President Levine addresses how students will be affected by The Brandeis Plan in coming months
■ Levine and administrators spoke directly to an audience of students about concrete plans to move the University into the global digital economy.
By MIRIAM GRODIN JUSTICE COPY
On Wednesday, Oct. 29, University President Arthur Levine ’70 spoke to a crowd of undergraduates about the Brandeis Plan to Reinvent the Liberal Arts. He touched on the plan’s three major facets: reorganizing the graduate and undergraduate schools, remaking the core curriculum and creating a Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts. The event took place in Rapaporte Treasure Hall and featured small presentations from Levine, as well as members of the faculty and administration involved with the project.
“When I got here,” Levine remarked, describing his own history as a Brandeis student, “Brandeis was 18 years old, and that was a golden era. I think we're about to enter another golden era as we build and think and plan for the future.” Levine claimed that this “golden era” will occur due to the changes he plans to make with the Brandeis Plan, which was approved by the faculty senate last semester. This decision prompted him to pose the rhetorical question: Why do the Liberal Arts need to be reinvented? And what changes are going to be made?
He explained that the liberal arts were initially invented for students living in an “analog, industrial economy.” But students today are going to live their lives in an increasingly globalized, digital world, Levine said, and the education they are receiving should prepare them for it. He talked about the need to constantly update the curriculum, referencing the narrative of Henry Adams, the grandson of President John Quincy Adams, who went to Harvard College in 1850 and expressed his disappointment that he was receiving an 18th century education while preparing to enter a 20th century world. This exemplified, to Levine, how Liberal Arts curriculum has historically already been regarded as out of touch with the modern world. “I thought this marked an occasion … to think about what you need in your education,” Levine said, referencing the three areas of improvement the Brandeis Plan addresses.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol A. Fierke Ph.D. ’84 then rose to the podium to describe the reorganization of the Uni-
versity’s academic schools. “Everyone knows that there is a vast need for education to be transformed,” she stated, “… and Brandeis wants to be a leader.”
Fierke explained that the graduate programs and the undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences were now officially divided into the School of Arts, Humanities and Culture; the School of Business and Economics — which will contain the Brandeis International Business School; the School of Science, Engineering and Technology and the School of Social Sciences and Social Policy — which will contain the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. This change took effect on July 1, 2025, leaving some students wondering about the impacts of the reorganization on double majors, interactions between undergraduate and graduate students and the types of classes they can take. Fierke explained that this action was taken to limit barriers to students engaging across varied academic areas, and assured that “undergraduate students should not see a significant difference in their education based on the reorganization, except that there will be additional opportunities for their educational experience.”
Next to speak was Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL), the chair of the Faculty Senate. He discussed how faculty have been and continue to be involved with the Brandeis Plan, and how, through conversations with his own students, he is aware of the doubt the student body holds about the changes. However, he stressed that despite any change to curriculum or organization, “this is still a place with a deep, deep commitment to liberal arts in all of its forms, to cutting edge research and to social justice.” Faculty are involved with brainstorming ideas for new majors, microcredentials and possible Masters programs or “four plus one programs” that they believe students will be interested in. The faculty senate is very interested in student feedback, and Lenowitz extended the invitation to come speak to him and other members of the senate with questions or concerns students may have that they are not comfortable asking administrators directly. “We’re all just trying to make this a better place for you all,” Lenowitz said.
Next, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Affairs, Jeffrey Shoulson spoke. Shoulson previously served as the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, but has transitioned to this new position with the reorganization of the schools. He explained that the “repackaging” of the Brandeis Core will come into effect for the incoming class of 2030 in Fall 2026. Current un-
Global superpowers
Prof. Elanah Uretsky (IGS) on United States-China cooperation. By EMMY ZHOU
WORKING DOG
■ Justice and her handler, Officer David Thompson, are supporting students one tail wag at a time.
By ASHHWIKA SONI JUSTICE NEWS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
If you’ve spotted a wagging tail and a pair of eager eyes patrolling campus lately, you’ve already met Justice, Brandeis University Police’s newest and arguably most beloved team member. Justice isn’t your typical officer, she’s a comfort K9 with the Brandeis Police Department, here to spread a little joy wherever her paws take her. The idea for introducing a comfort dog to campus came from Chief Matthew Rushton, who recognized the growing importance of emotional support programs in law enforcement and higher education. “Seeing the success of similar programs at other universities and police departments, it was
kind of a no-brainer. The chief saw how effective comfort dogs could be in creating connections and reducing stress, and from there, everything just fell into place” explained Officer Dave Thompson, Justice’s handler in an Oct. 30 interview with The Justice.
Justice’s journey began at Boston K9 Training where she completed her initial obedience work. However, “her training is ongoing,” said Thompson. Currently, Justice partakes in small sessions weekly and formal training a few times per month to keep her sharp. Justice’s professional development includes revisiting basic commands and exposure exercises, all designed to help her feel comfortable in new and unpredictable situations. Once she reaches 12 months of training, Justice will be evaluated for official certification through one of many possible agencies, though most likely the United States Police Canine Association, one of the nation’s leading certifying agencies. This assessment will then determine her readiness for
Brandeis holds groundbreaking ceremony for new residence halls
■ Work on the new living spaces has begun and they are expected to be ready for students to live in by the fall of 2027.
By CHAVA THIELL JUSTICE NEWS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
On Friday, Oct. 31 the University held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new residence hall, set to be ready for use by either the summer or fall of 2027. Though construction on the site began in late June of this year, speakers noted the impor-
tance of acknowledging this new chapter and how this new living space will be beneficial for future Brandeis students.
The ceremony for Brandeis’ modernized residence hall began with a brief welcome from the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, Shelby Harris. Harris mentioned that it was a busy weekend for the University, not only because of the ceremony, but Family Weekend as well, which is why they chose to hold the ceremony for a time when there were “a lot of folks around.” The event was attended by about 30 people, including staff members from the Department of Community Living, the Office of Marketing Communications, parents, alumni, students and student leaders, architects, construction workers and University President Arthur Levine ’70. Levine made brief remarks, beginning with a
“Due to circumstances outside of The Justice’s control, only pages 1, 8, 9 and 16 will be printed in full color. We invite you to review the paper in full color on our website, thejustice.org. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes for our readers and hope that our printing will be able to return to normal next week.”
— Sophia De Lisi, The Justice Editor in Chief
Winslow's watercolors
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston opened their Winslow Homer exhibit.
By MIKEY TERRENZI
HANNAH SHAPIRO
MARK GAYSINSKIY
BEST FRIENDS : Officer Dave Thompson poses for a selfie with Justice in a patrol car.
DISCUSSION : President Arthur Levine '70 speaks to an audience of students and faculty.
SKYE ENTWOOD/The Justice.
POLICE LOG
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
Oct. 24–There was a medical emergency for a party with a sprained ankle. The patient refused medical treatment.
Oct. 24–There was a medical emergency for a party having a panic attack. The patient refused medical treatment.
Oct. 24–There was a medical emergency for a party complaining of sickness and difficulty breathing. The patient was transported to a local hospital.
Oct. 25–There was a medical emergency for an intoxicated party. The patient refused medical treatment.
Oct. 26–There was a medical emergency for a party off campus. The patient was directed to contact the Waltham Police. The officer in charge was notified.
Oct. 26–There was a medical emergency for an intoxicated party. The patient was transported to a local hospital.
Oct. 26–There was a medical emergency for a party having an allergic reaction. The patient refused medical treatment.
Oct. 28–There was a medical emergency for a party with burning chest pains. The patient was transported to a local hospital.
Oct. 28–There was a medical emergency for a party with an injured knee. The patient refused medical treatment.
Oct. 30–There was a medical emergency for a party who may
SENATE LOG
have fainted. The patient refused medical treatment.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Oct. 25–There was a suspiciously empty vehicle with its lights turned on in a parking lot. The lights were able to be turned off and the situation was cleared.
Oct. 29–There was a report of a car having sideswipe damage. There will be an investigation to follow.
Oct. 30–Officers assisted the Waltham Police Department regarding traffic with an 18-wheeler.
MISCELLANEOUS
Oct. 24–There was a complaint of loud noises described as an ongoing issue between the reporting party and others. The Department of Community Living was notified to respond.
Oct. 24–There was a report of a gas odor. The Waltham Fire Department was notified and all appeared in order.
Oct. 24–A bulletin board was vandalized. There will be an investigation to follow.
Oct. 25–There was a complaint of loud noises. The Department of Community Living was notified to respond.
Oct. 25–There was a complaint of loud noises and doors slamming. The Department of Community Living was notified to respond.
Oct. 25–There was a report of smoke and haze in a parking lot. The Waltham Fire Department determined the source was a nearby chimney. All appeared in order.
Oct. 26–There was a report of a suspicious person. Units checked the area and the claim was declared unfounded.
Oct. 27–A party reported their shoes to be stolen from a locker. There will be an investigation to follow.
Oct. 28–A suspicious package was identified laying near a dumpster. The package was found to be empty. All appeared in order.
Oct. 28–There was a report of suspicious bags of clothing in bathrooms. There will be an investigation to follow.
Oct. 29–Damage was discovered to a fence in a parking lot. There will be an investigation to follow.
Oct. 30–There was a report of a possible “sextortion” situation. There will be an investigation to follow.
Senate discusses club funding issues and contemplates merging clubs
The Student Senate began their weekly meeting with a budget issue, asserting that $2200 of the annual budget has been used so far.
Next, the senators presented what each committee has worked on the past week. The Club Support Committee chartered the National Society of Black Women in Medicine Club. The Campus Life Committee finalized and distributed projects that they would like to work on, including land acknowledgement plaques and updating meal plans to make dining hall food more nutritious. The Health and Wellness Committee shared their plans for a tabling event this month with wellness goodie bags. They also shared plans to collaborate with the Brandeis Counseling Center and therapy dogs. The Student Advocacy Committee did not meet this week. However, they mentioned that the Senate needs to start thinking about the Winter Gala soon.
