title: Brandeis University

text: The Brandeis board felt it was in no position to make the investment in the medical school that would enable it to receive accreditation, and closed it in 1947. Einstein wanted Middlesex University's veterinary school's standards to be improved before expanding to the school, while others in the foundation wanted to simply close the veterinary school, which, by the winter of 1947, had an enrollment of just about 100 students. A professional study of the veterinary school recommended dismissing certain instructors and requiring end-of-year examinations for the students, but the foundation declined to enact any of the recommendations, to the dismay of Einstein and a couple of the foundation's trustees.


title: Brandeis University

text: In early June 1947, Einstein made a final break with the foundation. The veterinary school was closed, despite students' protests and demonstrations. According to George Alpert, a lawyer responsible for much of the organizational effort, Einstein had wanted to offer the presidency of the school to left-wing scholar Harold Laski, someone that Alpert had characterized as "a man utterly alien to American principles of democracy, tarred with the Communist brush." He said, "I can compromise on any subject but one: that one is Americanism." Two of the foundation's trustees, S. Ralph Lazrus and Dr. Otto Nathan, quit the foundation at the same time as Einstein. In response, Alpert said that Lazrus and Nathan had tried to give Brandeis University a "radical, political orientation." Alpert also criticized Lazrus' lack of fundraising success and Nathan's failure to organize an educational advisory committee. Einstein said he, Lazrus, and Nathan "have always been and have always acted in complete harmony."


title: Brandeis University

text: On April 26, 1948, Brandeis University announced that Abram L. Sachar, chairman of the National Hillel Commission, had been chosen as Brandeis' first president. Sachar promised that Brandeis University would follow Louis Brandeis' principles of academic integrity and service. He also promised that students and faculty would never be chosen based on quotas of "genetic or ethnic or economic distribution" because choices based on quotas "are based on the assumption that there are standard population strains, on the belief that the ideal American must look and act like an eighteenth-century Puritan, that the melting pot of America must mold all who all who live here into such a pattern." Students who applied to the school were not asked their race, religion, or ancestry.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis decided its undergraduate instruction would not be organized with traditional departments or divisions, and instead it would have four schools, namely the School of General Studies, the School of Social Studies, the School of Humanities, and the School of Science. On October 14, 1948, Brandeis University received its first freshman class of 107 students. They were taught by thirteen instructors in eight buildings on a campus. Students came from 28 states and six foreign countries. The library was formerly a barn, students slept in the former medical school building and two army barracks, and the cafeteria was where the medical school had stored cadavers. Historians Elinor and Robert Slater later called the opening of Brandeis one of the great moments in Jewish history.


title: Brandeis University

text: Eleanor Roosevelt joined the board of trustees in 1949. Joseph M. Proskauer joined the board in 1950. Construction of on-campus dormitories began in March 1950 with the goal of ninety percent of students living on campus. Construction on an athletic field began in May 1950. Brandeis' football team played its first game on September 30, 1950, a road win against Maine Maritime Academy. Its first varsity game was on September 29, 1951, with a home loss against the University of New Hampshire. Brandeis Stadium opened in time for a home win against American International College on October 13, 1951. The team won four of nine games during its first season. Construction of a 2,000-seat amphitheater began in February 1952.


title: Brandeis University

text: The state legislature of Massachusetts authorized Brandeis to award master's degrees, doctorate degrees, and honorary degrees in 1951. Brandeis' first graduating class of 101 students received degrees on June 16, 1952. Leonard Bernstein, director of Brandeis' Center of Creative Arts, planned a four-day ceremony to commemorate the occasion. Held in the newly opened amphitheater, the ceremony included the world premier of Bernstein's opera "Trouble in Tahiti". Eleanor Roosevelt and Massachusetts Governor Paul A. Dever spoke at the commencement ceremony.


title: Brandeis University

text: In 1953, Einstein declined the offer of an honorary degree from Brandeis, writing to Brandeis president Abram L. Sachar that "what happened in the stage of preparation of Brandeis University was not at all caused by a misunderstanding and cannot be made good any more." Instead, at the graduation ceremony for Brandeis' second graduating class of 108 students, individuals given Brandeis' first honorary degrees included Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas, Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, and Alpert. 1953 also saw the creation of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, one of the first academic programs in Jewish Studies at an American university. Among the founders were distinguished emigre scholars Alexander Altmann, Nathan Glatzer and Simon Rawidowicz. Brandeis inaugurated its graduate program, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in 1954. In the same year, Brandeis became fully accredited, joining the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. As of 1954, Brandeis had 22 buildings and a campus.


title: Brandeis University

text: In 1954, Brandeis began construction on an interfaith center consisting of separate Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish chapels. Designed by the architectural firm of Harrison & Abramovitz, the three chapels surrounded a natural pond. Brandeis announced that no official chaplains would be named, and attendance at chapel services would not be required. The Roman Catholic chapel was named Bethlehem, meaning house of bread, and it was dedicated on September 9, 1955. Dedicated on September 11, 1955, the Jewish chapel was named in memory of Mendel and Leah Berlin, parents of Boston surgeon Dr. David D. Berlin. Named in memory of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, the Protestant chapel was dedicated on October 30, 1955.


title: Brandeis University

text: In 1956 Brandeis received a one-million-dollar donation from New York industrialist Jack A. Goldfarb to build a library. The building, named the Bertha and Jacob Goldfarb Library in his honor, was designed by Harrison & Abramovitz, a firm which designed many campus buildings in the 1950s. Built of brick and glass, the library was designed to hold 750,000 volumes.


title: Brandeis University

text: A nine-foot bronze statue of Justice Louis D. Brandeis is a campus landmark. The sculpture, created by sculptor Robert Berks, was unveiled in 1956 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Brandeis' birth. Berks' wife Dorothy had been the Justice's personal assistant for 39 years and wore his actual robes to model the statue.


title: Brandeis University

text: After Brandeis University awarded an honorary doctorate to Israeli Premier David Ben-Gurion in 1960, Jordan boycotted Brandeis University, announcing that it would not issue currency permits to Jordanian students at Brandeis.


title: Brandeis University

text: Beginning in fall 1959, singer Eddie Fisher established two scholarships at the university, one for classical and one for popular music, in the name of Eddie Cantor.


title: Brandeis University

text: On May 16, 1960, Brandeis announced it would discontinue its varsity football team. President Abram Sachar pointed to the cost of the team as one reason for the decision. Brandeis' football coach Benny Friedman said it was difficult to recruit football players who were also excellent students with so much competition in the Boston metropolitan area. Brandeis said the discontinuation of varsity football would allow it to expand intercollegiate activity in other sports. During its nine years of varsity play, Brandeis' football team recorded 34 wins, 33 losses, and four ties. In 1985, Brandeis was elected to membership in the Association of American Universities, an association that focuses on graduate education and research.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis became an epicenter of radical student activism and anti–Vietnam War protests during the counterculture of the 1960s. It was the National Student Strike Information Center during the student strike of 1970.


title: Brandeis University

text: On January 8, 1969, about 70 black students entered then-student-center, Ford Hall, ejected everyone else from the building, and refused to leave. The students' demands included the hiring of more black faculty members, increasing black student enrollment from four percent to ten percent of the student body, establishing an independent department on African American studies, and an increase in scholarships for black students. Over 200 white students staged a sit-in in the lobby of the administration building. President Morris B. Abram said that, although he recognized "the deep frustration and anger which black students here and all over the country—and often is—the indifference and duplicity of white men in relation to blacks", the students' actions were an affront to the university. The faculty condemned the students' actions as well. On the fourth day of the protest, the Middlesex Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order, requiring the students to leave Ford Hall. While Abram would not allow the order to be enforced by forcibly removing the students from Ford Hall, 65 students had been suspended for their actions. On January 18, the black students exited Ford Hall, ending the eleven-day occupation of the building. There had been no violence or destruction of property during the occupation, and Brandeis gave the students amnesty from their actions. Ronald Walters became the first chair of Afro-American studies at Brandeis later the same year. Ford Hall was demolished in August 2000 to make way for the Shapiro Campus Center, which was opened and dedicated October 3, 2002.


title: Brandeis University

text: In the 1970s, Brandeis faced a financial crisis as donations from American Jews decreased as they turned toward support for Israel and other causes.


title: Brandeis University

text: In 2014, Brandeis announced it would offer an honorary doctorate to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, "a staunch supporter of women's rights", and an outspoken campaigner against female genital mutilation, honor killing and Islamic extremism in general. After complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and internal consultation with faculty and students, Brandeis publicly withdrew the offer, citing that Ali's statements condemning Islam were "inconsistent with the University's core values". 87 out of 511 faculty members at Brandeis signed a letter to the university president.


title: Brandeis University

text: The university announced that the decision to withdraw the invitation was made after a discussion between Ayaan Ali and President Frederick Lawrence, stating that "She is a compelling public figure and advocate for women's rights ... but we cannot overlook certain of her past statements". According to Brandeis, Ali was never invited to speak at commencement, she was only invited to receive an honorary degree. Ali said that Brandeis' decision surprised her because Brandeis said they did not know what she had said in the past even though her speeches were publicly available on the internet, calling it a "feeble excuse". Ali stated that the university's decision was motivated in part by fear of offending Muslims. She argued that the "spirit of free expression" referred to in the Brandeis statement has been betrayed and stifled.


