The Justice, November 14, 2023

the

Justice www.thejustice.org

T h e I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9 Volume LXXVI, Number 8

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

TENSIONS ESCALATE

SILENT PROTEST

Brandeis students walk out to protest police violence ■ Multiple arrests at a pro-

Palestine rally on Nov. 10 left students in shock.

By HEDY YANG

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

ARRESTS: In the foreground, three officers pin one student to the ground. Another two hold down a student in the background.

On Monday, Nov. 13, nearly 200 students walked out of their classes at 11:30 a.m. to gather for a silent sit-in on the Great Lawn.

The walkout was organized by a group of students via a virtual discussion space and announced on the Instagram account @deisvspoliceviolence. The students gathered in response to the unexpected display of police force that took place during the “Rally for Palestine” organized by the Revolutionary Student Organization on Friday, Nov. 10. According to a report by the Boston Globe, seven people — three students and four individuals unaffiliated with the Brandeis community — were arrested. All seven protestors pleaded not guilty to their charges on Monday morning, according to a report by CBS News Boston.

In an interview with the Justice on Nov. 13, two of the students involved in organizing the walkout shared that the group of organiz-

ers consisted of a diverse array of community members who shared “the horror we felt watching students get brutalized on campus,” yet represented a wide variety of backgrounds and opinions about the larger Israel-Hamas war.

The organizers announced the walkout to the Instagram account via a Nov. 12 post titled “Silent Walkout Against Police Violence.”

The initial post also outlined safety and etiquette guidelines, which included not engaging with police, following all dispersal orders, wearing face coverings and nondescript clothing, and attending with other people.

The two students involved in organizing highlighted the centrality of the group’s four demands to the message of the walkout, which are also outlined in the Nov. 12 post.

The first demand calls on Brandeis administration to issue an “apology for Brandeis police’s violence towards peaceful protestors … as well as the calling in of non-Brandeis affiliated police forces to promote violence against students.”

In an 11-minute long video of the Nov. 10 protest taken by a Brandeis student that was widely circulated on social media, police officers can

Demonstrators arrested at rally protesting the derecognition of SJP “This should’ve happened

See WALKOUT, 6 ☛

FACULTY PERSPECTIVES

■ The Nov. 10 protest was

broken up by officers from both Brandeis Police and Waltham Police Department.

By ISABEL ROSETH EDITOR IN CHIEF

On Friday afternoon, students gathered in the November cold on the Great Lawn to protest the University’s continued support of Israel and the derecognition of the Brandeis chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Dressed in green, red, black, and white, the colors of the Palestinian flag, many left in shock and disbelief — and others left in handcuffs.

The rally was initially announced at the gathering that followed SJP’s derecognition on Monday, Nov. 6. The Revolutionary Student Organization posted more information on their Instagram on Wednesday, Nov. 8, confirming that the protest would take place outside the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center at 3:30 p.m on Friday.

The University derecognized its chapter of SJP on Nov. 6 because the group "openly supports Hamas” and because the national organization called on chapters to “engage in conduct that supports Hamas in its call for the violent elimination of Israel and the Jewish people.” This claim was refuted by the American Civil Liberties Union; the Anti-Defamation League

provided evidence that certain chapters of SJP had endorsed anti-Israeli violence, but there was no evidence that the national organization had done so. As a result of the derecognition, SJP will no longer receive funding and is not allowed to organize activities on campus. It also cannot associate itself with the University.

A social justice institution

In an Instagram post, RSO called on community members to attend “in support of Palestinian people and their struggle for peace, justice, and liberation.” The caption stated that 10,000 Palestinians — 3,000 of which were children — have been killed since Oct. 7. As of press time, this number has reached over 11,100. “It is absurd for Brandeis to frame itself as an institution for social justice while openly supporting an ongoing genocide, and attempting to censor students for speaking out or even holding a vigil,” they wrote.

The organization also listed three demands in the Instagram post. They called on the University to end its support of “the genocide of Palestinian people at the hands of the zionist occupation” by ceasing its “engagement with the occupation's economy and institutions.” RSO also demanded that Brandeis stop its “harmful rhetoric and defense of bigoted students,” which they said perpetuates and spreads Islamophobia and racism on campus. The third demand asked Brandeis to reinstate SJP and no lon-

ger suppress the voices of their proPalestinian community members.

The caption asked rally attendees to wear a mask; bring keffiyehs, a traditional Palestinian headdress; and bring Palestinian flags.

University President Ron Liebowitz responded to the backlash against SJP’s derecognition via email the morning of Nov. 8. Liebowitz defended the decision, stating that it was made “because SJP openly supports Hamas, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and its call for the violent elimination of Israel and the Jewish people.”

The president said that the decision was not made lightly. He cited Brandeis’ Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression, stating that the University is committed to protecting free speech, but that it is permitted to “restrict expression […] that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment.” While students, faculty, and staff are welcome and encouraged to “participate in the free exchange of ideas,” Liebowitz said, “we must not and do not condone hate, the incitement of violence, or threats against or harassment of anyone, be they Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Israeli, Palestinian, or any other religion or ethnicity.”

Liebowitz expressed his distress at the civilian deaths in both Israel and Gaza, and welcomed all community members to gather in support of “the

See PROTEST, 4 ☛

■ An emergency faculty

meeting was held on Nov. 10 to discuss faculty response to the dechartering of SJP.

By ANNA MARTIN JUSTICE EDITOR

On Friday Nov. 10, Brandeis held a special Faculty Meeting and Listening Session with President Ron Liebowitz and Provost Carol Fierke to address the dechartering of the Students for Justice in Palestine organization, the meaning of free speech, and the best approach to support students during this time. The meeting was moderated by Prof. Jody Gittell (Heller), the faculty chair of the Senate.

Motions were not able to be made during this meeting, as none were submitted in advance.

This meeting began with opening remarks from President Liebowitz. He acknowledged that many people are hurt and distressed over recent global and campus events alike. Liebowitz stated, “Not to be defensive, but I went back and

read all of my statements just to see how callous or cold I was, as I was told by some, and in any case going forward [I] might have to be a little bit more expressive in how these things come out, but I didn’t see anything that was as callous as perhaps some thought.”

He said that he does not feel that this situation is about free speech.

Liebowitz explained that his concern was instead having the University name associated with an organization that “spews hate and has done some heinous things.” He also stated that he felt that the celebration of the death of a Brandeis professor’s family was hideous.

“I asked the faculty that I met with yesterday whether we would ban a [Ku Klux Klan] chapter here, and I think the answer was unanimously yes. In my view and in many people’s view, this is not much different. This is a hateful organization that has called for genocide and called for the elimination of a whole people and a state.”

He disagreed with claims that derecognizing SJP suppresses free

Looking back

Artist interview

Waltham mayor election results

 A visual account of student

 A reflection on the collaboration between artist Claudia Bernardi and the CAST program students.

By MESHULAM UNGAR

activism on campus from the '60s to today.

By GRACE DOH

Photo Courtesy of ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

earlier”: Liebowitz on decision to decharter SJP

FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

Palestinian student censorship

By DANIEL ORTNER

By NEMMA KALRA

New NBA referee

ARTS AND CULTURE 14

By JEFFREY WANG

Make your voice heard!

Submit letters to the editor to forum@thejustice.org

COPYRIGHT 2023 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

See MEETING, 7 ☛

NEWS 3 FORUM 11 SPORTS 12

2

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 ● NEWS ● THE JUSTICE

NEWS SENATE LOG The Student Union Senate grants probationary status to clubs, discusses amendment to bylaws The Student Union Senate passed two Senate Money Resolutions, gave probationary status to two new clubs, and discussed an amendment to the Union’s bylaws at its Nov. 12 meeting.

Sen. Yoni Kahn ’24 presented an SMR to the Senate regarding the acquisition of supplies for the Union’s table at Brandeis’ “I Am Global Week.” According to the University’s website, I Am Global Week’s purpose is to “showcase our global community.”

Kahn said that the money would primarily go towards getting international snacks to hand out to students. The Senate approved the SMR by acclamation.

Sen. Chloe Doonan ’26 presented an SMR relating to the Union’s table for Kindness Day. Doonan said the Union will hand out cookies and goody bags for students to take. The Senate approved the SMR by acclamation.

Sam Bertooz ’25, president of the Puzzle Club, asked that the Senate give his club probationary status. Bertooz said the club’s purpose is to “provide a welcoming space for all Brandeis stu-

dents to enjoy and practice the craft of puzzle.” The Senate voted to give the Puzzle Club probationary status by acclamation.

Joseph Pendleton ’24, president of Simpliciter, asked that the Senate give his club probationary status. Pendleton said Simpliciter is Brandeis’ philosophy journal, intended to give students a place to submit their works relating to philosophy and edit submissions. He also said that the journal would, like other university philosophy journals, accept submissions from outside Brandeis. The Senate voted to give Simpliciter probationary status by acclamation.

Sen. Eamonn Golden ’24 also presented an amendment to the bylaws, which the Senate will vote on at its meeting next week.

The amendment, Golden said, would limit the president’s ability to veto changes to a portion of the bylaws relating to Executive Board positions. Currently, the president is able to consider proposed amendments to the section of the bylaws relating to the Executive Board before the Senate, which Golden said gave the

president too much power.

If the amendment passes, the change would be consistent with how alterations to other sections of the bylaws are made. The Senate first votes on a proposed change, then the president has a chance to veto it, and the Senate then has a chance to overturn the veto. Golden’s proposed amendment would also increase the number of senators required to overturn a veto from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority.

— Max Feigelson

POLICE LOG MEDICAL EMERGENCY Nov. 3—An individual did not feel well. The patient refused further medical treatment.