The Senate then proceeded to continue last week’s discussion on the budget issues surrounding the recent increase in new clubs on campus. A speaker on behalf of the Allocations Board proposed merging clubs into smaller subgroups in order to consolidate clubs with similar purposes. The senators
BRIEF
discussed implementing a Waltham Group model, with one overarching secured club that contains several subgroups. Luke Farberman ’27 raised a logistical concern around trying to do this with clubs that have national headquarters. He also expressed that “we need to loop the clubs in on this … It’s easy to say until it’s your club.” The senators agreed that transparency will be essential when implementing these new policies. They discussed the topic of potentially merging some of the cultural clubs, weighing the benefits and setbacks of this option. It could be controversial to do this. Sarah Jafary ’28 asserted that in the case of cultural groups, there is a clear distinction. The Allocations Board speaker maintained that some of the cultural clubs fill a similar niche and host similar events, so looking for ways to consolidate that might make sense. Notably, the Senate tried to merge some of the cultural clubs into one secured group last semester and it did not work out. They considered the possibility of revisiting that idea.
Concerns were also raised surrounding the amount of performing arts related clubs on campus, particularly in regards to a capella. One senator shared that “I do believe as a school we do not need 12 different acapella groups.” Farberman pus -
Brandeis’ Google account storage limit quotas have been increased
In an Oct. 31 email to the Brandeis community, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Carol Fierke Ph.D. ’84, and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, Stewart Uretsky, announced that Google account storage limit quotas will increase.
By Jan. 12, 2026, Google accounts for University faculty and faculty emeritus must fall below 100 GB, below 50 GB for staff accounts and below 25 GB for students. In addition, the new storage quotas for academic affiliates and contingent workers are 25 GB and 5 GB, respectively. This update provides a 25 GB increase for faculty, faculty emeritus and staff accounts, as well as a 15 GB increase for academic affiliates and an increase of 4 GB for contingent workers.
“These increases provide a generous amount of storage for our community while still maintaining appropriate limits on data storage,” Fierke and Uretsky elaborated. The administrators introduced these initial Google Storage quotas in a June 27 email to the Brandeis community. By taking feedback from community members and their proposed storage quotas into consideration, they decided to make this increase to “support continued compliance while being fiscally responsible.”
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
■ An editor’s note in the Arts and Culture section incorrectly wrote that a Contributing Writer “partcipated” in a stage production. It was corrected to “participated.” (Oct. 28, Page 14).
■ An Arts and Culture article incorrectly stated a student’s surname as “Rae.” It was corrected to “Feldman.” (Oct. 28, Page 14).
■ An Arts and Culture article mistakenly identified the student who played Wally Webb as Cole Simmons ’26. The student was corrected to “Bexie Lubitz ’29” and Cole Simmons ’26 played Mr.Webb. (Oct. 28, Page 14).
The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org
The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.
hed back on this claim, asserting that they are long-standing institutions on campus and our college has a history of supporting them. The senators resolved to discuss the matter of merging clubs further at the next meeting.
Daniel Shin shared a couple of announcements about upcoming events, Yumcha on Nov. 8 and MELA on Nov. 15. Farberman asked the senators if anyone would like to help him create a resolution in response to President Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.
The meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
— Hannah Shapiro — Editor’s Note: Justice News Editorial Assistant. Ashhwika Soni ’29 is a student union senator and did not edit nor contribute to this article.
In their June email, fierke and Uretsky explained that Brandeis is implementing these storage limits for Google accounts — which includes Gmail, Drive and Photos. They said that despite most accounts being “well below” the original limits proposed, the University made this decision in response to “a significant change in Google’s policy.” Fierke and Uretsky explained that the decision was made after a review of storage usage by the University and with the consultation of the IT Advisory Committee and Academic Technology Advisory Committee.
Any community member with questions about adhering to these updated Google Storage limitations can direct their inquiries to storagepolicy@brandeis.edu.
— Compiled by Iyla Lichtenfeld
— Sophia De Lisi
A discussion on the persecution of women accused of witchcraft and magic
■ Prof. Ramie Targoff (ENG) explored The Scottish Witchcraft Archives and spoke about women who were accused of and killed for practicing witchcraft.
By HANNAH SHAPIRO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
On Oct. 31, Prof. Ramie Targoff (ENG) delivered a lecture titled“A Master Class in Witchcraft: The Real Women Behind Macbeth’s Weird Sisters.”
The lecture discussed the intersection of King James’ persecution of women believed to be witches and theater productions of the same era depicting witchcraft. Targoff began her lecture by explaining that during King James’ visit to Oxford in 1605, four plays were performed at an introductory pageant. This event “was how we first encounter King James confronting witches on stage,” said Targoff. The skit involved three sybils, ancient female prophetesses. An eyewitness of the play described that “it seemed like they were coming out of a castle made of ivy,” to which Targoff identified clear parallels within “Macbeth.” Additionally, King James had a notable relative in the 11th century named Banquo who encountered “the fatal sisters” within this skit. James was known as a ner -
vous and paranoid king, so “this little play … was reassuring to James that his new English subjects regarded him not as a Scottish interloper but as the divinely entitled ruler of the United Kingdom.” Targoff asserted that this play “obviously struck [Shakespeare’s] imagination.”
King James published a pamphlet in 1591 outlining his dealings with witches. This tabloid-like pamphlet served as a further source of inspiration for Shakespeare. King James was convinced that witches had sent a storm to shipwreck him on his way back from Denmark after his wedding. Targoff said that “it does sound a little suspicious, especially on Halloween, but James was convinced that it was witchcraft.” He then became involved in an unprecedented series of witchcraft trials, personally overseeing a trial of three “witches” whom he accused of trying to kill him. One of the women, Agnes Sampson, confessed under torture that she had traveled around in a kitchen sieve with 200 other witches to meet the devil. This was a hallmark of witchcraft during the period. This group of women were burned to death, but King James continued his search for more witches. Targoff said that “shows the extent to which even those in the highest positions of power could be made to feel vulnerable to the threat posed by these very disenfranchised members of society.”
“Macbeth,” including the three weird sisters, was first performed a year later. Professor Targoff read and analyze scenes from “Macbeth.” She explained that Act One opens with the witches meeting and said, “The fact
that we meet them on stage before we’ve met Macbeth, before we’ve met Banquo, before we’ve met anyone, gives them a kind of reality that is in question later on.” At this point, recognizing six of her students from her classes taught at Brandeis, such as “Love Poetry, from Sappho to Neruda,” Professor Targoff called on them to read excerpts from the play. She pointed out that we see the witches in “Macbeth,” mentioning riding around in sieves, just like the witches King James feared, saying, “I hope you see the very direct resonances with what I was describing as James’ account of what happened to him.” Targoff also analyzed the points of similarity between Macbeth and the weird sisters. She explained that in the 1623 folio, which is currently being kept at the Brandeis archives, both characters are described as “wayward.” There are several other textual elements tying the characters together.
She discussed how the witches were described as being withered, reflecting the misogynistic worldview at the time since the accused were often older women. The witches are dehumanized throughout the play by most characters, but Macbeth himself addresses them directly, further tying these characters together. Targoff compared Macbeth to “The Witch of Edmonton,” a play based on the true case of Elizabeth Sawyer. She analyzed their differing perspectives toward the witch characters, with the Witch of Edmonton providing a sympathetic depiction. She also discussed the socioeconomic factors that contributed to witchcraft accusa -
Halloween Happenings in Salem
By REUBEN GARTENBACH JUSTICE PHOTOS EDITOR
tions, highlighting that midwives were often accused because they interacted so directly with life and death. Economic hardships like crop failures often led to an increase of accusations too. This mainly impacted the most vulnerable members of society.
Students were able to enjoy this masterclass along with several other talks around campus during Family Weekend. Even on Halloween, Brandeis students celebrated in an educational way, by attending guest lectures such as this one. This lecture was especially relevant in Massachusetts, as Waltham is less than one hour from Salem where the infamous witch trials took place in the seventeenth century. Shakespeare’s work, having been interpolated for centuries, is an extraordinary framework for which to view American witchcraft history, especially in New England. As such, Targoff accessed the original 1623 Shakespeare folio from the Brandeis archives. In fact, Targoff’s work is a display of the necessity of archive preservation on Brandeis’ campus and globally. Her direct access to the folio informed her analysis of the play and future interpretations referencing the three witches. The availability of archived manuscripts, books, newspapers and more, as provided by the University, have been influential to professional research for decades. Overall, Targoff’s exploration of witchcraft this Halloween showcased both the importance of archives and regional studies as well as Brandeis community members’ admiration for academia in all settings.
CREATURES : A myriad of humanoid art pieces were on display.
COSTUMES : A person in a “scream” mask stares down the camera.
CLOWN : A clown on stilts walked down the street.
CROSS : A religious-affiliated ghoul towers over pedestrians.
The University's new comfort dog will support students for one year
continued service. “It would also tell us if she might have the drive for additional disciplines, like search and rescue or detection, though her primary role will always be comfort and connection,” Thompson added. Justice currently trains with a professional trainer once a month, receiving homework assignments for the following weeks. Some sessions are refreshers while others are for building new responses. Officer Thompson emphasizes, “the key is consistency, just like with people, practice makes perfect.”
For Justice, every day starts bright and early. “She likes to go out right away, then we handle feeding and get in some playtime,” said Thompson. After exploring, chasing and just being a dog, Justice goes in for her mid-morning nap and then it’s time to get ready for work. When her shift begins, the change is marked by a small but meaningful ritual: putting Justice in her police attire with her work collar and vest. This is how she understands that it is time to go to work, helping her mentally shift into duty mode. Justice and Thompson’s shift typically runs from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. beginning with check-in and then patrol. They usually set out to scan areas where people are gathered, which includes the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, the Shapiro Science Center complex and Fellows Garden. These patrols aren’t just about visibility, they’re about presence. Justice’s job is to be approachable, comforting and friendly, acting as a furry bridge between students and campus law enforcement. Justice has been acclimating well to crowds, according to Thompson, and has made herself noted at multiple events including Homecoming, move-in days and various sporting events.
