Innermost Parts

“Columbus Day Observed” is what I read on my calendar this morning, which I promptly scratched out and responded with “not in this house”.

I am very happy that Brandeis does not recognize Columbus Day, especially since I read the book Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen and my eyes were opened to the myth I was taught in 3rd grade.  The cute little songs can no longer cover the realities of Mr. Columbus’ pillaging and degradation of our nations native peoples.  I could go on and on about the wrongs this man has done, so you can check out these quotes from Leowen’s book for more info. (The Columbus conversation doesn’t start until partway down the page)

Christopher Columbus introduced two phenomena that revolutionized race relations and transformed the modern world: the taking of land, wealth, and labor from indigenous peoples, leading to their near extermination, and the transatlantic slave trade, which created a racial underclass. (Leowen)

Come on, America.  Is this really who we want as a national hero?

Also from my understanding (and according to my calander), some have reclaimed today as Indigenous People’s Day.  I find that to be much more fitting.  Today should be a day of mourning and rememberance, as well as facing the current situation of native people in our country and working towards a more respectful and peaceful future.

So to all, a meaningful Indigenous People’s Day.

I get email:

The Peace Conflict and Coexistence Studies (PAX) program awards the Karpf and Hahn Peace Awards annually to Brandeis undergraduate or graduate students who wish to work toward coexistence and peaceful ways of addressing and resolving conflicts of many sorts.

Karpf awards are usually between $250-$700, but no single award can exceed $1,000. The Hahn awards vary in amount depending on the projects. Both awards may fund projects either partially or fully.

This year, the deadline for the completed application is October 24th. Please check out this link for more info and an application.

http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/peace/award.html

In general, there are three types of award recipients:

1. For artworks and essays on peace: Works of art related to peace include those that reveal costs of violence, commitment to non-violent struggle, and artistic expressions of any aspect of peace culture. These submissions might take the form of poetry (a substantial poem or group of poems); a play or skit or short story related to peace; slides of visual art; cassettes or CDs of music; or other forms of documentation appropriate to the work. This category covers only already completed works of art. Essays of 20-30 pages are included in this category of submission. Application must include a budget for anticipated expenses.

2. For travel grants and participation in a peace project or conference in this country or elsewhere: in addition to the narrative, submit brochures and other literature, reasons for your travel request, and an indication of how you intend to use what you learn at the conference or from the project. Submit a budget of travel and other costs anticipated.

3. For seed money for peace-related projects not involving travel: for designing and organizing a project such as a community mediation service at Brandeis or in a nearby community, or a peace education project in local public or religious schools, or a dialogue. These are only examples. Let your imagination take over.

For more information, please email me at tshields@brandeis.edu.

I didn’t know we did this. Cool!

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 are we supposed to keep ourselves informed on The Issues Of The Day? By reading The Hoot? Surely not! Perhaps Innermost Parts can equip us with our basic knowledge, but surely the New York Times is a good way to supplement the wisdom of Sahar and the gang.

I have good news for you Nathan! According to the Student Union Treasurer, Max Wallach, the Newspapers will be back tomorrow! If they aren’t, feel free to pepper Max with emails complaining about why they are not there.

Secondly, the results of the water bottle survey are out. 1284 students responded to the survey with the overwhelming majority, 80.3% voting in favor of reducing the sale and distribution of waterbottles on campus. More news to follow when a new waterbottle policy is crafted and released by the University.

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 joined up with students from various colleges in the Boston area as well as a large number of High School students and took to the streets.

Though it isn’t a great article, the Boston Globe, covered the event and quoted Innermostparts.org’s’ very own Liza Behrendt:

Liza Behrendt, a sophomore at Brandeis University, weaved through the crowds of antiwar paraphernalia and protesters dressed in a white Haz-Mat jumpsuit with a bright pink peace sign painted on the front and a Sharpie marker taped to the back. Behrendt said her “walking petition” outfit – she collected signatures on her back – was her effort to meet like-minded people outside her student group.
“Even if [the rally] doesn’t make concrete change, it energizes people,” said Behrendt, 19, who was disappointed only 13 students from her school attended. “How can people not be angry?”

