Brandeis University's Community Newspaper — Waltham, Mass.
With my 21st birthday looming, I have spent some time reflecting on where I am. I thought a bit about one issue I have with the news media, which is that they almost never cover positive stories, instead focusing on sensational and tragic events such as murders or kidnapping. Columnists are often guilty of this […]
Those of us who follow the news are familiar with The New York Times. Journalism students in particular are encouraged to read The Times every day, and it shows. Read through The Hoot’s entire Impressions section—heck, read the Justice’s Forum as well—and you can bet that many, if not most, of the writers who grace […]
There’s a good chance that as you are reading this article, you’ve got a ceramic coffee mug in your left (or right) hand. Or if you weren’t lucky enough to have received one of those coffee mugs with the funny sayings from a family member for the holidays (it really is the easiest gift to […]
As the battle of the budget in Congress wears on, I’m increasingly reminded of my hometown of Seekonk. Every year in Seekonk, the town was divided into two camps—parents with children in schools and the elderly. And every year, when it came time to draw up a budget, one of the two would find themselves […]
Hopefully, the recent tumult in Syria will cause the Obama administration to rethink its policy toward the country. For the last two years, Obama has been attempting to improve ties with and engage with the Syrian regime, along with Iran, diplomatically. In fact, the administration was so desperate to do so that it overrode Congress […]
Sex is sex is sex is sex you might say … but is it really? I remember in sex ed. in eighth grade, when our teacher told us that, despite what anyone might say, oral sex was still sex. That almost seems obvious but, in a lot of ways, it isn’t. This is especially because […]
Innumerable documentaries have attempted to grapple with the specter of the Holocaust. Some elegize the victims and celebrate its few heroes, while others probe the roots of evil. “A Film Unfinished,” a documentary released late last year, takes a slightly different approach, offering a deconstruction of the Nazi propaganda machine at its worst. Israeli director […]
When I’m in a sour mood, I blast “The B*tch of Living” and dance around my room, to the amusement and horror of my roommate; when I’m in a cloudy mood, it’s the melancholy and sweet “Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind.” The songs from Duncan Sheik’s 2007 rock opera “Spring Awakening” seem so applicable to a […]
Last weekend Hold Thy Peace (HTP) put on a spectacular production of William Shakespeare’s “Othello.” In a modern approach, co-directors Jane Becker ’11 and Emily Dunning ’11 staged a steampunk “Othello.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that takes place in the past in […]
Amidst the turmoil now blanketing the music industry, music fans are finding it harder and harder to go about life as usual. Record labels are seeing their worst nightmares realized as their customers—many of whom were born into the age of the Internet and online downloads— now not only have access to music from sources […]