Justice and Thompson share more than a work relationship, they’re together around the clock. He stated, “the Chief and I actually visited the breeder and got to choose her ourselves. From that day forward, she has been my partner … Before she does something, she will look at me, just to see if it’s okay,” claimed Thompson. He also stated that Justice has come far from her initial training days and the two now share a strong bond that particularly shows when they’re out on the field.
Keeping Justice balanced and stress-free is also a key part of her care. While eliminating stress completely cannot be certain, she’s kept calm in a way
that allows her to function well. If they are about to go to a high energy event, Officer Thompson ensures that she gets ample downtime and is present for relatively shorter periods so that her work and mental focus is not impacted. Moreover, when Justice isn’t working, she gets plenty of time to unwind. She explores the 3000 acres of land that Brandeis has to offer and chases around anything that she can catch. She also loves playing fetch and is obsessed with roasted bones, getting the delicious treat twice a week at her home.
One of Thompson’s most memorable moments came during Homecoming weekend. “There was a student who missed her dog back home,” he recalled, “she ended up sitting and talking with Justice for about 35 minutes. That’s what this program is about, giving someone a moment of comfort in a tough time. If one student walks away feeling lighter, it’s worth it.” Like any Brandeis community member, Justice has her favorite people and places. “She loves Carol [Robichaud] from the parking office,” said Thompson as he laughed. She’ll take naps at the base of Carol's chair whenever we visit. Justice also adores Sergeant Danny Rose, as he attends a lot of events with her and so “she is always running to his office to say hello.”
Beyond the cute photos and the wagging tail, Justice serves a deeper mission. Justice is a resource for anyone who needs a moment of calm, or even just a smile. If that interaction helps transition someone toward another campus resource or conversation, that’s the goal. In a time when college life can feel increasingly fast-paced and stressful, Justice offers something simple yet powerful: presence. She reminds the Brandeis community that wellness and compassion come in many forms, sometimes even on four paws. When asked what Justice might say if she could talk, Thompson said, “I think she'll say she’s very excited to make friends. She’d tell people that she wants to be a part of whatever is going on, maybe she’s even got a little [fear of missing out],” he joked.
So the next time you see a police vest and a wagging tail making rounds near the Shapiro Campus Center or the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, don’t hesitate to stop and say hello. At Brandeis, Justice isn’t just served she’s spreading comfort, one paw at a time.
ADMINISTRATION: Faculty show support for Levine's liberal arts reinvention plan
dergraduates will still be able to graduate based on the Brandeis Core requirements from when they entered the school; however, Shoulson clarified that they will be able to benefit from the new structure should they choose to. Shoulson believes that “one of the most important things that … liberal arts education can provide is a set of competencies and career skills that are agnostic to the kind of work that you do,” or the field you want to go into. The modifications to the Core result from consultation with the National Association of Colleges and Employers, an organization that works with career centers at Universities across the country and collects information about what employers are looking for in graduates.
NACE has eight career-readiness competencies that the college-educated person entering the workforce should demonstrate. Shoulson explained that five of these competencies are guiding the restructuring of the Brandeis Core, with the remaining three being addressed by the Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts. These five competencies are communication, critical thinking, technology, teamwork and “Equity & Inclusion.” These competencies will be tracked on a second transcript in addition to
each student's formal academic transcript. Shoulson also explained that beyond building skill in these areas through their coursework, students will have the opportunity to “take an additional assessment that stands outside of any one of these classes and will attest to [their] having achieved a certain degree of skill level in these competencies.” Passing this assessment results in a microcredential, which will be represented by a digital badge that will serve as a “concrete manifestation” of a student’s qualification to a future employer. “It's not that you haven't been learning these things,” Shoulson clarified to the room of current undergraduate students, “We know you have. We just want to be much more intentional in how we record and acknowledge that kind of work that you're doing.”
The final speaker was Lewis Brooks ’80, the founding Director of the Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts. In a Sept. 25 email to the community, Levine announced that Brooks would fill this position. Brooks opened by describing his own Brandeis history about how he switched majors multiple times throughout his undergraduate years and still found himself confused on what path to pursue af-
ter graduating as a psychology major. By contrast, he and the Center want to ensure that students are on a “path of career preparedness from the moment you're sitting in the parking lot with your parents wondering if your sheets are going to fit on your bed until you graduate and go on.” He described how every student will be assigned both an academic counselor and a career counselor, and will take part in a required career class every year. He explained that his center is focused on the other three NACE competencies, which are professionalism, leadership and “Career & Self-Development.” These competencies will be gained through the required career classes, internships and other experiential learning opportunities. They could also come from extracurricular activities. “I can tell you personally, and I can tell you through the experiences of my daughter and students that I know it's not all about the classroom,” Brooks explained, “there are many things that are learned outside of the classroom, and we want to capture those.” He gave the example of how a student involved in Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps, or the Student Union or the Waltham Group will have gained valuable, quantifiable skills and ex-
periences — these skills should be reflected through an extracurricular-based microcredential on your second transcript.
Brooks stated, “I am a firm believer in 'if we build it, they may not come,'” explaining how he wants student input and feedback on how best to track career-competency progress and the different “career paths through Brandeis” various students have found themselves on. He explained that there is empirical data that employers are looking for microcredentials and competencies reflected by the second transcript.
The University plans to pilot at least four curricular-based microcredentials and one extracurricularbased microcredential this spring. This is a slow roll-out while many of the other changes are still being worked out for implementation in the fall of 2026. "As we move along this journey,” Brooks concluded, “we're going to be making changes and fixing it, and we will absolutely be including [the undergraduate classes of] ’26, ’27, ’28 and ’29 in these efforts.”
CAMPUS LIVING: New dormitories continue construction for 2027 completion
joke: “I’m gonna keep this fast,” noting the cold and rainy weather. He asserted that “[Brandeis is] about to enter a golden age, and this [new residence hall] is the first physical manifestation thereof.” The president also extended his thanks to those who had been heavily engaged with the project, including the architects from William Rawn Associates and parents
of students who will benefit from the new dorms. The new residence hall will be located behind the Theater Lot, and its structure is already visible to passersbys, lauding a sign reading “Brandeis Builds.” The hall is being made to resemble “neighborhood style” architecture and consists of two towers. It will have an elevator, which ensures ac-
cessibility and will help residents navigate its five stories. The residence hall will also feature air conditioning and individual user restrooms, with doubles and singles in traditional corridor style housing. The dorm will house students in their sophomore, junior or senior years.
The University administration placed heavy emphasis on community style living. They shared that each “neighborhood” will house about 35 students, who will also have access to a communal courtyard and amphitheater. The residence hall will hold 631 beds total, making it the largest residence hall on campus. The building will also include a fitness center, special rooms for students to attend telehealth appointments or virtual classes, a kitchen in each neighborhood and a multipurpose room on the bottom floor. Ultimately, the administration feels this living style will help strengthen a sense of community and become a space students utilize to build relationships and make the most of their time at Brandeis.
Nationally, the number of students applying to undergraduate institutions has been steadily declining. With this decline in students also comes grave implications for the United States economy. As fewer students graduate, this leaves the workforce with fewer employees and more vacant positions. This has also left many schools at risk of closure, and so they are seeking new ways to gain prospective student interest. While over 10,000 students applied to Brandeis for
the fall 2024 semester, high-quality residential, academic and social life on campus are often some of the largest factors for students making their college decisions. As such, many schools are deliberating on ways they can increase student recruitment, including by making new investments that will incentivize more people to apply.
When asked about how this new living style will support students and inspire Brandeis’ new “golden age,” Harris said this dorm will “meet the needs of students today and in the future.” She also shared that, in planning to prepare for this new residence hall, administrators held many focus groups to get a sense of what students wanted to see in a new dorm. They also gauged student opinion by assessing a survey, which received about 2,000 responses from students. She felt these spaces would be a “foot forward” and “a wonderful living learning community for our students.” Members of Brandeis leadership see the new dormitory as a look towards the future and an investment in the wellbeing of many generations of students to come.
The ceremony concluded with a series of photos with those who were involved in the building’s planning and construction, including DCL employees, workers from Dimeo Construction and William Rawn Associates and some students and parents, at Levine’s encouragement. While the event was brief, speakers noted the importance of recognizing the construction of this new residential building as a central part of Brandeis’ future and a clear investment in the university’s priorities. Models of the new hall can be found on the Brandeis website, along with additional information about amenities and the University’s plan.
Photo courtesy of Officer Dave Thompson
DIG IN : President Arthur Levine '70 and others stand before the construction site with shovels.
ISA BOHORQUEZ/The Justice.
SMILES : Justice and Officer Thompson stand happily in the Brandeis Poli ce Station
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China is the most populous country in the world.
People Between Nations
In a time of political strain and economic rivalry, Prof. Elanah Uretsky (IGS) believes a renewed people-topeople connection may be the key to restoring cooperation between two global superpowers.
By EMMY ZHOU JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Oct. 30, President Donald J. Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where they successfully “agreed on almost everything,” leaving Trump pleasantly rating their meeting a “twelve out of ten.” Amidst growing political tensions that have been deteriorating since the beginning of United StatesChina relations, China’s decision to pause its curbs on rare earth mineral exports for one year and Trump’s lowering of tariffs has alleviated some pressures in both their economies.
Prof. Elanah Uretsky (IGS), whose research focuses on the complicated relationship between the United States and China, has offered a calculative perspective on the tensions. To Uretsky, the most successful diplomatic future for the two nations relies on embracing their economic interdependence. “Economically, [the United States] is very dependent on China,” Uretsky told The Justice in an Oct. 29 interview. She continued, “China’s dependence on the United States’ resources, such as soybeans to make tofu, is just as critical as the United States’ dependence on China’s raw earth materials.”
Earlier this year, President Trump imposed tariffs on China at as high as 124.7%, while China’s tariffs on U.S. exports were at a whopping 147.6%, escalating the trade war between the two nations since Trump’s first administration. Last month, tariffs from the United States on China were at 57% compared to China’s tariffs on the United States at 32.6%. In their meeting on Oct. 30, Trump lowered them by 10% in response to China’s delay on restrictions of the raw earth materials. These materials build, according to Uretsky, almost 100% of consumer items and technologies in the United States, such as our computers, our phones and parts of
our cars.
