The Justice. March 10, 2026

RESIDENCE HALL

Growing uncertainty about East Quad's future raises speculation

 The University has repeatedly asserted it has no long-term plans for the space, though the student body has heard otherwise.

By SOPHIA DE LISI & CHAVA THIELL

Speculation has arisen about the future of East Quadrangle following the 2026-27 school year. East is divided into four halls: Hassenfeld-Krivof, Shapiro House, Pomerantz-Rubenstein and Swig. Over the years, the residential quad has gained a negative reputation among the community, with students reporting unsanitary living conditions and complaints about the facilities. While the University has yet to comment publicly on the space’s future, many students have speculated that the living area will be torn down following the 2026-27 academic year.

“No decisions have been made by the University regarding the long-term disposition of the East Quad space,” a university spokesperson shared in a Feb. 24 email to The Justice. “The new residence hall scheduled to come online next year will have capacity to house significantly more residents than East, which could present the opportunity to reimagine the East space for future residences and dining facility opportunities,” they wrote. The Justice confirmed this statement in email exchanges with the Department of Community Living’s Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Tim Touchette, and the University’s Sr. Campus Space Analyst, Liz Pawlack — neither of whom provided additional comment. As of press time, Brandeis’ Director of Campus Planning, Sarah Holton, has not responded to The Justice’s request for comment.

In a Feb. 27 interview with The Justice, Isla Edwards ’28 spoke about her experience as a Community Advisor in East Quad. She stated that spring 2027 is the last semester students will be able to live there — its closure will coincide with the new residence hall’s opening to mitigate housing shortage concerns. The new residence hall is currently in the midst of construction behind the Spingold Theater and is set to open in fall 2027. It is expected to house approximately 650 students. East has the capacity to hold about 400 beds, though students have reported that many rooms remain vacant, as many students opt to live elsewhere during their sophomore year. Those who do live in East, however, are primarily sophomores, alongside a few mid-year transfer students and first-year students. Conversely, the new residence hall is expected to be a living space for upperclassmen.

When asked about the future of East Quad, Ed-

wards said that before the beginning of the year, a University official spoke to Community Advisors and shared plans to tear down East Quad following the 2026-27 school year. The Justice could not confirm which official spoke to Community Advisors as of press time. “East will be coming down after spring 2027,” Edwards said. Before the buildings are demolished, she shared that the University will first have to determine what to do with the various furniture and appliances inside the buildings.

When asked about East’s reputation among students, Edwards was candid, stating that “Brandeis students hate East.” She reflected on hearing negative sentiments about East as early as her first year at Brandeis, recalling that her initial impression of East was not positive. She shared that East’s dated design — the University constructed it in 1964 to embody the period’s Modernist style — has limited it in several ways, especially in comparison to Skyline Residence Hall’s contemporary look. For instance, she described, that East lacks elevators, the pipes are noisy, the walls are thin and the hallways are quite narrow. “We can feel that the building is old and due to be torn down, but it has a rustic charm,” Edwards said. She stressed that she personally enjoys living there, the best aspect being its proximity to prominent buildings on campus such as the Intercultural Center, the Brandeis Counseling Center, Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, Usdan Student Center and the Rabb steps.

As a CA, she shared that she enjoys working at the quad because it is not an incredibly taxing job and she does not have as many residents to provide support to, as opposed to the role of a first-year CA. She mentioned that while she is supposed to be servicing a certain number of students, many rooms on her floor are unoccupied, making her role less stressful.

Edwards also clarified how DCL oversees the area. Currently, East and Skyline are supervised by the same Area and Assistant Area Coordinators in what is known as a joint area called “Eastline.” She explained that CAs from both East and Skyline often work alongside one another, as well as the area supervisors. As of press time, Matthew Wuerthele, East Quad’s Area Coordinator, has not responded to The Justice’s request for a comment. Following East’s demolition, Edwards shared, North Quad and Skyline will be combined into a joint area. Edwards noted that this was an “interesting” decision, as North serves first-year students while Skyline is primarily sophomore housing. However, she shared that she thinks this decision will ultimately better serve both areas and is “excited to see how that plays into student engagement.”

Students have also raised concerns about the future of the Intercultural Center — which is housed

Celebrating Culture

 The Asian American Students Association's APAHM event celebrated Asian community and culture.

By ALYSSA WU

PROTEST

New anti-authoritarian group holds protest opposing U.S. involvement in war in Iran

 Fight Authoritarianism Brandeis held a protest on March 6 in opposition to the war in Iran.

By SOPHIA DE LISI & NAWAL IRFANI JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF AND JUSTICE COPY EDITOR

On Friday, March 6 at 2:00 p.m., Fight Authoritarianism Brandeis — a new group on campus — held a protest at the base of the Rabb steps to speak out against the government’s recent actions in Iran. The protest was led by Prof. Sabine von Mering (WGS, CGES) and approximately seven FAB members. The new group is unaffiliated with Brandeis in an official capacity, but comprises of students, staff and faculty with the mission of standing together “against ICE and authoritarian threats.” A statement on their Instagram page — @fab_brandeis — reads, “We stand in solidarity with our undocumented neighbors, actively resisting the reach of ICE and organizing to ensure our community remains a sanctuary of safety and dignity for all.” FAB publicized the protest in a March 3 post on their Instagram page that declared “Congress shall have the power to declare war” and “Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution is not a sugges-

tion. Stop the authorized war in Iran!” A student who is part of FAB’s leadership spoke to The Justice at the protest: “I think Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution states it pretty clear[ly], that it’s an unconstitutional war without prior authorization from Congress, and therefore this is unjust and unconstitutional … the American people did not vote for this.” The student first heard about FAB “through the grapevine around the one-year anniversary of Trump’s inauguration.” Protestors carried a variety of signs to reflect their message, including “Fight ignorance not immigrants” and “We need Epstein fury not Operation Epic Fury.” Operation Epic Fury is the name of the United States’ and Israel’s ongoing military offensive stance against Iran.

On Feb. 27, FAB hosted an event called “FAB: Art as Resistance and Info Session.” The event was also advertised on their Instagram page three days prior, and the caption read, “this Friday a group of us are getting together to make art and talk about how we can actually show up for our community right now. no experience needed, just come.” The organization acknowledged that they had not publicized the protest as widely as they had wanted and ended up cutting the event shorter than publicized, dispersing close to 3:00 p.m. due to a lower turnout and cold weather.

Eduroam connectivity issues disrupt students during the midterm season

 Students have reported Wi-Fi connectivity issues over the past few weeks, which have significantly disrupted their daily lives.

By ALLIE LADJEVA JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Over the past few weeks, campus Wi-Fi has been unstable, causing frustration and concern among students at a time of high academic stress. Many of the disruptions come from problems connecting to eduroam, which is the secure Wi-Fi network used by Brandeis and many universities worldwide. Eduroam is a worldwide roaming access service that allows students to access the internet on its nearly 100 participating campuses in the United

Poignant Play

 A review of the theater department's adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility."

By ROGERIO VILLACA SZUSTER

States, including Brandeis University. Educational institutions use eduroam because it offers the most secure encryption among today's networks. However, network disruptions have occurred across different U.S. campuses in recent months. Cornell University has reported Wi-Fi network outages since January 2026, which have hindered students' ability to complete coursework. Drake University has also recently experienced network connectivity issues in specific areas of its campus.

On March 6, several students provided written responses to The Justice, sharing their experiences and the challenges they have been facing during the eduroam network disruptions. Edward Lopez ’27 said he experienced Wi-Fi connectivity issues for the first time when he returned from February break. “There would be days when I didn’t have access to Wi-Fi at my dorm or in class. It was frustrating because I wouldn’t be able to do homework

Brandeis alum runs for office

MARYAM FAZLY

AARON KLEIN

KHAYAT

POLICE LOG

Content Warning: Mention of Suicide

MEDICAL EMERGENCY

Feb. 28—There was a medical emergency for a party who was throwing up. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Feb. 28—There was a medical emergency for an intoxicated party. The patient refused medical treatment.

Feb. 28—There was a medical emergency for a party experiencing an allergic reaction to medication. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Feb. 28—There was a medical emergency for a party reporting tightness in their chest and throat. The patient refused medical treatment.

Mar. 1—There was a medical emergency for a party throwing up. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Mar. 1—There was a medical emergency for a party reporting stomach pain and dehydration. The patient refused medical treatment.

Mar. 1—The party from the previous medical emergency called requesting transport to the hospital. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

SENATE LOG

On Sunday, March 8, the Union Senate convened in Shapiro Campus Center 313 for their weekly meeting. The agenda included the presentation of a Senate Money Resolution, review of Union Senate expectations, committee reports and an open forum for representatives to voice their concerns. The meeting was called to order by Student Union Vice President Daniel Shin ’27, while attendance was taken by Sarah Jafary ’28, an executive senator. Shin acknowledged that the group had no club charters or recognitions to review, so the group promptly moved to communications issues. The Union Senate took a moment to individually review both the Executive Board and finance reports, and no concerns were raised. Luke Farberman ’27, chair of club support committee, asked if Shin could provide any information about a planned “Move-Out Market,” for the end of the semester. Shin clarified that this was a sustainability initiative and did not have much information to share.

The Union Senate then transitioned to Committee chair reports. Farberman spoke on behalf of the Club Support Committee, and began by sharing that the MedLife group had been approved for chartered status and more probationary status groups will be coming forward for a vote soon. Chair of the Student Advocacy Committee Soha Mursalien ’27 mentioned that the group had discussed new ideas for engagement such as potential collaborations with the Intercultural Center to do a documentary screening, as well as bringing in Brandeis alumni to speak about the University’s history of protest and social justice. Emily Cristales Guevara ’28, chair of the Internal Operations Committee, described how the group discussed plans for the State of The Union address, as well as upcoming Student Union elections. The Campus Life Committee, headed by Raymond Cao ’27, shared that in the past week they had clarified meeting times and are set to begin operating next week. Finally, the Union Senate heard from Ashhwika Soni ’29, co-chair of the Health and Wellness Committee. Soni shared that while the group did not meet in the past week, they are in the midst of finalizing a puppy yoga event and are in the process of negotiating contracts for the program.

The Union Senate moved to new orders of business, during which Cristales Guevara presented a Senate Money Resolution to fund a study break event led by the Internal Operations Committee, which included a request for $3,186.34 as well as $400 in taxes. Farberman asked about a date and location for the event, and Cristales Guevara shared that these details have not yet been finalized; she is in conversation with other Student Union leaders to determine these logistics. Farberman

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Mar. 2—There was a medical emergency for a party having a seizure. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Mar. 4—There was a medical emergency for a party reporting abdominal pain. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Mar. 4—There was a medical emergency for a party experiencing a bad headache. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Mar. 4—There was a medical emergency for a party who reported they had been vomiting blood. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

MISCELLANEOUS

Feb. 27—There was a report of a student threatening suicide. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Feb. 27—There was a report that a gate near Village Residence Hall was damaged and inoperable. Maintenance was notified to respond.

