The Brandeis Hoot, September 9, 2022

Students organizes reservoir cleanup

By Mia Plante editor

Re:wild Brandeis, formerly known as Herbicide-Free Brandeis, met on campus and ventured to the nearby water reservoir to pick up trash, on Saturday, Sept. 3. e cleanup began around 1 p.m. and lasted approximately two hours.

In an interview with e Hoot, a representative of Re:wild Brandeis explained that there were 11 people at the event on Saturday. All of the volunteers in attendance were provided with gloves and trash bags by Re:wild Brandeis.

“We do a few cleanups each year,” Re:wild Brandeis told e

Brandeis listed on Mapping Project website

By Victoria Morrongiello and Mia Plante editor

University president Ron Liebowitz sent an email to the Brandeis community discussing the Boston area group known as the Mapping Project, according to an email sent on June 14. e Mapping Project is an initiative that looks at organizations and institutions in the greater Massachusetts area and their connection to the colonization of Palestine, according to their website. Liebowitz wrote in the email that the project “alleges evil

See MAPPING, page 4

By Victoria Morongiello editor

Ron Liebowitz, university president, announced that the university received ve separate donor gi s accumulating to $16.5 million in this scal year, according to an email sent to

Univ. received $16.5 million for endowed professorships

community members on Sep. 7.

e money will be spent on establishing four new faculty chair positions, according to the email.

“I am delighted to share more information with you about the ve endowed professorships that came to fruition during the last ve months of the scal year. Brandeis has received ve separate gi

taling $16.5 million to establish four new faculty chairs – one each in African and African American studies, mathematics, Israeli politics and society, and business – as well as an endowed position to lead an integrated center for Jewish studies,” reads the email. e donations are called an

munity support,” according to the o cial announcement on the university’s alumni page. e ve donations were made independently from one another, according to the announcement, of the ve donations three came from alumnae of the university.

Bonnie Berger ’83— the Si

See RESEVOIR , page 2 ENDOWMENT, page 3

ics at Massachusetts Insitute of Technology (MIT)—made the donation with her husband Tom Leighton to create a junior professorship in the university’s Mathematics Department, according to the announcement. In the announcement, it reads that Berger

Cultivating sustainable infrastructure at Brandeis

By Roshni Ray editor

e Brandeis Sustainability Committee recently adopted new initiatives targeted at conducting campus maintenance in more sustainable ways and collecting data to make informed decisions regarding future infrastructure changes.

ese e orts are part of Brandeis’ intermittent years of climate action. e 2022 to 2023 academic year is Brandeis’ fourth year of climate action, with previous e orts occurring in 2020, 2016 and 2008.

e larger scope of Brandeis’ focal years of climate action are to commit to carbon neutrality no later than 2030 and

achieve the other goals outlined in the Vision 2030 dra

An ongoing set of initiatives towards greener infrastructure practices are the organic land management changes. Previous ly, Brandeis utilized an herbi cide called Roundup, which was a glyphosate-based herbicide.

Glyphosate has been the most commonly used herbicide in the United States since 2001.

While glyphosate is not ap proved for aquatic use since it is acutely toxic to aquatic organisms, its e ect on humans is controversial.

e European Chemicals Agency, pesticide regulatory organizations and other scienti c organizations have reached the

See GREEN, page 3

ARTS: PAGE 13

PHOTO BY THE HOOT

By Thomas Pickering editor

e human brain acts as a control center for many basic and complex functions of the body, with many of these processes not fully understood, according to a ScienceDirect article. Eve Marder (BIOL) and her lab at Brandeis University are working to help understand brain functions better.

Marder’s lab, which works to classify central oscillator circuits in the brain, was able to uncover cells in lobsters and crabs, found in the stomatogastric ganglion, that create oscillatory activity to govern the rhythmic motion of the digestive tract, according to a ScienceDaily report.

As reported by ScienceDaily, central oscillators are vital to bodily functions in mammals because they are responsible for maintaining rhythmic ring patterns. Bodily functions such as walking, chewing and breathing are all patterns that need to be regulated and consistent. e

rhythmic ring patterns of neurons within mammalian brains are responsible for the internal tempo which keeps those functions consistent, the article noted.

While it has been and is widely considered true, prior to the research proving their placement, that oscillatory cells are responsible for rhythmic behavior in mammals; it was too di cult to pinpoint the exact location of the cells responsible, according to ScienceDaily.

For example, bodily functions such as walking were believed to have an oscillator connected throughout the spinal cord. e large range of cells and neurons related to that part of the body was di cult to sort through to nd the exact cells responsible for that rhythmic behavior, as described in the article.

Marder’s lab was able to nd cells within the brains of crabs and lobsters with a more precise scope, unlike that of other labs at the time. As reported in a BrandeisNOW article about Marder’s research, “Marder pioneered the

studies that introduced neuromodulation.” Neuromodulation is the process by which neurons can be changed and highlighted to identify which are and are not ring by using chemical substances to reach them, as written in BrandeisNOW. e BrandeisNow article explained that neuromodulation di ers from prior processes which seek to highlight ring neurons because previous processes had to go through synaptic contacts with other neurons. is limited the scope in which scientists could identify and properly determine which cells and neurons in the brain were responsible for exactly what bodily functions, as the article described. Marder’s lab used this technique to identify the central oscillator circuits in invertebrates, lobsters and crabs in this case, written about in BrandeisNow. However, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been able to use this method of identifying neurons to properly identify an oscillator in a mam-

ma, according to ScienceDaily.

Speci cally, they were able to identify the oscillator responsible for whisking in mice. Whisking is the rhythmic process by which mice and rats in particular are able to move their whiskers.

Whisking allows for rodents to partake in a plethora of di erent functions such as object touch and discrimination, navigation, attacking, swimming and social touch from other rodents, as professor Suzanne E. Gregoire, an animal psychologist at the University of Connecticut, explains.

According to Fan Wang, an MIT professor of brain and cognitive sciences and a member of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, to provide these vital functions the whiskers on mice are recorded to extend and retract at a frequency that is roughly 12 cycles per second.

In order to discover where the whisking oscillator lies in the brain of a mouse, the researchers at MIT had to work from the outside in. ey began with the motor neurons that are re-

sponsible for the movement of whisker muscles. But, to uncover what neurons are responsible for the tempo at which those neurons re, they had to go further, as Wang explained.

ey employed the use of a modi ed rabies virus. is virus, Wang elaborated, when distributed to the mice, had the goal of increasing the time in between neural responses. us, the virus would slow down rhythmic activities if it targeted the correct neurons, as described by Wang.

e MIT researchers found that, consistent with previous studies, damage to the brainstem reduced whisking. is is the rst time that an oscillator, responsible for rhythmic behavior, in mammals has been completely identi ed, according to ScienceDaily. Starting with work in Marder’s lab at Brandeis University, what were previously undiscovered secrets of the brain are slowly being revealed, as expounded in ScienceDaily.

Ronald Liebowitz responds to Mapping Project

connections between Jewish and pro-Israel groups across Massachusetts with politicians, the police and the media, and targets, by name, individual Jewish citizens.” Liebowitz then goes on to say that the project “uses wellworn antisemitic tropes to link these groups … to a range of conspiracies and sinister activities.”

e university is among the educational institutions listed on the Mapping Project website.

e Mapping Project page on Brandeis University writes that Brandeis “o ers its students multiple programs and initiatives which celebrate Israel and whitewash over the realities of Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the homeland and the of Palestinian resources.”

A main point of the Mapping Project is to look at “policing, US imperialism and displacement/ethinic cleansing” in the connection between Massachusetts institutions and Palestine, according to their webpage.

e Mapping Project criticizes Brandeis’ connections to Israeli

universities and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, mentioning that the center “regularly partners with Boston area Zionist organizations, including

e Consulate General of Israel to New England, and Hadassah, to host propagandistic, pro-Israel events on the Brandeis campus.”

e page links to examples of what they call propagandistic events, including conversations with Israeli artists in the “Studio Israel: Conversation Series.”

e university’s Crown Center for Middle East Studies—a center whose goal is to balance research on the modern Middle East meeting high academic bars, according to their website—is also discussed on the Mapping Project page.

According to the project, the center bears the name of an individual “whose family made their $3.6 billion dollar fortune through ventures including owning a 20 percent stake in the US weapons developer General Dynamics.”

e Crown Center’s research is re ective of a broad geopolitical landscape—according to their webpage—they conduct research involving “Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and

the smaller GCC states, as well as Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya.” is section also mentions Professor Shai Feldman (POL)—the founding director of the Crown Center—and his connections to the Ja ee Center for Strategic Studies which “employs former Israeli military o cials as sta members,” according to the JCSS website. Feldman worked at the Crown Center from its formation in 2005, according to a BrandeisNOW article.

e Mapping Project also discusses the Myra Kra Seminar in Israel, which has been part of the Hornstein Program curriculum for over 30 years, according to the university’s webpage.

It focuses its discussion on the seminar’s visits to “Israel’s apartheid and annexation wall which fragments Palestinian communities in the West Bank” and “meetings between young Israeli adults and young Jewish adults from abroad” in the West Bank. According to the university’s webpage, the seminar is intended to provide “an incomparable opportunity for [students] to explore Israel in its 8th decade through thought-provoking dialogues, speakers, experiential activities,

wide-ranging eld visits, and personal and group re ections.”

Other local organizations and businesses included in the Mapping Project include Raytheon in Waltham, which the Project denounces for being complicit in “colonialism, ecological harm, health harm, militarization, policing, the prison-industrial complex, surveillance, US imperialism and Zionism.”

Brandeis University students have previously criticized the company for its impact on the war industry. In a 2020 article by e Brandeis Hoot, Brandeis student Arthi Jacob ’21 explained how the campus group Brandeis Dissenters aims to “change the national narrative about what it means to be involved with companies like [Raytheon], even tangentially.”

e Mapping Project separates institutions, government agencies and companies they deem “harmful” by the harms they supposedly cause.

e harms listed on the website are: Zionism, U.S. imperialism, surveillance, propaganda/ normalization, privatization, prison-industrial complex, policing, militarization, health harm, ethnic cleansing/displacement

(‘gentri cation’), ecological harm, colonialism and ableism. Liebowitz concludes his email by writing that “the normalization of antisemitic stereotypes has fueled hateful attacks on the Jewish community for more than a millennium, and we must be unequivocal in our denunciation of all who perpetuate them.”

e Mapping Project writes on their page that their interactive map is intended to show “concrete connections between anti-colonial struggles and local struggles against displacement and for life-a rming building of communities.” e group does not have any donors, according to their page.

e goal of the organization is not only to identify institutions that they deem to “enact devastation” by their de nitions in order to “dismantle them.”

Other universities included on the Mapping Project website are Berklee College of Music, Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard Law School, MIT, Su olk University and Wellesley College.

e Hoot reached out to the Mapping Project for further comments but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Re:wild Brandeis organizes reservoir cleanup

Hoot, such as their previous reservoir cleanup in the fall of last year. “ ere was a lot of trash because the reservoir is an uno cial swimming spot, so there are no trash cans,” the club stated. is causes litter to pile up according to Re:wild, stating “I think when people see so much litter around they assume they can do the same.” One student who attended the event, Ethan Meilander ’25, explained in an interview with the Hoot that “It’s a very popular place for the ‘Deisians’ to go. People like to go swimming there,

but lately it’s been a mess so we thought why not take it into our own hands?”

Re:wild Brandeis has also previously held weeding days at green spaces on campus. According to a previous Brandeis Hoot article, the club collaborated with the university groundskeeper, Chris Gould, to remove weeds and invasive species from Brandeis’s campus.

e on-campus environmental activism group wrote in an Instagram post on Aug. 28 that “[cleaning up the reservoir] is an important cause because it’s our responsibility to keep the nature

around us clean.” On Saturday, nearly every volunteer at the event walked out with three full bags of trash they collected, according to Re:wild. “ e event was very successful,” they explained to e Hoot. Meilander told the Hoot that the reservoir looked noticeably di erent a er the event, although there was still some trash le behind, primarily shards of glass. Objects found during the cleanup included broken glass, an unused tampon, a Capri Sun straw, a dab pen and much more. Re:wild Brandeis is a new name for the student group, as they are formerly known as Herbicide

Free Brandeis. e Hoot asked the group about the change in club title: “Originally we were a chapter of Herbicide-Free Campus,” the group explained. “Our goal was to get Brandeis to transition to organic land care by shi ing land management practices away from heavy herbicide use, and we are now joining Re:wild Your Campus (formerly Herbicide-Free Campus) in their transition with the vision of transforming our campus into a regenerative ecosystem.”

e Re:wild Your Campus website explains how “Re:wild Your Campus provides students with

tools to work with groundskeepers, develop campaign strategies, and provide alternatives in order to transition their campuses to organic land maintenance and ultimately re-wild and revolutionize landcare and create safer spaces for all.” Brandeis’s chapter of the group, which graduated from the Re:Wild Your Campus fellowship last year, is upholding the goals of the organization, telling e Hoot that “eliminating herbicides and decolonizing aesthetics is one piece of the puzzle to create a safer campus for all and we hope to promote biodiversity and climate resilience in our continued work.”

RESEVOIR

MAPPING

Jill Greenlee awarded 2022 Lerman-Neubauer Prize

By Roshni Ray editor

Associate Professor of Politics

Jill Greenlee was awarded the 2022 Lerman-Neubauer Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring. is award commends faculty members who provide exceptional support to students and positively impact student lives in the capacity of a mentor.

In addition to the title, the prize awards faculty members with $5,000 and is presented annually during the spring at the April faculty meeting. Lerman-Neubauer recipients members o en hold full-time, tenured positions and are involved in both the cocurricular and extracurricular activities on campus.

Greenlee teaches numerous courses in the Politics depart-

ment, such as “ e American Congress,” “Political Psychology,” “Gender in American Politics” and more. A comprehensive list of the courses she teaches can be found on her faculty page.

e award site displays student thoughts regarding Greenlee’s teaching and mentorship. Students commend Greenlee on her availability to meet with students a er class hours, support them on assignments and help them navigate career and life decisions.