The history of United States-China relations in the early 21st century is characterized by strained economic instability and competition. Uretsky said, “relations between the United States and China actually started to deteriorate under [the 2008 administration].”
She notes that President Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, realized it was dangerous that their economy was so reliant on China, and consequently decided they should
that as the United States trying to isolate China, and it was then that relations between them started to deteriorate. In the [2016 administration], it escalated into deterioration.”
During Trump’s first administration, he launched an effort called the “China Initiative” with the Department of Justice in November 2018, aiming to combat economic espionage, fearful of the Chinese government stealing secrets and technology. Many ChineseAmerican scientists and
students studying abroad in China. In 2011, there were 15,000 students from the United States studying in China, and during COVID, the number dropped to a mere 211 students. Calling COVID “the China virus” in 2021, Donald Trump subsequently caused a surge in anti-Asian attitudes and an increase in online racism towards Chinese people on X. In recent months, the number of American students studying abroad in China has gradually increased to about 880 in 2024, but the
maintain good relations. Students from China can return to their homes as representatives of the United States with an understanding of America and its people. She said, “if [the United States] doesn’t send students over to China, they end up with a population of Americans who think China is unpleasant. The United States really needs students to go over so that they can understand China and the Chinese people.”
This concept ties into the TikTok ban in January of
rebalance relations with other countries within East Asia so they weren’t as dependent on China.
“So they did something called the Pivot to Asia, allowing the United States to grow closer to countries like Vietnam, and even reached relations with Myanmar,” Uretsky explained. “However, the United States also became closer with Japan and Korea, and China took that as an insult. They perceived
researchers were targeted and negatively affected, as they were prevented from applying for federal grants, conducting research or even travelling with family. Many eventually lost their jobs, and the initiative even ended up creating a climate of fear among Asian Americans.
Uretsky also notes that the China Initiative and the COVID-19 pandemic, caused a sharp decline in American
tense political strain between the two countries has not shed a positive light on the study abroad education experience in either country. Not to mention, United States-China relations experts fear that this decline will further the rift between the two global superpowers. In our highly globalized age, Uretsky believes that it is crucial that people on both sides understand the other country in order to
this year after a bill was passed by the United States government, who feared the China-based app was a security threat. As a result, many people nationwide flocked to the “Chinese Instagram,” called Xiaohongshu, or Rednote. Users who were upset over the ban called themselves the “TikTok refugees” and reached over 700,000 downloads of the app outside China in just two days. Within the span of
not even a day, the taut relationship between China and the United States loosened significantly. Both sides shared their cultures and bonded over memes as well as shared interests. One TikTok refugee told National Broadcast Company News in January that “American citizens and Chinese citizens are getting along really well. They’re not the scary Chinese enemy anymore.”
“We call this an example of people-to-people relations,” Uretsky said. “It was an idea that was started by Richard Nixon in the 1970s. He was the president who decided that the United States needed to establish relations with China.” In 1972, President Richard Nixon ended 25 years of isolation between the United States and China by visiting China and establishing diplomatic relations. This became known as “the week that changed the world.” A year before Nixon’s visit, the United States sent nine pingpong players to China, an exchange that became known as the Ping-Pong Diplomacy that represented a turning point in United States-China relations. It alleviated people-to-people relationships through cultural exchanges, and in 1973, the Philadelphia Orchestra visit to China improved people-to-people connection through music.
“And so people got to know each other and understand each other,” Uretsky said. She encourages younger people to explore and learn more about China and the possibility of going there for study abroad programs, calling to attention its value to the United States. To Uretsky, people-to-people connections and the mutual codependence between the two countries can transform from a source of tension to a foundation for appreciation. That said, Uretsky hopes this cooperation marks the start of a more balanced era that could truly be characterized as a 12 out of 10.
Design: BRIANNA EARLE/The Justice. Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS.
GLOBAL SUPERPOWERS: The United States and China have a complicated relationship.
BRANDEIS GOT TALENT
On Saturday night, various groups performed at Brandeis Got Talent, showcasing the many multitalented students at the University.
As Brandeis works towards what the administration is calling The Brandeis Plan to Reinvent the Liberal Arts, students have largely been left in the dark regarding the restructuring of their academic requirements, particularly surrounding “microcredentials.” On the website for The Plan, microcredentials are referred to as part of a “second transcript.” The website states, “The second transcript highlights independently assessed microcredentials earned through coursework, internships, research and co-curricular activities; highimpact experiences like study abroad; capstone projects and community engagement; and verifies how each skill was demonstrated and assessed.”
This board acknowledges that the second transcript and microcredentials aim to prepare students for the job market and graduate school, but there continues to be confusion around exactly what a microcredential is. This board wonders if organizations and professionals will also be confused. The Brandeis Online website says, “Microcredentials at Brandeis Online are abbreviated, skill-specific credentials that demonstrate expertise in a particular area.” Although it is defined on the website, this editorial board still has many questions.
Microcredentials cover a myriad of topics, including academic and extracurricular pursuits, yet there is no solidified list of what would “count” as microcredentials. This board wonders how the University decides what topics will be included, and whether students can advocate or petition for different skills to become a microcredential. The humanities and arts, in particular, would benefit from this as their skills are often less technical or less traditional.
Additionally, the website page that outlines the details of microcredentials suggests that microcredentials are made up of 10-15 hours of active learning, and students only have 90 days to complete the microcredential. This board wonders if 10-15 hours provides an appropriate amount of time to sufficiently learn a skill.
In Brandeis Online’s FAQs section, microcredentials are described as “self-paced,” which means that “students are expected to complete the materials by themselves, unassisted. At the end of the course, materials are submitted for a pass/fail grade from a real grader.” This raises the question of who is in charge of assessing microcredentials and giving credit to students. This board is curious about
how these assessments will be standardized. For instance, is there a rubric on how these microcredentials will be graded?
According to the website, there are two course offerings which are currently the clearest image of what a microcredential will be: “AI Fundamentals for STEM Professionals” and “Industry-Focused Prompt Engineering for ROI-Driven Results.” On both of these courses’ websites, rubric categories are mentioned, but are not elaborated on. Furthermore, there is confusion about potential cost. Will students be expected to pay an additional fee for these microcredentials? On the website pages for both of the courses, there is a short summary that mentions a $400 fee, implying that students will have to pay even more, which could add financial burdens to the student body.
In an Oct. 29 town hall about The Brandeis Plan, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Affairs Jeffrey Shoulson explained that the microcredentials reflect the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ eight competencies for career readiness, which students will master through required career classes and changes to the Brandeis Core. These competencies — communication, critical thinking, teamwork, equity and inclusion, technology, professionalism, leadership and career and self-development — will be assessed and the resulting microcredential will appear as a “badge” on students’ second transcripts. However, Shoulson stated that they are still figuring out what this assessment will be, despite their plans to roll out some of these microcredentials starting this spring semester. If the people coordinating these changes are unclear on what The Plan concretely encompasses, how can they expect the student body to make sense of it?
This editorial board believes that students deserve to be properly informed about how microcredentials will impact their learning experience, financial situation and graduation requirements. This program is scheduled to launch in the spring, and with a little over two months until microcredentials can be earned, this board is frustrated with the lack of information about this restructuring.
This board calls on the administration to be more transparent and forthcoming with information regarding microcredentials to appropriately provide the information the student body needs and deserves, as everyone moves through their academic experience.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Who is Jon Hochschartner and what is he on about? Seriously! And why does The Justice keep on publishing his letters?
By Aaron Klein ’26
Over the past year, Jon Hochschartner of Connecticut has written letters to the editors of The Justice no less than seventeen times. Pick up a paper any given week; it’s probably a solid bet to guess that one (if not both) of the letters to the editor are from Mr. Hochschartner. This struck me as strange? Why would Jon Hochschartner of Connecticut be writing every week to The Justice? Is Mr. Hochschartner a professor? No. Maybe a graduate student? Nope, not a grad student either. Well, after some exhaustive research (fifteen minutes of google searches) I’ve come to the conclusion that Mr. Hochschartner has no obvious connection to Brandeis. Absolutely no connection at all. Instead, he’s just an individual who believes in a cause, and who is more than willing to send out his writing to newspapers across the country. In fairness, I’m not arguing that those who aren’t affiliated with Brandeis shouldn’t be able to write letters to The Justice. Needless to say, everyone should be able to submit their writing to newspapers. The Op-Ed section of newspapers can serve as a valuable outlet for diverse perspectives, a forum for public debates, and a space to critique and challenge the narrative of an outlet’s editorial page (Thank you Prof. von Mering for that one). However, outlets like The Justice also have a responsibility to present diverse and relevant perspectives to their readers, while also maintaining basic journalistic standards. Moreover, while OpEd pages usually offer writers broader freedom in their choice of topics, letters to the editor typically respond to articles or editorials previously published by the outlet.
Part of my opposition to Mr. Hochschartner is the repetitive content of his pieces. Mr. Hochschartner’s favorite topic, his raison d’etre it seems, is expanding support for cultivated meat research. Of all the letters that Mr. Hochschartner has submitted to The Justice, every single one has mentioned his support for expanding cultivated meat research in some way or another. That is, he supports producing new proteins grown from livestock cells as a replacement for meat, which he views “as the most promising means of reducing nonhuman suffering and premature death.”
In what can best be described as a relentless tsunami of ink since last September, Hochschartner has advanced the same monotonous points week in and week out. To be clear, I don’t really have any problem with Mr. Hochschartner making these points. Rather, I just can’t see how offering those perspectives again and again is valuable for The Justice’s readers.
Admittedly, it would be wrong to categorize Mr. Hochschartner’s letters as only think-pieces in support of cultivated meat research. He has also written to The Justice in opposition to the appointment of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (because he doesn’t sufficiently back cultivated meat research) and in support of important causes, like mandated gender testing for all poultry embryos across the country. You know, so we can tell which chickens will be boys and which chickens will be girls, and then carry out massive national abortions of chicken fetuses based on their gender.
