up at 10:00 and getting to class by 10:10 for me! However, it will be motivation to get out of bed and probably help with “Brandeis time”.

What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Think the administration is crazy? Comment and let me know!

Continue reading “New Block Scheduling”

Hi Ya’ All!

Hi ya’ all!

I’m Afzal Ullah and I’m a first-year science posse student here. I’m hoping to major in Biology and Psychology. People have asked, why not combine the two and major in Neuroscience? The short answer is, I don’t know much (of anything) about Neuroscience. This is why I’ll be taking Intro to Neuroscience next fall. Maybe I’ll minor in Journalism too!

In high school I was actively involved in the Environmentalist Club, the Bread and Roses Club -– a social justice posse devoted to diminishing child labor and unfair wages — and the Theatre Guild. I’ve also founded the Melting Pot, a magazine celebrating the diversity my old high school had to offer. On campus I’ve joined the Triskelion, the Hoot and now Innermost Parts.

In the next four years I hope to know exactly what I want in life – where do I want to live as an adult, where do I want to work, what do I want to eat (meat or fish?), what and who do I believe in, what friends do I want to hold on to.

With Innermost Parts I’m hoping to set up a platform for when I need to get to my fellow Brandeisians, and express my most opinionated feelings and make my followers happy. I would like to focus on topics that involve self-esteem, relationships, LGBTQA interests, and anything else that will find my readers joy and keep Brandeis progressing.

Oodles,
Afzal

News Roundup: Justice 11/9

For more stories, check out The Justice Website.

We are slaves to a defunct magazine

The US News and World Report is going belly-up:

This is kind of sad: word late last week of the end of U.S. News & World Report as a print publication, after a 77-year run. (Technically, it will no longer be something you can subscribe to, though some standalone issues will still be published and go on sale.) The in-house memo announcing the change, which has a resolutely upbeat “taking this opportunity to spend more time with the family” tone, is on the Romenesko site here.

They’re dying, yet Brandeis still panics at every the merest twitch in our position in their bullshit rankings.

I don’t know our ranking in the USN&WR and I don’t care. If I had to choose a ranking to worry about, I’d use these. The Washington Monthly tries to evaluate how much a University contributes to society. No rankings are perfect, but at least they try to measure something useful.

Or maybe we should worry about our environmental leadership score.

Anything would make more sense than a system where your ranking improves when you increase tuition.

News Roundup: Hoot 11/5

Sorry it’s a bit late.

  • The Brandeis Haiti Initiative is having a celebration to honor the efforts of an alum. awesome!
  • Student Halloween service projects
  • A schedule of and comments about Israeli Occupation Awareness Week. I feel like calling the opposing weeks an example of the “turf war” between Israel-minded groups on campus plays into the trend of arguments instead of discussions on campus, and devalues the important conversations that will be stirred up by this week’s events.
  • The budget is looking good!
  • Elections happened.

For more news, check out The Hoot website!

JVP and BSJP publish Zine for Occupation Awareness Week

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 brings grassroots activism back to its origins, the printing press!

There are articles on the separation wall, the refugee crisis, housing demolitions and more!

Click here to download.

Noam Chomsky Moved to Bigger Venue

Noam Chomsky’s speech, part of Israeli Occupation Awareness Week, has been moved to Sherman Function Hall! That means there should be space for everyone who wants to seize this incredible opportunity to see Chomsky, one of the nation’s leading public intellectuals, talk about Israel’s increasingly discriminatory policies in the occupied territories.

Noam Chomsky at Brandeis
Thursday, November 11, 6:30 – 8
Sherman Function Hall (Upper Sherman)
Hosted by Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace

Brandeis ID Required (Contact us with questions)
No large bags or posters allowed inside

For more information on Chomsky, visit his website at http://www.chomsky.info/

Election Results: Most Openly Gay Candidates in History

A lot of people were disappointed with the results of yesterday’s election. A lot of Democrats at least. I’m not much of a statistics person, but Politico gives a really good, accessible map depicting which states went red and which blue, and you can tell from a glance what the overall result was: red.

I’m sure people who were watching the results come in live on the news last night can say a lot more about specific victories and losses, but I just want to point out one victory which I found out about from Trisk’s Political Outreach listserv, and which you can support no matter which party you belong to: The 2010 election was host to the largest number of openly gay candidates in history, and these candidates were overwhelmingly successful.

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund is a political group which campaigns for and endorses LGBT candidates. Their mission is “to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBT Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBT officials at all levels of government.” According to the blog gaypolitics, “At least 106 of the [Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund] group’s record-breaking 164 endorsed candidates were winners as of Wednesday morning.”

