This site hosted a particularly strong student/activist blog that ran from late 2007 – 2011 at Brandeis University.

It was founded by Sahar Massachi and Loki, and then run for most of its life by Sahar Massachi, with assists by Adam Hughes, Elly Kalfus, Nathan Robinson, and a large cast of contributors.

Please feel free to peruse the archives.

You can reach Sahar here.

While I appreciate the good will behind this move, and I believe this in common in many workplaces, do employers realize how giving extended holidays impacts hourly wage workers? As a temporary summer employee working at Brandeis for the summer for an hourly wage, I don't get paid when the school is closed, since I can't come in. That means that rather than enjoying the relaxing weekend, I worry about how to pay my rent with 2 less days – i.e. 14 hours less pay – for the month. 

I spoke with a friend and fellow Brandeis alumnus about this today, and zhe informed me that when zhe worked at Brandeis as a student, zhe would very frequently lose hourly wages because of the Brandeis Mondays and other irregular schedules. As a student, I worked very few hours a week and never considered the impact this policy had on workers, but as an employee working 2 part time jobs, I realize how frustrating magnanimous gestures such as this can be. 

Can't holidays be optional (if not otherwise compensated for)?!

Good afternoon,

 

As a reminder, President Lawrence has directed that Brandeis University offices will be closed beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3rd with staff returning to work on Monday, July 8th.

His hope is that staff members will be able to use the extended weekend for relaxation and enjoyment with family and friends.

Sincerely,

Scot Bemis

Vice President for Human Resources

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Brandeis University is pleased to announce that we have selected Sodexo as our new campus dining partner. Beginning July 1, 2013, Sodexo will begin managing and operating Dining Services on campus.  

Sodexo’s commitment to excellent customer service, customer satisfaction, local & sustainable foods, and food-forward innovation make them a welcome addition to our campus. Their culinary team will bring a passion for fresh food and catering excellence to campus. Some of the new offerings you will see on campus will include: Starbucks, Russo’s Market, and the first Guy Fieri on Campus located in New England.

Over the coming weeks, Sodexo and Brandeis will share more specific information about meal plans, dining hours, new food formats, events and other information. 

Please join me in welcoming our new Resident District Manager of Dining Services, Jay Degioia. You can reach Jay at ext. 64276 or email jdegioia@brandeis.edu

If you have other questions or would like additional information, please contact Mark Collins at 64435 or emailcollins@brandeis.edu

Thank you,

Ellen de Graffenreid

Senior Vice President for Communications

• Minute 12-17:15 Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman makes an introductory speech and blessing. She was installed in March of 2012 as President of the New York Board of Rabbis and is the first woman in the 131-year-history of the organization to hold this position. Rabbi Goodman supports women’s reproductive rights and health care, and advocated for marriage equality in New York State, and key line in her speech "Women are still not equal"
•  

Explaining why Cash was effective in his cries for prison reform, Danny Robbins writes "Cash successfully humanised the prison population and gave them a voice. He had a unique ability to get inside the heads of these forgotten and ignored men and understand the problems facing them – the roar from the inmate audience that can be heard on Live at San Quentin when he launches into the provocative angry title track is testimony to this." (A 30-second audio clip of Cash onstage at San Quentin is available to listen to next to the article.)

I think we need more of this overlap between arts and activism. Cash was able to bring hope to prisoners and relat their stories to people living on the outside, a necessary bridge if we are going to address the problems caused by mass incarceration and develop better, more empathic approaches to dealing with people who commit crimes.

When you read an e-mail and feel really angry about it…

1. Vent about it to people who are not involved in the situation
2. Try to figure out why you feel angry; what in it provoked you so
3. After many deep breaths and giving yourself time to cool off, re-read the e-mail and re-evaluate what is says

This method has a great success rate. Often, when you reread it you discover new things you hadn't originally seen, and you even hear it in a different tone of voice. If this does not work for you, try purposely reading it in a different tone of voice to see alternate ways it could have been intended.

Downside: This is not as helpful when you need to respond to an e-mail within a short period of time (i.e. if you're organizing an event and have to figure out logistics, provide advice, etc.), since it really does require space and time. But, those e-mails suck anyway.

I've spent the past 7 semesters doing activism at Brandeis. Even while abroad studying comedy in Chicago, I did activism at Brandeis. In fact, I was more active from afar because it felt more manageable. And that's what I want to write about now: managing it. Because trying to change Brandeis, Waltham, Massachusetts, the Northeast, colleges across the United States, America, the Western Hemisphere, the world, the universe…. can get pretty exhausting.

So, here are a few lessons I've learned. I'd appreciate it if you shared with me whether you've experienced similar or different things, any advice or empathy you have to give, and words of inspiration.