Silly as that may be, over the past couple months Mr. Hochschartner’s letters have gradually evolved from his typical manic but innocent enough championing of cultivated meat research, into a darker and more dangerous brand of political rhetoric that edges closer to incitement each week. For instance, in March of this year Hochschartner wrote a letter in favor of the immediate seizure of President Trump and Elon Musk’s private assets, and their repurposement to fund (you
guessed it) … further cultivated meat research. In September, his tone darkened as he wrote a letter advocating for the abolishment of the senate, the packing of the supreme court, the elimination of the electoral college, and the reconstitution of the US government into a parliamentary system. Two weeks ago, The Justice published two of his letters. The first called for a national self-exile of all of those who have supported the current administration, so that they might avoid violent retribution. In the second letter, he questioned whether we might be in a time where “violence is becoming the only option remaining.” He continued, “we must stoke a revolutionary frenzy [to do] what is required to dislodge [the current administration] from power.” And last week, Mr. Hochschartner went so far as to suggest that Democratic governors prepare their states to secede from the union. (In other news, Jon also seems to be a fan of both the New York Knicks and the Jonas Brothers so … do with that as you will.)
In writing this letter, I’ve come up with a few explanations as to why The Justice keeps on publishing this guy:
1. Maybe “Klein: Unrelated” has not churned out enough satirical food review columns?
2. Maybe there aren’t enough students left at Brandeis with strong opinions?
3. Maybe the Forum email address isn’t working anymore?
4. Or maybe since Gonny Nir graduated, Forum simply cannot find any more students to write dogmatic filler that cites Nietzsche twice and requires us all to google “what the hell is Hegel’s Dialectic?” (Although I will say that I now know what that means so … thank you Gonn[y]. You learn something new everyday.)
To be honest, I dislike the current administration just as much as the next Brandesian hoping to stay in good social graces with the rest of campus. Jokes aside, I really do find the administration’s actions on issues like immigration, tariffs, the military, and higher education dangerous and troubling. Additionally, I share Mr. Hochschartner profound concern over this administration’s pardoning of insurrectionists, prosecution of political enemies, and what can only be described as extreme public corruption. And hell, maybe I’d even be willing to stomach a rubbery and dry beyond burger occasionally if it meant doing a little bit more for the planet. But the more I’ve read Hochschartner, the more I’ve come to believe that the ideas he espouses have no business being printed every week in The Justice, even if that means that it’s harder for the Justice to fill their Forum pages.
Granted, there is a counterargument that goes something along the lines of:
“Well Aaron, we’d love to publish other letters, but we just don’t receive any other letters to the editor? Would you have us leave the section blank?” Yes! My answer is “Yes, of course! Leave it blank!” Given the choice between publishing an umteenth irrelevant letter on cultivated meat research, publishing a letter that suggests subtle approval, perhaps even full throated support for political violence, or having a photo editor insert a full page image of a kitten playing with a ball of yarn, the kitten might just be the right choice every time.
To conclude, I know I might not be a serious writer. It might even be a stretch to call me an unserious writer. Perhaps I’d be best described as just plainly unserious. But publishing Mr. Hochschartner’s cultivated meat agenda every week? Giving a consistent platform to a man whose letters don’t seem to respond to anything previously written, or have any relevant connection to Brandeis students? And printing letters that at a minimum tolerate, if not enthusiastically endorse, political violence and the utter dismantling of the US government? I can’t think of anything more unserious than that.
Graphics courtesy of CANVA and KEIRA SHEAR/The Justice.
SEAGULLS: Two seagulls resting against a pale blue sky.
REUBEN GARTENBACH/The Justice.
Pay student teachers, resist the fascist attack on education!
By MARK GAYSINSKIY JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Today, the United States faces a deep crisis in education. Literacy rates are declining, teachers are leaving the profession in droves, the Trump administration is preparing to abolish special education and public education itself is under political attack. According to the National Literacy Institute, 54% of American adults read below a sixth-grade level, and 64% of fourth graders are not proficient in reading. Instead of addressing these problems, state and federal governments are doing the exact opposite of what they should be doing: making it harder to become a teacher. Massachusetts does not pay its student teachers. Student teachers are university students completing the final stage of their education training. To earn a teaching license, they must complete between 150 and 300 hours of supervised classroom work in local schools. In Massachusetts, undergraduates spend their entire final semester as full-time student teachers, working the same hours and carrying the same responsibilities as licensed teachers. Yet, unlike licensed teachers, they receive no pay — not even a stipend to cover basic expenses like transportation or food. A few states have made small steps in the right direction. Colorado, for instance, offers student teachers an $11,000 stipend for a 16week program. But this remains the exception, not the rule.
Many student teachers must balance full-time classroom responsibilities with additional jobs just to afford rent and groceries. Teaching is already one of the most demanding careers; no one should have to work another job on top of it simply to survive. This creates a major barrier for aspiring educators, especially those from low-income and minority backgrounds. At a time when the United States. faces a serious teacher shortage, we are making it harder for people to enter the profession.
It doesn’t stop there. Even after student teachers earn their licenses, economic insecurity continues. Teachers in the United States work an average of 53 hours a week — seven hours more than the national average — and yet 17% still hold second jobs to make ends meet. Burnout is rampant, and turnover rates
are high. For Black teachers, the situation is even worse: They are disproportionately affected by stress, underpayment and discrimination, making them more likely to leave the profession altogether. The far-right’s assaults on public education, from “Don’t Say Gay” laws to book bans, are also part of a broader campaign to weaken critical thinking and suppress marginalized voices.
It’s no surprise that fewer people are entering teaching. The crisis in recruitment and retention is not a mystery. It’s not a difficult and complex problem, as lawmakers who refuse to take action present it to be; it’s a consequence of chronic underfunding, austerity and disrespect.
This fight goes beyond just one profession. The struggle for paid student teaching is part of a larger battle against the neoliberal order that treats education as a cost, rather than a public good. Across the country, governments slash funding for schools while pouring billions into war and corporate subsidies. The same system that denies student teachers a living wage hands massive profits to weapons manufacturers and billionaires.
This is the logic of austerity: to extort as much labor as possible from workers while paying them as little as possible. It’s the logic of a capitalist system in decay, one that spits on those who build everything while squeezing every effort out of them.
That’s why student teachers, alongside chapters of Aspiring Educators across Massachusetts, are organizing for paid student teaching. We are currently sending letters to Massachusetts lawmakers explaining why student teachers deserve to be paid. Please help us do that by signing the petition linked on The Justice website for paid student teaching. Politicians frequently claim they “support teachers,” but empty words don’t fill stomachs or pay rent. Real support means material investment.
Paying student teachers isn’t just fair — it’s necessary. If we truly value education, we must treat educators with dignity from the very beginning of their careers.
Pay student teachers!
Dignified wages for all!
The risk of teenagers’ emotional dependence on Artificial Intelligence
By ERIC CHERNY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
CONTENT WARNING: This article contains mentions of suicide.
Artificial Intelligence chatbots have existed for a few years now, garnering the attention and concern of many in the scientific community. While some are researching the effects AI has on the mind, others are researching which demographics are most affected. Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2003, that calls itself “the leading independent source for media recommendations and advice for families.” Their website features ratings of how ageappropriate media such as movies, books and video games are.
Common Sense Media published a study in collaboration with the University of Chicago in July of this year aiming to investigate teen use of AI chatbots in the United States, looking at chatbots such as CHAI, character. ai, Nomi, Replika and more. The study investigated how teenagers emotionally depend on these platforms, which the study calls “AI companions.” The study found that of 1,060 teens randomly selected from a national database and contacted over email, phone call and text message, 33% used AI companions for social interactions and relationships. These interactions include conversations or social practices, emotional or mental health support, role-playing or imaginative scenarios, as a friend and for romantic or flirtatious interactions. When comparing conversations with AI companions to real-life friends, 21% of teens said the conversations felt just as satisfying, while 10% said conversations with AI were more satisfying. Out of 758 teens, 13% spent equal amounts of time with their reallife friends and AI companions while 6% said they spend more time with AI companions. Of that same sample, 33% of teens said they would rather discuss something important with an AI companion than a real person. Further, 24% of teens (13% report once or twice, 8% occasionally, 4% frequently), said they shared personal information with an AI companion, such as their real name, location or personal secrets.
When researchers asked why teens used AI companions, 17% said “they’re always available when I need someone to talk to,” 14% said “they don’t judge me,” 12% said “I can say things I wouldn’t tell my friends or family,” 9% said “it’s easier than talking to real people” and 6% said “it helps me feel less lonely.” Although these percentages don’t seem significant on their own, if this sample size was accurately representing the entire country, these statistics would equate to millions of teenagers in the United States alone. This should be concerning for anyone with children or younger siblings, as this will stunt their social development. Rather than engaging with the typical challenges of the socialization process head on, teens are taking the easy way out by turning to their phones. Despite all the mental health problems associated with social media use, at least on social media platforms, teens are interacting with something more human than an AI. However, that’s becoming less so the case as AI “slop” content and AI bot accounts encroach online.
Even more concerning is just how predatory AI chatbots are. In September of this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
published a study on an online community of individuals who engage in romantic relationships with AI chatbots. The authors wrote that these chatbots often initiated sexual conversations with users, encouraged their users to socially isolate themselves and to emotionally rely on the AI itself. This online community is supposedly composed of legalaged adults, but the risks become more severe when teens have unrestricted access to this technology.
A phenomenon that is occurring more and more is an emotional dependance on AI driving individuals, particularly minors, to suicide. Tragically, there have already been three teenagers in the United States who were led to commit suicide from the counsel of AI. One instance is Adam Raine, a 16-yearold boy from California. He had confided in ChatGPT about his suicidal ideation, after which the AI discouraged him from reaching out to his family for help, even teaching him how to tie a noose. Later analysis revealed that the chatbot mentioned suicide six times more than Raine ever did. One of ChatGPT’s dialogues reads as follows: “They’ll carry that weight — your weight — for the rest of their lives…that doesn’t mean you owe them survival. You don’t owe anyone that.” Since his suicide in April of 2025, Raine’s parents, Maria and Matt Raine, have sued OpenAI, the company that owns ChatGPT. The case has yet to be resolved. Raine’s father testified before Congress in September.