That’s pretty awesome. Not to say that simply because a candidate is openly LGBT-identifying makes him or her a good candidate. But that more and more candidates feel they CAN come out, and aren’t worried it will jeopardize their election, and in return that people are not discriminating against them BECAUSE of their sexual orientation, well that’s pretty encouraging.

Get pumped for Israeli Occupation Awareness Week!

Palestinians, Israelis,
Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals protest settlements in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem

Israeli Occupation Awareness Week will take place November 8 – 12
Hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace

We are young Jews, Muslims, & Christians; Palestinians, Israelis, Americans, & Europeans; we envision Israel & Palestine as a place of justice, and we hold Israel accountable for its military occupation. Peace can proceed when all Palestinians reclaim their rights to free movement, land, water, a home, a fair trial, cultural preservation, national identity, & democratic representation.

Highlights of the week include Noam Chomsky on “Escalating Policies of Apartheid,” Daoud Nassar on Palestinian farmers fighting settlement construction, Alice Rothchild on “Difficult Conversations: Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions within the Jewish Community,” and Diana Buttu on moderating peace talks with the PLO.

Check out the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=125844904140133

Continue reading “Get pumped for Israeli Occupation Awareness Week!”

The Justice-11/2

So much news.

  • The Justice takes a closer look at the Pachanga police violence incident. Students deny claims of violence and state that the police officer was aggressive. Both sides give their stories.
  • Drug and alcohol misuse will be examined by a new Brandeis committee.
  • The Board of Trustees meets to discuss potential improvements to student life and safety.
  • Another cage free article. The second Student Union poll is still up and the Union wants to make sure that students are actually supportive before any change is initiated. Super.
  • The Union will no longer be providing shuttles to Long Island. They will still be busing to Penn Station and Logan. They’re also considering adding another Bran Van.

For more stories, check out The Justice website!

ELECTION DAY! Go out and vote before you read this.

It’s Election Day.
Everyone tells me that means you should vote.
You should go out there and have a say.
Go Democracy!

Well, I am usually one of those people, but I have a confession to make: I’ve never voted, and I’m not going to this year.
It’s not that I’m too young, since I’m 19, and it’s not that I’m apathetic, but I’ve just never sent out for an absentee ballot in time. Since I’m registered in my home state, not the lovely state of MA, for all intents and purposes, I CAN’T vote, unless I skip school to head home for the day. And although I think it would be fun to vote, to feel important and like I’m doing something worthwhile, I’m not sure it’s such a bad thing for me NOT to cast my ballot either.

I’m pretty fed up with all these e-mails I’ve been getting from national progressive organizations telling me who to vote for, as though the merits of my voting are just to get their politicians elected. So, I say go out and vote if you have an opinion, have a specific candidate you support, have a cause you feel passionate about, or just want to pull those fun levers in the booth. But, if you don’t know anything about the candidates, don’t feel like looking it up, and don’t care about the results, it’s OK to live that lifestyle. You don’t have to vote just for the sake of it. I’m just trying to say, no peer pressure. Only do what you feel right doing. Voting just for the sake of voting can be dangerous too, y’know.
And if you’re like me, and ran out of time, then use the precious time you’re saving by not voting, and think about what living in a democracy really means. At least that’s what I’d like to try to do.

Fun facts about Election Day from wikipedia:
Election Day in the United States occurs on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November.
The earliest possible date is November 2 and the latest possible date is November 8.
The U.S. is (one of?) the only country with an election day on a Tuesday
Election Day is November 2, 2010 this year.
A uniform day for having presidential elections was first passed by Congress in 1845.

Apply to join the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance!

Hi everyone! My name is Giselle Casillas, I’m a senior and I’m new to Innermost Parts. I’d like to share a really great opportunity for all first years, sophomores and juniors interested in pluralism and diversity.

For the past 3 years I’ve been part of a great organization on campus called the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance. The BPA is a grant program comprised of students, faculty and staff aimed at encouraging and advising members of the Brandeis community in matters of unity, multiculturalism and identity. Specifically, BPA is a resource for anyone on campus- students, staff, faculty- who want to host events dealing with pluralism. As sponsors, we not only give you funds to realize your project, we help you advertise and network your event so as to encourage as much community inclusion and participation as possible. You can read more about BPA here http://www.brandeis.edu/das/programs/bpa/index.html.

We are currently welcoming applications for new members to join the Pluralism Alliance Steering Committee. The Steering Committee meets a few times throughout the semester to award grants, but other responsibilities including serving as liaisons to grant recipients and organizing meetings for representatives of student groups to share and discuss ongoing initiatives. We’re also working on hosting our own event, but details for this will come later. Applications are due Sunday November 7 by 11:59 pm, and you can find the online application on our website above. BPA is open to anyone and everyone. If issues of pluralism and unity on campus are important to you but you don’t know how to get involved, I really encourage you to apply. If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me (gcas@brandeis.edu) or any of the other Steering Committee members. Many thanks for your attention and to InnermostParts for letting me advertise on this space. Happy Halloween!

