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.

The Teriyaki Boyz has fun hip-hop flavor

Ever since the release of the popular car/action film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Japanese hip-hop sensation The Teriyaki Boyz has created a considerable, albeit overlooked, wave over here in the states. Most notably, the band worked with my two favorite producers, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, and is one of the many front men of the Japanese-owned Bathing Ape clothing line.

I Listen Hear Now

Apple, cheesecake, IMAGINATION, I say to my counselor, in a melodic scream. I am listening, I am trying.

Seth, focus, my counselor says. Why were you sent back to the bunk?

I understand and I do. No touching girls, no smelling girls. Not allowed. Why cant I just say it?

Mickey Mouse fly in the sky! H is for horse, I say. Tears swell in my eyes. Dont get so frustrated with me- please.

What diversity means to me

It means the gray area. It means celebrating the freedom of speech that makes this nation great. It means different colors. It means different abilities. It means different income.

But thats all on the surface.

Actors bringing hairy back

What makes a bad-ass movie character? Sometimes it is courage. Sometimes it is killer ninja skills. Sometimes it is the ability to stay cool when a million things around you are simultaneously exploding. Sometimes it is the result of amazing facial hair.

Facial hair and movies go back quite a ways. Of course in classic cinema, being mustachioed usually means you are a bad guy (or Clark Gable). But now, killer facial hair means only one thing: awesome.

Can Ya Dig it?

I dig. Big time. Twenty-three year old native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Kevin Michael has finally released his much-anticipated self-titled album on October 30.

The first time I encountered this artists music, I couldnt even hear it. It was at the gym and Michaels music video was playing on mtvU. The video intrigued me though, and when I looked it up online later, I feel immediately in love with the man with the ten-inch fro.