Innermost Parts — the Brandeis University social justice blog

I've been considering writing about Brandeis' Internship Exchange for a while, but I wanted to test it out first. Having played around on the site, I can now say that it is in fact helpful.  Basically, Hiatt wants to offer students more opportunities to network, because the more successful Brandeis students and alumni are, the more […]

Occupy the Board Room! Send a personalized, humorous message to the head of a bank, with the click of a finger. A fun, innovative way to participate in the OWS movement from the safety and security of your computer. Not that you should need that safety and secruity. But some of us do. Sometimes. REVOLT!

Most encouraging article I have read in a while:  U.S. Carbon Emissions Down Seven Percent in Four Years.  Due to a combination of the economic recession, EPA regulations, businesses embracing environmentally-friendly innovation, and more, "We are now looking at a situation where the seven percent decline in carbon emissions since the 2007 peak could expand […]

"Pilots shuttle program" hopefully piqued your interest. The Brandeis Escort Safety Service sent out a press release for immediate release, announcing it will be implementing a trial shuttle on Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 29th, running from campus to Riverside Station shuttle.  Although I am not familiar with what Riverside Station has to offer or […]

  AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps whose primary focus is "the Jewish community's fight against the causes and effects of poverty in the United States," is coming under fire for sponsoring a trip to Israel.  "We do this by engaging participants in service and community building that inspire them to become lifelong agents for social change whose work […]

Last Student Union e-mail we will directly copy and paste for a while, hopefully. The Student Union just keeps telling us about such good  opportunities that I feel bad not re-promoting them in the name of social justice, though…   The deadlines to apply for: DEIS IMPACT is Nov. 4th Stanley Family Night is Nov. […]

Remember when Innermostparts conducted two surveys this summer? Well, not that many people participated, so we didn't gather that much information. This was due to a combination of lack of advertisement/buildup and it being summer, so I'm not pointing any fingers. But, I do think surveys are a great way to gauge what needs to […]

People have been trying to start up a Brandeis chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance for a while now. Here is an e-mail from Adam Ossip regarding the newest incarnation of this movement and how you can get involved! Hello, everyone!  I would like to announce the formation of a new Brandeis club, the Brandeis Chapter […]

  Sometimes cool opportunities arise and I don't want to mar their awesomeness by adding commentary. This is one of those times:   Looking for Interest in ICC Performance Troupe! Attention creative students!  The Intercultural Center, in collaboration with the Department of Student Activities and the Department of Community Living, is seeking out students to create […]

Hey Seniors!! This is a really great opportunity to have Hiatt check over your resume… also Hiatt made a joke! Haunted by family asking what you’ll be doing after graduation? Wishing Trick-or-Treat wasn’t just for kids? Hiatt has a special treat that will make your head spin: resume e-reviews! Just email your resume to hiattchat@gmail.com. […]

Please read this extraordinary story of Molly Katchpole a 22 year old from Washington, and her struggle against big banks. She created a petition against Bank of America’s $5 debit card fee. She utilized the website Change.org to raise awareness. Over 300,000 people supported Molly’s cause, and not only is Bank of America revising its […]

Please check out this e-mail from Monique Gnanaratnam, the director of the Intercultural Center. Dear All, As many of you might have heard on the news, the city of Van, located on the eastern part of Turkey has experienced a devastating earthquake with the magnitude of 7.2. As of now 550 people have been reported […]

Funny e-mail of the day, courtesy of our friends at Hiatt. I don't think it needs further explanation.     Tip of the Week: Top 5 tips to avoid a scary interview 1. Don't pull a Frankenstein and grunt at your interviewer – speak clearly and enunciate.   2. Like… don't answer with… like… too […]

The Student Union sent out an e-mail last week announcing that Take Your Professor to Lunch, an opportunity which the Student Union organizes to facilitate better professor-student relationships, will now be occuring every semester instead of just in the spring. This is great. Ideally you should be able to ask your professor to lunch whenever you want, and not have it […]

There are two awesome Wikipedia events happening this month- Wikipedia Loves Libraries and the Coding Challenge. The Coding Challenge sounds awesome, but I don't know much about computer coding so I recommend you guys check it out- I'm here to post about the former event. Right now, I'm at the Chicago Meetup branch event of Wikipedia […]

 You know how we keep getting e-mails from the Student Union telling us to vote Brandeis as the Most Vegan Friendly College? We're in the Top 8 Round for the Most Vegan Friendly Competition! So Vote here: http://features.peta2.com/Vegan-Colleges-2011/default.asp?defaultTab=small&c=p211vfc39 Voting ends Monday, so get us into the final four! Why IS that? It's not like a […]

Halloween For The Hungry is looking for volunteers! This year is the 25th anniversary of Halloween for the Hungry Food Drive! As club leaders your position can help inspire and mobilize fellow Brandeisians to get involved and give back to those in need. Ask your organization to volunteer to trick-or-treat for donations of canned goods, […]

Make a difference on our country’s most pressing issues If you’re looking for a powerful opportunity to change America for the better, consider U.S. PIRG (U.S. Public Interest Research Group). U.S. PIRG is a federation of state-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations that work in the public interest. With U.S. PIRG, you might work to: End our […]

The Election Results are in! Judiciary Claire Sinai Zach Breslaw John Fonte Senior Rep to The Alumni Board Destiny Aquino Mods Quad Senator Betsy Hinchey Charles River Quad Senator Deena Horowitz Racial Minority Senator Jonathan Beaver Click here to view the Excel document with the vote breakdowns!

