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Brandeis University's Community Newspaper — Waltham, Mass.

November 2008 Issue

Prospect Hill tutoring program suspended

Brandeis University has suspended its tutoring programs for elementary school children at the Prospect Hill Community Center partly due to budget constraints, Academic Director of Community-Engaged Learning Prof. Mark Auslander (ANTH) said. Jocelyn Dorfman ’10, a student coordinator for the community center, explained in an e-mail message, “we are going to enter a re-planning and […]


Doctor without borders describes experience in Chad

What would it feel like to serve as the only doctor for 30,000 refugees? To be confined within one city block for months? To live in total disconnect from the rest of the world?

Dr. Marc Levin ’94 recounted his humanitarian work with Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) through a select presentation of photographs depicting his experiences in Chad.

Dr. Levin attended medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, and graduated in 1998. He currently holds faculty positions in the Department of Family and Social Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and in the Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Practice in New York City.

Before getting into current issues in global health and discussing his journey with MSF, Levin started his presentation by offering some career and life advice to the audience of undergraduates.

“Success comes by doing what you love,” said Levin. He demonstrated throughout his speech that he loved to help the underserved.


FY2010 budget gap projected

Senior university administrators are considering ways to close a projected $5.8 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2010, President Jehuda Reinharz and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Peter French announced at a Nov. 6 faculty meeting. The projected shortfall is based on current gift, endowment, and tuition trends.

The university faces a $10 million shortfall for the 2009 fiscal year, which will be resolved through one-time funds and emergency expenditure reductions, including reductions in department budgets and the suspension of position searches.

“It’s an ongoing deficit,” Vice President for Budget and Planning Frances Drolette told The Hoot.

The process to address the projected budget shortfall for FY2010 includes the consideration of recommendations from the faculty advisory committee that Provost Marty Krauss convened last month. Senior administrators will submit proposals and recommendations to close the budget gap by mid-December, Reinharz said.

A budget will then be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval in March. “We cannot present a deficit budget to the Board,” Reinharz emphasized.


Editorial: Late to psych, ride a bike

The quintessential college campus always seems to be scattered with bicycles, and for good reason. As a cheap, convenient and eco-friendly means of transportation, they appeal to students in a way that no car or campus shuttle can. Yet, between the Massachusetts winter weather, the stress of bike upkeep and protection, and the fact that […]


Book of Matthew: Where have you gone, Joe Lieberman?

What do we do about Joe Lieberman? It’s a question that has been hovering over the heads of the Democratic Party leadership for months. They’ve successfully avoided it for a while, instead focusing on more important campaign issues. But the campaign season is over, and the Lieberman question must be answered. You see, Senator Lieberman […]


Creative Destruction: The Republican Party’s future

After an unpopular presidential and congressional legacy has damaged the reputation of the Republican Party, the GOP now stands at a vital crossroads in determining its future. The Republicans must now decide how they will carry forward the Republican Party in the short run and in the long run. First they must determine how they […]


Considering ballot initiatives

Last week, amid the euphoria of Barack Obama’s electoral victory and the reflection that America remains the land of unbridled opportunity, the voters of California added a provision to their constitution limiting the freedoms of one particular group. The passage of Proposition 8, an appalling piece of law which “Eliminates [the] Right of Same-Sex Couples […]


Pushing for gay rights

While election night was a sweeping victory for Democrats and liberals on the whole, it was an utterly abysmal one for advocates of gay rights. Ballot measures passed in California, Arizona and Florida banning gay marriage (Florida and Arizona banned equivalent partnerships as well) and Arkansas passed a measure that will have the effect of […]


SEA Change: Will President Obama make the right choices?

I was in Chum’s last Tuesday with a bunch of other members of SEA cheering wildly as soon as they called the election for Barack Obama, celebrating the end of eight terrible years and the beginning of an era of “hope” and “change.” I actually celebrated a whole lot, which is the reason this article […]


The Hiatt Corner: Don’t hibernate over winter break

This winter break, start making summer and post-graduation plans by thinking about your future, preparing for your job search, networking with professionals, and attending career fairs. If you are undecided about your plans, you can use the break to reflect on your values, skills and interests, and start or update your resume. Network with alumni, […]