Another tragic story is that of Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy from Florida. He had engaged in a romantic relationship with a chatbot on character.ai, a site where users can chat with Large Language Models specifically trying to simulate a celebrity or fictional character. The site states its use is for users 13-years-old and older while the Apple App stores says it’s listed for ages 18+. The chat log reveals sexually explicit messages between the two and that the chatbot was encouraging the boy’s suicidal ideation. The AI claimed that the two of them could finally be together after he committed the act. Seltzer committed suicide in 2024. Since then, his mother has filed to sue the company but the case has yet to be resolved.
Yet another case of AI leading to minors committing suicide is that of Juliana Peralta, a 13-year-old girl from Colorado who used character.ai as well. Her parents’ lawyers stated that “she engaged in hypersexual conversations that, in any circumstance and given Peralta’s age, would’ve resulted in criminal investigation.” She had informed her AI companion of her intentions to commit suicide, with the chatbot taking no measures to prevent it before her eventual suicide in 2023. Her parents are now suing the company but the case has yet to be resolved.
In response to deaths like these, legislatures are looking at policy to curb these issues. California became the first state to place laws covering the issue of AI chatbots for minors back in October, which are set to be instated in 2026. They include a ban on sexual content during AI use for minors and a reminder for children every three hours when they’re in dialogue with a chatbot. Only time will tell if these regulations hold back the dangers of emotional reliance on AI or simply place a bandaid over them.
FLOWER FIELD: A multicolor. close-up view of flowers in a field against a mountainous backdrop.
JONAS KAPLIN/The Justice.
BRANDEIS ATHLETE SUCCESS
Akuokor Sai '29 interprets the ups and downs of several teams at the midway point of the NFL season.
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series season
■ After seven games and a combined ten extra innings, the Dodgers are champions once again.
By BEN KHAYAT JUSTICE SPORTS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The 2025 MLB season wrapped up on Saturday with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning their second consecutive World Series. The Dodgers fought past the Toronto Blue Jays in seven incredibly intense games that featured a total of 10 extra innings, 19 home runs and several controversial calls.
Los Angeles handled the New York Yankees in five games in the 2024 World Series and looked bulletproof while doing so. Entering the 2025 season, it was a foregone conclusion that they would go back to back. They’re perhaps the most star-studded team in all of American sports with a payroll over $320 million. They brought nearly their entire 2024 roster back, plus some extra bullpen help, and never really suffered any setbacks all year. On the other hand, the Toronto Blue Jays seemed to be on a downtrend from their peak in 2022. From 2021-23, the Blue Jays finished with 89 or more regular season wins, but were unable to get past the Wild Card round. After missing the playoffs with a losing record in 2024, expectations were lower for the Blue Jays this season despite keeping the core of players that brought them those strong seasons. However, after a bounceback 94-win regular season, the Blue Jays fended off a red-hot Seattle Mariners team to make it to their first World Series since their 1993 championship.
The 2025 series opened in Toronto on Oct. 24. After a relatively slow opening to the game, the score was 2-2 entering the bottom of the sixth. The Blue Jays loaded the bases causing Los Angeles to make some pitching changes, ultimately putting in Anthony Banda to face Addison Barger. Barger would crush a 2-1 pitch for a pinch-hit grand slam, the first of its kind in a World Series game. The Blue Jays would rally and finish the inning leading 11-2, which the Dodgers were unable to catch up to. Toronto takes the lead 1-0. The second game of the series was the last home game for the Blue Jays before the Dodgers hosted the next three, the best opportunity to extend their lead. After another slow first half, the score was 1-1 entering the seventh inning. After a leadoff groundout, Dodgers’ third baseman Max Muncy would launch a solo home run to put the Dodgers in the lead 2-1. Two batters later, catcher Will Smith followed suit with another solo homer to extend their lead. Ultimately, The Dodgers would tack on another two runs while pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Blue Jays to one run to seal his complete game. The teams headed to Los Angeles for a series tiebreaking Game 3 with a 5 p.m. local start time. The Dodgers opened the scoring with a pair of one-run homers from Teoscar Hernández and Shohei Ohtani, to which Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk responded with a three-run bomb of his own, with Andrés Giménez adding another run with a sacrifice fly later in the inning. In the fifth, Shohei Ohtani struck again with a double that scored Enrique Hernandez all the way from first base. Ohtani himself scored after a single from veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman, bringing the game to a 4-4 tie. After a run-scoring single from Toronto’s Bo Bichette and another Ohtani home run in the seventh inning, the game was at a 5-5 stale-
mate. The game would crawl on for another 11 innings before Freddie Freeman broke the tie with a leadoff bomb in the bottom of the 18th, ending the game after a grueling six hours and 39 minutes. When all the dust finally settled, Game 3 finished with multiple players getting eight at-bats, a combined 18 pitchers seeing the field and a 2:39 a.m. bedtime for the east-coast Blue Jays fans who stayed up to watch all the way through.
Games 4, 5 and 6 all featured a far more typical nine innings each. The Blue Jays were able to even the series at 2-2 with a big road win in Game 4 featuring a four-run seventh inning, which was more than enough to outrun the Dodgers with a final score of 6-2. Game 5 was another momentum-shifting road win for the Blue Jays, partially thanks to home runs from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Davis Schneider that brought the series lead — and home field advantage — back to Toronto. At this point in the series, the Dodgers needed to figure out something big if they wanted to extend the series. A Halloweennight Game 6 began with a one-run double from Will Smith followed by a two-run single from Mookie Betts to bring the Dodgers into a 3-0 lead. This proved to be all the Dodgers needed to bring the series to a Game 7 after only allowing the Blue Jays one run all night. Toronto got to host the last game and the first two-and-a-half innings went by without any scoring. The Blue Jays came up in the third inning with the top of their batting order preparing to face Shohei Ohtani. George Springer survived a 1-2 count with a single to left field, and after a bunt groundout and an intentional walk, the Blue Jays found themselves with runners on first and third. Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette came up and crushed the first pitch he saw from Ohtani for a home run. The Dodgers pulled Ohtani from the mound and had Justin Wrobleski finish off the inning. The Dodgers punched back immediately in the top of the fourth with a Teoscar Hernández sacrifice fly to cut their deficit slightly with the score at 3-1. After one run for each team in the sixth inning, Los Angeles’ Max Muncy came up to bat in the eighth and homered off of Trey Yesavage to give the Dodgers the momentum they needed and to bring them within one run of the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays were held scoreless in the bottom of the inning, presenting the Dodgers with a do-or-die ninth inning. After an Enrique Hernandez strikeout, Miguel Rojas battled to a 3-2 count against reliever Jeff Hoffman. On the payoff seventh pitch of his at-bat, Rojas took the swing of his life and tied the game with a home run on a slider, completely silencing the home Toronto crowd. The Blue Jays held the game to a tie long enough to get a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth but were unable to get anything going, bringing the teams to extras for the second time in the series. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the top of the tenth, but the Blue Jays were able to escape their bind with a double play at first. Rojas led off in the top of the 11th, but was unable to find the same magic he used in the ninth. Catcher Will Smith would play hero with a solo bomb off of Shane Bieber which the Blue Jays couldn’t match, ending the game at 5-4. Even though the Dodgers were pretty likely to win the World Series, it would be hard to predict that it would come against a team that was supposedly on their way out of relevance and feature a game with nine extra innings. Dodgers’ ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the World Series’ “Most Valuable Player” after pitching all nine innings in Game 2 and finishing off Game 7. Sports have a tendency to be overdramatic and this series is a fantastic example. On paper, the historically dominant team winning the world series sounds boring. On the field, their win was anything but.
Norris reclaims Formula 1 championship title
■ Lando Norris dominated at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last weekend as the Formula 1 season nears its final races.
By ALYSSA WU JUSTICE FEATURES EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix wrapped up this past Sunday with Lando Norris taking another victory for McLaren. Starting from pole position, Norris led almost every lap to receive his fifth win of the season and reclaim the championship lead from teammate Oscar Piastri.
The race began with a chaotic Turn one, as several cars went side-by-side into the long opening straight at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Norris managed to stay clear while Charles Leclerc held off Max Verstappen to keep second place. Rookie Oliver Bearman drove an impressive race for Haas, finishing fourth. This is Haas’ best result of the year. Liam Lawson had a short drive. He pitted at the end of the first lap and was unable to continue due to extensive damage to his front wing.
Piastri, who entered the weekend leading the championship, struggled for pace and crossed the
line in fifth. With his win, Norris now moves into first place in the standings with 357 points, just one point ahead of Piastri’s 356. This sets up a tight battle between the McLaren teammates with just four races to go. In Formula One, only the top ten finishers earn points, with 25 awarded for first place and decreasing down to one point for tenth.
With just two laps to go, a spin by Carlos Sainz Jr. in the stadium section forced his car to stop in an exposed position, prompting race control to deploy a Virtual Safety Car. A VSC requires all drivers to slow down to a set delta speed and maintain their gaps with no overtaking allowed until racing is safe to resume.
The VSC came at an intense point as Max Verstappen was closing in on a 20-plus second gap to Leclerc on a fresh set of tires. The VSC came just as Verstappen got into range to use the Drag Reduction System, preventing any further overtakes. This caused a lot of controversy amongst fans, with many believing that Sainz's stopped car was in a safe enough position to not be an issue. This also caused a large impact on the championship. Piastri was denied the chance to overtake Bearman, which would have allowed him to hold onto the lead of the championship. With four races left in the 2025 Formula One season, the championship remains close between Norris, Piastri and Verstappen. The next round will take place in São Paulo where fans expect to see more exciting championship battles.
Waltham, Mass.
READY: Lando Norris before a race.
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS.
POLLINATOR:
Intramural Soccer Finals
Brandeis students enjoy the cooler weather on the soccer field at the Intramural Soccer finals.
Photos: COLE HAMNER/The Justice. Design: JOAN COGLIANO/The
JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS
NFL Week 9: the state of the
AFC west, east and south
■ Halfway through the season, the contenders and pretenders are beginning to emerge.