Feb. 28—There was a report of a suspicious person in the cha-

also asked if the price of the handcrafted drinks in the request was the lowest price they could find, as it was the most expensive item in the request. Cristales Guevara said that she believed these handcrafted drinks would be enjoyable for attendees and the pricing was the best option they found. Cristales Guevara mentioned that the resolution did not need to be voted on immediately. However, Davian Pagan ’29 motioned to expedite the vote, and after the motion was approved Cao motioned to vote on the resolution. The resolution was approved in a unanimous vote.

The Union Senate turned to review a series of announcements. Shin asked members to sign up for shifts to work the Student Union table during the International Women’s Day celebration on March 15. As such, he shared that next week’s meeting would likely be cancelled. Shin also shared several campus issues that had arisen and been reported to the Executive Board. He first discussed the campus’ Wi-Fi issues, stating that this problem had begun last month for several students and stated “even the IT department is having a headache about it.” The Executive Board also heard complaints about the housing selection process, and Shin shared there was some confusion among students about the housing lottery system. To address this issue, he explained, the Department of Community Living will be holding an informal meeting to clarify the process for students. He also briefly mentioned that students have expressed concerns that direction from Student Accessibility Services has been unclear, and he is currently working on resolving this issue with the administration directly.

The group transitioned into a discussion about Student Union expectations, headed by Shin and Jafary, as well as Chief of Staff Sanjana Kumar ’27. The presentation stressed the need for student representatives to be present, engaged and active with the work they were doing, specifically within their committee assignments. They also stressed the importance of understanding proper procedure and implored representatives to be actively involved with their work. “The reason we are all here is because we were elected by the student body to do things and not just sit and talk at each other,” said Jafary. The presentation allowed representatives to review their committee assignments and assess whether or not they felt passionate about the work. If they were unhappy, Shin and Jafary said, they were encouraged to engage with different committees.

Kumar emphasized the need for transparency on her portion of the presentation, especially within committees. She shared that going forward, each committee should take meeting notes that are then up-

 A News article incorrectly stated that President Arthur Levine’s graduation year was 1977. It has since been corrected to ’70. (March 3, Page 1)

 A News article misspelled Prof. Dan Perlman’s surname as “Pearlman.” It has since been corrected. (March 3, Page 1).

 An Advertisement credit in the News section misspelled Keira Shear’s first name as “Kiera.” It has since been corrected. (March 3, Page 2).

 The Justice’s Judges by the Numbers section incorrectly spelled “championships” as “champsionships.” (March 3, Page 12).



 The Justice’s Judges by the Numbers section incorrectly spelled Trinity College as “Trintity College.” It has since been updated. (March 3, Page 12).

 An Arts and Culture article was cut off mid-sentence. The rest of the sentence should have read, “I hope that this series of reviews helps you feel more informed about the nominated films! Check the online edition of The Justice for more Oscar reviews, and let’s start watching!” (March 3, Page 15)

 A Features article misattributed quotes to Destinee Ponder ‘29. They have since been updated to attribute them to Joelle Assan ‘29. (Page 6, March 3).





 A Features article did not include the full name of BBSO’s Gala. It has since been updated to “Enchanted Forest Gala.” (Page 6, March 3).

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org

The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.

pels. All appeared in order.

Mar. 3—A party reported that someone was screaming and yelling in their room and they had closed the door on the party. There will be an investigation to follow.

Mar. 3—A party presented Public Safety with a copy of their Harassment Prevention Order. The office in charge was notified.

Mar. 3—A party was served with a Harassment Prevention Order. The situation was cleared.

Mar. 5—There was a report of graffiti painted in a hallway. There will be an investigation to follow.

Mar. 5—There was a report of flags being placed on a party’s door. There will be an investigation to follow.

Mar. 5—A party reported that another party had been trespassed. Services were rendered.

— Compiled by Chava Thiell

loaded to a Google Drive folder so that the greater Union Senate can see what they are focusing on. Kumar also emphasized the need for taking attendance, “so that everyone’s pulling their weight equally.” She implored student representatives to be actively involved with the Union Senate, saying that lack of attendance caused an unjust burden on present representatives and that attendance is a critical part of their role as representatives of the student body.

After the presentation concluded, the Union Senate proceeded to open discussion. Farberman cited a recent Letter to the Editor in The Justice which criticized the University’s decision to invite Sheryl Sandberg as the commencement speaker at the spring 2026 graduation. Farberman inquired as to whether or not other members of the Union Senate had heard student frustrations about the issue. Both Pagan and Tyler Hupart ’27 shared that they had heard strong opposition from the student body when the decision was first announced, but have since not heard much. Another representative shared that they had heard students discussing Sandberg’s allegations of sexual misconduct, which she described as “really disappointing.” Shin suggested that the group collect more information about the student body’s opinion and see if it was a large issue. From there, he said, they can make an informed decision about how to broach the issue, whether that be through direct conversation with the administration or other ways of expressing student discontent. “Obviously, we are here to support the students,” said Shin. Finally, several representatives provided announcements and highlighted events they would be participating in in the coming weeks, such as the South Asian Students Association’s upcoming “Love Stories” event and the Femme of Color Alliance’s gala. After these announcements, members of the Union Senate were asked to vote on designs for Student Union merchandise in their Slack channel, and the meeting was adjourned.

— Written by Chava Thiell

BRIEF

Voting results from the Feb. 13 faculty meeting

On Feb. 13, Brandeis faculty debated three motions during their monthly meeting. The first motion concerned the establishment of a finance major. The movement was headed by Prof. Debarshi Nandy (BUS, ECON) who outlined the increase in demand for finance programs. He has worked to curate “finance, technology and society” courses and believed that a finance major had potential to attract new students. There was no debate concerning this motion during the meeting, and it was passed after a vote. The second motion, introduced by Vice Provost of Undergraduate Affairs Jeffrey Shoulson, involved a plethora of minor changes to the Brandeis Core requirements. Most of these changes involved nomenclature. The “Foundational Literacies” component would be renamed to “Core Competencies,” while the current “Digital Literacy” component would be renamed to “Technologies.” The “Global Engagement” requirement would be renamed to “Global Engagement and Justice.” Lastly, the “Schools of Thought” would be renamed to “Areas of Inquiry.” On a more substantial level, the motion aimed to add “Teamwork and Collaboration” as a new core competency with a one-class requirement. Additionally, all double-counting restric-

tions within the core curriculum would be lifted except for those pertaining to first-year seminars along with the level 10 and level 20 foreign language courses. Students are still permitted to count 30-level languages for two requirements. There was substantial debate concerning this motion. Some faculty members brought up concerns that these changes were rushed, while others encouraged its passage as a first step towards making more substantial changes to the Brandeis Core. The motion was ultimately passed. The third motion was the most controversial. It had previously been a part of the second motion’s revisions to the Brandeis Core, but was separated in order to improve the chances of the other Core changes passing the second motion. Shoulson once again introduced the motion.

“Resolved, that the World Languages and Cultures requirement be amended to specify a proficiency level equivalent to one year of college-level study. Students will typically achieve this by successfully completing a second-semester course (normally numbered in the 20s) or demonstrating equivalent proficiency and knowledge acquired prior to Brandeis.”

Many faculty members had strong opinions about this motion. Several professors advocated

against its passage. These arguments included that novice-level proficiency is not meaningful in the context of becoming a global citizen, that level 30 language classes are a valuable form of student enrichment and community development and that this proposed change could cause faculty retention issues. Professors who advocated in favor of this motion argued that students should be able to choose how they spend their time. Many pointed out that Brandeis students are naturally inclined to become broadly-educated citizens no matter their area of study, and that the three-semester language requirement can cause difficulties for students who take on substantial coursework, such as pre-med students. There was an apparent subject-area divide amongst faculty who advocated for and against this motion. Nearly all who spoke in favor of the motion were STEM faculty, while most who spoke against it represented the arts, humanities or social sciences. Ultimately, the third motion was not approved and the three-level language requirement will remain unchanged.

— Written by Zoe Zachary

Brandeis alum Ravi Simon ’19 takes on the race for State Representative

 Ravi Simon ’19 elaborated on his race for state representative and how his Brandeis education influenced a career in politics.

By MARYAM FAZLY JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Thursday, Feb. 26, Brandeis alum Ravi Simon ’19 hosted a kickoff for his campaign as state representative. Simon, who is currently aide to State Representative Carmine Gentile, is running to replace Gentile after he announced that he would not be running for re-election this year. Though Gentile was unable to attend the event, he was spoken of fondly by many of the night’s speakers. The kickoff was held inside the First Parish of Sudbury in a crowded room filled with dozens of supporters. Dark blue posters with the words “Ravi Simon for State Rep” decorated every table and across each wall. The Democratic Representative for the Middlesex and Worcester district, Jamie Eldridge, introduced Simon to the crowd. Eldridge spoke about Simon’s many years of service and accomplishments, describing him as an individual who is “passionate about service and committed to

moving these progressive values forward.”

Simon offered his own remarks and began by thanking Carmine Gentile for all he had learned during his time as an intern. He then segued into a discussion about his platform and more contentious issues that affect Massachusetts citizens. Simon criticized efforts to scapegoat diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as well as immigrants and transgender kids rather than focusing on the many issues that plague the state. Simon also challenged members of his own party, asserting that “we see defenders of a broken status quo.” Simon’s progressive platform represents a new wave of Democratic policy, and his approach is emblematic of many of the young politicians on the left who have begun taking matters into their own hands after feeling as though the politics of the older generation weren’t addressing their needs.

