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Brandeis hosts Susan Church “Know Your Rights” presentation
■ The Chief Operating Officer for the Office for Refugees and Immigrants shared information and resources related to immigrant and refugee rights with the Brandeis community.
By LIN LIN HUTCHINSON JUSTICE EDITOR
Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, his administration has introduced a slew of changes to immigration policies, many of which have instilled fear and led to questions surrounding immigrant rights.
“It's important to understand … that everybody has a right to privacy in their home; in their dorm room; if you live in a group shelter; if you live in an apartment with four other roommates,” assured the Chief Operating Officer for the Office for Refugees and Immigrants for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Susan Church, J.D. during a Feb. 25 “Know Your Rights” webinar. “Your home is protected by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Massachusetts and a particular law in Massachusetts called Commonwealth V. Lunn.”
The presentation, hosted by the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, focused on immigrant and refugee rights amidst recent changes and enforcement of federal immigration policies aimed at tightening the border and removing undocumented immigrants. Attendees received an overview of legal resources available to immigrants in the Commonwealth, provided know-your-rights resources and were given guidance on how to interact with immigration and law enforcement officials.
Church began the webinar by defining the different agencies under the Department of Homeland Security that are involved with immigration. Within DHS, there is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which adjudicates petitions for immigration benefits (asylum, Green cards, citizenship, special visas); U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which enforces immigration laws at ports of entry and between ports; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, who represent DHS in immigration proceedings including investigations, detention and removal.
The decision to open the door for ICE is a personal choice, and Church advised that decision be made in consultation with a lawyer, as “different people have different consequences.” To illustrate the range of cases, Church provided a hypothetical example where individuals may want to open the door to an ICE agent, including instances where the individual has been in the country for 15 to 20 years without documentation. If they were to go to immigration court, they might not face any severe consequences because of their long-term residence and lack of any significant criminal history. Additionally, they could potentially apply for a green card based on their long-standing residence and the hardship they would face if deported. In such cases, the person may want to consult with a lawyer and decide to open the door, as going to court might offer an opportunity to resolve their status and finally end their undocumented situation.
On the other hand, if someone chooses not to open the door, they could be arrested by ICE a few days later outside of the home. ICE could then argue that the individual is a flight risk and should be detained. There are also situations where, if someone opens the door, they might never even see a judge because they have a removal order or are detained under mandatory detention due to a criminal charge or fraud. In these cases, the person may face immediate consequences. Additionally, Church warned that if the door is open, anyone visible to ICE officials who is also undocumented can be subject to arrest.
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If an ICE agent shows up at the door, anyone may ask the officers to identify themselves — agency, name, identification document — ask if they have a warrant signed by a judge and ask to see that warrant. In the state of Massachusetts, as a result of Commonwealth v. Lunn, ICE warrants are “not valid” nor do they grant access to homes, Church said, as they are not judicial warrants and instead are administrative orders.
“A judicial warrant is a warrant signed by a judge issued by a court and based on probable cause and that probable cause was determined by a neutral arbiter,” Church clarified. To identify a court warrant, check if the warrant has come from a court and if it bears a signature from a federal judge, Church instructed. “ICE doesn’t have a court that issues warrants,” Church said. Additionally, federal warrants may also say “search and seizure” while ICE issues arrest warrants.
“It's really important to read these,” Church added, as they may look very similar. She adds that if the official at the door shows a legitimate judicial warrant, then the individual who the warrant is served to is legally obligated to comply with the document, or risk being charged with obstruction of justice.
Besides requesting the officers to identify themselves and to show the warrant, every individual, regardless of their situation, has the right to remain silent and ask for an attorney. Church said if you choose to invoke that right, you should state to the officer “I request my right to silence and to an attorney.” Another way to assert these rights is to slide a “Know Your Rights” card under the door. These cards can be printed out on the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition website.
At Brandeis, Chief of Police Matthew Rushton published a Feb. 2 memorandum, informing the Brandeis community of the Department of Public Safety’s commitment to non-participation in immigration enforcement. The memorandum outlines the department's stance: "Non-Detention: We will not detain or question individuals solely based on their immigration status," and "Non-Cooperation: We will not collaborate with ICE in efforts to enforce federal immigration laws." Additionally, in his letter, Rushton states “ICE agents are not permitted to enter non-public areas of our campus, such as dormitories, offices, and classrooms, without a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge. Administrative warrants issued by ICE do not grant authorization to access these areas.”
The department also shared its commitment to safeguarding personal information. “Any request from ICE for information about a student or staff member will be referred to the Office of General Counsel. We will ensure that any disclosure complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and other applicable privacy laws,” the memorandum states. Echoing the same legal framework that Church discussed, the Department of Public Safety’s policies “align with guidance from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Lunn v. Commonwealth, which prohibits law enforcement from detaining individuals solely based on federal civil immigration detainers.”
Next in the presentation, Church noted that some individuals who have been detained by ICE and are going to immigration court can request a bond, which is similar to a bail. This process requires the individual to show they are not a flight risk or a danger to the community. According to Church, if there is no history of criminal activity that person can be deemed as not a risk to the community. However, to not be considered a flight risk requires a little more work. The individual would be required to show strong family and community ties. Church advised anyone undocumented to create a folder that has material showing their strong family and community ties. That could include evidence of being a college student — transcripts, letters of recommendation, resumes or material showing commitment
FUNDING FREEZE
■ Proposed budget cuts by the federal government could impact vital scientific research across Brandeis science departments.
By JUSTIN RUBENSTEIN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the Trump administration and Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, have been on a crusade to find “waste” within the government. This “waste” includes the National Institutes of Health, which fund medical research at various institutions, including research at universities, medical schools and hospitals, among others. The NIH funds projects such as the development of messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines, cancer research and research of other diseases. Overall, the NIH provides $35 billion to fund 50 thousand projects, supporting 300 thousand researchers at 2,500 institutions. These funds include $25 billion to fund research and $9 billion
to fund indirect costs that are essential to the functioning of research, such as “buildings, utilities, and support staff.”
Early into his second term, Trump has paused the funding process for “16,000 grant applications vying for around $1.5 billion in NIH funding.” This decision may have implications here at Brandeis.
On Feb. 10 Brandeis joined more than 20 top universities in filing a lawsuit against the Department of Health & Human Services and the NIH. The suit challenges what it describes as “a flagrantly unlawful action by the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) that, if allowed to stand, will devastate medical research at America’s universities.”
At the start of the administration, Trump and his allies proposed cutting some of this funding as a measure against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which is a set of programs across the government and private sectors that try to recruit equally qualified candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. The Republican party argues that these programs provide unequal representation, calling it “reverse discrimination.”
President Levine responds to concerns
■ President Levine addresses the housing crisis, police brutality, ICE threats, the Jewish Bund, job crisis, DEI cuts and plans for Brandeis’s future.
By ANNALIESE MERRITT JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Interim President Arthur Levine '70 held a town hall to discuss his plans for the University. With approximately 40 students present, the town hall began with the Brandeis Jewish Bund handing a copy of their list of demands to Levine — originally shared during a Feb. 5 vigil — and shaking his hand. The President pocketed the paper without reading it and began the meeting. A request was made that no recordings be taken of the event to honor students' privacy.
Levine began with a short speech addressing his time at the University so far, executive orders made by President Trump, budget cuts and more. He expressed his love for the University. In his first three months he has met hundreds
Read about the 97th Academy Awards — one of Hollywood's most exciting nights.
of students, staff and faculty, surveying people at the dining halls about the change they want to see. He mentioned a want for more student activities and more “fun” at Brandeis. Levine addressed Trump’s campaign to ban diversity, equity and inclusion policies by reassuring students that Brandeis is committed to preserving DEI in its curiculum and values. Levine asserted that Brandeis exists as a college because of such policies, even before they were called DEI. He predicted that President Trump’s cuts in overhead rates, a new law under the Trump administration that limits the funding that universities can use towards the costs of maintaining their campuses, won’t impact Brandeis after the case is heard in court. In discussing immigration, Levine asserted that Brandeis’ job is to support and protect international students and their families in any way possible.
Levine described the job outlined for him by the Board of Trustees in three points: developing a path for the next decade and beyond, developing a job description for his successor and helping to choose his successor. He asserted that these tasks would be impossible without the support of students.
Levine declared that Brandeis needs to stop performing budget cuts, as rather than having
SCIENCE : The Shapiro Science Center is a hub for research on campus.
HEDY YANG/The
ANDREW BAXTER/The Justice file pphotos photos
SENATE LOG
The Senate granting club probationary status and hearing from committees
On March 3, the Student Union meeting was called to order by Vice President Ria Escamilla-Gil ’27. The Student Union heard from clubs to grant probationary status, heard from senate committee chair reports, and heard proposals.
The Senate heard from the Jewish on Campus club, which was seeking probationary status. The presentation was done by the President of the club, Samantha Przybisiki ’27, and the Vice President, Abby Spitzer ’27. The club’s mission is to “seek to revive pride in Judaism by emboldening a new generation of Jews and allies through education, social media, campaigning and grassroots.” They hope to open up conversations about antisemitism on and off campus through events. The club differentiates themselves from Hillel and other on campus Jewish organizations on campus, as they want to have a specific focus on
POLICE LOG
Medical Emergency
the effects of antisemitism around the world and students on campus. They pan to do this through having difficult conversations. After a vote via secret ballot, the club was granted probationary status.
Executive Senator Daniel Shin ’27 asked the senate to vote on de-charactering clubs after inactivity for a long period of time. The Pokemon Club was de-chartered by a vote of acclamation after they found that they were unable to get into contact with the inactive club. The Senate also reviewed the executive order report and finance report.
Next, the Senate heard committee chair reports. The first to present was Lukas Gordon ’26 who spoke about a tentative date for the scheduling of the State of the Union. The committee also plans to address the increasing speeding problem on campus and is currently working on a climate action plan with the exe -
Feb. 7—There was a medical emergency for a party who had appendicitis. They were transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Feb. 8—There was a medical emergency for an intoxicated party. The patient was treated by BEMCo and refused further medical treatment.
Feb. 8—There was a medical emergency for a party who was continuously vomiting. The patient was treated by BEMCo and transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Feb. 8—There was a medical emergency for a party with burn injuries on their hands and stomach.
Feb. 9—There was a medical emergency for a party with low blood sugar. The patient was treated and refused further medical care.
Feb. 9—There was a medical emergency for a party with chest pain. The patient was treated and refused further medical care.
Feb. 10—A party underwent a voluntary section-12 transport.
Feb. 12—There was a medical emergency for a party with flu-like symptoms. The patient was treated by BEMCo and refused further medical care.
Feb. 12—There was a medical emergency for a party with chest pain. The patient was treated by BEMCo and transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Feb. 13—There was a medical emergency for a party who fainted. The patient was treated and refused further medical care.
Feb. 13—There was a medical emergency for a party who accidentally stapled their finger. The patient was treated by BEMCo and transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Feb. 13—There was a medical emergency for a party with a rapid heart rate. The patient was treated by BEMCo and refused further medical care.
Feb. 15—There was a medical emergency for a party who had dislocated their shoulder. The patient was treated by BEMCo and transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Feb. 16—There was a medical emergency for a party who was not feeling well after ingesting edibles. The patient refused further treatment.
Feb. 20—There was a medical call from a parent to report that her child’s blood sugar was low. It was discovered that the monitor had been unplugged, and all was in order.
Feb. 23—There was a medical emergency for an intoxicated party. The patient was treated by and refused further medical treatment.
Feb. 25—There was a medical emergency for a student with difficulty breathing. The patient was treated by BEMCo and transported to a local hospital for further care.
Feb. 27—There was a medical emergency for a party with an allergic reaction. An epi-pen was administered and the party was transported to a local hospital for further care.
Winter Weather Conditions
Feb. 13—There was a medical emergency for a party who had slipped on ice. The patient was
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
■ A forum article incorrectly stated that “One person might cling to a pro-life stance until a personal tragedy forces a painful reexamination of their beliefs, while another — perhaps an undocumented immigrant who has long contributed to the tax base — votes not out of ideological purity but sheer economic necessity.” It was corrected to “One person might cling to a pro-life stance until a personal tragedy forces a painful reexamination of their beliefs, while another—perhaps an immigrant who has seen firsthand the struggles of undocumented friends or fled their home country in search of safety— votes not out of ideological purity but sheer economic necessity” (Feb. 11, page 9)
■ An arts article incorrectly quoted Martin Scorese as saying “emotionally and pyschologically and very moving” and it was corrected to “emotionally and pyschologically powerful and very moving” (Feb. 11, page 14).
