Brandeis University's Community Newspaper — Waltham, Mass.
College students are more narcissistic than ever A recent study conducted by five psychologists and posted by ABC claims that college students today are more narcissistic than their predecessors. This increase in self-centeredness among college students could potentially have a major negative impact on American society in the near future. Narcissists, according to the study, […]
Recent rumblings made by the Office of Development have indicated that the very controversial and delayed appearance made at Brandeis University by former President Jimmy Carter is estimated to have cost the University a grand total of five million dollars. Angry donors have attempted to, in the words of The Jewish Week, exact revenge on the University for the President's guest appearance by withholding this money. For a place of place of higher learning, this is just plain wrong.
I remember opening my mailbox over mid-winter recess and receiving a letter from Residence Life. In it was a simple number and some instructions on how to participate in the housing lottery for the next year. My number was 509, and to tell you the truth, I honestly didnt know what that meant! Soon enough, as I was led through the maze and confusion of the room-selection process, I discovered that my inadequate number was only good for a isolated single in Schwartz Hall, or a room in a first-year residence hall. A first-year residence hall! I had been told of the agony and pain that was associated with living in a first-year residence hall and the catastrophe it would mean to my social life. I had heard the stories of torture and misfortune at spending another year in one of those buildings and dreaded the thought of residing in North once again. Still, I decided to select a room in Cable, and the following semester in that hall has led me to believe that it was one of the best choices I could have made.
With room selection just around the corner I just wanted to say that its totally awesome to live in a first-year residence hall! On the face of it, first-year residence halls are not physically that bad. First of all, you are guaranteed to get a single, and most often a pretty large single at that. This means that roommate conflicts and other awkward situations go out the window as you enjoy your quiet abode.
You know when youre driving along the highway and you hit a huge line of traffic? Then you proceed to sit for what seems like forever. When you finally get going, you realize that, three-quarters of a mile up ahead, there was an accident on the side of the road. It wasnt blocking the flow of traffic, but the whole 45 minute delay was because everyone kept on slowing down to indulge their interest. They wanted to see what the fuss was about. The curiosity factor they call it. It might be ugly or distasteful, but you just cant look away. That is exactly the way I felt last week at home watching celebrity news coverage on TV.
It was with equal parts astonishment and disappointment that I received an advance copy of Mr. Dershowitzs response to my article from about a month ago. Obviously, I disagree with the context of his accusations, but the tone and reasoning of his argument is very troubling. Reading his comments was the sad end of a personal journey of admiration that I had for the Professor. Starting in high school, I believed Dershowitz to be a great man of principle and reason, but this impression has continued to erode over the last five years to the point where I now recognize Dershowitz in the same light as many of his high-profile critics–a man who has betrayed his liberal and, more importantly, academic principles for a life of demagoguery and needless antagonism. With Dershowitzs letter to The Hoot this week, two things are now obvious: First, Carter was undeniably astute in his refusal to debate a professor who has forgotten the basic standards of constructive academic debate, and second, Dershowitz himself was left defeated by the Carter event as he witnessed a community that, for the most part, cared little for what he had to say.
To the Editor,
It's hard to imagine that one column (“Why I ignored the man from Harvard” by Stefan Borst-Censullo) could contain so many malicious falsehoods. To begin, Borst-Censullo asserts that “Dershowitz would never have come here [to Brandeis] if he did not expect a friendly crowd.” If Borst-Censullo knows anything about me, he should know that I relish hostile crowds. That's why I told the moderator I wanted only hostile, not friendly, questions. That's why I spoke last year at some of the most hostile European campuses. There would have been a more hostile crowd at Brandeis if those close-minded students and faculty who walked out on my speech had remained and challenged me. But instead, these cowards insisted on listening to only one side and then whining.
To the editor,
Last week, most undergraduates will have received another of the twice-a-year solicitations from Brandeis to take out the schools affinity credit card with MBNA/Bank of America. This happens because each year the Registrar transfers personal directory information about students to that credit-card company, unless a student has tried to opt out. If students sign on for this card, Brandeis gets a cut of every transaction they make. Do students realize that the interest rate (APR) on this card for most students has just been raised to 19.24% once the introductory APR expires in July 2007? Last year that rate was 15.99% — which was already high enough. Further, if a student is a day late in sending in a payment, there is a fee of up to $35 and the interest rate goes up permanently to 25%. After that, a student cannot get out of the card unless he pays off the balance completely.
To the Editor:
Former President Carters visit to Brandeis brought discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the forefront of students consciousnesses. Student groups began planning events to elaborate on the subject. To foster a cohesive discussion instead of a chaotic stream of rebuttals, the Student Union has established a committee called Campaign for Peace.
Dr. Khalil Shikaki, a senior fellow at Brandeiss Crown Center for Middle Eastern studies, has recently generated controversy over his support for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a former Fatah leader who was convicted in Israel in 2004 of five counts of murder, as well as one count of attempted murder. Shikaki has been the head of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research since 2000, and is considered a world expert on the field of Palestinian public opinion.
It has been confirmed that funds have been secured for a visit from controversial Professor Norman Finkelstein, author of The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah. The organizers of the speech said that their funding had come from the Finance Board, but the date and location of the speech had yet to be determined.