1. Burnout

From my first exposure to Brandeis activism (which came in the form of Sahar Massachi recruiting me to write for Innermostparts in Upper Usdan midway through my first semester here), I was warned about the evils of Burnout. It was built up into this big scary thing that would happen to me without my knowing it.

Examples of things I have heard about burn out:

• "Don't invest too much energy into this project or you'll burn out"
• "Activists at Brandeis tend to burn out quickly, they have great ideas but then they drain themselves and give up on them. Don't do that."
• "I've been working to make Brandeis more sustainable for the past 2 years and now I'm a junior and I'm going abroad and I don't care anymore. I've been burned out."

Despite all these warning and words of caution, despite seeing my friends burn out, I couldn't figure out how to avoid this trap. I say "trap" because Robert M. Pirsig refers to things which block our gumption (read: energy, motivation) as such in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the most insightful book I have ever read. I fell into this trap upon returning from Chicago to Brandeis, second semester junior year, and I have not been able to recover since. I went from planning numerous events and leading multiple clubs to maximizing the amount of time I could spend by myself in my room, because I realized that was what I really needed. I am just now re-learning how to do come back from a burnout. 

Which leads me to my next point..

2. Overcomittment

I reached my peak of involvement sophomore year. Here's a list of what extracurricular activies I was involved with that year:

• reviving Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance
• writing for the Justice Arts
• serving on the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance Steering Committee
• being a Waltham Group Kids Connections Coordinator
• writing for The Blowfish
• Tutoring through English Language Learning
• Serving on the Freeplay Theatre Board
• Trying to start a Brandeis Improv Club
• Boris' writer contributer
• Co-founder of Little Hands video sketch comedy group
• Interning at Second Step Domestic Violence facility
• Acting and filming things around campus
• Working at Einsteins
• Managing Innermostparts

While this may seem like a normal schedule to many Brandeisians, looking back I realize how exhausting it was. I never spent time in my room, I spent little time with many of my closest friends, I was a mess. I felt I had no control over my life, since I was so devoted to making these groups work, and doing everything I could to "make a difference."

I would spend hours thinking and debating with friends over whether you should feel guilty for not "doing enough." As though there's such a thing as enough….As though anyone has a right to make you feel guilty for not trying to make a difference…As though guilt is a good motivatonal tool.

I realize now that while splintering myself all over the place and doing everything I was interested was great for broadening my horizons, it was my ego driving me to do as much as I could, and not my passion for change.

3. Messiah Complex

Andrew Flagel talked about this at the Club Conference at the beginning of the semester, and it really stuck with me. I went through most of my time at Brandeis with a Messiah Complex, subconsciously thinking that I needed to do things because if I didn't do them no one else would, and that that would be a problem. While that kind of thinking can drive you to do effective, productive things with your time, it can also lead to Points 1 and 2. And, perhaps the larger problem, it is simply not true.

Repeat After Me:

I am not the only person who can plan an event.

I am not the only person who can lead a meeting.

If I do not do this, it will not mean the end of the world.

Brandeis can exist without me.

These steps are not meant to devalue your significance- if you tell me you play a vital role to your organization, I believe you. If you say that if you do not submit those forms to Finance Board, no one else will and your club will get no money and then no one will come to your events since there's no free food and then everyone will sign off the list serv and then your club will be dechartered for lack of activity then perhaps you're right. The thing to realize is that just because those things may happen does NOT mean you must be beholden to your club. As much as your club does for the world, there are things that are more important. And there always will be.

So do your club, your friends, your roommates, and especially yourself a favor and admit to yourself that YOU ARE NOT BEHOLDEN TO YOUR CLUB.

NOTE: The terms club, cause, campaign are used interchangeably throughout this post. I also use the concept of club and social activism interchangeably at times because that has been my experience at Brandeis (I think every club I was a member of was arguably a proponet of social change).

–—————————————————

Well, that concludes this post. It turned out a bit differently than I expected, and it was a good reason to avoid finishing my 10 page Shakespeare paper. I intend to write 2 follow-up notes before the semester ends- one on Lessons from a former Finance Board Representative and one on Most Important Things to Know When Planning an Event at Brandeis. 

If anyone is reading this and would like a note targeting something specific they have encountered, feel free to let me know.

• RPF's being sent to other food providers- product of Strategic Planning Review, new administration open to new things
• Strategic Plan- enough student involvement?
  • Planning Steering Committee, 26 people (incl. 2 grad students, 2 undergrads), meets once a month
  • Core Committee- 6-7 people (incl. 2 grads, 2 undergrads?)