Simon’s platform focuses on current pressing issues that he believes he can bring his generation’s unique perspective to, including affordability, the climate crisis and immigration. He is running to represent the 13th Middlesex district which is composed of Lincoln, Sudbury, Concord, Wayland and Marlborough. In a Feb. 1 interview with The Justice, Simon expanded on his platform’s goals, as well as the role Brandeis had in influencing his path. When he first arrived at Brandeis, Simon shared, he was interested in many different career paths and decided to pursue a triple major in Politics, History and Phi -

losophy. While on campus, he was inspired by the University’s engagement with social justice culture, which pushed him towards a career in public service. Following the 2016 election, campus activism grew more prevalent which inspired him to become directly involved with the Politics and Legal Studies departments, helping him explore statelevel policy. In particular, he spoke about his positive experience in the course Advocacy for Policy Change taught by Prof. Melissa Stimell (LGLS). The class required students to pick a bill and advocate for it in the state house. Simon said that he expected his bill — Automatic Voter Registration — to be easy to pass as it only included small changes to voter registration forms. He quickly realized how difficult it was to get a bill passed, in a state where, even though the legislature was largely progressive, the political system did not always function the way he believed it should. He continued, “How can we make sure that on the state level, Massachusetts is doing everything that … people take for granted that we are doing already?” The legal studies course ultimately caused him to think more critically about how politicians can do more to advocate for legislative change. In addition to his coursework, Simon was also very active in the Brandeis community. He was a writer for both The Justice and the Brandeis International Journal, now known as the Brandeis Journal of Politics. Simon was most involved in debate and said that

First Thursdays: Ragefest

it helped him practice “public speaking and confidently presenting ideas.” He credited all these extracurriculars with helping him in different ways. Simon also mentioned the influences of some of his professors, including Prof. Stimell who led the advocacy course that made such an impression on him. The uniquely hands-on nature of the course gave him a realistic sense of what working at the state house would eventually be like. The second was the late Prof. Andreas Teuber (PHIL) who Simon found to be both a great professor and mentor. Teuber helped him more deeply think about ethical and moral questions that often intersect with his current work in politics. When asked about his immediate plans if he won, Simon jokingly responded that he wanted to focus on being “a good state rep.” He added that the election was very far off and for now, his main focus was on campaigning and engaging with the voters. However, he encouraged students to think about how they can get involved in local and state politics, emphasizing that citizens often make the largest impact at the local level. Simon also said that reaching out to state representatives or other local officials is the best way to start becoming civically engaged, as it also inspired him to become involved with the political process and has since evolved into a hopeful career in Massachusetts state politics.

On March 5, the Department of Student Engagement held its second annual Ragefest for students as part of its First Thursdays series co-hosted by the Department of Orientation and First Year Experience. Over 40 students participated in smashing items from laptops to glass bowls. Brandeis students brought the energy and took advantage of the opportunity to let out some steam and midterm-related stress in the Shapiro Campus Center.

CAMPUS LIVING: CA shares University's plans to tear down East following next year

in Swig Hall’s lower level — should East face demolition. Edwards’ main concern about East’s possible demolition is how it could impact the ICC’s operations, though she does not think the center will be demolished when “East comes down.” She believes there could be plans to relocate it and trusts that DCL has considered the necessary logistics. In a March 6 statement to The Justice, ICC Director Peter Rojas affirmed that the University has not made any decisions regarding future plans for East, which includes the ICC. Edwards also expressed concern about the future of wildlife living around East Quad, given the area’s proximity to the woods, and noted that many residents often see animals in or around the quad.

Edwards was unsure about the future of the area, though she believed University officials mentioned plans to convert the space into potential office buildings or classrooms. As the University has not released an official statement about these plans, the area holds potential to service students in various ways outside of its current role as a residence quad. As the University continues to build its new residence hall in hopes of attracting prospective students and modernizing the campus, questions about the future of East Quad remain unknown to both current residents and the student body at large.

INTERNET: Students struggle to connect to Wi-Fi as disruptions affect midterm season

or participate in class activities until the Wi-Fi came back on,” Lopez shared.

Students reported that the connectivity problems have occurred across campus. “It mostly happens when I am in my room, but it has happened a few times on campus as well. I connect to Wi-Fi and then my computer just keeps disconnecting, and once, it stopped me from being able to participate in class because I just couldn’t pull up my notes,” Vanessa Langer ’27 wrote.

Wi-Fi disruptions have been especially challenging for students during midterm season, as they have had to spend extra time studying for exams and completing assignments. “I was studying for my midterm and had to confirm some information online, but when I tried, the Wi-Fi didn’t respond. I had to switch to [a] phone hotspot, but the data speed on campus is terrible,” graduate student Anant Rose ’27 reported.

A student from the class of 2027 shared that exams and quizzes have been more stressful than usual. “I was in class the other day, taking a quiz for a sociology class. I had to use the TA’s Wi-Fi because the WiFi wasn’t working at all. With midterms and papers, this isn’t what I need at all,” they said.

During class time, connectivity issues remain problematic for students, preventing them from participating effectively and causing additional stress. Students also reported being late to meetings, which has affected their daily schedules. “The Wi-Fi has

bothered me a few times, especially while I am opening up my laptop to take notes in class and have to spend several minutes troubleshooting, potentially missing important things in class,” Avery Bishop ’26 said.

“I have had to use my phone hotspot frequently and have unfortunately been late to several meetings due to the inability to connect to the Wi-Fi. It’s been difficult for students with busy schedules who have small moments of free time and rely on working quickly with reliable Wi-Fi,” one student shared.

Daniel Liang ’28 shared his observations on how the Wi-Fi disruptions have affected the overall academic life of students. “The recent Wi-Fi disruptions on campus have been frustrating, especially when they affect access to essential Brandeis sites like Moodle and Workday. It’s particularly stressful when you have a time-sensitive assignment. The connection sometimes improves during parts of the day, but it’s usually weakest at night.”

“Having the Wi-Fi crash out has been a really big concern. I need to get in contact, not just with my parents and friends, but also with my professors and advisors in Hillel. In addition, it’s frustrating when I have professors asking me to open a certain document in class and things are not opening. We have to either reroute our class, or I have to figure out how to pre-download them to my desktop,” a student majoring in Education Studies said.

In a March 5 written statement to The Justice,

Ian Rifkin, Associate Chief Information Officer for Infrastructure and Security, provided insights into the Wi-Fi connectivity disruptions on campus. “The first report we received was on February 13, 2026. Since then, Information and Technology Services has been investigating intermittent Wi-Fi connectivity issues affecting some users and working with our networking vendors to identify and resolve the underlying cause,” said Rifkin. Unlike some other campuses, the network outages at Brandeis have not been associated with a particular building or area, thus showing that the disruptions have been widespread at the University. As Brandeis ITS investigates the issues, Rifkin noted that the Wi-Fi connectivity problems appear “to be specific to the local network environment at Brandeis.”

Currently, Brandeis ITS employs over 70 staff members. The team is headed by University CIO Jim La Creta and is organized into four main groups: Data amd Systems Integration, IT Planning and Operations, Client Technology Group and Networks and Systems and Security. The University website states that one of the key services of the Networks, Systems and Security group is “constantly working to improve network access on campus.”

Contrary to what students have shared, Rifkin said that the ITS team “has not seen widespread disruption to classrooms or administrative operations. Most reports involve individual devices taking longer than usual to connect to Wi-Fi rather than sus-

Brandeis Wildlife

By JAMES LI

tained outages. When issues are reported, the ITS Client Services team works with users to restore connectivity as quickly as possible.” Rifkin reassured the Brandeis community that the network team is actively working on investigating the Wi-Fi connectivity issue on campus and finding ways to address it.

“Because changes to the campus wireless network can affect many thousands of devices, updates are implemented carefully to ensure they resolve the issue without introducing additional disruptions. We are also expanding our network monitoring to better track wireless performance and confirm the effectiveness of any changes,” Rifkin said.

If students are experiencing network disruptions, they can report them to ITS Client Services through their website or by emailing help@brandeis.edu. Rifkin encouraged students to report issues, even if they have been resolved on their own, so that the ITS team can better understand the ongoing issues and find patterns.

As ITS continues investigating the issue, students say they hope the disruptions will be resolved soon so they can focus on coursework during the busy midterm period.

features

VERBATIM | SERENA WILLIAMS

We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.

ON THIS DAY…

The U.S. issues first paper money in the form of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1000 notes.

FUN FACT

Sally Ride was the first woman in space in 1983.

Brandeis’ GirlUp marches in Boston

Several Brandeis students came together to protest for International Women’s Day in Boston.

By LUCA D. JORDAN JUSTICE SPORTS EDITOR

The United States’ celebration of Women’s History Month dates back to 1987 when Congress first passed it into legislation, coinciding with International Women’s Day on March 8. March has been proclaimed Women’s History Month by every president since 1987 and has been given an annual theme by the National Women’s History Alliance. 2026’s theme is, “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.”

Boston’s festivities include the International Women’s Day March, which has happened every year since 2017. Initially starting on the day after Donald Trump was first inaugurated, Jan. 2 2016, these peaceful protests are at the forefront of feminism and political activism here in the Boston area.

Members of the Brandeis’ Chapter of GirlUp attended the March 8 protest. GirlUp Membership Director Alexandra Jones ’26 was one of the members in attendance at the protest.“There were a lot of people. I couldn’t give a headcount but we definitely had trouble moving around. There was also a marching band which was pretty cool,” Jones described in a March 9 interview with The Justice. The protest received support from local law enforcement as police were stationed at key points to block traffic for the protesters. The march also had its own volunteer security force to make sure no one would interfere with the peaceful protest.

GirlUp Outreach Coordinator, Defne Pakar ’27, noted in an interview with The Justice on March 9 the importance of GirlUp participating in the march. “We’ve never done anything like this before offcampus, and there are a lot of barriers involved with that

center of the park. Jones gave a brief overview of the speakers, “There was an Iranian peace activist who spoke on the war. There was also a college student from Suffolk who was a big voice in the LGBTQ+ community and he talked about the relationship between that movement and its connection to feminism and there was also a [transgender] woman speaker. It was interesting hearing all these perspectives and you

On the importance of Women’s History Month, Jones said “It’s important for all marginalized groups to be able to fight for their rights and government-sanctioned holidays reinforce the movement and it also makes it possible to look back at all that we’ve gained in the movement. I think it’s also important to keep fighting, especially with everything going on right now.” On how the protest supported this, she said,

On the importance of GirlUp, Jones said “It’s good to have organizations, especially during college when people are starting to really form their own opinions, that help them feel closer to their identity and fight for the things that they

but it’s still a good experience and I think we will do something like this again. Women started this march as a tradition to fight for their rights and until we get to a point where we have basic needs like, for example, access to menstrual products, the rallies will continue every year.”

The march started at Boston Common, where some keynote speakers gave addresses from the gazebo in the

Jones also talked about GirlUp’s poster-making event for the protest in Skyline Commons on March 6. “It was really nice because there were people who aren’t in GirlUp who came and made posters for us to take to the march even if they weren’t going.” Some of the poster slogans seen at the rally included “Proud Anti–Fascist,” “Women Say No” and a large sign carried in the front of the march reading “BOSTON WOMEN DON’T BACK DOWN.”

could feel a real sense of anger in the air, and rightfully so.”