One student wrote, “Her passion for teaching about marginalized, underrepresented groups in American political institutions is palpable from every carefully assigned reading and every thought provoking lecture.”

Greenlee’s area of research expertise includes American politics, political socialization, public opinion, gender and politics

and racial attitudes, and she has a number of research projects currently ongoing. One topic she is exploring is the e ect of being the father of a daughter on men’s gender-linked political a liations and behavior.

In collaboration with other researchers, Greenlee is also investigating the gender gaps between political ambition and whether political socialization during childhood has an impact on these trends.

Lastly, she also works on questions regarding racial attitudes and generational change in political attitudes as a result of political socialization.

In addition to her research undertakings, Greenlee is currently working on producing a manuscript for a book that details racial attitudes in white Americans who came of age during Obama’s

presidency with her co-authors. Her work has previously been published in journals such as Political Psychology, Politics and Gender and Political Behavior.

e selection process for a Lerman-Neubauer Prize recipient involves nominations from faculty, sta , students and alumni through a nomination form where community members can describe their reasons for nominating the professor and provide examples of instances in which the faculty member went above and beyond in mentorship and support.

Other factors that go into the decision making process include Faculty Activity Reports, teaching evaluations and CVs.

Ultimately, the recipient is selected by the Dean of Arts and Sciences based on the recommendation proposed by a committee of two students ap-

pointed by the Student Union, two former Lerman-Neubauer recipients and the Associate Dean of Academic A airs.For the 20222023 academic year, nominations for faculty are due March 1, 2023.

Brandeis receives $16.5 million for endowments

ENDOWMENT, from page 1

expressed “[excitement] to help grow the department’s impact long into the future,” through the funding from her donation.

“ e Berger-Leighton Endowed Professorship will advance the department’s research missions, enabling it to recruit high-caliber junior faculty and attract and retain more undergraduate and graduate students,” according to the announcement.

Barbara E Clark, IBS MA ’91, made a gi to the university to establish a Distinguished Brandeis Faculty Chair in Business, according to the announcement.

Clark—an economist, investor and entrepreneur—

made a $4 million dollar donation to create the position, according to a release article.

“

e Distinguished Brandeis

Faculty Chair in Business will support a senior faculty member from a historically underrepresented population in the elds of business, nance or economics.

e chairholder will be a distinguished scholar who has made outstanding contributions to teaching and research in their discipline,” according to an alumni article.

Clark also made a $25,000 donation for the Peace Scolarship—a fund for students who have been displaced from their countries due to con ict, according to a previous Brandeis Hoot article.

Belinda Frankel—president of the Raymond Frankel Foundation and daughter of the foundation’s founder — made a donation to establish the Raymond Frankel Chair in Israeli Politics and Society in the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, according to a Brandeis alumni article. e donation was a $3 million gi to establish the chair position, according to an announcement on the Crown Center website. e rst person to serve in the chair position will be Shai Feldman, the founding director of the Crown Center.

Marta Kau man ’78, H’20—a television writer and producer known for co-creating the sitcoms “Friends” and “Grace and Frankie”—also contributed a

donation to the university, according to the article. According to a previous Brandeis Hoot article, Kau man re ected on the backlash she received for the lack of representation on the show “Friends” which sparked her decision to create this donation.

According to the announcement of the donation, which is an investment in the university, “follows a period of self-examination, a time informed by her own experiences and current events.”

Kau man pledged $4 million to the university to create the professorship in African and African American Studies, according to the article.

Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine established the Lavine Family Professor and Director of the Cen-

ter for Jewish Studies through their donation to the university, according to the article. e Lavine’s donation was made to help keep the founding president—Abram L. Sachar’s—ideals about being “vitally concerned with Jewish studies,” according to the article. “ e new directorship will promote collaboration among faculty and researchers across campus who conduct research on and teach about Jewish history, culture, religion, politics, gender, business, and the state of Israel,” according to the article. All of the donations made will help support the university’s Framework for the Future, according to Liebowitz’s email.

2022 Annual Security Report published on Wednes-

By Mia Plante editor

e Brandeis Chief of Public Safety shared the Brandeis University 2022 Annual Security Report on Sept. 7 in an email to community members. e publication and collection of the data in the report is required by federal statutory law, which was recently amended in 2020.

Brandeis Public Safety writes in the publication that they “maintain a close relationship with all police departments in municipalities where Brandeis owns or controls property to ensure that crimes reported directly to these departments that involve Brandeis University are brought to the attention of the University Police.”

Included in the report are various tips on how the Brandeis community can prevent crime and maintain personal safety, as well as di erent emergency response procedures and other jobs of Brandeis Public Safety such as accessing campus facilities. e report also mentions sexual and gender-based violence numerous times, and includes the ofcial university response to these actions, writing, “Brandeis University is committed to providing a safe learning and working environment, and in compliance with federal law has adopted these policies and procedures to prevent and respond to incidents of sexual violence, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. ese guidelines apply to all students, faculty,

sta , contractors, and visitors.”

Additionally, the report includes a paragraph on the university’s de nition of consent and the importance of obtaining a rmative consent prior to sexual activities. “...If an individual is not sure if they have received consent, they have an obligation to seek additional clari cation. Consent must be received for each individual sexual act that a person wishes to engage in with another person(s). Consent may not be inferred from silence or lack of resistance to sexual advances, or from prior consensual sexual contact. Relationship Status is immaterial to the issue of consent. Consent may be withdrawn at any time, and consent to one sexual activity does not imply consent to any subsequent sexual activity,” writes

part of the section on the issue. Alongside prevention e orts and Brandeis policies, the report outlines procedures victims of sexual violence or gender or sex-based discrimination should follow, including ways to report crimes and mental and physical health resources for students a er a crime occurs.

e university’s report also includes crime data from the years 2019 to 2021, which was collected through a number of methods.

“University Police dispatchers and o cers enter all reports of crime incidents made directly to the department through an integrated computer-aided-dispatch systems/records management system,” reads the report. A er this, the report is reviewed and classi ed in the correct category

as outlined by the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook and the FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System Handbook.

At the end of the report is a data set on crimes reported to campus authorities. e most prevalent crimes are liquor law violations— with 86 violations in 2019, 161 in 2020 and 47 in 2021—and drug abuse violations. e next most prevalent is sexual crimes and crimes of dating or domestic violence or stalking. According to the report, there were three reported rapes on campus in 2019, two in 2020 and four in 2021.

To read more on Brandeis’ crime statistics for the years of 20192021, community members can view the 2022 Annual Security Report on the Brandeis Public Safety website, according to the email.

Transition to green campus maintenance

that the labeled usage of glyphosate has not demonstrated human carcinogenicity. However, there are reported cases where people su ering from cancer linked their illness to glyphosate based products. In one such lawsuit, a man was awarded $80 million and a erward, wholesale department store Costco discontinued selling glyphosate.

During the summer and for the duration of the fall semester, the Brandeis Grounds Team plans to pilot novel landscap-

ing methods, such as replacing the use of Roundup with a nontoxic and organic replacement.

Moreover, Brandeis states that currently used pesticides will also be replaced by organic and nontoxic chemical products to be applied only as needed.

Currently, Brandeis has already applied the organic fertilizer to grass islands in lower campus at Ziv Quad. e fertilizers will be implemented throughout campus if the Brandeis Sustainability Committee deems that they were successful.

In an email with e Brandeis Hoot, Associate Director of Sus-

tainability Programs Mary Fischer clari ed what the committee hoped to see through the use of organic fertilizers, writing, “ e main measurements of success will be no visible decrease in the health of the turf and soil in the trial areas (including no dead grass).”

e team plans to synthesize observations and data to conduct a full assessment of the e cacy of organic fertilizers in mid-November.

In addition to the recently implemented organic land management plans, the Brandeis Sustainability Committee has also been working toward de-

veloping the Decarbonization Action Plan in conjunction with external consultants and the Capital Programs team at Brandeis.

Currently, the team is assessing the work that must be completed in order to effectively transform Brandeis to conclude fossil fuel usage.

According to the Year of Climate Change website, “ e resulting Decarbonization Action Plan will give Brandeis the analysis and tools needed to commit to new greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Most importantly, the plan will include an adjustable 10year capital investment and en-

ergy procurement strategy that leverages our existing 10-year deferred maintenance plan, augmented with lower-emitting and less energy-intensive solutions.” e research regarding energy usage will be conducted from June this year to early 2023, according to the website, and data regarding the use of organic fertilizers will be monitored this fall. Moving forward, the Brandeis Sustainability Committee plans to provide opportunities for community feedback and to allow the Brandeis community to pose questions or concerns.

GREEN, from page 1

By Victoria Morrongiello,

Student union elections

at CORO [leadership program], I gained insight from not only the communities themselves, but also the diverse group of students that I worked with, on what it takes to be a compassionate and driven leader,” he said in his bio.

editors

e Student Union is currently hosting its fall elections; there are 24 open positions for the Senate, three Judiciary seats available and two Allocations Board seats open. Voting will be held on Sept. 14.

For this round of elections, students could run for the Class of 2026 Senator position, Class of 2025 Senator Position and Class of 2024 Senator Position. Each of the class year senator positions are open for two seats. e election is also looking to ll Quad Senator positions; these are only one seat per quad. On the ballot students are running for Skyline/Rosenthal Quad Senator, the Charles River Quad Senator, Massell Quad Senator, North Quad Senator, Village/567 Quad Senator and Ziv/Ridgewood Quad Senator.

e other senator position types available are Senators at Large, Racial Minority Senators, Myra Kra Transitional Year Program (MKTYP) Senator and International Student Senator.

To run for senator positions students must be a part of the community they are representing, according to a post on the Student Union’s Instagram. For example, the MKTYP Senator must be a student in the MKTYP Program; similarly, to be North Quad Senator you must live in the quad.

For the Judiciary Board, there are three associate Justice positions open. In the position, candidates are expected to attend judiciary meetings, oversee student union operations, aid the judiciary chief, attend senate meetings, adhere to the code of conduct and mediate disagreements within the student government, according to the information posted on the student union’s Instagram.

Typically for elections, the student union will send out an email naming the candidates for each position, separate from their newsletter, according to an email sent to community members for the spring 2022 elections. Community members also typically receive a separate email listing the open positions and the number of seats available for that election period. is semester, the union used its Instagram platform to highlight open positions and how to run for them.

For the Class of 2026 Senator position, Stephen Gaughan ’26, Bryan Jiang ’26, Fiona Wang ’26, Tyler Hupart ’26 and Koby Gottlieb ’26 are running.

Gaughan has experience working in student government, having served four terms as president of his high school’s Political Activist Club, three as president of its Human Rights Club, one as president of its Model United Nations and one as lead of its Latin Honor Society, according to his bio. “I enacted bold visions, from guest speaker series to mock historical and political trials, while overseeing and promoting historic membership growth,” according to his bio.

Jiang has already grown to have care and passion for the Brandeis community and this has led to him to run for the class senate position. “ roughout my time

Wang has plans for the Class of 2026, including planning activities to help build up the Brandeis community as well as with other universities in the area. “Your complaints are my top priority; my goal is to grow with Brandeis, but that would not happen without your help… ,” according to her bio.

Hupart has a strong belief in a connection with the students at Brandeis. He has a student- rst mentality and hopes to carry that mindset into the student union.

“At the end of the day, you are Brandeis’s prime asset, irrespective of race, gender, course of study, personal beliefs, or any other possible dividers one could imagine, and the Student Union would be foolish to not employ said resource,” said Hupart in his bio.

Gottlieb wants to help students and the school to communicate with each other better with improvements to the BranVan system and by developing a new student communication system. “I want to make campus and Waltham feel safer for you by putting a networking system in place for Brandeis students to connect if you’re feeling uncomfortable while travelling around Waltham,” according to his bio.

For the Class of 2025 Senator position, Andrew Zeiler ’25, Erica Hwang ’25 and James Brosgol ’25 are running.

Zeiler spent time doing political work in Massachusetts and wants to make Brandeis the most enjoyable experience possible.

“My three main goals I want to achieve in my term is to improve access to hygiene products, improve food quality, and work on Brandeis’ commitment to the climate,” according to his bio.

Hwang, if elected, wants to expand options for students with dietary restrictions in the dining halls, work to hire more BranVan drivers and advocate for higher wages, increase access to menstrual products on campus and increase accessibility on campus in general. She is majoring in Business and Psychology, and enjoys playing club volleyball and her oboe in Slosberg Music Center. She plans to channel her energetic and outgoing personality into improving students’ Brandeis experience and making sure students are heard.

Brosgol was the senator of North Quad last year. He engaged in dialogues with Sodexo about improving students’ dining experience, as well as researching UV lamp purchases to help students combat Seasonal A ective Disorder. He is currently the treasurer of the Masorti Jewish Congregation, and will try to apply the experience from his treasury work to his senate work, according to his bio.

For the Class of 2024 Senator position, Sahil Muthuswami ’24 is running unopposed.

Muthuswami was the East Quad senator last year and enjoyed collaborating with students and faculty to help bring projects into reality. “I love representing my school and bridging the gap between students, administration, and policy. You can expect clear communication, determination, and consistency if I am elected into o ce,” said Muthuswami in his bio.

For the Racial Minority Senator position, Rachel Gao ’25 and Divam Gupta ’26 are running.

A rst-generation college student, Gao is majoring in Politics and double minoring in Legal Studies and Hispanic Studies. She grew up “surrounded by diverse groups of people,” which has really in uenced how she “think[s] and operate[s] as a leader, especially as a person of color.”

Gupta is majoring in Politics and Business on a pre-law track. He is from North Attleborough, Massachusetts and is “eager to work towards gaining your trust to be the connection between minority students and the Brandeis administration.” Gupta hopes to “serve Brandeis by ensuring that students are heard and by striving for complete equality on campus.”

For the MKTYP Senator Position, Jahkhi Waters ’26 is running unopposed. Waters, a Boston native, is a Music major with a passion for cooking, volleyball and basketball. He feels lucky to have his “voice heard in a world that would sooner ignore it,” and “would like to give back to Brandeis University and my fellow students by taking this opportunity to be a representative as a MKTYP Senator.”