title: Brandeis University

text: While some commentators such as Abdullah Antepli, the Muslim chaplain and adjunct faculty of Islamic Studies at Duke University, applauded the decision and warned against "making renegades into heroes", other academic commentators such as the University of Chicago's Jerry Coyne and the George Mason University Foundation Professor David Bernstein criticized the decision as an attack on academic values such as freedom of inquiry and intellectual independence from religious pressure groups.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Heller School for Social Policy and Management is notable for its programs in social policy, health policy and management, and international development. Researchers at the graduate school and research institution research policy in health; mental health; substance abuse; children, youth, and families; aging; international and community development; developmental disabilities; philanthropy; and work and inequalities. "U.S. News & World Report" ranked the Heller School in the top 10 schools of social policy in its 2013 rankings.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis International Business School is a professional school dedicated to teaching and research in business, finance, economics and data analytics. The International Business School is an AACSB-accredited institution with programs ranked among the best in the world.


title: Brandeis University

text: The International Business School offers five graduate programs, two accelerated graduate programs, six dual-degree programs and undergraduate majors and minors in business and economics. The school was established in 1994 as the Graduate School of International Economics and Finance, offering a PhD in International Economics and Finance and Master of Arts in International Economics and Finance (MA). In 1998, the school launched the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in finance (MSF) programs. In 2003, the school changed its name to Brandeis International Business School. In 2018, the school launched the Master of Science in business analytics (MSBA) program.


title: Brandeis University

text: With more than 4,000 enrollments a year, the Rabb School of Continuing Studies develops educational offerings across four distinct divisions. It provides professional development opportunities through degree programs, personal enrichment and lifelong learning.


title: Brandeis University

text: One of four graduate schools on campus, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) offers over 40 programs, 18 of which are doctoral programs. Brandeis graduate students are eligible to cross-register for courses at Boston College, Boston University, Tufts University, and the Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies at MIT. Brandeis is also a member of the Boston Library Consortium, composed of 18 academic and research institutions in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Brandeis Library provides resources and services to support research, scholarship, teaching, and learning on campus.


title: Brandeis University

text: The library manages more than 1,500,000 physical volumes, and more than 600,000 electronic books, as well as electronic journals and online databases. As part of the library, the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department houses Brandeis University's unique and rare primary sources, which support teaching, research and scholarship at the university and beyond. The department comprises University Archives, containing materials related to Brandeis University, and Special Collections, including rare books, original manuscripts dating from the 13th to 21st centuries, unique primary source material, and a wide variety of visual material.


title: Brandeis University

text: Subject strengths include the Holocaust and Jewish resistance to persecution; Jewish-American and émigré writers, composers and performing artists; left- and right-wing movements in the United States and Europe; and American and European political leaders and social reformers. Major collections include material on the Spanish Civil War, novelist Joseph Heller, caricaturist Honoré Daumier, and Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis.


title: Brandeis University

text: The College of Arts and Sciences comprises 24 departments and 22 interdepartmental programs, which, in total, offer 43 majors and 47 minors.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, founded in 1959, is noteworthy for its graduate programs in healthcare administration, social policy, social work, and international development. Internships, research assistantships and other hands-on experiences are available throughout the curriculum. The global and experiential dimensions of education at Brandeis are carried out through international centers and institutes, which sponsor lectures and colloquia and add to the ranks of distinguished scholars on campus.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Brandeis University Press, a member of the University Press of New England, publishes books in a variety of scholarly and general interest fields. The Goldfarb Library at Brandeis has more than 1.6 million volumes and 300,000 e-journals. The library also houses a large United States Government archive. Brandeis University is a part of the Boston Library Consortium, which allows its students, faculty, and staff to access and borrow books and other materials from other BLC institutions including Tufts University and Williams College.


title: Brandeis University

text: In 1980, Brandeis University established the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, the first academic center devoted to the study of Jewish life in the United States. The Cohen Center's work spans basic research on Jewish identity to applied educational evaluation studies. The center's recent signature studies include research with participants in Taglit-Birthright Israel, investigations of synagogue transformation, analyses of Jewish summer camping, and socio-demographic studies of Jewish communities throughout the United States. CMJS research has altered the understanding of contemporary Jewish life and the role of Jewish institutions in the United States.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism was launched in September 2004 as the first investigative reporting center based at a United States university. It was named for founding benefactors Elaine Schuster and Gerald Schuster.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Steinhardt Social Research Institute was created in 2005 from a gift from Michael Steinhardt as a forum to collect, analyze, and disseminate data about the Jewish community and about religion and ethnicity in the United States. The first mission of SSRI was to interpret the inherent problems with the National Jewish Population Survey of 2000 (NJPS). SSRI has done a Jewish Population Survey of the Greater Boston area,


title: Brandeis University

text: The Institute collects and organizes existing socio-demographic data from private, communal, and government sources and will conduct local and national studies of the character of American Jewry and Jewish organizations. The work of the institute is done by a multidisciplinary staff of faculty and scholars, working with undergraduate and graduate students, and augmented by visiting scholars and consultants. The institute works in close collaboration with the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Women's Studies Research Center (WSRC) is directed by Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Karen V. Hansen. The WSRC was founded in 2001 by Professor Emerita of Sociology Shulamit Reinharz. It is home to three general programs:


title: Brandeis University

text: Among the better-known graduates are co-creators of the television show "Friends" David Crane and Marta Kauffman, political activists Abbie Hoffman and Angela Davis, journalists Thomas Friedman and Paul Solman, Congressman Stephen J. Solarz, physicist and Fields medalist Edward Witten, mathematician and Abel Prize recipient Karen Uhlenbeck, novelist Ha Jin, political theorist Michael Walzer, actresses Debra Messing and Loretta Devine, philosopher Michael Sandel, Olympic Silver Medalist fencer Tim Morehouse, social and psychoanalytic theorist Nancy Chodorow, author Mitch Albom, filmmakers Debra Granik and Jonathan Newman, music producer Jon Landau, and computer scientist Leslie Lamport.


title: Brandeis University

text: Among the distinguished faculty, present and past, are mathematician Heisuke Hironaka, a Fields medalist, biologists and Nobel laureates Michael Rosbash and Jeffrey C. Hall, composers Arthur Berger, Leonard Bernstein, Martin Boykan, Eric Chasalow, Irving Fine, Donald Martino, David Rakowski, Harold Shapero, and Yehudi Wyner, social theorist Herbert Marcuse, psychologist Abraham Maslow, linguist James Pustejovsky, human rights activist Eleanor Roosevelt, Anita Hill, historian David Hackett Fischer, economist Thomas Sowell, chemist S Katharine Hammond, diplomat Dennis Ross, children's author Margret Rey, former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, sociologist Morrie Schwartz, poets Olga Broumas and Adrienne Rich, author Stephen McCauley, virologist and author of Fields Virology Bernard N. Fields and Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist Eileen McNamara.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis fields 19 Division III varsity athletic programs. Brandeis athletic teams compete in the University Athletic Association (UAA).


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis has won NCAA team championships in men's soccer (1976) and men's cross country (1983), as well as 24 individual titles. Brandeis teams have earned 17 NCAA Division III Tournament berths and won eight Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association (ECAC) New England crowns in the last decade. Nine teams have earned national rankings, with men's and women's basketball and men's and women's soccer all ascending to the top 10 in the nation during that span.<ref name="NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division III Women's - National - Poll 3 - September 17, 2013"></ref> In 2017, the men's team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth year in a row, and reached the Final Four for the second straight year. It was the fourth straight year they finished ranked a top ten team in the country. Also earning national rankings in '13-14 were women's cross country and men's and women's tennis.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis also sponsors 20 club sports. Among them, ultimate frisbee, crew, archery and women's rugby have had success on a national level. The program's many intramural sports are open to students, faculty and staff.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis is classified among . In FY 2017, Brandeis spent $68.4 million on research and was ranked 174 in the nation by total R&D expenditure. These include sponsored research funds from sources including the National Institutes of Health; the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Health and Human Services as well as a range of foundations.


title: Brandeis University

text: The university's Division of Science encompasses seven departments (Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology), five interdepartmental programs (Biochemistry & Biophysics, Biological Physics, Biotechnology, Genetic Counseling, Molecular & Cell Biology, and Neuroscience), six science centers (Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory, National Center for Behavioral Genomics, Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, Sloan-Swartz Center for Theoretical Neurobiology, Benjamin and Mae Volen National Center for Complex Systems, and W.M. Keck Institute for Cellular Visualization), and more than 50 laboratories that investigate fundamental life processes ranging from the structure and function of individual macromolecules to the mechanisms that control the behavior of whole organisms.


title: Brandeis University

text: Faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates investigate areas such as neuronal development and plasticity, signal transduction, immunology, the molecular basis of genetic recombination, and the three-dimensional structure of macromolecular assemblies. Brandeis science faculty include 12 National Academy of Science members, three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, two Howard Hughes Medical Institute professors, two MacArthur Foundation Fellows, and 15 American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Fellows.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis undergraduate students have the opportunity to work with faculty, postdoctoral students and graduate students to conduct


title: Brandeis University

text: original laboratory research. Brandeis also offers a number of funding resources to support independent undergraduate research projects. In 2008, Brandeis established a Science Posse program, a merit-based scholarship program that admits students based on their academic, leadership and communication skills, and their interests in studying science. Founded by Irving Epstein, the Henry F. Fischbach Professor of Chemistry, and supported by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, the Science Posse program is focused on increasing the recruitment and retention of students from traditionally underrepresented groups in the sciences. The program recruits, trains, and provides mentoring and other services for 10 inner-city Atlanta students each year who are interested in studying science at the undergraduate level.


title: Brandeis University

text: In 2014, the National Science Foundation renewed funding for Brandeis' Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), which was established in 2008. This center supports interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary materials research and education that address fundamental problems in science and engineering that are important to society. In particular, the center uses simplified components to create new materials that have some of the functionalities found in living organisms.


title: Brandeis University

text: The university has an active student government, the Brandeis Student Union, as well as more than 270 student organizations. Fraternities and sororities aren't officially recognized by Brandeis University, as they are contrary to a central tenet of the university, namely, that student organizations be open to all students, with membership determined by competency or interest. According to an official handbook, "exclusive or secret societies are inconsistent with the principles of openness to which the University is committed.".


