There's no class on Tuesday, March 9, so take a break from your screens!

If you're on campus, stop by the Brandeis Booths in Fellows Garden between 11 am and 1 pm ET for free food, giveaways, and prizes. You can also take a wellness self-assessment and receive personalized feedback and resources from a BTW peer educator.

If you're off campus, tune into a special, "cameras off" Zoom meditation. International students are also invited to attend a virtual, wellness-themed InStep event.

Let's take advantage of Zoom and come together to explore some cool topics about who we are and how we see the world. Sessions are open to all Brandeis students and led by the BCC's Hadassah Margolis, LICSW, with various co-leaders.

March 2021 sessions include:

To see all topics and to register for one or more workshop(s), visit BCC Remotely Interesting Workshops Spring 2021.

Join registered yoga teacher Dimple Patel ’12 for a four-week introduction to “chair yoga,” which is practiced sitting in a chair or standing and using a chair for support. No prior yoga experience is needed. Hosted by the Brandeis Alumni of Color Network and Brandeisians of the Last Decade (BOLD), the series is open to all in the Brandeis community.

RSVP for March 2, March 9, March 16, or March 23

Many of us may be sitting at our desks for hours at a time for work and online classes. Brandeis' Strength and Conditioning Coach Jay Mendoza demonstrates stretches you can do at your desk to get some movement and relief!

Brandeis is a community where we look out for each other. To protect yourself and others, make sure to stay updated with the Brandeis COVID-19 safety regulations.

If you notice that someone isn't following the safety guidelines, try to assume good intent. The pandemic has been hard for many, and there are myriad factors influencing a person's behavior and choices (e.g. exhaustion, loneliness, frustration, forgetfulness, "COVID fatigue," etc.) It's unlikely that they are acting with malicious intent.

You can help by using the bystander intervention skills you have already learned from PARC:

Direct: Give a friendly reminder about campus policy: "Hey, I noticed that you're not wearing a mask. Can you put one on please?" You can also ask about their safety plans: "I saw that you're having people over next week. How are you planning to maintain distance and mask usage?"

Distract: If you notice that a person is in an uncomfortable position (e.g. someone without a mask is standing too close) you can create a distraction to allow that person to get out of the situation. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second? Let's go over here."

With fewer days off and no week-long breaks this semester, we may start to experience academic burnout. Academic burnout is characterized by prolonged feelings of exhaustion and stress and can result in lack of motivation in school. The good news: there are ways to recover from and even prevent academic burnout!

Even if you do not experience academic burnout, it is nevertheless important to practice stress management this semester. Try a new workout. Find a meditation app that works for you. Take a look at the poll below and vote for your favorite!

Seasonal changes bring more than just differences in temperatures; insects vary season to season, with some species becoming much more active in warmer weather.

To protect yourself against bites:

Common symptoms of insect-borne illness: