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On Monday Sept. 23, Dr. Ramie Targoff delivered a lecture entitled “Proxy Weddings, from Shakespeare to Rubens,” in honor of her achievements as the Jehuda Reinharz Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis. Occurring in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall, the lecture was sponsored by the Office of the President.
On Sept. 19, the City of Waltham posted on their news page that State Health Officials have found a mosquito infected with West Nile virus in Waltham. The mosquito was found in the Northeast Quadrant of Waltham and tested positive on Sept. 11.
More than 15 years ago, Brandeis University had a bike share program that provided students with day-long bike rental services. Prof. Emerita Lara Goldin (ENVS) started DeisBikes in 2009 with students from her “Greening the Campus and Community" class. The program stopped about 10 years ago, but one Brandeis student is looking to revive it.
On Sept. 29, the Student Union Senate held its first official meeting of the school year. Vice President Ria Escamilla-Gil ’27 began the meeting. During the meeting, the senators heard from three clubs, voted on constitutional revisions, approved a mental health awareness event and voted for new positions within the Senate.
On Wednesday, Sept. 18, Brandeis Hillel hosted a panel discussion featuring Shakara, an organization that seeks to promote peace within the Middle East and North Africa region, in the Shapiro Campus Center theater. Six panelist sat on the podium: Canadian-Israeli Ashley Waxman, Dalia Ziada from Egypt, Bedouin Arab-Israeli Tamer Masudin (IBS ’26), Youssef Elazhari from Morocco, and Iraqi-Israeli Dan Feferman. All six panelists represent Sharaka — meaning partnership in Arabic.
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On Monday, Sept. 23 at 8:51 a.m., faculty members received an email from Chair of the Brandeis Faculty Senate Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL) regarding the results of the vote of the motion of no confidence in Brandeis University President Ronald Liebowitz. This email stated “The motion has passed, with 159 votes in favor, 149 votes in opposition, and 26 abstensions.”
Content warning: mentions of violence against women, domestic violence and rape.
Student government can be an exciting way for students to practice civic engagement and to develop political skills. On Sept. 17, the Student Union sent out an email revealing the winners of their Fall 2024 elections. Hercules Zhang ’28 and Shelby Terry ’28 were elected as Multicultural Senators. Harrison Madnick ’25 was elected as a Class of 2025 Senator. Himanshu Sahore ’28, Monica Lopez Hernandez ’28 and Sarah Hasan Jafary ’28 were elected as Class of 2028 senators and Shyann Rampaul ’28 was elected as the Myra Kraft Achievers Program Senator.
In an open letter to the Brandeis community on March 28, 2024, University President Ronald Liebowitz called for an examination of the Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression. Liebowitz declared that Brandeis has a proud history of openness and said that the University is “at an appropriate juncture to conduct a review of these principles and how university policies and procedures relate to them.”
In 2022, Waltham Mayor Jeanette McCarthy unveiled a major development plan for the site of the Fernald State School which included an extensive recreational facility spanning across the northern portion of the Fernald campus. Although this development has been in the works since the city purchased the land in 2014, there has been little progress made on the site. With the lack of maintenance, there has been an uptick in vandalism in recent years and the city of Waltham has been unable to keep it under control. There has also been a lack of transparency from the city about the progress of the development program.
On Friday, Sept. 13 the Student Sexuality Information Service announced on their Instagram the arrival of new gender-affirming products, expanding their presence on campus. Previously, the only other organization on campus that offered gender affirming products was Brandeis Gender and Sexuality Center, with a gender affirming clothing closet and dressing room. Individuals are encouraged to “drop off clean and gently used or new clothing to a GSC staff member” according to the GSC website. Nonetheless, the new SSIS offerings are a welcomed expansion to gender-affirming products on the Brandeis campus.
On Monday, Sept. 23 at 8:51 a.m., faculty members received an email from Chair of the Brandeis Faculty Senate Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL) regarding the results of the vote of the motion of no confidence in Brandeis University President Ronald Liebowitz. This email stated “The motion has passed, with 159 votes in favor, 149 votes in opposition, and 26 abstensions.”
The Middle East remains a focal point of global politics as ongoing Israeli-Hamas warfare, Iran’s economic and political turmoil, the hardships faced by Syrian refugees in Turkey and the erosion of democracy in Israel have further destabilized the region’s already delicate balance. On Thursday, Sept. 12, the Crown Center for Middle East Studies hosted a panel of experts to discuss the region’s challenges and how these may intersect with the upcoming United States elections. Moderated by Prof. Eva Bellin (POL), the panel featured Ghaith al-Omari, Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, Hadi Kahalzadeh, and Nihal Kayali.
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
On Sept. 16, the Brandeis Student Union announced it had to re-run elections for the Myra Kraft Achievers Program seat. Student government conducted its Fall SU election on Sept. 13 and says that no other contests appear to have been impacted. Results for the SU election were scheduled to be released Monday Sept. 16 but have since been delayed.
The results of the 2024 Waltham Massachusetts State primary elections on Sept. 3 have been certified and posted on Waltham’s official city website. The state primary for offices other than president took place on Tuesday, Sept. 3 2024, and included votes for a range of local and national positions. According to the results spreadsheet, a total of 36,947 registered voters participated in Waltham’s primary elections.
On Sept. 9, the Waltham City Council unanimously decided to observe & celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th - October 15th.
As Brandeis students return to campus for the new semester, many students learned of disappointing news: Gravity Magazine, the comedic lifeline of the university, is on hiatus. Yes, the one magazine that’s been a go-to source for everything from out-of-context professor quotes to a satirical spin on President Ronald Liebowitz’s emails, is set to take a break this semester.
On Sept. 13 at 2 p.m., faculty gathered in Rapaporte Treasure Hall to continue the tabled discussion regarding the potential vote of no confidence in Brandeis University President Ronald Liebowitz. Friday’s meeting marks the first faculty meeting of the semester, change in membership. Prof. Jody Gittell (HELLER) stepped down from the position of Chair of the Faculty Senate, with Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL) stepping into the role. Small changes to voting processes have occurred with the aim of preventing voting confusion and inaccuracies.