■ A forum article incorrectly spelled “particpation” and was corrected to “participation” (Feb. 11, page 9).
■ An arts article incorrectly included an extra “and” and it was removed (Feb. 11, page 14).
The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.
cutive branch.
Jake Rosen ’27 presented for the Campus Life committee. The committee is in contact with Harvest Table. Himanshu Sahore ’28 presented for the Student Advocacy committee. They are currently working on improving student outcomes and communication with students. They are working on the Sunflower Project – an event that also occurred last year that recognizes students with invisible disabilities. Sahore plans on reaching out to the Disabled Student Network to coordinate with them.
Sarah Jafary ’28 presented for the Health and Wellness committee. They discussed restocking period products in bathrooms and are currently creating a transgender athlete resolution. They also brought forth a proposal in front of the senate for a narcan vending machine that would be placed in the Shapiro Cam -
pus Center and would be free for students to use. The proposal was expedited and passed by a vote of acclamation.
Gordon presented a potential mission statement for the Student Union. The senate briefly read and discussed it before it was decided that they would vote on it the following week. Escamilla-Gil presented budget proposals of Student Union giveaways at the Women’s Basketball game on March 1 in hopes of promoting attendance. The proposal was passed by acclamation.
The meeting concluded with a brief discussion about whether or not to change the meeting times of the Senate for the future – a talk that will be continuing at a later date after some deliberation.
— Kelsey Stevens
treated by BEMCo and transported to a nearby hospital for further care.
Feb. 14—Numerous walkways and stairs were reported to have iced up.
Feb. 17—Icy roads were reported near Stoneman.
Feb. 17—There was a medical emergency for a party who fell on the ice near Usdan Student Center. The ice was treated by Facilities.
Feb. 17—There was a medical emergency for a party who had slipped and fallen on ice near Skyline Residence Hall.
Feb. 17—Icy stairs were reported at the Charles River Apartments.
Motor Vehicles
Feb. 7—A caller reported witnessing a Tesla strike the wall by the Rabb steps at high speed and leave the scene. The vehicle was located by Chapels Field. No airbags had been deployed.
Feb. 7—The motorist from the Tesla crash was checked in on. Its operator was inputting information into the Global Positioning System. All appeared in order.
Feb. 13—A party reported that a University truck struck a privately owned truck in Epstein Lot, causing minor damage.
Feb. 15—A caller reported a minor motor vehicle accident with no injuries in the Theater Lot.
Feb. 17—A party reported that the wind took their car door and damaged the adjacent vehicle.
Feb. 24—A hit-and-run was reported in East Quad lot.
Feb. 27—There was a possible break-in in the Theater Lot. The owner arrived and confirmed that their broken window was pre-existing.
Miscellaneous
Feb. 9—A reporting party complained of students being loud outside near the Charles River Apartments.
Feb. 11—A party reported people yelling and playing in the snow.
Feb. 14—A party reported receiving a death threat over voicemail. Investigation to follow.
Feb. 16—A caller reported hearing loud music from an apartment on Charles River Road since 10:30 p.m.
Feb. 21—A party reported harassment. Investigation to follow.
Feb. 23—A caller reported a large group of people in Hassenfeld lot playing music and honking horns. The group had dispersed before an officer could be dispatched.
Feb. 26—A party reported suspicious transactions in their bank account. Investigation to follow
— Compiled by Zoe Zachary
Partners for Peace: Building Bridges in the West Bank
■ The co-founders of Roots, an initiative of Israeli Settlers and West Bank Palestinians working together for reconciliation, spoke to the Brandeis community about their work.
By DALYA KOLLER JUSTICE ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often portrayed in stark, binary terms. Yet, within this landscape of division, individuals like Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Khaled Abu Awwad offer a testament to the power of human connection and the potential for transformative change, both individually and systematically. Their work, through the organization they co-founded, Roots — Judur — Shorashim, seeks to bring together West Bank Palestinians and Israeli settlers, sparking a quiet revolution of connection and offering a glimmer of optimism in a remarkably bleak landscape. The two activists came to Brandeis on Feb. 26 to share their individual journeys and the creation of Roots.
At the heart of Roots lies a profound recognition of the shared humanity between Israelis and Palestinians. Schlesinger, in his opening remarks, articulated this core principle: “Both of us come here tonight bearing the pain of our own peoples. [Abu Awwad] is bearing the pain of the Palestinian people, I am bearing the pain of the Israeli Jewish people. There’s no competition of suffering.” But, he added, this pain doesn’t preclude empathy: “In addition to bearing the pain of each of our people, I come tonight bearing also the pain of the other side, of the other people. I have room in my heart for Palestinian suffering and [Abu Awwad] has room in his heart for Jewish suffering, and we offer that to you tonight as a possible model for emulation. It is possible to bear the pain of both peoples at the same time.”
Khaled Abu Awwad’s life has been shaped by his family’s history of displacement. Born into a Palestinian family that had been exiled twice, he grew up with the legacy of loss and resilience. His family first lost their home in 1948, with the creation of the State of Israel, when his family members had to leave their village of Al Qubeiba, near Bayt Jibrin. They relocated roughly 35 miles east to Gush Etzion and started a new life, but during the Six-Day War of 1967, when Israeli military forces occupied Gush Etzion and the rest of the West Bank, their family fled for a second time, once again becoming refugees. After spending two weeks in Jordan, they crossed the Jordan River back to Beit Ummar, a town in the West Bank, beginning to rebuild their life in their home and their family for the third time. These experiences fostered major resentment toward Israeli authorities within Abu Awwad’s family. In 1987, with the start of the First Intifada, the family channeled their emotions into both leadership and participation in the uprising. This nearly six year period of demonstrations and riots, both nonviolent and violent, was motivated by Palestinian anger after 20 years of Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Led by his mother, Fatma, who was a regional leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization and worked closely with Yaser Arafat, Abu Awwad and his siblings became actively involved in the uprising, facing the intense violence and confrontations from both sides. Each family member spent significant time in prison, with sentences ranging from 18 months to six years, but when the 1993 Oslo Accords offered a path to peace, Abu Awwad and his family readily embraced the opportunity to end the fighting. In 2006, Abu Awwad and his family experienced another devastating tragedy, one that threatened to shatter their fragile hope for peace, yet ultimately propelled them onto an unexpected path of reconciliation. His brother, Youssuf, a father of a three-year-old and a one-year-old, was killed by Israeli soldiers in Beit Ummar.
Following the family’s traditional mourning period, Jewish Israeli neighbors extended their condolences and requested to visit. Initially overwhelmed by grief and anger, Abu Awwad and his family refused any interaction with the Israelis. However, their persistent messages of condolence and support eventually led the family to agree to a meeting. During this encounter, the two sides began to bridge their perceived division by recognizing their shared humanity and grief. Abu Awwad described the profound experience of seeing Jewish Israeli settlers — people he had always been taught to view as enemies — openly weeping alongside him in his own pain and tragedy, marking a significant step in his journey towards humanization.
Following this encounter, Abu Awwad, alongside his brother Ali, began to engage regularly with their Jewish neighbors, eventually becoming founding members of the Roots network. As these relationships deepened and communication lines opened, he was confronted with another harrowing narrative: that of an Israeli Jewish family who lost a young daughter in a Palestinian suicide bombing. This tragedy prompted him to confront the question of whether such acts, committed in the name of Palestinian liberation, were justifiable. “He did that in the name of Palestinian freedom, of Palestinian rights, of Palestinian justice and of Palestine,” Abu Awwad reflected. “Did he do that in my name? Do I accept that someone behaves like this, in my righteous name? And my answer to myself — I cannot accept this. This is violent and horrible behavior. We should love [them] and behave like they are human beings. It is not an excuse for us to go out and kill people left and right, based on that we are right. We are wrong. This is not the right way.”
While Abu Awwad’s journey was marked by external confrontations with violence and their moral implications, Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger’s transformation began with an internal quest for connection to his historical homeland and the unsettling reality of its already existing inhabitants. This quest was rooted in a sense of belonging to the Land of Israel, specifically Judea and Samaria, the historical name for the West Bank, stemming from his deep religious and historical convictions. Born in New York, he made “aliyah,” the act of Jewish immigration to Israel, fulfilling a lifelong dream of living in the Biblical heartland. He explained that moving to the West Bank at age 18 led to a “sense of jubilation of closing the circle.” For decades, Schlesinger resided in the West Bank, geographically surrounded by millions of Palestinian residents, yet emotionally and socially isolated from them. He lived within 500 feet of a Palestinian village, and yet never interacted with a single one of its residents. “For 33 years, I’ve been blind,” he said, before describing how one moment of revelation propelled him on a path toward a lifetime of reconciliation and humanization.
That moment of revelation occurred during a car ride with two evangelical pastors from the United States. These pastors, wellversed in the Old Testament, held a strong belief in the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah, which spoke of the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland after a long exile. They were eager to witness this fulfillment of prophecy firsthand. Schlesinger, sharing their conviction, took them on a tour of the region, showcasing the tangible signs of Jewish return: the roads paved, the farmlands cultivated, the settlements established, the yeshivas built and the synagogues reconstructed. He wanted to show them the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy they believed in. As they drove, they passed a few hitchhikers. Schlesinger picked them up, as is commonly done among Israeli Jews, especially in more rural areas.
After dropping off the hitchhikers, one of the pastors, a man named Bob from Texas, remarked, “Hanan, you did a great thing. You taught us a lesson in Jewish ethics. You picked up hitchhikers. In Texas, we would never do that.” Schlesinger, initially taken aback, responded, “Bob, it’s not just me around here, we all pick up hitchhikers. We have a common vision. Just like everyone else, I do my very best to pick up every person who puts out his finger for a ride.” But as he uttered these words, a jarring truth struck him. “I realized that I was lying,” he recalled. “I was lying to Bob and Kevin,
and even worse, I lied to myself. I really believed what I said, that I pick up every person, but you know what I should have said? I should have said I pick up every Jew.”
The realization was a shock to his system. He had been living in a bubble, blind to the existence of the people who shared the land with him — the people who made up 85% of the West Bank population. “I literally did not know that I’d never picked up a Palestinian person in my life, which means I didn’t see them. I was blind. They were not human beings in my eyes.” This moment of self-awareness became a turning point for Schlesinger. He resolved to dismantle the barriers that had blinded him and to actively seek out encounters with Palestinians, and took it upon himself “to do something about it, to find a way to turn the Palestinians into human beings.” This goal was the genesis of his journey toward empathy, reconciliation and the eventual co-founding of Roots.
Slowly, but surely, Schlesinger began to seek out his Palestinian neighbors, initiating encounters that would challenge his long-held perceptions of enmity. These initial meetings were small, intimate gatherings, a handful of individuals sitting together, sharing their stories and experiences. First, four people gathered in a room, then six, then ten, but eventually, dozens began to gather together. Eventually, Roots — Judur — Shorashim was born. Over the years, the organization has flourished, and now, in addition to monthly meetings, women’s groups, children’s summer camps, lectures, shared religious and cultural events, the organization has opened the first and only joint Israeli and Palestinian community center in the West Bank, called the Dignity/Karama Center.
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Schlesinger emphasized that the essence of Roots was not merely dialogue, but rather, a commitment to listening and quiet reflection. He distinguished their approach from the often-superficial exchanges that characterize many discussions about the conflict; instead of engaging in a rapid-fire exchange of opinions, Roots participants were encouraged to truly listen, to absorb what they heard and to allow it to resonate within them. They were encouraged to “stew,” to sleep on what they heard for days or weeks at a time, before responding. “We listened until it hurt and then we listened some more,” Schlesinger said.
What makes Roots different from other coexistence organizations is its willingness, indeed, its emphatic dedication to tackling one of the biggest hurdles to the conflict head-on: engaging with Israeli settlers. Schlesinger explained: “Many, many people think — know — that these settlers are the problem. And if the settlers are the problem, then the solution is to ignore them, they’ll go away, right?” Roots rejects this approach. Instead, they operate on the principle that “if the settlers are the problem, then the settlers have to be part of the solution.” By creating frameworks for Jewish settlers and West Bank Palestinians to come together, Roots aims to transform the very individuals often perceived as obstacles to peace into agents of change, recognizing that any lasting resolution must involve those passionately invested in the land itself.
Likewise with religion: while many see religion as a major source of division, Roots seeks to harness its potential for reconciliation. Recognizing the ineffectiveness of ignoring religion, Roots adopts a radically different strategy. “If religion is part of the problem, then let’s make religion part of the solution,” Schlesinger said. This approach entails creating more spaces for Jews and Muslims to “come together and put the difficult texts out on the table and find ways to interpret them in a way that will allow us to live together in peace and reconciliation.”