I’m pretty angry; and I’m tired of this war. I hope to see more people at the next major demonstration.

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 couples to marry, it is only a matter of time before they are joined by forty-seven others. This is an absolutely critical victory as it clearly marks that that allowing gay marriage is no longer something that just a small handful of states are doing, this is now a nationwide movement that is winning.

Next up on the agenda? Defeating Proposition 8 in California. Should gay marriage be overturned in California, it could set the movement back five to ten years.

For the second part in my mini-series on Usen Castles’ influence on Brandeis University architecture, I’d like to feature the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center.  You can find Rosenstiel directly on the loop road, visible from South Street.  With the new Carl J. Shapiro Science Center being built alongside it, Rosenstiel has had a little more attention lately.  So how is Rosenstiel influenced by the Castle?

Continue reading “The Castles of Brandeis: Part II – Rosenstiel Science Center”

So, I wrote an article in the currently released edition of the Justice on Buddhism and activism (specifically tied to the peace movement).*  My goal in writing this letter to the editor was to correct a misinterpretation of Buddhism as “passive withdrawal from the world”.  In devoting so much time to thinking about engaged Buddhism, I had a few revelations.

1) I realized exactly how much the teachings and philosophy of Buddhism promote being active in the world we live in, in many varying ways.

2) On a deeper level, I realized that my contact with Buddhism and how I live my life through a Buddhist lens has made any activist issue (that promotes the genuine happiness and well-being of all sentient beings) is a deeply personal and spiritual issue for me.

3) I want to read more books.

So, in discovering just to what extent my Buddhist practice goes hand in hand with my drive for progressive activism and being the Religious Studies UDR that I am… I am wondering if other people have similar experiences where their religious/spiritual affiliations or views affect their personal experiences with and perspectives on activism.

So take a little time… while you’re walking to class, when you’re mind is racing before you go to bed, when you’re in the shower… and think about where your activist drive comes from and what reinforces it.  Be it religious or not, I really am truly curious!  So please, please, please post your thoughts!  Or you can stalk me and we can have lunch and talk about it 🙂

*The Justice had to do some light editing for issues of space, so you can read my letter in its full, unadulterated form after the jump

Continue reading “Activism and Religion”

I drive the Branvan. Some of you may know that, having suffered through a ride with me before. Others may have forgotten their Branvan experiences with me due to the state of inebriation they were experiencing at the time. Whatever your encounters with the Branvan have been, though, it is likely that you are upset with certain aspects of our service. I know this because someone came up to me the other day and said “Hey, don’t you drive the Branvan?” and when I responded in the affirmative, he informed me in an upset tone that he disliked me and everything I stood for.

Listen, though, friends: you have every right to complain. Branvans tend to be late and cramped. The vans themselves are on the verge of collapse. Sometimes we miss your stop. Sometimes we accidentally forget about you and leave you stranded in Waltham. I’ve heard the complaints, and as a regular rider of the van, I know that they are mostly justified.

But we try, we really do. Remember that Branvan drivers are hardworking, decent Americans with families to feed. Some of them look just like you or me (mostly me). We like you. And it’s our sworn mission to safely transport you wherever your heart may desire, be it Hannaford or Walgreens or the sketchy adult novelty store on Moody St.

We do make mistakes. The last time I drove the Branvan into Waltham, I accidentally dropped some poor girl at Moody and High instead of Main and Moody. She seemed very upset. I had misheard her request. To whoever you are, Anonymous Irritated Passenger-Girl, I am sorry. I let you, and my fellow members of that noble breed known as Branvan drivers, down. Will you forgive me?

Here’s some happy news, though. Every day we’re trying pretty hard to make our service bearable! In fact, we even bought a brand new van at the beginning of this year. It’s called Van 60. It’s gorgeous. And new. And it smells like a new Branvan should. And it’s not bumpy or filthy or falling-apart. You’ll love it.

We are trying our best to get you to your class or your frat party or whatever with the minimum amount of massive inconvenience. Sometimes we fail. But even when we fail, know that we love you. And we hope someday that you can love us too.

Got this in my email. Van Jones! For free. Check it out. Send emails/questions/RSVPs to this guy.

