Spring Break
EDITORIAL: Too many flaws in JBS
Plans vague and incomplete
Editorial | 3/10/09
Posted online at 12:08 AM EST on 3/10/09
With the coming increase in student population, Brandeis University will have to implement some measure or measures to stagger student presence on an already packed campus. Last Thursday, the faculty approved a proposal for a Justice Brandeis Semester, an experiential learning semester during which students would pay reduced tuition and obtain reduced credit. The JBS is optional as approved but may become mandatory in coming years. Despite the need to remove some students from campus to accommodate a larger student body, the faculty should not have approved the JBS. As it stands, the plans for the JBS are too rife with ambiguities to be approved.
On-campus JBS programs proposed at last Thursday's faculty meeting include a Brandeis Summer Arts Festival and a Brandeis Immersive Summer Language Institute. Professors would also submit proposals for departmental or interdepartmental JBS programs. Unfortunately, given the large financial and time investment that will be necessary for these projects, there are too many unresolved questions. Will professors, many of whom participate in research projects, study abroad or arts festivals over the summer, be able and willing to put in the work necessary to make these programs successful? Have all funding issues been resolved? How many programs will we need for all students wanting an on-campus JBS? While it was mentioned at the meeting that some aspects of this program will have to be "taken on good faith," there are too many unresolved details for us to take on contingency.
Aside from the above unresolved problems, there is the issue of off-campus internship availability and quality control. With companies and organizations cutting down on even unpaid positions, students' ability to find satisfactory research or volunteer positions off campus will be hampered in the coming years. Additionally, these positions will have to be vetted for rigorousness and applicability to the criteria presented at last Thursday's faculty meeting. Finally, while the tuition for an off-campus JBS will be reduced, the fact remains that students will still have to support themselves during their JBS. This places unnecessary pressure on students to arrange their living situations in an unstable economic environment.
On-campus JBS programs proposed at last Thursday's faculty meeting include a Brandeis Summer Arts Festival and a Brandeis Immersive Summer Language Institute. Professors would also submit proposals for departmental or interdepartmental JBS programs. Unfortunately, given the large financial and time investment that will be necessary for these projects, there are too many unresolved questions. Will professors, many of whom participate in research projects, study abroad or arts festivals over the summer, be able and willing to put in the work necessary to make these programs successful? Have all funding issues been resolved? How many programs will we need for all students wanting an on-campus JBS? While it was mentioned at the meeting that some aspects of this program will have to be "taken on good faith," there are too many unresolved details for us to take on contingency.
Aside from the above unresolved problems, there is the issue of off-campus internship availability and quality control. With companies and organizations cutting down on even unpaid positions, students' ability to find satisfactory research or volunteer positions off campus will be hampered in the coming years. Additionally, these positions will have to be vetted for rigorousness and applicability to the criteria presented at last Thursday's faculty meeting. Finally, while the tuition for an off-campus JBS will be reduced, the fact remains that students will still have to support themselves during their JBS. This places unnecessary pressure on students to arrange their living situations in an unstable economic environment.
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