Brandeis University Top Questions

Triskelion is Brandeis's GSA. It has meetings every Thursday night, and is generally pretty interesting. Meetings generally include guest speakers, movies, activities run by the different branches of Trisk (Pride, QRC, OUTReach, and TransBrandeis), and social gatherings. This year, Trisk helped push through a policy for co-ed rooms for upperclassmen. TransBrandeis is also working on a bathroom project which aims to show the administration that bathrooms need to be improved, both in their handicaped accessibility and their gender neutrality. In my opinion, Trisk is nowhere near perfect. It tends to be very sexual, and sometimes it feels like there's a clique you're not part of. Also, many of the meetings don't feel like they're accomplishing anything. This will hopefully improve in the future, since new members of the board for the coming year are aware of these problems. - The above information is from Spring 2008. I have since stopped attending Trisk, but from what I have heard they're in the process of reorganizing so that there's a place for the social events and a place for more serious. SASS, the Sex and Sexuality Symposium, is a new academic discussion group which is being absorbed into Trisk starting in Fall 2009. This past year it met weekly, alternating between big evening meetings and smaller lunchtime discussions. Topics discussed include: BDSM, masterbation, virginity, the pregnant man, and objectum sexuality. SASS also put on its first annual undergraduate sexualities research conference where students shared their work. I attended almost all of the SASS meetings and loved it. It was a refreshing middleground between the social atmosphere of most clubs and the discussion of a good seminar class. Shalem, Brandeis's Jewish GLBT group, is another new club. Although it's only a year old and its small membership is composed of more allies than queer Jews, we put on some AMAZING events this year including an ally training oneg, a queer-inclusive seder, and several speakers. We're small, we're new, but I have hope. Care to join us? Brandeis Swingers is Brandeis's swing dance club. It has lessons every Tuesday night along with a performing troupe. Brandeis does East Coast Swing, which is pretty easy to learn even though the teachers (fellow students) aren't the best. BUCO, Brandeis University Conservative (Jewish) organization is WONDERFUL. Imagine Shira Chadasha in Jerusalem without the mechitzah, and you have the energy of BUCO Friday night services. I swear, it's the best minyan in the US. Saturday morning services tend to be a little sparce, and the Monday and Thursday minyanim have virtually no energy and way too many silent prayers, but then again, who's fully awake at 7:45 AM during college? BUCO also does social activites such as a yearly snow tubing trip and a scavenger hunt in Boston. Theater is a massive thing at Brandeis. There are six different undergraduate theater groups on campus where students direct/produce/design/etc. their own shows. During the second half of the semester, there's often a different show going up each weekend. Students can also participate in the Brandeis Theater Company productions, which are run as professionally as Brandeis can make them. If you get involved in theater, however, it WILL suck up your life. Then again, that's theater. It's no different at Brandeis than it is anywhere else. Different people have fun at Brandeis in different ways. Although fraternities/sororities are not technically allowed, they exist. Yes, there are parties. Yes, there is drinking. Yes, there are drugs. For those people who want these things, they're there. However, there's also plenty to do without these things. Movie nights. Dances. Cultural celebrations of various types. Theater shows. Walks around campus, around Waltham, around Boston. Be creative. Not everyone at Brandeis drinks, and as far as I know, people are not usually pressured into doing anything they don't want to do.

There are lots of things to do. Sometimes events aren't as well attended as I would hope, especially dances. Things like liquid latex, Pachanga, Culture X, dance performances, etc. are all fun and well attended. Some people party and drink 3 nights a week (Thursday through Saturday night...or Friday/Sat + another week night). Other people don't drink and party at all. My friends and I will drink and party as often as it sounds appealing and there are actual fun, well-attended parties to go to but if we have too much work and don't want to deal with the next morning hangover or tiredness, we'll stay in to watch movies or have a mellow night in Boston, etc. About Boston - some people never go in but some months I've gone in once a week for an interview, errands, to visit friends at other schools, etc. Drinking is what you make of it. I have some awesome friends that don't drink but they'll still come to the same dances and parties and have a good time. If you want to party (dance, meet people) but not drink, schools like BU have big dances and events where there are fewer drunk people and more dancing. People should leave their doors open and that definitely happens in the beginning of the year but...it's unrealistic and annoying to do if you're studying, fucking, sleeping, or want some privacy for other reasons. Fraternities and sororities are somewhat unnecessary and are not recognized by the university. If you already have multiple friends in one and you want to pledge, do it, but don't be the lame person that thinks they'll magically make awesome friends in a greek organization. They don't party as hard as most other schools' frats but they do host a few good parties.

The community service organization (Waltham Group) on campus is great and is really easy to get involved in. People are also involved in the intramural sports teams. Outside of extracurriculars, there is always stuff to do. How social your dorm is really depends on the people who live on your hall. Right now I have a pretty antisocial hall and people don't leave their doors open, which was really difficult at the beginning of the year, but some of my friends have really social halls. So it really depends. The athletic events are pretty popular, our basketball team did really well this past year so a lot of people went to that. I met my closest friends either through other friends, or just on my hall and in my classes. It's tough at the beginning of the year, but I think it is at most schools. There's always stuff going on during the weekends, but you have to be alert and lookout to find most of it. There's always stuff going on in Boston too and it's really easy to get to Boston with the free shuttle. On campus there's usually student events stuff going on: either a dance, concert or a group on campus is putting something together.

