Man, has this been been a crazy semester so far or what?
I don’t have much time – classes! breakfast! teethbrushing! – but I do want to say a few words about where we are now, and where to go from here.
We, the students of Brandeis, should be proud of ourselves.
Two weeks ago, we knew nothing. We relied on leaks in The Justice and vague emails from Jehuda for our information. (Of course, those in the know used Innermost Parts. 😛 )The faculty were having secret meetings and a Dean called the cops to keep those meetings secret.
“Shut up, sit down, eat your oatmeal. The Grown-Ups are in charge.”
We’ve progressed since then. Due to our organized outrage, our eloquent pieces in the Hoot, Justice (and yes, Innermost Parts), thanks to our demonstrations, our countless meetings with faculty and staff, we’ve been given a say in the academic plans at Brandeis.
A say, a voice, but no power.
Still, thanks to our organizing and Jason Gray’s mediation and leadership, there now exist official channels for our voices to be heard.
But is anyone speaking up?
I know we are. The backroom conversations, the chatter at club meetings, the worried introspection before bedtime – all that is real.
But we’re not channeling our passion and our love for Brandeis correctly.
Right now, there are committees (with student representation) meeting to decide the fate of Brandeis. Do you want a part in all that? Write, discuss, argue and vent in the places they’re listening.
On the right hand side of Innermost Parts you can see a little box saying “The Budget Crisis – How to Help”. On it are links to all the official forums where committee-members will be reading and interacting.
Look, no one is happy. We’re not happy with our representation, with the fact that these committees report to the Faculty, Administration, and Board of Trustees, but not to us. We’re unhappy with the hurried way this is all being done. We’re unhappy that it took concerted student pressure to get told anything, to be put on any committee. These things should have been the status quo already.
Still, for now, let’s start using these hard-fought lines of communication.
Official Lines of Communication:
Official Study Abroad Discussion
Official Recruiting and Admissions Forum
Official
Curricular Innovation and Restructuring Forum