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T h e I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9 Volume LXXVIII, Number 18
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Waltham, Mass.
POLITICS
COMMENCEMENT
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS.
TOWN HALL: Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey spoke to students on April 25.
Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS.
SPEAKER: Sandberg is set to speak at the 2026 commencement ceremony despite recent
Senator Markey discusses how youth can New Senate resolution calls for Sandberg's make lasting social change in Trump era removal as 2026 commencement speaker
Markey spoke to a group of students
from across the Boston area about pressing political issues in a town hall hosted by the College Democrats of Massachusetts. By CHAVA THIELL
JUSTICE NEWS EDITOR
On Saturday, April 25, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey spoke to students from the greater Boston area to discuss some of today’s most pressing issues. The event was held in collaboration with the College Democrats of Massachusetts, the High School Democrats of Massachusetts, the Sunrise Movement and Voters of Tomorrow. Bailey Kelly, a current student at Tufts University and a member of the College Democrats of Massachusetts, introduced Markey to the students. Kelly cited some of Markey’s accomplishments in the Senate as well as his previous efforts to enact progressive legislative change. Kelly also mentioned Markey’s strong relationship with young people and described him as someone who “never stops fighting for students.” After Markey was introduced, he expressed his gratitude to the event’s sponsors. He also emphasized the important role young people have in efforts to create progressive change, and addressed systemic flaws in the American government that have in turn had adverse effects on youth. Markey described young people as the “leaders of today” and said he believes “you [young people] deserve a government that is fighting for your future.” Markey also spoke to the current state of American politics and faulted President Donald Trump along with his allies for many of the struggles that youth currently face. He also pointed to issues including the ongoing war in Iran, repeals of protections for LGBTQ+ people and attacks against immigrants. Markey concluded his opening remarks and implored young people to organize by stressing the impact they can have: “Real change in this country has never come from Washington alone. It comes from movements.” The event was structured so that moderators alternated between lighter, more conversational questions and more serious inquiries about the state of American politics. Joshua Rand, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who works with the Sunrise Movement, first asked Markey what his favorite sneaker is. Markey stated that he likes Nike Air shoes and joked about a “clean air revolution.” This reply segued into Rand’s next question about the ongoing changes in the climate movement and how young people can work to address the problem. Markey responded by pointing out how President Trump’s ongoing war in Iran has led the price of oil to “skyrocket” and has further contributed to the current “climate
controversies.
apocalypse” the world is experiencing. To combat the climate crisis, Markey believes the government must refocus on the goals of the “Green New Deal,” which he introduced with Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Some of the bill’s goals include a shift away from fossil fuels, the creation of new “green” jobs and modernized upgrades to infrastructure. Markey was confident that “we [the Democrats] are going to win the House and Senate” as a result of citizens’ discontent with Trump’s America. Rand followed up to ask about jobs for students who want to work in clean energy and climate justice. Markey pointed to the 750,000 new jobs that would have been created in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which has since been terminated by the Trump administration. Markey also stated that he believes young people should have seats “at the table” in every federal agency that deals with issues of climate change. Kelly thanked Markey for his long-demonstrated commitment to including youth in the decision-making process and proceeded with further questions. She asked Markey what his favorite Dunkin’ order is, to which Markey replied that he enjoys a double chocolate donut, as well as a jelly donut. Kelly shared that in the current moment, many young people are skeptical of “the system” and find it doesn’t work for them. As such, Kelly asked what reforms are necessary in order to “rebuild trust” in the system. According to Markey, Trump is “fundamentally assaulting the programs that have been put in place” and mentioned the appointments of Linda McMahon as the Secretary of Education and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Markey believes that both McMahon and Kennedy have caused great destruction in their roles and primarily try to “demonize black and brown kids in our country.” As such, Markey believes politicians must address “loopholes for billionaires” and urged the passage of the Equal Tax Act. He also believes that the government should seek to create incentives for students who