Nov. 3—There was a medical emergency for an intoxicated party. They refused further medical treatment.

Nov. 3—A non-community member sent a medical call. They were treated by BEMCo staff and transported to a local hospital.

Nov. 4—A community member was treated by BEMCo staff and refused further care.

Nov. 6—An individual was having a medical emergency. The patient refused further treatment.

Nov. 6—The previous patient’s healthcare provider requested an ambulance for them.

Nov. 7—A party slipped and fell. The patient was transported to a local hospital.

Nov. 7—An individual had a medical emergency. They were transported to a local hospital.

Nov. 8—An individual had a medical emergency. They refused further medical treatment.

Nov. 9—A patient had abdominal pain. They were transported to a local hospital.

Nov. 9—A patient was transported to a local hospital.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES Nov. 4—A suspicious package was reported. There will be an investigation.

Nov. 6—Suspicious mail was received. There will be an investigation.

Nov. 8—A potential “be on the lookout” suspect was spotted. The situation was cleared.

Nov. 9—Two masked individuals were observed posting flyers on buildings on Closed Circuit Television. Contact was made with the subjects. An investigation is to follow.

MISCELLANEOUS Nov. 3—A bumper was scraped. The incident was cleared.

Nov. 4—A faculty member found a canister of chemicals. The manager of Environmental Health and Safety was contacted. The canister was not hazardous, and it was delivered to the wrong location. The situation was cleared.

Nov. 4—A party reported that items of theirs are in a previous partner’s possession and wants them returned. An investigation is to follow.

Nov. 4—A caller reported a loud party in their building. The Department of Community Living was notified to respond.

Nov. 5—A general maintenance technician was notified. The situation was cleared.

Nov. 6—There was an investigation. It will continue.

Nov. 6—A caller reported that their previous partner is threatening them. There will be an investigation to follow.

Nov. 6—A caller reported a loud noise. The Department of Community Living was notified to respond.

Nov. 7—A party reported a threatening phone call. There will be an investigation to follow.

Nov. 9—There was an investigation. It will continue.

— Compiled by Sophia De Lisi

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

Justice

the

www.thejustice.org

The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.

Editor Managing News Features Forum Sports Arts Photos Copy Layout Ads Online

editor@thejustice.org managing@thejustice.org news@thejustice.org features@thejustice.org forum@thejustice.org sports@thejustice.org arts@thejustice.org photos@thejustice.org copy@thejustice.org layout@thejustice.org ads@thejustice.org online@thejustice.org

The Justice Brandeis University Mailstop 214 P.O. Box 549110 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 Phone: (781) 736-3750 The Managing Editor holds office hours on Mondays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

DEMONSTRATION: Protesters hold up signs to display their concern for free speech and expression at the University.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

THE JUSTICE ● NEWS ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023

3

NYU Professor Aimee Meredith Cox speaks at annual lecture ■ The Eleanor Roosevelt discussion explored the ethical boundaries of ethnography and the development of Black girlhood studies.

By AMANDA CHEN

JUSTICE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On Nov. 7, the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies held the Annual Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture, entitled “Choreographies of Black Freedom.” Prof.

Shoniqua Roach (AAAS/WGS) had a discussion with New York University Professor Aimee Meredith Cox about her book “Shapeshifters: Black Girls and the Choreography of Citizenship,” as well as the evolution of Black girlhood studies.

“Shapeshifters: Black Girls and the Choreography of Citizenship” focused on an ethnography of a homeless shelter called Fresh Start for young women in Detroit, Michigan.

The project started in 1998 and had an unorthodox study methodology due to Cox’s extensive interaction with the women and her substantial participation in the shelter’s management as a volunteer and later as the shelter director.

Beginning as a dance instructor, she volunteered several times a week. Her university profile details her dancing experience; she “has performed and toured internationally with Ailey II and the Dance Theatre of Harlem and has choreographed performances as interventions in public and private space in Newark, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn.” She is also a yogi and trains other yoga teachers.

The more time she spent at the shelter, the more she learned about their other services, such as a street outreach program. Cox also noticed a lack of leadership. At the time, Fresh Start had not had a shelter director for three years, while case workers and shelter staff were overworked. Cox stated that the shelter board, which consisted of white women who held executive jobs at Ford and General Motors, was capable of quality feminist analysis but not racial analysis. Since Cox was already visible among the young women and staff, the board suggested that she become the shelter director, to which she agreed.

As a graduate student at the time, she saw her peers getting jobs and similarly wanted to take the same step into adulthood. She thought she had been studying for too long, and with her new role at Fresh Start, she felt like she had a tangible job. Cox was the director for three to four years.

Roach mentioned ethical concerns regarding Cox’s substantial involvement in

the shelter’s everyday workings; deliberating whether or not her position detracted from the objectivity of the research. Cox had robust decision making powers, such as choosing whether a woman could stay at the shelter, as well as hiring and firing abilities.

Moreover, she wrote grants and structured the curriculum for the young women and staff.

Cox talked about how many researchers found Detroit to be an apt place to study because it provides a rich environment for examining deindustrialization and Black communities. She countered Roach’s question by challenging the ethics of researchers who gain a lot from studying marginalized communities but don’t necessarily give back to the community. “Before you enter the shelter space, I want you to think about what it is that you’re bringing. How are you a benefit in this space?” she asked.

Furthermore, Cox explained that by taking on the leadership role, she learned things that she wouldn’t have otherwise. She wanted to “sort of like peel the veil back and see what it really meant to be of that space [and] not to just move through it.” Transparency was very important to Cox, and she was candid about the type of book she was writing.

She added that “any time you enter that space, that space is transformed by your presence.” Regardless of whether she took the job or not, her existence as a researcher at the shelter would have changed the space’s dynamics. Additionally as a leader, Cox “was faced with [her] own inadequacies.

Part of what happened is that it forced the disruption of this idea of the all-knowing researcher.” She discussed her failures due to her lack of managerial experience and what she learned from handling a staff of 40 people. Moreover, Cox had to manage the transition from a 12 bed shelter in the attic of a church to a new building with 40 beds.

Becoming the director challenged her own blind spots, and she used her curriculum suggestions as an example. Cox wanted to implement a feminist studies curriculum taught by caseworkers to the women in the shelter. However, the workers pushed back and debated the usefulness of the curriculum. If feminist studies was not the most essential information the young women needed at the moment, they did not want to spread their already thin resources to a low priority course.

“Even though I can sit here and say it made for a richer and more complicated ethnography, and I do think that it allowed for a more generous and humane reading of everyone in that space, there are some real things we can think about ethically,” Cox said.

Cox challenged the objectivity and authority of researchers and pushed back against narratives of passive subjects. Paralyzed by the fear of not doing justice to the women’s

stories, Cox stalled on writing her book. She decided to go back to Detroit, hoping that it would motivate her to make more progress. Some women from the shelter invited her to dinner, and they asked Cox when she was going to finish the book. The women from the shelter wanted to check in with Cox and started offering her more stories in case the problem was a lack of content. Cox highlighted that scholars often talk about vulnerable communities in a way that “denies their intelligence and their exposure … These young women understood what the University of Michigan was, they knew what tenure was, they knew what Duke Press was, [and] they understood what it meant to have their stories out in the world,” Cox stated. The women from Fresh Start played an active role in storytelling, and they were humans with rich, complex lives, not a passive group. Rather than applying theoretical frameworks to understand the young women’s experiences, Cox wants to emphasize a conversational framework that shows how the women’s stories transform researchers’ conceptions of a theory.

The goal to accurately represent research subjects also affects her writing process.

Cox makes sure to be physically active when she’s writing because she believes that when people are not grounded in their own body, it’s easier to commit violence and misrepresent others.

A key topic in the book is how movement, dance, and bodies can be used to enact change. Dancing helped women in the shelter heal themselves, create a space to collectively process what they were experiencing, and think about their bodies as tools for improving city life. The young women would stage performances to gather an audience and engage with them in discussions on the state of Detroit. Cox’s book pushes people “to think about your body as more than a site of dismissal, degradation, or vulnerability.”

Additionally, Cox admired the women’s deep commitment to activism because they worked to improve a city that has not protected them; they participated in advocacy despite circumstantial constraints, such as having no home and working multiple jobs to support themselves or their families.

Her book “Shapeshifters” won the 2016 Victor Turner Book Prize in Ethnographic Writing, an Honorable Mention from the 2016 Gloria E. Anzaldúa Book Prize, and the 2017 Book award from the Society for the Anthropology of North America.

Cox helped develop Black girlhood studies, and she referenced formative childhood experiences and other academics that contributed to the field. Cox grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and observed that there was no significant language to understand the Black diaspora. Moreover, academic fields were structured in rigid binaries. She heard the word “feminist” for the first time from

her father because he called himself one. For her dad, feminism meant caring about all human life. Early in life, she danced a lot and through that form of expression, she said she “really came into my body in the space of my home and my backyard.” One’s level of power can be determined by how others view and categorize one’s body. The feeling of freedom Cox experienced while dancing inspired her to think about the body as an agent of change. She referenced a fellowship talk given by Professor André Lepecki on the origins of the word “choreography.” Choreography meant codifying movement, and how to contain it and manage bodies.

Cox mentioned author Toni Morrison and her books “The Bluest Eye” and “Sula.” “The Bluest Eye” showcases Black girlhood in the Midwest, and the Black female friendship portrayed in “Sula” reminded Cox of how the women at Fresh Start built a strong community of support.