The work of Roots is not without its challenges. The conflict is thoroughly entrenched within both Israeli and Palestinian societies, and both communities are often taught to hate or to fear those from the other “side.” Schlesinger notes that “there are those on both sides who reject the possibility of reconciliation, who refuse to see the other side as the human beings they are.” However, Schlesinger and Abu Awwad remain committed to their mission, believing that even small steps can make a difference. “Our work before the seventh of October was important, and after, it is more and more important than before,” Abu Awwad said. “And so, we will continue.”
Associate Provost presents plans to reorganize the University
■ The faculty held a special meeting prior to next week’s vote to further discuss the potential of university-wide restructuring.
By ANNA MARTIN JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF
Following months of observation, discussion and planning, Interim President Arthur Levine ’70 recently announced his plan for the future of the University, splitting academic programs into four different “buckets” with individual leadership teams. On Friday, Feb. 28, the faculty held a special meeting to receive a presentation regarding the evolution of the University, following conversations that have taken place over the past month.
After an introduction from chair of the faculty senate Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (HIST), Senior Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Prof. Joel Christensen ’01 (CLAS) took the stand to deliver the presentation. This meeting took place exactly a week before the regularly scheduled faculty meeting on March 7, allowing for all votingeligible members to obtain information with ample time before the proposal of a vote.
Christensen began his presentation by explaining that in the past, Brandeis has not been able to move this quickly on large-scale projects. He thanked everyone involved and expressed that while he is the one presenting, the work that is being shared is truly a “group project.” He explained that the presentation held three sections, the first of which being “[communicating] clearly the urgency of the changes and giving [faculty] the background.” The second section covers the details of the plan and the general framework that has been created. The final section is focused on the “how,” “what will happen after this week and how we get to where we need to be going.” Christensen ended the introduction of his presentation by calling on attendees to “vote in favor” of the plan in the coming weeks, as well as “[asking] for [their] help in making this work all right.” He explained that he hopes “by doing these things that we can achieve something we haven’t done in a bit, which is to get to a place of hope rather than a place of fear for where our university is.”
In the next section of the presentation, Christensen discussed the recent meetings covering the restructuring and split them into four separate categories of “why are we doing this,” “what will the governance model be like,” “what will the budgets be like” and “will we be retaining our units unique identities and our autonomy.” Christensen stated “across the board, I want to say that for governance, very little is going to change. We’re going to honor the principles of shared governance that make working at Brandeis a very different proposition from other institutions.”
Christensen then addressed concerns regarding departmental budgets, explaining that current budgets will be moving with their specific departments as the University reorganizes. He stated “your staffing fundamentally stays the same ... you’re going to keep your identity as your departments, as your units and as your schools. And you have the option later, once you’re together and in different buckets, to think about what the future is going to be like, but nobody’s going to make you leave the department.”
Following these clarifications, Christensen discussed the target
audience of these restructuring changes. He explained that “for some of these changes, that’s the students who are closer to the age of applying to undergraduate. They’re looking at these proposals and they’re excited about them. They like the ideas of more internships and experiential learning. They want to think about a new core curriculum with modern needs, their concerns about careers.”
Christensen explained that when students consider applying to colleges they go online and search for unique opportunities. He highlighted just a few of these programs as Northeastern University externships and the Clark University 4+1 Accelerated Master’s Degree program. He explained what makes the school stand out is not as clear when students visit the Brandeis website. Christensen stated “It’s not because we’re not doing important work, it’s because we haven’t made it legible and visible to the community outside in a way that schools have, and so we’re going to start.”
He shared “Brandeis delivers the small intimacy of a liberal arts education, with access to world class research. Students can come here and start with that disciplinary work and move into realms of learning and career opportunities that other schools don’t give them.” He discussed the financial challenges being faced by many institutions, and elaborated by explaining “higher ed has been facing a fundamental rearrangement in its financial support structure. We’ve gone from many small market small donors to major major donors who can shift the way universities function.” He also discussed recent changes to government-based grants and [National Institutes of Health] funding, explaining that “our future is uncertain and tuition revenue has changed across the board. People are paying more and expecting more, and our endowments are getting stretched as a result of these facts.”
He then went on to explain that “we face it with a degree of greater vulnerability because of our age and our unique position, we don’t have the deep pockets of other institutions of our right because we’re only 75 years old and we always managed our endowment as well as we could have.” He also expressed other challenges specific to the University such as the financial crisis of 2008 and its long lasting effects on the organization.
“The real way that we bounce back from there is we got historically lucky with two things,” Christensen said. “Full paying international students at one point made up almost 20% of our undergraduate student body and our masters enrollments rose to historic heights of over 1,200. This and last year our masters students are down below 800. We have very few full pay undergraduates.” He explained that additionally, Brandeis had 100 fewer enrolled students than targeted for this academic year. In conclusion, Christensen shared “We are a tuition dependent school and we’ve seen the bottom fall out of our master’s revenue and we’re looking at steady declines in our undergraduate tuition method.”
He shared that the ultimate effect of this combination of deficits is that “next year, we’re looking at a revenue shortfall of $20 million. If this continues, it’ll go up 10 to 15 [percent] after that year and then level off after four years or so.” Ultimately, this revenue shortfall “will be as high as 25% potentially of our budget.” He then explained that this is not certain, just a prediction based on trends. In terms of undergraduate tuition revenue, he mentioned that “we also have fewer enrolled undergraduates who are paying at the same rate that they used to. We’ve gone from a general tuition discount rate of 38% to one that’s a little above 50%.”
Christensen highlighted the work done at the University during the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining that “we responded better than almost all of our peers ... We moved in line with our values which
[are] our community and our education, and we put people before infrastructure. We understood what makes Brandeis special are the people and the mission.”
He explained that “the message the Board [of Trustees] has given [Levine] ... is that they’re going to give us extraordinary financial flexibility not to think about this as a deficit problem that needs to be cut, but as a revenue problem for a short amount of time. They’re going to let us take more money out of the endowment and they’re going to let us be creative because we have a plan to do something different.”
Christensen then called on the faculty to help, explaining that there are ultimately two choices moving forward. “One is to cut the size of our institution and our function to our revenue size and our predicted future, which is having 3,000 students or so. What that means is probably losing our R1 status and moving towards a small liberal arts model.” He explained that “some of us may be ok with that, but it would mean basically 20% reshaping the institution and a fundamental change of our mission.”
He explained that “the other choice is that we get up to the plate and take some big swings.” Christensen expressed that this option involves following the model laid out by Levine, and heavily endorsed this as the right choice for the University, both his place of work and his alma mater.
He shared a true definition of what the liberal arts means and emphasized that Levine will be leaving the University in 18 months. Christensen shared “we get to fill in that empty signifier and explain to students why studying the arts matters.” He explained that this mission “takes what we are already and makes it legible to other people in the world.”
Christensen continued to emphasize one of the main themes of his presentation: that Brandeis is unique. When referring to future students, he explained “We can be something very different that will help them do what they need to do.” He called on faculty for further involvement, stating “one of the things we’re going to ask you to do is have some more convenings if you’re up to it. So once you have more of these details, you can dream a little bigger about the programs you’d like to build, the initiatives you’d like to be a part of.”
He shared “when you look at this, it’s about pitting departments and disciplines in conversation with each other, and something that [Dean of Arts and Sciences Jeffrey Shoulson] told me to be sure to say today, is the transformation we make next year isn’t forever, just like we’ve only been here 76 years.” He emphasized that if something doesn’t end up working, it can always be revised, and where they are at now is just a starting point.
Christensen reviewed some of the leadership structure of the new units, explaining that they will each have a dean, and these deans will be “tenured faculty from within the institution.” These deans will report to the Vice Provost, “who will be responsible respectively for undergraduate and graduate education.” The deans will be “primarily responsible for the academic activities,” and the operational and budgetary duties will be done at the provost level. He explained that the budget is shifting for now, but there will be space for revision in the future.
To conclude the presentation, Christensen shared a message of hope with the faculty, “I want to regain my pride in this institution. I believe in you, in our faculty.”
This presentation was held in advance of a consent vote that will be available to the faculty next week. The floor was then opened to all attendees of the meeting for questions and clarification.
FUNDING: Prof. Haber discusses NIH funding cuts and implications on campus
Republicans believe there is a lot of DEI work going on in the government and use it to blame what they see as “corruption” in the federal government.
In a Feb. 27 interview with The Justice, Prof. James Harber (BIOL), Director and Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, explained that across-the-board spending cuts like the ones that Musk and Trump are proposing threaten one of Brandeis’ biggest strengths: life science research. The funding is vital to the many labs on campus including Haber’s research on deoxyribonucleic acid reparation, which has applications in cancer research.
According to Haber, with the proposed spending cuts, Brandeis lose seven to eight million dollars on research due to the University not being able to spend congressionally approved funds. This money is primarily used for paying employees includ-
ing postdoctorals, graduate and undergraduate students and support staff and costs in “facilities and administration” which support people “financially managing the grant,” people providing chemical, radiation, environmental safety and building repairs. Without these funds, Brandeis would not be able to fully fund government-mandated regulations to keep labs safe. Indirect costs funded by the government at Brandeis include 37.5% of funding, according to Haber. He said if these costs were reduced, it wouldn’t be clear if the University had another way to fund the grants. Haber said that even if there are inefficiencies in the system, across-the-board spending cuts, like the ones that Musk and Trump are proposing could lead to a loss of programming funding. These effects have already been seen at the NIH directly which has led to workshops being canceled, review of new grant proposals, halting the publishing of
regulations, publishing of regulations, guidance documents, grant announcements, social media posts, press releases, and other “communications” and the canceling of speaking engagements. Any exception must be approved by an administration appointee.
All of the funds Brandeis receives from the NIH are still being funded due to a temporary restraining order put in place by the lawsuit. In addition, across the country, many other programs that are not being funded right now have had their funding reduced, which could lead to a slowdown in medical research and breakthroughs for diseases. If these delays were to happen at Brandeis, it would cause researchers to find work elsewhere due to not being able to fully fund and conduct high-level research. To help prevent this from happening, Brandeis, along with a list of other universities is suing the federal government on the grounds that
they are legally bound to fund congressionally approved funds and that it is vital to their research. Brandeis’ funding from the National Institutes of Health has been able to fund groundbreaking research that has led faculty members to win multiple awards including Prof. Michael Roshash (BIOL), who won the National Nobel Prize and Prof. Eve Marder (NEUR), who won the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience. Without the support of the NIH, according to Haber, Brandeis would not have the strength in its life sciences department.
RIGHTS: Susan Church shares resources and information about immigrant rights
to clubs. Additionally, photographs that humanize the individual to the judge should be included, Church said.
“No matter what everyone tells you, immigration judges are human. Prosecutors are human and they are moved by human stories,” said Church. “Whatever human story you might have, put that in the folder. Put evidence of it in the folder, so that [it] can be presented in the future.”
The next portion of the webinar went over what does and doesn’t follow under public charge. Public charge, or the "public charge test," is an evaluation conducted by immigration officers when reviewing certain immigration applications. As part of this assessment, the officer considers factors such as the applicant's age, health, income and other factors to determine if the applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance in the future. If the officer concludes that the applicant may rely on government support, their immigration application could be denied based on the public charge rule. Church explained that during the first Trump administration, individuals who accessed public benefits were often labeled as a public charge, which led to individuals feeling dissuaded to use public benefits.
“The problem with that rule is not only did it cause widespread fear in the community, but it barely applied to anybody and yet people didn't understand that nuance and just stopped using benefits,” Church explained.
Church added that this rule only applies to people applying for a work Green Card, a Green Card based on family, particularly marriage or people entering the U.S. on a visa or extending their visa.
The only considerations in the public charge test are cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term nursing home care at government expense. “That means that as of today, Feb. 25th, it does not apply to Section 8 housing. [Emergency Assistance] Shelter, cash benefits like work, unemployment, Social Security. It doesn't apply to MassHealth unless it's long term. It doesn't apply to school lunches. It doesn't apply to [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] or [the Women, Infants, & Children Nutrition Program].” A full list of benefits that the rule does not apply to can be found on the MIRA Coalition website.
Earlier in the presentation, Church shared various ways individuals can come into contact with immigration enforcement. According to Church, one of the most common situations where students faced immigration enforcement during the first Trump administration was when returning from travel abroad. She explains that CBP has broad authority at the border, including the power to revoke a visa based on minimal information. Church cautions that students could find themselves in trouble if CBP determines they have immigrant intent — meaning they plan to remain in the United States permanently, even if on a temporary visa. This intent could be inferred from signs such as being in a long-term relationship with the intention to marry and apply for a Green Card. Additionally, instances of fraud can put a student in trouble, such as when CBP found evidence that immigrants had been working without authorization.
