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Brandeis University's Community Newspaper — Waltham, Mass.

Archive for January 20th, 2012

In memoriam: Evelyn Handler, 78

Evelyn E. Handler, the first female president of Brandeis, who transformed the university’s life sciences and athletic programs, serving as a pioneer for women in higher education and a leader who sparked a debate over the Jewish identity of Brandeis, died Dec. 23 after she was struck and killed by a car in Bedford, N.H. […]


Brandeis-India initiative

President Fred Lawrence and members of the Brandeis academic community will travel to India next month as part of an initiative to increase Brandeis’ global presence by expanding its academic relationships with worldwide universities and institutions. The trip includes visits to both New Delhi and Mumbai with public forums and meetings at various institutions, including […]


Confronting Expectations, Embracing Change: Reflections on India

For years I had dreamed of going to India, the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. My interest in world religions drew me to India. I had studied Gandhi and Mother Theresa, and I yearned for its rumored mysticism. I used to think of India as a medley of ashrams, Gandhi, yoga, ornate Hindu temples, […]


India – A Land with more than what meets the eye

It was Friday night when I recalled the successful interview I had with one of the community health workers in Bhopal. That was five days and two cities ago. I was in Bangalore at this point and I still had two more cities to which I needed to travel. Somehow by the end of that […]


Continue investing in student life projects

The re-opening of the Linsey Pool this week, after much fanfare, complete with Saturday’s planned pool party, represents a great success not only for Brandeis’ student activists but for intelligent and effective budgetary decision-making as well. The board of trustees announced the donation of the money to renovate the pool last spring, a decision that […]


The Katzwer’s Out of the Bag: Let’s talk about the tough issues

While I was home in northern New Jersey for break, I was disturbed to see a few articles in The Star Ledger about anti-Semitic attacks on local synagogues. On Dec. 11, swastikas, white supremacy symbols and the graffiti saying “Jews did 9/11” were painted on Reconstructionist Temple Beth Israel in Maywood, N.J. On Dec. 20, […]


The incalculability of education

At the end of last year, a group of Ivy League-affiliated economists published a study discussing the relationship between “good” teachers, higher test scores and the future success of elementary and middle school students, titled “The Long Term Impact of Teachers: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood.” Education is an undeniably important and complicated […]


Holiday spending: How much is too much?

Despite the joy of the holiday season, I cannot help but notice the burdening stress of holiday shopping. For some, it seems the entire season has been transformed from a time meant to be spent with family and friends to an insane frenzy of market-driven spending. Our holidays have been utterly commercialized, and many of […]


‘Fish are friends, not food’

Most people would say a fish is not a satisfactory pet. They are not furry, nor can you pet them. They will not play fetch with you or sit on your lap. And while my friends have always made fun of me for being a “fish lady,” I argue that they make the perfect pet […]


What’s so bad about Romney?

Romney is inevitable. This was obvious months before the former Massachusetts governor narrowly clinched the Iowa caucuses and no less decisively defeated his competitors in New Hampshire. Largely, this was due to the fact that serious potential rivals, as opposed to the second-tier candidates that constitute everyone else in the running, abstained, including Indiana Governor […]