Author Gloria Jean Watkins, who wrote under her pen name bell hooks, talked about how the view from the periphery allows people to see everything. White, cisgender, heterosexual, and landowning males make up the center, whereas the young Black women from the shelter would be on the periphery.

Cox was interested in how that outside view affected their conception of family, community, labor, and transformation of spaces.

Cox also mentioned the work of Professor Ruth Nicole Brown, sociologist Joyce Ann Ladner, and digital ethnomusicologist Kyra D. Gaunt.

Cox doesn’t “consider [herself] a Black girlhood studies scholar.” She wants to research the larger questions that arise from Black girlhood, like the relationship between body and space, rather than only study the concept itself.

Her work exemplifies innovative experimentation and pushes the limits of academic study. As a graduate student, Cox wanted to be seen as an intellectual. She worried that if she used her dance background to study the way that the body relates to space, people wouldn’t take her seriously, especially as a Black woman. Cox also avoided using terms like “embodiment” since they weren’t as commonly used in the past. When considering researching education in informal settings among Black women, she “was too afraid to even say ‘among young Black women.’ I think I said something like ‘urban settings’ [instead].” A mentor at graduate school, who was also on the board of Fresh Start, helped Cox choose a research topic.

Cox’s mentor encouraged her to forget about academic language and directly express what she was interested in. Cox broke new ground for anthropology studies, and while addressing ethical concerns is crucial for obtaining reliable data, academics should keep creating ways to expand scholarly fields to marginalized communities.

Write an op-ed for

McCarthy wins a sixth term, defeating city councilor Jonathan Paz ■ The incumbent mayor, Jeannette McCarthy, will enter her 20th year as Waltham mayor.

By MESHULAM UNGAR JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On Tuesday, Nov. 7, Jeannette A. McCarthy was re-elected mayor of Waltham, Massachusetts for her sixth consecutive four-year term, defeating Jonathan Paz, a second-term city councilor from Ward 9. McCarthy won 58% percent of the vote, with Paz pulling in nearly 40%. Voter turnout was consistent with previous years, with 11,395 voters casting ballots — accounting for only 32% of registered Waltham voters. McCarthy secured 6,628 votes as opposed to Paz’s 4,551; in 2019, 34% (11,790) of Waltham voters went to the polls, with McCarthy winning 3,770 more votes than all of her competitors combined.

Paz and McCarthy were the only candidates

for mayor; the election is non-partisan, though based on a Nov. 3 email correspondence with City Clerk Joseph W. Vizrad, the Justice found that McCarthy is “unenrolled” in a party, while Paz is a Democrat.

In the final weeks of the race, Paz sent a mailer to Waltham residents accusing McCarthy of campaigning with Geoff Diehl, the 2018 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and 2022 Republican pick for Massachusetts governor who was endorsed by former President Trump. It read in bold letters, “Are Jeannette McCarthy’s values really Waltham’s values? Mayor campaigned for Trump ally Geoff Diehl.” President Joseph R. Biden, a Democrat, had won Waltham about 71% to Trump’s 26%.

In response to questioning from the Waltham Community Access Corporation on Nov. 6, McCarthy denounced the accusation as “not true.” She attended the Republican event at the invitation of the Waltham Republican Club, while also regularly joining the Democratic club when invited. In infor-

mation obtained through a public records request from City Clerk Joseph W. Vizard, the Justice learned that McCarthy is officially “unenrolled” in any political party, backing up her public explanation of being an Independent. The Justice could not independently confirm Paz’s claims.

McCarthy herself sent out two mailers in the final portion of the campaign, beginning in the late summer. In big paragraphs and tight margins, McCarthy laid out a detailed defense of her past service in Waltham city government, qualifications for continuing as mayor, and called into question Paz’s record in serving the Waltham government by highlighting his relative youth and lack of experience.

Based on McCarthy’s pitch in the Oct. 26 debate and elsewhere, in this coming term she hopes to focus on traffic issues, the completion of Waltham High School, building a new police station, and expanding public transportation. One of the mayor’s long-term goals is to build a multimodal transportation

center, but in the meantime, she plans to improve efficiency by synchronizing the traffic lights. On the Monday, Nov. 13 City Council meeting, McCarthy requested $9,700 for a new traffic control device.

Another priority of McCarthy’s is redeveloping the land of the now-defunct Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center, a mental health hospital with a contentious reputation, into a memorial, recreational area, housing, and nature reserve. In the Nov. 13 ask, the mayor is seeking a $9.5 million dollar loan to support efforts to build out the Fernald area. During the campaign, Paz went after McCarthy for her approach to the Fernald, calling it “as shallow as it is unambitious,” wasting taxpayer dollars, neglectfully memorizing the victims of mistreatment at the Fernald, and unnecessarily delaying projects.

The issues of importance — local challenges such as traffic, land use, and rodent control — are the ones that played a key role in this race for Waltham mayor.

ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

4

NOVEMBER 14, 2023 ● NEWS ● THE JUSTICE

PROTEST: Community members express outrage over decision to decharter SJP CONTINUED FROM 1 rights of Palestinians, or to acknowledge Palestinian deaths during the current Israel-Hamas war,” whether as individuals or a group. Student organizations may form so long as they do so “through established procedures that comply with Brandeis’ policies.” He stressed the importance of engaging in “constructive dialogue” and coexisting on campus “in an environment that is free of intimidation and harassment.”

“A commitment to openness is one of Brandeis’ founding values, but that openness is challenged when speech is used to intimidate and silence others,” he wrote.

Andrea Dine, the vice president of Student Affairs, and Matthew Rushton, the chief officer of Public Safety, reached out to students regarding “protest safety” the morning of Nov. 10 via email.

Dine and Rushton urged the community to follow Brandeis’ history of uniting against “prejudice, including Islamophobia, antisemitism, and racism.”

“In recent days and weeks community dialogue has been filled with painful narratives, painting complex and diverse communities with a single brushstroke,” they wrote. “Hamas doesn’t equal Palestinian, nor does Palestinian equal Muslim, any more than all Jews share one opinion about Israel or the ongoing war.”

In order to foster an open, community dialogue, and “wrestle with a complex present and painful history,” Rushton and Dine wrote that any language invoking “violence, death or annihilation” is not considered free speech, as it “intimidates, frightens and silences cohorts of our community.” They provided examples of language they considered inflammatory, including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”; “Intifada, intifada”; or calling for “Gazan villages to be burned to the ground.”

Physical safety was another concern. “Public Safety has significantly stepped up security presence on campus and will further increase these measures during public protests and large gatherings. Our heightened security measures are not meant to impede expression and debate; they are designed to protect our campus community, including event participants,” they said. Dine and Rushton also clarified that the University would not allow “outside, third-party groups or individuals to congregate on campus” in order to make sure “that our students, faculty, and staff can assemble together safely.”

All protests have to adhere to the University’s protest policy, which they linked in the email.

RSO responded to what they deemed an attack on SJP and pro-Palestinian students in an Instagram post on Nov. 9. The title of the post was “It is Good to be Attacked by the Enemy,” inspired by a quote from Mao Zedong — a Chinese revolutionary, founder of the People’s Republic of China, and chairman of the Chinese Communist Party — which they also included in the post. They stated that the University encourages racist and Islamophobic rhetoric by protecting “bigoted students” and consistently suppressing the voices of students who support Palestine. “This is merely another instance of Brandeis demonstrating that its commitment to supporting free expression is a fallacy,” they wrote in their post.

The post also said that the Brandeis Police confronted several students hanging flyers for the Nov. 10 rally, stating that the police “falsely claimed that putting up flyers which are supportive of Palestine is illegal and forced students to remove flyers under implicit threat of arrest.” They also said that the police recorded the students’ names and followed them home, while other officers “proceeded to then scour campus for any other students flyering.” In doing so, the University proved that it “stands solidly against social justice and the struggles of oppressed people.”

Julie Jette, the interim senior vice president of Communications, confirmed this confrontation in a Nov. 10 email correspondence with the Justice. Jette wrote that around 1 a.m. on Nov. 9, Public Safety received a report that two masked individuals, who were identified as students, were leaving posters around campus. Public safety “is obligated to respond to reports,” and the officers on-scene “informed the students that the posters violated our posting policy because they had not been approved by the departments overseeing the spaces where they were being posted, and were posted directly on buildings and doors in some cases, which is also a violation of campus posting policies.” She linked the policies from section 6.2 of the Student’s Rights and Responsibility Agreement in her email for further information. She also referred to the email sent by Dine and Rushton, which stated there would be an increased security presence at protests.

This repression signified another reason to stand against the University’s support for the genocide in Palestine, RSO stated, adding, “When we come together and dare to struggle, we dare to win.” They included the date, time, and location of the protest and urged community members to participate.

“The whole world is watching”

The demonstration itself began a little after 3:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Police officers, both from Brandeis Police and the Waltham Police Department, were stationed both in vehicles and on foot in the area surrounding the Shapiro Campus Center, including in front of Bernstein-Marcus, its corresponding parking lot, and near the Great Lawn. As of press time, the Justice was unable to clarify why students were unable to gather in front of Bernstein-Marcus, the original location for the protest, and instead had to stand on the Great Lawn.

Some protestors stood in front of the Shapiro Campus Center holding flags and banners, including two Palestinian flags. Other flags read, “DOWN WITH COLONIALISM,” “DEATH TO IMPERIALISM,” and the top line of a Jewish Voice for Peace banner read “END ISRAELI APARTHEID” with the bottom line reading “Free Palestine.”