For the Massell Quad Senator positions, Chloe Doonan ’26, Zachary Moskovits ’26, Joseph Heaney ’26 and Summer Coronesi ’26 are running.

Doonan wants to strengthen the community in the quad, according to her bio. “I want to work to improve the state and cleanliness of our bathrooms, keep Massell free of trash, and without a doubt make sure that every foosball table has enough balls,” Doonan wrote.

Moskovits wrote in his bio that ghting for the interests of his peers is not new for him and he believes he can continue this in the position.

Heaney sees a “bright” future for Massell Quad, according to his candidate bio. “ is is our house for the year, so let’s make it feel like HOME,” Heaney wrote.

Coronesi wrote in her bio that while she is new to the student government scene she is excited to advocate and hear ideas in this position. She wants to make Massell the environment that students want it to be.

For the North Quad Senator position, Liam Spilker ’26, Eve Begelman ’26 and Prateek Kanmadikar ’26 are running.

Spilker is never going to give you up, and never going to let you down, according to his candidate bio. “And I will certainly never desert you. It is for that reason I am running for north quad senate,” he wrote.

Begelman is running for the po-

sition in order to make the quad a “friendly and comfortable environment for all,” according to her bio; she also aspires for the betterment of the school in general.

Kanmadikar has experience in student leadership, having held multiple leadership positions at his high school. In this position, he hopes to “utilize insights from his prior student leadership experience to tackle the challenges faced by the Brandeis University school community,” according to his bio.

For the Skyline/Rosie Senator position, Chana Thomas ’25 is running unopposed.

omas has experience serving on student councils in the past, according to her candidate bio. “I would like to be a person that students can comfortably go to, knowing that their voices will be heard and cared for as my own,” omas wrote.

For the Ziv/Ridgewood Senator position, Eamonn Golden ’24 is running unopposed.

Golden has previous student union experience, having served on the Judiciary Board last academic year, according to his candidate bio. “My goals for this position are threefold: working with the E-board as they endeavor to make certain everyone has access to free menstrual products, ensuring that suite-style dorms without common bathrooms – such as Ridge and Ziv – have a place where people can nd those products,” Golden explained in his bio.

For the Charles River Senator position, Nicholas Kanan ’23 is running unopposed.

Kanan is a transfer student and at his previous institution, he was the Student Union president. Previously he served as the Senator for Village and 567 Quad during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Kanan hopes to increase BranVan access for students living in the Charles River Apartments, according to his candidate bio.

For the Village/567 Senator position, Kai Kibilko ’25 is running unopposed.

Kibilko has worked with people from di erent walks of life, which she lists as a strength that she can use in this position.

“Transparency and In uence are two traits that are very important for the students to have in their relationship with the administration, and so I hope to democratize the process by which decisions regarding the students are made,” Kibilko wrote in her bio.

For the o -campus senator position, Kelly Kei ’24 is running unopposed.

Kei has held ve internships in consulting and in other indus-

tries, according to her candidate bio. is experience has made Kei “well rounded” according to her, which she can use in the position. Kei’s goals in this position are to make o -campus parking better for students and have better directions for shuttle services o ered by the university, according to her bio.

For the Associate Justice positions, Farishta Ali ’24, Maxwell Weiner ’26, Jenna Lewis ’26, Alyssa Golden ’26 and Zachary Miller ’25 are running.

Ali has experience with student government having held positions such as a senator, academic senate chairperson and vice president, according to her candidate bio. “I will strive to uphold the standards of the student union constitution and to build a friendly environment amongst the Brandeis community,” Ali wrote.

Weiner believes that “justice comes from the people; decisions that a ect our community ought to represent our collective views,” according to his candidate bio. In the position, Weiner believes he can leave the university in a better place than he found it.

Lewis wrote that if elected she would “bring a balance of the necessary authority and structure of the position with my unique sense of compassion and open-mindedness to fresh interpretation,” according to her bio. She has previously served on her high school’s disciplinary committee for two years.

Golden has experience in student government. According to her candidate bio, in high school she was elected and served “as a voice representing 3,000 students for my school’s School Site Council alongside administration, faculty, teachers, and peers.” If elected to the position, one of Golden’s main priorities is to increase transparency and accountability.

Miller wrote in his bio that he believes he is a good t for the position because he “can e ectively serve the Brandeis community in this role given my connection to the legal world.” Miller has experience with public speaking and presentational skills, which can serve him well in the position, according to the bio. For the Allocations board, Cameron Sherman ’24 is running unopposed.

Sherman wrote in his candidate bio that he has held positions in representing student groups. ese experiences have taught Sherman how to be a leader, he wrote. It has also taught him how to listen and he wants to bring these skills to the Brandeis community.

Justin Leung, Logan Ashkinazy, Jenny Zhao, Roshni Ray, Cyrenity Augustin, Mia Plante, Madeline Rousell and Cooper Gottfried

Brandeis sweeps Wellesley at cross country meet SPORTS

By Natasha Girshin editor

e Brandeis University men’s and women’s cross country teams both ran to victory Friday at Wellesley College. e men’s team had the top 11 runners to defeat Regis College, 15-50, while the women edged the host Blue, 40-43, and two other teams.

In men’s highlights: Senior Matthew Driben ’23, picked up the win of the meet, covering the 5K course in 16:03.9. It was his second career win at the meet and the h top- ve cross country performance of his career. First-year TJ Carleo ’26 was second in his collegiate debut with a time of 16:30.1.

Junior Willem Go ’24 was third in 16:32.5, while sophomore Daniel Frost ’25 was fourth in 16:48.9, a second better than his performance last year at the meet. Sophomore Lucas Dia ’25 was h in 16:59.1, giving the Judges 56-second spread among their top ve runners.

In women’s highlights: e women had ve of the top 15

runners to edge past Wellesley.

Senior captain Bridget Pickard ’23 led the way with a fourthplace nish. She covered the course in 19:02.7, 36 seconds o the winning time by a runner from Mount Holyoke College.

e time was an 18-second personal record for Pickard.

First-year runner Katriona Briggs ’26 was 11 seconds behind Pickard in h place with a time of 19:13.7. Junior Juliette Intrieri ’24 was third with a time of 19:41.9.

Junior Katie Lyon ’24 made her second collegiate race count with a 12th-place nish of 20:24.4 and junior Kyra Au ’24 nished up the top ve with a time of 20:43.9, good for 15th place. e Judges’ spread of 1:41 amongst their top ve was 26 seconds better than Wellesley’s. Overall an outstanding race for the Judges and a strong head start for the beginning of the season.

e Judges run again on Sept. 17th at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Editor-In-Chief Victoria Morrongiello is captain of the women’s cross country team and did not contribute to this article.

Women’s soccer starts the season with close battles

By Justin Leung editor

Last year the Brandeis women’s soccer team had a very good overall year. e team went 12-52 but ultimately fell short during the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament. is year, the team looked to build o that previous year success as they started the season against their most recent opponent. e women’s soccer team faced Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in their rst game of the season on Sept. 1, in a rematch of their game in the second round of the NCAA tournament the season before. Last time MIT got the better of them 2-0. e away game had a tough start for the Judges, as they allowed a goal in just the seventh minute of the game. Although they were down quickly, Brandeis quickly turned to go on the o ensive to even the score. A few minutes after the goal, forward Bailey Cullen (GRAD) had a shot that sailed high. Cullen is a recent transfer student from the University of Notre Dame, so this was her rst shot for Brandeis. Forward Makenna Hunt (GRAD) had a shot shortly a er but also sent the ball over the goal. MIT kept the pressure on the Brandeis defense with three corner kicks in the rst half. Cullen had another scoring opportunity but again sent the shot high. In the 38th minute, the Judges tried to tie the game up with two big scoring chances. e rst came from a shot by senior mid elder Caroline Swan ’23 for the Judges rst shot on target. It was saved but Brandeis attacked again. is time with a shot by junior forward Sydney Lenhart ’24, but again it was saved by the MIT goalie. At half time, Brandeis trailed 0-1. Just a few minutes into the second half, the Judges came out ring on o ense. Hunt and senior forward Juliette Carreiro ’22 both had shots that ended up

wide. It seemed like the o ensive momentum was on the Judges side. en in the 51st minute, Brandeis committed a foul in the penalty box. MIT was awarded a penalty shot and they had the opportunity to give Brandeis a twogoal de cit. With a swi goal, MIT scored on the penalty and put the Judges in a very di cult position. Although the game seemed to be slowly slipping away, Carreiro and Cullen worked together to score the rst goal of the season for Brandeis in the 56th minute. It was Carreiro’s 17th career goal and Cullen’s rst Brandeis assist. MIT responded by constantly being on the attack for the rest of the game. Brandeis got just two more shots o for the rest of the game. One of the shots came when Carreiro had an opportunity in the 85th minute to tie the game. e shot was on target but ultimately saved by the MIT goalie. Brandeis couldn’t get another shot o and ended up losing 1-2 in their rst game of the season. Both teams had the same number of shots with 10, but eight of those shots were on target for MIT compared to the Judges’ four. Brandeis freshman goalie Ella ompson ’26 had six saves in her Brandeis debut. ree days later on Sept. 4, Brandeis traveled to Lasell University to play their second game of the season. Last time the two teams faced o , the Judges ended up winning 6-0. Brandeis must have had some of that residual offensive power as they were ying on o ense throughout the game. In the rst 10 minutes alone, the Judges had four shots with two on goal. One from sophomore defender Ali Karafotias ’25, Swan, Cullen and Hunt. Swan and Karafotias’ shots were on target but ultimately saved by the Lasell goalie. e shots from Brandeis just kept coming throughout the half. It felt like the Judges had a shot every ve minutes. At half time they had 17 shots compared to Lasell’s three. Even with stellar o ense and defense, they

could not take the lead. So, after half time they just had to be even better. Again, a ton of shots and great defense from Brandeis to start the second half. A er 72 minutes of constant o ense from Brandeis, they scored a goal. Lenhart scored her h career goal from Hunt’s eighth career assist. It took only four minutes before the Judges scored another. is time Hunt scored with assists from Carreiro and Swan. It was Swan’s 12th career assist and Carreiro’s 16th. Additionally, this was Hunt’s 13th career goal a er four years playing for Brandeis. e rest of the game was a lot of shots from Brandeis but ultimately no more goals. Brandeis won their second game of the season 2-0. Lasell could not get anything going o ensively against the Judges’ defense. ey only had ve shots compared to Brandeis’ 34. 14 of those 34 shots were on target from Brandeis, while none of Lasell’s shots were on target. erefore, sophomore goalie Hannah Bassan ’25 got the clean sheet without having to make a save.

In the rst home game of the season the Judges faced Babson

College on Sept. 7. Last year the two teams faced, and the result was a 1–1 tie. Brandeis kept the o ensive momentum from the last game as Cullen scored a goal within the rst two minutes of the game from an assist by Hunt. is was Cullen’s rst Brandeis goal and Hunt’s second assist of the season. In the 16th minute Swan had a shot on goal that was saved by the Babson goalie. Babson quickly turned around and had their second shot of the game.

e shot goes in and ties the game at 1-1. Brandeis had the chance to take the lead back two minutes later when they got fouled in the penalty box. However, Cullen could not convert on the penalty shot and the game remained tied.

e two teams remained evenly matched for 16 minutes until Babson scored another goal in the 32nd minute. is gave Babson the 2-1 advantage going at the end of the rst half. e two teams traded shots, but no one scored until the 69th minute, when Babson scored their third goal of the game. It seemed like the game might just be out of reach for Brandeis. Two minutes

later on a corner kick from Swan, Hunt scored her second goal of the season. e Judges were back in the game. Suddenly, the momentum was on the Judges’ side. 10 minutes later the Judges had an opportunity to tie the game a er another foul by Babson in the penalty box. is time Swan stepped up to take the penalty kick. A er a quick runup, she put the ball in the bottom le corner just barely past the goalie to tie the game at 3-3. A miraculous comeback that spanned just over 10 minutes. However, the comeback proved to be in vain as Babson scored another goal a few minutes later to give them the lead. is time the Judges could not answer and ended up losing 3-4. Hunt and Swan both had an incredible game with a goal and assist each. Brandeis outshot Babson 13-11 and even had three more shots on goal. ompson had three saves for Brandeis in the game. e women’s soccer team will play at home again on Sept. 10 in a game against Johnson and Wales University. ey will stay in Massachusetts and play an away game at Clark University on Sept. 13.

PHOTO BY VICTORIA MORRONGIELLO

By Justin Leung editor

Although senior cross country captain Bridget Pickard ’23 only had to travel 20 minutes when going from high school to college, she had to make plenty of adjustments during her transition. Ultimately, a er three years at Brandeis, Pickard was selected to be one of the captains for the women’s cross country and track and eld teams. e new role comes with new challenges, but if her previous years at Brandeis have said anything, it is that she is resilient and ready to make any adjustments necessary.

When Pickard rst came to Brandeis it was a shocking experience. “I was a little intimidated,” said Pickard, “Everyone here works so hard … People tend to put way more e ort into classes, which I really came to like because group projects are de nitely easier than in high school.” Pickard has been running since she was young because a lot of her family members run; however, when coming to Brandeis, she not only had to adjust to the school academically but also competitively for running. e task seemed daunting; however, the cross-country team helped her out from the start.

e team was so awesome right o the bat. Everyone was really friendly and outgoing, just really focused on making the team feel like a community,” said Pickard, “So as a freshman, I was welcomed in right away.” With all that in mind, Pickard still had a tough rst semester. “I was really homesick despite being only 20 minutes away,” said Pickard. Additionally, she had some trouble sleeping throughout her rst year. is led to some tough days as she had to manage to stay awake throughout the day. Despite this, Pickard

Bridget Pickard ’23 faster than a speeding goose

made the necessary adjustments to have a solid rst year of cross country. In her rst race at the Wellesley College invitational, she nished in 10th for the 5k event.