“So if they find that information in your cellphones or in your computers or you are answer-
ing questions and you provide that information, it can be very deadly for your visa,” said Church, who noted earlier in the webinar that CBP has a right to look at individuals’ phones and laptops.
“There is no mercy in this situation … If you have any questions at all it's extremely important that you talk to a lawyer before you travel.”
Individuals can also come into contact with immigration enforcement during raids, by emails and text messages or by attending ICE appointments. Church advised that people talk to a lawyer before attending their ICE appointments or following the instructions on an email or text communication, adding that people should be “Talking to [their] lawyer, six months before [they] go to [their] ICE appointment, not six days.” The same principle applies with international travel, “because lawyers are expensive, they are hard to find and they are very very busy under this administration.”
Immigration lawyers, experts and advocates are also watching the potential of the Laken Riley Act, which allows immigration authorities to detain individuals for minor offenses. Additionally, people seeking a Green Card based on their marriage, but also having a removal order were at risk, especially during the first Trump administration. When spouses with removal orders went to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to finalize their Green Card process, many were surprised by the coordination between ICE and USCIS to carry out arrests at USCIS offices. However, this practice was halted by a 2018 lawsuit, where in January 2025, U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf gave final approval to a settlement that would for the next two
years provide “class members who are not deemed to pose a public safety threat protection from ICE enforcement and a process to reopen and dismiss their removal cases,” according to an American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts press release. Other involvement with immigration enforcement included interaction with the criminal justice system, particularly during arrests for minor offenses. During the prior Trump administration, and continuing now, individuals were arrested for offenses such as driving without a license. ICE becomes aware of individuals when they are arrested by local police and fingerprinted, Church said. These fingerprints are sent to ICE, which can be used to track the individual when they are required to appear in state criminal court. Often, ICE waits outside the courthouse to arrest the person upon their appearance. However, Church emphasized that situations where you are not fingerprinted, such as being a victim of a crime, reporting a crime, seeking a restraining order or receiving a summons to appear in state criminal court, “it doesn't have the same mechanism or enforcement that somebody who's arrested and gone to the police station does.”
Church concluded her presentation by emphasizing the need for anyone worried about their immigration status to consult a lawyer. Although she is a lawyer, during the presentation she was not acting as a lawyer for the state.
“Please call a lawyer and that’s because … I just have seen a lot of damage done by people trying to handle their own cases or asking a friend for advice.”
TOWN HALL: President Levine describes his plans for the University with students
problem. The admissions office will now be reporting directly to Levine’s office and Brandeis will begin a capital campaign effort. The money, said Levine, will be used for scholarships, student life, various activities, more faculty, and enhancing the labs, to list a few. He asserted this ambition, stating that success is not enough as the rate at which the world is changing is accelerating.
In his predictions for the future, Levine mentioned an “extraordinary demographic cliff” in which 20-25% of colleges will either close or convert into online degree programs. What will remain are universities and liberal arts colleges: Brandeis is both. Brandeis will need to innovate in order to keep up with societal and political change, starting with rebuilding the Brandeis Core requirements. Levine added that the new core requirements will prepare students for a “global digital knowledge economy.” There will be an increased focus on career training, starting at orientation. He proposed creating a second transcript, one that records the “micro-credentials” students have mastered, which would make students more employable by providing an official record of their mastered skills.
Additional changes include general reorganization of the faculty, focusing on reducing layers of administration and connecting the Brandeis International Business School, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the College of Arts and Science. Separately from these schools, the proposed four units of study; Arts, Humanities, Culture; Science, Technology, Engineering; Economics, Business; and Social Science would have greater opportunities to become interconnected, and students would be able to gain more interdisciplinary education. However, this would not affect current major and minor requirements, rather working towards the ultimate goal of advancing knowledge and making Brandeis more attractive. He explained that this would manifest in the micro-credentials and new courses through collaborations between professors from different programs. He ended his speech by emphasizing the goal of Brandeis remaining a good research school and an excellent liberal arts college that excels at preparing students for their futures.
Following his remarks, Levine answered student questions.
First to speak were students in the Brandeis Jewish Bund. They listed out their demands for
the University administration while connecting each point to his speech. During this period, a student began recording the speaker despite the initial request for no recordings. When asked to put their phone away by the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communication, Amy Morten, they refused and promised the video would not be shared. The Brandeis Jewish Bund’s demands included an apology to those mistreated at the Nov. 10 2024 protest, a functional plan to defend the rights of marginalized students during the Trump administration, the rechartering of Student Justice for Palestine, affirming the rights of free speech and protest on campus, financial transparency and more.
Levine joked that there was an easier way to get a meeting with him and claimed that if the students had asked to meet with him, he would have obliged. He also responded by stating that diversity is Brandeis’ strength but that universities needed to be neutral on public policy issues and maintain their positions as places for varied perspectives. He cited his own time as a student at the university protesting against the Vietnam War while the president stayed neutral on the topic. He asked for students to “judge me by my actions, not my words.” He expressed his concern about what would happen to the University if he was more outspoken, saying, “I don’t want an ICE raid because we spoke.” He claimed that as a president, he is unable to be outspoken but that once he ends his time at Brandeis, the community should “watch out.” He added that students came to complain about the Jewish Bund’s sit-ins but that he had no issue with the events since they followed the rules. He expressed his belief that university statements regarding politics are meaningless, to which the Bund member who asked the initial question responded that the original founding of Brandeis was in itself a policy stance. Levine argued that Brandeis started with a mission to include those left out of higher education rather than as a policy stance.
A later question addressed the large-scale plans Levine proposed during his initial remarks and asked about the time scale and first steps of the project. He clarified that there will be opportunities for internships, new general education courses, and microcredentials that will be useful for job applications. Some of these changes will be in effect next year and others will be in full force the year
after. There will be a faculty vote on changes to the curriculum, and he hopes to shape core classes to meet student needs with additional classes being offered to benefit transfer students. The vote will be sometime in March, and work for other aspects of the plan will begin in July. He assures students that everybody enrolled before these changes will not be impacted by the change in curriculum and will not have to meet the new requirements.
One student expressed concern about how housing would be impacted by an increased student yield. Levine said he doesn’t expect any sort of housing issue, claiming the University has enough dorms and has a new dorm underway. The same student asked about the rumors of language programs being scaled back, specifically the Russian and Yiddish departments, and how this would impact majors and minors in those programs. Levine denied knowledge of the rumors, claiming nobody told him, Provost Carol Fierke or Dean Jeffrey Shoulson about these programs getting scaled back. He instead suggested an expansion of the programs in which they interact with other subjects such as history, business, and politics.
The next student asked about the state of student employment on campus, asking if there would be efforts made for access to jobs. Levine responded that the University would compensate for a lack of student jobs with new internships.
The following question asked about the status of the Title IX complaint against the Brandeis Softball Field. Levine said they were waiting on the Office of Civil Rights to approve the plan before taking any action.
The next student was an International Wien Scholar who was unable to obtain a visa as a result of him having a weaker passport. Levine promised to support international students to Brandeis' full capacity, requesting that students inform the administration about specific issues they are facing to receive the support they need.
Another member of the Brandeis Jewish Bund responded to Levine’s goal of staying outwardly neutral about issues such as “Israel’s invasion of Palestine,” Trump’s ban on DEI, the ICE raids and the private police brutalizing students on campus while taking action within the University. They asked if there was a threshold for taking an open stance, to which Levine responded, “I’ll know it when I see it.” He asserted that campus police have gone through intensive police training and
encouraged students to talk to Chief of Police, Matthew Rushton, for any questions or concerns. The student then asked if Brandeis would continue to call private police. Levine promised that the only case in which he would do that would be if there were guns present on campus and students were shooting at each other, before acknowledging that this is not the nature of most protests. He shared that he has participated in protests before and that he is supportive of them as long as they don’t cross any lines.
The following student asked how he was going to protect students and staff from ICE arrests. Levine said that the previous day, he had asked the council if he could block the doors to ICE agents, but they said no. He claimed that Brandeis will make sure ICE agents follow every law if they come on campus, saying that while the University can’t violate the law, administration will do everything short of it to protect students.
The final question was about how Trump is cutting grants dedicated to DEI and “gender ideology” while holding special regard for grants surrounding America’s 250th anniversary, a recent move by the National Endowment of the Arts that has cut funding from programs that focus on representing underserved communities. Certain grants gifted to the Rose Art Museum were called into question and the student asked what the action plan would be for grants that came with strings attached. Levine expressed his distaste for such grants and said that alternative funding mechanisms would be needed and that the University must compensate for grants that come with conditions.
After the Town Hall concluded, many students stayed to discuss their unanswered questions with Levine, who remained for approximately fifteen minutes after the official end of the meeting. He urged all students to set up a meeting with him if they had any unaddressed questions or concerns.
Life is hard but so very beautiful.
ON THIS DAY…
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States in 1861.
FUN FACT
Abraham
is
Public art, public visions: How Boston tells stories through murals and street art
The surge of murals and street art in Boston resurfaces age-old questions about what is considered art, what it does for a community and who gets the space to create it.
By HEDY YANG JUSTICE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On a quiet side street 10 minutes from Cambridge’s bustling Central Square, a vivid blue humpback whale and its soon-to-be dinner of solemn-faced krill is painted against a backdrop of dizzying purple Fibonacci spirals. The mural, “Cetacean Spiral,” is the brainchild of East Medford-based muralist Sophy Tuttle, whose work primarily centers around themes of human-nature relationships.
Tuttle is one of many artists in the greater Boston area who has carved a niche for herself amidst the city’s recent thirst for public and street art, particularly murals. Although the street art scene in Boston was once characterized by tagging and unsanctioned murals influenced by the development of graffiti in other East Coast cities like New York and Philadelphia, it now follows a much more codified process supported by nonprofit organizations, private institutions and city governments.
In 2019, Boston launched the Transformative Public Art Program that commissioned over 50 murals and public art projects over three years. It also named the nonprofit Street Theory its official mural consultant in April 2023, and with Boston Public Art Triennial launching its first citywide public art display program in May 2025, Boston continues to leverage collaborations with nonprofits to bring art to public spaces.
Prof. Toni Shapiro-Phim (CAST), who studies how art can be used as a force of social transformation, suggests that
street art doesn’t just beautify a city — it also takes advantage of its public nature to share deeper meanings with larger, and oftentimes unintended or unexpected, audiences. Yet how different pieces do so varies, and questions over how much credit they should pay to graffiti and their unsanctioned predecessors continue to loom large.
Some street art finds meaning through its intentions to educate the public about pressing issues: Tuttle sees her murals as going beyond just being a striking visual on a wall to operate as a form of activism, conveying messages about climate change and environmental degradation.
“I see my work as communicating the science that the scientists are trying to convey, but doing it through art, which is much more emotional, much more accessible to people in a universal language,” she said.
For instance, “Cetacean Spiral” depicts the cooperative ‘bubble-net’ feeding technique that groups of whales adopt to hunt krill. Tuttle intended for the piece to serve as a “celebration of geometry in nature and how natural systems create them just by existing,” and the subsequent threat climate change poses to these systems.
For other artists, their work finds meaning through the process — it’s not just about what a piece of art shows and its intended meaning, but also how it comes to be.
In Somerville, a driver rushing down
Dimick Street at Waldo and Marion Avenues is compelled to slow down to admire the whimsical cartoon flowers painted in the center of the five-way intersection. This is the work of Somerville-based artist Liz LaManche with the nonprofit Neighborways, whose mission is to create traffic-calmed streets that support more walking and cycling.
LaManche’s process for “Garden Path” is representative of a more community-oriented, participatory approach to creating art. In response to the neighborhood’s desire to reduce traffic in the intersection, she worked with residents to develop several rounds of ideas, eventually settling on a garden motif to contrast against the man-made, geometric character of the area. The neighborhood then came together in a block-wide painting party in July 2017 to bring their vision to life.
Shapiro-Phim spoke to the idea of participatory processes as being especially powerful to facilitate communitybuilding through art, and to ensure that a piece of art resonates with the community in which it’s placed.
“The more those particular communities are involved from the beginning, the more constructive it can be for that community,” she said. “Maybe they [the art] beautify something that everyone wanted beautified, but the likelihood that this will actually have deep meaning — that likelihood becomes greater the more the local folks are involved.”