Other demonstrators brought signs of their own: “INDIGENOUS IS A GLOBAL TERM & PALESTINIANS ARE INDIGENOUS! ZIONISM = GENOCIDE,” “Another Jewish mother against the slaughter of Palestinian children,” “JEWS FOR A FREE PALESTINE,” “JEWS DEMAND CEASEFIRE NOW,” and “WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED!!” Another large banner just had one word written in capital letters: “CEASEFIRE.” Early on, there was a small group in the far back of the crowd with an Israeli flag, but the group did not engage with the protestors. Some individuals walked up to the protest and took videos of the attendees.

The protest began with a call and response of what sounded like “Free, Free Palestine,” followed by another call and response of “Long live Palestine.”

The first speaker, a student organizer, acknowledged the sizable turnout. “We have a lot more people than they do: the administration, the pigs,” they said, gesturing towards the officers, “and the Zionists.”

The student notified attendees of the safety marshalls in red bandanas distributed throughout the crowd whose job was to lend aid if demonstrators were harassed.

Demonstrators repeated the calls and responses before the next speaker, the former leader of SJP, stood in front of the crowd. Crying as they spoke, the Palestinian student told attendees that they had lost every person they had ever known.

“I don’t feel alive anymore,” they said. “How could I?” The blame, the student said, was on Israel, the United States, Brandeis, and specifically President Ron Liebowitz — “Ron, who is calling me a terrorist,” the student said. In response, protestors called out, “Shame!” and “Fuck Ron Liebowitz!”

By attending Brandeis, the student said they felt as though they were funding the killing of their own people. “I feel like their blood is on my hands,” they said.

In between speakers, the crowd resumed their chants, adding a few more. “Shame on Ron!” was one. Another: “Palestine will be free within our lifetime!” Then, “Long live the resistance” and “Long live the intifada.”

The next speaker, whose identity the Justice was unable to confirm as of press time, was a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. She told the story of her family — how her family fled Nazi Germany, where they lost everything. “The only thing they didn’t lose was their lives,” she said.

“They survived a genocide.” But here she was, some 80 years later at a Jewish institution — an institution that her family helped found — that is silencing those speaking out about another genocide. “How can any Jew watch what is happening to Palestinians and not condemn it?” she asked.

She called for an immediate ceasefire and condemned Brandeis’ “McCarthy-ite” silencing of students who speak against injustice in a reference to McCarthyism, or the second Red Scare.

“You are dishonoring the memory of my parents,” she said, addressing Brandeis. “You are dishonoring the valiant Jews that fight against oppression.”

Following her speech, the crowd began to chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” President Liebowitz criticized this phrase in a recent Boston Globe op-ed, writing that it “calls for the erasure of the Jewish state.” A student organizer disagreed with Liebowitz and said that in calling for a free state “From the river to the sea,” they are calling for freedom for everyone within Palestine and an end to the apartheid system. They understand that freedom can come about in many ways, but resistance is necessary for it to do so. Another chant began: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

A Brandeis alumna spoke next. The Justice could not confirm her identity as of press time, but she told the crowd she was a Jewish student who was a “casual Zionist” until she joined SJP during her time as an undergraduate. She shared the history of SJP: In 2008, two students — a Palestinian student and an Israeli student — went to the Student Union to form the chapter. The meeting lasted late into the night with other students calling the co-founders “terrorist sympathizers.”

They succeeded in chartering SJP, but as a result, they were “ostracized.” The speaker expressed her pride in seeing that Brandeis students’ activism has grown “bolder and stronger” since then and said she stands in solidarity with the dissenting students.

The speaker criticized Hillel and deemed it a “racist organization that upholds a racist state.”

She then read excerpts from a letter from alumni calling for a ceasefire and criticizing Brandeis’ support of Israel. Brandeis, she read, stunts its students’ maturation by encouraging support of Zionism rather than defining it as colonialism.

Next, an Israeli man unaffiliated with Brandeis offered his perspective. It was his first time speaking in public about Israel. He said that while Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel frightened Israelis, there is something that his fellow Israelis do not recognize: that they are a part of an occupying country brutally oppressing the Palestinian people. He said that there is nothing innate about Palestinians that makes them violent or hateful: “You, my dear Israelis, earned it.” The man emphasized that Palestinians have every right to

resist and begged the state of Israel to “stop the genocide now.”

An unidentified woman from Brandeis administration tried to speak to him during his speech, but he ignored her. She ultimately left and stood

by Bernstein-Marcus for the remainder of the protest.

A woman who identified herself as a Muslim community member came forward as the next speaker. She expressed her support for Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students who feel isolated and attacked on campus, and said she dealt with similar treatment when she was in college. But they will be okay and survive it, she said, offering herself as proof. She criticized the notion that it is antisemitic to be Palestinian or Muslim. She also decreed the claim that calling for Palestine’s liberation is the same as calling for genocide “nonsense."

There were several other speakers, including a Jewish student calling for an end to genocide, and a speaker who discussed how Zionists “love to see [LGBTQ+ people] as props” when they justify Palestinian deaths by assuming all Palestinians are homophobic, feeling that Palestinian deaths are defensible because they do not accept the LGBTQ+ community. They also mentioned that while same sex marriage is legal in Israel, sodomy is still illegal. The law, however, has not been enforced since 1963.

Protestors chanted “Intifada, intifada” between the speakers.

A few minutes before 4:30 p.m., an unmarked black vehicle driven by a Waltham police officer used a loudspeaker to ask the “unlawful assembly” to “immediately and peacefully disperse,” or “reasonable and necessary force will be used.”

The officer cited Chapter 261, Section 1 of Massachusetts General Law, which states that “state police and the sheriff of the county and his deputies” have the right to “command all persons so assembled immediately and peaceably to disperse.” If they do not, officers then have the right to “command the assistance of all persons there present in suppressing such riot or unlawful assembly and arresting such persons.” In response, protestors yelled back, “Shame!”

The officer in the vehicle attempted to drown out protesters’ chants by honking the vehicle’s horn. The officer then drove the vehicle onto the Great Lawn and repeated the order to disperse.

The demonstrators moved up the steps closer to the SCC, facing the officers. They continued to yell, and a new chant started up: “The whole world is watching,” a reference to protests against the Vietnam War in 1968.

The stand-off continued, with demonstrators calling various phrases. Someone said, “You cannot silence our voices,” and others chanted, “Shame on you.” A Palestinian student cried that the blood of their family was on the hands of the officers. One protester yelled, “How will you look at your children when you stand for genocide?”

A student organizer asked attendees if they wanted to leave or stay, and a large number said they would stay. The remaining protestors huddled together as seven to nine police officers formed a line between the protestors and the SCC. The officers began to walk the group downhill in the direction of the Theater Lot. At 4:38 p.m., cellphone footage from a window in the SCC shows a student walking in the opposite direction of the crowd and towards the officers. Three police officers broke from their formation and approached the student; after an officer grabbed the student’s arm, the student appeared to pull away. The two other officers assisted the first in forcibly bringing the student to the ground to arrest them.

Other protesters began screaming and running away. A second student threw a cup of liquid that appeared to be water at the arresting officers. Another officer grabbed that student and with the assistance of a second officer, threw the student to the ground. A third student was subsequently tackled in the process and arrested as well.

As the altercation occurred, while on the ground one of the students cried out, “I’m not doing anything.”

A Palestinian student was among the arrested.

Their headscarf fell off during the arrest and was thrown aside by officers. A recording of officers walking the student off in handcuffs was posted by @ifnotnowboston on Instagram with the student’s face blocked out. “This is what they’re doing to me as a Palestinian student at Brandeis University,” the student says in the video. “I’m peacefully protesting and they’re fucking arresting me, like fucking always. Racism all the fucking time. It never fucking stops.”

Other videos were circulated on Instagram, including one posted by the account @muslimjusticeleague. In the recording, a private security officer in a neon yellow jacket rips a banner out of protesters’ hands, while three officers hold a student face-first on the ground. The officer with the banner yells at attendees to “back up” as he approaches them, while screaming and yelling continue in the background. A voice yells, “Shame!” and “Shame on you!” at the officers repeatedly.

As the remaining attendees were walked by officers towards the Theater lot, demonstrators continued to yell. Someone said, “I can see every one of you getting fired after this," while other students called the officers “fucking Nazis” and “fascists,” and another asked, “How do you sleep at night?” The “Free, free Palestine chant” was continued by protestors.

An officer told students, “Folks, go home or you may be arrested for trespassing.” Officers also demanded students show their IDs, while some campus officers recognized some as students and notified the Waltham officers.

Seven people were arrested in total and driven

from campus in a van belonging to the police. Two of those detained were arrested between the initial 4:38 p.m. arrests and when the van left. One man was arrested at 4:25 p.m., but it is unclear if he was the first.

Three students were arrested in the seven total arrests made. The officers involved included Brandeis Police, Waltham PD, and private security officers. Following the altercation, the Justice attempted to clarify with police what the demonstrators were being arrested for, but was prevented after an officer gave a final warning to leave the area.

An "open dialogue"

Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Steve Uretsky, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol Fierke, and Vice President for Student Affairs Andrea Dine sent an email to the Brandeis community in the evening of Nov. 10 addressing the protest. They wrote that the demonstration was not interrupted until protesters began chanting “From the river to the sea” and “Intifada, intifada,” — “threatening language that has been explicitly described as hate speech.” An administrator told protestors that they would be dispersed if they continued to use such language, they said.

According to the email, when protesters continued the chants, University police ordered demonstrators to leave four times, and that a “speaker urged them to remain.” Six individuals were arrested as a result. “Criminal charges include assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and trespassing. A seventh individual was arrested for trespassing earlier in the afternoon,” Fierke, Uretsky, and Dine wrote.

