the
Justice www.thejustice.org
T h e I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9 Volume LXXVI, Number 21
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Harvest Table releases new meal plans for Fall information about its new all-access meal plans for fall 2023, which sparked dissatisfaction among many students. By HEDY YANG
JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
On April 26, Harvest Table released new meal plan options for Fall 2023 on its website and in a post on the Brandeis Hospitality Instagram, provoking criticism from students. Most of the changes affect meal plans for students who live in traditional on-campus residence halls. Rather than selecting from traditional meal plans offering a choice between 10, 12, 15, or 19 meal swipes per week, which are the current options, students will have the choice between two “all-access” meal plans. According to the Brandeis Hospitality website, the all-access meal plans will eliminate meal periods and allow students to “enter [Brandeis’] residential dining locations as often
as [they] want throughout the day.” The two options for meal plans come with a stark reduction of 250 and 175 points and only allow students 10 or 5 meal exchanges per week, respectively. The new options are priced at $4,180 and $3,829, both more expensive than the current most expensive meal plan, the 19meal plan, which is priced at $3,775. The only change to other meal plans, such as block plans and meal plans for graduate and commuter students and faculty, is a price increase. For instance, the 80-block plan available to students living on campus in apartment-style housing will increase from $1,355 to $1,415. Other changes made to meal plans at large include the option to use meal swipes at Einstein Bros. Bagels and Starbucks, as well as the ability to add points throughout the semester. Harvest Table’s decision comes in the wake of a petition that parents of several Brandeis students and alumni addressed to the Brandeis administration on April 5. The petition details complaints of food contamination and unsafe food preparation — referring to several pictures posted to the Brandeis Parents Facebook
See MEAL, 7 ☛
PILOT PROGRAM
PAD Pilot Program to go unfunded by University ■ The free period product
initiative's organizers created a petition to draw attention to administration's lack of willingness to fund their popular program. By SOPHIA DE LISI AND ANIKA JAIN JUSTICE EDITORS
Since its inception six years ago, Period Activists at ’Deis has had one mission: guarantee menstrual equity on campus by providing free menstrual products to all Brandeis students. After years of planning, advocates in PAD began to see the culmination of their efforts this semester with the implementation of their Pilot Program to install free menstrual products in first-year dorm buildings in North, East, and Massel Quads. Working with the Student Union, they applied for funding for this program from the Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund. While CEEF provided a temporary budget, PAD always intended to secure permanent financial support from the University’s facilities budget by demonstrating a need for a broader free product initiative among students. However, after a
series of exchanges with administration, the leaders of the Pilot Program have newfound doubts about receiving necessary funding to maintain and expand their program. To attract student and administrative attention to their cause, PAD posted a petition on April 27. In only four days, the petition has garnered 400 signatures in support from a diverse group of undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni. “Despite the positive impact of the Pilot Program, endless support for our initiative, and immeasurable hours of unpaid student labor that has been put towards this project, the allocation for this funding has been denied,” the petition reads. The Justice interviewed the Pilot Program’s organizers, PAD’s President Kyla Speizer ’23; former Student Union President Peyton Gillespie ’25; and Lisa Thorn MPP’23 on April 27. Thorn explained how it was the students’ responsibility to apply for funding, conduct research to assess student needs for menstrual products — as well as the location of each product dispenser on campus — and refill new dispensers on a biweekly basis. “The Pilot Program was implemented through student labor, student activism — even meeting with the vendors and the contrac-
See PAD, 2 ☛
Waltham, Mass.
HOUSING DEMONSTRATION
MEAL PLANS
■ Harvest Table shared
CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice
DEMONSTRATION: Students protest the lack of housing accomodations during the University president's address.
Students protest lack of available housing during Presidential Address ■ Univ. President Ron
Liebowitz presented a reflection on Brandeis' history and future goals in honor of the University's 75th anniversary in the face of a By ANIKA JAIN JUSTICE EDITOR
“Brandeis was seen as an institution on the leaning edge of higher education — bold and beyond convention,” said University President Ron Liebowitz during the annual Presidential Address. He spoke before an audience of students, faculty, and administration in Sherman Function Hall on the morning of May 1. In the midst of the speech, a group of nearly 40 students protested housing shortages. As Liebowitz addressed the challenges the University has faced while adjusting to normalcy after the pandemic, he acknowledged concerns that the Brandeis community has raised in recent weeks: “It goes without saying that we live in a difficult time, and it is easy to be consumed by all the social ills that plague us … Those stresses are in addition to our localized and personal difficulties that members of the community face and which we need to address — issues related to accessibility in all its forms, to mental health, to housing, to the cost of living, and more.” He ex-
plained that as the administration determines their priorities, it is important to recognize that addressing issues will require time and funding, but he has a “resounding sense of optimism for the future” because of his faith in the “character and soul of this institution.” Last week, students held a silent protest in support of 29 students who reportedly received unsuitable housing despite their disability accommodations. Outrage intensified after the upperclassman housing selection, when many students were left without on-campus options. Although the number of combined rising junior and senior students is close to 1700, there were only 665 beds accounted for as of April 24, Samkyu Yaffe ’24, one of the point people for the protest, said in an April 27 interview with the Justice. That leaves nearly 1100 students to find off-campus housing for the 2023-2024 academic year. However, not all upperclassmen requested housing. According to the U.S. News and World Report, Brandeis has typically been able to house 76 percent of students on campus while 24 percent live off campus. Due to COVID-19, the yield rate has been unprecedentedly high. Since firstyears and sophomores have guaranteed housing per University policy, they receive priority in the selection process. On their website, “DCL Housing Hell,” student advocates outlined many demands due to the number
Springfest showers
Jane reviews the 2023 Springfest and highlights Doechii as one of the best performers.
16 first years found community in their less-thanideal living space. By ISABEL ROSETH
By JANE FLAUTT
FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
of students who are struggling to find options last-minute. In the short-term, they wish for the University to create accessible, emergency housing to accommodate students either on campus or off campus. They also asked for guaranteed adequate accommodations for students with disabilities, full transparency of the Department of Community Living's housing system, and student representative involvement during planning stages going forward. As a long-term resolution, they ask the administration to direct funds to building more housing for the growing student population. “This is far from an unsolvable problem. It might cost money. It might be inconvenient. [Administration] can do it, and they’re obligated to — if not contractually, then ethically,” said Yaffe. “This was never an issue that was going to be solved by DCL. They do not have enough beds, and that’s not their fault. That’s admin’s fault because admin should have seen this coming approximately eight months ago and bought the housing and made the changes they needed to make, but they didn’t. They have failed." Minutes prior to the Presidential Address, Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dine sent out an email acquiescing to some of the students’ demands, including a new student advisory committee “for diverse student representation in discussions related to the
See DEMONSTRATION, 7 ☛
Basement living
Photo courtesy of ELI FIGHTER
Waltham, Mass.
OWEN CHAN/the Justice
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to forum@thejustice.org
ARTS 18
Allocations Board releases club funding By CAMERON CUSHING
NEWS 3
Students review current housing crisis By VALERIA AYALA
FORUM 11
Brandeis softball looks into the future By AIDEN GUTHRO
COPYRIGHT 2023 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 15