Hey everyone,
Just reminding you about the upcoming Bioneers by the Bay kick off even on October 23rd. Bioneers by the Bay 2008 is an awesome environmental conference which is being held this year in New Bedford, MA. The opening night kick-off event is completely FREE, and we have reserved transportation to take everyone who is interested! The kick-off event features the amazing speakers and activists Majora Carter, Van Jones, and Simran Sethi. Check out the details at: http://www.connectingforchange.org/kickoff-info.html. So if you’re interested in going, send me an email, we are trying to organize the transportation and need somewhat of a head count. So check it out, let me know
Thanks
James Bartolacci

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.

It’s been a while since I’ve written about campus architecture.  You might remember my short series entitled “Blunders of Brandeis” about the buildings and planning of Brandeis University.  This time I’m not so cynical.  I’d like to share with you some of the ways in which our most beloved building, Usen Castle, has influenced the modern pieces of architecture on campus.  Since I keep discovering more as I investigate the campus, this will be the first piece in a mini-series.

The first building I’d like to feature is Spingold Theater.  It has at least three castle-like characteristics.  Let’s start with the entrance, which reminds me of an open castle gate.  The large canopy above the doors is about the same size as the entrance, making it appear like it has been lifted up to welcome visitors.

Continue reading “The Castles of Brandeis: Part I – Spingold Theater”

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 power in the Student Union. This claim is simply false; to my knowledge there is no Progressive Party, and if it exists it has no members in the Brandeis Student Union. Unfortunately, Wittenberg chose to portray the ‘party’ as though it were a debate. She writes, “The issue of whether or not Innermost Parts constitutes a Political Party is one that neither the writers of the blog nor other Student Union members agree upon.” Having spoken with the other alleged members of this ‘party,’ I know that there is no debate; there simply is no party, no question about it.

So why then are writers and members of the innermostparts.org community running for positions in the Student Union? I would think it is rather obvious; we are people who are concerned with issues on Brandeis and want to be able to do something about them. That’s why we write for innermostparts.org and that’s why we work in the Student Union. We have no unified agenda other than the same agenda that all members of the Student Union share; we want to make Brandeis better. By portraying us as a political party, Wittenberg simply creates more divides than necessary in the Student Union; we need to be able to work with our colleagues without them thinking we have a hidden agenda. I was simply amazed that Wittenberg failed to interview any of the members of the Senate she and Lacombe accused of being a part of this ‘party,’ perhaps then she would have understood that there is no debate; there simply is no party.

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 on this semester, we came up with a rough list of ideas for where to begin:

–    Something with the Ethics Center
–    The Prospect Hill Community Center
–    Gender Neutral Housing
–    Social Justice Event with the College of Arts and Sciences
–    Know Your Rights trainings
–    Admissions/Financial Aid/TYP
–    Sweatshop-Free
–    Endowment Transparency

At our next meeting, on October 16 at 9 PM, we’ll narrow this list down, decide on a mission statement, and decide on the non-Senate chair of the committee. I was elected Senator because people wanted me to take on social justice projects, and this is the best outlet for us to take advantage of the resources provided by the Student Union to create change.

First and foremost, if you have not yet cast your opinion in the Brandeis Water Bottle survey, I highly suggest that you do such right now. Thank you.

For those of you who have voted, you were greeted with the following question to which you casted a vote:

Recognizing the social, environmental and economic implications of bottled water, should Brandeis University reduce the sale and distribution of bottled water on campus?

It is difficult to deny that this question is biased in its wording. To me, the phrasing of “Recognizing… implications” prior to the question at hand suggests that whoever wrote it was angling for more “yes” responses. Personally, I support a reduction, if not elimination, of the sale and distribution of bottled water on campus. Still, I was more than a little dismayed by the bias that this question exhibits.

Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinhartz has sent out a campus-wide email talking about the state of the University budget – it’s not too great.

Donations, Endowment, and so on are all down.

I’ve heard people ask: “Yet, aren’t colleges supposed to thrive during recessions?”

Here’s my take:
We know that Brandeis is very secretive about the endowment, and (I think) they have some contractual obligations that prevent them for disclosing where our money is invested. This probably means that there’s a lot of money in “complex financial instruments”. This credit crunch could really have taken a chunk out of the endowment, I bet.