The rally was by and for women, but also included other political outreach. Jones said “It was for International Women’s Day, but I saw a lot of signs about other important issues. I saw ‘No war in Iran!’ and ‘Defund ICE’ and other anti–Trump slogans. It felt a lot like a No Kings rally but really highlighting the role women play in that movement.”

“The protest just cemented how I feel about this because it was so empowering to hear about how some women overcame these obstacles and the women that inspired them, or even just seeing these stories on social media. It’s all very inspiring.”

identify with. I also want to highlight the Brandeis Intersectional Feminist Coalition since they also do a lot for the same movement on campus.”

GirlUp is a United Nations organization that has chapters on several college campuses. Describing the club, Pakar said “It’s an organization that gives us the opportunity to create community and solidarity with the women on campus and it also gives us the ability to participate in advocacy events, like the rally.”

Asked why the club holds the panels, Pakar said “We get to have personal time with these professionals to ask questions about leadership and hesitation and classroom environment. It’s just really important to hear these stories and it feels really rewarding to put our energy into this.”

Pakar also expanded on how college students can make a difference. “Don’t be afraid to share your opinion. Post on Instagram. Take classes to educate yourself. Reach out to your legislators, I think we’re halfway through the legislative cycle in Massachusetts so email your senators or congresspeople.” On the same issue, Jones continued, “Even if you are too scared to go to a protest there’s still little ways you can support your community.”

When asked how the administration supports GirlUp, Pakar said “A lot of the time they only go halfway. There’s been a lot of empty promises. I’ve seen improvements, but they can definitely do better.” Pakar and Jones hope that in the future their events receive the proper support required to promote positive change.

Brandeis GirlUp continues to find ways to support their community. Protests like the Boston Women’s Day March give new platforms for student voices and allows groups like GirlUp from college campuses to make a real difference. On their impact, Jones said “I want every girl out there who feels frustrated with what’s going on in the world to know that they’re not alone.”

—Editor’s note: The Justice Online Editor Ellie Harris is the treasurer of GirlUp and did not edit or contribute to this article.

On other ways GirlUp is celebrating Women’s History Month, Pakar said “We put up an Instagram post highlighting certain women in various sports and clubs on campus and each year we have a panel where we talk about women in leadership. This year the panel is going to include professors who will talk about challenges they’ve faced in their careers.”

Wherever BAASA takes us

Brandeis Asian American Students Association’s APAHM Opening Showcase highlighted culture, diaspora and belonging.

Last Saturday, the Levin Ballroom transformed into a space for performance, celebration and reflection as the Brandeis Asian American Student Association hosted its annual celebration: Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Opening Showcase, or APAHM. This year’s event, themed “Wherever the Wind Takes Us,” brought together food, dance, music and community for a night that centered not only on cultural representation, but on the question of what it means to build a home across distance and change. Held on March 7, the showcase featured a wide range of acts including a fashion show, musical performances, dance numbers and a raffle fundraiser. Over 300 people attended, making it BAASA’s strongest postpandemic turnout.

Casey Tan ’26, BAASA’s APAHM Opening Coordinator and the main planner of the event, said the theme grew out of her desire to think about diaspora in a way that felt both historical and hopeful. “This year’s theme was ‘Wherever the Wind Takes Us.’ I came up with this theme because I thought of the wind carrying seeds from plants to new places for them to grow as a metaphor for the diaspora of immigration,” Tan commented in a March 9 interview with The Justice. “On top of that, I thought about how BAASA has changed so much since it was created. BAASA was founded in 1971 during the Vietnam War, and the world has changed so much since then, but we continue to exist and to celebrate our cultures together and to create a sense of home.”

This idea of home shaped the event from

By ALYSSA WU JUSTICE FEATURES EDITOR

beginning to end. Rather than treating culture as something fixed, the showcase emphasized the way traditions travel and take root in new places. “To me, home is not just a place, but [a space] where a sense of belonging is found,” said Tan. “I think culture clubs at Brandeis create this sense of belonging for a lot of students, and I encourage students to engage in the many programs that culture clubs have to offer.”

Daphne Lin ’29, a BAASA first-year representative, said that broadening representation was one of the most important goals of this year’s showcase. “This year is really special because we decided to focus on the underrepresented communities in the Asian American identity, which are Southeast Asia and South Asia,” Lin said in a March 9 interview with The Justice.

This emphasis on immigration and diaspora gave the event particular resonance in the current political environment. Tan said that was part of what she wanted audience members to recognize. “I want audience members, regardless of race or ethnicity, to recognize the importance of sharing your culture and beliefs unapologetically, and to recognize that despite the inherent uncertainty that this political climate brings us, there is hope for the future,” said Tan.

Aaron Tian ’28, a member of Club Cantonese at Brandeis who attended the showcase in support of BAASA, said he sees cultural events like this as an important part of campus life. “I make it a more personal goal of mine to go to as many of these culture shows as possible, and to experience a

wider breadth of cultures that we have here at Brandeis,” Tian said in a March 9 interview with The Justice.

Michelle Ou ’28, BAASA’s Social Media Chair, said that openness to different perspectives is especially important on Brandeis’ campus. “I feel like every culture has its own voice, has its own uniqueness and has its own art,” Ou commented in a March 9 interview with The Justice.

Beyond performances, the food at APAHM was another important aspect. Tan said she put particular effort into bringing Filipino food to the event. “I was passionate about acquiring Filipino food for the event,” Tan explained. “Only 1% of AAPI restaurants are owned by Filipino Americans in the United States, and so I was excited to share my culture with the Brandeis community.”

The showcase extended its impact beyond campus through its fundraiser for Asian American Resource Workshop, a local non-profit organization supporting the Pan-Asian community in the greater Boston area. “We chose the organization AARW, because it helped support [the] Pan Asian community and they’re really focused on immigration support and deportation relief right now at the moment,” Tiger Wang ’28, BAASA’s Community Chair said in a March 9 interview with The Justice.

For Wang, that part of the evening was especially meaningful because of the reciprocal support the two organizations provide. “Many of these non-profit organizations don’t have the means to publicize their organizations,” said Wang. “So it’s really important for us to support and bring about show-

ing [students] that we have these events.”

The event’s performances and messages offered something more lasting: a model of what campus can look like when students are invited to bring different identities into the same room. Samuel Bae ’28, BAASA’s APAHM Closing Coordinator, said that being behind the scenes changed the way he understood the event. “I remember not being part of e-board last year and attending APAHM, and being blown away by the performances. This year, seeing from the inside-out what goes into the process, the camaraderie that it builds within e-board by collaborating and the appreciation that the general Brandeis students get to have has been rewarding,” Bae said in a March 9 interview with The Justice. “It’s great that we can improve every year and have new performers every year.”

Bae hopes audience members take away new understandings of different cultures.

“First and foremost, we hope they had a good time enjoying the tasty food and the fun performances, but we also hope that they got to take something back home about the cultures that they were able to experience, from a Vietnamese rock band to interpretive Indian dance,” Bae said in a March 9 interview with The Justice. “Our turnout was over 300 this year, which I think is our best post-pandemic.”

Events like APAHM Opening Showcase show how creating spaces where students can share traditions and their unique experiences, can help shift the conversation into a place where identity is not only acknowledged but actively celebrated.

Sophia De Lisi, Editor in Chief

Julia Hardy, Managing Editor

Eliza Bier, Anna Martin, Senior Editors

Grace Doh, Nemma Kalra, Zoe Zachary, Deputy Editors

Lily Chafe, Xilei Ceci Chen, Brianna Earle, Anika Jain, Sara Samuel, Bryan Wolfe, Associate Editors

Lucia Thomas, News Editor

Alyssa Wu, Features Editor

Esther Balaban, Forum Editor

Luca D. Jordan, Ben Khayat, Sports Editors

Sophia Garcia, Arts & Culture Editor

Skye Entwood, Reuben Gartenbach, Photography Editors

Nawal Irfani, Rivka Resnick, Copy Editors

Joan Cogliano, Layout Editor

Keira Shear, Advertising Editor

Ellie Harris, Online Editor

EDITORIAL

Hectic housing: a guide to Brandeis living

The Brandeis housing system is notoriously complex. As the housing selection date approaches, this editorial board would like to provide some suggestions to clarify the selection process. The current housing selection system works by assigning all rising sophomores, juniors and seniors a housing number. These can be found by accessing the MyHousing portal, where the number is displayed under the “Messages” tab, along with the selection period. Student athletes are assigned the lowest numbers (0126), sophomores have the next lowest (1271201) and juniors and seniors are given the remaining numbers. Time slots for housing selection will be assigned on March 13.

The Department of Community Living publishes the statistics from prior housing selections, which can be used to gauge the availability of housing time slots for this year. These can be found by visiting the DCL website, selecting “Housing Selection” in the sidebar, and then clicking on “Housing Statistics.” Each of the last four school years and their respective housing selection statistics are linked on this page, as well as housing selection resources for students planning to study abroad. From there, either the “Rising Sophomore” or “Rising Junior/Senior Housing Selection” links can be selected. These links will display a spreadsheet containing every housing location available to your cohort and how many beds were available during each time slot.

The numbers from previous years may not exactly align with the numbers for the upcoming housing selection, but can be helpful for approximating availability in a particular location and style during your time slot. When time slots are assigned on March 13, students who are unsure about which locations are likely to be available can refer

to these spreadsheets to guide their selection.

If you get unlucky in the housing lottery, you may decide to look for housing offcampus. For first-time renters, the process of finding and renting a house may seem like a daunting task with no clear place to start. You might think of turning to Brandeis’ website to seek guidance. The page offers two primary resources. The first, Jumpoffcampus.com, is quite underwhelming and doesn’t have many listings; of the listings it does have, 39% of them were in Worcester as of press time. The second resource is a site hosted in conjunction with apartments.com, and they offer more listings. Even though this website has more homes and apartments for rent than the first, a simple search for the Waltham area on apartments.com shows more housing options than Brandeis’ page. This editorial board believes that Brandeis should provide more resources for students who are looking for off-campus housing. This support could connect students with landlords, info sessions on renting your first apartment/house and off-campus housing advisors to help guide students through the process. Brandeis should also clarify more efficiently how financial aid works for students living off-campus. Without meeting with a representative from the financial aid office, it is unclear to students how their aid package will be affected if they choose to live off-campus.

If you are currently struggling with finding a place to live off-campus next year, we feel for you and assure you that you are not the only one. Finding the right place to rent can take a lot of time and a good amount of luck. So if this is you, be persistent and don’t lose hope if it takes a while — new opportunities are opening up every day and if you keep searching diligently for listings, it is only a matter of time until you find the right one for

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Nationalize Amazon By Jon

Hochschartner

There are many lessons we could take from the last decade of American politics, in which our country has degenerated further and further into an oligarchic hellscape. One I hope a majority would agree with is that current levels of wealth inequality are incompatible with political democracy. There are various ways this issue might be addressed, but one I’d prefer is nationalizing giant corporations, like Amazon, by which I mean putting them under public control and redirecting the profits to socially-beneficial ends.