Hello Brandeis, I am very saddened to report that the earthquake in Eastern Turkey has been recorded as having a 7.2 magnitude. According to the CNN article, the death toll has risen to 279, with another 1,300 injured. There have been numerous aftershocks, some reaching to a 6.0 magnitude, which has caused even further damage. […]

Today is National Food Day, and SEA, the Student Union and Dining Services have partnered to present events to call attention to our nutrition, the effect our eating has on our environment, and more social justice/awareness. It sounds like they are also planning on making it fun. And free. I went to a Chipotle Cultivate […]

I’m a big fan of Herbie’s presidential e-mails. Especially this one, sent October 21st, which really makes me want to vote today. Since today’s the election. Oh yeah, did you know that? There’s another Student Union Election today. If you don’t want to vote already (note Sec. Kirkland’s thinly veiled threats of more e-mails to […]

…with Shadowing! Ba dum dum shhhh, as my friend Roneil would say. This Shadowing program has gotten some good reviews in the past. Basically, you fill out a few questions (the line of work you’re interested in, which major cities you will be near over winter break, what you hope to gain from a shadowing […]

Confused about Occupy Wall Street? Not sure who to believe about what’s really going on with those protests? Well, now, there may be a better primary source of information. DFA Political Campaign Manager, Gregg Ross, sent out an e-mail about a new project DFA is starting: The Occupiers Journal. As he describes it, “first-hand accounts, […]

This is a great program setup by Off-Campus Senator Rachel Goutman! Way to help the environment and make school more accessible! Kudos to you, Rachel, I hope this program will go far! E-mail from Secretary Kirkland: Your Off-Campus Senator, Rachel Goutman, has implemented a student run carpool system as a way to provide off-campus students […]

The Attack on Public Workers with Andrew Porter, National Organizer of the Young Democratic Socialists (YDS) When: Tuesday, October 25th at 8 PM Where: Pearlman Lounge Sponsored by Brandeis Labor Coalition Occupy Wall Street has shown a new break through in class consciousness among the working and middle classes against the financial sector. Yet, the […]

Secretary Kirkland ’13 just informed me that Student Union elections will be POSTPONED to Monday, October 24th. This is due to the opening of a new position, Senior Representative of the Alumni Association, after the student elected to it decided not to accept. I think this is a good call. I don’t have the energy […]

Dear Social Justice Club Leaders, My name is Benjamin Beutel, and I am the new chair of the Student Union Senate Social Justice Committee. The Committee’s first priority this year is to increase correspondence and collaboration between social justice groups and leaders at Brandeis. To get started, I would like to have a meeting of […]

COME JOIN the BRANDEIS INTERFAITH GROUP (BIG) and NAMASKAR (the Hindu/Sikh/Jain group on campus) and CHAPLAINCY in WELCOMING A VERY SPECIAL SPEAKER FROM INDIA *Swamini Sadvidyananda Saraswati* This Thursday, October 13, 9 pm-10 pm at the Peace Room in Usdan Student Center (1st floor, Gluck Entrance near Levin ballroom) The Swamimi is a disciple of […]

Below is a video interview with Brandeis Psychology Professor Peter Descioli and Wired magazine contributing editor Jeff Howe. It’s a fun and enlightening video about social media, and it’s funnier since it’s being discussed by adults. (Favorite line: 600 friends!?!) The conclusion seems to be that this technology mania is just a phase, and will […]

They use the same e-mails every holiday. I never realized it before, but today when I was reading about the meaning of Sukkot, I thought something sounded a bit familiar. So I read last year’s e-mail from the Chaplains, and then 2 years’ ago, and I discovered: they are exactly the same. The only differences […]

This Brandeis Now article covers Brandeis students’ involvement in the #Occupy Wall St movement, both in NYC and Boston! It’s not too late to get involved! Read more about it here, from our Live Blogging Occupy Wall St series of posts, to my own experience at Occupy Chicago. Know of other members of the Brandeis […]

Sorry I didn’t liveblog this, I will try to do so next time. I visited OccupyChicago for the first time this week, on Friday, October 7th when the movement had been active for exactly 2 weeks. I was lucky enough to meet up with esteemed former contributor Lev Hirschhorn ’11. What stuck out to me […]

The Brandeis Hoot has conducted some insightful surveys of Brandeis students in the past (see: Diversity at Brandeis), so we support its effort to conduct its latest one, on “mental health services provided by Brandeis.” I think this is an especially good choice of topics since I have many, MANY complaints regarding mental health services […]

Christine Hefner, Hugh’s daughter, is coming to speak at her old alma mater, Brandeis. I have great respect for Playboy Enterprises. Please go to this event, all of you, since I am abroad and will not be able to attend. And bring a copy of the magazine for her to sign. Please. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE […]

Check out this activist event from Brittany Ritell! Not eating a thing for 24 hours – what would it feel like? This is the reality for 923 million people around the world. Could you survive a day in their shoes? The famine in Somalia had killed 30,000 children in the last 3 months. Without urgent […]

Y’all should apply to the BSF: GET FUNDED. It’s time to get those green creative juices flowing. In its second exciting year the Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF) is open to your ideas! What is the BSF? The Brandeis Sustainability Fund was created by and for undergraduate students in 2010 to create a $50,000 fund for […]