The Justice

Lately, issues surrounding the $10 million budget gap for the next fiscal year have created palpable tension on campus. It seems that many students feel at odds with the modifications of the administration has handed down to try and alleviate the financial crisis. Time and money are tight, but we firmly feel the administration should invest some of the former and a little of the latter in order to interact more consistently and on a more personal level with the student body.

If administrators interact more with students, we will be reminded of the sincerity of the administration. President Reinharz told the Justice that "it is going to need a community effort in order to get us out of this mess." We realize that more administrative involvement with students won't actually improve Brandeis' financial woes, but it will strengthen the sense of community that would make us more optimistic about the changes that will have to be made.

President Reinharz is a leader and spokesperson for this school, and more interaction with students on his part is key to creating the united community we need.

President Reinharz, along with other high-profile administrators, could eat at campus dining halls, attend sporting events and go to concerts or performances by student groups. Or if he felt like making a bigger investment, he could give an interview with WBRS or BTV. Reaching out to student leaders would provide President Reinharz with an invaluable relationship with those leaders' groups. He need not provide students with face time in order to hear complaints; simply increasing his visibility on campus will make it harder for students to dismiss the administration as out of touch or disinterested in the student point of view.

We realize that President Reinharz devotes much of his time to important off-campus fundraising, but the sense of unity he could help foster at the University would be well worth the time he would have to take from this work.

In order to avoid having to spend money on initiating new programs, the University could capitalize on missed opportunities to connect with students. Extant committees formerly populated almost solely by student government members could be expanded to include representatives from other aspects of student life-Undergraduate Department Represen-tatives, presidents of pre-health and pre-law organizations and leaders of the campus' popular cultural or activist groups for instance.

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