Dept. Chair responds to Hindley

In recent days, controversy has arisen as a result of actions taken by the University to fulfill its commitment to safeguarding the safety, dignity, and well-being of all its members, including guaranteeing the rights of students to learn in an environment free of harassment and hostility. Individuals of goodwill may differ in their opinions on this matter. But it is important for opinions to be grounded in as much knowledge of the actual processes and events in question as possible, consistent with protection of the confidentiality and privacy of those involved.

Letter’s to the editor: In response to Mr. Rabb’s letter

I am writing this letter mainly in response to Mr. Rabbs letter in the previous Hoot, and his fears of arming our police force. First of all, I agree with Mr. Rabb that this is a safe campus. I feel as safe as anyone walking around Brandeis at two or three in the morning, but that does not mean that there is no danger. As Chief Stritenberger of Columbus State Community College states, To say that just because tragedy hasnt struck eradicates the potential that it will is a weak and dangerous position. To extend this argument, we should be protecting against tragedies, because even a small situation can get out of hand very quickly. We have a trained police force on campus and their job is to protect us, so why hinder that? A gun in a police officers hand is a very powerful tool even if the trigger is not pressed.

Letters to the editor: Electoral College

Bret Matthew's opinion (Nov. 2) that the Electoral College is a “waste of time” is exactly right and for the reason he cites: Massachusetts, which votes reliably Democratic, is ignored by presidential candidates in the general election. In fact in the 2004 election 99% of all presidential campaign expenditures were made in just 17 states! Those 17 not only excluded Massachusetts, they also excluded California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and many other large states allowing a very small number of states effectively to elect the president.

Letters to the Editor: In response to “Why we fear authority”

When I read that Emma Needleman finds it necessary to hurry past Brandeis police officers when she sees them at night (“Why we fear authority, Nov.2), I felt a touch of sadness.

Letters to the editor: In response to Union Secretary Resigns over E-Board Policies

I never thought I would say this, but The Hoot has hit a new low. The utter ridiculousness of Union Secretary Resigns over E-Board Policies, (Nov. 2) by David Pepose is an outright journalistic travesty. Essentially, The Hoot published Goldmans inflammatory opinions and descriptions of internal Union discussions as news (and thus, as fact) without context, research, investigation, response, or actual reporting. This article features nine paragraphs, of which Mr. Pepose actually wrote three sentences.

Letters to the editor: In response to “Tyranny of Sinha”

The recent furor over the “election scandal” and Michael Goldman has been blown totally out of proportion. Can't we as a university please just get past this? I have a couple of problems with this entire situation, first and foremost the amount of time and energy being spent on a phony trial for a figurehead official that committed a minor offense in elections that don't even matter. What does the Student Union actually do? I know they have an office in Shapiro. I know they put their stamp on most of the fliers that are posted around campus. Oh, and they organize some crappy parties. I've got nothing.

Compliance with the law comes first

At the peak of the Civil Rights era in the mid-Sixties, Title VI was enacted, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of color, race, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance;

agencies that violated this act could be stripped of their federal funding. More than forty years later, this aspect of the Civil Rights Act has reappeared on our campus.

Pollack to be removed June 2008

In response to the rapidly rising construction prices in the Boston area, Brandeis University has attempted to accomplish as much of its prioritized scheduled construction as quickly as possible, most recently announcing the future removal of Pollack Fine Arts Teaching Center in June 2008 to make way for the new Edmond J. Safra Center for the Arts.

Construction work costs may multiply to as much as 300 percent of current levels within a couple of years, explained Dan Feldman, Vice President of Capital Projects. Feldman attributes the rising costs to national and global demand for similar construction supplies and to the high cost of living in Boston. The implication of this is that costs for new building [and for renovations] areincreasing significantly faster than the consumer price index, stated Feldman.

Faculty to discuss plagiarism software

The Faculty Senate is due to begin discussions on the Universitys possible use of a plagiarism-detection service, Turnitin.com. This discussion is a follow-up to the pilot test for the service, which took place during the Spring 2007 semester. The Faculty Senates findings will not necessarily decide whether or not it will be used, but rather will help to determine how the University should proceed.

Due to expressed concerns about the difficulty of assessing suspicious papers, Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe set up a committee last year made up of faculty and LTS representatives to look into possible detection services. Turnitin.com, a Web service that compares submitted papers to texts from a series of databases, agreed to provide the University with free services for a full semester in order to run a pilot test.

Student Events wants direct access to SE Fee

Student Events has requested to be able to directly access the Student Events Fee taken from each students tuition costs, sources say. The current system involves Student Events requesting funds on a semesterly basis through the Finance Board.

What [the proposal is] requesting is that the Student Events fee be given to Student Events. Right now on your bill there are two bills: the Student Activities Fee and the Student Events Fee, said Student Events President Lauren Barish 08. Even though theres two bills, they both go to the same place. The proposal is making it so we do get the equivalent of the Student Events Fee is given to us directly rather than given to the F-Board.