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis has 11 a cappella groups, six undergraduate-run theater companies, one sketch comedy troupe (Boris' Kitchen, founded in 1987), four improv-comedy groups, and many other cultural and arts clubs, as well as student activism groups that advocate for causes including environmentalism, immigration reform, LGBTQ rights, feminism, and anti-racism. Brandeis is also home to what has been cited as one of the country's few undergraduate-run law publications. Of particular note is the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society (B.A.D.A.S.S.), which consistently ranks as one of the top 10 debate teams in the United States, and participates across the globe in the World Universities Debating Championships each year. During the 2012–2013 school year, B.A.D.A.S.S. was the second most successful team overall on the American Parliamentary Debate Association Circuit.


title: Brandeis University

text: Cholmondeley's coffeehouse, commonly referred to as "Chums", is located in Brandeis' Usen Castle. Chums is a popular site for student performances and concerts, including Tracy Chapman, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Matt Pond PA, and Genesis (notable as their first American performance). Early footage of Chums appears in the short documentary film, "Coffee House Rendezvous". Cholmondley's is named after a notoriously ill-tempered Basset hound that was the on-campus pet for Ralph Norman, the campus photographer during the first years of Brandeis. The dog roamed the campus after dark, growling at students, often nipping at their cuffs and making a general nuisance of himself. After his death, the coffee house was named for him, not so much in remembrance but in celebration. In 2015, in an email to student workers of the coffee house, Brandeis administration announced the immediate closure of Chums Coffeehouse, leaving said student workers unemployed. After significant pushback from the student body and alumni alike, the administration determined to make the closure temporary while the space underwent renovations.


title: Brandeis University

text: Brandeis University's Campus Sustainability Initiative seeks to reduce the university's environmental and climate change impact. The university's accomplishments in the arena of sustainability include the creation of a student-organized on-campus Farmers' Market, the implementation of a single-stream recycling program, and the transition to GreenE certified wind power for 15% of the school's electricity needs. Brandeis also offers an environmental studies academic program, which includes courses such as Greening the Ivory Tower: Improving Sustainability of Brandeis and Community, which serves as an incubator for student led sustainability projects. Student projects have included greening campus offices, running after-school environmental education programs for children in the Waltham schools, and cleaning up local streams and ponds. In addition, a student-led project in 2014 established a rooftop farm atop the Gerstenzang science building consisting of 1,500 potted milk crates.


title: Brandeis University

text: Students also have the option of taking courses with a "Community Engaged Learning" (CEL) aspect. Community-engaged learning is an aspect of the university's broad-based commitment to experiential learning.


title: Brandeis University

text: Emergency medical services are provided by the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps, nicknamed BEMCO, a Massachusetts-certified EMT-Basic volunteer student organization which does not charge a fee for any of its emergency services.


title: Brandeis University

text: Security escort services are provided around the campus and into Waltham by the student-run "Branvan," which runs on a daily schedule from 4:00 pm to 2:30 am on weekdays and from 12:00 pm to 2:30 am on weekends.


title: Brandeis University

text: The university is west of Boston and is accessible through Brandeis/Roberts station on the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line, a free shuttle that services Boston and Cambridge (Harvard Square) Thursday through Sunday, the nearby Riverside subway station (above ground) on the Green Line, and the 553 MBTA bus.


title: Brandeis University

text: The Wien International Scholarship Program was instituted by Brandeis University for international undergraduate students. It was established in 1958 by Lawrence A. and Mae Wien. The family had three objectives: to further international understanding, to provide foreign students an opportunity to study in the United States, and to enrich the intellectual and cultural life at Brandeis. The Wien Scholarship offers full or partial tuition awards; these awards are need-based and require the applicants to present outstanding academic and personal achievement. Each year, the recipients of the scholarship take a week-long tour of a destination in the United States. In previous years, the students have visited the United Nations in New York City, and did relief work in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In April 2008, the university hosted a three-day-long celebration for the 50th anniversary of the program.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Ouija is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Stiles White in his directorial debut, produced by Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller, and Bennett Schneir and written by Juliet Snowden and White, who previously together wrote "The Possession". It stars Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagasoff, Douglas Smith, and Bianca A. Santos as teenagers who have unleashed spirits from a Ouija board.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: "Ouija" was released on October 24, 2014, by Universal Pictures. The film was a commercial success, grossing $103.6 million worldwide over a $5–8 million budget, but was overwhelmingly panned by critics, with many criticizing its performances, inconsistent tone, characters and story. A prequel, "", was released in 2016, and was far better critically received.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Debbie Galardi recalls playing Ouija with her best friend Laine Morris as children. In present day, she throws her Ouija board into the fire and implies to Laine that something strange happened with the board. After Laine leaves, the Ouija board reappears in Debbie's bedroom. Debbie becomes possessed and hangs herself inside her home.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Laine attends Debbie's wake with her boyfriend Trevor, younger sister Sarah, friend Isabelle, and Debbie's boyfriend Pete. The five friends meet at Debbie's house and use her Ouija board to try communicating with her. Strange things happen, and a presence smashes Pete's hand and face into a mirror. The friends start finding the phrase "Hi friend" (a message communicated during the Ouija board session) written in different places, like Isabelle's car and Pete's desk. Thinking Deb is trying to communicate with them, they have another Ouija session and discover that they are actually in contact with a spirit calling itself "DZ". Laine sees the image of a little girl with her mouth sewn shut. The girl warns them to run because her mother is coming. Laine later learns that Deb found the Ouija board in her attic and played alone.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Isabelle is possessed and killed. Laine and Pete search Deb's attic and find a box of old photographs that belonged to the previous residents. While researching the previous family's history, they learn of a little girl named Doris Zander who went missing. Doris' sister Paulina, now an old woman committed to a psychiatric hospital, explains that her mother was a medium and used Doris as a vessel for the dead to speak through. Their mother went mad and sewed Doris' mouth shut, killing her. She tells Laine that there is a secret room in the house where Laine must find Doris' hidden body and unstitch her mouth in order for the girl to banish their mother. The friends go back to the Galardi house, where Laine finds Doris' corpse and cuts the stitches on her mouth. Doris' mother's spirit protests, but Doris chases away the ghost. Pete becomes possessed and is killed.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Laine revisits Paulina, realizing that she was in allegiance with Doris all along and had intentionally lied. Doris is the evil entity and her mother was trying to stop the friends from summoning her. Laine's grandmother, Nona, advises the sisters to destroy Doris' body and the Ouija board. Doris' ghost drowns Trevor and captures Sarah to sew her mouth shut. Laine plays the Ouija board alone to draw the spirit's attention. Doris starts possessing Laine, but Debbie's ghost helps Laine defeat Doris. Sarah and Laine throw Doris' body and the Ouija board into the furnace, stopping the paranormal activity. Later, Laine finds that the planchette has mysteriously appeared back at her home.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: "Ouija" began development in May 2008 with Universal Pictures attached. David Berenbaum was tapped to pen the script while Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Bryan Fuller of Platinum Dunes were slated to produce. In October 2010, the studio had set a release date for November 21, 2012. That same month, "" scribes Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis had drafted a new script, while Sylvain White, Scott Stewart, and Pierre Morel were in talks to direct the film. The film was described as a "four-quadrant supernatural adventure" akin to "The Mummy" and "Indiana Jones". By December, the studio had passed on all pitches from the aforementioned filmmakers, including John Moore, and were now considering McG and Breck Eisner to direct. The next month, McG was asserted as director. In April, Evan Spiliotopoulos was hired for rewrites when Horowitz and Kitsis where tied to other commitments. In June, screenwriter Simon Kinberg, who previously wrote "This Means War" for the director, was brought in for further revisions. In August of that, Universal abandoned "Ouija" due to its "tentpole level" budget, leading to the film's producers meeting with Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. Kinberg's draft would have cost $125 million to produce. In October, Hasbro Studios opted to restructure the film to accommodate a lower budget. "Fright Night" writer Marti Noxon was tasked with toning down the film's scale and instead craft a "more intimate, atmospheric -- and scary -- movie". Following the project's reconfiguration, McG was no longer involved while Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions and Universal boarded the film in March 2012. A 2013 release window and a $5 million budget were instated. In July 2012, filmmaking duo Juliet Snowden and Stiles White were hired to pen a new screenplay with White directing.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Across December 2013, Olivia Cooke, Douglas Smith, Bianca Santos, Erin Moriarty, Ana Coto, Vivis Colombetti, Daren Kagasoff, and Matthew Settle joined the cast.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Reshoots took place in May 2014 after a poor test screening, which, according to Olivia Cooke, resulted in half the film being re-shot. With the reshoots, Lin Shaye was added to the film to play a newly written character, Erin Moriarty's character was removed from the film entirely, and new plot points were added or changed entirely. The most notable of changes included the character of Doris Zander's physical appearance changing from that of a burnt looking girl to a rotting, decomposing girl with stitches in her mouth. Mike Flanagan contributed ideas to the film prior to reshoots but denied directing the film in any capacity. Flanagan also affirmed the film had a "rough journey to completion" and "a long post-production phase".


