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FactsSlang
- Branpo - Brandeis police.
- Branvan - Weekend shuttle to Cambridge.
- Goy - A non-Jew.
- Shiksa - A non-Jewish female.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
- Brandeis does not have the traditional Spring Break but rather has a week off in February and a week off in April to accommodate for Passover.
- You need to start working on the language and PE requirements right away because they are easy to forget.
Tips to Succeed
- Don’t be intimidated by all the Jewish people. If you’re not religious or not Jewish, you’ll be fine. It’s a very comfortable atmosphere, no matter your background.
- Get involved early and often, but do not overextend yourself. Your grades and your health will suffer from lack of free time and lack of sleep.
- If you’re a morning person, schedule early classes. If you aren’t, do not schedule a 9 a.m. because of temptation to skip.
- Open up your mind. Brandeis is very open to a lot of ideas, and if you stay very closed-minded you’ll be swallowed alive.
- Take classes with friends, and take classes at times you like. You have to take a lot of classes to graduate. Take as many classes as you can with your friends because it always helps. They can give you notes when you’re out, they’re good study buddies, and you’ll always have someone to sit next to during class.
Urban Legends
- A former Brandeis president is supposedly buried somewhere behind the International Business School Building.
- Brandeis had a football team, but it was eliminated. There are three myths that are most associated with this. One is that the Gosmans, who donated the sports complex, had a son die from playing football and would only give money for the gym if they stopped playing football at Brandeis. Another is that Jewish law and football law have discrepancies. And the third is that “Jews are no good at football.”
- Brandeis is coming up so quickly in the academic rankings that it may soon be offered entrance into the Ivy League.
- Debra Messing of Will and Grace went to Brandeis, but she doesn’t tell anyone that.
- Leonard Bernstein taught at Brandeis, and the music building was built for him in the shape of a grand piano.
- Middlesex College used to own the Castle before Brandeis was there, and it was used as a dormitory for the all-girls veterinary school that was there. Some say in the 1920s, before its use a dormitory, it was used as lab rooms, and some say the Castle housed the morgue. Other myths about the Castle say that there are secret passageways and underground tunnels.
- Spingold, the main auditorium, was built to replicate the shape of a top hat.
- The creators of Friends went to Brandeis and they formed Central Perk, the coffeehouse on the show, after their experience at Chum’s, Brandeis’ coffeehouse.
- The school was going to be called Einstein College but Albert Einstein didn’t want it to be named after him.
- Usdan Student Center was taken over in the 1960s by protestors who barred administration from getting in through the one door in there. Now there are over 15 doors to make sure this can never happen again.
Traditions
- Bronstein Weekend - This is one of the best weekends of the year, and occurs in the spring. Bronstein usually features a couple of concerts and lots of camp-like activities.
- Fall Fest - Since we don’t have a football team, and therefore we don’t have homecoming, there is this thing called Fall Fest, which brings back alums and Brandeis parents to the campus. This annual event features activities for everyone (young and old), and allows for parents to see what their kids have done to themselves and their room since they moved in.
- Midnight Buffet - Midnight Buffet goes down twice a year, both during finals time, and involves lots of food (pizza, soda, donuts, ice cream, fruit, vegetables, and popcorn) and lots of giveaways. It is one of the best times a student can have during finals.
School Spirit
When the men’s basketball team made it to the quarterfinals of the Division III NCAA tournament in 2008, there were celebration parties and a free bus to take students to Pennsylvania for the game. Usually though, there is little evidence of school spirit. While one can usually find a rally for Israel, it is rare to see anything in support of Brandeis. Although it is in the same conference as NYU, Washington University, and Emory, Brandeis fails to provide the same sporting experience as any of these schools. A lack of a football team and a general lack of interest in any sports team certainly hurts efforts to excite the student body. But, if the basketball teams continue to do well, then school spirit will slowly but surely improve.
Most Recent Contributing Author
Name: Emily Maskas
Hometown: Sterling, MA
Major: Psychology/Art History Emily is ambidextrous. Contributing Author Internship
College Prowler is actively seeking talented students to be "Contributing Authors," and assist with updating
the College Prowler guide to their school. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain internship experience, be a part of a nationally
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really like at your college. Read more about the internship.
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