Brandeis University's Community Newspaper — Waltham, Mass.
“Now bring on the hate mail…” These words concluded my previous Pyle File. Hate mail was most certainly brought. Before getting into that though, I would be remiss in my responsibilities if I did not offer some form of an apology for not making my sarcasm clear enough for some readers. The column was meant […]
Student Events is bringing Nas to campus. His greatest years of fame are behind him, and arguably the only reason he has been able to maintain some degree of presence in the spotlight is because of his attempt to use a racial slur as the title of his most recent album. In 2007, Nas was […]
Third Eye Blind is coming to Brandeis… wicked awesome. Just allow me to put on my pre-ripped jeans, and my plaid button-up shirt, and snap my favorite Oasis cassette into my Walkman. True, Third Eye Blind was not a particularly bad band. They could have done much worse (Nickelback, anyone?). Also, I’ll admit to listening […]
This past weekend I attended my second ever Brandeis varsity sporting event in my six semesters here when I saw the men’s basketball team fall to Washington University. The first was pretty typical of a student’s first encounter with University athletics. I missed Usdan brunch one weekend, my freshmen year roommate told me that there […]
It is after 7:30 on the night of Sunday, Oct. 28. The Senate meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m., has not yet been called to order. The reason: our representatives, our senators, have simply not shown up. Theyre watching football, getting dinner at Usdan, or at an event for another, apparently more important, extracurricular activity. The unreasonably high number of senators required for a meeting to officially be called- 11 out of a total of 21 senators.
As a middle school Latin student, I remember thinking that Zeus was a much cooler name than Jupiter.
When Caesar was out of the question, I took my salads with oil, vinegar, feta, and olives. I once argued that Alexander, conqueror of the Persian Empire, should be called Alexander the Greatest. So, yes, you could say I am a fan of Greek life. While I have yet to pledge any Greek organization and have no plans to do so in the immediate future, I recognize the important role they serve. I also understand the decision to not recognize fraternities and sororities, and more recently to not allow the ZBT chapter, which happens to have many Brandeis students as its members, to identify as ZBT Brandeis. Really though, while Brandeis might need Greek life, surely Greek life does not need Brandeis.
Wednesday, September 26th may be a Brandeis Thursday, but Friday, September 28th is a Brandeis Friday, and that is something truly worth experiencing. Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and the occasional specialty service followed by a Hillel dinner (or Chabad for those with some time to kill) has become routine for literally hundreds of Brandeis students. Yet (with the exception of the campaigning period for Student Union elections) only a handful of non-Jewish students ever attend.
There are approximately 200 chartered clubs at Brandeis University, each with its own claims of why it deserves funding from the Finance Board. The 2006-2007 academic year was the first full year with the Student Activities Fee (SAF) reform in place, a policy change which enabled smaller clubs to get a shot at funds historically reserved for the big boys, Brandeis secured organizations. Feedback from club leaders has for the most part been positive, with the transition process aided by Treasurer Choon Woo Ha, former President Alison Schwartzbaum, and former Director of Executive Affairs Adam Gartner. Improvement aside, however, the Student Union must reexamine how it dispenses SAF money if the student body is to get the most out of its money.