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Universal released "Ouija" in the United States on October 24, 2014. A tie-in novelization for the film by Katharine Turner was released on September 16, 2014.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: In North America, the film was released to 2,858 theaters and earned $19,875,995 on its opening weekend (including its $911,000 gross on Thursday preview nights and $8.3 million on its opening day). at an average of $7,000 per theater, debuting at number one at the box office ahead of newly released "John Wick" ($14.2 million). The film played 75% under-25 years old and 61% female on its opening weekend.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: "Ouija" was released in five international markets and earned $1.3 million from 234 screens. The film went to number two in Malaysia ($545,000), number four in Taiwan ($331,000), number two in Singapore ($238,000) and also number four in Poland ($137,000). In its second weekend the film earned $5.7 million from 1,166 screens in 19 territories for a two weekend international total of $7.7 million. It went to number one in the UK, Indonesia and the Philippines. In the UK, the film earned $2.2 million on its opening weekend, which is the second biggest opening weekend for a horror film in 2014 only behind "Annabelle" ($3.1 million). "Ouija" made a domestic total of $50,856,010 and $52,618,000 overseas, for a worldwide total of $103,674,010.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 6% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10. The website's critics consensus states: "Slowly, steadily, although no one seems to be moving it in that direction, the "Ouija" planchette points to NO." Metacritic, another review aggregator which assigns and normalizes scores of critic reviews, gave the film a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a "C" grade.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: The plot of the novel differs from the movie in many notable ways, containing an additional flashback sequence at the beginning of the book which occurs two months before Debbie dies, giving a more in-depth backstory to the main characters. Laine's father has a larger role in the novel, snapping at Sarah after she tries to sneak out of the house. There is an additional scene in the novel after the group uses the Ouija board for a second time where Sarah and Laine have a heartfelt conversation at the dinner table. There are longer sequences with Laine's grandmother Nona as well.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: The message "Hi friend" from Doris in the novel appears as "Hi frend". When Isabelle approaches her car after work, instead of finding "Hi friend" written in the condensation on the inside of her car, she finds a hand print.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: The characters of Pete and Isabelle also die in different ways in the novel. Pete, after seeing Doris' spirit in his room and becoming possessed, slits his wrists with an X-ACTO knife. Isabelle, after being possessed by Doris, sits in her bathtub with a plugged-in hair dryer, electrocuting herself.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: The finale of the novel differs greatly from the film. Sarah is not trapped in the altar room with Doris' spirit as in the film, but rather Laine crawls down the passageway into the altar to get Doris' body. While Laine is in the passageway, Sarah is left by the furnace with the Ouija board where Doris manipulates Sarah's arm and has it twist in unnatural positions while touching the planchette. Doris uses Sarah's arm to spell out "D-I-E-F-R-E-N-D" on the board. After throwing Doris' body into the furnace with the Ouija board, Doris appears in spirit form as a normal girl, where her mother joins her. The two hold hands and disappear. Laine suddenly notices Debbie's spirit in the room. She says "Hi friend" to Laine. Laine asks if she is dead, but Debbie tells her everything is okay. Debbie says goodbye to Laine, and Laine falls unconscious.


title: Ouija (2014 film)

text: Throughout January 2015, reports of a sequel were announced. In February 2015, it was confirmed the film was in development and had no release date. Jason Blum stated "We're a ways away ..." In April 2015, it was announced that the sequel would be released on October 21, 2016. Mike Flanagan would direct and co-write the sequel with his "Oculus" co-writer Jeff Howard. The film would be produced by Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Jason Blum, Brian Goldner, and Stephen Davis. Annalise Basso and Kaylee Procter would star in the sequel. It was then announced that "" would serve as a prequel to the first film. It was released in the United States on October 21, 2016, and unlike its predecessor, it gained far more positive reviews.


title: Swades

text: Swades: We, the People () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language satirical drama film co-written, directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi and Kishori Ballal while Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek, Lekh Tandon appear in supporting roles.


title: Swades

text: The plot was based on two episodes of the series "Vaapsi" on Zee TV's "Yule Love Stories" (1994–95) which had Gowariker playing the role of "Mohan Bhargav".


title: Swades

text: The story of the lead role setting up a micro hydroelectric project to generate electricity was reported to be inspired by the 2003 Kannada film "Chigurida Kanasu" which was based on the novel of the same name by Jnanapith awardee K. Shivaram Karanth and "Bapu Kuti" by Rajni Bakshi.


title: Swades

text: "Swades" was theatrically released on 17 December 2004, and it opened to rave reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Khan, Joshi and Ballal, and the story, screenplay, and soundtrack. However, it emerged as a commercial failure at the box office,


title: Swades

text: At the 50th Filmfare Awards, "Swades" received 8 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Gowarikar) and Best Music Director (Rahman), and won Best Actor (Khan) and Best Background Score (Rahman).


title: Swades

text: It was dubbed in Tamil as "Desam" and released on 26 January 2005, coinciding with Indian Republic Day. Despite its commercial failure, "Swades" is regarded ahead of its time and is now considered a cult classic of Hindi cinema and one of the best films in Shah Rukh Khan's filmography. Shahrukh's performance in this film is regarded as among the best performances of his career. The film is owned by Red Chillies Entertainment.


title: Swades

text: Mohan Bhargava is a non-resident Indian who works as a Project Manager on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) program at NASA in the United States. Mohan came to U. S. for college studies and kept on living there after his parents in India died in a car accident. He keeps worrying about Kaveri Amma, a nanny at his home in Uttar Pradesh who looked after him during his childhood days. After his parents' death, Kaveri Amma went to live in an old age home in Delhi and eventually lost contact with Mohan. Mohan wishes to go to India and bring Kaveri Amma back with him to the U. S. Due to the recent success of Phase I of his project, he takes a few weeks off and travels to India. He goes to the old age home but learns that Kaveri Amma no longer lives there and went to a village named Charanpur a year ago. Mohan then decides to travel to Charanpur, in Uttar Pradesh.


title: Swades

text: Mohan decides to rent a recreational vehicle to reach the village fearing that he might not get the required facilities there. Upon reaching Charanpur, he meets Kaveri Amma and learns how his childhood friend Geeta (whom he called "Gitli" in his childhood) brought Kaveri Amma to stay with her after Mohan's parents died. Geeta runs a school in Charanpur and works hard to improve the living conditions of the villagers through education. However, the village is divided largely by caste and religious beliefs. Geeta does not like Mohan's arrival as she thinks that he will take Kaveri Amma back with him to the U. S., leaving her and her younger brother Nandan "Chiku" alone. Kaveri Amma tells Mohan that she needs to get Geeta married first and that it is her responsibility. Geeta believes in women empowerment and gender equality. This attracts Mohan towards Geeta and he too tries to help her by campaigning for education among backward communities and also girls. Mohan befriends villagers Nivaaran and Melaram, and they support him in his campaign. Mohan also wins the attention of Dadaji, a kind village chief.


title: Swades

text: Slowly love blossoms between Mohan and Geeta. Kaveri Amma asks Mohan to visit a nearby village named Kodi, and collect money from a man named Haridas who owes it to Geeta. The story gives a journey to Mohan very similar to what happened to Mahatma Gandhi after he came back from South Africa. Mohan visits Kodi and feels pity seeing Haridas' poor condition, which is such that he is unable to provide his family with meals every day. Haridas tells Mohan that since his caste profession of a weaver wasn't earning him any money, he shifted to tenant farming. But this change in profession led to his ostracization from the village and the villagers even denied him water for his crops. Mohan understands the pathetic situation and realises that many villages in India are still like Kodi. He returns to Charanpur with a heavy heart and decides to do something for the welfare of the village.


title: Swades

text: Mohan extends his leave by three more weeks. He learns that electricity inconsistency and frequent power cuts are a big problem in Charanpur. He decides to set up a small hydroelectric power generation facility from a nearby water source. Mohan purchases all the equipment needed from his own funds and oversees the building of the power generation unit. The unit works and the village gets sufficient, consistent power from it.


title: Swades

text: Dadaji's health deteriorates and he passes away. Mohan is repeatedly called by NASA officials as the GPM project he was working on is reaching important stages and he has to return to the U. S. soon. Kaveri Amma tells him that she prefers to stay in Charanpur as it will be difficult for her to adapt to a new country at her age. Geeta also tells him that she will not settle down in another country and she would prefer it if Mohan stay in India with her and Kaveri Amma. Mohan returns to the U. S. with a heavy heart to complete the project. However, in the U. S., he has flashbacks of his time in India and wishes to return. After the successful completion of his project, he leaves U. S. and returns to India with intentions of working at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, from where he can also work with NASA. The film ends by showing Mohan staying in the village and wrestling with his friend Nivaaran near a temple.


title: Swades

text: "Swades" is inspired by the story of Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi, the NRI couple who returned to India and developed a pedal power generator to light remote, off-the-grid village schools. Gowariker spent considerable time with Aravinda and Ravi, both dedicated Association for India's Development (AID) volunteers. He supposedly visited Bilgaon, an Adivasi village in the Narmada valley, which is the backdrop of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) movement. The people of Bilgaon are credited with doing 200 person-days of "shramdaan" (community service) to make their village energy self-sufficient. The Bilgaon project is recognised as a model for replication by the Government of Maharashtra.


title: Swades

text: Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi, noted the theme of Gandhism in the film. The name of the main character portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan is Mohan, which was Gandhi's birth name (Mohandas or "Mohan"). The film opens with the quotation:


title: Swades

text: Gowariker tries to address the lack of scientific temperament and widespread ignorance among the rural folks through the energetic number "Ye Tara Wo Tara", where Mohan is seen encouraging the children to experience the fascinating world of stars through his telescope. In a symbolic manner, the song rejects the defunct divisions of caste and class and at the same time, through its protagonist, tries to instill in the audience an appreciation of curiosity and observation.