The email cited the University’s rights in Brandeis’ Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression; they state that Brandeis “may restrict expression […] that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment.” Students are welcome to this free exchange, but the University must not and does not condone “the incitement of violence, threats or harassment.”

They stressed that they know how difficult and tense things have been both at Brandeis and other colleges, assuring the community that they support an “open dialogue” about the difficulties of the war. However, the protest was not an open dialogue. “Instead it created an atmosphere of intimidation, which is antithetical to a learning environment,” the email stated.

The University will also “be sharing opportunities for our community members to reflect and engage respectfully with one another” in the near future.

President Liebowitz released his own statement via email on Saturday, Nov. 11 on "creating an open dialogue and our collective responsibility.” He also emphasized the University’s commitment to fostering an “open dialogue,” but said that the administration’s first priority is ensuring the community’s safety and well-being by providing “an environment without harassment and intimidation.” The University’s Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression, which he linked, apply to all students regardless of background, but “attacks against any background or belief system are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

The protestors invoked hate speech and did not exercise the responsibilities that come with free speech, Liebowitz said. Seven people were arrested, the “majority of whom were unaffiliated with Brandeis.” He also said that the University is following policies and procedures by “reviewing what exactly took place during — and in response to — the protests” to ensure the community’s safety.

“I know how contentious it feels for many on our campus right now, and that people are hurting,” Liebowitz wrote. “I empathize with all of you who are grappling with the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Many of you have lost loved ones during this war, Palestinian and Israeli alike; I am heartbroken for the loss of life, and I offer my sincere condolences.”

He announced that the University plans to host a number of events designed to address the “social welfare” of the Brandeis community. Students, faculty, and staff alike are encouraged to participate in a “mutually respectful conversation” as a first step towards healing.

“I believe Brandeis is unique in how our community members care for one another. I have seen it time and time again on our campus,” he wrote.

“I hope that we can find common ground during this very difficult time, and move forward in ways that Brandeis is known for, where we are able to accept our differences, and talk about them, in an environment where we can all feel free from harassment.”

Liebowitz included a list of resources at the end of his email to support both students and staff, including the Brandeis Counseling Center, the Center of Spiritual Life, the Dean of Students Office, the International Students and Scholars Office, the Ombuds Office, and the Employee Assistance Program.

As of press time, the protesters have pleaded not guilty to charges including “disorderly conduct, unlawful assembly and assault and battery on a police officer,” according to CBS News. The same article reported that Waltham Police said the seven arrested ignored orders to disperse after the protest “became unruly.”

This is a developing story.

— Justice reporter River Simard ’26 contributed to the reporting for this article.

Graphic courtesy of CANVA. Graphics: ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

Graphic courtesy of CANVA. Graphics: ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

6

NOVEMBER 14, 2023 ● NEWS ● THE JUSTICE

WALKOUT: Students protest use of police force at a protest earlier this week CONTINUED FROM 1

on social media, police officers can be seen pinning a protester to the ground and kneeling on their back. Excerpts of the video have since been circulated and reposted on many other accounts, including @muslimjusticeleague, which called on its followers to gather at the Waltham District Court Monday morning to support the individuals that were arrested on Friday.

The second demand calls on Brandeis to cease its use of the local Waltham Police Department and private security groups to “police student protests” on campus. According to an article by WHDH, Brandeis police called the Waltham Police Department for help on Friday after demonstrations “became unruly” around 3:30 p.m., the start of the protest. The videos circulated on social media also depict individuals in yellow jackets bearing a “Provident Response” insignia engaging with the protestors — the insignias of Providence Response Insight Group, a Waltham-based LLC that provides private security services.

The third demand involves dropping all charges placed on the seven individuals arrested, and that Brandeis refrains from bringing disciplinary action against student demonstrators.

The fourth demand calls for Brandeis to “stop construing language as hate speech when it is not” and refers to recent reports put out by the American Civil Liberties Union and Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression about what constitutes protected speech on college campuses.

In its Nov. 2 article, the ACLU warns that “blanket calls to investigate every chapter of a pro-Palestinian student group for ‘material support to terrorists’ — without even an attempt to cite evidence — are unwarranted and dangerous,” and cautions universities against “conflating the suppression of speech with the façade of safety.”

This call for caution came a few days before Brandeis’ decision to derecognize its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. In his email to the Brandeis community on Nov. 8, President Liebowitz wrote that the University made this decision because “SJP openly supports Hamas, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organiza-

tion, and its call for the violent elimination of Israel and the Jewish people.”

In response to Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine’s derecognition, FIRE sent a letter to Liebowitz expressing its “deep disappointment” about the decision. The letter points out that Brandeis is a signatory to the Chicago Statement, which FIRE describes as a “gold-standard free speech policy statement” that was created by the University of Chicago’s Committee on the Freedom of Expression.

The University of Chicago itself is yet another institution where tensions have run high: On Nov. 9, the University of Chicago Police Department arrested 13 protestors engaged in a sit-in protest organized by UChicago United for Palestine in Rosenwald Hall, the university’s admissions office.

Furthermore, FIRE argued in its letter that Brandeis’ duty to protect free speech is more than just a moral obligation, but a legal duty – it cites the precedent set by the 2017 case Doe v. Western New England University, in which the court ruled that the “relationship between a student and a university is contractual in nature, the terms of which are contained in the student handbook and other college materials,” which includes Brandeis’ policy statement on free speech and free expression.

Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Stew Uretsky reminded the Brandeis community in his Nov. 10 email following Friday’s protest that while the University is dedicated to ensuring free speech, the policy statement permits the University to “restrict expression … that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment,” and further stated that the language used by protesters on Nov. 10 “created an atmosphere of intimidation, which is antithetical to a learning environment.”

Around 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 13, students began filing down towards the Great Lawn from various parts of campus. As they made their way to the Great Lawn, organizers handed out sheets of paper that explained the events of Nov. 10 and the historical context of blank paper protests on one side, which instructed students to hold the papers with the blank side facing out.

The “blank paper” tactic was most recently popularized in protests against China’s zero-

COVID policy and free speech restrictions in 2022, but has also been adopted in protests in Hong Kong and Russia, according to an article

by Time magazine. A Nov. 12 post to the @deisvspoliceviolence Instagram account states that this protest tactic allows activists to get “their messages across without written or spoken words.”

“We continue [the blank paper protest] … in support of those who cannot speak for themselves, in defiance of those who would silence us, and as a demonstration of the student body’s continued pursuit of [j]ustice and [t]ruth – even unto its innermost parts,” the post reads.

The two student organizers also discussed their perceptions of a larger issue of students’ fear to discuss current events in the public realm, and the role last Friday’s events have played in creating such an environment of silence. “In order to have a university where free expression is guaranteed, this kind of violence cannot occur,” the first organizer stated.

“The culture of fear that exists now is really unacceptable.”

“Brandeis prides itself on being an institution that is a space for social justice advocacy.

That is how they present themselves, that is how they advertise themselves,” the other organizer stated. “This feels like they’re drifting far away from those roots.”

Most students took a seat on the Great Lawn facing the Shapiro Campus Center, with the eventual crowd spanning the length of the building and stretching as far back as the sidewalk and walkways leading up to the Great Lawn. Some staff, faculty members, and students gathered on the walkways as well, and a few administrators sat or stood in front of the crowd on the steps by Einstein Bros.’ Bagels, looking out onto the crowd of students. The majority of protesters assembled by 11:50 am.

There was a notable lack of visible police presence in the immediate vicinity of the silent protest, something the organizers worry sends a dangerous message about what kind of speech is tolerated or policed on campus.

The two student organizers stated that there was a police presence on campus towards the beginning of the protest, but that the police did not gather around the area of the sit-in “largely because we were being silent.”

The student organizers suggest this lack of

surveillance raises concerns for future protests that are not silent and the likelihood that they may meet the same response as the Nov. 10 protest. “We should not have to be silent to be safe,” one of the student organizers said.

“We should be able to express ourselves fully without being worried of physical repercussions from police officers.”

Moreover, the organizers also shared their concerns that the administration would use the demonstration as an example of students’ ability to exercise their right to free speech on campus, but without responding to their demands. “My biggest fear about this walkout is that [President Liebowitz] or someone from higher administration will praise it and say how good of a thing it is, and then answer none of our demands,” said one of the student organizers. “We really want our demands to be heard. We want to be clear that we are deeply dissatisfied with the behavior of upper administration — deeply troubled at the culture of fear and silence that they’ve created.”

The other organizer agreed. “Ultimately, the administration is responsible for the violence, arrests, and criminalization of their students on Friday, and they have not addressed that. They need to be held accountable for their culpability for what happened on Friday.”

In an email to the Brandeis community on Nov. 11, Liebowitz acknowledged the arrests and stated that the University is “reviewing what exactly took place during – and in response to – the protests, so that we can best keep our community members safe.”

Members of administration that were present at the Nov. 13 sit-in include the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Jeffrey Shoulson, Assistant Dean of Students Carissa Durfee, and Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Shelby Harris. All three declined to provide a comment to the Justice as of press time.

The sit-in lasted around an hour and a half, with students sitting silently until they were given the signal to disperse around 1 p.m.

Ultimately, the student organizers say they are looking for clearer communication and decisive action: “We are looking for accountability,” one of the student organizers stated. “We want a direct response that will guarantee no further police violence against students.”

CECI XILEI CHEN AND ELIZA BIER/the Justice

SIGNS: At the walkout, student protestors hold up paper signs to convey their frustration over the excessive use of police force, the silencing of certain groups, and the irony of fighting for rights on Brandeis' campus.

