Students protest unsuitable housing accommodation offers

■ After popularizing their petition, students protested housing in front of visitors on Admitted Students Day.

By SOPHIA DE LISI JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Students and their families coming to tour Brandeis on Admitted Students Day, April 21, were prepared to walk through campus and learn more about what the University has to offer. However, they could not have anticipated a group of students waiting for them outside the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center with the goal of conveying how the University’s Department of Community Living has wronged students with disabilities by failing to offer them housing that meets their accommodations, as previously promised.

The group was a silent though conspicuous presence, having waited nearly two hours for the tours to start leaving Gosman. Maintaining a conscious distance from the moving tour groups, a student offered fliers to those interested while the rest of the group held signs that spoke for them with short, yet potent sayings including but not limited to:

“Stop Housing Discrimination!”

“The President Makes $1,000,000, We Don’t Get Roofs.”

“Dirty, Crummy, Liars,” in reference to DCL.

“Where Do We Get To Live?”

The Justice interviewed protesters Lyric Siragu- sa ’24 and Samkyu Yaffe ’24 to learn more about the group’s intent and hopes for their long-standing advocacy — this protest being the aftermath of the group’s widespread petition going unacknowledged by DCL, despite being signed by “more than 1 in 12 current Brandeis students,” as noted by the advocates’ website.

“We want to make sure that incoming students are aware of what’s going on, that Brandeis can’t hide this from them,” Yaffe explained why the group decided to protest on Admitted Students Day, and in front of prospective students no less. “[Students with disabilities] are not Brandeis’ biggest priority, and we’re not going to be who they listen to. But incoming students, [their] parents, current students, [their] parents, donors — these are the groups that the University is likely to listen to,” they said.

Siragusa added that the group chose to protest to show their commitment to the movement. “We have a Discord, we have a website, we have an Instagram, [we have] a petition. But admin can ignore all that stuff … they can’t ignore this [protest],” she said, adding that housing equity is an issue that the students are willing to give time out of their day to advocate for. “This is not something that [administration] is going to placate us with a simple email, and we’re going to drop it. We’re in this for the long run,” Siragusa explained.

The students outlined several demands for both DCL and the University to fulfill: Build more housing to accommodate the growing student population and emergency housing on campus to support disabled students’ needs, promise adequate housing for students with disabilities in writing, create full transparency about the sexual violence in any and all forms. It has a rich history of women who have stood together and demanded justice for those who do not have the privilege of feeling safe in public spaces. In the evening’s opening remarks, co-organizer Rachel Judson ’23 delineated some of the movement’s history, explaining that some records suggest that this tradition can be traced as far back as the 1800s when women in England marched together in protest against sexual violence in the nighttime. Judson acknowledged that the tradition originates from the era of Second Wave Feminism, a period of the feminist movement that largely neglected women of color and otherwise-affected individuals. Today, the constituents of this global effort have expanded, now welcoming people of all identities.

In honor of the historic stand taken by those who first advocated for the right to be able to exist without fear of physical danger, Brandeis survivors and allies rallied together Thursday evening and marched

See MARCH, 7 ☛

BCC end of semester and summer resources

In an April 18 email sent to Brandeis students, Gilbert Hinga, interim director at the Brandeis Counseling Center, provided information regarding the BCC’s services for the last few weeks of the semester and during the summer vacation.

With finals coming around the corner, the 2022-23 academic year coming to a close, and the transition away from college beginning for seniors, Hinga emphasized the importance of a “short-term stabilization model in order to provide services to as many students as we can.”

In his email, Hinga asked students to call the BCC at the main number — 781-736-3730 — to schedule appointments. New students are welcomed but are required to complete an intake that includes a series of questions required for clinicians to better understand treatments for students. Currently, the BCC will not be able to provide full assessments for new students but encourages them to schedule brief consultations. It will also continue to offer 24/7 services with an oncall counselor during after hours.

For long term and/or out-of-state summer services, the BCC has a

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partnership with Thriving Campus, a referral resource that allows for students to find providers who are not on campus based on their insurance and mental health needs. For more information and assistance, Hinga writes that there is a BCC case manager that could be reached by calling the BCC at the same number used to schedule appointments.

Lastly, students are encouraged to check out Stressbuster, happening from May 1-16. Events range from dog therapy, grab’n go care packges, walk’n talks, to crafts and meditation. A more detailed schedule and description of what, where, and when specific events are happening can be found on BCC’s website under “Spotlight Events.” Videos, music playlists, podcasts, and other resources to help students with stress management can be found under the Brandeis Virtual Stressbusters website.

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