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Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXV, Number 1
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B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Updated fall 2022 COVID-19 protocols ■ The University updated its protocols, loosening policies on masks, testing, and more. By ISABEL ROSETH JUSTICE EDITOR
As students return to campus and with the fall semester underway, the University has decided to alter its protocols concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and their policies on masking, testing, and social distancing, among other things. The University has seen its fair share of changes to its protocols, and this semester is no exception. At the end of the last semester, on May 20, the University suspended its 96-hour testing program and retired the COVID-19 dashboard, which tracked the number of cases and those in quarantine on campus. They also announced that they would be retiring the Campus Passport system, including the Daily Health Assessment. Associate Provost for Research Administration Morgen Bergman sent out an email to students on Wednesday, Aug. 10, detailing the University’s updated COVID-19 response program. All information is available on the University’s COVID-19 response website. One of the larger changes to the program was the decision to issue a color-coded COVID-19 Status Level. As of the beginning of the semester, the current status level is "yellow," which means that the campus is open and that “campus transmission is low and has minimal impact on campus operations,” according to the response website. Masking is required in classes with some exceptions at the discretion of the professor, in indoor gatherings consisting of twenty or more people, at indoor sporting events, performances, or venues with “concentrated occupancy,” excluding when eating or drinking; on University transportation, such as the BranVan, buses, and shuttles; and wherever a masking requirement is posted. The COVID-19 response website specifies that individuals on campus “should always feel welcome to wear a mask for their own protection” even where they are not required, but constant masking is not mandated. At the current status level, there are no additional dining restrictions, full in-person dining is allowed in all dining locations, with “mobile pickup and masked takeout” for those in isolation and quarantine. The "yellow" status also allows unlimited or full capacity at all campus events and
Waltham, Mass. Waltham, Mass.
CAMPUS RENOVATIONS
programs, regardless of whether such events are indoors or outdoors, and classes can all take place in-person. Classes, while still requiring masking, are starting to eliminate remote options, and professors are no longer required to provide a virtual option for students. There are no additional restrictions to the basic Brandeis policies on accepting visitors, and travel is unrestricted. Staff must work on campus “per the needs of their departments.” The testing program, while not drastically different from the summer 2022 protocols, differs from the system in place during the 20212022 academic year. Not only is the Campus Passport retired, but also students are no longer testing every 96 hours, as the former asymptomatic surveillance testing program is not in use. Instead, testing is cause-only for students who have been exposed or are symptomatic. In such cases, students will go to the Health Center to test, and students are encouraged to contact the Health Center to discuss any concerns regarding symptoms and engagement in campus activities by emailing brandeishealthcenter@brandeis.edu. Faculty and staff are to test through rapid tests; the website states that they are to either take a rapid test of their own or contact their primary care providor. Students returning to campus for the fall semester were required to test themselves, whether with a rapid or PCR test, at home prior to arrival. According to Bergman’s email, individuals who test positive should not return to campus. It was strongly recommended that students bring at least one rapid testing kit with them to campus. Students were also required to test themselves three days following their arrival on campus. During those three days, students were instructed to mask indoors while around others, with exceptions for when eating and drinking. If they test negative, students are to follow the masking protocols specific to the yellow status level. While there is no longer a campus-wide asymptomatic testing program, event sponsors are allowed to require one negative test from participants. In her Aug. 10 email, Bergman cited the widespread availability of rapid tests as the reason for the changes in testing but suggested that individuals still test themselves at least once a week, with an added stress on when case rates in the area are high, when returning to campus after travel, or after
See COVID-19, 5 ☛
Photo Courtesy of BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
BUILDING GETS FACELIFT: The University has decided to do major renovations on the Brown Social Science Center.
Facilities make progress on projects around campus ■ Multiple projects were undertaken over the summer to address issues and enhance buildings and amenities. By LEAH BREAKSTONE JUSTICE EDITOR
Although campus may have been void of students this summer, facilities staff were showing up consistently to complete various projects and address different issues on campus. Following a three month break, students may notice some changes to the University underway or already completed. According to Director of Capital Programs Michael McGary, the proj-
ects include a complete renovation of the Brown Social Science building, including a new roof and windows, updated common areas, new restrooms, an elevator, and a connector to the Schwartz mezzanine. Projects also include a new elevator in Lown; an outdoor gathering space in Ridgewood plaza in honor of Barbara Barth Feldman ’86; sitework for a steam plant generator and underground steam repairs; upgrades to service points in the library; new kitchens and bathrooms in three Foster Mods units, which is planned to continue over the next five years; and a student lounge in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center in the space of the former snack bar. The goal in completing these projects is to fix problems “while at the
same time enhancing features of buildings and improving their functionality,” McGarry said in an Aug. 26 email to the Justice. Students generally do not have the ability to voice their opinions on what should be addressed partly because “Campus Operations prioritizes projects primarily based on building conditions and operational needs,” McGarry said. Additionally, “we very consciously focus our resources toward addressing deferred maintenance,” he added. McGarry used the example of the renovations to Brown to demonstrate how the project addresses multiple issues while also upgrading the building in other ways. The renovation was driven by a need to replace the heating and cooling system, and in
See FACILITIES, 5 ☛
Brandeis included in Mapping Project's list of ‘harmful’ institutions ■ President Ron Leibowitz accused the project of perpetuating harmful antisemitic tropes and called for its denunciation. By DALYA KOLLER JUSTICE EDITOR
Over the summer, Brandeis was one of many Bostonbased institutions accused of perpetrating the colonization of Palestine. This accusation, among others, came from a new initiative titled the Mapping Project. The Mapping Project is the product of an anonymous collective of Boston-based “activists and organizers,” according to their website, who compiled a list of dozens of institutions around the Boston area whom they believe are perpetuating a large, complex, intersecting network of harm across the United States and in Israel and Palestine. According to the homepage, the Mapping Project believes that “through a web of partnerships and collaborations,” there are specific organizations,
Campaign Trail
Orientation
A student shares her experience working on a highprofile campaign.
The Core Team speaks about orientation and the historic first-year class size. By ARIELLA WEISS
By NOAH RISLEY
institutions, and people responsible for “the colonization of Palestine… sustaining policing, supporting ICE deportations, profiting from U.S. wars, and driving evictions and displacement.” The project has sparked fierce debate, with both support and pushback. The Mapping Project began to gain widespread media attention in mid-June, from outlets such as the Boston Globe and NBC, and prompted 37 United States Representatives to write a letter to the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice urging for an investigation and for security precautions to be taken. The representatives wrote that they “fear that this map may be used as a roadmap for violent attacks... against the people and entities listed therein,” explaining that the online map provides exact addresses of not just institutions but individual people. “We ask that you investigate the use of the Mapping Project by extremist organizations, provide any necessary enhanced security for targets listed
See MAPPING PROJECT, 5 ☛
A Review of Skydance Animation film, ‘Luck’ By MINA ROWLAND ARTS AND CULTURE 14 The editorial board provides tips and tricks for the class of 2026 By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
FORUM 8
Rory Mcllroy wins the PGA Tour Championship amid controversy Photo Courtesy of RACHEL LANDIS
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