title: Swades

text: Gowariker initially offered Mohan's role to Aamir Khan (who worked in Gowariker's "Lagaan" (2001)), but he rejected it because he found the story to be weak. Mohan's role was then offered to Hrithik Roshan, who refused after reading the script. Gowariker then offered Mohan's role to Shah Rukh, who finally accepted it after listening to the story and he started crying during the story's narration. Bhanu Athaiya, an Oscar winner for "Gandhi" (1982), was the costume designer for the film.


title: Swades

text: "Swades" was the first Indian film to be shot inside the NASA headquarters and inside the NASA research center at the Launch Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rainfall monitoring satellite known as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) in the film is an actual NASA mission and was launched in 2014.


title: Swades

text: The film received critical acclaim and went on to become a cult classic, and Khan's performance as Mohan Bhargava is considered one of his best to date.


title: Swades

text: Subhash K. Jha of "Indiatimes Movies" gave the film 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, ""Swades" is a unique experiment with grassroots realism. It is so politically correct in its propagandist message that initially you wonder if the Government of India funded the director's dream."


title: Swades

text: Mayank Shekhar from "MiD DAY" gave it 4 stars, stating, "I cannot think of a better film for the longest that deserved a stronger recommendation for both touring cinemas of India's villages, and plush multiplexes of Mumbai or Manhattan."


title: Swades

text: Jitesh Pillai of the "Sunday Times of India" gave the film 4 stars and said "After "Lagaan", what? The answer's blowing in the wind. "Swades"! Here's the verdict: This is a gutsy and outstanding film. Welcome back to real, solid film-making." He added, ""Swades" is undoubtedly the No. 1 movie of the year."


title: Swades

text: Shradha Sukumaran of "Mid-Day" gave it 3.5 stars and said, "At the end of it, "Swades" is a far braver film than "Lagaan". It could have hit the high note – if it hadn't tried so hard."


title: Swades

text: Avijit Ghosh wrote in "The Telegraph", "With its gentle humour, the film acts as an entertaining vehicle for social change. And hopefully, it will do more for positive nationalism than the Union government's Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) ads ever will."


title: Swades

text: The film was reported to be inspired by two episodes of the series titled "Vaapsi" on Zee TV's "Yule Love Stories" (1993–95). The story of the lead role setting up a micro hydro electric project to generate electricity was reported to be inspired by the Kannada novel "Chigurida Kanasu" by K. Shivaram Karanth and "Bapu Kuti" by Rajni Bakshi.


title: Swades

text: "Swades" earned net box office in India. In the overseas market, the film made $2,790,000. It had a lifetime worldwide gross of . The film topped the Chennai box office on its opening weekend. The movie was declared a flop domestically and a hit overseas, earning ₹34.26 crore worldwide on a budget of ₹21 crore.


title: Swades

text: On 27 March 2021, members of United States Navy Band sang "Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera" for Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Ambassador of India to the United States and United States Navy Chief of Naval Operations at a special dinner event. The video of the band members singing surfaced on Twitter and received praise and nostalgia from Shahrukh Khan, A. R. Rahman and netizens alike.


title: Swades

text: The Tamil soundtrack under the title "Desam" was composed by A.R. Rahman. All Lyrics were written by Vaali. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 13,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the eleventh highest-selling of the year.


title: Swades

text: Khan again played a scientist named Mohan Bhargav in the 2022 film "", which was directed by Ayan Mukerji, who co-wrote Swades.


title: Justin H. Min

text: Justin Hong-Kee Min (born March 20, 1990) is an American actor. He began his acting career with roles in several Wong Fu productions. He plays Ben Hargreeves in the Netflix original series "The Umbrella Academy" (2019–present). He is also known for playing the titular role in "After Yang" (2021).


title: Justin H. Min

text: Min is a second-generation Korean American from Cerritos, California. He is fluent in Korean, and is a second cousin of Ashley Park.


title: Justin H. Min

text: He graduated from Cerritos High School in 2007. He then attended Cornell University, where he served on the Student Assembly as the Minority Liaison; he graduated from the school's College of Arts & Sciences in 2011 with degrees in Government and English.


title: Justin H. Min

text: Prior to acting, Min was a journalist and photographer for various magazines. He completed photography assignments for the J.A.M. Awards, inVISIBLE, and The Served.


title: Justin H. Min

text: Min began acting in 2012. His early roles include appearances on TV series "Faking It", "", and "Pure Genius". He is a collaborator of Wong Fu Productions, an independent production company based in Los Angeles, having starred in their 2017 short film "How I Became an Adult" and their 2019 web series "Dating After College", among other projects.


title: Justin H. Min

text: In 2019, Min began starring in the Netflix series "The Umbrella Academy" as Ben Hargreeves. He was promoted to the main cast, from recurring character, in season 2. As the character was only shown in flashbacks in the comic books, Min was not part of the early publicity for the series in order to keep his role a secret. Min also used the expanded role in the television show to develop the character "from the ground up", and worked closely with Ethan Hwang, who played a young Ben, to ensure a "similar essence".


title: Justin H. Min

text: "The Umbrella Academy" was renewed for a second season in April 2019, with Min being upgraded to the main cast. That same month, it was announced that Min had been cast in a main role in the science fiction film "After Yang", starring Colin Farrell. The film was expected to be released in 2020 but was delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.


title: Olly Murs

text: Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of "The X Factor" in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records in the United States.


title: Olly Murs

text: In 2010, Murs released his self-titled debut album, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number two and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The album included the hit singles "Please Don't Let Me Go" and "Thinking of Me". The following year, he released his second studio album, "In Case You Didn't Know", which entered the charts at number one and resulted in two number-one singles with "Heart Skips a Beat" and "Dance with Me Tonight". In 2012, Murs released his third studio album, "Right Place Right Time", and released six singles from it; the first, "Troublemaker", was his fourth number one. As of December 2014, Murs has sold over 10 million records worldwide.


title: Olly Murs

text: In 2014, Murs released the single, "Wrapped Up" featuring Gym Class Heroes' Travie McCoy, which peaked at number three. This was the first single to be released from the album, "Never Been Bette"r, which entered the charts at number one. It was followed by a second single, "Up" featuring American singer Demi Lovato. In 2016, Murs released his fifth album, "24 Hrs", which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, followed by his sixth album, "You Know I Know", in 2018. After splitting with RCA Records, Murs released his seventh album, "Marry Me", in 2022.


title: Olly Murs

text: In 2011, it was announced that Murs would return to "The X Factor" to co-present its spin-off show "The Xtra Factor" with Caroline Flack. In 2015, it was announced that Murs would be reunited with Caroline Flack to replace Dermot O'Leary as co-presenters of "The X Factor" on series 12. Since 2018, Murs has been a coach on "The Voice UK".


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs was born on 14 May 1984 in Witham, Essex, the son of Vicky-Lynn and Pete Murs. He has a twin brother, Ben, and a sister, Fay. He is of Latvian descent and his great grandparents were Edward and Kathe Murs. He attended Howbridge Junior School in Witham and Notley High School in Braintree, Essex, where he was a striker in the school's football team.


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs played semi-professionally for Isthmian Division One North side Witham Town between 2006 and 2008. He excelled for the club's reserve team during the 2006–07 season, scoring 12 goals in 13 appearances and winning the Ridgeons Reserve Teams Cup. He made three first team appearances in the following season, scoring once, but was forced to give up his football career following an injury.


title: Olly Murs

text: Prior to "The X Factor", Murs worked as a recruitment consultant at Prime Appointments in Witham, and performed as part of a covers band called the Small Town Blaggers with a friend, Jon Goodey. He also appeared on the game show "Deal or No Deal" in 2007, where he won the meagre sum of £10. Murs returned for a celebrity version of the show in 2012, which made him the only person to appear on the programme as a contestant twice. In 2008, he travelled to Australia, backpacking alone along the Gold Coast for three months. It was upon his return that he decided, having tried it out unsuccessfully twice in the past (when he failed to make it past the stage where he had to audition in front of the producers), to re-audition for "The X Factor" again.


title: Olly Murs

text: In 2009, Murs auditioned for the sixth series of "The X Factor", performing Stevie Wonder's "Superstition". Judge Simon Cowell said it was "the easiest yes I've ever given". At bootcamp Murs sang Elton John's song Your Song. On the first live show, he sang "She's the One" and on the second, "A Fool in Love", a performance which Cowell described as being "in a different league." For week three he took on "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered". Walsh commented that he was the "dark horse of the competition," and Cowell said he was "coming into his own each week." He frequently employed dance moves in his performance including his trademark "Olly wiggle." In week 4 he sang "Come Together" and again received positive comments, with Walsh predicting, "I think you're in the final three," and Cowell saying he was "progressing better than just about everybody." In week 5 he performed "Twist and Shout" and in week 6 "Don't Stop Me Now", after which he was labelled by Minogue as, "absolutely the best performer we have on the show by far."


title: Olly Murs

text: In week 7, after a performance of "Fastlove", he was in the bottom two with John & Edward. Cowell and Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue voted to send Murs through to the quarter-final while Louis Walsh voted to send John & Edward through to the quarter-final. Voting statistics revealed that John & Edward received more votes than Murs, meaning that if Minogue (who had the casting vote) sent the result to deadlock, John & Edward would have advanced to the quarter-final and Murs would have been eliminated. To participate in the semi-finals, Murs had to miss his brother's wedding. The ceremony took place just from the show's studio, but Cowell was against allowing him off for a few hours on the day of the semi-final. He sang "Can You Feel It" and "We Can Work It Out" in the semi-final and ended up as one of the three finalists, breaking down on hearing the result.


title: Olly Murs

text: In the final on 12 December, he repeated his audition song, "Superstition", following which Cowell said putting him in the final 12 was "the best risk I have ever taken in my life". Murs then sang with Robbie Williams on a duet of "Angels", in which Williams fluffed his lines as he walked on stage to join Murs and came in at the wrong time, singing the second line of the song, but was helped by Murs to find the right spot. There was then a repeat performance of his week 2 song "Fool in Love". Murs qualified for the final two and first sang a repeat performance of "Twist and Shout", following which Walsh commented, "You're a born, born showman and no matter what happens tonight you're going to have a great career in music."


title: Olly Murs

text: In his final performance on the show he performed the winner's song, "The Climb". He was told by Cole, "You absolutely tore it from your soul. I've never heard you sing like that. I thought it was a beautiful version of the song." He lost the final to Joe McElderry the next day and finished as the runner-up. On 15 December, two days after the final, it was reported that Cowell was going to offer Murs a record deal in early 2010. Following his defeat, Murs was reportedly texted by duet partner Robbie Williams and invited to visit him in his Los Angeles mansion and participate in the forthcoming Soccer Aid, organised by Williams. Murs performed on "The X Factor" tour, alongside McElderry, John & Edward, Stacey Solomon, Lucie Jones and several other finalists. It was later revealed on "The Xtra Factor" that Murs was predicted by all the judges and presenters (except Minogue who had said Nicole Jackson, and Cole who had said Miss Frank as a second choice) as the favourite to win the series at the Bootcamp stage. Footage of Murs appearing on "Deal or No Deal" was later featured in an edition of the BBC's "Almost Famous" on 2 January 2010.


title: Olly Murs

text: Rumours began that Murs would record a debut album almost immediately after the final, where he finished in second place to Joe McElderry. After the rumours broke out, Murs announced he signed a joint record deal between Epic Records and Syco Music in February 2010. It was announced that Murs began working with John Shanks and Eg White. It was later confirmed that Roy Stride, Trevor Horn, Wayne Hector and Matty Benbrook would have involvement on the album which he collaborated with to make the "best possible songs". More writers and producers were confirmed to be working with Murs in the studio, including: Phil Thornalley, Martin Brammer, Samuel Preston, Mark Taylor, Chris Difford and Professor Green were due to appear on the album; however, the duet fell through before recording was completed.


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs confirmed the first single from the album to be titled "Please Don't Let Me Go", which was released on 27 August 2010 following the circulation of the accompanying music video. The song was written by Murs himself and with other songwriters, Claude Kelly and Steve Robson; the single was also produced by Future Cut. The song is about a minor relationship Murs was in where he ended up feeling something for the other person. Murs commented: "Sadly she kept giving me the impression that she didn't like me as much, and ultimately it didn't work out, so that's where the idea of me singing 'Please Don't Let Me Go' came from." The song was described as "a lovely summery reggae-tinged pop tune that bobs along in a thoroughly hummable and not un-Will Young-like fashion" and said that the music video "is just as quintessentially "pleasant"". During the release, Murs was told not to get his hopes up for a number-one due to Katy Perry releasing "Teenage Dream" the same day. On 5 September 2010, the single entered the UK Singles Charts at number 1 beating Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream". The song was released with the B-side track, entitled "This One's for the Girls" also entered the UK Singles Charts, debuting at number 69, was written for all of his female fans.


title: Olly Murs

text: His debut album was released in November 2010; which was a self-titled album, "Olly Murs". The album's tracking list was revealed on 15 October 2010. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, with the biggest week-one album sales for a debut album in 2010, with over 108,000 albums sold. The album also charted on the Irish Albums Chart where it found itself peaking at number eleven. The second single was "Thinking of Me", written by Murs, Steve Robson and Hector, and co-produced by Future Cut and Steve Robson. It was released on 19 November 2010, prior to the album's release. The single was added to BBC Radio 1's C Playlist on 3 November 2010. Murs performed the single for the first time on "The X Factor". Upon the release the single charted at number four on the UK Singles Charts and thirteen on the Irish Singles Charts. On 13 November Murs turned the Christmas lights on in Paisley and he also turned on the Christmas lights near his hometown in Chelmsford, Essex. Renfrewshire Council was criticised in the media for the £15,000 fee that Murs was paid to turn on the lights, after announcing that they were axing 500 jobs. Murs however donated his fee for his appearance at this event.


title: Olly Murs

text: Two further singles were released from the first album into 2011 – the James Morrison penned "Heart on My Sleeve", which charted at No. 20 in March 2011, and "Busy" which charted at No. 45 in June 2011. Murs completed a theatre tour for his first album in spring 2011, commencing on 26 April in Rhyl at the Pavilion Theatre and playing four sold out nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo in late May. He also toured as the support act of JLS on their summer stadium tour.


title: Olly Murs

text: It was rumoured in June 2011, that Murs had started working on his second studio album, which he later confirmed. Murs claimed that he would "take the album from a different approach", and claimed he would like to record a rap track, stating, "I'm secretly not a bad rapper, I really like to do a bit of beat boxing, Eminem is always a favourite, or maybe Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby" is a classic." Murs revealed that he will attempt to build himself a more of a "soulful" sound through writing the second album, and also expressed interest in recording with English entertainer Robbie Williams after the two met on "The X Factor" Live Final. Murs confirmed in July 2011, that the lead single from the album would be called "Heart Skips a Beat", and it would feature up-and-coming Brithop Rap duo Rizzle Kicks. He described it as a "parallel" to the remainder of the album, calling it a "summer party song". The song premiered on "The Chris Moyles Show" on 7 July 2011 and has since been well received by fans. The video for the track was later released via Murs' official YouTube channel. Murs said that the song is one of his favourite tracks from the new album, stating, "I'm loving the tune at the moment. It's going down really, really well." "Heart Skips a Beat" later peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, marking his second number one. It later went on to peak at number one in Germany and Switzerland, also reaching top ten in numerous countries in Europe.


title: Olly Murs

text: In September 2011, Murs announced via Twitter that his second album would be entitled "In Case You Didn't Know", taken from a song of the same name which appears on the album. On 14 October 2011, Murs released the audio of "Dance with Me Tonight", the album's second single, via his YouTube Channel. The track was released on 21 November 2011, again peaking at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. The album, "In Case You Didn't Know" was released a week later on 28 November 2011. The album peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart, two on the Irish Charts, and in the top ten in Germany, Switzerland and Poland. Murs confirmed via his Twitter account in February 2012 that the album's third single would be "Oh My Goodness", and that it would be released on 2 April. It peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was his second release in Europe after "Heart Skips a Beat", released on 10 August, and has so far peaked in the top 40 in Germany and Austria.


title: Olly Murs

text: In April 2012, it was revealed that Murs was in the process of writing his third studio album, which was released on 26 November 2012. Murs has once again written with Steve Robson and Claude Kelly. Ed Drewett (best known for his work for The Wanted) and Andrew Frampton and Steve Kipner (producers of both albums for The Script) are other names that have been confirmed for the third album, and in a June 2012 interview with the website Examiner he confirmed the name of a new song, "One of These Days", which he described as a 'follow-on' song from "I Need You Now" on his previous album. On 17 September, Murs announced the first single from his third album, "Troublemaker", a collaboration with Claude Kelly and Steve Robson which features American rapper Flo Rida and was released on 18 November. It also served as Murs's second U.S. single. The same day, he also announced the name of the third album, "Right Place Right Time". The cover artwork and track listing for the album was unveiled on 1 October. Murs will be embarking on a second arena tour of the UK and Ireland in February/March 2013 to support the album, as well as performing his first live European dates in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark in April 2013. On 14 January 2013, Murs confirmed that the second single from the album would be "Army of Two", which was released on 10 March 2013. The album's third single, "Dear Darlin'", was released on 3 June 2013. On 25 August 2013, the album's title track "Right Place Right Time" was released as the fourth single.


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs was the opening act for English boy band One Direction on the North American leg of their Up All Night Tour, which began on 29 May in Toronto. "Heart Skips a Beat" was released as Murs' first U.S. single through Columbia Records on 29 May 2012, replacing Rizzle Kicks with American rappers Chiddy Bang for its release. As of September 2012, it has peaked at No. 96 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Murs was set to release 'In Case You Didn't Know' as his debut U.S. album on 25 September 2012, also through Columbia, however Examiner.com reported on 2 September that the release had been 'postponed until further notice', with no definite new release date given. On 17 September, Columbia then confirmed a new release date of 3 December and that they would now be releasing Murs' third UK album, "Right Place Right Time" as his debut U.S. release instead. The track listing for this will include "Heart Skips a Beat", "Dance with Me Tonight" and "Oh My Goodness" alongside "Troublemaker" and six other tracks from the new UK album. The release has since been delayed again, however, and is now due for release in the U.S. on 4 April 2013. While visiting Chicago, IL for a performance of 25 January, Murs spoke with WBBM-FM B96 and confirmed that the final U.S. release date is 16 April 2013 and he will be featured as February 2013's VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist.