I was struck by a recent post that appeared on the website Bluesky, which said that given Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a net worth of more than $253 billion, he could light $1 million on fire every day for almost 700 years without exhausting his funds. If this wasn’t incredible enough, a number of commentators pointed out the post was misleading, since Bezos earns more than $1 million in interest every day, so, actually, the oligarch could burn $1 million a day in perpetuity. This is, needless to say, outrageous.

Compared to many, I live a life of privilege. And, yet, is there any sense in which I can claim equality with Bezos? The question is laughable on its face. Take our ability to participate in the democratic process. Sure, we both have one vote, but, if I want to influence the views of others, I must write a letter to the editor which newspaper staff choose to run or create a short-form video which happens to go viral. In contrast, Bezos can purchase even more of the media landscape than he already has and change the editorial line as he sees fit. To help neutralize this threat to democracy, we should nationalize companies like Amazon. The federal government

should take over all aspects of the business, from the stock warehouses and delivery fleets to its streaming applications and cloud-computing services. The profits could be put toward any number of worthy projects, like rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, funding local news organizations in communities without them, providing free healthcare to all, or offering no-cost college education to anyone who wants it. Personally, as an animal activist, I’d like to see a portion of such profits devoted to funding cultivated-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultivated meat is grown from livestock cells, without slaughter. I view developing this technology as the most promising means of reducing nonhuman suffering and premature death. We should be establishing facilities like the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture across the country. The point, however, is these profits could be put toward anything we might democratically decide on. Present levels of wealth inequality are destabilizing the United States in any number of ways. Among other things, it’s fueling a fascist movement which has taken control of the White House and the wider Republican Party. Such politics reflect what’s been termed ‘the socialism of fools,’ a far-right populism which blames racial, religious and gender minorities for the existing, miserable state of affairs, rather than the obscenely wealthy. Let’s help preserve American democracy by nationalizing giant companies like Amazon.

Jon Hochschartner lives in Connecticut. He is the author of a number of books, including The Animals’ Freedom Fighter: A Biography of Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front. Visit his blog at SlaughterFreeAmerica. Substack.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Duplicity or Fairness: A response to The Hoot

A few weeks ago, The Brandeis Hoot published an open letter expressing the importance of having multiple journalistic voices on campus and their concern for a perceived lack of emphasis on this value by the University. I, and many others, think it is important to be able to have many different perspectives when it comes to campus news and news in general. However, the letter reads more like complaining about funding from the Student Union and with the University’s administration rather than a call for multiple journalistic voices on campus. The editorial accuses the Student Union of deliberately targeting The Hoot for budget cuts. To me this seems like a ridiculous and self-centered argument. For one thing, since I started my time here in 2023, Brandeis has had budget anxiety. It is not just student clubs that are getting slashed, it’s most everything at the University, from professors being laid off to whole departments in constant states of anxiety of whether they will exist in a year’s time — everyone is worried about their budget. Furthermore, The Hoot’s budget wasn’t unjustly cut — a source close to the matter reported that last year, they were allocated around $20,000 and only used $11,000. I think it is justified to say that we can allocate less money to a club that has only used a little over half their budget. This principle applies to all clubs, not just The Hoot. When a club is allocated more money than they use, their budget will be decreased to reflect that. While an explanation would be a courtesy, to me it seems obvious why there would be a decrease in the budget. It’s not personal, but a matter of numbers. As previously stated, I think it is amazing that we are able to have two student-led journalistic publications on campus, and I fully support the chartering of The Hoot as a club. The Hoot and The Justice do not serve the same purpose, and even if they did, there is a difference between having, for example, two knitting clubs, and having two different papers. Given The Hoot’s switch to a magazine format, there is sufficient difference between The Hoot and The Justice to warrant each other’s existence. In my opinion, this would be a

welcome change, as well. It allows readers to truly distinguish between the two publications, which further strengthens the argument that they are not competing publications but rather two publications that have separate goals. The Justice typically focuses more on news about the campus, with (obviously) an opinion section, and The Hoot is more focused on opinions while having some campus news. Ultimately, it is good for the campus to have both voices; however, I would be remiss not to mention the fact that there is, from a reader’s perspective, a seeming lack of attention on the editing side of The Hoot’s publication. I think we can give some of the formatting inconsistencies some slack as it is the publication’s first year as a magazine. However, there have been many textual errors presented in The Hoot that made it to publishing in nearly all of their publications this year. I understand that it is an unfair expectation that everything in The Hoot or any student publication should be perfect — we are students, we have other things going on in our lives, assignments due, relationships to maintain, etc. — but there should also be some standards when it comes to typos and misinformation. A few months ago, a Hoot article was published that consistently misspelled George Eliot’s name. If this were a one-time error within the article, I would understand, but George Eliot is not an obscure author; her name should not be misspelled in an article if the piece was properly edited. This too goes for capitalization and other similar grammatical things, such as in the most recent issue inconsistently capitalizing Winter Olympics in their piece about it. As expressed, I think it would be unfair to expect every single issue of a student newspaper to be perfect, however, I think the Hoot should consider adopting a corrections section like the Justice has to acknowledge these errors. While it may sound like I have a personal vendetta against the Hoot and am being nitpicky, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I say all this because I truly believe that having two publications on a campus is a fantastic thing and fully support the chartering of the Hoot as a club.

-Graham Glovka ’27

A new lacrosse team

won’t fix what’s broken at Brandeis

By AARON KLEIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Learning about the University’s budget problems is nothing new to Brandeis students. There’s likely not a single student on campus who hasn’t woken up to an email from the president — either former or current — detailing the latest deficit or university crisis, and then outlining the brilliant and novel plan they came up with that will save us. Sometimes, these plans are called reorganizations, restructurings or reimaginations. In reality, they are almost always layoffs, cuts or cancelations. There was Brandeis’ decision to lay off more than 60 faculty positions in the spring of 2024. Later that year, the University ended its support for the Lydian String Quartet. That came following the 2023 decision to eliminate specific graduate programs within the music department. Of course, for those of us who have been here a little longer, some may remember the cancelation of the Science 2A project: the purported five-story and nearly $150 million expansion of science lab and classroom space attached to the Shapiro Campus Center. Finally, for those of us who have been here the longest, there is the University’s infamous post recession attempt to sell off the Rose Art Museum’s nearly $350 million collection.

That’s why it was no surprise to students when, in his inauguration speech last year, President Levine acknowledged our historic undercapitalization and laid out another reorganization plan, at least in part intended to reduce costs across departments. However, what is surprising is that less than a year later, the current administration has determined that our university’s financial crisis is resolved, and that it is now time to expand the University’s commitments. Specifically, they have decided that the time is ripe for Brandeis to add a new women’s lacrosse team to our suite of varsity sports, a commitment which will no doubt add a number in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to Brandeis’ annual expenses. And so unless Institutional Advancement’s new $750 million fundraising goal has already been met, I can’t help but question how the president and the athletic director, Jessica Chapin, arrived at such a decision. Not only would devoting funds towards a new women’s lacrosse team constitute a flagrant misallocation of resources, but it would also demonstrate an alarming amount of trust in an athletic department that has not produced real success in a long time — and in pursuit

of a team that many students don’t even want.

First, while it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact number, considering the costs for coaching, travel, equipment, recruiting and overhead, it seems fair to say that a women’s lacrosse program at Brandeis might cost somewhere in the range of $250,000 to $500,000 per year. Needless to say, that’s chump change compared to the University’s nearly half a billion dollar annual operating budget. Even so, it’s important to ask what other priorities that money could be spent on. Maybe the funds could go towards expanding academic opportunities by hiring a few more tenure-track professors or a dozen underpaid adjuncts. Perhaps the money could go into a pool used for staff and faculty merit increases, which have been repeatedly paused or suspended over the past couple years. It could also go towards expanding financial aid for need-based or merit-based scholarships — a key tool in improving Brandeis’ dreadful yield rates. In terms of physical infrastructure, a sum like that might be able to significantly expand accessibility on campus or pay for modest improvements for East Quad. If none of that appeals to you, why not keep the money in a rainy-day fund? The next time the administration needs to compensate for declining enrollment or rebuild a dining hall that burned down, they’ll know where to draw funds from. Regardless of where exactly the money goes, there seems to be a plethora of alternative ways to spend such a sum more closely related to the University’s core function.

Next, such an addition demonstrates an alarming amount of trust in an athletic department that has not produced meaningful success in a long time. For one, even if the athletics department has made up its mind that it would like to add a significant new cost to the annual budget, resources might still be better allocated to improve and expand our physical facilities instead, which lag noticeably behind our peer institutions in the University Athletic Association and, frankly, most of Division-III.

In the UAA, Washington University in St. Louis, Emory, The University of Chicago and nearly all of our other competitors’ facilities outclass our own. Moreover, other small liberal arts with equal or lesser endowments, like Kenyon, Middlebury and Colby, have state-of-the-art facilities themselves. Even when considering relative numbers instead of absolute ones, though Brandeis’ endowment

per student sits above universities like Tufts, Lehigh and Bucknell, all three boast superior athletic facilities. Meanwhile, back at Brandeis, our baseball team continues to play much of their schedule at Waltham’s Yetten Field due to drainage issues at Stein Diamond. Our softball field is banned from hosting playoff games due to not meeting National Collegiate Athletic Association size regulations, and our track teams are ineligible to host NCAA events because of safety concerns about the outdoor track’s degrading rubber. Concurrently, more than a dozen club sports teams are packed onto a single field that is slated to be demolished later this semester so Brandeis can build a new softball field. In the meantime, Brandeis’ more than 20 club sports teams will be forced to compete against each other, as well as outside groups to whom the university is increasingly renting facilities out to, for whatever space is left over. Putting aside the question of where a prospective women’s lacrosse team will practice when either men’s or women’s soccer are occupying Brandeis’ single regulation sized field, I can’t help but wonder whether it would be smarter to allocate resources to improving our existing infrastructure before adding a new team and increasing the burden on our already degrading facilities.