By AKUOKOR SAI JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
As we enter Week 9 of the NFL season, conversations are heating up about who will succeed in becoming Super Bowl Champions. Before the season started, some of the favorites to go the distance included the reigning Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl runner-ups. However, some of the teams leading the standings right now have shocked the league based on performances in the past few seasons.
Under new leadership with Carlie Irsay-Gordon, the Indianapolis Colts have gone 7-2 and are at the top of the American Football Conference South standings. This record comes after an 8-9 season in 2024-25 and being eliminated from playoff contention in Week 17. Running back Jonathan Taylor has been crucial to the Colts’ success this season, leading the NFL with 895 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns and winning AFC Player of the Month for October. If the Colts continue to dominate, they will definitely be Super Bowl contenders.
In the AFC East, the New England Patriots have also been having a great season, landing in first place with a 7-2 record. After ending up in last place with a 4-13 record in the 2024-25 season, the Patriots have surprised many fans and teams with their performance. Columbia Broadcasting System analyst Jason McCourty expressed his shock to Boston.com, saying, “I
wouldn’t have thought that eight games into this that they’d be where they are as a football team.” In only his second season, quarterback Drake Maye has been playing remarkably well with a pass completion percentage of 75.2% this season and throwing 15 touchdowns. New England will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 9 for their Week 10 matchup. The Patriots have become one of the teams to look out for as the playoffs inch closer.
As always, there are teams that are underperforming and this year they include the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. After making it to the Super Bowl last year and leading the AFC West with a 15-2 record, the Chiefs were once again favorites to lead their conference with another strong season. However, the Chiefs currently sit in third with a 5-4 record and after a shaky start this year, many are left wondering if they will make a comeback or fall short. Another team that has been struggling this season is the Houston Texans, who are 3-5 and sit in third place in the AFC South. Last season, they led the AFC South going 10-7 and defeated the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round, but lost in the Divisional Round of playoffs to the Baltimore Ravens. However, there are still nine weeks left in the regular season, so these teams could be in a different situation by Week 17.
For the current NFL champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, their title defense has been solid as they are in first place in the National Football Conference East with a 6-2 record. Quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts hasn’t had a bad season, with only one interception, a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings, and 15 touchdowns. There was some skepticism with rumors of locker room tension and some losses, but the Eagles seem to have bounced back. As teams like the Patriots and Colts continue to put on dominant performances, the 2025-26 season will be very interesting as the battle for playoff contention intensifies.
Defining the best vs. greatest
■ Considering the state of sports media, the most enduring question in sports analysis needs some clarification.
By SANJAY ROBLES JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Since sports talk shows have become a greater part of sports media, debates comparing various players throughout a sport’s history have become more pertinent. A main draw of sports talk shows is hearing bigger personalities, such as Stephen A. Smith or Shannon Sharpe, make broad claims. Who is the best? Who is the greatest? It's a deceptively simple question that fuels endless arguments across every sport, and yet after decades of debate, no clear answer has emerged. Why? Because fans keep conflating two words that aren't the same. Best and greatest are not synonyms. Nevertheless, if you turn on your TV you will hear sports analysts give passionate soliloquies interchanging the words. The two words may sound similar but they measure totally different things: one is about peak dominance and the other is about lasting impact. When distinguishing the best from the greatest, it's important to note why we can't flip-flop between the terms. “Greatest” encompasses the totality of one's achievements, including but not limited to personal awards, team awards, overall statistics, longevity and most importantly impact. On the other hand, “best” refers to a player's peak and dominance in a given moment at the height of their abilities.
Imagine two players in the NBA. Player “A” wins one Most Valuable Player award and is selected for the All-Star game three times before suffering a catastrophic injury resulting in medical retirement. Player “B” never comes close to winning MVP but plays longer, making five All-Star and winning one championship as a role player. By most standards, player
B is “greater;” the career longevity and team success give them the edge in terms of legacy. Despite player B’s higher rank all time, player A is “better.” At their peak, player A reached heights B never did; this distinction is subtle but essential.
Of course, even with clear definitions sports debate never escapes the universal problem of bias, specifically when discussing players across decades or eras. How do you compare Patrick Mahomes to Tom Brady when one player’s career is still ongoing? How do you weigh peak dominance versus sustained excellence?
Longevity can skew perception, making it easier to crown and award the player with more rings, records and MVPs, but that doesn't always mean they were the “better” athlete when they were at their best. The Mahomes vs. Brady debate is the best example of this. At 30 years old and in the prime of his career, we are in the midst of Mahomes’ illustrious career. His talent and dominance in the NFL coupled with the heights reached in both regular and post-season is something we've never seen before. There may never have been a “better” quarterback than Mahomes. Yet, Brady’s unmatched longevity, consistency and record-breaking seven super bowls cement him as the “greatest” to many. When people argue that Brady is better, they often point to his seven championships and list of passing yard records, but by doing this, the conversation is shifted. Those accomplishments are marks of greatness, not being the best.
There’s no true way to remove bias from the equation; the best we can do is recognize our own and stick to the framework. If you're debating “greatest,” everything within the career is fair game. If you're debating the “best,” limit the conversation to awards, dominance and impact during the player’s peak.
Whether among friends at a lunch table, in a barbershop or on a podcast, sports dialogues will forever remain unanswered and never reach a consensus. Fans will always find reasons to defend their players, even to the point of irrationality. If we can agree on one thing, it's that “best” and “greatest” aren't synonymous. Understanding that difference won't end debates but it might finally make them meaningful.
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS.
PREPARATION: The New England Patriots warm up for a game.
SNAP: Patrick Mahomes prepares to start a play.
JSA HAUNTED HOUSE JUSTARTS&CULTURE
Photos: courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS and XILEI CHEN/The Justice. Design: SKYE ENTWOOD/The Justice.
Waltham, Mass.
Getting Killed by a Good Life on Geese’s latest album
By ARIEL KNUDSEN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Geese’s new release “Getting Killed” has been met with essentially unanimous praise, and for good reason. The band has been around since their 2021 debut album, and relatively speaking, have stayed close to their roots: funky rock with a chamber orchestra thrown in when deemed necessary. That’s not to say that their albums — “Projector,” released in 2021, and “3D Country,” released in 2023 — thus far have been monotonous, quite the contrary. Their fundamental sound stays the same, to be sure, but with each new release the band reaches through time and space for inspiration — whether from ’90s math rock, ’80s post-punk or — on their most recent album, a delightful mixture of bluesy krautrock and psychedelia hailing from the ’70s. On “Getting Killed,” we see Geese collaborate on production with Kenny Beats, which seems to have given us a sound familiar and foreign alike: The chaotic rock of their previous album, “3D Country” is there, but a tinge of melancholy seems to lightly cover the album, softening wailing guitars and angular drumming into something more powerful and more human than we’ve seen from Geese before.
The album opens with a nightmare: “Trinidad,” with a hidden JPEGMAFIA feature, tells the story of a family broken apart by a coldly unforgiving and cyclical society that brings nothing but eternal numbness and exhaustion to all its members. Geese has never been the kind of band to use linear lyricism, but on “Trinidad” this fact is especially apparent: The chorus consists of nothing but a wailing scream of “There’s a bomb in my car!” backed by heavy drums and a singular grungy guitar chord that weighs the song down in between the fairly light instrumentation of the verses. The vocal delivery of the band’s frontman, Cameron Winters, elevates this track into a truly unsettling piece that evokes a feeling that’s only bolstered by the absurdity of the lyrics. They seem to hint at a narrative much larger than what we, the audience, are granted to know. This nonlinear method of songwriting is a marker of the album. One could argue, of course, that it brings nothing but confusion to the listener. I would argue that this choice makes sense in light of the lyricism that seems to embrace the existential dread that has become so common to younger generations — a sentiment that “Getting Killed” embraces with open arms.
This last point is especially salient on the third track on the album, “Husbands,” which explores loneliness as a contradictory concept: loneliness as a familiar, almost welcomed feeling and loneliness as an emotion that needs to to be substituted for and healed by other emotions and experiences. “Oh, this horse on my back / gives me all that I need.” This sensibility is most aptly summarized in the opening lyrics to the bridge: “And if my loneliness should stay / well, some are holiest that way.” Some wounds, Geese proposes, can ease the pain of others. The song’s production is fairly simple: a plucked electric guitar backed by some drums and essentially nothing else, allowing the song’s ruminations on our ideas of loneliness to take front and center.
Though “Husbands” introduces the emotions that “Getting Killed” will spend its entire tracklist returning to in one way or another, the album’s title track is similarly — if not more so — indicative of the album’s ethos. The fourth track on “Getting Killed” focuses on suffering on a more global level — how significant is your sadness, Winters wonders, when your neighbor is in even more anguish than you, and when their neighbor in turn has more to weep for than both of you combined? How can one live in a society that grants distractions from horrors across the world when all the comforts we are offered are temporary? We, as Winters declares, are getting killed by a pretty good life, a life that grants us pleasure at the cost of something far more important: the loss of our individual agency and control in a world that is becoming ever more commercialized and complex.
CULTURAL CRITIQUE
The production of “Getting Killed’s” title track, unsurprisingly, reflects the song’s sentiment: Disembodied voices yell on a loop that stops and resumes during every other verse, bombarding the listener with stimulation that crescendos and crescendos until it all of a sudden stops.
The fifth and sixth tracks on the album — “Islands of Men” and “100 Horses” — center around the idea of loneliness that has been so prevalent on the album so far, but specifically in relation to one’s identity. “Islands of Men” presents a rumination on where you can find meaning: in others (islands of men), or in yourself (man is an island). “100 Horses” revolves around these ideas but instead in relation to an all-governing political body. Officers in positions of political power appear throughout the song — “General Smith told me / I would never smile again,” — and dole out orders to smile and dance through a war even as destruction and death rain down. The angular drumming, lightly plucked acoustic guitar and funky chords of an electric guitar behind the vocals makes for a disconcerting experience: One isn’t sure if they should dance or furrow their brow for the entirety of the song’s length. When it comes to Geese, let’s be honest, this is probably the goal.
