En route to visit my friend Noni in Yarmouth on Cape Cod, I returned to Brandeis where I spent my freshman, sophomore, and senior collegiate years. (For my junior year, I was in Israel at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.) I felt strange walking around campus. So much has changed in the nearly forty years since I attended Brandeis – duh! And…the campus felt somewhat similar to Cal Poly! The same mishmash of architecture, same ongoing construction, same students wandering around… I felt both out of place and familiar…

Brandeis’ seal – the Hebrew word is Emmett (truth). I was bummed the bookstore didn’t have any baby clothes with this seal for my honorary grandson, Emmett. (I’ll need to check online!)

Reitman, my freshman dorm. I was in a two-room triple; most others were in doubles. I remember looking out of my window and seeing snow for the first time. I also remember sitting in this quad on the first warm Spring day – when the temperature made it to 50°!

The steps up to Rabb Hall where I had several classes. Oddly, the steps didn’t seem so steep today.

Usdan which used to be the student center and now holds offices. Starting at the end of my freshman year, I started working as an office aide for The Waltham Group, the student organization that arranges volunteering opportunities for students. The Waltham Group continues to be very active on campus.

The round classroom where I had several classes, including Death and Dying with Morrie Schwartz, made famous in Mitch Album’s book, Tuesday’s with Morrie.

My sophomore year was my hardest academic year since I wanted to study in Israel for a year and needed to complete a bunch of difficult required classes before studying abroad. That year, I closed down Gerstenzang Library most nights. This was the library for studying; Goldfarb Library was more for socializing.

Statue of Justice Louis D. Brandeis, first Jewish Supreme Court Justice.

When I was a senior, we had about three reported rapes on campus. A friend and I, both connected with The Waltham Group, approached Pres. Bernstein for his approval to create an escort service so women would not have to walk alone on campus at night. He gave us his approval, and the program was hugely successful.

Ridgewood, my sophomore dorm.

The Jewish chapel. Brandeis has three chapels (Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant), all situated around a pond so that none ever casts a shadow over either of the other chapels. From my reading, I see that in the past 40 years Brandeis has added space for Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains.