Seeking good times…

Its about that time of year again. No, not the time when all TV shows start running those annoying reruns (although thats true). This is the time for all of the complaints about Brandeiss social life to come out of the woodwork. Everyone has a new theory on what the alleged problem is. The weather, the attitudes, too many nerds, whatever. Regardless of what your opinion of the social life here is, theres always a simple solution: Make your own adventures. Were fortunate enough to have one of our nations foremost cities only about a half hours bus ride away.

Food for thought… or at least, for distraction

I am one of those people who can only focus on work at fifteen minute intervals. I have the blatant inability to sit down and do an assignment until it is done. I jokingly attribute this flaw to ADD. Unfortunately, I have no qualified disorder to act as the scapegoat for my problems. There are just too many distractions and I cant seem to filter them out. Theres AIM, the obvious and all consuming diversion. Sometimes I force myself to sign off, tragically disallowing all those people out there in cyberspace the opportunity to read my boring away messages. But even when I take it this far, I can always scrounge around for at least a few minutes of mental respite from my work, activities that I will typically avoid doing become tempting. I fold socks or rearrange the clothes in my drawers. I will vacuum my rug, change my sheets, or finally send my dad an e-mail. Ill do anything. I think I could find distractions in an empty room with white walls.

First they came for the Communists

I was banned from Brandeis for distributing Revolution, the weekly paper of the Revolutionary Communist Party (R.C.P.), and this fits into a pattern nationally. Critical thinking is under assault, particularly at college campuses. Witness the threats against Ward Churchill, Native American scholar, or David Horowitzs campaign targeting liberal professors with a new witch hunt. As the ruling class acts to normalize torture, unjust war, secret detentions and profiling of Muslims and Arabs, critical thinking and the emergence of a new student movement is seen as a threat.

More exciting than parents weekend?

This weekend was officially Parents Weekend. As such, Brandeis administration rushed to make sure that the school we all enjoy year-round looked nothing like it did when the parents are not here.

The increasing irrelevancy of feminism

In a poll conducted by CBS News in May 2005, 17% of women said that being called a feminist is an insult. Moreover, only 48% think a stronger womens movement is needed. Why is it that women are still insulted by feminism and think that the movement should not gain in numbers? The answer is simple, the feminist movement of today is focusing far to much on fringe issues rather than issues that pertain to the advancement of women in society. The issue has become so bad that polls now show that only 25% of all women are willing to accept the title feminist.

Whats in your computer?

On my computer, youll find OpenOffice.org, Firefox, the GIMP and a variety of other programs that are free. But these programs arent free like that pirated version of office you got from youre uncle, nor are these programs free like those spyware-infested doodads you installed. These programs are actually free.

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

I am writing to express my gratitude to Herschel Simon Hartz. Not to comment on his writing, I can safely say that he saved the next eight months of my life!

Unique steps

You might have seen us practicing in the Village, doing a step or two in Sherman during meals, or at the Fall Fest Variety Show on Saturday night. If you did, you might have some idea of what stepping is.

Editorial

Last week we talked about some students needing to be more responsible when it comes to their own drinking. This week, we want to commend the friends of these irresponsible students.

Union acknowledges Rosa Parks in resolution

On Sunday evening, the Brandeis University Senate passed the Rosa Parks Resolution, which honored the life and accomplishments of the Civil Rights matriarch in memorial of her passing on Monday, October 24.