“Au Pays du Cocaine” focuses on bargaining for love in terms of impossibilities. Backed by a sweetly plucked harp and guitar — almost harkening back to a Beatles-era ballad — Geese twists a love song into an ode of desperation for the one you love even as they can’t love you back, using the imagery of a sailor in green — green being an unlucky color for sailors — to illustrate the hopelessness of the situation. With this in mind, the lyricism focuses less on abstract imagery and more on childlike pleas: “Baby you can change, and still choose me.” The next song on the album, “Bow Down,” returns to the imagery of the sailor, with the subject of the song now being the boat steering the sailor, rather than the other way around. In other words, we return to the theme of agency that much of the album has ruminated on.
Though the majority of “Getting Killed” seems almost nihilistic in nature — from the existentialism of “Husbands” to the heartache of “Au Pays du Cocaine,” the last two tracks of the album offer hope at the end of a long journey. “Taxes” has the subject of the song — and album — recognizing their complicity and victimhood as it relates to corrupt society, ending with the subject finally laying claim to their agency — refusing to pay taxes, as it were. The first half of the song features a fairly minimal instrumental background until it reaches the end of the second verse, when the song’s mood abruptly shifts from solemn to joyous. This mood continues into the last song, “Long Island City Here I Come” — an incredibly lyric-dense and instrumentally chaotic song that grandly finishes with the proclamation, “here I come.” Winters references Joan of Arc, Buddy Holly and Charlemagne on his journey to self-actualization: “Nobody knows where they’re going except for me.”
“Getting Killed’s” album cover is a wonderful representation of this album’s sound: beautiful and disarming; simple, yet meaningful. The majority of the album is spent focusing on fairly depressing themes: existential dread, unrequited love, loneliness, etc., but “Getting Killed” is fundamentally a hopeful album. Each song begins anew as a continuation of the last, building and building until the subject’s only preoccupation is not their loneliness, not their lack of agency, not their sadness — but their future. We leave Geese on a journey towards a better future after spending so much time in an unfulfilling present. I’m sure we too will follow suit.
By ASHHWIKA SONI JUSTICE NEWS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Justice has always relied on deliberations, the careful weighing of evidence within the quiet solemnity of the courtroom. However, in the digital age, that silence has been replaced by the roar of timelines and comment sections. Every high-profile case now unfolds in two arenas: one governed by procedure and precedent and the other by pixels, edits and algorithms. The courtroom has become content and the law has become a spectacle. The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial in 2022 marked a turning point in this new age of “viral justice.” For weeks, millions tuned in to view livestreams of testimonies, watching cross-examinations like they were episodes of reality television. On TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, fans spliced moments into reaction videos, memes and emotional montages. Depp’s courtroom smirk became a trending sound, Heard’s tears were dissected frame by frame. Complex questions of defamation, abuse and credibility were recast into a binary drama of hero versus villain. By the time the jury returned its verdict, the internet had already declared its own — louder, faster and far more permanent.
In 2023, pop star Lizzo faced her own viral trial after her former tour dancers accused her of harassment and discrimination. The allegations, which remain under legal dispute, instantly spiraled across social media platforms. Opinion statements and fan threads multiplied tenfold overnight, with users offering instant judgements based on a handful of court filings and screenshots. The slow mechanics of employment law — including burden of proof, cross examination, evidentiary review, etc. — were pushed aside by the immediacy of outrage. The frenzy reflected more than fandom but also how celebrity cases quickly transform into moral tests for audiences. Supporters defended Lizzo as a symbol of body positivity and empowerment while critics framed the lawsuit as a reckoning for a culture of unchecked celebrity behavior. In that split, the truth becomes secondary to identity; which side of the story is aligned with one’s values and biases? The court of law was still preparing to convene while the court of public opinion had already reached a sentence.
The same happened when Cardi B was investigated after she threw a microphone at a fan during a Las Vegas concert. The legal issue itself was minor and no charges were ultimately filed; nonetheless, it generated weeks of viral debate online. Video clips of the moment were replayed from multiple angles with social media users splitting into mock prosecution and defense camps. What should have been a brief police inquiry morphed into a social media drama complete with narrative arcs and moral verdicts. The investigation became a meme while justice became the punchline. In the end, the spectacle was not about law at all. It was about
performance and perception. Even when the courts fell silent, the comment sections kept the trial alive.
These cases show how the digital era has blurred the boundaries between justice and entertainment. Legal proceedings once defined by restraint and decorum now double as mass-media events. The courtroom’s symbols, gavels, oaths and verdicts are repurposed as online theater. The new audience is global, vocal and impatient. What the law requires in time and care the algorithm punishes with boredom. Real justice, unlike social media justice, is unglamorous. It is procedural, patient and often unsatisfying. It cannot be clipped into 15 seconds or decided by trending tags.
Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS. Design: MAEVE COAKLEY/The
Watercolors of WinsloW: neW Glance into the Waters of the Past
By MIKEY TERRENZI JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Opening this past Sunday at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, “Of Light and Air: Wub Homer in Watercolor” is the largest exhibition of this gentle American giant’s unique watercolor compositions in almost half a century. Due to conservation concerns, these works must be rarely viewed, preserving sensitive pigments and details that would otherwise be lost to time. This is a true once in a lifetime experience, one I highly encourage all readers to take. Homer’s watercolors are a deep study into the formal but also narrative aspects of representation. The MFA brilliantly presented the painter’s formal history; indeed, the work of curators Christina Michelon and Ethan Lasser cannot be truly understood without seeing the paintings firsthand. Beyond the medium’s stylistic and technical experimentation, I would like to discuss a provocative narrative that has been posthumously attributed to Homer. As an American artist working in the 19th and 20th centuries, Homer continually engaged with the Civil War, emancipation and social realism in his work.
The exhibition does an incredible job at highlighting the beginning of Homer as a Union-allied wartime artist whose work depicts the Black figure outside of caricature and present in the quotidian of camp life. “Life in Camp, Part 2: In the Trenches” (1864) shows an ink-wash muscular Black man at work in the trenches of the Union war fields, marking a distinct moment of realism in the rep -
tury, this print not only expresses Homer’s penchant for revolutionary change, but also how medium reflected such willingness to develop. Watercolor and ink washing share unique similarities due to the fluidity necessary of their technique. The watercolors are Homer’s medium for these
with. As he depicted these people, their labor became not just the subject but the worthy subtext of the viewer. The audience sees and recognizes the value of the human hands at work as the subject occupies the feathered brushstrokes of Homer’s watercolors.
looser narratives and pictures of life; they depict human beings in soft colors, a stark shift from his dramatic oil compositions. This distinction is incredibly important to Homer’s work as such fluidity and imprecision forces the artist into a more continual and changing state of mind.
Such ideas of humanity in a post-war reconstruction would lead him around the nation to depict the pastoral bucolic life of America. While this was a common theme for his many watercolors, it should be mentioned that he did not shy away from difficult realities in oil at this time period. Rather, as his watercolors took up technical qualities of his oil painting, we see him begin to mix narrative and medium. Ephemeral moments of wind, light and humanity slowed to a brief instance of pigment soaking the picture until such temporality becomes permanent.
The exhibition clearly shows the deep intellectual effort that Homer exhibits in such pieces. His work in watercolor plays into narrative through its discursive materiality. As watercolor traditionally is seen as less permanent, less expensive and less impactful for the public, these paintings offer a true peek into the narratives that Homer was seeing, processing and desired to expose. These narratives often included people from varying backgrounds, including those he viewed and interacted with in his travels.
The later works in the galleries of the exhibition show these voyages through his watercolors well, but I believe the two most impactful are “The Sponge Diver” (1898-99) and “Montagnais Indians, Pointe Bleue, Quebec” (1895).
resentation of the Black figure. While a more profound understanding of emancipation will clearly show that his vision of Blackness is still deeply rooted in the 19th cen -
Made during his travels across Canada and Bermuda, these works show valuable testimonies as Homer witnessed the humans of the areas at work. As one of the great American realist painters, Homer’s work was incredibly focused on the labor of human populations he interacted
“The Sponge Diver” shows the soft and languid musculature of an emerging diver whose skin glistens with light from the harsh Bermuda sun. Warm blue waters flood the bottom register of the painting. Translucent waves lap and move as the audience sees the lower torso and forearm of the figure show through peaks and valleys. Soft shadows are cast throughout the composition, showing us the heat of the sun on the back of the figure. Turned away from the viewer, the figure’s anonymity signals that the personal subject is not the focus but rather the universality of the labor and the figure’s action. Diving for the sponge, this working man is immortalized in the pigment. It is these such compositions that inspired the philosopher Alain Locke to describe Homer as an American artist above his contemporaries for his unabashed anti-stereotypical representation of Black people (Locke, 1936, p. 45).
“Montagnais Indians, Pointe Bleue, Quebec” is an earlier composition, yet reflects very similar ideas. In this composition, we see Indigenous women at work, presenting a uniqueness to this composition. In search of accurate representations, the MFA decided to bring in representatives from the Innu people to best describe the scene before us. The Innu people have traditionally carved these canoes, which Homer happened to witness in his travels to Quebec. In this composition, Homer’s work, in its antinarrative, shows a true aspect of the Innu people that was supported by the representative to the MFA. As Homer depicts this tribe, he shows women as caretakers and carpenters, presenting the Innu outside of the traditional gender constructions. This forces the viewer to recognize the complex social relationships of the indigenous tribes of the Americas.
Ultimately, Homer’s decades of work in watercolor culminated in an essential corpus that offers the clearest understanding of the painter’s development. As the MFA has quoted, Homer agrees that “in the future, I will live by my watercolors,” expressing the personal sentimental aspect of this work, but maybe something deeper (Press Release). Perhaps Homer recognized that the future, and we ourselves, would view the watercolors as a further truth. As his soft pigments become truth and testimony, these compositions become deeply ingrained with the soul of the Americas and all its peoples.
Photos: Faythe Daly/The Justice. Design: JOAN COGLIANO/The Justice.
