Brandeis University's Community Newspaper — Waltham, Mass.
What beams with the pride of flags waving, educates us in rhyme and verse, and pulses with tangos yearning? What commands with flamencos exquisite urgency;
rivals salsas exuberant joy;
and curses loudly with the desperation of the street? It is the struggle to break down the barriers that confine us, and it was the theme of this years Main Event show.
The Health Center will be offering HIV testing the week of the 23rd of October. According to Kathleen Maloney, Nurse Practitioner and Administrator of the Health Center, HIV testing has been in the works for a while now. Part of the reason why it was taking so long to implement is related to the logistical difficulties of offering such a test, one where confidentiality and counseling are major components. The impressive show of campus-wide support for HIV testing last year certainly influenced the decision to prioritize this issue and put the program in place this semester.
Before the Flogging Molly show here at Brandeis, I got to sit down with bassist Nathen Maxwell and got him to spill a few fun facts and, well, his beer.
As an air of confusion and anxiety floated upon the crowd at Levin Ballroom on Monday, October 16, Broken Social Scene slowly made their way on stage for a commanding hour and a half long set. After the surprise cancellation by openers Do Make Say Think lead to an odd-performance by a reggae-centric DJ, the crowd held their stance in front of the stage, as anticipation for the Canadian-bred headliners bubbled over as the first of one of the seven members of the group took to the stage. Although all of the bands dozen-plus members rarely have the ability to tour together, the acts sound was as full and fresh as ever, with founding members Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning leading the collective of friends through a set filled with their best and finest songs.
Within the theater community, there is a certain tradition. If you have a tryst with someone within the cast or outside of it (sorry, rounding the bases with a steady boyfriend/girlfriend doesnt count), you are then expected to bring in doughnuts and hot details for the rest of the cast the next rehearsal. Ive seen this happen on more then one occasion. I cant help but wonder at what point this tradition of sharing how great a kisser someone is becomes over-sharing?
If you are in tune with all of the highly crucial aspects of modern dating culture, you must know all about JDate–the singles network for Jews. If not, it isnt too complex. At jdate.com, for just a small monthly fee, Jews from across the country can register for an account, fill out a profile, and post pictures of themselves in hopes of scoring a nice Jewish boy or girl to bring home to mom and dad. A typical form of 21st century courtship. How romantic.
Dear Editor,
In the 10/16 issue of The Hoot, both the opinion and news sections managed to egregiously violate journalistic ethics in order to provide an outlet for personal insults. First, in the article “Free Theatre Cooperative denied charter” by David Pepose, a student was quoted anonymously as saying, “Free Play casts themselves as the saviors of theatre, when in reality it's just a purely egotistical and selfish gesture. I believe this is just some people just padding their resume, trying to take advantage of the Brandeis system.” The fact that a student was granted anonymity merely to insult the creators of the FPTC (which I have no affiliation with) is abhorrent. Standard journalistic ethics support the decision to grant anonymity if harm may befall the source if their identity is revealed or future sources may be dissuaded from providing information out of fear of castigation or retaliation. In this case, I highly doubt that there was any credible evidence that members of the FPTC were likely to physically harm or take revenge against this person, yet there is every reason to believe they would take offense to the statement. Especially considering the quote did not provide any new information (the only reason for anonymous sourcing) and was merely opinion, the anonymity served solely to allow a student to slander the FPTC publicly not typically the goal of news stories.
This week, the Justice reported on an apparent controversy regarding police action against a student in the Foster Mods last weekend. Two accounts of the incident immediately emerged;
that of the campus police, and that of student eyewitnesses. Whether or not the student was mistreated is an open question;
for now, the truth remains obscured.
Last weeks article in The Hoot, Student Space: the final frontier, bemoans the lack of space for student clubs. It mentioned the fact that Usdan has become an office building, and suggested converting the basement and angular lobbies into spaces for students. I couldnt agree more with the suggestion that Usdan, which is a student center and not an administrative center, could be put to better use. However, in the appeal to give student-run organizations the space they deserve to carry out their role in maintaining student morale and social life, I suspect this author was thinking of Undergrads. Grad students, who represent approximately 30% of the (traditional) student population, have no dedicated space on campus.
Leading intellectuals, artists and activists came together at Brandeis this week to discuss the history and consequences of slavery at the public conference Beyond Slavery: Overcoming its Religious and Sexual Legacy. Sponsored by the Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, the conference took place on October 15 and 16 in the Sherman Function Hall.
