The Justice Logo

Brandeis University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1949 | Waltham, MA

Leah Smith


Articles

Personal rights of psychiatric patients should not be ignored

In the past several years, the United States has seen a long string of mass-murder shootings. In 2007, Seung-Hui Cho murdered 32 people and wounded 17 in the massacre at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2009, we saw the deadly shootings at the U.S. military installation at Fort Hood, where a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others. In 2011, Arizona Rep.


Personal rights of psychiatric patients should not be ignored

In the past several years, the United States has seen a long string of mass-murder shootings. In 2007, Seung-Hui Cho murdered 32 people and wounded 17 in the massacre at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 2009, we saw the deadly shootings at the U.S. military installation at Fort Hood, where a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others. In 2011, Arizona Rep.


Education system should nurture young creative minds

One of our greatest gifts as human beings is our creative ability. Our capacity to pull an idea out of thin air and turn it into a detailed sculpture, a well-oiled machine or story that moves others to tears is truly incredible. Without getting into the neurological intricacies of the human brain, I believe that creativity is an innate part of our humanness.


Misconceptions of religion hinder tolerance

When the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which today includes most of New England, was founded in 1628, its Puritan governor John Winthrop said of the new colony: "we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us." This famous quote was making a reference to Jerusalem, which is indeed a "city upon a hill," and John Winthrop's mandate was to found a religiously pure society that would set an example for the entire world to follow. Although not all of the 13 colonies got off to such a radically religious start, religion was a contentious issue that had a lot to do with the origins of our country. Today, the legacy of those origins still resonates deeply: much of the country still shuts down on Sundays; the religious activity of our politicians, and especially the president, are paraded before the public; and some of our most polarizing political issues stem from questions of religion. Given how deeply rooted our country is in religion, I found it rather surprising to see a statistic showing that significantly fewer Americans than I expected actually affiliate with one.


See The Print Version

Follow @TheJustice