Second, we should ask whether a women’s lacrosse team might be successful at Brandeis. Last September, Chapin announced the program’s new coach Annie Campbell, touting her ability “to set the foundation[s] for lasting success.” Though Campbell looks like a promising selection, lasting athletic success at Brandeis is far from the norm. In terms of coaching choices, the athletics department’s record is troubling: The 2018 firing of men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan and the 2024 forced retirement of women’s basketball coach Carol Simon, both for allegations of racism and abusive behavior, do not reflect well on the department. Then there’s the case of the men’s baseball team, whose attrition rate is so bad that they only have one senior left from the class of 2022’s 11 first-years. Of course, that’s no surprise: The team’s UAA conference record over the past decade under coach Derek Carlson, when normalized over a full 162 game major league season, would make them the worst team since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Over that same period, the women’s volleyball team has also struggled, going 5-58 in UAA conference play, and only registering wins against one team: the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets — perhaps proving

that no matter how bad it gets, it could always be worse. In addition, our swimming teams, both men’s and women’s, have finished in last place at the UAA championships every year for at least the past 10 years. Finally, bringing us back to the present, the current class of graduating seniors on the women’s soccer team have only won a single conference game in their entire four-year careers, and our women’s basketball team has not had a winning season in the UAA since 2010, when Chapin herself was the team’s leading scorer. To be absolutely clear, in no way is this an attack on the hundreds of talented and hardworking student athletes at Brandeis. Brandeis student athletes play in arguably the most competitive conference in D-III, against opponents with statistically better coaches and unquestionably better facilities. And in all fairness, Chapin is relatively new to the role. Her brief time here has also seen moderate success, peaking with men’s soccer’s thrilling double-overtime performance against the eventual D-III champions in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Nevertheless, it seems premature to start a brand new program a year into a new athletic director’s reign. Furthermore, it doesn’t seem like Brandeis really wants a women’s lacrosse team. I’ll be the first to admit Brandeis students can sometimes be whiny — and occasionally rightfully so. But in my four years here, I’ve never once heard a Brandeis student complain about lacking a women’s lacrosse team. This is supported by the fact that there is no club or intramural organized lacrosse on campus. Even if Brandeis does want to expand its athletic department, it is puzzling why the University might choose lacrosse over other sports that have more robust foundations and support on campus.

Generally speaking, Brandeis students understand the state of the University and its athletics department. They understand that Brandeis isn’t a sports juggernaut like Alabama or Ohio State. They choose to come to Brandeis not for athletics, but for the strong academic offerings, impressive faculty and wide-ranging research opportunities. And they are more than willing to extend the University some consideration on this issue. But looking students in the eyes and telling them that cuts to their music and humanities programs, an embarrassing athletics infrastructure and a near-complete lack of success over the past 20 years should be ignored while Brandeis spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for a new lacrosse team is a shot that misses the net entirely.

Sports just

JUDGES IN ACTION

Justice Sports Editor Luca D. Jordan '28 highlights sophomore softball players

Tuesday, March 10, 2026 Page 10

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Opinion: Keep College Basketball Wild!

■ The tournament hasn’t even started yet and the madness has already begun.

By BEN KHAYAT JUSTICE SPORTS EDITOR

NCAA Basketball’s March Madness tournament is arguably the most cutthroat championship series in American sports. There is no mercy. No matter if you’re a “high-major” state school with an enormous athletics budget or a tiny “mid-major” school in the middle of nowhere, college basketball does not discriminate. If you lose once, your season is over and there’s nothing you can do about it.

This one-and-done mentality had already begun for the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, a school in the Mid-American Conference. The RedHawks are the final undefeated team in men’s college basketball this season, and despite that, there is a scenario where they don’t make the tournament. Ordinarily, the smaller mid-major conferences, which include Miami (Ohio)’s MAC, can only make the tournament by winning their conference tournament. However, there are “at-large” bids where teams that the selection committee believes have earned their ticket to the tournament are allowed to go without winning their conference tournaments. Bruce Pearl, a commentator at TNT and former head coach of the Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team, explained the issue that he has with Miami making the tournament. "If we're selecting the 68 best teams, then Miami (Ohio) is going to have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion, because as an at-large, they are not one of the best teams in the country, and that's going to be a difficult choice for the committee."

This is a common talking point in the world of college sports. Not every team can play an equally difficult schedule, and the RedHawks are an example of that. Their schedule this season consisted almost entirely of other midmajors, which many see as less impressive compared to a team with just a few losses that played against stronger teams. The RedHawks, however, had no choice but to use this schedule. Teams agree to play each other before seasons start, and no high-majors wanted to play the RedHawks. Risking a loss to a mid-major, no matter how good, will always outweigh the value a win against the same team brings to their resume.

While Pearl’s claim is true — lacking wins against strong teams does weaken the case for an at-large bid — the RedHawks are not an example of this. It is physically impossible for the RedHawks to have finished with a better tournament resume. Even if they do lose in the conference tournament, it’s antithetical to the spirit of March

Madness to exclude the wildest team in the country. The reason college basketball is such a compelling sport to watch is because of how unpredictable it is; when 361 teams are playing 30 or more games in a season, all in pursuit of the same trophy, madness will ensue no matter what. College basketball is worse when people are allowed to downplay one of the rarest team accomplishments in the sport by painting them as inferior for being a mid-major.

College basketball has already begun to slip from the amateurism that made it so much fun even before March Madness came around. Charles Bediako, a former Alabama Crimson Tide center who left after his sophomore year for the NBA’s G-League, was granted eligibility to come back to Tuscaloosa and play college basketball again in the middle of the season. The 22-year-old Bediako had every incentive to follow this path; he would likely be making far more money by going back to play for the Crimson Tide than he would by staying on his G-League salary. College basketball has become a professional league in a way, just with more rules governing player eligibility that are challenged constantly. College basketball fundamentally changes when players like Bediako are not only allowed to return, but would be seen as unwise if they chose not to go back to college. This is also a luxury only the high-major schools have access to, since most small athletics programs don’t have the budget to bankroll a former professional player to come back to college.

College basketball is naturally not as high-quality as the NBA. The players are limited to being college students with a finite amount of eligibility to play in the league, and if they are good enough, they can continue to a league of players who play the sport for a living. Focusing on bending the rules to remove the uncertainty and excitement of watching a basketball league built on strong emotions is missing the point. Trying to separate the mid-majors from high-majors, as we’re seeing right now, is an attempt to make college basketball something that it’s not solely for the benefit of the big schools. What makes college basketball interesting to follow is that it generates nostalgic moments unlike any other sport. When there are hundreds of teams each playing 30 games a season just to get the chance to play in the most unpredictable tournament in sports, the moments come naturally. There is nothing to reminisce about when undefeated teams are excluded from the tournament and professionals are allowed to restart their eligibility, especially when these decisions are made in pursuit of a goal that college basketball has never had. The RedHawks’ fate in the tournament will be determined on March 15, when the brackets for the NCAA tournament are selected ahead of its first game on March 17.

Waltham, Mass.

JUDGES ON THE RISE

By LUCA D. JORDAN JUSTICE SPORTS EDITOR

The Justice: So to start us off, what are you excited about for this upcoming season?

Wallace: I’m excited to travel. We’re going to New York City, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Florida — so it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

Doud: The construction of our new field — they’re supposed to start working on it as soon as the ground unfreezes. It’s gonna have heated dugouts.

The Justice: Real quick, what’s the difference between baseball and softball?

Staub: Nothing, they're exactly the same.

Doud: Baseball and softball: many differences. Bigger yellow ball but the field is much smaller. The pitcher also throws underhand. Common misconception I’ve heard a lot is that everyone throws underhand and that’s not true, it's just the pitcher.

The Justice: If you had to play one other sport, what would it be?

Wallace: Basketball.

Doud: Olympic paddle ball, wait I mean pickle ball. No wait, Olympic handball.

Staub: Duo bobsledding.

The Justice: What’s the best part of being an athlete here?

Wallace: (Jokingly) The parka. No, I love my teammates, they’re my besties.

Staub: I like being in a competitive conference. And the adrenaline. It gives me something to put all my effort into.

The Justice: How have you improved, or how do you plan to improve from last year?

Doud: I think our chemistry is really good this year. We have new practice groups now so we practice in smaller groups which just allows us to really focus on one specific thing instead of just brushing over those things in a team setting where we can’t focus on like specific drills.

Staub: We have new practice layouts, we have new recovery plans. We have these new weighted balls to help us work on our shoulders.

Wallace: I think the returners feel not the pressure but the drive to improve from last year and I think that’s pushing us to be like, let’s do this better, let’s put in some extra work on the side and the freshmen truly are just talented players so bringing them in, mixed with us, we have this new and improved competitive attitude.

INTRAMURAL TABLE TENNIS

On March 8, intramural table tennis held the men's singles round of their tournament in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. Each player participated in three rounds with the finalist needing to win best of three. The winner won a free shirt after ultimately going undefeated in the tournament.

JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS

BASEBALL

TRACK AND

Atlanta Hawks’ strip clubthemed promotional night receives pushback from players

■ Should the NBA franchise be allowed to partner with and celebrate Magic City?

By BEN KHAYAT JUSTICE SPORTS EDITOR

Ahead of their March 16 matchup with the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks announced that they would be partnering with Magic City, a strip club located one mile from the basketball team’s home at State Farm Arena. On Feb. 26, the team advertised the night as including a merchandise collaboration, Magic City’s lemon pepper wings being served during the game and a halftime performance from Georgia rapper T.I. Melissa Proctor, the executive vice president of the Atlanta Hawks, stated “From the food to the music and the exclusive merchandise, we are excited to team up with Magic City to create an authentic, true-toAtlanta-inspired game experience.” The promotion was advertised without mentioning that Magic City is primarily a strip club, instead referring to it as an “iconic cultural institution.”

The Atlanta Hawks have historically been indirectly connected to the club. Former Hawks player and Atlanta native Lou Williams famously frequented the club — so much so that the club serves a special “Louwill Lemon Pepper BBQ” flavor of wings. Regardless, Magic City and the Atlanta Hawks had never partnered from a business perspective until the upcoming promotion was announced.

The collaboration caught the attention of San Antonio Spurs player Luke Kornet. In a post on Medium, Kornet expressed surprise that the promotion was allowed to occur at all and began a petition with other members of the NBA objecting to “Magic City Monday” and encouraging that the franchise cancel their partnership with the club. In the

same post, Kornet states “The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women, many of whom work diligently every day to make this the best basketball league in the world.” Kornet also stressed that the night’s theme is unsafe for fans under the age of 18, which goes against the intended family-friendly atmosphere the NBA seeks to provide even if none of the night’s content contains any explicit material. The former Celtic also pointed out the injustices women in adult entertainment face: “Regardless of how a woman finds her way into the adult entertainment industry, many in this space experience abuse, harassment and violence to which they should never be subjected.”