“Garden Path” and other examples of LaManche’s art also fall into the category of what geospatial consultant Tova Perlman, who specializes in urban spatial analytics, deems ‘urban interventions’ — pieces of art that aim to reclaim or activate urban space, and call people’s attention to what’s actually in the space rather than just “seeing the city as one solid landscape.”
LaManche, who has painted everything from “weird old cars” on a set of unassuming park stairs in Somerville, to tropical birds and flowers on an electrical box in East Boston, also describes her work as “interventions in the urban landscape that make cities more sustaining of life and fun for people to live in.” Like Tuttle, she sees her art operating as a form of activism in a “quieter” way — her hope is that her art “gives people a giggle” as they move through their day.
For other artists, their work encourages people to pay attention not just to what’s there, but also who’s there. From the heart of Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square, a passerby’s
attention is called to a vibrant purple mural of flowing orange script painted on the side of a high-rise building. This piece, “For Cambridge, With Love from Nepal,” is the work of Cambridge-based artist Sneha Shrestha, known in the local artist community as IMAGINE. Much of Shrestha’s work utilizes Sanskrit and Devanagari scripts to convey themes of identity and belonging, reflecting upon her experiences immigrating from Nepal and the ignorance and stereotyping she faced from her peers in college and as a young adult. “For Love” intends to speak to the various communities that make up Cambridge — to acknowledge the presence of fellow Nepalis like herself and offer a reminder of home, or for others, to intentionally
Lincoln
connected to Louis Brandeis through their shared grand-uncle, Lewis Dembitz.
Design: GRACE DOH and BRIANNA EARLE/The Justice. Photos: HEDY YANG/The Justice
MURAL: Tuttle’s “Cetacean Spiral,” painted on the side of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant building in Cambridge, MA.
IMAGINE: Sneha Shrestha uses Sanskrit and Devangari-inspired scripts to create meditative murals.
HIGH-RISE: The view of “For Cambridge, With Love from Nepal” from Jill Brown Rhone Park in Central Square.
create a lack of understanding that mimics the feelings of alienation she once felt.
For Shrestha, grappling with themes of belonging and representation of marginalized communities in art are central drivers of her work. Inspired by the practice of graffiti and her mentorship under longtime Boston street artist Rob “Problak” Gibbs, her specific medium is word-based mural art. Shrestha spoke to how she found comfort in the expressive and oftentimes defiant nature of graffiti, particularly in how it grew out of disenfranchised communities’ desires to be seen, and quite literally, take up space in their own cities.
The differences between Shrestha, Tuttle and LaManche’s art, as well as where they find their artistic inspiration, resurfaces age-old questions about the differences between street art and graffiti, and the implications of cities’ investment in a form of art that was once — and in some places still is — heavily persecuted under the law.
To Perlman, this investment does not come as a surprise: she suggests that there is a fundamental difference between street art and graffiti, where their similarities only go so far as the artistic medium and method of walls and spray paint. Rather, street art also finds its roots in other forms of public art like statues and monuments, which are public goods that bring value to a space.
Shrestha disagrees, emphasizing that it is important for street art to pay homage to graffiti and recognize how graffiti first facilitated community-building through art.
“Street art came out of graffiti and street art couldn’t exist without graffiti,” she said. “Graffiti is such a unique art form where you used to only be able to learn from other people in your community, and so that relationship-building was how the culture was kind of passed on.”
As street art continues to diverge from graffiti, its commercialization and the simultaneous acceptance of graffiti influences into the artistic and cultural mainstream continues to be fraught with unanswered questions about identity, ownership and who gets to create art and where. LaManche and Shrestha’s focus on creating art that collaborates with and tells the stories of local communities may well represent one way to consider these questions, while Tuttle’s pieces that convey messages about important issues impacting the city may be another.
Yet, as Shrestha argues, ensuring that art resonates with the community in which it’s placed continues to be of paramount importance, and as Shapiro-Phim suggests, employing participatory art-making processes that involve the community increases the likelihood that this is the case.
“At the end of the day, murals belong to the city, not the artists,” Shrestha said. “If a mural is successful, it belongs to the city and the life of the mural will reflect that. If the city wants it, then the mural will be there for a long time.”
Artificial intelligence in art: Creation and conflict
Locals in the Boston art scene discuss how they are experiencing the integration of artificial intelligence and art.
As visitors step off Boston’s breezy streets and through the shadowed entryway of the WNDR Museum (pronounced ‘Wonder’), their attention is immediately drawn to the softly illuminated flowers winding around the space’s jet-black walls that cast warm light onto them below. The flowers, drawn by children of museum employees using technology to upscale and project, are part of an installation titled “WNDR Flowers,” according to the general manager, Giancarlo Natale. In the hallway beyond, mirrors stretch from floor to ceiling, doubling the luminous effect and drawing visitors deeper into the museum’s curated dreamscape.
It’s a playful introduction to what awaits, a space that not only displays art but indirectly showcases ongoing debates around the meaning of creation in an age of machine learning and digital tools.
Here, the integration of artificial intelligence into the art world takes center stage, inviting viewers to confront these themes in accessible ways. One of the museum’s 20 displays, “Untitled by You,” allows visitors to create their own artwork using a text-to-image AI tool, as their prompts are instantly translated into visual art displayed on screens. “It’s definitely not the expected look-at-a-painting type of art,” said Boston University student and visitor Sheila Garcia ’26, who sees the installation as an exciting new experience.
“It’s fascinating to watch it create something out of thin air,” she said, watching as four variations of her prompt, “a penguin tea party at sunset,” materialized across oversized screens. One portrait was reminiscent of a watercolor painting, with muted colors and soft digital strokes. Another was more similar to a cut from an animated film, and another appeared to be a more realistic portrait that you might find on a movie poster.
As a museum, WNDR becomes representative of a cultural moment in flux, where the boundaries separating artist, audience and algorithm become blurred. While it borrows the trappings of traditional environments with curated spaces and thoughtful design, it defies some unspoken rules by trading quiet observance for sensory overload and encouraging visitors (in most instances) to touch, play and co-create. The installations beg engagement, inviting visitors to communicate through tin can phones, walk barefoot across floors rigged with motion-sensor lights and literally step into the artwork in some cases. It feels fresh and innovative, but also somewhat disorienting at times.
“Seeing the flaws in the output, like the warped figures or missing details, is a reminder that even the machines are still learning,” Garcia continued. “I would never take the time to make something like this in real life, but that’s what makes it so addicting,” she adds.
This interrogation enhances WNDR’s appeal, as its existence echoes some of the art world’s current tensions; a tug of war between human ingenuity and technology, between tradition and innovation.
In the context of artificial intelligence and its functions, how these tools are used often reveals more about their potential than the art they help to create. At its best, AI can serve as an assistant that bolsters the creative process in a way that enhances rather than
By ALANA BAPTISTE JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
replaces one’s artistic voice. “I definitely use it earlier in the process,” said Hailey Turpin ’26 who is studying fashion design. “When I am trying to put together reference photos for a project, and all I have in mind are certain silhouettes or textiles,” she continued, “it helps to experiment with themes and decide what works concerning my vision.”
For Koel Patel ’25, a visual art major with an emphasis in graphic design, AI tools have enabled parts of her artistic expression in new ways. In recent projects, she has used Photoshop’s Generative Fill feature, which is powered by Adobe Firefly AI, to remake urban scenes. Her latest piece replaced features of urban streetscapes such as concrete streets, storefront windows and landscape details with distorted and stylized designs. Patel said she relied on AI for less than 20% of the work; the rest came from her own photography. “I think it’s more about, look what AI can help you achieve, rather than look what AI can do for you,” she commented, highlighting the supportive rather than substitutive role of AI in her creative process.
Others also recognize that integrating AI challenges assumptions concerning who creates, participates and decides what art is. This appearance of accessibility is observed in how proponents understand AI as democratizing artistic creation, by lowering technical barriers and offering a broader range of people access to tools that allow them to take part in the creative process. Natale understands these tools as “help[ing] to bring the new generation into art through a different lens.” “Anyone who has a vision can see that vision come to life,” he added. WNDR situates itself within this utopia of technology, accessibility and creativity working in harmony, exemplified by one of its exhibits that boldly asserts “We Are All Artists” in neon letters. “Here we believe that everybody is an artist, even if you don’t know it,” Natale explained. “Just by coming here and participating, you are an artist.”
Still, students who embrace AI’s potential struggle with its limits, weary of the line between enhancement and dependency. Turpin stresses that she and others should approach it with intentionality, using its capabilities to complement existing skills rather than use them in place of them. “Everything we see comes from a source of inspiration, whether it’s from media, nature, or other media,” she mentions. “It’s not creating the vision, just helping me to clarify what is there and what ideas are viable.”
Yet, for some, the outcomes and spectrum of applications of these AI tools fuel discomfort with AI’s role in creative spaces. Museum-goer Anna Hodges, who describes herself as an avid consumer of the arts, finds the appeal of art in its process and interpretation. “I get excited about the story behind the creation, not just the final product,” she reflected. This perspective aligns with broader opinions that understand creativity to be an essential human trait that machines, no matter how sophisticated, cannot imitate. “Intention and creativity create depth that sets us apart from machines,” she continued. “You lose that when you give AI creative autonomy in a way… I don’t know if it’s as
meaningful. When I look at it, it feels hollow.”
These sentiments echo broader concerns over the value of art against the proliferation of AI-generated images. As Hodges perceives these applications as “creating images by just typing in words,” with the result “being interpreted as art,” it is clear that this practice could feel inconsistent with the process of traditional artistry in suggesting that it diminished the labor and thought behind traditional art making. This perceived manipulation of creativity resulting in a generated product points to additional unease concerning how technology disrupts ideations of value within the art world. The ease with which AI can churn out images that are often “good enough” for consumers has led to fears of devaluing original human creativity and effort. Although optimistic about the potential of these tools, Koel agreed about the challenges created by the blurred lines between traditional and digital art, noting that she “definitely wonder[s] about whether it will become harder for human creators to stand out.”
Beyond questions of creativity, these concerns bleed into ethical debates over originality and ownership. Sometimes, the introduction of AI into creative spaces represents an existential threat rather than an exciting innovation. To Elijah Hayes, a recent graduate who is considering pursuing a graduate degree in computer art and design, the use of AI image generators creates an “internal dilemma” when he “knows it’s pulling from other people’s real work.” Hayes is referencing ethical concerns tied to the generative algorithms that text-to-image platforms such as MidJourney and DALL-E employ. These generative AI systems are trained on extensive datasets taken from all corners of the internet, including existing and copyrighted works by artists who never consented to their use. While the outputs can appear to be original, their reliance on existing content obfuscates the distinction between inspiration and replication. “My main concern is what this does to the future of my industry and creative human industries in general,” Hayes said.
This issue has already sparked legal intervention. In January of 2023, a group of visual artists filed a lawsuit against major artificial intelligence companies such as Stability AI Ltd, MidJourney Inc. and DeviantArt Inc. The lawsuit adds to a quickly emerging string of intellectual property disputes over AI generated work, claiming these companies are training their algorithms on copyrighted images without permission or compensation. As Hayes suggested, perhaps the use of these platforms to create AI art would be “more acceptable if it treated creators like the music industry does.” “Sampled works should be credited and royalties should be paid. How is using the collective creativity of artists without recognition different from theft?” he stressed. For artists, students and audiences alike, the debate is not simply about the tools themselves, but rather exposes a cultural reckoning with what it means to make, share and experience art within a landscape often disturbed by the implications of evolving technology.
Design: GRACE DOH and BRIANNA EARLE/The Justice. Photos: HEDY YANG/The Justice.
STREET ART: LaManche’s “Garden Path” in Somerville, MA is in need of revitalization over seven years after it was first painted.
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EDITORIAL
Beyond campus: A guide to some hidden gems of Waltham
The rigor of campus life often keeps students restricted within the tight confines of the Brandeis bubble; our classes, club meetings and constant studying do little to encourage us to pursue freedom outside of our academic commitments. But beyond the lecture halls, a whole world of experiences is waiting just outside the University’s borders. Whether you’re looking for a student-friendly movie theater, great restaurants, a comic book store or even an ice rink, Waltham and its surrounding areas have plenty to offer. Exploring off campus isn’t just a break from academics — it’s an opportunity for students to connect with the local community, discover new favorite spots and create college memories beyond the classroom. To help you get started, this editorial board has compiled a guide to our favorite places to go, showcasing the best that Waltham has to offer.