Between club activities, school sponsored events, and personally thrown parties, there are enough things to do in a given weekend that generally you have to prioritize, and sometimes do a "Mrs. Doubtfire" type thing (with the changing in the bathroom stalls) to be everywhere you want to be. This semester they've opened a late-night diner, which means even less sleep, more hanging out (if you want to of course), and actually some pretty nice food options. Russian Club meetings, for example, run from 10pm-1am on Thursdays (not mandatory attendance, and toward the end there are maybe 10 of us left). Previously this meant that at 1am we would begin doing our homework. Now this means that at 1am we go over to the diner, and hang out there until 3am...and then go do our hw. You meet people everywhere, from the shuttle stops, to clubs, to even classes (which is where I met one of my closest friends on campus). And, Brandeis provides free transportation into the local town (Waltham) as well as into Boston. Since we also have our own train stop on the commuter rail, it's pretty easy to get around off-campus, even without a car.

Groups I'm involved with are awesome. Banshee- women's Ultimate frisbee. Practice/workout most weeknights, tournaments on weekend, and party together. Great people. Hooked on Tap, tap performance, done for the semester but tons of fun. Vagina Club puts on the Vagina Monologues and creates the most incredible space for women and I can't imagine life without it now. Dating? Ha. Orthodox Jews looking to get married and people hooking up. Not much between, it seems. I was awake at 2am yesterday, technically Wednesday but we can call it Tuesday. I was sitting in the campus center "studying for my Hebrew midterm" actually talking to my friend about the various shit in our lives/linguistics/academics/courses we want to take/life. Good times. Last weekend was Purim. Thursday night I was wasted and celebrated Purim the right way. Friday night I performed in the Vagina Monologues. Saturday was the matinée, and then I just chilled and did homework.

Acapella is way too popular on campus- I used to be in one so I totally understand the whole scene. Also comedy and dance groups are pretty abundant, as well as activism groups. I do quite a bit of comedy- improv, sketch, longform, you name it. It's just fun, and people love to laugh. The campus is kind of closed off, though, and athletic events have a really hard time drawing people, but it's gotten better in recent months. Guest speakers and theater are also a big part of student life. Dating...? I'm probably the wrong one to ask. You meet your best friends just by getting involved and spending time with people. Once you can get through the ice, everyone here is really genuine and interesting. The tricky part is taking that first step. Most people go out and party every weekend- frats and sororities aren't recognized on campus, but there are some that exist off campus. Compared to full blooded frats and sororities, they are really just there for the people who really want to be there. Fun that doesn't involve drinking? That's tough, but there are alot of rock and roll shows on campus as well as dances. Most likely you will just be relaxing and hanging out with your friends. Or going to services if you're Jewish. Off off campus is great though- everybody knows Boston is a college town.

Brandeis offers to each of its students whatever they want out of Brandeis. If they want to party hard, it's there. If they want to stay in on weekends and do work, it's there. If they want to go into Boston every weekend, it's there. If they want to see a play/performance every week, it's there. Brandeis is entirely what you make of it.

I am on the Rugby team, but I also go to fraternity/sorority parties all the time - students often leave their doors open. Athletic events are borderline popular. I met my closest friends because they lived with guys on the Rugby team. The 'dating scene' is just meeting people at parties. If you are awake at 2am on a Tuesday you are either at a bar, high, or writing a paper due wednesday. We have 'The Naked Dance' - the less you wear, the less you pay to go inside and dance. We have "Midnight Buffet" - the two nights before finals everyone gets together at midnight and has thousands of dollars worth of food and chills. We have a big band come once a semester, but they aren't that badass (OAR, Third Eye Blind, etc.) We had Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter come by...ehh... Frats and Sororities are important if you go out a lot, but meaningless if you don't go out. Everyone parties on friday/saturday, few do on thursday, lots do on wednesday. It's weird here. On a Saturday night if you don't want to drink you can watch a movie...or something. Drinking is a big part of the culture here as it is on every campus, and kids -do- go out to parties and not drink. Off campus we have bars, movie theatres, good food, Boston/clubs, etc.

I'm involved in the Ballroom Dance Team. It's very active and very hard. Everyone thinks dancing is easy, but when they do ballroom or latin, technique is involved and then it gets harder because when we compete judges will be looking for mistakes and other criteria. Most students leave their doors closed or partially open. I met my closest friends through other friends. Well, this past Tuesday at 2 am, I was working on a project with my partner. But most times it's finishing up that last bit that I couldn't get to before dance class. Large parties happen every year, but they're usually a bust since people get shut out an hour after doors open because of max capacity. So when we hold special events not everyone gets to go. I don't party on campus. Last weekend I hung out with the Russian Club and on Sunday spent the day in the library doing work. I don't drink alcohol; they can go bowling, out to eat, into Boston, eat at Ollie's. Off campus I go home and eat good food.

A CAPPELLA and THEATER are the two biggest consumers of students' time. So many shows, so many rehearsals! Athletic events are basically dead. Frats and sororities exist, even though the school doesn't officially recognize them, but they have a very small presence on campus.