Colleges can thrive during recessions due to tuition costs. Yet Brandeis is famous for giving lots of financial aid.

Also, I don’t think that colleges do thrive through recessions. Demand for college goes up, yes, as the cost of college stays kinda constant but the returns of working decrease (decreasing the opportunity cost of college). That said, colleges don’t really get all their income from tuition, can’t adjust tuition to supply and demand like a market-oriented actor (and they shouldn’t!) and lastly people’s ability to pay goes down.

I’ll bet there are some Brandeis students, either newly-accepted freshmen or upperclassmen, who will have a very hard time paying for college this year, as tuition has already been fixed for this semester, and college loans just got a lot harder to obtain…

I hope there are no cuts to student aid, work-study, or (god forbid) TYP. We need to double or triple the size of TYP and offer more class-based affirmative action, especially now.

Anyways, you can find the full email in the extended entry.
Continue reading “Economic Downturn hits Brandeis”

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.

Hi there, readers of The Brandeis Hoot.

Welcome to our humble publication. We know there’s a big news story about us today. Explore our archives yourself and see what we’re about. I hope you like what you find. Check out the “Brandeis Activist Calendar” on our sidebar. Pretty handy, eh?

As to the article, well, I think the Hoot is a bit too hung up on this “political party” nonsense but that’s their prerogative. We’re about much more than elections or the Student Union and frankly you’re missing out if you just look at us through that lens. I certainly hope we’re a positive source for change on campus, though, and I hope you’ll stick around, write down your thoughts and reactions in the comments of posts, and generally have a great time.

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!

Thank you to Tim for posting on Brandeis dining, specifically Aramark’s waning contract.

The good news? A Brandeis student campaign has already begun to seize this opportunity and reform our food services. There has been much discussion about switching providers, presumably to a rival corporation such as Sodexo or Compass Group. However, as Tim mentioned Aramark’s ties to Brandeis will be extremely difficult to sever. This is not necessarily a bad thing: Aramark has already made positive changes at Brandeis, such as compost, and has gone even further at other universities. John Hopkins, NYU, Baylor, Penn State, and Vassar, for example, have sustainable dining programs that we can demand as well. Aramark, with its record of health, labor, and environmental violations, is actually rumored to be quite receptive to student demands. I have confidence that a well-organized group of campus activists can succeed in a series of reforms.

And so I introduce…Brandeis Coalition for Food Service Reform

View the categories we plan on addressing after the jump.

Continue reading “Change Aramark Now: Coalition for Food Service Reform”

The City of Waltham sent a representative to the Career fair last Thursday.

They want you. They want you to join the government of the city of Waltham, Massachussetts.

All you have to do is send in a one-page application and attach your resume.

I know what you’re thinking. “Holy crap! What’s the fine print?”

As far as I can tell, nothing. You apply for a position in a city commission and then the Mayor will hopefully appoint you. If enough people express interest (by commenting on this post, for example), I’ll try to set up a meeting for us with a representative from Waltham who can explain it more.

Let me emphasize this – Waltham is begging for students to join the actual legit waltham government.

Some commissions you could apply to join –
– Ambulance Service Review Committee
– BOard of Cemetery Commissioner
– Board of Health
– Board of Library Trustees
– Board of Registrars of Voters
– Board of Survey adn Planning
– Cable Advisory Board
– Commissioners of Trust Funds
– Conservation Commission
– COuncil on Aging
– Handicapped Serices COmmission
– LIcense Comission
– Municipal Awards Program Comittee
– Park and Recreation Board
– Waltham Cable Advisory Board
– Waltham Community Access Corporation Board
– Waltham Cultural Council
– Waltham Historical Comission
– Waltham HOusing AUthority
– Waltham Retirement Board
– Zoning Board of Appeals

I have a bunch of applications. I’ll set up a meeting soon where everyone can get a copy and we can all apply together or something. For now – get pumped! Also, find out more info on the specific commission you want to join on the waltham city gov’t website – http://www.city.waltham.ma.us/

Debate watching party 9pm in shapiro multi-purpose room. with free food (100 wings!)