“It was a good year in terms of adjusting because there was not a lot of pressure on me,” said Pickard, “I didn’t run my fastest times ever, but I had a pretty solid season.” On Nov. 2, 2019, Pickard got to participate in her rst University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship. She nished with a time of 25:10.82 in the 6k race.

Two weeks later, she also ran in her rst National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) New England Regional Championship. ere she helped Brandeis nish 15th out 54 overall as her 6k time was nearly 40 seconds faster than her race just two weeks before. en the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the season was basically canceled. All the practices were outside, and the locker rooms were closed. “We didn’t have as much of a social team bonding aspect, which was really sad, because it is one of my favorite parts of the team,” said Pickard, “I would de nitely say out of all the years I have spent here, sophomore year was probably my least favorite. Not because of anyone, just because of the situation.” To add onto the already tough year, Pickard ended up getting injured at the end of the year which caused her to be out for three months.

e injury was not completely clear, however, she had to completely stop running during that time. In the summer she spent time starting to build that strength back up as she prepared for her second cross country season.

“Coming back into cross country for my junior year, I actually ran some fast times. I was really surprised by that because I just spent a lot of time being injured and not so much time training,” said Pickard. At the Wellesley

College invitational in 2021, Pickard nished one place behind what she nished two years before; however she nished 35 seconds faster. Two weeks later at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth invitational, she was 12 seconds faster than at Wellesley. e improvement wasn’t random, though. Pickard attributes a lot of her success and improvement to her coach Sinead Delahunty Evans and her program.

“She de nitely knows what’s up in terms of training, running and everything. e training program we get is awesome and most peo-

ple that enter into the Brandeis track and eld program will improve and get better in the four years they are here,” said Pickard, “So having two years of this training under my belt, the consistency there really helped.” Even with this training program, it still takes individual work to be successful. “Bridget is very epic and hard working on and o the track. She’s been fast enough to touch two geese,” said teammate Juliette Intrieri ’24. A er a great overall year for the team, the women’s cross-country team had a chance to go to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships. “Waiting in the Napoli room, guring out we had quali ed for Nationals as a team, I don’t think I have had a moment like that in athletics before,” said Pickard, “It just felt so good.” During the season, Pickard set career highs in the 5k and 6k. is was just months a er an injury that kept her from running for three months. Nationals was a new experience for Pickard. “It is intimidating because you have the best of the best from DIII there,” said Pickard. “We even had some teammates surprise us by driving down overnight. It made me cry. I was feeling super emotional at the time.” e course was fast and di erent, but Pickard did not waiver. “In general, it was fun and fast. It felt like a ‘kinda over my head but also, I belong here’ experience,” said Pickard. Brandeis nished in 20th place at the competition, while Pickard set a career fastest time for the 6k competition. Going into her nal cross country season, Pickard was selected to be one of the captains for the team. She described how she was trying to take everything that she had learned from her previous captains and use what they had taught her to help her be a great captain this year. “I have had so many good captains in the past that I was able to rely on these people and ask them questions,” said Pickard, “ ey gave me so much good advice heading into this season … I am scared but I do feel prepared and I am really grateful

for all the advice I received.” is season Pickard wants to break 19 minutes for the 5k and a er the rst competition, she appears to be on track to do so. Once again at the Wellesley College Invitational, she set a new personal best in the 5k. is time she nished the competition in fourth place with a time of 19:02.7. Her nish helped lead Brandeis to a team win in their rst competition of the year. She gets two more chances to break 19 minutes in the 5k this year. Each year something has been a little bit di erent for Pickard. She had a solid rst year, but then COVID-19 hit. en she had an injury before her junior season and proceeded to have an incredible year. How does Pickard make sure to stay focused before each race with so many things happening? She makes sure to have a routine that is full of music. “I love listening to music. It de nitely relaxes me, and I do get nervous before races … Just sticking to what I know,” said Pickard, “If you just stick to what you know, you feel better about it because it’s almost mindless cause you don’t need to think about it. Just follow the motions. You know you have done the training—the hard part. It’s just time to show o what you have been doing.” When asked about what her go-to song was before a race, Pickard replied with an answer that you may not expect: “I love Rico Nasty. I have gotten some funny comments where people say you do not look like a Rico Nasty type of person. But oh my god her stu is so good.”

Before nishing the interview with e Brandeis Hoot, Pickard commented on how great the team was and how they were her best friends. She speci cally wanted to comment on her co-captain, Victoria Morrongiello ’23, for cross country this year. “Victoria is an awesome captain too,” said Pickard, “She has been so wonderful to work with and I couldn’t be more lucky to have such a great partner.”

Editor-in-Chief Victoria Morrongiello ’23 is one of the captains of the cross country team and did not contribute to this article.

Women’s volleyball: home opener 2022

By Francesca Marchese staff

e Brandeis Judges volleyball team returned to action in Red Auerbach Arena for the 2022 Brandeis Invitational Tournament. e Judges’ home court advantage resulted in a three-game sweep of their competition; Roger Williams University, Colby-Sawyer College, Worcester State University all fell to the Judges in 3 sets. Friday night’s home opener of the 2022 season was exciting, as the Judges dominated Roger Williams with scores of 25-13, 25-14, 25-16. In the entire match, the Judges never trailed by more than two points. Sydney Bent (GRAD), the Judges’ graduate transfer, served eight straight points to increase her squad’s lead to 14-4 early in the rst set. Tied at 9-all in the second set, Ella Pereira ’24 increased the Brandeis lead to 16-9, serving seven consecutive points; Pereira helped the Judges close out the second set on a 16-5 run. e third set was a nail biter for Brandeis fans, as there were 10 ties and six lead changes. Akin to Pereira, Lara Verstovesk ’25 had a run of seven consecutive serves to allow the Judges to break away from the Hawks; the Brandeis squad scored 13 of the last 17 points of the set. In the rst game of the season, multiple players contributed to the three-set sweep over the visiting Roger Williams Hawks. Verstovesk led all players with 13.5 points and a match-high 10 kills. is was Verstovesk’s 15th career match with double digit kills; and she nished the game with three block assists and two aces, too. First year Anna Ertischek ’26 added seven kills and Bent, a former All-ACC player at the University of Notre Dame, nished her rst game as a Brandeis

Judge with ve kills, four aces and three block assists. Rita Lai ’24 had ve kills and a match-high ve blocks and Arianna Jackson ’25, a sophomore on the Judges’ roster, had a career high ve kills in her rst career start. Ines Grom-Mansencal ’24 controlled the Judges’ o ensive successfully with 29 assists, while also contributing defensively, tying Stephanie Borr ’23 with seven digs.

In an early morning matchup against Colby-Sawyer, the Judges recorded an impressive hitting percentage of .393, with seven

di erent players registering multiple kills and hitting above .400. Ertischek paced the way for the Judges in the second set, totaling four kills. Borr served the Judges to a quick and perfect start in the third set; 10 kills and a service ace allowed the Judges to begin the third set 11-0. Overall, the Judges defeated Colby-Sawyer 25-12, 2512, 25-8. O ensively, the Brandeis squad played a solid game—Ertischek added seven blocks, while Verstovesk registered six kills. e Judges have setter Grom-Mansencal to appreciate for increased e -

ciency, as she helped set her squad up for success with 31 assists.

Classmate Pereira protected the Judges’ home court with 18 digs.

While the set scores were the closest of the tournament (25-17, 25-17, 25-15), the Judges never trailed Worcester State in the nal match-up of the Brandeis Invitational. Ertischek put on a show in Red Auerbach Arena, reaching double-digit kills for the rst time in her career—10 in three errors in 17 attempts. Ertischek’s impressive all-around performance in the invitational earned

her her rst Brandeis Athlete of the Week honors. Bent added eight kills, while Verstovsek had seven; both players each totaled two block assists and three service aces. Lai was e cient both o ensively and defensively, nishing with six kills and a team-high three block assists; Grom-Mansencal totaled 21 assists in addition to seven digs, and Pereira had a match-high 11 digs. e Judges look to continue their success on the road with their next match up at Emerson College at 6 p.m. on ursday, Sept. 8.

Men’s soccer returns with even results

By Justin Leung editor

A er nishing last season with just one loss in their last ve games, the Brandeis men’s soccer team looked to continue to make strides and show improvement going into this season. e rst game was away against Western New England University (WNEU). Last year, the Judges faced WNEU in the rst game of the season and the game ended in a draw. is year, the Judges made sure that the game did not end in a draw.

Eight minutes into the game, forward Elan Romo ’26 took the rst shot of the season, but it was ultimately saved by the WNEU goalie. Senior Isaac Mukala ’23 followed the shot with a shot of his own toward the top right that was again saved. Both teams continued to take shots until Brandeis got their rst goal of the season.

Senior forward Sancho Maroto Tobias ’23 scored his rst goal for Brandeis on an assist by junior forward Max Horowitz ’24. Marato Tobias was a transfer from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and he immediately made an impact in his rst game with Brandeis. Less than 10 minutes later, Horowitz continued his excellent game with a goal of his own with an assist coming from freshman mid elder Rainer Osselmann-Chai ’26. It was Osselman-Chai’s rst career assist and Horowitz’s third career goal. Al-

though both teams traded shots to end the half, no more goals were scored in the rst period. A er 10 minutes into the second period, the Judges put the pressure on the WNEU with shots from Marato Tobias and sophomore back Andres Gonzales ’25.

Finally, the Judges put a shot in the net from a goal by Romo and assisted by Maroto Tobias.

It was Romo’s rst career goal for Brandeis and Maroto Tobias’ rst assist with his new team.

Just less than 10 minutes later, in the 70th minute, junior forward Roee Maor ’24 made a great run before scoring an unassisted goal to put Brandeis up 4-0. Maor is a transfer student from Fordham University, so like Maroto Tobias, scored a goal in his debut with the new school. Neither team scored for the remaining 20 minutes as Brandeis started the season with a dominant 4-0 win. Although both teams had a similar number of shots, 14 for Brandeis and 10 for WNEU, the Judges had nine shots on goal compared to just one from WNEU. Goalie Aiden Guthro ’23 saved the one shot on goal from WNEU and therefore gave him his rst clean sheet of the season. ree days later on Sept. 4, the team played their rst home game of the season in a game against Denison University. Although it was a home game for Brandeis, it almost didn’t seem like one. ere was a huge crowd of Denison fans that made the trip to watch

the game. It was a hot sunny day as the two teams walked out onto Gordon Field. e game started with two quick corner kicks from Denison that amounted to nothing. Brandeis followed with two corner kicks of their own but ultimately could not get a shot o In the 12th minute, Denison got their rst shot on goal, but Guthro had a clean save. e Judges got their rst shot from a header by senior back Forest Shimazu ’23. His shot sailed high, so a er 17 minutes, the game remained tied. Gonzalez on a free kick had the rst shot on goal for Brandeis, but it was ultimately saved by the Denison goalie. e two teams were scoreless going into halftime as the sun continued to beat down on everyone at the eld.

At half time you could see people leaving the stands in search of shade. A large group of Denison fans even went to the far side of the eld to hover around a fence in the shade. After just a minute into the second half, the Judges got fouled in the penalty box and were awarded a penalty shot. Gonzalez stepped into the box to take the shot.

ere was a slight murmur in the crowd as everyone was ready for the tie to be broken. He shot le and the goalie dived le to make the save. A er that, the game almost felt destined to be a draw. Both teams had solid runs and scoring opportunities but neither team could score. A er a long hot Sunday, the nal score

was 0-0. Brandeis had half the number of shots Denison had, as Denison had 16 compared to Brandeis’ eight. Both teams had three shots on target. Guthro, therefore, had three saves and his second clean sheet of the season.

In almost a completely opposite game setting from the game against Denison, the Judges faced Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in a cool night game on Sept. 7. In their matchup last year, Brandeis lost 0-1 in an overtime heartbreaker.

So this year, the Judges looked to have their revenge game. However, it took just two minutes for both teams to get a shot o . WPI then quickly scored their rst goal of the night just ve minutes into the game. ey didn’t stop there, as WPI kept taking shots before getting a free kick in the 13th minute. e free kick went up but unfortunately was headed into the net by a Brandeis player. In less than 15 minutes, the Judges were already down 0-2. e two teams went back and forth but no more goals were scored until the 42nd minute. A er a foul by WPI, the Judges were awarded a free kick. Osselman-Chai whipped the ball toward the back post as Mukala jumped up for the header. e ball oated in the air before going into the top le of the goal to cut the de cit to 1-2. is was Osselman-Chai’s second assist of the young season and Mukala’s second goal of his career. At hal ime, the score was

2-1 in favor of WPI. Although it seemed like momentum was on Brandeis’ side going into hal ime, WPI made sure to take that back with the start of the second half.

WPI had three shots in the rst six minutes of the half before putting their fourth shot into the net to give them a 3-1 lead. Brandeis tried to answer but it seemed like all their shots were getting blocked or saved. Finally, the team broke through and scored another in the 74th minute. Senior forward Sammy Guttell ’23 somehow stayed in-bounds as he kicked the ball back towards the goal.

Mid elder Nico Beninda ’26 on his rst touch, kicked the ball with his le foot into the top right corner of the goal. It was Guttell’s rst career assist and Beninda’s rst career goal.

e Judges had the opportunity to tie the game with two corner kicks nearly back-to-back, but ultimately could not even the score. Brandeis fell to WPI 2-3. WPI outshot Brandeis 1511 and had four more shots on target than Brandeis. e Judges had eight corner kicks in the game compared to WPI’s two. Guthro had six saves in the game.

A er three games into the season, the men’s soccer team has a record of 1-1-1. ey will next play a home game against Babson College on Sept. 10. e team will then have to wait a week before playing their next game away against Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOPHIE SALGIAN

Interviews with Brandeis University’s academic leadership: the politics department

By Cooper Gottfried EDITOR

e chair of Brandeis University’s politics department, Professor Eva Bellin, sat down for an interview with e Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the department, its future and herself. is interview is part of a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of di erent academic departments and programs at Brandeis.

Editor’s Note: is interview was recorded during the 2022 springsemester.

Why did you choose to come to Brandeis?