SOTU

• Student Accomplishments
  • BADASS rankings
  • Men and Women's soccer wins
  • Course Evaluation Guide student editors, whoot
  • Carlton's Secretary e-mails (Todd knows how hard it is)
  • Campus support services who helped people in wake of suicide at the beginning of the semester

• Union achievements
  • Usdan Bulleting Board
  • Senate Meet and Greet
  • Outreach
  • Hurricane Sandy bracelet sales
  • Turkey shuttles
  • Midnight buffet TMRW (first time actually occuring at midnight)
  • DeisLaunch Pad SU radio show
  • Extended study spaces
  • SU Dining Services Committee (new this year…used to be University committee?
  • Treasurer Clements says this is the "most efficient Treasury ever" and that all forms have 24 hour turnover rate
    • improved communication between Treasury and FBoard. Shoutout to Nathan Israel (whoot Nathan)
  • DeisImpact happening in spring- 37 events
  • This feels like Parks and Rec-local news

• SU Future Steps
  • Will look into puppy rub (sp?) event for next semester- puppies to relieve stress during finals
  • Take better care of off-campus students (this year has most numbers students living off-campus)
  • Fix SU election by phasing out of BigPulse and creating new guidelines for next semester
  • Looking into "Deis Day" to express Bdeis pride- formal recognition ceremonies and pot. a parade
  • Do more to promote Chums and Stein so don't need to rely on coffeehouses
  • Brandeis will be looking into new dining services providers
    • Last renovations to dining buildings occurred in 1998
    • Kirkland will be meeting biweekly with Dining Services admins to work to better hours, variety of food
  • Collaborating with Graduate Student Union (40% of Brandeis student pop is graduate students)

• Other things Brandeis should be proud of
  • 97% (check?) Brandeis fauclty have highest degrees in their fields
  • FML first Brandeis pres. to reside full-time in Waltham

Questions

• Did Justice articles impact Kirkland's speech? (off-campus students, stein/chums usage)
• Treasury how do you measure efficiency?
• SU looking to limit number of clubs being chartered?
  • Want to make clubs coordinate more, have hierarcy so under one umbrella group
  • "Providing resources" vs. "making sure they become more effective"
    • Club Support committee has to juggle roles of helping clubs and limiting clubs re money
  • No "concrete ideas" right now about restructuring. Treasury and FBoard involved
• Student Involvement in…Everything?
  • Students don't feel physical attendance is necc. because of social media — shift

I love getting these kinds of e-mails from the Innocence Project.

They tell me about their clients, prisoners serving time, who they have helped exonerate through the use of DNA evidence.

Oh, our criminal justice system….

Read the full text of the Innocence Project's e-mail below:

What a wonderful way to start the New Year. Today in Dallas, Texas, Rickey Dale Wyatt was cleared after spending 31 years in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. A Dallas County judge released Wyatt and recommended that his 1981 rape conviction be overturned based on DNA and other evidence.

Tragically, attorneys who prosecuted Wyatt 31 years ago contributed to this miscarriage of justice by concealing evidence of his innocence. The case was built on faulty eyewitness testimony, yet the victim originally described a perpetrator much taller and heavier than Wyatt. The prosecution dismissed these inconsistencies, arguing that the defendant’s appearance could have changed in the interval between the crime and his arrest.  But there were documents in the prosecutor’s file proving that his appearance had not changed.  Had this been shared with the defense as required by law, Wyatt may never have been found guilty.

The efforts of the Dallas District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit to seek the truth in this case are exemplary. The Unit helped secure DNA testing of biological evidence, which supported Wyatt’s innocence although it was somewhat degraded. This evidence, as well as the discovery of prosecutorial misconduct at trial, compelled authorities to further investigate the case and ultimately to call for Wyatt’s release.

Ten Dallas exonerees also attended today’s hearing to show support for Wyatt and to celebrate his freedom. Mr. Wyatt plans to live with his nephew Robert Smith, who testified at his trial and who now ministers to people returning from prison. Wyatt and his family will greet supporters and speak to the media at a press conference outside the Dallas County Courthouse. The Innocence Project is assisting with Wyatt’s adjustment to the outside world after three decades of wrongful imprisonment. We anticipate his full exoneration later this year.

Mr. Wyatt’s defense team includes the Innocence Project, Gary Udashen, of Sorrels, Udashen & Anton and the Innocence Project of Texas.

Thank you for your commitment to justice,

 

Maddy deLone
Executive Director
The Innocence Project

That our country has a secret prison where we 'detain' people for indefinite amounts of time without trials.

It's called Guanatanamo Bay, and it's been open for 10 years.

According to the New York Times, in January of 2009, Obama issued an executive order instructing the CIA to close down Guanatanamo within the year, calling the secret prison camp "a damaging symbol to the world."

Three years later, the New York Times reports that 171 prisoners remain there now. You can read a docket listing the prisoners' full names. Many of them have been held since 2002, when the prison opened.