The promotion is the latest in a string of events that has called into question the team’s relationship with explicit content. In 2023, the Atlanta Hawks posted an advertisement for their In-Season Tournament themed around OnlyFans, a subscription service used mostly for posting pornography. The advertisement remains public on the NBA’s website over two years later, despite pushback from players on the team.

This promotion’s controversy boils down to a question of marketing ethics. The main problems with the promotion, as identified by Kornet, are that Magic City Monday glorified the adult entertainment industry and deceptively omitted the fact that Magic City is a strip club. Magic City Monday pushes the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable for sports franchises to associate themselves with, for better or worse. Tickets for the game have sold well, but that comes at the expense of fans and sponsors who do not approve of a team promoting a strip club, particularly during International Women’s Month.

On March 9, NBA commissioner Adam Silver stepped in and cancelled the promotion despite the Atlanta Hawks’ wishes to allow the promotion to continue. In a press release, Silver explained that the league received “significant concerns from a broad array of league stakeholders, including fans, partners, and employees.” The Hawks have since changed the night to include only the halftime performance from T.I. and removed all Magic City branding from their online schedule.

T rouble in P aradise : s ense and s ensibili T y ’ s V ir T ues and T hea T er s ins

By ROGÉRIO VILLAÇA SZUSTER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After hosting a peculiar set of particularly hit-and-miss productions, the Brandeis Theater Department held its opening night for “Sense and Sensibility” this past Friday, March 6. This Kate Hamill adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel was, to our great relief, nothing short of spectacular. Its storytelling followed the lives of an extensive cast of characters in great detail, but had for its protagonists the older Dashwood sisters and their paths to “true” love. As great as Austen’s plot may have been and as excellent as most of the actors were in portraying such a story, the Brandeis production had an unfortunate abundance of “technical” errors — that is to say problems related to the backstage crew — and a notable presence of glaring “theater sins,” a term often used in theater education to describe major issues that one must avoid when producing a show. That is not to say that this production was unsatisfactory because, as a matter of fact, most audience members were delighted by the spectacle. Nonetheless, the issues that were to noticeable be ignored in a proper review.

One point of excellence was the fervent and passionate acting from its performers. In her portrayal of Marianne Dashwood, Dani Salsberg ’27 had undoubtedly the most precise British accent. Salsberg lacked the underlying American cadence found in her castmates; she successfully masked the forced quality that often plagues American actors attempting British accents. Although all the cast had achieved the modality of English phonemes, it was only Salsberg who could truly pass for a British woman. Her acting was phenomenal, with a speech truly marked by sentimentality, where every word was not only uttered for its morphological value but where its emotional charge ricocheted from Salsberg’s heart through the audience’s soul. Jasper Woliver ’28, who played Mrs. Dashwood, exceeded expectations in a soft delivery of Stanislavskian realism. Every flickering muscle had an intention to it that allowed the audience to be transported into this realistic fictional world where a true grieving woman was trying to be happy and make the most out of everything for her daughters’ sake. Meanwhile, JD Dowd was tasked not to be a funny character but a character who is, himself, the joke. With John Dashwood, Dowd was tasked with being a fool, and in being a fool, he succeeded — a feat not to be diminished. John’s wife, Fanny Dashwood, was played by Caroline Burke ’28, whose acting did not fall under realism, but under a mixture of Farce and Victorian Melodrama. Burke threaded that line carefully and to great triumph, perfectly fulfilling her comedic archetype as a conniving and utterly… unpleasant individual.

Final notable mentions in the cast include Liam Delaney ’26, whose portrayal of Colonel Brandon was so masterful that it was able to showcase a progression in characterization through a multifaceted approach in which the audience is slowly introduced to his depths of the Colonel, Emma Sadewasser ’27, Phoenix Yung ’27, Nico Sloan ’28 and Laura Araujo ’29. Sadewasser and Yung served as absurd and farcical archetypes that far exceeded superficial comic relief and served as active characters for plot progression. One could not leave the theater without thinking back and chuckling at their performance, with one notable instance being their introduction. They burst

onto the stage while walking leashed dogs, yet no dogs were present. They shook the leashes and ordered their nothingness to be well-behaved, a situation so ridiculous that it made for perfect comedy. Sadewasser should be extremely proud of her performance because she was, to the eyes of many audience members — mine included — the funniest actor in the cast. Sloan was also a talking point of many audience members as they left. As short as his cottage monologue was Sloan’s hilarity was prominent enough to make him one of the best features of the show. Araujo made her department debut with her role of Margaret Dashwood, the youngest sister, and the actress fulfilled her archetype to a great effect. Her acting was respectful of the author’s intent and, indeed, she was funny and extravagant when the scene demanded it.

That said, two performers that I must bring up with a certain carefulness are Madelyn Zimbalist ’28 and Simon Link ’28. As Elinor Dashwood, Zimbalist was able to portray Elinor’s love towards her sister, the hidden sorrows of her broken heart and the joy upon her proposal. Nonetheless, a role as central as hers required a certain level of intensity, a drastic shift in energy across scenes, which was not met. Whether this is due to a flaw in Hamill’s adaptation in which Elinor’s dynamic is not so dramatically conveyed or due to a flaw in directing or even, possibly, an actual shortcoming of Zimbalist, no audience members shall ever know. However, from what I was presented with, I believe that Zimbalist’s potential exceeded what was given to her in this setting, and I will remain hopeful that her next role will be able to show the true extent of her skill. Link, however, is a prominent member of the Theater Department. H e holds the highest celebrity status and for good reason, too! Amongst the Brandeis theater community, Although both “Eurydice” and “Dance Nation” were perceived by most of the Brandeis community as overall subpar productions, all conversations had the same comment: “But ‘Slink’ was fantastic.” Link’s comedic talents are truly stupendous. Even when I compare Brandeis to Broadway performances I’ve had the privilege to watch, Simon Link’s comedic persona remains toptier. Though I do not know of Link’s plans for the future, he is the actor that we must certainly watch out for. I am one of many who believe he is Brandeis’s best bet for a Broadway (or Hollywood) actor. Through most of the show, Link delivered a proper performance as John Willoughby, which, though not as extravagant and present as his other roles, was nonetheless a marker of a great actor. One scene fell far below his standards, however, and that is the scene in which John attempts to visit bedridden Marianne. He tells Elinor that he is there because he is drunk, but unfortunately, Link’s performance did not show that. The most likely scenario for this occurrence was that the director’s interpretation of this scene was that John was lying, and thus Link should not play him as a drunk. However, the ultimate result was that the performance did not make either interpretation clear: He was neither behaving as a drunk man nor as a liar. This was undoubtedly one of the strangest moments of the play.

Now, we must address the elephant in the room: this production’s theater sins. The most blatant one was during the

dialogue between Elinor and the Colonel, after Marianne had discovered that John was already engaged. During this pivotal scene, all of a sudden, someone turn on the house lights — the ones that theaters turn off so we can focus on a play as it begins. As amazing as Liam’s monologue could have been, we were far too distracted looking up, down and around to understand what was going on. This mistake is too grand, too simple, too much of an utter amateur move for a university production. It was a grand shame to be brought during opening night. Another opening night mistake was the continuous defective microphones, with most errors being a distorted, over-amplified, clipped audio. One particularly sad instance was when Sadewasser’s microphone utterly gave out; thankfully, her powerful and skilled voice-projection skills superceded this issue. There was also an unfortunate abundance of scenes where the blocking had actors turning their backs to the audience and most instances did not have a beneficial effect that would validate subverting this theater norm. The one case in which this subversion was clearly justified was when Salsberg played her fictional piano in the background of the scene while singing a classical tune — with an angelic voice, too, I must add. Most of the technical issues, however, are the common symptoms of the same illness: not nearly enough full-tech runthroughs. Another urgent symptom arose from this: injuries. Lance Rothchild ’27, who portrayed Edward Ferrars, would dislocate his knee later in the run. Accompanying this — misfortune, Lucy Ernst would fall down the backstage stairs and also get injured. Both situations showed the urgency of runthroughs. The Brandeis Theater department takes wellness in their environment extremely seriously, covering precautions such as intimacy coordinators and proper safety training, but it has failed to consider the importance that run-throughs have not only to the effects of the art but also to the practical health of their actors. What happened to the two of them could have been prevented in a safer, more stable, more organized environment, and the department must take heed to this warning sign and never again belittle the importance of the necessary longer period of run-throughs.

Thus, I defend the claim of this review’s title: this production indeed reached paradise status for the greatness of its cast, as I have detailed, but it was afflicted by an enormous quantity of troubles too big to be overlooked. The department aimed for greatness with a stupendous cast and extremely well-designed features such as a functional rain curtain, but it nonetheless faced some amateur mistakes. Nonetheless, the positive features were so great that the audience found the show to be completely astonishing, many returning for a second watch, singing the praises of the actors and the works of the creatives. I thus affirm that this production was far greater than previous shows in this season, and places itself in the position of “hits” alongside “The Thanksgiving Play.” Congratulations to all involved.

THE NEWBIES: A CAPELLA SHOWCASE

By ELIZA ROTHFELD JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On Sunday, March 8, at 5:00 p.m., two of Brandeis’ very own acapella groups had their newbie debut performances. Starving Artists and Rather Be Giraffes collaborated their debut performances, hosting this tradition in Cholmondeley’s in Usen Castle. The performance started with debut preformances Starving Artists and RBG presidents, Gianni Storti ’26 and Nicole Benton ’26, introducing their respective groups. RBG proceeded to clear the stage, and Starving Artists started with their three-song set. Their first song was “Breakeven,” originally performed by The Script, soloed by Storti and arranged by Ella Cookman ’26 and Hazel Drew ’28. Their second song was “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish, soloed and arranged by Drew. Here, the performance took a turn. Both of these songs displayed Starving Artists’ vocal strength and talents, but here is where the audience got a glimpse of the community within the group, watching the initiation of their newbie, Paris Weaver ’27.