Stephen Robinson vs Elections commission will not go to trial.

POYA manifesto in the hoot. Here’s my contribution:

I’m a shy person. I don’t like talking about politics. I really am. Throughout middle school and high school I gained a reputation as a composed, thoughtful person who didn’t pipe up much during political debates. I relished my role, listening to my friends debate politics, knowing that when I chose to speak, people would listen. They knew that I took the time to think both sides through. They trusted my judgment.

So much for that. Is it really a neutral act to refuse to rebel at the presence of evil? The America depicted in high school history texts is very different from the America we live in today. The genesis of this society was predicated on the genocide of the red man. The riches of this country were grown with the blood of the black man. And the woman? Don’t even get me started. We were promised an America embodying the realization of the Enlightenment, a land of tolerance. A land of freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from want. Freedom of expression. Instead we got Empire. Instead, we’re handed a kleptocracy.

Fuck. That. Shit. I don’t want to be an activist. I want to be an academic. I want to tinker with computers and curl up with a book in front of the fire. I don’t want to be painted as one-sided, angry, or needlessly didactic. Yet what choice do I have, when one political party systematically destroys America and the other is too cowardly to stop them? No choice. No time to waste.

It doesn’t take a math genius to see that students on the all points plan are paying a hell of a lot more than $1400 for 1400 points. It does however take a little bit of numbers crunching to see exactly how much each meal plan is really worth. Therefore I present the product of a few minutes of labor calculating the worth of every meal plan Aramark and ResLife have to offer.

Before I show the numbers, I have to explain my methodology. Firstly, I assumed that there were 17 weeks in a semester and 119 days. I did not include vacations. Secondly, when calculating the value of meals, I assumed that everyone eats at Sherman (the most expensive dining institution at Brandeis); when possible they eat there for dinner ($10.05 a meal) first and then lunch ($7.95 a meal). I did not include Kosher dining in these numbers. All numbers are calculated per semester.

Want to see the worth of your meal plan? Numbers after the jump!

Continue reading “How Much is Your Meal Plan Really Worth?”

Sorry we’re running behind schedule, but here they are!

Senator for the Transitional Year Program
> Rank Candidate Votes %
> 1 Terrence Johnson 3 75.00
> 2 ABSTAIN 1 25.00
>
> Senator for Massell Quad
> Rank Candidate Votes %
> 1 Nipun Marwaha 75 49.67
> 2 Narayan Wong 68 45.03
> 3 ABSTAIN 8 5.30
>
> Senator for East Quad
> Rank Candidate Votes %
> 1 Sara Enan 78 55.32
> 2 Edward J. Tanenbaum 59 41.84
> 3 ABSTAIN 4 2.84
>
> Senator for Castle Quad
> Rank Candidate Votes %
> 1 Nathan Robinson 23 50.00
> 2 Sahar Massachi 20 43.48
> 3 ABSTAIN 3 6.52
>
> Senator for Charles River
> Rank Candidate Votes %
> 1 Chenchao Lu 22 78.57
> 2 ABSTAIN 6 21.43

There are so many things going on today. Community Service Fair, Career fair, Student Funding Info Session, etc.

After so many events (the info for which you can find on the Brandeis Activist Calendar to your right) why not unwind with Drinking Liberally / whoever you choose? We’re taking a field trip today to the Museum of Fine Arts!

There shall be two free concerts by indie singer St. Vincent at 7pm and 8:30, among other wondrous things.

Yo Drinking Liberally, tomorrow night (Thursday) we are going on a “field trip” of sorts to College Night at the MFA, there will be lots of live music, raffles, cool people, and ART. So come chill and be liberal with us.

We’ll be catching the Brandeis Cambridge/Boston shuttle that leaves Rabb @ 6:30. From there we’ll get off at the Beacon/Mass Ave stop, and take the green E line to the MFA stop. Tell your clubs, tell your friends, bring your COLLEGE ID, and be there or be lame.

Formerly. UJ to hear case re: Rosenthal Elections

This just in:

Stephen D. Robinson is going to sue the Student Union Election Commission in the Union Judiciary in regards to the recent election for Rosenthal Quad Senator, which Philips Loh officially won. Steven believes he’s been treated unfairly by the EC.