I was recruited rst and foremost by the Crown Center, which is the center for Middle East studies [at Brandeis]. I’m a specialist in Middle Eastern politics … so it was a very exciting opportunity. e center had a very distinguished leader, Shai Feldman, who has an incredible vision of how to build a center that studied Middle Eastern a airs. e terms of my employment at the Crown Center were extremely attractive; they were going to give me lots of time and funding to pursue my research, even as I continued being a professor. So it was just a terri c opportunity.

What draws you to study the Middle East?

I didn’t study the Middle East as an undergraduate, … I didn’t take a single course on the Middle East. But when I decided I wanted to go to graduate school, I knew I wanted to go further into the study of politics and I knew that I wanted to study politics in a non-Western context. en, it was a question of which region to focus on. I wanted to study a region that had a di cult language associated with it because I love to learn languages …. at was going to be my insurance policy; if I didn’t succeed in academia … I’ll be able to nd a position in policy analysis or in the corporate world. I was trying to decide between Chinese, Arabic and Russian. I decided to go with Arabic since I had already had a background in Hebrew …. So those factors came into play. And once I started, I was completely hooked. It was an area of incredible history and contention and all the interesting political issues that engaged me at the time were at play in the Middle East.

What do you think that the politics department does well?

e ambition of a liberal arts education is to teach students critical thinking. I mean, that’s such a cliche at this point, but it’s true. We do that very well in the politics department. We give

students analytical tools that they might not have had otherwise. [We give them] both qualitative and quantitative tools: concepts, theories, ideas about politics … and the empirical basis to adjudicate between di erent theories. So students learn how to think critically about big questions.

Is there anything that you think the politics department could do better?

I wish we had a better sense of community among our students and among our faculty …. Sometimes it seems di cult to get students to come together as a major, and I think that’s because Brandeis students are so oversubscribed …. Brandeis students are triple majoring and doing a million extracurriculars and who knows what else. So it’s very hard to catch their attention and say, “Come on down, let’s have a barbecue for the department, or let’s all get together for this discussion on election night,” or whatever it is. We get turnout, but not the kind of turnout I’d like to see that would really build a collective identity in the department.

What makes Brandeis’ politics department di erent from other universities’ politics departments?

We are a small department and I think there’s a sense of collaboration among the faculty that you

might not nd in a bigger university. ere’s less room, for example, for methodological division and hostility …. We’re too small to allow that sort of bickering to take hold. Maybe we’re just nice people, who knows! I think that’s really something quite extraordinary. is is the internal politics of the politics department, probably not of so much interest to undergraduates, but that is something that distinguishes our department.

How do you feel that the Western Jihadism Project ts into the politics department’s goals?

It’s a fantastic opportunity for students to see how research is actually done and how data collection is actually carried out. I think Professor Jytte Klausen does an excellent job in exposing students to that process. As a result, a number of her students have gone on to work in … government or think tanks.

What is your favorite class to teach?

I have taught Introduction to Comparative Politics for over two decades. It has evolved over time, but the basic logic of that course has remained the same. Even though I’ve taught it many times I never tire of teaching it because it asks ambitious questions about politics and exposes students to some of the major approaches

to understanding politics. For example, we explore why some countries democratize and others remain authoritarian …. We explore those questions using big theories, and then we test them against empirical cases. So students actually delve into historical cases of revolution, say the revolution in Iran in 1979 and the revolution in Russia in 1917 …. ey use those empirical cases to test the theories and gure out what seems most explanatory to them. It’s still a revelation for me to work through that material though. I’ve taught it so many times. So that’s probably my favorite, but I love all my courses.

What do you work toward in your free time?

I love to garden. Gardening kept me sane throughout COVID because I could see things growing and changing in a positive way, so that was really a lifesaver. I also love to cook, which is a creative activity that has a very short investment period. You buy the food and you cook it within three or four hours and you have a wonderful meal and it’s done, which is very di erent from the work-reward ratio with writing a book where you will [be working] … for ve, six years.

PHOTO FROM BRANDEIS EDU

Year of climate (lack of) action

Editors-in-Chief

Victoria Morrongiello

Thomas Pickering

Madeline Rousell

Managing Editor Mia Plante

Copy Editor Logan Ashkinazy

News Editor Roshni Ray

Arts Editors

Rachel Rosenfield

Cyrenity Augustin

Opinions Editor Cooper Gottfried

Features Editor Jenny Zhao

Sports Editor Justin Leung

Deputy Sports Editor Natasha Girshin

Editor-at-large Lucy Fay

Volume 21 Issue 3 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham ma

FOUNDED BY Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

The Year of Climate Action is Brandeis’ attempt at “bold, coordinated action and leadership” to combat climate change. Kicking o with Peter Frumho ’s visit to campus late in the spring 2022 semester, the Year of Climate Action is now in full swing. e Year of Climate Action is a year-long a air, and this semester includes events like recycled-material puppet making, a costume stock clean-out clothing giveaway and a theater performance centered around climate change. ese events are all wonderful ways to educate the student population about climate change and mobilize students to think about ways they can take action. Many student groups are already taking action against climate change and environmental damage. In the past few years, the university has had groups of students attend climate marches in Boston, coordinating buses of students to go and advocate for climate action, according to previous Hoot articles. ere are also multiple groups on campus dedicated to sustainability and climate action on campus. One such group is Re:Wild Brandeis, formerly known as Herbicide-Free Brandeis, which has held multiple clean-up and weeding days on campus and in the greater Waltham community. Most recently the group conducted a trash cleanup of Stony Brook Basin, also known as the reservoir. e initiative resulted in the cleanup of a spot frequented by Brandeis students that is typically lled with litter, according to a Hoot article. e university also o ers a great number of courses on climate action and sustainability which students can

MISSION

As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information. Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Recognizing that better journalism leads to better policy, e Brandeis Hoot is dedicated to the principles of investigative reporting and news analysis. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

SUBMISSION POLICIES

The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to current or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon. Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words. The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

ADVERTISE

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GIVE A HOOT, JOIN THE HOOT!

Writers, editors, photographers and graphic artists wanted to join e Brandeis Hoot, your weekly community newspaper. To learn more, send us an e-mail at join@thebrandeishoot.com, or visit our website http://brandeishoot.com/join.

We

take in order to learn more. With the faculty and sta at the university, there are many resources for students to become more informed on environmental practices. e university has also brought in guest speakers to talk on topics of climate action, according to a Hoot article.

e O ce of Sustainability is offering an energy e ciency project dashboard available to community members to increase transparency, according to the O ce of Sustainability’s website. However, when attempting to view the project details in the GRITS application an error page reads “We’re sorry but something went wrong.” is is a great resource to help community members understand energy projects on campus in greater detail; however, it requires more work to be fully e ective at this point. Another initiative being put into place is the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan, which intends to create a prevention-based strategy for pest management, according to the plan. e plan proposes using small amounts of both organic and/ or approved pesticides to minimize pest quantities. e IPM plan is being tested out on certain areas on campus, marked clearly by signs, according to the plan. However, this means that the rest of campus is not adhering to these new and “more green” guidelines. Expansion will depend on how successful the program is. Brandeis has had its fair share of failures with green initiatives on campus, including many of the compost bins on campus being used incorrectly. e university last October issued emails to students in various quads stating the misuse

of the compost bins, according to a previous Hoot article. Community members were putting trash in the compost bins; as a result, when the Black Earth driver came to collect the compost they would not pick up the contaminated bins. If the bins continued to be used incorrectly, the university warned they would unfortunately have to be discontinued. Despite being warned of the consequence if the bins were continually used incorrectly, community members were not able to get their act together. e compost bins at e Charles River Apartments were removed due to students not correctly using them. is is just one example of students on campus not being invested in green initiatives on campus. Additionally, Brandeis’ current dra climate action plan, Vision 2030, has several shortcomings. It doesn’t have proper de nitions of what climate change education should encompass and doesn’t give proper mention to the true path to a greener Brandeis: divestment from fossil fuels. Although Vision 2030 does have a few redeeming ideas in it, it doesn’t put Brandeis on the right trajectory. To have initiatives, plans and events is one thing, and it is great that the university and the O ce of Sustainability are o ering community members a chance to be more sustainable in their dayto-day lives. However, it is up to the students to be invested in this cause. It is up to the students to actively make choices that will be bene cial to their environment, and it is up to the university to do their part to reduce divest from fossil fuels and reduce emissions.

UNSOLICITED

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Jonathan Ayash, Sam Finbury, Zach Katz, Sarah Kim, Joey Kornman, Josh Lannon, Kristianna Lapierre, Max Lerner, Rafi Levi, Francesca Marchese, V, Abigail Roberts, David Shapiro, Matt Shapiro, and Alex Williams

Tales from the 90-day exemption period

By Cooper Gottfried editor

As of the time of writing this article, Brandeis’ COVID-19 positivity level is… oh right. We don’t have a COVID-19 tracker anymore. As any Brandeis student can attest to, COVID-19 is everywhere on campus right now, and likely spreading to more and more students each day.

Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing how bad the situation truly is. Instead of detailed information through a COVID-19 dashboard like we had last year, all we have now is a color gauge. In case you were wondering, we’re at “yellow” now. Whatever that means.

e university says that they are continuing to “assess and adjust our protocols to make compassionate, respectful, data-informed decisions about how we continue to respond to COVID-19 on our campus.” Problem is, the university retired the surveillance testing program, meaning that getting an accurate reading on campus infection levels is nearly impossible. e university is relying largely on the honor system, expecting students to call the Health Center and inform them that they’ve been infected with COVID-19. Expecting college students to make the right choice is the fate of all fools. Expecting them to voluntarily place themselves in social isolation during the rst few weeks of the year is even more

foolish.

I’m (un)lucky enough to have had COVID-19 in the middle of June, which puts me at the tail end of my exemption period. During this period, I am not considered a possible disease vector by the university, and therefore am exempt from quarantine and PCR testing a er exposure. During this period, my roommate and several friends of mine have gotten COVID-19. Several more have been exposed and have been incredibly responsible in keeping others safe from themselves. I am grateful for my friends’ responsible choices, but wish that the university had taken steps to ensure that these COVID-19 exposures never occurred in the rst place.

By ending the biweekly testing program, Brandeis has unleashed a deluge of possible positive cases upon the Health Center. e Health Center is overbooked, and according to a friend of mine who had to book multiple PCR tests, “apparently the tracing center was so backed up they couldn’t book same day, it was 1-3 days in advance.” If someone who has COVID-19 needs to wait one to three days for a PCR test, which can take another day or so to return results, they could be positive and not even know it. e less socially responsible among us could take this as an opportunity to go to a party, to have a meal with friends or go to class. By creating a delay in the noti cation of COVID-19 positivity, Brandeis is potentially also creating hun-

dreds of COVID-19 cases on its campus.

It’s as though the university planned for a massive drop in COVID-19 cases. e university must have thought that COVID-19 would be virtually gone if they chose to eliminate the testing program. It feels like Brandeis has been caught between resuming life before COVID-19 and provisioning a safety net with post-exposure testing. e thought is nice, providing the Brandeis community with testing, but you can’t do it in half-measures. e middle path leads to an overwhelmed Health Center, a sick student population and a rambling opinion piece by me.

e university’s choice to discontinue the surveillance testing program was a mistake. According to the WHO, whom I trust more than Brandeis’ administration on this subject, “evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected in people one to three days before their symptom onset.” at one-to-three-day period is critical for two reasons, one of which is absurd. Firstly, earlier detection can prevent transmission: if students are able to learn that they have COVID-19 from a regularly scheduled test, rather than from a test a er the onset of symptoms, the spread of the disease can be prevented. Secondly, ironically, Brandeis students must now wait one to three days to get

tested because of the Health Center’s overload. If the university had kept the surveillance testing program, which provided safety and student jobs to the community, all of this could have been avoided. Students could go about their days without fear of getting sick, and the Health Center workers could get a little bit of sleep. But, instead, Brandeis decided to save a penny by ending the testing program. Now, we’re in for it. When my exemption period ends in just a few short days, I will be scared. I’ll be walking around campus afraid of getting sick, knowing that it didn’t have to be this way. Just like the rest of the Brandeis community.

A wheel-y bad wheel barrow

By Thomas Pickering editor

Anyone who knows anything about turn-of-the-century farm equipment will know that modern wheelbarrows simply do not stand the test of time and use. Before we delve into the di erences between wheelbarrows it will be important for you as the reader to familiarize yourself with the two pictures you see attached to this article. Named gure 1 and gure 2 these two wheelbarrows

while seeming similar in nature are actually quite di erent. Figure 1 shows a wooden wheelbarrow made around the year 1940 by my great-grandfather. Figure 2 shows a “True Temper” red wheelbarrow which you can purchase today at Lowe’s or e Home Depot.

Now, you may be looking at the wheelbarrows and thinking to yourself, “what even makes a good wheelbarrow and why am I still reading this article?” Well let me start with the latter; you are reading this article because, like me, you are letting your intrusive

thoughts win and are currently entering the rabbit hole of wheelbarrow design. As for the former part of your question, I am so glad you asked!

ere are a few things that make any wheelbarrow a GOOD wheelbarrow, three areas to be speci ed numerically. One, a good wheelbarrow does not puncture. Rubber, frankly, is overrated and a waste of oil. Your ability to do yard work should not be determined based on the air pressure or puncture status of a single tire. Otherwise, your wheelbarrow simply becomes a barrow all because the wheel could not keep up.

Two, a good wheelbarrow has solid edges to place things up against. Look, you are not using a wheelbarrow because it is shaped like a massive soup bowl. No! You are using it because there is a lot of big heavy stu that you do not want to carry. But, without solid edges to place things up against, all you are going to be doing is shaking your item around in what could really be better described as a “wheel-trough.” Hard edges and sides allow you to stack things like wood and secure garden pieces in place without the worry of moving too much on the commute from the front yard to the back. ree, a good wheelbarrow has optimal handle placement. ere are two key factors when it comes to good handle placement: height and distance. You want handles that are closer to the ground rather than higher up because it provides you more leverage to li the wheelbarrow and not worry about bottoming out the legs. You

also want handles that are slightly wider than shoulder-width apart because it allows for the easiest grab and reduces shoulder pain. When handles are too wide you end up straining your shoulders and become upset at the yard work. en who wins in this situation? at is right, your judgy neighbor who always talks about their pristine front yard.