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs provided support for English entertainer Robbie Williams on his Take the Crown Stadium Tour and also performed a duet with him on Kids. In July 2013, Murs served as the headline act at Alton Towers Live. In September, was announced that a new French version of "Dear Darlin", with participation of the famous singer Alizée, would be released in the second day of the month, with also the support of a concert in Paris to attack the France market.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 11 September, Murs announced on his Facebook page that he was going to release a re-packaged edition of "Right Place Right Time", which would be released in November 2013. Also on the same day Murs announced that he will feature on English entertainer Robbie Williams's upcoming album "Swings Both Ways", singing "I Wan'na Be Like You", a song which he had sung on his first attempt to audition for "The X Factor". Murs also featured on the UK version of rapper Classified's song "Inner Ninja", released on 10 November 2013. Murs unveiled "Hand on Heart" as the lead single from the re-release of "Right Place Right Time" and was released on 24 November with the re-release following a week later.


title: Olly Murs

text: In July 2013, Murs revealed that he had been back in the studio writing and recording new material for his fourth album, due to be released in Summer 2014. In February 2014, it was revealed that work had begun on his fourth studio album. He worked with Demi Lovato, Wayne Hector, Claude Kelly and Steve Robson. On 28 September, Murs announced that the title of the album will be called "Never Been Better" and also announced the track list alongside it. The album was released on 24 November and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The album's first single "Wrapped Up" was released on 16 November 2014 and debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart. The album's second single "Up" featuring American actress Demi Lovato reached number four in the UK singles chart. On 10 February 2015, Murs confirmed on his Twitter account that the third single to be released from the album would be "Seasons". On 12 December 2014, Murs released a Christmas EP titled "Unwrapped" exclusivity on Google Play. In February 2015, it was announced that a waxwork figure of Murs would be put into Madame Tussauds Waxworks in Blackpool, which was unveiled on 30 March 2015. During a concert at The O2 Arena on 4 May 2015 and later on his Twitter account, Murs confirmed that the fourth single to be released from the album would be "Beautiful to Me". On 2 October 2015, Murs announced on his Twitter account that he would release a special edition of "Never Been Better" (which like the special edition of "Right Place Right Time" will feature extra tracks and a tour DVD) on 20 November 2015 and the first single released was "Kiss Me" which reached number 11 in the UK singles chart.


title: Olly Murs

text: In early 2016, Murs began work on his fifth studio album which will be released later in the year. On 1 July 2016, Murs revealed on his Twitter account that the album's first single "You Don't Know Love" would be released on 8 July. On 9 July 2016, Murs served as a support act for British five piece vocal group Take That at their British Summer Time concert at Hyde Park in London. On 2 September 2016, Murs announced on his Twitter account that his fifth album would be called "24 Hrs" and would be released on 11 November. On the same day, Murs announced that he would be going on tour in March and April 2017. On 22 June 2017, Murs released his collaboration with Louisa Johnson called Unpredictable, the video already has more than five million views on YouTube.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 9 January 2018, Murs revealed on his Instagram story to be working on his sixth album. In October 2018, Murs announced that his sixth album would be a double album called You Know I Know with one disc featuring new tracks and the second disc continuing singles from Murs' previous albums. The first single from the album was "Moves" and featured guest vocals from Snoop Dogg and an appearance from Rowan Atkinson as the waiter in the bar as himself. The album is compiled of both new and old songs, detailing the title of what his fandom know and what he knows. The creation of this album brought new music to his audience and reprised versions of popular songs from his previous albums.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 7 October 2022, Murs released the single "Die of a Broken Heart", which debuted at number 19 on the UK Official Downloads Singles Chart Top 100 a week later. Murs also announced the Marry Me Tour for 2023. Singles "Die of a broken heart" and "I Hate You When You're Drunk" were released, before the parent album, "Marry Me", was released on 2 December 2022 and charted at number one on release


title: Olly Murs

text: On 28 October 2011, Murs was the first artist to be confirmed to play at Capital FM's Jinglebell Ball 2011. In November 2011, Murs won the award for "Best Male Artist" at the BT Digital Music Awards and the award for "Best Album" for "Olly Murs" at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards. On 5 and 6 December, Murs supported Gary Barlow at Barlow's at the Royal Albert Hall, where they performed together on the Take That hit "Shine". In March 2012, Murs performed at the 'Big Gig' event in Birmingham. On 24 March, In aid of Sport Relief, Murs performed alongside Rizzle Kicks, Vida and JLS at a special charity concert, held at The O2 Arena in London. On 16 April, Murs won the "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award" for "Favourite British Male Artist". On 19 April, a three-part documentary trailing Murs throughout his UK Arena Tour, entitled "Olly: Life on Murs", premiered on ITV2. It drew over half a million viewers. In July 2012, Murs performed at T in the Park. In August 2012, Murs performed at V Festival where he did his own set and also joined Madness for a performance of "It Must Be Love" and "One Step Beyond".


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs' keen interest in football, and support of Manchester United means that he has also frequently appeared on sport based TV shows and radio stations such as Talksport, either during promotion of his music or as a talking head giving his opinion on matches. In April 2016, Murs began to play for Coggeshall Town.


title: Olly Murs

text: He also released a special DVD, entitled "Olly Murs: 7 Deadly Sins of Football", through 2Entertain on 28 November 2011. In this DVD he introduced archive clips of Premier League matches well noted for displaying "when players get too greedy, when they get angry, ["and"] when they get lazy", as well as offering opinions from Ray Parlour, Alvin Martin, Jason Cundy, Ray Houghton and Micky Quinn from talkSPORT.


title: Olly Murs

text: In January 2013, as part of celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of The FA, Murs was appointed as an FA150 Ambassador, along with other leading figures from the world of football such as Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Sir Bobby Charlton.


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs has also been involved in modelling/fashion work, including some modelling for the autumn/winter 2012 range of Robbie Williams' clothing label Farrell.


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs released an illustrated autobiography, "Happy Days", published by Coronet (an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton) on 11 October 2012. Photography for the book was shot by Dean Freeman, who has also worked on books for JLS, Michael Bublé and David Beckham, and Murs also recorded an audio version of the book that was made available to download. In January 2013 it was confirmed that Murs would guest star in a season 5 episode of the American drama series "90210" where he would perform "Troublemaker" and "Right Place Right Time". The episode aired on 22 April 2013. On 6 October 2013, Murs returned to "The X Factor" as a guest mentor to help judge Gary Barlow pick his finalist for the finals of the competition.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 10 November 2014, Murs confirmed on his Twitter account that he would join the line up for Band Aid 30. Murs confirmed on 12 March 2015 that he would be releasing a second book titled "On The Road".


title: Olly Murs

text: ITV confirmed on 11 October 2017 that Murs had become a coach on the seventh series of "The Voice UK". He has returned for the eighth series, ninth series, and the tenth series.


title: Olly Murs

text: In February 2011, it was announced that Murs would participate in the BT Charity Trek, with other celebrities, as part of the 2011 Comic Relief Red Nose Day campaign. The celebrities spent five days in the Kaisut desert in north Kenya, covering in temperatures up to 40 °C. On 2 April 2011, Murs appeared in a celebrity version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and won £10,000 for charity. On 22 April, he appeared on a celebrity edition of "Deal or No Deal", where he won 50p for his chosen charity, Brainwave, a local charity based in Murs' home town of which he had become a patron, for children with brain conditions such as cerebral palsy or developmental delay.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 27 May 2012, Murs played for England in a charity match for Soccer Aid at Old Trafford, but was taken off in the first half due to a hamstring injury. England ended up winning the match in a 3–1 victory against the rest of the world. This was the second time Murs had played for the England Team at Soccer Aid. He played back in 2010, a third time in 2014 and made a fourth appearance in 2016. He is also a patron for the Nordoff-Robbins music therapy charity, and more recently he has become a patron for the Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity, who grant wishes to seriously or terminally ill children aged 3–18 in the United Kingdom. On 21 March 2014, Murs took part in the Clash of the Titans event in aid for Sport Relief 2014 as part of Sebastian Coe's team, Team Coe who were crowned champions. He took part in Men's Cycling Elimination and Rhythmic Gymnastics.


title: Olly Murs

text: In June 2021, Murs organised the "Climb for Caroline", a sponsored climb of mountain peaks in the Lake District. The walk intended to raise money for the mental health support charity Samaritans, and named after Caroline Flack, who had died the previous February.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 4 April 2011, Murs stood in for Comedy Dave Vitty on "The Chris Moyles Show" on Radio 1 for one week while Vitty was rehearsing for "Dancing on Ice". In 2011, Murs appeared on CBBC's children's hidden camera show Remote Control Star. At the end of May 2011, Murs presented a Celebrity Club Classics show on Heart FM. He went on to present a Celebrity Special over the Christmas Period in 2011 and again in 2012. On 31 May 2011, it was confirmed that Murs would be co-presenting the eighth series of "The Xtra Factor" alongside Caroline Flack. On 10 November 2011, Murs turned on the Christmas Lights at Cribbs Causeway in South Gloucestershire, where 7,000 fans attended. Murs concluded his appearance with a performance of "Dance with Me Tonight", the first time he had performed the song live. On 2 December, Murs appeared on "The Late Late Toy Show" with Ryan Tubridy, a popular television show in Ireland.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 1 February 2012, Murs began his 22-date arena tour, starting with an audience of 20,000 in Cardiff. Due to his international release and touring with One Direction over the summer, he was not present for the Xtra Factor audition, boot camp and judges' houses stages of this year's series, but did however record some special segments with selected auditionees that were broadcast in these episodes. He returned to the show full-time with Flack on the first live show of the series on 6 October 2012. In April 2013, it was confirmed that Murs had quit his role as co-presenter of "The Xtra Factor" to concentrate on his music career. He was replaced by Matt Richardson.


title: Olly Murs

text: In June 2014, Murs along with Rio Ferdinand presented "World Cup's 50 Greatest Moments" on BBC Three on the run up to the World Cup 2014.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 12 December 2014, Murs performed and presented his ITV special "A Night In With Olly Murs". The show featured him performing some of his songs as well as photobomb with Nicole Scherzinger, prank Caroline Flack, appear in a special episode of "EastEnders" and lip sync with John Bishop. Next, on 25 December 2014, Murs reunited with Flack to co-present a Christmas Day radio show on British radio station Magic. They later did another radio show for Magic on New Year's Eve.


title: Olly Murs

text: It was confirmed on 16 April 2015 that Murs and Flack would take over from Dermot O'Leary as the presenters of twelfth series of "The X Factor". However, on 22 February 2016, Flack and Murs confirmed that they would not be returning to the thirteenth series of "The X Factor" and were permanently replaced by Dermot O'Leary.