Help put an end to this unfair treatment by signing Amnesty's petition to Obama, participating in Amnesty's National Day of Action Against Guantanamo on January 11th in D.C., or simply becoming better education on the situation, for instance by reading Poems from Guantanamo Bay, poems written directly by the prisoners and edited by Marc Falkoff.

The full text of Amnesty's e-mail is included below:

January 11, 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of "war on terror" detainees at Guantanamo. We're not going to let this day pass quietly.

Sign Amnesty's global petition urging President Obama to finally follow through on his promise to close Guantanamo. Help us meet our goal of 100,000 signatures worldwide — signatures we plan to deliver straight to the White House door. 

We haven't forgotten President Obama's pledge to close Guantanamo, one of his first acts as president. Nearly three years later, the President has failed to keep his end of the bargain.

Even worse, President Obama has yet again relented to extremists in Congress. On New Year's Eve, he signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, along with its appalling detention provisions.


We lost that fight, but there's reason for hope. The battle over the NDAA united activists across the ideological divide, who put differences aside and came together to oppose the NDAA. 

January 11th isn't just any anniversary. This year, it's acritical moment to rise up against a shameful decade of human rights abuses perpetrated in our name. We can't let the recent outrage against the NDAA simply ebb away — help us channel this passion into a movement rededicated to closing Guantanamo! 


Guantanamo is a costly human rights catastrophe. Military and intelligence experts have repeatedly asserted that Guantanamo and the violations it stands for are immoral, illegal and counterproductive to US national security. 


There is a simple solution to closing Guantanamo — either charge detainees and give them a fair trial in US federal court, or release them. 


Sign our petition to tell President Obama that we are tired of his excuses. Guantanamo must be closed. 

For many, the New Year holiday embodies humanity's hopes for the future. Here's to 2012 — and with your help, this could be Guantanamo's final year.

Sincerely, 
Zeke Johnson
Director, Security with Human Rights Campaign
Amnesty International USA

P.S. It's not too late to join us in Washington, DC on January 11th for a National Day of Action Against Guantanamo. Lend a hand to our human chain! 

Whether you agree with the Princeton Review's school rankings or not, this is a good opportunitity to influence this institution which informs so much of our education system.

So, take the SURVEY and tell the Princeton Review what you think of your school.

And post pro/con arguments for the ranking system to begin with, if you feel so empassioned.

This video is a really nice example of an "average American" sharing his voice in government.

I think he does a good job.

Zach Wahls Speaks About Family

Description on Youtube.

"Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student spoke about the strength of his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Wahls has two mothers, and came to oppose House Joint Resolution 6 which would end civil unions in Iowa.



The fight to to keep marriage equality in Iowa continues, help us support Iowans like Zach. 



http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/12424"

The resolution passed in the House but did not make it to a vote in the Senate.

Read President Lawrence and Chairman Sherman's e-mail below regarding the recent death of former Brandeis President Evelyn E. Handler. We at Innermostparts send her family our regards and sympathies as well.

Dear Members of the Brandeis Community:

It is with great sadness, particularly during this holiday season, that we write to let you know that former Brandeis President Evelyn E. Handler died Friday night after being struck by a car in Bedford, N.H.

Evelyn Handler served as Brandeis president from 1983 to 1991. She was the first and only woman to lead the University. During her tenure as president, Brandeis was admitted to the Association of American Universities, a significant distinction for such a young institution.  Her other notable achievements included strengthening the University’s life sciences programs, initiating the Volen Center for Complex Systems, and the University’s membership in the University Athletic Association.

On behalf of the entire Brandeis community, we extend our deepest sympathies to the Handler family.

Sincerely,

Frederick M. Lawrence, President

Malcolm L. Sherman, Chairman of the Board

The Chicago Innocent Project, similar to Brandeis' own Schuster Institute Brandeis Innocence Project, investigates criminal cases in which prisoners may have been wrongfully convicted. According to the nationwide Innocence Project's site, there have been 281 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States, including 17 who served time on Death Row. If ever there were a strong argument against the death penalty, there it is.

This holiday season, why not watch some movies which explore the merits and flaws of our criminal justice system? Having only watched #s 10, 9, and 3, I can't vouch for the majority of the movies on this list, but all of them raise good questions and promote awareness of the flaws in our criminal justice system, regardless of their cinematic worth.

For extended synopses and commentary, read Protess' full article.

10. Conviction

9. My Cousin Vinny

8. In the Name of the Father 

7. Murder on a Sunday Morning

6. The Fugitive 

5. The Hurricane (a movie about the life of Ruben Carter, the Vice President of the Chicago Innocence Project)

4. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

3. Shawshank Redemption 

2. The Thin Blue Line

1. The Wrong Man