That’s all I know so far. We’ll update you with more information as we learn more.

Got an email just now from Jehuda. Seems like Brandeis is giving out a $25,000 yearly award for “outstanding and lasting scholarly contributions to racial, ethnic and/or religious relations.” Cool. I don’t know much about this year’s winner – Kwame Anthony Appiah, but I hope that we get to learn more about this guy during the process of giving out the scholarship. This confirms an earlier trend of innovation by Brandeis – since we lost our comparative advantage regarding financial aid, it seems that the University is trying other ways to stand out – fellowships, a community service freshman floor, huge fellowships for academics, etc. Great ideas!

Here’s another idea. The Ethics Center is great and has a lot of potential. It’s also an institutional embodiment of the values that Brandeis was explicitly founded on. Let’s integrate them more tightly into undergrad life. They should sponsor classes, bring in guest lecturers, and reach out to students wanting to promote the cause of good throughout the world. Don’t get me wrong – the Ethics Center Fellowship is great. Let’s build on that more, instead spending energy on silly pictures of Einstein holding a bagel.

Continue reading “Good for Brandeis, Good for the community”

**Please note, the following post should NOT serve as an endorsement of any kind. Thank you. -Carrie

For those of us who walked around the Massell Quad on Tuesday, it was hard to miss the words written on the walkways with masking tape – “Vote Narayan.” A creative use of Union materials, no doubt, that could arguably be the reason he pulled up one extra vote over Savannah Pearlman which led him into the final round against Nipun Marwaha.

Narayan is a curious creature among the Massell Quad candidates as his fliers and facebook group do not dictate a platform. In fact, when speaking with him last night, he was open in admitting that he had no platform to his candidacy. While I would imagine this fact may deter others from voting for him, I find this stance to be oddly refreshing and a welcomed change of pace. Granted, specified platforms are the only items that stand in the way of turning Student Union elections into popularity contests. Still I cannot resist a qwirky, irrelevent poster which brings a sense of playfulness to the baseless tension and drama that these elections cause.

Continue reading “What’s with Narayan?”

Well another primary-round election has come and gone. Here’s the interesting things I see from the results:

– Shocker of the night: Sara Enan, a write-in candidate, managed to get more votes than Edward Tanenbaum, who was officially running unopposed. Impressive.

– Congrats to Andy Hogan, new senator for North Quad. Andy is a sophomore living in scheffries so this is kind of an upset. Andy was also the campaign manager (and secret weapon) for Adam Hughes.

– Andrew Brooks is back in the Senate as the New Senator from Ziv Quad. Congrats to Andrew.

– Nathan J Robinson and I are tied for votes (and move into the final round opposing each other) in the race for Castle Quad senator. No matter which one of us wins, I’m glad that the Castle will have a great Senator this year.

– There were very many uncompetitive races this year. No official candidates for TYP. Turnout of 17 people in Charles River. One official candidate for both East and Rosenthal Quads. One candidate for both mods and off-campus each. One official candidate in both Mods and East. Two candidates for Rosenthal and Off-Campus. No official candidate in Grad. No official candidates – or qualifying write-ins – in the Village.

In each of the elections Innermost Parts has focused on – F-Board, Senator-at -Large, President, Vice-President, and Special-Election-Vice-President, there have been fiercely contested races. Not so this time. Weird.

– Castle Quad is the exception. Nathan and I are in a tight race where every vote does count. I will crush him.

– Lastly, Adam makes a good point in the comments:

The race that really interests me now is the Class of 2012 Senate race. Section 9c of the official election rules (the section which governs winning multi-seat elections) states “In the event that a primary ballot would be identical to the final round ballot, except for the ability to write in candidates, the primary round shall count as the final round. The candidates with the most votes shall be declared the winners.” The only three candidates on the primary round ballot were Supreetha Gubbala, Akash Vadalia, and Joseph Sloman; thus, unless I’m hugely mistaken, Supreetha and Akash should be declared the winners. I think the commissioners got this one wrong.

So tomorrow promises to be fun.

First off, from 12-4 there’s thing thing called “rock the vote” hosted by Brandeis votes. The description says:

Come get registered to vote and learn about prevalent issues in this upcoming election.

