Alcohol and youth

My 21st birthday is tomorrow, so it seems appropriate to address the absurdity of the alcohol regulations that I have opposed since I was 16. This seemingly random birthday became a rite of passage of sorts in this country in 1984, when Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, a piece of legislation that strong-armed states by threatening their highway funding unless they made 21 the legal age for drinking alcohol. The bill was lobbied though the effective efforts of MADD under the noble prestense of ending drunk driving, but it now stands as the highest drinking age in the industrial world (and the highest in the entire globe, excluding a handful of Muslim countries). This apparent deterrent has, over time, become ingrained in the American mindset, and there is only a minute chance of it ever being lowered or modified without bringing on the full wrath of one of the most powerful and well-organized lobbies in the country.

Club renewal process creates concern over decharting

Concern regarding the dechartering of clubs emerged over the past week due to confusion surrounding the club renewal process. Clubs that were on the agenda to be dechartered or derecognized due to a lack of club renewal forms include the Brandeis Democrats, Click Drive, Rabbis in Training (RabbIT), the Otaku Anime Club, Nashim, and the Mens Lacrosse Team, according to an e-mail sent by the Student Union.

Timeline of Finkelstein Event

Despite the debate from the RSA claiming that Conway joined the RSA with the sole intent of inviting the controversial speaker, Finkelstein was actually first introduced in an e-mail sent on Jan 18. by Professor Leslie Zebrowitz (PSYC) to the RSA, days after Professor Alan Dershowitz had been invited to rebut former President Jimmy Carter.

Despite Ridgewood demolition, housing lottery reaches 1787

Last weekends housing lottery ended at an unprecedented 1787, according to members of Residence Life, eliciting surprise from many students. According to Associate Director of Residence Life Jeremy Leiferman, this is the highest number the lottery has gone up to in the last four years, if not more.

Student Union to implement new voting software for elections

The Student Union and Library and Technology Services (LTS) have upgraded the online voting system in time for the spring elections. The Union decided to replace the six-year-old system in March of last year after technological errors allowed graduated seniors to vote in the Spring 2006 election, as well as disrupted the races for Campus Treasurer and Senator for the Class of 2010 during the Fall 2006 elections.

Radical Student Alliance/SDS disavows member, Finkelstein visit

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), formerly known as the Radical Student Alliance (RSA), as well as the Arab Culture Club (ACC), announced that they had dropped their sponsorship of a possible upcoming event with DePaul University Professor Norman Finkelstein, controversial critic of Professor Alan Dershowitz and author of The Holocaust Industry. This comes after an announcement on March 2, when the Finance Board stated that it gave funds to sponsor the event.

TrueStoryTheater leaves  identity  at  the  checkpoint

A bomb explodes in the street outside the museum.

The boy gazes out at the violence, then back at the exhibit: “The street looks just the same as this;

my God, I can't get out…!” He is part of the exhibit now, trapped inside the glass.

“Stay in here,” his father says. “Stay here behind the glass of fear and memory…”

LettertotheEditor: ‘Hoot’ifyouloveBrandeis!

To the Editor:

It is with some sadness that I read last weeks letter to the editor (“Brandeis not so much a hoot lately,” 9 March 2007). May I offer a very biased insiders view:

Were a hoot indeed, and weve much to be proud of…

St. Patty’s Day Events

St. Patrick's Day Parade starts at 1pm, from Broadway T stop (Thomas Park) to Andrew Square Saturday.