Spring Break
Brandzel urges social activism
by Miranda Neubauer
Senior Writer
News | 9/2/08
Posted online at 10:18 PM EST on 9/1/08
/ Last updated at 1:36 AM EST on 9/1/08
Political activist Ben Brandzel '03 encouraged first-year students to embrace the Brandeis legacy of social activism by calling on them to defy the odds and make the world a better place last Tuesday in Spingold.
Brandzel, a former Student Union president, helped create the Oxfam Collegiate Click Drive, a national fund-raising initiative to combat poverty and hunger, in 2002. In 2004 he launched Student Action, the student arm of MoveOn.org, a liberal Internet-driven political group. He was the advocacy director for MoveOn.org from 2004 to 2007. He also served on the presidential campaigns of Howard Dean and John Edwards.
The establishment of Brandeis was not an academic initiative, he said, but a response to a "problem of justice," referring to the quota systems in place at other universities at the time of Brandeis' establishment that limited attendance by Jewish students and members of other minorities. Other universities, such as Harvard, he pointed out, are named after wealthy donors. "Brandeis is different," he said, because it was named after an individual "whose ideals the founders admired."
The most basic goal of social activism, he said, is to bring the world closer "to how it ought to be." Ultimately, activists strive to create "wall-breaking change," tearing down divisions between classes and ethnicities, he said. "That's the kind of legacy that Brandeis can hand to you."
During Brandzel's time at Brandeis, he said, students confronted administrators about wage disparities affecting janitors working with companies in contract with Brandeis, who also did not have full benefits.
As a result, Brandeis became the first in-sourced university in the country, Brandzel said. At the time, Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins, who helped make that decision, told [Brandzel] that "you can't fight social justice at Brandeis."
A majority of attendees raised their hands in response to his opening question, affirming that Brandeis' social justice reputation influenced their decision to come to Brandeis. "The founders of Brandeis would have raised their hands as well," Brandzel replied.
Brandzel, a former Student Union president, helped create the Oxfam Collegiate Click Drive, a national fund-raising initiative to combat poverty and hunger, in 2002. In 2004 he launched Student Action, the student arm of MoveOn.org, a liberal Internet-driven political group. He was the advocacy director for MoveOn.org from 2004 to 2007. He also served on the presidential campaigns of Howard Dean and John Edwards.
The establishment of Brandeis was not an academic initiative, he said, but a response to a "problem of justice," referring to the quota systems in place at other universities at the time of Brandeis' establishment that limited attendance by Jewish students and members of other minorities. Other universities, such as Harvard, he pointed out, are named after wealthy donors. "Brandeis is different," he said, because it was named after an individual "whose ideals the founders admired."
The most basic goal of social activism, he said, is to bring the world closer "to how it ought to be." Ultimately, activists strive to create "wall-breaking change," tearing down divisions between classes and ethnicities, he said. "That's the kind of legacy that Brandeis can hand to you."
During Brandzel's time at Brandeis, he said, students confronted administrators about wage disparities affecting janitors working with companies in contract with Brandeis, who also did not have full benefits.
As a result, Brandeis became the first in-sourced university in the country, Brandzel said. At the time, Vice President of Campus Operations Mark Collins, who helped make that decision, told [Brandzel] that "you can't fight social justice at Brandeis."
A majority of attendees raised their hands in response to his opening question, affirming that Brandeis' social justice reputation influenced their decision to come to Brandeis. "The founders of Brandeis would have raised their hands as well," Brandzel replied.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
David R. Zukerman Class of '62
posted 9/02/08 @ 4:09 PM EST
And this is to urge the Brandeis community to read the first half of Federalist Paper No. 57 and call its recommendations to the attention of officials, elected and appointed. (Continued…)
George Patsourakos
posted 9/04/08 @ 12:54 PM EST
George Patsourakos
Brandzel's address on social activism for incoming Brandeis freshman is an important ideal for these students. All too often, universities are concerned only with courses, grades, and athletics. (Continued…)
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