Sincerely,

Giselle

Theodore C. Sorensen, Kennedy Counselor & Ethics Center Trustee, Dies

Older Brandeisians might remember him from this:

Days before President Obama’s inaugural address in January 2009, Ted Sorensen reflected on his service for President John F. Kennedy and examined recent inaugural addresses at an event hosted at Brandeis by the Ethics Center called “From ‘Ask not…’ to ‘Yes we can,’? JFK’s Speechwriter on What Makes Inaugural Addresses Great.” Video of the event is available online.

He was the founding chair of the Ethics Center – the Sorenson Fellowships were named after him.

NYTimes Obituary

His “about page” on the Ethics Center Website.

Edit: Read James Fallows

Apply for this

Brandeis Alum (and awesome dude) Justin Kang wants me to forward you a great opportunity:

The CJP/PresenTense Fellowship is a five-month program based in Boston that enables young, Jewish, socially-minded entrepreneurs to turn their envisioned projects into reality. The program includes skillbuilding sessions and intensive seminars to teach core entrepreneurial skills and proficiencies, mentorships from professional and lay leaders in the field, and coaching and peer workshops. Read more about the program here.

I recommend you check it out.

Tips on Activism, Volume I: Time Management

Hey All,

So this is going to be a new series featuring a collection of tips on activism to help readers become more effective and knowledgeable activists.

Pretty cool, right?

This series will be a compilation of real-world experience and ideas taken from interesting/relevant articles that I — and other contributors — come across to make activism more attainable!

This week’s tip is taken from this article written by the fabulous folks at NewOrganizing.com. They took the content from their friends at ManagementCenter.org and now we’re passing it on to you!

It’s about time management and will be super applicable, not only for those of us who are active activists, but also for those of us who are busy college students or human beings in general.

Their advice goes a little something like this:

In order to get anything done, it is important to sort through all possible tasks and pick out a few major goals or “big rocks” that you want to accomplish in a given day or week.

The next step necessitates breaking these “big rocks” down into more manageable pebbles that are clearly attainable. Staring huge issues in the face can be overwhelming and ultimately lead to inaction (every activist’s worst nightmare) so by breaking big tasks down into smaller, more achievable tasks, you better your chances at getting the larger task done!

Awesome!

The final step is simply putting these smaller tasks into action and scheduling time to get the work done.

The article suggests that we try to schedule “work blocks” that consolidate all planning/meeting activities to leave the maximum possible number of consecutive hours open in order to save time on transitions between tasks and facilitate getting real work done!

The article also warns readers that “work expands to fill the time you allow it”. Meaning that if you tell yourself that you have all day to complete a given task, it will take all day. However, if you set a deadline for yourself by which you HAVE to get the task done, the task will magically be achievable in a much shorter period of time.

The rest of the neworganizing.com article features more advice about staying organized in the organizing process.

It’s all good stuff, so check it out!!

Shalom… sike! …¡Hola!

Hey Everyone!

Who am I? I’m still figuring that out. Who I will present myself to you as – that’s a different story. My name is Laura Aguirre and I’m new to Innermost Parts. I’m a Junior who took some time off so I will be graduating in 2013. Currently, I’m the co-president of ¡AHORA!, the Latino organization on campus, and the co-president of Brandeis Humanists, the secular and skeptics club. My interests are quite diverse but I am most passionate about issues concerning animals and the environment, immigrants, the LGBT community, women, and race. I’m all about bringing different ideas together (especially ones that may even collide) and trying to find a commonality. I really like questioning everything. New and different perspectives excite me and weakening ignorance is an important goal for me.

I was born and raised in NYC! I love Colombian and Italian food. I really like stand-up comedy, especially the really offensive ones. I don’t have any particular hobbies; I tend to just pick up random activities and then drop them for something new. Monotony bores me and I like new things. There’s a lot more but I want to keep this short.

As a blogger, I hope to bring light to issues that are oftentimes overlooked on campus. As a feminist, vegetarian, ally, atheist, Latina Brandeisian student I hope to bring a new perspective to the activist world.

Your excited, new, friendly blogger,

Laura

“Open your eyes before you die.” – Immortal Technique

Halloweening in DC?

John Stewart, why did you make your march so close to Halloween? How can you expect thousands of college students flock to the streets of DC this Saturday if that means they have to give up Halloween on their own campuses, which may be far away—in or around Boston, for instance? The date is kind of a bummer.

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.