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs served as both a guest and guest panelist on "Loose Women" on 26 July 2016 in place of Katie Price who had fallen ill.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 15 December 2018, Murs hosted an ITV special titled "Happy Hour with Olly Murs". He invited several guests, including Bradley Walsh, Tom Jones, Emma Willis, Megan McKenna, Rochelle Humes, Chris Hughes and Kem Cetinay.


title: Olly Murs

text: In April 2021, it was announced that Murs will present an ITV talent show series titled "Starstruck".


title: Olly Murs

text: In 2019, Murs made his acting debut as the voice of Spike the Doberman in a two-part special of the Disney Channel series "101 Dalmatian Street" titled "A Summer to Remember".


title: Olly Murs

text: Murs lived with his twin brother Ben and parents Vicky and Pete Murs until 2012, when he moved into a five-bedroom house of his own in Toot Hill, Essex. He is an avid supporter of Manchester United and also a supporter and chairman of local side Coggeshall Town.


title: Olly Murs

text: Olly stated on "The Jonathan Ross Show" in March 2015 that Ben was estranged from his parents and that the incident stemmed from Murs not being able to attend Ben's wedding because of "X Factor" commitments.


title: Olly Murs

text: In 2015, Murs first opened up about ongoing mental health issues, admitting that he turned to alcohol to cope with depression caused by the pressure of a new career during his time on the "X Factor" tour. In 2016, he experienced anxiety and panic attacks after facing stark criticism about his short-lived career as a presenter for "The Xtra Factor". Appearing for a "routine performance" on the "Graham Norton Show" to promote his new music, Murs was struck with sudden, overwhelming panic, stating his "heart was pounding" and he "couldn't breathe". He continued to experience panic attacks when he was confirmed as a coach for "The Voice UK", which led to him seeking therapy to cope with his anxiety. He went on to write the song "Talking to Yourself" about his anxiety and encourages other men to speak up about their mental health.


title: Olly Murs

text: On 24 November 2017, Murs was caught up in the Oxford Circus panic while shopping in Selfridges, Oxford Street. He was criticised by the police and the media for tweeting false claims about gunshots in Selfridges, and for alleging in April 2018 that the police had covered up a terrorist attack in the shop.


The 2022 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of New Hampshire. The primary elections were held on September 13, 2022.


title: 2022 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

text: Incumbent first-term Democratic U.S. senator Maggie Hassan was reelected, defeating Republican retired brigadier general Don Bolduc by an unexpectedly large margin that surpassed most polls.


text: This election marked the first time a Democrat won re-election to New Hampshire's Class 3 Senate seat.


text: In the early months of the campaign, Hassan maintained a healthy lead in the polls. Polls began to tighten around September 2022 and by late October, a few polls even showed Bolduc with a narrow lead or had the candidates tied. Most pundits concurred that Hassan had a very slight edge and that the race would be extremely tight. However, Hassan won reelection by 9 points, a margin considerably wider than what was expected and one far greater than her 0.14 point plurality in 2016. Hassan's victory made her the first Democrat to win re-election to the Class 3 senate seat in New Hampshire history. This, along with Democrats' comfortable victories in New Hampshire's two House races, affirmed New Hampshire's transition from a closely contested swing state to a clearly Democratic leaning state at the federal level.


title: The Blueprint

text: The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, "The Blueprint" features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature.


title: The Blueprint

text: At the time of the album's recording, Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials, one for gun possession and another for assault, and had become one of hip hop's most dissed artists, receiving insults from rappers such as Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss. The album is also famous for both its producers Kanye West and Just Blaze's breakouts as major producers. West produced four of the thirteen tracks on the album, including the songs "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and the controversial "Takeover", which included diss lyrics aimed at rappers Nas and Prodigy, while Just Blaze produced three tracks, "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Song Cry", and "U Don't Know", also including the hidden bonus track "Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)".


title: The Blueprint

text: "The Blueprint" received universal acclaim from music critics, with praise being directed at Jay-Z's lyricism and the production. It is considered one of his best albums and has also been labeled as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Despite its release coinciding with the September 11 attacks, it sold over 427,000 copies in its opening week and debuted at number one in the US, holding the spot for three weeks. It was later certified 2x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," being the first entry created in the 21st century.


title: The Blueprint

text: "The Blueprint" was reportedly cut in two weeks, with Jay-Z recording nine songs in two days. At the time, he was awaiting two criminal trials for gun possession and assault. He was also engaged in feuds with various rappers such as Jadakiss, Fat Joe and in particular Nas and Mobb Deep member Prodigy. In the song "Takeover", Jay-Z attacks the two Queensbridge rappers, using a sample of the song "Five to One" by The Doors and an interpolation of David Bowie's "Fame". On "The Blueprint", Jay-Z and his producers used vintage soul as inspiration, including a vocal sample on almost every track from such artists as Al Green, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin and The Jackson 5. Exceptions include "Jigga That Nigga", "Hola Hovito", and "Renegade", a track produced by and featuring the rapper Eminem, and the only track on the album featuring another rapper on verses.


title: The Blueprint

text: In late August, Jay-Z announced a September–October tour in small venues. Because of the September 11 attacks occurring on the same day the album was released, the first two performances were rescheduled. Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles were subsequently added, and Jay-Z donated to relief organizations one dollar of the cost of each ticket sold for the tour.


title: The Blueprint

text: The photograph on the album's cover, taken by Jonathan Mannion, was inspired by one from "The Firm", a series by Jocelyn Bain Hogg depicting organized crime in Britain. Instead of the telephone and brass knuckles seen next to the ashtray in the original picture, a cigar, a pack of cigars and a microphone were placed.


title: The Blueprint

text: "The Blueprint" received rave reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 88, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 12 reviews. Upon its release, "The Blueprint" was hailed by "Vibe"s dream hampton as Jay-Z's best album, as well as the best album of the year, while "The Source" awarded "The Blueprint" a perfect "five-mic" rating, a distinction reserved for hip hop classics. Nathan Rabin called it Jay-Z's "strongest, tightest, most consistent album since his legendary debut, 1996's "Reasonable Doubt"."


title: The Blueprint

text: The popularity and commercial success of "The Blueprint" established Kanye West and Just Blaze as two of hip hop's most celebrated producers. West in particular would later be signed by Roc-A-Fella Records in 2002. Both West and Just Blaze would go on to have successful music careers. Furthermore, "The Blueprint" signaled a major stylistic shift in hip hop production towards a more Soulcentric and sample-reliant sound, creating a number of imitators who attempted to emulate the album's atmospheric style. Prior to "The Blueprint", mainstream hip-hop producers had largely eschewed music sampling in favor of the keyboard-driven "" (characterized by a shifting, syncopated rhythm, similar to samba or jungle music), due to the financial and legal issues associated with copyright laws.


title: The Blueprint

text: "The Blueprint", however, revived musical sampling as a common practice in hip hop music and dislodged the digital keyboard-driven production style as the dominant sound in hip-hop music. West would later incorporate some of the production and sampling techniques he used on this album into his own solo albums. "Entertainment Weekly" put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "One of the greatest poets ever to pick up a mic released his magnum opus in 2001. One retirement and one un-retirement later, it's still his finest hour."


title: The Blueprint

text: In 2003, "The Blueprint" was ranked number 464 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time; in a revised list in 2012, it was ranked number 252; in the 2020 revised list, the album was ranked number 50. "Pitchfork" named "The Blueprint" the second best album of 2000–2004, and in 2010, it ranked fifth on their Top 200 Albums of the 2000s list. It is ranked at number 4 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s". The album received a perfect "XXL" rating from "XXL" magazine in a 2007 retrospective article. "The Blueprint" was also included in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".


title: The Blueprint

text: In spite of its release coinciding with the 9/11 attacks, "The Blueprint" sold over 427,000 copies in its opening week, becoming Jay-Z's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the "Billboard" 200 chart. It was certified double platinum as sales stand at over two million units in the U.S.


title: The Blueprint

text: As with "Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter", Jay-Z put two hidden bonus tracks at the end of the final track. "Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)" is 3:41 by itself. Twenty-five seconds of silence follows after and the bonus track "Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)" begins. That song fades and is immediately followed by "Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2)". It is reported that the latter song features uncredited vocals by Michael Jackson. The final track as a whole is 12:07. On the iTunes Store, however, these bonus tracks are released as separate tracks, thus making the album 15 tracks long. On the vinyl edition, there are no long gaps between the songs, but they are not printed on the back of the album jacket or record label.


title: Pierrot (company)

text: The company's logo is the face of a clown. "Piero" is a Japanese loanword for clown, adopted from the classical character of Pierrot.


title: Pierrot (company)

text: "Yu Yu Hakusho" and "Saiyuki", two of the company's anime series, won the Animage Anime Grand Prix Award in 1994 and 1995, and 2000, respectively.