The Embassy Theater has had quite the eventful few years: it shut down in September 2022, reopened in October 2023 and was purchased by Boston Rhythmic, a gymnastics school, in March of 2023, who renovated four of the six theaters into performing arts studios. The theater once again reopened in February 2024. Located just off of Moody Street, the theater is a real gem. Back in 2023, Brandeis Student Union partnered with the theater to offer students discounted tickets for $10 or a $20 ticket, including a small popcorn and a choice of candy. One member of the board recently went on a Saturday night, paid $10 for a ticket to “A Complete Unknown” and had the whole theater to themselves. For reference, a ticket to the same movie at a local AMC Theater will run you close to $20. Feeling spontaneous on a weeknight? Check out their $7 Tuesday tickets. Looking for a sweet treat? From hard ice cream, sundaes, smoothies and frappes, Lizzy’s Homemade Ice Cream Parlor on Moody Street has an abundance of tempting desserts to choose from! The ice cream parlor boasts over 50 homemade flavors of hard ice cream including unique options such as White Pistachio, Mocha Chocolate Lace and Charles River Crunch. For those who are less adventurous, Lizzy’s also has traditional homemade flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, chocolate chip and coffee. Alongside these plentiful ice cream options, Lizzy’s has yogurt and sherbet. This editorial board suggests you give Colombian Fudge Avalanche — coffee ice cream with fudge and walnuts — a try!
For those looking for dairy-free, sugarfree or vegan alternatives, Lizzy’s also has you covered. The parlor’s dairy-free sorbet comes in Mango, Lemon and Raspberry, and its sugar-free ice cream is available in Chocolate and Vanilla. For its vegan ice cream, Lizzy’s uses a coconut cream base to create flavors such as Dark Chocolate,
gluten free and vegan menus, both of which are unparalleled in Waltham. Enzina’s has always been welcoming to university students in Waltham, especially Brandeis students. If you have not tried Enzina’s, you are definitely missing out!
As we approach spring and the weather begins to become a bit warmer, this is a perfect opportunity to spend more time outdoors in Waltham. The River Walk is a lovely path that starts on the north side of Moody Street. If you’ve finished eating at Little India or you’ve picked up an ice cream cone from Lizzy’s, but you’re not ready to head back to campus you can walk this path for about a mile. This route overlooks the Charles River, which gives you an opportunity to catch a glimpse of one of the oldest dams on the Charles. Additionally, along the way there are plenty of places to sit and relax, there you could journal, read or catch up with friends!
While Gosman Sports and Convocation Center is a great place for students to get in a workout, adding some variety to physical activity is good for both the body and soul. Less than ten minutes from campus, the Veterans Memorial Skating Rink is a great place for anyone looking to step on the ice.
The rink has two hours of public skating a day, six days a week. If you are looking for a quieter day, the weekday morning hours are perfect for you. Otherwise, the weekend afternoon and night hours are a lot of fun, especially with friends. The arena offers both skate sharpening and skate rentals, though they are limited, and it is cash only. It may be
a good idea to bring your own skates if trying to go during the busier days. There is ample parking outside of the building, and snacks are available inside. Be sure to bundle up if you are planning on observing; it can get very cold in the bleachers! If you are looking for a way to cool down as the weather warms up, you should add a trip to the ice arena to your Google Calendar! We normally only get to read about history, but antiquing offers a chance to hold history in our hands. Downstairs at Felton Antiques has a wide selection of jewelry, furniture, pottery, art, glassware and even vintage lab equipment and medical collectibles. By browsing their collection, you can glimpse into how people lived in the past and discover hidden stories. Buying antiques is also an excellent way to admire and preserve objects of skilled craftsmanship. If modern aesthetics don’t appeal to you, Downstairs at Felton Antiques is a great place to cultivate your own personal style and taste: spruce up your dorm room with vintage china or your bookshelves with old mystery books. Today when products seem built to last only for the short-term, antiques are usually made of durable materials and provide a more sustainable alternative. Every corner promises new trinkets to bring home, so instead of poring over Google Scholar to find that perfect source for your essay or staying hunched over a microscope, put those observation skills to use in treasure hunting at your local antique store.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor, (Please edit as needed)
Vanilla, Mint Chip and Oreo. To top off any of these delectable options, the ice cream parlor has an endless selection of toppings, dry and wet. Regardless of your preferences, this ice cream parlor has something for everyone! As the weather slowly grows warmer, there is no better way to welcome the spring than having something sweet to eat!
As students, everyone can relate to days when they’ve been bored, stuck with nothing to do. Moody Street certainly has plenty of places to eat, but that’s not the only thing it has to offer. Game Underground is a small — but reputable — arcade right beside the Brandeis shuttle stop, packed with a mix of classic and niche games. It also boasts a dance machine and table hockey, for a notably cheap price of 80 game credits for $10. If you’re looking to do something fun that doesn’t involve spending too much money or sitting through another movie night in your dorm, Game Underground is worth checking out.
Good Indian food can certainly be difficult to find, but tucked away in the heart of Waltham, Little India Restaurant is a mustvisit spot for anyone craving rich, flavorful Indian cuisine. With a warm, welcoming atmosphere and a menu that showcases the depth and variety of traditional north Indian cooking, it’s easy to imagine why this restaurant is a favorite amongst “Walthamites” and Brandeis students alike. A staple of Moody Street since 1988, Little India has consistently delivered on authenticity, with dishes that are bold, aromatic and always deeply satisfying — while remaining affordable for a student budget. A single takeout order can easily be stretched for two or three additional meals, making it a go-to for Brandeis students looking for quality food at a great value.
Beyond the food, what sets Little India apart even further is its warm hospitality; the staff is attentive and eager to make recommendations, ensuring that both seasoned diners and those new to Indian cuisine feel comfortable and at home. Even takeout orders come thoughtfully packaged, sometimes with handwritten notes on select Hindu holidays — a small but meaningful touch that speaks to the care behind every meal. Whether you’re dining in or grabbing takeout, the experience is consistently excellent, making Little India a spot wellworth the visit.
Looking for a cozy Italian restaurant, within walking distance of campus? Look no further than Pizzeria Enzina on Main Street! Enzina’s Waltham location established in 1979, is a family owned and operated restaurant run by the Maione family. Many of the dishes are “Italian dishes derived from culinary traditions fostered in Naples, Italy.” The restaurant also offers a wide variety of meals for those with special dietary needs. Enzina’s offers two separate
A short marketplace chat with a Black employee related to “Black History and Smoking” revealed that her relative was a “Slave Master’s Woman,” for sex. Her grandmother died of lung cancer due to heavy smoking addiction. Her sick mother smoked three packs of Salem menthol cigarettes daily. I asked her “What would you ask President Trump at a press conference?” She boldly answered, “Why don’t you get rid of smoking?” She knows tobacco targets Blacks and that the news and our leadership are tobacco-free.
Mike Sawyer, The world’s foremost anti-tobacco activist Denver, CO 205-515-1560 (texting available) msawyer911@gmail.com @FitToGive
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Socialize Trump and Musk’s assets By Jon Hochschartner
Eventually, the current fascist moment will pass. Perhaps it will take two years. Perhaps it will take twenty. How long the moment lasts will be determined by the ferocity with which liberty-loving Americans fight the ongoing Republican power grab. But, at some point, this phony rightwing populism will exhaust itself. When that day comes, Democrats must replace this vile outlook with a genuine, left-wing populism. We need a populism which doesn’t blame the weak and the marginalized for society’s ills. Because it’s not transgender people or immigrants who are causing the public economic pain. It’s the ultra rich.
After returning to power, in a demonstration of this new populist approach, Democrats should socialize the assets of President Donald Trump and his oligarch accomplice, Elon Musk. Maybe one or both of them will have died by then. That’s not a problem. The property can be recovered from the fascists’ heirs.
I’ll be honest. I’m fundamentally an egalitarian. The existence of billionaires in a country where people are struggling and in a world where people are starving is a moral affront to me. That said, there is a non-socialist case for confiscating the wealth of these right-wing gangsters who presently control the government.
I shudder to imagine the damage Trump and Musk will have done to our country and democratic system by the time they are finished. Some kind of punishment will be necessary. Taking away their grotesque fortunes is the very least Democrats could do. And just consider how that cash might benefit so many others.
Trump is reportedly worth almost $6 billion. Meanwhile, Musk, the richest man on Earth, is believed to be hoard-
ing more than $421 billion. The amount of good those riches could do in this nation and around the globe is hard to overestimate. We could build new hospitals, schools, libraries, roads and bridges. We could expand our social-safety net to better care for children, the disabled and elderly. We could provide free college tuition, forgive medical debts, or send out large stimulus checks. We could expand foreign aid to save countless lives amongst the poorest of the poor. We could invest in scientific development.
Animal welfare is a priority for me, so I’d love to see a portion of such funds go to cultivated-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultivated meat is grown from livestock cells, without slaughter. The revolutionary protein offers a number of environmental and public-health benefits as well.
The only limit to the variety of productive purposes — which we, as a society, could put Trump and Musk’s wealth — is our imagination. Socializing the assets of this pair would be the right course of action, regardless of their behavior. However, the duo’s fascist criminality should make it an easy call for Democrats. In the here and now, we must stop Trump and Musk. But, in the aftermath, Democrats have to impose consequences of some sort. At the very minimum, these should include confiscation of the pair’s outrageous fortunes. We can build a better future. Money taken from fascist billionaires will help with this.
Jon Hochschartner lives in Connecticut. He is the author of a number of books, including The Animals’ Freedom Fighter: A Biography of Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front. Visit his blog at SlaughterFreeAmerica.Substack.com.
Zoom should never be an option for university classes
By ROSIE FELLIG JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
This semester, I am taking two classes via Zoom. When I enrolled, I wasn’t aware they were virtual. Had I known, I never would have considered them.
It is impossible to ignore the collective trauma we experienced as adolescents living through a global pandemic. For many parts of my high school experience, I was learning with a mask on, my teachers strapped with head-mics like Brittany Spears. Most other times, I was sitting in my bedroom with my tiny reflection staring back at me as I tried to acquire algebra. Walking to my cousin’s house and waving from 600 feet away was the highlight of my weekend. Calls from my frantic grandmother, informing me that another one of our acquaintances had dropped dead, became a part of my morning routine. I am sure we all had our own colorful experiences of living through such unprecedented, dystopian times, but the one thing we all undeniably shared was the Zoom application.
Zoom is great, for some. You can live in the same place you work. You can pay a tutor the same price you would before the pandemic, except the most you’ll see of them is their neck up. You can learn to navigate the Zoom speech dance: waiting for your peer to finish speaking, bracing for the awkward pause you take to make sure they are absolutely done and then speaking — only for someone else to chime in and speak over you.
Zoom was necessary when we couldn’t be in school, when we needed an education but also had to slow the spread of COVID-19. Zoom is not necessary now, however, with (most of us) having been vaccinated and COVID-19 becoming akin to the flu. There is absolutely no reason that a course at any university should be online.
Zoom may be admittedly useful in some select settings, but it is not productive for class learning. Being online for class means having access to every distraction with no consequences. You can shop, play games, watch a movie and text your friends without a professor calling you out on it — because everyone else in the class is doing the same thing. The array of vacant, frozen faces flash on the screen congruously as your professor talks to themselves. Classes should be social; there should be incentive to pay attention. You wouldn’t watch a movie with the volume on in class because it would be rude to your professor. You would be more motivated to listen to your classmates’ contributions if they were physically right next to you. The social accountability created in the classroom is vital in allowing students to remain motivated. Even in a large lecture, you can still facilitate social connections in ways that
you cannot establish over Zoom. You can make eye contact with a professor, you can nudge a classmate when you’re confused on something and maybe even make a real life friend.
At Brandeis we have the benefit of having a very low student-to-professor ratio. This means smaller classes with professors who are better equipped to give ample attention to each student. On Zoom, however, encouraging even the most basic engagement from students is extremely difficult. In almost every Zoom class I’ve been in, when the teacher asks a question, there is a long break before they have to call out names and force people to speak. It’s painful to watch.
You don’t need to take my word for it. Countless studies have revealed the detriments of virtual learning. In October of 2020, Dr. Brenda Wiederhold, a clinical psychologist and Editor-In-Chief of “Cyberpsychology, Behaviour, and Social Networking,” met with the National Education Association to discuss the harmful effects of online classes. “Our brains are used to picking up body language and other cues, not to mention increases of dopamine, that are experienced during face-to-face communication … On a video call, something is off, and our subconscious brain is reacting to that. Communication isn’t in real time, even though we may think it is,” Wiederhold explained. A study on students at the United States Military Academy at West Point supports Wiederhold’s theory. Results found that after virtual learning, students’ grades fell by half, and many reported reduced concentration and a lack of connection to their instructors.
A Zoom meeting may be convenient for business meetings. It may even be productive for webinars and fellowships. If you’re someone who has lost faith in the importance of “third places” — spaces separate from home and work, designed for socialization and community — Zoom allows you to condense your life to the comfort of your bedroom. But at university, where the mission is to educate young adults and provide them with the tools they need to live in a social world, it is unacceptable to allow a class to be virtual. Especially at a private university where tuition is 40k a semester. If I wanted to stare at a screen and learn something, I would have bought a certificate on Coursera. If a professor cannot teach a class in person, it should not be taught. If a student cannot come to class, they should take the day off. Until universities replace students with Artificial Intelligence bots, Zoom should not be considered an option for college courses, at Brandeis and beyond.
The westerner bites back
By GONNY NIR JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The fog, the slog, the mess of it all. I left it behind. With increasing frequency, I curse my naïve decision to move back East. You see, I grasped idle, quiet, undisturbed perfection for a little over a decade without knowing it. I curse my own ignorance. How could I have looked onto that endless horizon and not recognized its beauty? How did I breathe the aridity of that fine desert air and dream of breathing in clouds of self-importance? I walked into the wilderness this break and felt my own vanity vanish into the Western air. This is Peace.
I’ve said it before and will say it again — till I’m blue in the face — people in the East
are polite, but they are not nice. People in the West are nice, but impolite. What do I mean by this? In the East, there is a veneer of polite mannerisms, under the surface, however, lies an unshakeable foundation of egocentric disregard for others. The culture of the East is all about ME. Of course, an Easterner will never admit that. No, they’re good, upstanding liberals who enlighteningly speak of the importance of caring for one’s community and the failures of American capitalism. Nevertheless, when push inevitably comes to shove, the Easterner will not lift you up with them. It’s not personal, but it is indeed
political. “It’s a dog-eat-dog kind of world, and you just have to learn to play the game so you don’t get eaten,” they’ll say, as they down the rest of their mixed drink named after a city whose greatest contribution to the world is a collection of museums — museums whose art expresses everything the city they’re established in is not.
These hypocrisies don’t go unnoticed, of course. To preach the importance of a “worklife balance” and refuse to leave the city for the freedom of unbridled nature posits these hypocrisies forthrightly. One need not be a cultural critic to recognize the contradictions innate to the East. Yet, even to the folks out West, the East is valorized; it is seen as the place one goes to make something of themselves. And therein lies the true nature of the problem: the East turns all your attention inward — to your mere self. In an effort not to get eaten, you chase the unachievable goal of becoming God.
The culture of the East turns the focus of the individual onto herself: she must be all that. She must be the best, hardest worker. She must be the most desirable partner. She must be the most influential person in the room. Hers must be the most sought-after opinion. She is the locus of it all. The perfect person … enough.
I’m succumbing to the pressure. I hate it. I know I am my own project, but I can’t take the pressure of becoming God. I don’t even want to be God; I want to be me. A worker that does their best and gives what they can. I want to be a good partner. I don’t care for influence, I long for the anonymity of an inconspicuous observer. My opinions are my own, whether others find them persuasive is none of my concern. I hate being the center of attention. Perfection is overrated … we’re all made of stardust anyway.
I suppose these are the lessons I picked up out West. I always say the best part about the West is how absolutely insignificant you feel. There is nothing more humbling than
staring at a mountain that reaches 14,000 feet. “Fourteeners,” as we call them, cut you down to size. They force you to confront how small — literally and metaphorically — you are. These mountains have been around for longer than the human species and will surely outlast it. Try that on for size. Does it fit uncomfortably? Does the sheer force of your insignificance make you quiver? Perhaps it should.
I know I sound abrasive; perhaps it’s my Western mannerisms. I’ll tell it to you straight, but I’ll pour you the very best locallybrewed beer to help wash it down. Because, well, that’s the nice thing to do: help another out. We’re all insignificant, but we matter to each other … and there’s something to that. Western culture is also ripe with contradictions — this I’ll admit. The lonely pioneer is actually supported by the unrewarded labor of the household; work that is not monetarily recognized and, by extension, legitimized. No one is actually selfsufficient; community suffices us through every step we take into the new frontier. And the frontier isn’t really new, it’s known by the generations of dwellers who were here before us and have learned the ins and outs of this vast land we now call home. So yes, we’re hypocrites. But to liberally quote my astute advisor: “We’re not wrong.” Alas, for all the distaste I now have for the East, I’m grateful for it. Georgia O’Keeffe, an ally, captured this feeling quite well: “It is a lovely country with many trees, but it is not for me.” Indeed, the East enhanced my appreciation for the West. Yes, it’s what we would call an instrumental gratuity, a gratuity that is not for itself, but for another. So be it. What follows remains true: go West. Feel insignificant. Become yourself, chasing the image of God culminates in disappointment and self-loathing anyway. Step into the wilderness, much awaits you there — beauty, life, community and the tranquility of an endless horizon.
Klein: Unrelated — Brandeis bagel battle
By AARON KLEIN AND MAX KLEIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITERS
Hello — our names are Max Klein and Aaron Klein, and we are writing a column on restaurants around town. While the column may be satirical, our reviews are absolutely not. Please enjoy.
Klein: Good morning, Klein, and welcome to the third-ever Klein: Unrelated.
Klein: So on behalf of those who aren’t in the know yet, what exactly will we be doing here?
Klein: I’m so glad you asked! Seeing as we are two guys with the last name Klein who happen to be unrelated, it only makes sense that we start a food review section dedicated to local restaurants.
Klein: Okay, but since we are on break this week, how are we still doing this review?
Klein: Well, I figured we could both get the same dish from different places and try to Frankenstein our way into a combined food review of two spots. What do you think?
Klein: I think that’s a great idea!
Klein: Perfect! So, tell us all about it. Where did you go, and what did you get?
Klein: This week I went to Brook Street Bagels in New York — Klein: Fuggedaboutit, we in New York, baby… the Big Apple!
Klein: Yes, I was back home this week. Anyway, on Thursday, I had a poppy seed bagel —
Klein: Hey, I’m walkin’ here!
Klein: Haha! As I was saying, a poppy seed bagel with a healthy schmear of cream cheese and a generous portion of lox —
Klein: Where’s the gabagool?
Klein: Are you done now?
Klein: Fine. I’m done.
Klein: Ok so … my thoughts. I really —
Klein: Start spreading the news … Alright, fine, I’m actually done now. How was your bagel?
Klein: My bagel was fine!
Klein: Oh, come on, tell me about your bagel.
Look, I’m sorry. I probably won’t do it again.
Klein: Not sure I believe you, but fine. As
I was saying, I really enjoyed my bagel. It wasn’t a 10 — maybe a solid 8, 8.5 — but just really solid. A time-honored classic. You know, with any bagel, you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. You just want that recognizable taste, the fresh thick crust and the warm, doughy inside. As far as I care, you can leave your scooped, gluten-free, rainbowflavored, hippie bagels in California. Klein: Wow. I feel enlightened. Any other hot takes?
Klein: Yeah, actually. First, bagels should be fresh. If they’re old enough that you have to toast them, you probably shouldn’t be eating them anyway. Also, salt and blueberry bagels can go. (Get a pretzel or a muffin!) And finally, cream cheese or butter: those are the only correct options. Get out of here with jelly and jam. And God forbid peanut butter!
Klein: Is that it?
Klein: Yes. For now.
Klein: Aren’t you forgetting to ask how my bagel was?
Klein: Didn’t forget, chose not to. But since you seem quite eager to tell us … how was your bagel, Mr. Klein?
Klein: Don’t call me that. That’s my father’s name. Anyway, I also really enjoyed my bagel- from a bookstore, actually. I was at Politics & Prose in Washington D.C. I know, it’s very “Deisian” of me to spend my break in a bookstore.
Klein: A politics-and-poetry-themed book store at that…
Klein: Fair point. Anyway, the bagel was very good; it was crispy, with some lox on it. Overall, a positive experience and a shockingly good bagel for a bookstore. Klein: Positive experiences all around!
JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS
SOFTBALL
TENNIS
Men's results from the Miller Invitational on Feb. 9. Woman's reults from the Beguinet Classic on Feb. 8.
Brandeis 17, Johns Hopkins 10 UNC 17, Brandeis 10 NYU 15, Brandeis 12 Duke 15, Brandeis 12 Notre Dame 25, Brandeis 2
Miracle on Ice: Do you believe in miracles?
■ The Justice recounts a game of resilience that inspired many and made hockey a staple of the United States of
By REMI YOUNG JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Almost 45 years ago, on Friday, Feb. 22, 1980, the United States ice hockey team was set to match up against the undefeated Soviet Union team. What was expected to be a blowout was one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
The Soviet Union, a dominant force in international hockey, had won four consecutive Olympic gold medals and was expected to earn another victory in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The U.S. team, composed of young amateur and collegiate players, was not expected to make it far against the seasoned Soviet professionals. Assembled by head coach Herb Brooks, the team was composed of collegiate players with an average age of just 21 years old, compared to the Soviet Union, which was filled with experienced veterans, many of whom had competed together for years.
Just weeks before, the Soviet team had humiliated the U.S. in an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden, winning 10-3. During that game, the Soviets showcased their talent, but rather than giving up, Herb Brooks implemented a new style of play which blended American speed skating with European-style puck control. This last-minute audible could have been the difference-maker in Lake Placid.
The game began with an intense but excited atmosphere, fans screaming in anticipation. The Soviets quickly took a lead when Vladimir Krutov deflected a shot past Jim Craig, but soon after, Buzz
Schneider scored to tie the game for the Americans. The back-and-forth action continued, with the Soviets retaking the lead before Mark Johnson’s goal in the final second of the first period, shocking the Soviet squad.
In a controversial move driven by frustration, Soviet head coach Viktor Tikhonov replaced legendary goaltender Vladislav Tretiak with backup Vladimir Myshkin at the start of the second period. This decision remains one of the most debated coaching calls in hockey history. Afterwards, the Soviets took a 3-2 lead in the second period, appearing to regain control. However, the U.S. players rallied in the third period, with Mark Johnson tying the game at 3-3, setting the stage for Mike Eruzione’s legendary goal with exactly 10 minutes remaining. The final 10 minutes of play were more of a defensive game, with Craig turning away shot after shot from the aggressive Soviet offense. When the final buzzer sounded, the U.S. bench erupted in celebration.
As the clock wound down, broadcaster Al Michaels said his now-famous words: “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” The buzzer sounded, sealing one of the most iconic moments in Olympic and sports history.
The Miracle on Ice hockey game took place during heightened Cold War tensions, symbolizing American resilience. Two days later, the U.S. team used this energy to defeat another impressive hockey team, Finland, 4-2 in the gold medal game, completing what was said to be a doubtful journey to Olympic glory.
After the U.S. won the gold medal, the players became national heroes, with many going on to successful careers on and off the ice, and Herb Brooks’ leadership and coaching philosophy inspiring generations. The game influenced many films and books, including the acclaimed 2004 movie Miracle. In this game, determination, grit and the power of resilience were showcased. Do you believe in miracles? The United States 1980 ice hockey team certainly did.
0-5 today, 12-20 overall
Notre Dame 16, Brandeis 11 Penn State 16, Brandeis 11 Duke 21, Brandeis 6 NYU 14, Brandeis 13 Temple 22, Brandeis 5 WOMAN'S TOP
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
HOCKEY: A player shooting with a miracle movie advertisement behind the net.
A LOOK INTO TRON
Tron travels to Richmond, Virginia for the Rivercity showdown tournament, taking on the University of Rochester, Elon University, Xavier University and University of North Carolina Asheville.
— The Justice Editor Jonas Kaplin '27 is a member of Tron and did not contribute to this photostory.
Sports just
4 Nations: International hockey competition
The Justice Editorial Assistant Remi Young '27 highlights February's championship game between team USA and team Canada, p. 12.
Tuesday, March 4, 2025 Page 12
4 Nations: The highly anticipated international hockey contest
■ The United States’ team falls just short against Canada in an exciting matchup at TD Garden in Bston Boston, MA.
In February 2025, the hockey world eagerly awaited the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, which ended in a nail-biting championship game between Team USA and Team Canada. Held at Boston's TD Garden on Feb. 20, the final showcased the long-lived rivalry between these two hockey powerhouses. Canada emerged victorious with a 3-2 overtime win, thanks to a decisive goal by Connor McDavid.
The 4 Nations Face-Off replaced the traditional National Hockey League’s AllStar Game for 2025. It featured national teams from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden. The tournament utilized a round-robin format, with each team playing three games, leaving the two top teams skating it out in the final match. Games were played on NHL-sized rinks under NHL rules, and the final employed consecutive 20-minute, 5-on-5 sudden-death overtime periods if necessary.
Game leading up to the final
Both Canada and the U.S. demonstrated exceptional skill and determination throughout the tournament. In their initial matchup on Feb. 15 in Montreal, the game started aggressively with what sounded like Canada’s fans booing the U.S. national anthem. In response, three fights were initiated within the first nine
seconds, reflecting the fierce rivalry and patriotism between the teams.
The Championship Game
The final in Boston lived up to fans’ excitement. The game was tightly contested, with both teams exchanging goals and showcasing defensive excellence. Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring for Canada, but Jake Sanderson and Brady Tkachuk defended for team U.S., and the score remained tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Connor McDavid capitalized on a defensive lapse to score the game-winning goal, which secured the victory of Team Canada.
Connor McDavid's performance in the championship game cemented his status as one of the most elite players. His overtime goal secured the victory and highlighted his ability to succeed under pressure. On the American side, defenseman Zach Werenski finished the tournament with six points as the highest scorer.
Tensions
The championship game was played amid heightened political tensions between the U.S. and Canada. After the final match, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on social media, “You can't take our country — and you can’t take our game,” emphasizing hockey's cultural significance to nations worldwide.
The tournament was a huge success and will be remembered for its competitive spirit and the inaugural departure from the traditional All-Star Game format. The high stakes and national pride were evident, and fans' interest worldwide showcased the excitement around international competition at the highest level. Players and fans will eagerly await the next international hockey contest in the 2026 Olympics.
Brandeis February Break Sports Updates
■ The Justice provides an overview of the Brandeis baseball and softball team’s first games this season over February break.
By REMI YOUNG JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Over the February break both the Brandeis softball and baseball teams embarked on their spring training trips, opening up their competitive seasons on the road.
Softball
The Brandeis University softball team traveled to California, facing tough competition. On the trip, the Judges secured their first victory of the season but struggled overall against the University of La Verne, Occidental College, Chapman University and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
The softball team started their season with a pair of losses against La Verne. In game one, Brandeis fell 7-5 despite a strong offensive effort led by Tristan Boyer ’25 and Maddie Manes ’26. The University of La Verne Leopards got off to an early start with a three-run homer and later two more runs in the sixth which made it tough for the Judges to come back. The Judges started game two off strong in the top of the first with a score early, but La Verne responded with a fiverun first inning, putting them well on their way to their 9-1 victory.
Brandeis secured its first win in the second game of their doubleheader against Occidental. In the first game the Judges got off to a strong start with an early three-run lead, but then Occidental put up four runs to take the win. The Judges bounced back in game two with a strong 13-5 win, with contributions from every starter and an impressive eight-run fifth inning.
The Judges struggled in back-to-back double -
headers, falling 5-0 and 3-0 to Chapman and 7-4 and 5-0 to Pomona-Pitzer. Despite a tough start, the team looks to bounce back in their next game and use the momentum gained from their first victory this season.
Baseball
The Brandeis University baseball team kicked off its 2025 season with a series of closely contested games in Georgia and Tennessee, finishing their opening road trip with a 1-3 record. In their first game, the Judges secured a thrilling Game one victory against Oglethorpe University but then experienced subsequent losses to Oglethorpe University, Sewanee University and Berry College.
In their season opener, the Judges broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the seventh inning. Center fielder Connor Crowley ’27 walked and stole second before Ben Kuja ’28 singled up the middle to drive in the game-winning run. Relief pitcher Brady Lane ’28 sealed the victory by striking out the side in the bottom of the inning securing the victory.
In game two, despite an early lead, Brandeis struggled with control issues, allowing multiple walks and wild pitches that contributed to Oglethorpe's dominant middle innings. The Judges rallied in the sixth, scoring four runs, but unfortunately couldn't close the gap. In game three of the trip, a late-inning push by the Judges was just not enough as Sewanee’s bullpen held firm. Despite strong performances from Crowley, Brandeis couldn’t overcome their early defensive mistakes. Game four was very much an offensive performance for both teams as many runs were scored. Brandeis led 10-6 before Berry stormed back with a five-run sixth inning. Both the softball team and the baseball team faced some tough opponents but overall showcased their offensive and defensive potential, and they look to bounce back in their upcoming games early on in the season.
Waltham, Mass.
HOCKEY: USA vs. Canada 4 nations hockey competition.
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
SOFTBALL: Brandeis softball player swinging the bat.
FIONA DOIRON/ The Justice
By REMI YOUNG JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
justArts & Culture
Photos courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS and ARNAV SRIVASTAVA/The Justice. Design: BRYAN WOLFE/The Justice. Waltham, Mass.
bloom with baasa
By MAEVE COAKLEY JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
On March 1st, the Brandeis Asian American Student Association unveiled their annual culture show, celebrating the totality of the Brandeis Asian American Pacific Islander community. This year with the theme, “Together we Bloom,” APHAM celebrated the diversity of all involved. With a mix of song, dance, poetry and comedy, the night was truly one to remember!
Photos courtesy of ARNAV SRIVASTAVA. Design: MARINA ROSENTHAL/ The Justice.
‘ANORA’ WINS BIG AT
THE 97TH ACADEMY AWARDS
By IYLA LICHTENFELD JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Hosted by Conan O’Brien, this year’s Academy Awards was a spectacle that paid tribute to icons of filmmaking, especially in a location as influential as Los Angeles. During its first moments, the broadcast honored the city showing prominent film clips of the Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Hills among other landmarks. To start off the night, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande performed beautiful songs from “The Wizard of Oz”, “The Wiz” and “Wicked” showing there’s no place like home. Undoubtedly, the evening was about honoring what goes beyond the screen and the global impact of authentic storytelling.
Though the Oscars ballot this awards season was possibly one of the most controversial in years as the French film “Emilia Pérez,” about a fictional Mexican transgender woman, led the night with 13 nominations. Unsurprisingly, after an embarrassing public campaign, the film walked away with only two Oscars: “Best Supporting Actress” for Zoe Saldaña and best original song for “El Mal.” While Saldaña’s win was inspiring, because she became the first Oscar winner of American-Dominican heritage, host Conan O’Brien did not miss his chance to hit back at the film with a joke about lead Karla Sofía Gascón’s racist and xenophobic tweets. Despite this blow, O’Brien stuck primarily to non-political jabs for the remainder of the show. Nonetheless, his self-deprecating humor was greatly needed at a ceremony often led by ego. In fact, seeing his perspective on Hollywood, including a bit expressing disdain at dying movie theater culture, placed O’Brien as a true appreciator of the craft and care of filmmaking.
Sean Baker, creator of this year’s underdog sweep “Anora,” relayed the same message. The artist won “Best Original Screenplay,” “Best Editing,” “Best Directing” and “Best Picture.” In his speeches, he emphasized the importance of respecting the sex worker community that he has chosen to highlight in many of his films. However, his greatest cry was the last words of his final speech, “Long live independent film!” Notably, Baker crafted “Anora” on a minimal budget of six million dollars opting to use on location shooting, independent crews and rising stars. One of those stars, Mikey Madison, won “Best Actress” for her first Oscar nomination and used her platform to similarly show support for sex workers and increased authenticity in film.
Highlighting global and alternative narratives was an important aspect of the ceremony. The independently animated “Flow” won “Best Animated Feature” clinching Latvia its first ever Oscar win and “In the Shadow of the Cypress” is now the fourth Oscar win for Iran. However, it is the award for “Best Documentary Feature” for “No Other Land,” a venture between Palestine and Israel, that proved Hollywood is finally prepared to express support for those suffering in the occupied territories. Moreover, each of these winners is slowly moving the Academy back to its roots of appraising profound and refreshing media.
One award which did not appear to do so was Adrien Brody’s win for “Best Actor” for
TELEVISION THOUGHTS
his role in “The Brutalist.” His campaign became riddled with the revelation that artificial intelligence was used to enhance his Hungarian accent and create architectural designs for his character. Per the film’s supposed message about not oppressing creative originality, its means of creation shows much the opposite. To many, Timothée Chalamet was a natural winner for his performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” Ironically, if Chalamet had won, he would have become the youngest best actor beating Brody’s record from 2003 for “The Pianist.”
Overall, the 97th Academy Awards are continuing a recent streak of uplifting independent models of filmmaking since “Nomadland” and “CODA’s,” which were the 2021 and 2022 best picture winners. With “Anora” leading this year’s charge, it can only be hoped the prestigious ceremony multiplies its appreciation for independent artists and unique perspectives. In light of this year’s winners, it begs the question for the current value of big budget films especially regarding major losses and snubs for “A Complete Unknown,” “Dune: Part Two” and “Wicked.”
Never severiNg my relatioNship with ‘severaNce:’ a review
“Severance” is currently airing its second season on Apple TV+. The first seven episodes have met the high expectations set by the show’s first season, which aired in 2022. The show is a science fiction thriller which, as the name suggests, involves severing oneself into two different consciousnesses colloquially referred to as ‘innies’ and ‘outies.’ The ‘innie’ version of an individual exists solely at work, conscious only after they clock in and until they clock out. The ‘outie’ is the version of the individual which lives every other aspect of their life. Crucially, memories are not shared between the two. Innies are created with somewhat of a blank slate as they retain rudimentary knowledge of the world, but need to be informed of their first name and first initial of their last name to acquire any aspect of a personal identity. Essentially all an innie knows is their work at Lumon Industries, the company that invented the severance procedure. Although “Severance” is science-fiction heavy, the show does not get bogged down in endless explanations and details. Rather, it thrives on gripping mystery concerning the truth behind Lumon’s intentions and use of the severance procedure. The show follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott) who began working at Lumon after the unexpected death of his wife Gemma. Mark’s motivation for undergoing the severance procedure is his wish to avoid his grief. For eight hours every weekday Mark exists as his innie, Mark S., who has no idea about the loss Mark has suffered.
The most recent episode of “Severance,” season two episode seven “Chikhai Bardo,” has only cemented
By MAEVE COAKLEY JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
the show’s brilliance. The episode completely turned the show on its head and revealed the answer to one of the biggest mysteries, while simultaneously generating more questions. “Chikhai Bardo” truly confirmed my suspicions that in terms of science fiction mysteries, “Severance” graduated from “Lost” University with honors and a concentration in shocking reveals that I never would have considered yet still make perfect sense. “Chikhai Bardo” was also the stunning directorial debut of Jessica Lee Gag ń e.
To me the most compelling aspect of “Severance” is the potential for so many interesting character dynamics, and I love that they are leaning into that potential. A relationship between people’s innies may be completely different to the relationship shared by their outies. Every severed character has the potential to have an opinion of others as their innie, an opinion of others as their outie, an opinion on someone’s outie as an innie and their innie as an outie. Considering the myriad of ways the core cast of four severed characters can interact with others is tremendously exciting. In season one, one character asked, “Do you think love transcends severance?” and thus far much of the show appears to be answering affirmatively. I can’t say much more without giving spoilers, but “Severance” is honestly doing incredible things and running circles around every other show airing right now. Apple TV+ drops a new “Severance” episode every Friday, so there’s still plenty of time to catch up before season two, episode eight “Sweet Vitriol.”
TUESDAY,
Top Ten STAFF’S
Top 10 Movies Filmed in Cranford, NJ
By MAEVE COAKLEY JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
1. “Mother’s Instinct”
2. “Bros”
3. “Presence”
4. “The Room Next Door”
5. “Cat Person”
6. “Sweethearts”
7. “Maybe I Do”
8. “Far From Heaven”
9. “Guess Who”
10. “Daughter of the Bride”
SUDOKU
9 6 3 7 2 5 9 6 3 7 8 7 2 9 4 2 9 8 7 8 9 4 9 8 1 1 3 9 6 5 9 6 3 4 9 2 1
By DAHLIA RAMIREZ JUSTICE STAFF ARTIST
By NEMMA KALRA JUSTICE EDITOR
SOFTBALL RECAP
By REMI YOUNG JUSTICE EDITORAL ASSISTANT
Women’s softball just began their season on a February break trip to California, where they went 1-9 in their first games.
in, and
SOFTBALL
Bells Burdenski ’26 leads the team with six runs
batted
pitcher Kathryn Vermeulen MA ’24 leads the team with 25.1 innings pitched.
MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON RECAP
By REMI YOUNG JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
BASKETBALL
Photos
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON RECAP
By REMI YOUNG JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
BASKETBALL
Photos: VAUGHN ALNOT/The Justice. Design: MARINA ROSENTHAL/The Justice.
Sports: Spring recap
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