There will be 16 on-campus clubs stationed around the Great Lawn ready with information regarding how both the Democrats and Republicans view their club’s issue.

Enjoy music throughout the event and performances by on and off campus artists!

Eat a free lunch! (while supplies lasts)

Ride the mechanical bull!

Come learn what is happening politically and socially in the country. Become truly educated in what the next president supports and VOTE!

I mean, that’s kinda vague but it seems that there’ll be free food and music and so on as well as info about political issues and ways to register to vote there as well. Worth checking out, especially if you haven’t requested an absentee ballot or registered to vote yet.

Also, at the Rock the Vote thing the Student Union will announce the winner of their Brandeis Votes competition, in which every club had the opportunity to compete to register new voters. The clubs who registered the most new voters will received cash prizes. So that’s cool.

Secondly, tomorrow there will be the famed Brandeis Economic Forum which we previously covered but can be basically summed up as Smart People From Brandeis Talking about the Financial Meltdown.. 7 – 8:30pm . you really should go.

Bonus event: This hasn’t been officially announced yet, but Drinking Liberally will be taking a field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts for their big college fest this Thursday so clear your schedules.

I just read something and it really struck me:

I just watched the BBC News. It appears that at their party conference in the UK, Labour is once gain calling for the nationalization of industries, openly rejecting Blair-ism are the abandonment of Clause IV. Meanwhile, back here in America, conservatives are blaming the financial meltdown on minorities and diversity. In the midst of it all, an African-American leads the campaign for President and, after previously nationalizing the mortgage sector, Congress now openly talks of nationalizing an additional 5% of the national economy. Republicans, by contrast, just want to hand over more money to corporate executives. Oh yeah–and there are no more investment banks.

We’re in the middle of two wars, we find stories of runaway executive power boring and passe. We’re in the midst of the second internet boom (with the attendant rise in the pseudo-economic “network thinking”). Wars and shit are going on all around us. Israel-Hezbollah. Georgia. The congo, darfur, and who knows what else. These last few years have seen a pretty uniform political shift, where states that had left-leaning governments at the turn of the century (germany, france, uk) elect conservative governments, and right-leaning states (US, Japan, Australia) are shifting leftwards. The internet has led to decentralized political and economic innovation the world over. First outsourcing is the hot new trend/bogeyman, but now the rise in cost of shipping has effectively raised our barriers to trade to pre-NAFTA /WTO levels.

Truly, we live in interesting times.

Due to elections (I’m running!) and massive amounts of work, expect a lighter posting schedule until mid-to-late week. Sorry. -Sahar

I’ve been assured that this’ll be the biggest thing on campus for at least this week.
This event features the Deans of both Heller and IBS, talking about the mortgage mess and so forth.

Jason Gray tells me that it’ll be big. That’s good enough for me.

Make sure you go, dudes.

Date:
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Time:
7:00pm – 8:30pm
Location:
Brandeis Rapaporte Treasure Hall in the Library

Brandeis University Forum on U.S. Economic Policy
The U.S. Financial Crises and What the Next President Might Do About It

This forum is an installment of the Brandeis University “Spotlight on Economic Distress” series.

***Financial Crisis at Home and Abroad – Imagining the next President’s agenda***

The Collapse of the subprime mortgage market has shaken U.S. and global financial markets. Iconic corporations are mired in bankruptcies and bailouts. Economic growth is down sharply, with no sign yet of recovery. In this program, leading Brandeis experts explore the downturn’s impact and consider how to make matters better.

Featured speakers:

Lisa M. Lynch: Dean and Professor of Economics at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Lynch is currently chair of the Board of Directors of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, and she is a former chief economist at the Department of Labor (Under President Clinton).

Bruce R. Magid: Dean of the Brandeis International Business School and holder of the Martin and Ahuva Gross Chair in Financial Markets and Institutions. Magid is a former managing director and senior vice president at Bank of America.

Moderated by: David Warsh, economic journalist and proprietor of EconomicPrincipals.com. Former writer for the Boston Globe for 22 years.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations not required.

Food and Beverages will be served.

Congratulations Mr. Hughes.