THE JUSTICE ● NEWS ● NOVEMBER 14, 2023

7

MEETING: Faculty expresses multiple perspectives over decision to ban SJP CONTINUED FROM 1 speech: “No one is disciplining these students, and no one is saying they can’t speak. We are just saying that a chapter of an organization cannot bear the name of Brandeis, it can’t receive funds from Brandeis, and it shouldn’t operate on this campus, and to me, that’s very different from stifling free speech.”

Liebowitz also shared his goal to start the conversation about “the level of Jewishness” at Brandeis: “People have spoken that since I became president, the direction of the University to recognize our founding values and our roots in the American Jewish community might be a little heavy handed. I have to question that. I want to remind folks that we are more than just here on campus; we are more than just Waltham, Massachusetts. We represent something to the Jewish world; we represent something to the American Jewish community. There are 197 Catholic affiliated colleges and universities in this country, there are 107 HBCUs in this country, there is one Jewish-founded institution in this country, and that’s Brandeis University. All I’ll say is when I think about where Brandeis sits in the world of higher education, we’re not just like Tufts, we’re not just like Boston University, and if we wanted to go in that direction, I think we’d become pretty irrelevant quickly. I hate to say that but the fact of the matter is there are a lot of BUs, a lot of Tufts, [but] there aren’t a lot of Brandeises.”

Hillel International ranks Brandeis’ Jewish population as the 17th highest out of the top 60 private universities. Boston University has the highest ranking, followed by New York University and Tulane University. However, Hillel has ranked the University at five out of the top 60 universities that “Jews choose.”

Contrary to Liebowtiz’s statement, Brandeis is not the only university founded on Jewish principles. In his remarks in 1928, Dr. Bernard Revel consecrated Yeshiva College in New York City “to the pursuit, interpretation and advancement of universal knowledge in harmony with the great affirmations of Judaism.”

In his opening remarks, Liebowitz also emphasized his commitment to safety on campus as a senior administrator. “I don’t expect every faculty member or staff member to think about the safety of the whole campus, and I don’t expect all faculty to also get briefings every single week from [the Federal Bureau of Investigation] and from other organizations that really chart threats to a campus like Brandeis. Even before Oct. 7, we got weekly reports on what the threat level is to Brandeis. Since the mapping project — as some of you remember from two summers ago in here Massachusetts — we are on higher alert than before in terms of threats because we were named in the mapping project as a friend of Israel and therefore a target.”

The first speaker in the meeting was Prof.

John Plotz (ENGL). He read out a statement that had been previously emailed to President Ron Liebowitz. Upon further correspondence with the Justice, he sent a version of these comments.

In his statement, Plotz recognized the fears that community members are feeling linked to antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and racism. “All those fears are real — but our job as a community is to face them together. Right now, Brandeis is failing to do that and people are suffering as a result of recent failure to do so.”

Plotz acknowledged that undergraduate and graduate students as well as nontenured faculty feel afraid to speak up. Recognizing the difficulty of the president’s job, he added constructive criticism aimed at Liebowitz: “The banning of the SJP signals, Ron, but it is not the only signal, that you are choosing a narrow particularist conception of Brandeis instead of the ‘host at last’ cosmopolitanism that has for so long defined Brandeis.” Plotz labeled the administration's decision as an ethical and tactical blunder for the future of Brandeis. “There is a present community of

students — the ‘all students’ not just the ‘Jewish students’ you have often spoken of in your letters — and they need right now a president acting for them rather than on them,” he stated, calling on Liebowitz to rescind the ban and steer the campus back to normalcy. Plotz also encouraged Liebowitz to open a campus climate conversation with the student body.

Prof. Michael Rosbash (BIOL) explained that he read Prof. Sarah Lamb’s (ANTH) letter — signed by a large number of faculty members — and did not agree with the statements presented. He spoke about creating an alternative letter to send to President Liebowitz that was distributed through the science faculty’s Listserv. As of Friday morning, this letter had 33 signatures.

Roshbash’s letter explains that he and the letter’s signees feel that SJP’s Oct. 9 post that states the organization rejects “the characterization of Palestinian resistance as terrorism” invalidates it from receiving funding from the University as well as the right to use its name. The letter acknowledges the right to free speech and expression but states that SJP’s rights have not been infringed because the organization is not banned on campus.

“We therefore support President Liebowitz and the decision to decertify/derecognize the Brandeis chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine,” the letter reads.

Prof. Leonard Saxe (Heller), the director of the Cohen Center of Modern Jewish Studies, outlined his position as someone who studies antisemitism, American Jews, Israel, and considers himself a free speech advocate, but also a “hater of hate speech. He said that he was an “equal opportunity hater of hate speech. If there was a KKK group, I would say that. If there was a Jewish group, a Kahanis group, that called for the death and murder of, that celebrated death and murder of Muslims, I would say the same exact thing.”

Saxe then spoke about the fear that he believes is being felt by Jewish young adults, both psychologically and physically. “We are a target because we are Brandeis. I want to make it clear that I support the rights of Palestinians, and I grieve over the deaths of Palestinians, but that’s not what we're talking about. This is not a political debate.”

The next person to speak was Prof. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS), who spoke on his experience this past Thursday speaking to the U.S. Senate regarding antisemitism on campuses.

He highlighted the student speakers who talked about the marches by masked SJP students through campuses, threatening students around them.

Sarna does not think that the heart of the issue is free speech. “This is about the weaponizing of free speech by people who want to not only undermine this University … this is really about giving no place for hate at Brandeis and for recognizing SJP as the latest in a group that goes back to the Communist party, which we now know is funded by Moscow. It goes back to Father Coughlin, we now know [is] funded by the Nazis, and this too has outside secretive funding,” Professor Sarna said.

Furthermore, he feels that SJP’s goal is to “terrorize the students, to undermine our University, and to undermine actual freedom in the United States, and to my mind that puts you outside the discussion we’ve had on free speech.”

When the Justice reached out for further comment on Nov. 10, Sarna elaborated: “As a historian, I also know how the pro-Nazi Bund and Coughlin groups, and the Communist Party, likewise weaponized free speech in a bid to undermine American institutions.”

Professor Sarna said that SJP associated itself with Hamas, a terror group, in his opinion. “[SJP] has made specific threats against Americans including members of the Brandeis community. I am grateful to President Liebowitz for putting the safety of the campus first and for having the courage to keep Hamas terrorism supporters from marching through our campus,” he concluded.

Prof. James Haber (BIOL) agreed that

Brandeis is a unique university but understands a different moral obligation: “I think the rhetoric is there. You can read it — it’s just unbalanced, and we need to take a far, far deeper look at how we are talking about what is happening to tens of thousands of Gazans in the name of self-defense.”

Prof. Emerita Sue Lasner (ENGL) added, “The [American Civil Liberties Union] has been very clear that the actions of a national organization are not the same as the actions of students on our campus. I do not hear the students on our campus saying the things that you have accused them of saying.” She also emphasized that while Brandeis is Jewishrooted, the University is nonsectarian. “We are defined that way publicly and I think we need to adhere to that. When [Liebowitz] sent letters that sympathized with those who have relatives in the [Israel Defense Forces] and not a word about the suffering of Palestinian students, some of whom have lost relatives in Gaza, and when [Liebowitz identified] this university as a quote ‘haven for our Jewish students’ without saying that we should be a haven for all our students, then I think we are going in a very disturbing direction.”

Prof. Lynne Kaye (NEJS) highlighted the lack and importance of curating spaces to listen compassionately and quietly to the grief of all people. She outlined that free speech and careful listening go hand-in-hand, and that the University should work on that.

Professor Kaye also went into detail regarding the possibility that the derecognizinig of SJP may have unintended consequences, as it has taken away a forum for people to be heard and to discuss many things outside of this conflict specifically, including Palestinian suffering.

Prof. Emerita Marya Levenson ’64 (ED) spoke about Brandeis’ value as a space that has previously modeled how to listen to unpopular opinions. Levenson stated that all students on this campus are scared — not just students of specific groups. She thinks these actions are sending messages to people outside of this University, and suspects that it will negatively affect prospective students and more.

When contacted by the Justice on Nov. 10 for further comment, Levenson stated: “Whether as a student ('64) or Education program faculty, I have always viewed Brandeis as a special place where students are encouraged to express controversial ideas. Of course, it's very challenging to speak up and listen to such ideas during polarizing times such as the one we are experiencing right now. It's hard to be empathetic to others during a time when friends and relatives have been killed or are in danger — as some of my family is in Israel. That's why I'm so proud that some faculty colleagues, Justice editors, and students are standing up for this Brandeis tradition of supporting the exchange of ideas, including those we may not want to hear. I believe that learning how to listen [to] and exchange such ideas will continue to attract questioning, thoughtful students, the kind we want at our university and need in our country.”

Prof. Bernadette Brooten (WGS) then spoke about a letter sent to President Liebowitz that gained 112 faculty and retired faculty signatures as of Friday night. She mentioned that they discouraged junior faculty from signing this letter for fear of retaliation. This letter raised points of procedure not followed. She also spoke about examples of antisemitism as defined by the Department of Education, and the Department of Education’s wishes for students to follow procedures.

Brooten also mentioned that Brandeis was held liable for discrimination on the bases of race, gender, and retaliation. She added that President Liebowitz was held personally liable for retaliation against Robin NelsonBailey, the former vice president of Human Resources.

When the Justice requested further comment, she stated that the letter “calls upon President Liebowitz to follow the procedures for derecognizing a student group on the basis

of ‘genuine threats and harassment.’”

According to the student handbook, proper procedure dictates that a disciplinary panel hears evidence on both sides before determining the innocence or guilt of a club.

“Rising antisemitism is a major problem on college campuses, one which Brandeis must try to prevent, but always by following procedures fair to each side,” Brooten said.