While everyone surrounding Weaver wore their Starving Artists logo shirts, she stood alone in the middle wearing a sweatshirt. At this point, chanting ensued to “take it off,” giving Weaver the spotlight to debut her very own Starving Artists shirt. With the audience cheering and laughing, the group’s last song began, choosing to sing their alumni song, “Before He Cheats,” by Carrie Underwood. At that point, it was time for Starving Artists to clear the stage, with RBG president Nicole Benton taking the microphone. While they could have gone straight into their set, she took a few moments to acknowledge the talent Starving Artists have and thanked them for collaborating with their newbie debuts. Despite these being two of many groups on campus vying for the talents of each Brandesian, there was an exorbitant level of respect and camaraderie displayed that afternoon. Handing the mic off, RBG’s first song was “Flesh and Bone,” originally sung by The Killers, soloed by Sarah Nesheim ’26. Continuing to display their abilities to perform very complex compositions, their second song was “Love Over Glory” by Zinadelphia, soloed by Mia Levine ’26. At this point, just like Starving Artists, RBG called each of their newbies to the center presenting them with a tie that reflected their individuality and personality. These three first-years, Hannah Chuh, Nicholas Huppman and Angelina Scaduto, were celebrated with personalized speeches and, of course, vibrant new ties to wear at all of their future performances. This initiation demonstrated the depth to which all members have taken the newbies under their wing and the time they spent getting to know one another. Their final song was a Billy Joel medley, giving each of the newbies a few seconds to demonstrate their talent. With the performance concluding, the audience erupted into applause and cheers, rushing to the stage to congratulate all of the performers. After this performance, The Justice spoke with the three newbies of RBG, Chuh, Huppman and Scaduto. Each of the three had distinct reasons for joining RBG: Chuh was drawn to their repertoire, Huppman heard they were one of the best groups and was amazed by the performance given during auditions and Scaduto had many friends already

GREAT GAME

in the group. When asked how their newbie semester has been going, all three gave glowing reviews. RBG had a tour that served as a bonding retreat and allowed them to grow closer and really become integrated. All three plan to return to RBG next semester, expressing their gratitude for joining this family.

“Resident evil 9: Requiem”: Recontextualizing a golden foRmula

By LUCA D. JORDAN JUSTICE SPORTS EDITOR

The “Resident Evil” series has been on an absolute roll since the release of “RE 7: Biohazard” in 2017, which essentially revived the series from its five-year drought after the sixth game’s release in 2012. Since then, we’ve received remakes of RE 2 , 3 and 4 and a new mainline game with “RE: Village,” which again revolutionized what the series could be. While good games make a happy fanbase, they also raised expectations for the ninth game to an all-time high, which left “Resident Evil’s” producer, Capcom, with a huge predicament: How do they make a new game that appeals to new fans and old? Even though that seems like an impossible challenge, somehow they managed to do both.

“Resident Evil 7” and “Resident Evil 8” were considerable departures from their usual formula. The most obvious change: They used a first-person point of view as opposed to the usual third-person over-the-shoulder camera angle that “RE” has always used. This perpective change factors into one of the biggest thematic changes — a focus on horror.“RE” has always been a survival horror franchise, but the focus has always been on survival. Every main character of the mainline games has been more than capable of disposing of any of the threats presented. There are some enemies, such as Mr. X or Nemesis, who aren’t able to be killed immediately, but the protagonists simply have to work around them. If anything, the games have created a sense of stress more than fear. Some of the titles, especially RE 3 and 4, are action games more than anything else, with RE 4 often being hailed as one of the greatest action games of all time and a progenitor of the third-person shooter genre.

With the seventh installment, horror was the number-one priority. The game took the perspective of Ethan Winters, not a bona fide action hero like Leon Kennedy or Jill Valentine, but a systems engineer looking for his wife who went missing. Most of the threats Ethan faces require him to hide or run in the other direction. A lack of light, more enclosed spaces and a much smaller inventory all serve to make Ethan, and by extension the player, very afraid. “Resident Evil 8: Village” also took Ethan’s first-person perspective and focused on horror and continued a plot that was separate from the previous mainline games. It seemed like “RE” had a brand new identity that clicked really well with Capcom’s modern audience. The problem is, they were also releasing remakes of the old games at the same time, and they were a huge hit. Most notably, the remake of “RE 4” brought a ton of new eyes to the series, since the original was already hailed as the most legendary and influential third-person action shooter, and was given the moniker “The Greatest Game Ever: Again.”

“RE 9: Requiem” finds the perfect balance between the new and the old with its two main characters, Grace Ashcroft and the one and only Leon S. Kennedy. While you are allowed to choose between the third and first-person perspective, it is recommended to use first for Grace and third for Leon. As such, Grace’s first-person sections focus on fear and making the player uncomfortable. More often than not, you are in a dark and enclosed space, having to avoid either zombies that take a lot of resources to dispatch or stalker-type enemies like The Girl, who no amount of firepower will stop. Grace is also naturally shaky, sweaty and on edge and you can hear it in not only her dialogue, but just the way she breathes.

Meanwhile, Leon is still performing at the same level of superhero he has been for the last 20 years, with a wide arsenal of guns and a new tomahawk axe that he uses as his primary way to execute zombies. The best parts of his playstyle from the “RE 4 Remake” have returned, including his tornado kicks he uses on stunned enemies and his parry mechanic that at some point defies physics, deflecting thrown cars, rocket launcher missiles and pure electricity with just a flick of his wrist. Despite being a cop without a hint of fear in his eyes, Leon’s gameplay specializes in making the player live their action movie fantasy.

The transition between the two is what makes the game feel so satisfying. The game opens with a couple of quick sections between the two characters, getting you properly afraid for Grace’s sections with a masterclass in setting tension, and then showing you how to maximize Leon’s combat prowess. Grace is kidnapped by the scenery-chewing main villain, Victor Gideon, and has to figure out how to escape the care center she is trapped in with vicious infected and some even worse threats wandering the halls, such as The Girl. This first segment is filled with classic RE trials and tribulations, with strange puzzles that involve much doubling back and new doors being opened, but some specific twists make Grace’s gameplay refreshing. Although zombies are a mainstay of the RE franchise, RE 9 zombies have unique patterns that separate them from other games. It is clear to the player that using a gun as Grace is only for emergencies and that actually killing a zombie takes far too many bullets for her to feasibly kill all of them. However, each of the zombies are given distinctive traits that are meant to be exploited. The player learns that the virus they are infected

with reduced them to their base instincts, which means each of them has a pattern to follow. The first zombie Grace encounters is a chef who walks a specific path of chopping vegetables and then making soup; as long as the player avoids his line of sight, they can avoid him entirely. There are maitre’d zombies that feel a compulsive need to turn off all the lights, so if Grace flips a few switches, they will be too occupied to notice anything else. If an infected is killed, it also has a chance to mutate into a much stronger and faster Blister Head, making careful planning and strategy Grace’s best weapon. Once you’ve completed the level and begun your descent into the lower levels of the care center as Grace, Leon takes over. Leon traverses the same environment as Grace, which makes it extremely satisfying when you’re able to go scorched earth on the enemies that were an absolute nightmare to contend with previously. Being able to experience both a meticulous and well-crafted horror level, followed by the same section where you’re now able to exact vicious revenge on the monsters that tormented you, makes for an incredibly cathartic gaming experience that also doesn’t drop an ounce of tension because of the switching perspectives.

Spoilers ahead: The only negative parts of the game lie in the story. Now, the story has never been a vital aspect of “RE.” Most mainstream games have contrived plots that aren’t meant to be taken too seriously, but since “RE 9” opens with going over Grace’s pretty traumatic backstory, it gives the impression that the tone will be overall more serious for this game and for the most part, that’s true, for Grace’s sections at least. However, the conclusion of the story leaves much to be desired. We are told that Grace is some sort of biological key needed to release a secret bioweapon named Elpis, but in a twist, it is revealed that she has nothing to do with the secret bioweapon, which isn’t a weapon but actually a cure for all diseases (leave it to RE to have the MacGuffin be the cure for cancer).

The issue isn’t the twist, which actually fits the themes of the story well, but the fact that the game revolves around Grace for no reason. She doesn’t actually have anything to do with the plot and the villains seem to think that the key is somehow tied to her body chemistry, so the plot starts with them kidnapping her, but the questions arise as to why they didn’t do that 10 years earlier. Their first idea was to create genetic clones of Grace, which they apparently made a lot of, but you’d think they’d need Grace’s DNA to make a clone of her and if they’re able to extract her DNA, I’m pretty sure they could’ve just kidnapped her in the first place. It also should’ve been obvious to them way earlier that the code for Elpis wasn’t tied to her genetic makeup at all, and the code was just the word “Hope.” I don’t think that was that hard to figure out.

The second issue with the story is the antagonists. First, there’s Victor Gideon, who’s definitely entertaining but doesn’t reveal his motivation until the end when you fight him as Leon. However, he falls short as a villain since Leon defeated him earlier in the story and he hadn’t been on screen for almost a third of the game when he showed up again. Then there’s Zeno, a clone of iconic “RE” villain Albert Wesker, although the game never outright tells you this, so unless you’re a longtime fan of the series, you’ll have no idea what he’s doing in the story. The player is also led to believe that he’s going to be the main villain of the game, but he is decapitated by Gideon at the end of the game with very little fanfare. Lastly, there’s the shadow organization, the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, who, again, unless you’re a longtime fan, you wouldn’t know who they are or why they would want to kill you. They’re also barely in the game and only show up towards the end to give Leon new enemy types to fight. Finally, there’s the problem of shared screen time between Grace and Leon. Unfortunately, other than Grace’s big section in the beginning, Leon takes the majority of the runtime. That doesn’t hamper the pace of the game too much, but it is supposed to be Grace’s game, and there are long stretches in the middle without any of her gameplay.

The last thing to highlight is the setpieces in this game, because they are so well put together. Every time you might think “RE” 9 isn’t unique enough, a new area will blow you out of the water. Leon has some amazing action setpieces, providing cover for Grace with a sniper rifle, an epic motorcycle race through an abandoned city while being attacked by giant zombie dogs, battling a giant spider in a crumbling building, or a close-quarters axe fight with fan favorite super soldier Hunk, just to name a few. Grace also gets her fair share of excitement, escaping a soon-to-self-destruct laboratory while dismembering zombies with a souped-up fire extinguisher or dodging through a mechanical maze and lighting spotlights to disable and kill The Girl. Overall, “RE 9” heard all of the praise for its predecessors and brought it all into the modern era. While the story might be nonsensical, that’s to be expected with the “RE” formula. I think Capcom knocked it out of the park and I can’t wait for what they’re going to do with the series next: 9/10.

Top Ten STAFF’S

Top 10 Most Awkward Moments

By ARIEL KNUDSEN JUSTICE FORUMS EDITORAL ASSISTANT

1.When you say goodbye to someone and you head in the same direction.

2. When someone holds the door open for you, and you have to run towards them.

3. When you see the person you’re meeting, but you’re still walking toward them so you have to say “hi.”

4. When someone waves and you think it’s at you but it’s not.

5. When you make up a fake excuse to not hangout with somebody and they find out about it.

6. When your waiter gets your order wrong.

7. When you make a joke and you have to repeat it.

8. Saying “no problem” before a person thanks you.

9. Saying “you too” in response to something that doesn’t warrant it.

10. Saying “good morning” to someone when it is obviously not morning.

SUDOKU

By NEMMA KALRA JUSTICE DEPUTY EDITOR