So take a good look again at the two wheelbarrows and tell me which one you think is best.

If you said gure 2 then you can stop reading right now because you are simply wrong or just want to work me up. Take another look at gure 1. Look deeply into the soul of the wheelbarrow. ink about all that it moved and how much easier it is to work.

e cast iron wheel tells you right away that you can depend on it. It does not worry about sharp rocks, nails or surfaces. It can traverse any surface and make sure that you will always make it

from one yard to the next. Look at the narrow and low handles of the wheelbarrow in gure 1. It is almost asking to be grabbed and li ed up with ease. at wheelbarrow tells you that every day is leg day when you use me! It is ergonomic and made with a very human design, unlike those modern wheelbarrows which require a giant to use. en nally, look at the backstop on the wheelbarrow in gure 1. ink about how much more wood and stones you can stack on there rather than a modern “wheel-trough.” It can carry so much more per load as compared to said gure 2 wheelbarrow.

So next time you are in a Lowe’s or e Home Depot, do not fall for the traditional consumer trick and buy a wheelbarrow. Say “heck no, I can make my own thanks to e Hoot.”

PHOTO FROM BRANDEIS EDU

“Dogsick:” The Gen Z variant of homesickness

By Caleigh M. Abbe special to the hoot

By the time this article is published, I will have been living in Massachusetts for almost three weeks, over three hundred miles away from my home state of Maryland. In addition to adjusting to a new routine and an overheated freshman dorm, I will have completed just over two weeks of my rst college classes. Hopefully, I’ll still be texting those I care about from back home, including high school friends who stayed instate or ventured south, to Coastal or Clemson or farther. I’ll still be sending my parents random photos from around campus to keep them in the loop of my new life, to which my mother usually responds with a cute comment or question. My father, on the other hand, with his combination of engineer humor and dad humor, usually attempts to one-up me

with a picture of his own.

e other night was no exception when I sent a picture of my dinner from Usdan to the family group chat ( nally, they had chicken again!). My father’s response: a fuzzy close-up photo of a bag of dog food, brown kernels lling my screen.

At the time this exchange occurred, I knew that back home, it was my dogs’ feeding time. Usually, this was a chore placed onto me but now, those I le behind took on the task. Even from six states away, I could picture my three dogs crowding around the living room and kitchen, demanding to be fed with their chorus of barks starting anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half before their actual dinnertime–a daily routine that yes, gets very loud and annoying, and no, is not something that I particularly miss. At least, that’s what I told myself the rst few days, until I did begin to miss it, shrill barks and all.

In my dorm room, amongst my photos of friends and family hanging on the wall, I have many of my dogs. ey were the most recent photos I took of them myself from throughout the summer, printed at Walgreens before move-in. Now, my current photos of them are from a FaceTime with my mother, when I positioned my index nger and thumb on the power and volume buttons, lying in wait for the next moment they came within the frame. My recent memories of my three dogs now are of blurry movement, wide eyes and confusion. My father is in the background of some of these screenshots, waving to the camera from behind the dogs while they pace around the room, trying to nd the source of my voice.

I know I am far from the only one that’s feeling this type of loss and emptiness at the moment. It is a feeling resulting from the combination of being away from home, a break from routine, living away from parents and missing the companionship of pets when for the rst time in my life, I don’t come home to a u y friend every day. When I’m sitting in my dorm room, there is no wet nose pushing against my leg waiting to be petted. When I unlock my door, there is no exciting greeting or jumping up and down from my roommate, just as my three fuzzy roommates at home would do. ere is no one to snuggle with at night, pester when I’m bored, or lay with when I’m feeling down. I know these gaps can be lled in other ways and I’ll nd the missing pieces in time, but for now, I am missing my three best friends greatly. I simply miss being able to

pat their heads whenever, something enjoyable for the both of us.

I know I am not the only one feeling this because I can see its e ects all over. In person, one of my new friends remarked how she is glad she doesn’t have pets at home because she couldn’t imagine being away from them. On social media, particularly Instagram, a wave of pet posts arose in the week following move-in, following story trends such as “tap in if you miss your pet” or “repost with a picture of your pet you le back home.” I didn’t partake in this act myself but clicking through stories to see pet a er pet was de nitely a stake through the heart yet comforting. It was a community adjusting to a new life and by sharing this small piece of su ering, we were making it more bearable for each other to see that we are not alone.

Privately, I paid homage to my dogs in my own ways. I changed my laptop background from a sel e with my ex to a sel e with my oldest dog, Honey. Friends I’ve had over would remark about the pictures on my wall and when they’d realize that all the photos were of di erent dogs, they’d ask how many I have. When given the answer, the typical response was, “ at’s a lot of dogs.” Yet occasionally, I still tell my parents that we could do with a fourth.

I’ll admit that I felt a tad homesick the rst couple of days a er move-in. But a er that feeling faded, another one lingers: dogsick. I can still talk to my family and talk to my friends from back home, but I couldn’t connect with my dogs like that. I need something tangible, something I can’t

get right now. I can’t even go see the therapy dog at the BCC because of my class schedule, so maybe that’s something I’ll plan around for next semester.

For now, blurry FaceTime screenshots and old pictures will have to su ce. Maybe I won’t entirely recover from dog-sickness, but I can cope the best I can. While I feel this gap on my end, I wonder how my dogs are doing back home, and I like to think that they miss me too. On the other hand, though, I know the attitude that Honey gets sometimes, so maybe she hasn’t really thought about it yet. I wouldn’t blame her for that though; she is only a dog. anksgiving break (or rather, long weekend) is still a few months away, but I’m holding out until I can see my dogs again (and have my own shower . . . and a homecooked meal . . . and a queen-size bed). Before that, though, my immediate family will be visiting for parents’ weekend, and there is an ache in my chest when I think about them returning home and my dogs can smell me on them, but not have me for another month themselves. Maybe I’m giving them too much credit (I did just say that they are only dogs) but thinking that they miss me too is somewhat comforting. I truly think that they do, in their own doggy way.

East Quad: an attempt at an explanation

By Jamie Trope staff

From now this point forward, consider yourself an intrepid explorer, braving the architectural unknowns of East Quad. e descent into the quad is a steep one, but fear not, your Brandeis calves, strengthened from continuous climbs up the Rabb steps, will aid you in your quest. “Imposing”–that is the rst thought that arises at the sight of the tall red brick walls, seemingly closing in on you–walls to your front and a steep hill at your back. Welcome to East Quad.

Built in 1964 and designed by Benjamin ompson through e Architects Collaborative, East Quad is an integral part of Brandeis, especially as the majority of its sophomores will wind their way up the triangular staircases to their dorms each year. e layout and structure of the building is ba ing. If you look at the building plans, the building snakes around on its foundation, opposed to the very idea of sticking to just one angle.

e peculiar design of the Quad easily lends itself to a vast array of creation myths–hearsay folklore about how and why East Quad was designed. Personally, I have heard numerous explanations for why the hallways are so incredibly narrow, that the building was designed by someone who also designed prisons, and the tale of how a turkey once ew into a window in the quad (okay, the turkey story is true). As far as I can tell,

through researching architect Benjamin ompson online, he was not associated with any prison building projects. A story, true or not, can still integrate itself into the general lore of the building. East Quad will never be able to escape this.

East Quad semi-encircles the Brandeis Intercultural Center (ICC), housed inside the Swig Student Center, which once functioned as a dining hall for East Quad back in the 1960s . is was at a time when Kutz hall also functioned as a Brandeis dining hall. It appears that Brandeis buildings tend to be repurposed over time. Perhaps, in ten years, students will attend their recitation sections in Hassenfeld 110 (I shudder to think about the logistics of designing a lecture hall in East Quad).

Additionally, according to a blog post of architecture on campus, the Modernist design of East Quad mimics the appearance of a castle, from the long and narrow windows to the bridge running between the Quad and the ICC to the crenulations at the top of the building to the Hassenfeld 1 and Pomerantz 2 oors looking like the darkened hallways of a dungeon.

For anyone disappointed at no longer being able to live in the Brandeis castle, perhaps consider booking a stay at East Quad. Aside from the indoor plumbing and electricity, East Quad will bring you right back to medieval times.

e descent to the basement to do your laundry will make you feel like a medieval chambermaid. And you cannot forget about the

water scarcity. I promise, no matter which oor you live on, there will not be a water fountain on it. It will always be at least two oors down and in some parts of the building you will never be able to properly describe once you have returned to your dorm. e existence of East Quad demands an explanation. An answer, something, anything. Because why would East Quad exist in its current state just because it is what it is? Surely, there must be some deep dark secret explaining how East Quad came into existence. But there is nothing. No paper trail past who designed the building, in what style it was built, and on what year it was made. All that exists are the stories, the “what ifs?” East Quad is an integral part of the Brandeis campus lore. Its murky beginnings lend itself to stories passed down from seniors to juniors to sophomores to wide-eyed freshmen. Everyone loves a good mystery, and East Quad ful lls that hunger.

O cially, there are more than two named residence halls within East Quad: Hassenfeld-Krivo Residence Hall, Shapiro Brothers Residence Hall, and Pomerantz-Rubenstein Residence Hall. By now, only Hassenfeld and Pomerantz are used when describing where a person lives on campus – the other names have been lost in obscurity.

Sometime, likely in the future, East Quad will no longer exist. It will be repurposed, rebuilt, and perhaps, forgotten. But for now, down the hill, o center from the main campus and ridiculed, East Quad still stands. It is not what it

once was–it is the subject of continuous jokes and mockery and walking down its hallways alone at night conjures imagery from a horror lm.

From the long hallways to the wa e square ceilings, I am con-

stantly confused by the buildings’ design. At the very least, East Quad never grows old. Like the mold that grows in Rosie and Ziv, East Quad is growing on me.

Fall Flex 2022 was disappointing

By Soren Birnbaum special to the hoot

I don’t think that it comes as a surprise to anyone that Fall Flex this year was poorly attended. In fact, I was unaware of its existence until 10:30 a.m. the day of, when a close friend encouraged me to accompany her to the concert. e rst thing which felt a little o was the location. e venue change was ill-advised. I’m not immediately opposed to schlepping up to the Levin Ballroom for most events, but I think that Chapels Field has a larger appeal for a crowd, certainly for a nice autumn night at the beginning of the school year. Also, it would’ve attracted more rst-years since it’s right next to Massell, and it’s more

of a central location on campus. Food trucks also would have contributed to more general excitement over the whole of the event. I believe Chapel’s Field was where it was held last year as well, so I wasn’t sure why they changed it. In any case, the location was moved. For an event which you had to sign up for in advance online, there wasn’t much fanfare for it. I would’ve expected a couple more signs at least to point concert-goers in the right direction, which really would have helped as I heard a couple of people express confusion over where they were supposed to go. A larger sign could’ve helped. Also, this might just be me, but whenever there are events on campus I feel as though I always come across posters for it once the event has already hap-

pened.

I have already mentioned how there were no food trucks at the event. By the time I arrived, there also wasn’t any food, other than ice cream which they had started serving. Now, this would be ne, if they hadn’t said that they would be serving food in the emails which had been sent out. If they had gotten around to serving food, it had already been by the time I le the venue. Again, this would be ne, it’s just that free food is such an obvious draw for college events that it seemed a little strange that there wouldn’t even really be any appetizers. It felt like an oversight, especially for students who were planning their night around the event. We arrived on time, and although there did seem to be a

couple dozen or so students milling around outside Levin Ballroom, there really wasn’t anyone waiting for the show to start inside. It just seemed a little embarrassing, and honestly I felt bad for the showrunners as well as the technicians who were brought out to work when nothing was going on. As time went on it became increasingly apparent that we were going to have to wait a while for anything, and I think this added to the dour mood of the ten or so people who had shown up at that point. is, coupled with the lack of communication from the Campus Activities Board (CAB), contributed to the feeling of frustration.

I arrived at the event at 7 p.m., and le about an hour later when the oor was still empty and no

artist had appeared onstage. Apparently, the two artists scheduled, Berhana and Oompa, did perform for a smaller crowd later into the evening. Still, I found it disheartening that we were supposedly meant to stick around far past the start time of the concert for something to happen. Speaking to other students at the event, I found that many others shared the same feelings, and some of them were very openly frustrated about how the event turned out. I would hope that in the future, CAB would try to have more coherent messaging, as well as a higher standard when it comes to attracting students and respecting their time.

By Victoria Morrongiello editor

Seeing as our former resident food reviewers have graduated— Sasha Skarboviychuk ’21 MA ’22 and John Fornagiel ’22—it seems only tting to continue their legacy by writing food-related opinion pieces. While I am just a young novice compared to them, I hope to make them proud by letting their food reviews live on. For this edition, I will be reviewing a mu n made by one of our own—Mia Plante ’23. When o ered a pumpkin chocolate chip mu n, on an otherwise not-sogreat Monday night, I simply could not turn it down. I have a weak spot for desserts and for mu ns speci cally so when of-

fered mu n, I take mu n.

Let’s start with the presentation. First of all, Plante used double cupcake liners like a professional.

e two liners help for the mufn not to stick to the rst liner— which is annoying when it happens—it also helps eliminate the grease at the bottom of the liner. Excellent execution there. Also loved the zip lock bag delivery method. 10/10, they transported well.

Plante was bold in making the decision to bake a pumpkin chocolate chip mu n. I personally believe that you can never go wrong adding chocolate chips to a dessert and that is true for these mu ns as well. Plante had a great ratio of chocolate chip to mu n. For every bite you had at least one—if not more—chocolate

chips. I am also a chocolate end, so the more chocolate the better.

e pumpkin avor had a great compliment to the chocolate component. It also was great because it wasn’t overwhelmingly pumpkin-y, if that makes sense. I’m not a huge pumpkin- avored food gal but I did enjoy this mu n. It tasted what I imagine Bath and Body Works fall-scented candles would taste like. De nitely gave o Pumpkin Cinnamon Candle vibes. It also tasted like Michaels during fall. I say this as a complete compliment, but have you ever just walked into Michaels when they have their autumnal decorations out? Yeah, that’s what it tasted like.