want to devote their lives to public service through debt forgiveness. Additionally, he focused on the importance of creating programs for students with disabilities and addressing wealth disparities. Kelly proceeded to ask how we can work together to lower everyday costs for young people, to which Markey responded we must reinstate the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid and that, “the system is rigged and we’ve got to fix it.” The next question came from Jackson Hurley, a recent graduate of Northeastern University and volunteer at Voters of Tomorrow. Hurley referenced Markey’s experience working in an ice cream shop over the summers and inquired as to what his favorite ice cream flavor is. Markey shared that he enjoys a hot fudge sundae and mentioned that, after working in the ice cream shop for a summer, he would be able to pay his tuition in full. He cited this as another issue that has affected young people. This response transitioned into Hurley’s further questioning about financial is-
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River Simard ’26, calls upon the University to rescind Sandberg's honorary degree at 2026 commencement. By NAWAL IRFANI
JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF
Content warning: This article contains mention of sexual harassment. On Sunday, April 19, the Student Union passed Senate Resolution No. 4, which called on the University administration “to rescind the offer of an honorary degree to the 2026 commencement speaker, Sheryl Sandberg.” River Simard ’26, the Class of 2026 Senator, authored and introduced the resolution and received sponsorships from Luke Farberman ’27, Senator-at-Large and Davvian Pa-
gan ’29, Myra Kraft Achievers Program Senator. “I decided to write this [resolution] after speaking with several other seniors who were very upset about the decision that was made by the administration to appoint Sheryl Sandberg [as commencement speaker],” Simard shared in an April 24 interview with The Justice. “I felt it was important to take action as a representative of the student body and … see if this was something that the other senators wanted to make a statement on,” he continued. The resolution highlighted three distinct reasons for the Student Union’s call to remove Sandberg as speaker. First, “in March 2025, Sandberg was accused of sexual misconduct, which included Sandberg asking an employee to ‘join Sandberg in sharing a bed on a private jet’” and “‘instruct[ing] a different employee to purchase $13,000 worth of lingerie for Sandberg and the employee.’” Secondly, the resolution recognized that “in January 2025, Sandberg was sanctioned by a judge for ‘deleting emails related to litigation over Facebook's Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, despite being told to preserve the messages.’” Finally, the
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Fall 2026 course registration: trends, concerns and advice for students As fall 2026 course registration
is ongoing, Brandeis faculty, staff and students share their thoughts on course offerings, trends and concerns. By ALLIE LADJEVA
JUSTICE COPY EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
On April 22, early course registration for fall 2026 officially opened, which allowed undergraduate students to build next semester’s schedule. Early registration remains open until May 10, allowing students to continue choosing which classes to take. However, many have already reported being waitlisted for their preferred classes. To inform this article, a small-scale survey was conducted by The Justice to provide insight into how Brandeis undergraduates felt about fall 2026 course registration and offerings. As of press time, the survey received 35 responses from Brandeis
students, of which 49% were third-years, 37% were sophomores and 14% were first-years. Among the respondents, the most popular majors were Business, Politics, Biology and Psychology, with Legal Studies and Studio Arts being the most common minors, suggesting a variety of perspectives. 74% of respondents also reported taking language courses at Brandeis, including Spanish, Hebrew, French, Chinese and Italian, with Spanish being the most popular. The answers suggest student interest in taking a variety of languages, regardless of their majors and minors. Since the opening of early registration for fall 2026, 37% of respondents were able to register for all their desired courses, while 57% of students were waitlisted for one or more courses and 6% are still deciding which courses to take. Most of the students who reported being waitlisted for multiple courses are majoring in Biology, Business and Neuroscience, while most of the students who are waitlisted for only one course are majoring in Psychology. The results indicate that these departments have high demand and some classes might be small in size, unable to accommodate all students. To better understand which classes are most
Club Status
"One Night Only"
State of the Union address
A report on the Brandeis
A sit-down interview with Springfest opening band "One Night Only."
By CHAVA THIELL
By ELLIE HARRIS
By ARIEL KNUDSEN
Mountain Club's newly secured status. By ALYSSA WU
Photo courtesy of BRANDEIS MOUNTAIN CLUB.
The resolution, introduced by
FEATURES 6
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