Prof. Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST), director of research at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, shared how isolating it feels as an Iranian woman to hear people “casually talk about bombing Iran.” However, she added, “I stay in the room because it’s literally my job to educate. I have to talk to people who I may think have crossed a line, but I am in a university. I am not on the front lines of a war.”

Sohrabi said, “These are kids in our care …

If we don’t educate people that we absolutely disagree with, we’re doing the easiest version of our job. I stayed at Brandeis because I do not like easy things, and this has been a marvelous experience until Monday.”

The next professor to speak was Prof. Chad Williams (Heller/AAAS). He explained that in his background as a historian, he is familiar with the way war tests both countries and academic institutions.

“I fear that Brandeis is heading down a very slippery slope. I am deeply concerned that when we look back on the history of Brandeis and this moment, it will not be remembered fondly.”

When contacted by the Justice for further comment, Williams stated: “Universities do not exist in a vacuum and, as such, are not immune from local, national and global politics. This is especially true of Brandeis at this explosive time, considering the University's unique history and identity. President Liebowitz's public statements cannot be divorced from the political context in which he has issued them. We must then also expect that his comments will have political ramifications, certainly here on campus, but also for Brandeis's national and international reputation. I have no doubt that President Liebowitz has thought about this. However, it is important that we have transparency and open dialogue about the pros and cons of what this means for Brandeis, certainly now but also in the future.”

Prof. Darlene Brooks Hedstrom (NEJS) explained that it feels damaging that President Liebowitz published something in a national newspaper without informing the community first, demonstrating that the concern is not for the whole community’s perspectives.

She later told the Justice: “It is true that the faculty was not informed of the President's op-ed piece or the decision regarding SJP. We learned about a decision on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 10:05 a.m., when he emailed the entire community, then parents of current students — of which I am one. You received this at the same time that the faculty did.

Many of us learned about the Globe piece and the decision through other channels late Monday or Tuesday. A communication from the President did not appear until Wednesday morning.”

The faculty meeting ended with concluding remarks from President Liebowitz.

“I heard you. I’ve taken notes. I’m sure I’ll listen to the recording too to think about [the] best way forward.”

Liebowitz concluded: “The reality is the timing of this was unfortunate, the vigil was not canceled, per se. The SJP sponsorship, however, was, but I had intended to do this prior to that vigil, several days earlier, and the only reason that was delayed was because of concerns about the mental health issues related to those who were involved in setting up the vigil. I was told that there were some concerns that had to be checked out by our CARE teams. We held up on that announcement, and so therefore unfortunately the announcement came right at the wrong time. It was really a perfect storm of timing. In any case, that was an accident that could not have been avoided.

This should’ve happened earlier.”

JUNJIE MA/the Justice

features

8 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 ● FEATURES ● THE JUSTICE

just

VERBATIM | Cornel West

I am a redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.

So I know what I’m talking about.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” was published in 1851.

Australia is wider than the moon.

From then to now: Recounting the history of student activism on campus In light of the campus demonstrations following recent developments in the Israel-Hamas war, past events of civil unrest serve to remind us of the long-standing Brandeis tradition of demanding change through student organization.

By GRACE DOH JUSTICE EDITOR

Our University was founded on the values of truth and justice, but within its only 75 years of existence it was the students who accrued its national credit and regard as a social justice institution. Brandeis has a rich history of campus activism; its students’ effort and persistence in demanding change has refined its pro-

grams, administration, and overall operation as a democratic society. In the name of preserving this tradition, we remember how our predecessors called for direct action in the Vietnam moratorium protests, the first occupation of Ford Hall, the Pearlman takeover, and Ford Hall 2015.

Vietnam moratorium In the mid-1960s, students from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences organized to protest the Vietnam war draft, in addition to leading students and faculty in a strike against atmospheric nuclear testing. During the 1965-66 school year, Director of the Selective Service Lt. Gen. Louis Hershey publicized plans to consider male college students’ academic records in drafting criteria, announc-

ing that students with lower grades could lose their education deferment. The following school year, the Brandeis community fasted in a nationwide statement of resistance to the war. In the spring of 1967, President Johnson spoke on plans to forgo education draft deferments entirely, giving students a new, more personal stake in the war.

Photo courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Photo courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

ANTI-WAR: GSAS students were proactive leaders in the antiVietnam War protests across local universities.

SPEAKING OUT: A crowd gathers in front of Spingold Theater during a turbulent year of student political activism.

Ford Hall 1969 From Jan. 8-18, approximately 70 African American students conducted an 11day occupation of Ford and Sydeman Halls and made a list of ten demands for the administration, which aimed to achieve more representation on campus. The

Photo courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

A JOINT RHYTHM: Students protested in support of the occupying students.

Design: ANNA MARTIN/the Justice.

occupation ended with the participants’ main demand for the establishment of an African and Afro-American studies department.

Photo courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

DRAWING ATTENTION: Students gathered around Ford Hall during the protest.

THE JUSTICE ● FEATURES ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 9

The Pearlman takeover and events leading up to it In the 70s, several student organizations stood in solidarity with one another in their activist efforts; these include: Brandeis Asian American Students Association, Grito, the organization of Puerto Rican and Mexican American students, and the Afro-American Organization. In February 1972, the BAASA, Grito, and Afro led a protest against the scholarship cuts allocated to minority

students, and the three groups later formed the Third World Coalition. The demands of the TWC regarding financial aid were not met until years later when the Student Action Group occupied Pearlman Hall on Apr. 29, 1975. Following negotiations with the administration, concessions were made in commitment to minority students’ rights.

Photo courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Photo courtesy of the ROBERT D. FARBER UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

BLOCKADE: The Third World Coalition held a protest against cuts in financial aid for minority students in 1972.

DEMANDS: Students at the Pearlman Takeover took matters into their own hands with a list of demands.

Ford Hall 2015 Ford Hall 2015, which referenced the 1969 Ford Hall sit-in, encompassed a 13day sit-in at the Bernstein-Marcus Administrative Center. Largely led by Black and other students of color, participants called for racial equity on campus with

a list of 13 demands. Negotiations resulted in the hiring of more minority faculty members, including a vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, along with other changes.

ANDREW BAXTER/Justice file photos

Photo courtesy of MIKE LOVETT/Brandeis University

STANDING TOGETHER: Approximately 100 students occupied Bernstein-Marcus, seeking racial justice on campus.

STUDENTS MARCH: A group of self-identified “concerned students” marched to administrative offices with issued demands.

Recent demonstrations Today’s generation of Brandeisians reflect the oppositional spirit of those who came before them. As tensions arise in the Brandeis community following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and subsequent developments in the war and on

SMILEY HUYNH/the Justice

DISSENT: Students held a pro-Palestine protest following the derecognition of Students for Justice in Palestine.

campus, various student groups have organized and held events protesting the University’s stance on the war, as well as its authoritative decisions surrounding the demonstrations.

OWEN CHAN/the Justice

ARREST: The pro-Palestine rally was broken up by hired security, campus police, and Waltham police.

Design: ANNA MARTIN/the Justice.

10 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

Justice

the

Established 1949

Hello Brandeis University administration,

Isabel Roseth, Editor in Chief Smiley Huynh, Managing Editor

As a recent Brandeis alumnus, I am writing to express my concern over the de-chartering of the student group Students for Justice in Palestine.

Leah Breakstone, Dalya Koller, Lauryn Williams, Deputy Editors Owen Chan, Cayenn Landau, Asociate Editors

The history of war in Israel/Palestine is complicated, and it is undeniably tragic to read headlines about the conflict from here in the states -— especially for those with loved ones living in the region. I do not mean to dismiss the pain of the Jewish community at Brandeis and beyond.

Sophia De Lisi, Anika Jain, News Editors Grace Doh, Features Editor Tibria Brown, Forum Editor Rani Balakrishna, Sports Editor Mina Rowland, Arts & Culture Editor Eliza Bier, Ceci Xilei Chen, Photography Editors Julia Hardy, Jenna Lewis, Madison Sirois, Copy Editors Anna Martin, Layout Editor Elizabeth Liu, Ads Editor Zachary Goldstein, Eden Osiason, Online Editors

EDITORIAL

Recognizing the one-year anniversary of the Nov. 17 shuttle crash

While October has come to a close and students should feel relieved that the end of the semester is in sight, this editorial board would like to acknowledge that many students may be struggling for a variety of reasons — daylight savings, never-ending midterms, and the fast-approaching holidays, to name a few. This is often a stressful time of year for everyone, not to mention for Brandeis students in particular.

Next week — Nov. 17 — marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic shuttle crash that affected the entire Brandeis community. The ripple effects of this night can still be seen in many aspects of daily life for both those who were on the bus and those who were not.

We would like to extend our support to those who are struggling while also acknowledging that there will likely be an increased amount of news coverage surrounding this event.

As more information continues to be released to the public, such as the district attorney’s statement regarding criminal charges for the driver, news outlets have begun to publish further articles regarding the incident. The accessibility of further information can be overwhelming, as can the influx of coverage.

We would also like to urge the administration to release a statement in reference to the misinformation that is still being published regarding the location that the shuttle was coming from. Many prominent news outlets have stated that the bus was coming from a Northeastern University hockey game. These include NBC, CBS, WCVB, The New York Times, Boston 25, the original article from the Boston Globe, and more.

This incorrect information is still being published in the most recent articles, and we feel that this is invalidating for the riders of the shuttle. However, in reality, the shuttle was one on the Boston/Cambridge route that is taken by many students every weekend. We

have reached out to these news organizations and have requested that they fix this misinformation moving forward and issue corrections; however, we have not received responses.