(Complete side note—isn’t it strange how we can correlate tastes to smells? So bizarre. Or

maybe someone is reading this article confusedly, thinking “what the heck is this girl on?”)

On to texture—simply awless. Not too moist and not too notmoist (I can’t remember what the opposite of moist is, can you tell yet I’m an awful food critic?). It was a great texture too (dry— the word is dry!) and had a good balance of ingredients. Not overcooked, but also not undercooked (though I am one of those people who will intentionally undercook things because I like it a little doughy).

e portion size was also excellent. Sometimes the large mu ns are simply too large. You can’t thoroughly enjoy a big mu n for dessert because then you feel like puking because the mu n could’ve been a meal in and of

itself.

Basically, this mu n was excellent on all fronts and was a great way to celebrate the start of September and the 66-degree day we had. And yeah yeah yeah, go ahead and call it “false fall” because that’s how New England weather works, I know it’s going to be in the 80s again on Saturday and my dorm will resume its sauna state. But for now, it is autumn and I’m happily eating pumpkin chocolate chip mu ns and not sweating profusely from the heat. anks for the mu n Mia! I hope you like this entirely legitimate review with zero bias whatsoever.

President Biden forgives $10,000 in student debt for low-income borrowers

By Cooper Gottfried editor

On Aug. 24, college students and graduates alike received wonderful news. President Biden announced his administration’s plan to eliminate “signi cant amounts of student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans,” and announced that his administration “is extending the current moratorium on [student loan] payments until Dec. 31.”

It was mentioned that the plan will “cancel $10,000 in debt for those earning less than $125,000 per year and $20,000 for those who had received Pell grants.” A Biden administration o cial estimated that “roughly 43 million federal student loan borrowers are eligible for forgiveness, and about 20 million could have their debt completely wiped out.”

is is fantastic: 43 million lives improved with the stroke of a pen, 20 million people who are no longer laboring to pay o astronomically high student loans, 20 million people whose income belongs to them once again.

is plan has been called “Biden’s bailout for the wealthy” by the RNC. I don’t have the time nor the crayons to explain to them why that’s wrong, but I do have a

few valid pieces of criticism for Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.

Why not more forgiveness?

First and foremost, Biden’s decision to negate just $10,000 of student debt breaks one of the key proposals he made before taking o ce. Biden proposed forgiveness for “all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt from two- and four-year public colleges and universities for debt-holders earning up to $125,000.”

Biden also proposed that “the federal government would pay the monthly payment in lieu of the borrower until the forgivable portion of the loan was paid o is bene t would also apply to individuals holding federal student loans for tuition from private HBCUs and MSIs” (Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions) while he was on the campaign trail.

Although seeing $10,000 of debt wiped out for millions of people is wonderful, I’m disappointed that more debt wasn’t forgiven. If Biden has the legal authority that he’s claiming to have, then canceling more debt shouldn’t be a problem. e decision to take a radical action by forgiving debt, but only forgiving a moderate amount of that debt, puzzles me. I

am disappointed by this decision, yet still grateful that any debt is being forgiven.

What about the legal challenges?

ere’s one more signi cant hurdle that this edict must pass: a legal challenge. e White House “relied on the 2003 HEROES Act enacted following the Sept. 11 terror attacks to underpin its plan,” citing the fact that the law gives the “Education Department the authority to both suspend loan repayments through Dec. 31 and cancel loan debt for many borrowers” in the case of an emergency.

e HEROES Act gives the Department of Education the power to a ect student loan debt specically for those who have “su ered direct economic hardship as a direct result of a war or other military operation or national emergency.” e Biden administration seems to be relying on the Supreme Court to interpret COVID as an ongoing national emergency in order to t this de nition. e problem with that logic is that this conservative-majority Supreme Court has a marked propensity of being anti-Biden.

One Boston University (BU) Professor who has written extensively on executive powers mentioned that “ e problem with

the HEROES Act of 2003 is it is clearly about 9/11 context. Even if it says emergencies might be broader than 9/11, the Roberts [Supreme] court will see COVID as a stretch.” Based on this logic, the Supreme Court will unfortunately likely agree with Nancy Pelosi’s sentiment, and shoot down the loan forgiveness.

In Conclusion

I am extremely happy that Pres-

ident Biden announced this debt forgiveness. It will help lower-income borrowers immensely, and the signi cance of this executive order is not to be understated. But, Biden, the lower-than-proposed amount of debt forgiveness and bad seed sown for legal challenges make this an imperfect, but still momentous, announcement.

‘Uncoupled’ is TV rom com with important messages

Nobody likes going through a breakup. It can be a slap in the face for someone you love to just leave. Not only is it di cult to deal with the end of an era, but it can be even more di cult to start over. at is the premise for the television show “Uncoupled.” Released on Net ix on July 29, this show takes a look at what it is like to not only be newly single but also newly single as a middle-aged gay man. is show stars the always charismatic Neil Patrick Harris as well as a wonderful cast of characters. Even if you are not a middle-aged gay man, you can still relate to the show’s themes of love and heartbreak. It shows many perspectives on dating and the reality of dating in 2022. It is only eight episodes, each around half an hour long, so you can knock this out in a spare four hours. Despite its brevity, there is still a lot of excitement and romance packed into this show, and that is what makes it a must-watch.

Michael (Neil Patrick Harris) is a successful real estate agent who has been with his boyfriend Colin (Tuc Watkins) for seventeen years. Everything seemed to be perfect. en on Colin’s 50th birthday, he tells Michael that he is leaving him without giving a reason. is shocks Michael and he does not know what to do next. He hasn’t been single in almost two decades and it is a whole di erent ballpark since the last time he was single. Fortunately, he has some great friends to help him out. ere is his promiscuous friend Billy (Emerson Brooks), his lonely friend Stanley (Brooks Ashmankas) and his energetic business partner Suzanne (Tisha Campbell). ere is also his new rich client Claire (Marcia Gay Harden) who is going through a divorce and nds a kindred spirit in Michael. Despite all of this help, the dating world

presents Michael with many different problems. From guring out Grindr to being o ered butt botox, Michael learns that it is a crazy world out there. He is learning how to move on, but his feelings for Colin aren’t going away overnight. Micahel has to learn how to get over the past and face his romantic future.

Even though there is one lead,

all of the main characters of this show feel important and eshed out. Everyone had their own stories and I was interested in all of them. I felt that Michael was the perfect character to lead them all. He was not as exaggerated as the rest of them but still had some amusing quirks. Harris did an amazing job bringing the character to life. He was able to show all

of Michael’s aws, like his slight narcissism and obsessing, yet still made him lovable. He could make some funny quips and then show sadness over his heartbreak. Even though we don’t have much in common, I felt I could relate to him. His terri c friends were also big reasons I stayed interested. I loved Tisha Campbell’s performance as Suzanne. When the show starts out, you think she is just going to be one of those characters that serve as the sassy friend. However, she becomes so much more than that. She is also dealing with her own struggles of dating on top of being a single mom. Campbell is able to make sure that we laugh along with her while understanding the character’s problems. I also loved Marcia Gay Harden as Claire, who gives some of the best humor in the show. She is a strong woman who seems a little overbearing and particular, but hearing about her divorce humanizes her. Only Harden could have made you like and laugh with this pristine character, so I applaud her. is show was created by Darren Star, who is known for creating “Sex and the City,” “Emily in Paris,” and “Beverly Hills, 90210,” What all of this means is that Star’s shows don’t take themselves too seriously. ey are full of witty lines and light romance. at is certainly the case of “Uncoupled.”

It is a show that you are able to relax with a er a long day. Maybe it’s because this is already a fairly short show, but the script felt very tight. Every plot line was enjoyable and even if it did not connect to the central story, the side plot lines were still interesting. ere were also some great quips and some sharp humor. e jokes felt very natural and I was laughing a lot. Even so, there are still some great serious moments. e grief over loss and midlife crises are

not exactly happy subjects, but they are still able to blend into the show nicely and are approached well. It is a sign of great writing when you can seamlessly combine humor and drama into your episodes. One minute Michael is feeling lonely in his own apartment and the next he is throwing up in a hot tub. And the show knows how to pace so that this all works. e New York City landscape also really adds to the fun of watching this show. Since Michael works in real estate we get to see some gorgeous apartments. Altogether, this is a delightful show to watch, both in how it looks and the content.

e main idea of this show is the importance of love. Love can come in many forms. ere is the love of a past partner, of current partners and, most importantly, of friends. Some people may not realize that, but the love of friends is always real. at is what makes this show so great. All of the characters have their problems with themselves and with each other, but they still care about everyone. It is a show that will make you grateful for what you have. Dating can be di cult for many people. Putting yourself out there can be hard, but sometimes you just have to power through. With the right people in your corner and some con dence, you can make it happen. is is a very sweet show that feels like an episodic rom-com. So if you are someone who likes rom coms, or you are going through a break-up, or you are tired of all of these deeply serious and mysterious shows, watch “Uncoupled” on Net ix today.

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PHOTO FROM PAPERWRITER CA

By Mia Plante editor

On July 15, the artist beabadoobee released her h album “Beatopia.” Beabadoobee is known for her catchy bedroom pop and TikTok-worthy tunes, but “Beatopia” shows a slight venture into di erent styles of music for Bea, while still maintaining the light and airy vocals listeners love. e album consists of 14 songs; one of which, “10:36,” was released as a single prior to the full album drop. Listening to the album in its entirety proves there are no skips whatsoever. Track one, “Beatopia Cultsong,” begins with ambient music and slight environmental noise such as clanging, then slowly transitions into acoustic instrumental with vocal tones overlaid. It is an interesting introduction to the album as it’s more conceptual than a piece many pop listeners would put on for casual reasons, but it shows Bea’s move into exploring other avenues of music. e song transitions well into track two, which happens to be the pre-released single “10:36.” “10:36” returns to classic bedroom pop sounds with synth sounds, an electric backing with driving drums and Bea’s light falsetto vocals.

“10:36” is a bit more intense-sounding than Bea’s previous work, as the chorus is more punchy and less sweet despite the romantic tendency in her lyrics, and there is an electric guitar solo which is unique for Bea’s music. is is one of many songs with truly addicting choruses on the album, singing “I know you thought it was just us, I didn’t think you’d fall in love. You’re

just a warm body to hold at night when I’m feeling all alone.” e song closes out with repeating lyrics on top of each other and a chant style fading into nothing.

Track three, “Sunny day,” sounds exactly how it’s titled. Bea’s so voice is smooth, light and warm during the introduction, backed only by an acoustic guitar until drums come in during the chorus. Once again, this track has an insanely addicting chorus and melody, it’s sure to be stuck in your head a er one listen. is fades into the fourth song on the album, “See you Soon,” which is a return to Bea’s classic bedroom pop, namely in the way she sings “see you soon” in the most barely-there way possible. is is a song you listen to while alone in your bedroom at night, walking to class feeling cool or in the car with the windows down. I absolutely love the small asides she has within the lyrics that sound like they were recorded on an old telephone, singing “I guess I have to take it, I’m deteriorating” and “I try to have a meaning, and it looks appealing.” e lyrics just feel relatable even if you have no idea how.

“Ripples” brings a string-heavy introduction to the album that is absolutely amazing. As someone with a classical music background, hearing any type of orchestral strings in a pop song is something I adore. Bea really gives the strings time to shine and bring emotion to the beginning of the song before she enters, slowly with a guitar joining the violins, her vocals coming in a er 30 seconds of pure instrumentals. Once again, an amazing chorus with relatable lyrics somehow; Bea sings “So I’m keepin’ busy, work twice as hard as you. Want you to believe me, that I can pick and choose.”

“the perfect pair” takes inspiration from another style of music with a very bossa nova-esque introduction and a jazzy rhythm on the drums, guitar and bass throughout the song. Bea’s vocals are stunning alongside the classic rhythm section and the strings utilized during the chorus. If you’re at all familiar with modern jazz fusion, the instrumentals in this song are very reminiscent of work that the band Snarky Puppy has put out throughout the years. Particularly the long instrumental outro takes me back to my early years as a jazz fusion fan.

A er a classic pop introduction, “broken cd” leads into a funky bassline and is another song that seems to fuse genres together to

make a Frankenstein track I absolutely love. is track is a combination of classic styles and sounds with modern singer-songwriter sounds. Unlike “broken cd,” track eight takes a turn toward the more electric and slightly more rock’n’roll side of beabadoobee. While the instruments get more loud and intense, Bea’s vocals remain light until the chorus, which of course I am obsessed with:

“Cause I’m not sure if I’ve seen you before. You looked familiar when I saw you. We go together like the gum on my shoes. We make out, we make out when it’s too late. We go out, we go out on a Tuesday.”

Track nine, “Lovesong,” is a return to classic, chill beabadoobee. is song relies heavily on

her lyrics, which focus on a realistic perspective on love within a love song format, and acoustic backing. is song is soothing, to say the least—it sounds like warm sugar to the ears. e last ve tracks of the album, including one featuring the artist PinkPantheress, follow the trend of being unique in Bea’s repertoire, yet sticking to her vocal roots. Combining elements of classical music, bossa nova/jazz, funk, folk and modern singer-songwriter bedroom pop, “Beatopia” is a listen-worthy album with absolutely zero skips, and will for sure be in my ears all fall semester long.

BookTok worth it or not: Emily Henry edition

By Victoria Morrongiello editor

Welcome back to another week of me reviewing books so you don’t have to read! Wow, I feel like SparkNotes or Shmoop—all the real ones used Shmoop in high school.

Anyway, I watch TikTok on Instagram Reels (since I refuse to download the app because I think it would feed my addictive personality) and then I nd a way to get my hands on the physical (or electronic) copy of the book. anks to my lovely sister I have been tearing through a sizable To Be Read (TBR) stack. In my sister’s collection were many of Emily Henry’s books that have been getting a lot of praise on BookTok. So, let’s get into it.

Emily Henry is a romance book writer. While I am new to the romance genre club, from what I’ve gauged from online reviews, pretty much everyone likes Emily Henry’s books. You see with a lot of the more popular romance writers—cough cough Colleen Hoover—a divide in reader approval over whether they like the story or not.

Henry’s writing is de nitely very di erent from Hoover’s and doesn’t go anywhere near toxic love stories. is isn’t to say that I don’t like Hoover’s stories as well—I do—I think she does a good job of portraying how di cult it is to get out of toxic situations.

Anyway, coming back from that tangent. Henry has three main romance books that every-

one loves (in chronological order by release): “Beach Read,” “People We Meet on Vacation” and “Book Lovers.” is is not my order of favorite to least favorite, though I would like to note that these books got published in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively which is absolutely nuts. Like she’s just cranking out these books like it’s nobody’s business.

While I enjoyed all of her stories I would say that I liked “Book Lovers” the most, then “People We Meet on Vacation” and then “Beach Read.” You can de nitely see her progression of writing throughout the years which is cool and I respect that growth.

“Book Lovers” is about a woman—Nora—who is a stereotypical workaholic. She works as an agent for a romance author and is very self-aware about the role she plays in most stories. She is the one who men dump for the wholesome small-town girl; having been dumped three times to the same narrative, she is no fool in understanding her tendencies.

She then meets a guy—Charlie—who is also a workaholic and understands that he is not the hero in the story. He also works in the publishing eld and he comes o as incredibly grumpy. A trip with her sister to a quaint little town in North Carolina turns into more than Nora had originally anticipated.

I loved the plot line, and I love that the main character isn’t this terribly likable person. She is erce and she gets stu done

even if it does mean being a little harsh at times. It’s an honest story about how love can screw people over and how it still drives us to care for those closest to us.

Huge recommend.

I realize I already reviewed “People We Meet on Vacation” in my summer reading roundup, although I did not review it in comparison to Henry’s other works. It comes second to “Book Lovers” only because I am not a huge fan of the time jumps in the narrative. It becomes very frustrating to me as someone who wants to nd out the whole story and not just parts of it at a time.

However, that is totally a personal preference of mine; it was still a great story and I love Poppy and Alex. I think their story is really impactful about how people can change over time and become di erent, but still nd their way back to each other. I love their story; Poppy and Alex’s banter is authentic and hilarious. 10/10.

You should read this.

“Beach Read” does come in last. And while, yes, I liked it, it was not nearly as likable as the other two reads. A lot of coincidences in this book made it unrealistic for me—I mean come on, your college nemesis just so happens to live in the same small town that your dad stayed in when he had an a air with another woman. And now don’t even start with me that the romance genre isn’t supposed to be realistic—I know it isn’t—but I mean COME ON.

It was still a good read, but

I feel like there was a lot going on that needed unpacking. You can read it though and decide for yourself whether this is the correct ranking or not. Don’t just take my word for it though; the other Morrongiello sister agrees that “Beach Read” should come in last. However, she

ranked “People We Meet on Vacation” rst because “Book Lovers” had “too many inaccuracies about the publishing eld,” which is fair enough. However, if you don’t work in publishing you won’t necessarily be able to pick out all the inaccuracies in the book itself.

‘Beatopia’: a no skip album for the fall

‘Vengeance’ is a great movie with a lot to say

By Lucy Fay editor

“Vengeance,” written, directed by and starring B.J. Novak, is a murder mystery, told from the perspective of an East Coast journalist investigating a supposed opioid overdose in West Texas. e lm attempts to deconstruct cultural stereotypes central to the American identity, through the story of a family plagued with grief turning to an outsider to nd justice. is movie is also a comedy.

In a cringe- lled turn of events, Ben (B.J. Novak), a Manhattan-based journalist travels to a remote Texan town to attend the funeral of a girl named Abilene (Lio Tipton) who he barely knew. While her whole family has been led to believe the two were in a serious relationship, Ben, a strong proponent of hook-up culture, hardly remembers Abilene. Despite his visit being based on awkward miscommunication and lies, a er a discussion with Abilene’s

older brother (Boyd Holbrook)

Ben decides to extend his stay in Texas and build a podcast around the conspiracies Abilene’s family clings to make sense of her death.

e arc of the lm is split between the literal investigation of who and what killed Abilene, and Ben’s recurring realization that people, no matter where they are or what they believe, are alike. e reason this realization has to happen over and over again is to truly hammer home, through monologues, arguments and physical violence, that these wacky Southerners may not all be stupid, but they aren’t all geniuses either. ey all do good and bad things for moral and immoral reasons, but most of all, they, along with everyone else, are much more than the characters they are too easily dubbed.

ere really is no middle ground when a movie takes the time to philosophize. Some viewers will watch it and see the conversation as shallow and obvious. Others will nd it meaningful, and may-

be take something away from it. And some viewers will just think the movie is wrong and annoying. is is the reality “Vengeance” has to face being released to as wide

an audience as it has been. e lm is full of what some would call big talk. Grandiose monologues, mostly from Ashton Kutcher’s character, who, might I add, featured the best acting Kutcher has done in years, about the essence of our being or the moralities of fame or even the major downsides of a cultural consciousness made up of hot takes. Broad analyses of our society stated matter of factly.

I, as a viewer with a life experience far more similar to Ben’s (and B.J. Novak’s) than the Texan’s, found Kutcher’s character, a small-town Texan music producer, to be fascinating. He may not have been providing the most original conclusions, but I felt a real insight was given into the lives of rural Southerners and their interactions with 21st-century technology. But I just cannot speak to how an actual Southerner, or even Midwesterner, would react to his explications. Maybe they would view the dialogue as belittling or exaggerated, maybe they’d like it as much as I did. Most likely though, every demographic audience would internally have massively varying levels of

enjoyment and agreement. at is literally the point of the movie.

Taking a step back into the more literal aspects of the movie, “Vengeance” is clever and extremely funny, with a one-of-a-kind cast of characters, the biggest downfall of which is Ben, who never managed to be particularly likable; but everyone else, from Ben’s producer to Abilene’s childhood friend to Abilene herself, were memorable characters with plenty to do. It also features an excellent and exciting (maybe) murder mystery that until late in act three had no obvious conclusion, and that has a satisfying wrap-up with no established characters le out.

Every audience could get something out of this movie. It masterfully tackles a lot of genres and a complex story taking place in two opposing worlds, all while managing to be funny throughout. Plus, what a great cast.

Goodbye and Goodnight: a short story

By Cyrenity Augustin editor

is wasn’t necessarily the most shocking news. e world had been in its strange apocalyptic state for some time now, with dusty barren wastelands as far as the eye could see. ose that had been le had expected to be gone months, years ago. at an end was nally in sight could honestly be seen as more of a blessing at this point, rather than something to fear.

In one of the many barrens where humanity resided, a lone traveler contemplated the bit of

news that had spouted out of their Morse code machine hours ago.

ey had already gone about completing their “bucket list” years ago, as had everyone else that had learned that their planet had crawled upon the point of no return. So, now, with the date set and what was le of the world waiting patiently, what was there to do?

e traveler leaned back in their wooden chair, a rather antique item that they could care less about. ey stared up at the dull brown of the ceiling of what they called home for the last decade—a safe and boring bubble.

And in that dull, boring and safe

bubble, they came to a decision. Grabbing nothing but an old, rusted pistol and a ask of rum, the lone traveler approached the ladder to the tunnel that led aboveground, one that they had rarely given a second glance. And they began to climb.

e bars of the ladder were cold, and quite disgusting, to be candid. Covered in dust from years of disuse. e lone traveler, however, ignored this detail (as best as they could, as they sneezed on the journey up), and focused on climbing one bar at a time.

e darkness of the burrow was one they had gotten used to, broken up by the candles and matches that had been stored away as the lone traveler awaited the end. But the darkness of the tunnel was something di erent. Su ocating. But the lone traveler pushed on, the ringing of the metal rungs after each progressing step breaking the cotton-like silence in the space. In their travel upward, time became meaningless. e ringing of metal became a sort of time keeper of their own. 20 rings ago they had almost lost their footing. 40 rings ago, they had run into a cobweb (the lone traveler supposed they weren’t so alone a er all). 70 rings ago, they had decided to start keeping track of the ring in the rst place.

By the time the lone traveler reached the 390th ring (give or take) they were starting to regret this decision. But on the 391th ring, their head bumped against the rough metal of the tunnel’s cover, and they let out a breath of relief.

With more trouble than they liked, they forced the top of the cover up, exposing the entry to the tunnel and their face to a gust of sand, which they promptly spat out of their mouth as they pulled themself up and out of the tunnel. e traveler got to their feet, ignoring the jelly-like feeling settling into their muscles as best they could as they pulled the top of their shirt up and over their nose. ey glanced back at the tunnel, which led down to their haven for the last decade. With a nod of gratitude to their home, they set o , leaving it behind for the sandy winds to bury.

And so the lone traveler walked. And walked. And walked some more. With sand biting at any skin exposed and the lone traveler wishing that they had spent more time exercising their worn out muscles, they walked.

And the time passed on, and the sky grew dark, until the lone traveler came to a stop in front of a lone hill, arching high enough above the sandy waste-

lands that the wind didn’t assault its top. e lone traveler gazed up at this pleasant disruption in the tortuous sandy winds.

(How lonely this hill must have been, without the buzzing of insects, and the beauty of its previous coat of ora.)

Without a goodbye to the sand that they had grown quite sick of, the lone traveler approached this hill and started their (second) ascent, nding purchase on the bumps and cracks that peppered the hill’s surface. Much quicker work than the tunnel had been, the lone traveler found themself at the top of the hill, and turning their eyes to the sky, the lone traveler was greeted with stars.

Ten years of dull brown walls made the sight one for sore eyes. And so, without another word, the lone traveler laid back on this lonely hill. And together, the two stood witness to the beauty the sky bore.

And the lone traveler was at peace. And as the end drew near, streaking across the starry night sky at 11:54 in a beautiful, damning show of re and stone and light, the lone traveler raised their ask to the sky, before bringing it to their lips.

“Goodbye and goodnight,” the lone traveler mused. Goodbye and goodnight.

PHOTO FROM IMDBCOM

PHOTO FROM WALLPAPERACCESSCOM

PHOTO FROM SLANTMAGAZINE COM

PHOTO FROM IMDB COM

By Kenyatta David

Turquoise eye shadow, edged with black winged eyeliner, Loretta puckers her nude glossy lips, smiling in the bathroom mirror. Flu ng up her curly Afro, she twists side to side to capture the best angle of her beige, shortsleeve jacket and bell bottoms, a salmon top beneath, all held together by a stark belt. e same out t they met in, open-toe heels and all.

e smile slowly fades as reality sets in: it’s not like Christopher would notice, he was either too tired, or caught up with some work from the o ce. It’s their nine-year anniversary, and yet somehow he’d botch it up. She takes glances at the napkin beside her makeup set, a blueberry resting atop. Her saving grace.

Blueberry: a short story

Out of all the French Quarter, she placed her faith in Crazy Al—albino negro-spiritual dread-head. He’d been trying to sell her this ‘magical blueberry’ at the neighborhood shop, always on and on about “It’ll make what you see in your sleep come true.” A berry to make her dreams come true.

Loretta bursts out in laughter.

It’s ridiculous Louisiana voodoo.

e only thing keeping the pearl ring on her nger was the longsu ering of the Holy Spirit. She plopped the berry in her mouth, humoring the ‘magic.’

Leaving the bathroom, she went to the spotless kitchen, smoky entrails of vegetable gumbo and an oversized leg of lamb wa ing into her nostrils. eir favorite ever since they stood under that arbor in New Orleans. She grit her teeth, recalling the subtle glowers at her and Christopher, eyes putting a tag over them; negro and

negro-lover. It’s probably why his side of the family avoided dinners at their villa.

e door creaked, a fatigued groan echoing down the hall. Christopher’s signature. Loretta called him in for dinner, but he passed the kitchen straight, giving her the same response as any other day: “Pack some up for me baby, I’m headed to bed.”

Loretta’s head tilted, bewildered. Did he not know what today was? Carrying the warm leg of lamb to their room, she gured he just needed a bit more convincing. Narrowed slits scanned over him, asleep in their bed: suit and tie not even taken o , lipstick sloppily smeared on his lips and a lace panty sticking out his breast pocket like a handkerchief.

Loretta’s eyes twitch, remorse making her jaw clench. Not even the decency to try and hide it. e scarlet letter bored into his fore-

head. is is why he doesn’t touch her the same way. is is why she feels alone while he sleeps right beside her. is is what she shoulders the resentment of his KKK of a family for.

Gently resting the tray of lamb on her nightstand, mounds of distaste protrude from her head like a tumor.

All Loretta musters is a smile, as always.

James Baldwin’s words at UC Berkeley played on the Philco-Ford, merely white noise.

Li ing the leg of lamb overhead, she brings it down to his face, a crunch lling the room. His nose blue and twisted, he tried to shriek, smothered by the leg once more. Dissatis ed, Loretta pounded his face in again, his skull inverted to that of a pear, blood spotting her clothes. It rained down on him again, Christopher no longer moving, the

crack of bone music to her ears.

“If you wanted a divorce, you should’ve said that.”

e madness that consumed her waned, horri ed eyes staring at the bludgeoned body. e leg of lamb dropped on the oor with a thud. She felt the stares from behind. Peeking over her shoulder, Christopher’s immediate family shuddered in fear, his mother soundlessly screaming. She turned back to Christopher’s corpse, the mirage fading. ere wasn’t lipstick on his lips or panties in his breast pocket, only a bouquet poking out from beneath her pillow.

Crazy Al was right. It’s exactly what she saw in her sleep. A nightmare.

special to the hoot FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: ‘LAKESIDE LANDSCAPE IN ACRYLIC‘ BY LAUREN PODHORZER AND ‘DORM ROOM IN PASTELS” BY JENNIFER PODHORZER’