The Brandeis administration should be the one working to fix this information, and spread the truth despite possible harm to the University’s reputation. Working to correct this mistake and prevent it from continuing to be incorrectly spread would be a small way for the university to support its students during this trying time.

The night of the shuttle crash shook the entire Brandeis community. The scars of that night remain in the form of trauma for the 27 students who were on the shuttle and lifelong damage for those more severely injured.

For students not on the shuttle, the night was stressful and frightening, leaving many students deeply emotionally impacted.

Prior to criminal charges being filed, the family of Vanessa Mark filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Joseph’s Transportation and the driver, and while this lawsuit and these charges may bring closure and healing to some, this editorial board recognizes that these coming court dates and headlines may trigger and hinder healing for others.

With the one-year anniversary of the shuttle crash, along with the escalating tension surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, we call on the administration and faculty to be understanding and lenient with students.

While resources have been offered to students who are especially struggling, the responsibility is often still placed upon students when it comes to reaching out for support. Because of this, it is more important than ever to lean on your loved ones during this time and seek out professional resources.

Ultimately, we must do our best as a community to stand together and support each other during this time.

Asking for a friend If you are interested in submitting advice for the upcoming column, follow our Instagram: @thejusticenewspaper.

Q: A:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Brandeis University

What strategies can help us maintain a healthy school-life balance?

“Most importantly, is it essential to ensure your basic human needs are met first: eating, sleeping, taking breaks from activities to recoup energy, and exercise if it helps you or if you enjoy it. Students should have time that isn’t filled with class, jobs, volunteering, or student organizations; it’s essential students have time to socialize, connect, sleep, and recharge. Some people need time to be alone. Not every minute needs to be scheduled; downtime is important. Additionally, if you are in a leadership role, it’s important to appropriately delegate to others; this gives you some time to focus on other things and empowers others to build new skills. Finding activities that ‘fill your cup’ and make you feel good will give you a place to recharge while connecting with others around shared interests.”

At the same time, I find it hard to mask my frustration as I fail to comprehend how a secular university could rationalize silencing only one side of the debate about this conflict by banning student groups in support of Palestine while voicing clear institutional support for the state of Israel. This is especially disturbing as the University’s decision to de-recognize the group came as a reaction to their planned “Vigil for Palestine” where students wrote on fliers that the event was intended to “mourn 9,000+ Palestinians killed in Gaza.”

To explain my confusion, I want to dive into some history: At the end of the First World ar, Palestine was among the several former Ottoman Arab regions that were made mandated territories by the League of Nations. Palestinian people were already arguing in favor of their own independence to the United Nations with the support of other Arab nations including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria in 1947.

Meanwhile, growing antisemitism in Europe led to an influx of Jewish migration to the region, which eventually sparked international political discussions about establishing Israel as an independent Jewish state based on religious and ethnic claims to the land.

The U.S. was the first nation to recognize Israel as an independent state and home for displaced Jewish people in 1948 — which was a decision fueled, in part, by antisemitism and president Truman’s hope that Jewish people in the U.S. would immigrate.The dispute between Arab Palestinians who wanted independence and Jewish Israelis who settled on the land led to the 1948 Palestine war, where over half of the Arab population was displaced from Palestinian lands.

Jewish immigration to Israel has continued since, with 3.2 million Jewish people moving to the newly-established state by 2017, creating a country composed mostly of immigrants from the Jewish diaspora. The motives behind U.S. support of Israel have shifted throughout history, but it would be difficult to argue they were ever purely altruistic, and instead support has primarily been seen as a financial investment for the states.

The Arab majority in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the Arab Palestinians living outside the area — many in nearby countries such as Lebanon — have a long history of strong opposition to Israeli control, fearing eventual annexation of the West Bank and Gaza by Israel. Many Israeli settlers support such an annexation and think those lands properly belong to Israel. In 2005, Arab concerns were partially quelled when Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and handed over control of the territory to the Palestinians, but the Israeli settlement population in the West Bank nearly doubled between 2005 and 2019. Armed with aid from the U.S., Israel continued building a powerful military and gained greater political control and recognition.

Hamas is a terrorist group that has been active in Israel/Palestine since 1987. The horrific events of Oct 7 do not exist in a vacuum, and instead were preceded by years of history and conflict. Hamas does use extreme, violent tactics for the political purpose of preventing Israeli control of Palestine, specifically in Gaza and the West Bank, but the group grew its popularity among Arab Palestinian people by providing essential education, hospitals, and social services where governance has collapsed.

In my view — which I imagine is shared with the students formerly involved with SJP — by taking extreme measures to protest against the state of Israel in favor of returning land to Arab Palestinians displaced by the war of 1948 and throughout the following conflicts, Hamas is a group attempting to take steps towards decolonization in the only way possible.

Israel abstained from voting in favor of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza leaves Palestinian Arabs with few outlets for defending their bodies, their land, and their basic human rights. Israel has a much stronger military force and more political stability than the Arab Palestinians left in Gaza and the West Bank, and years of outspoken opposition has not prevented Israel from continuing to assert political dominance over the region. Both parties have used violence to assert their claims to the land, so why is it okay for one side — Israel, advocating for Jewish control of the land — to use violence, but not the other — Hamas, advocating for Arab control of the land?

I agree with the University administration that students expressing outright antisemitic beliefs or advocating for violence against Jewish people outside of context absolutely should not be protected by the University’s free speech allowances. Everyone should feel safe on campus, and no one should face hate for their religion. However, equating support of Hamas or more broadly support for Palestine with “antisemitism” is a gross oversimplification which ignores the colonial history of Israel and the political motives behind Hamas’s violent acts — which, as it probably goes without saying, are not holistically supported by Arab Palestinians in the conflict region and beyond. Students can support Palestine and voice opposition towards Israel without supporting Hamas’s terrorist tactics ... but they shouldn’t have to. Moreover, equating a vigil to mourn the lives lost in Palestine to antisemitism is completely nonsensical. Innocent people and civilians died; students should be able to mourn this loss together on campus.

Arab and Middle Eastern students are deeply personally affected by the turmoil of this war and threats to the physical safety of loved ones in the region in a way similar to Jewish students. Why is discourse promoting — directly or indirectly — the annihilation of the state of Palestine to be tolerated, when discourse promoting the annihilation of the state of Israel is strictly forbidden? There is suffering on both sides! This does not make sense to me at all.

De-charting SJP was a public display of the University’s willingness to silence part of the history in the Israel-Palestine region. Without groups like SJP on campus, only half of the story is told. While Jewish groups with Zionist ideologies are protected and continue to be funded by the University, Brandeis is the first private institution in the U.S. to ban speech in support of Palestine, and the decision has not come without pushback as free speech experts publicly warn about the danger of the decision. These are not the kind of headlines I expected to see from my “social justice” alma mater.

To be clear, I will not be giving any more of my money to Brandeis University until it upholds the value in its motto: “Truth, even unto its innermost parts” by allowing the expression of multiple viewpoints on campus. Frankly, I am feeling embarrassed to be a Brandeis alum. This is a shame, because I had wonderful professors and I learned a lot during my time on campus. But if I knew the University administration would be shutting down student groups planning vigils for Palestinian lives lost back when I was a senior in high school, I am certain I never would have considered attending. Perhaps it was my mistake back then for failing to do enough research on Brandeis University’s rich history of touting social justice values without really reflecting them.

I wish you and your loved ones peace, and hope you will reconsider the decision to decharter Brandeis’s chapter of SJP.

Sincerely, Maggie Del Re Class of 2023

— Matt Galewski | Director of Student Engagement ANNA MARTIN/the Justice

THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 11

If you want to prevent genocide, protest China’s

By MICHAEL SCHWARTZ

JUSTICE CONTRIBITING WRITER

On Oct 7, Hamas terrorists launched a progrom against Israelis, intentionally killing over 1,200 civilians, mutilating bodies, raping women, and taking over 200 civilians hostage. Hamas’ atrocities represented the most heinous and murderous attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Israel, as any other nation in similar circumstances would and should, has responded with an invasion into Gaza with the goal of rescuing its hostages and destroying Hamas. In recent weeks, anti-Israel activists, politicians, and some Brandeis students have claimed that Israel is waging a genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. Such claims are false, and they demonstrate one of two things: an ignorance about the meaning of genocide or an intentional desire to spread blood libels about the Jewish State. Or perhaps both — of course, it is a profound tragedy that innocent Palestinians in Gaza are being injured and killed as a result of Israel’s just war against Hamas, who controls the Gaza Strip. I say this not as an afterthought but as someone religiously dedicated to the protection, to the best extent possible, of every innocent life. It is my belief, as an Orthodox Jew, that all humans are created in the image of God regardless of their nationality. The first response to any such tragedies ought to be sympathy and pain. However, because Israel’s detractors seek to exploit that pain to level Israel with accusations of genocide, it has become necessary to show how incorrect, backwards, and offensive that accusation is.

The definition of genocide, as defined by the United Nations among other organizations, requires that perpetrators have the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Israel, thankfully, has no such intent. Israel’s indirect, untargeted, and unintentional killing of civilians is a part of just and defensive war, and it does not constitute a genocide nor a violation of international law. While Israel takes painstaking measures to avoid civilian casualties, Hamas cynically and illegally positions itself in civilian areas, terror tunnels built under residential roads and buildings, and in hospitals and religious sites. It is not Israel but Hamas who is ultimately to blame for civilian casualties in Gaza. Hamas, meanwhile, does have the genocidal aspirations and the intent to destroy the Jewish people, as they state in their charter and as they demonstrated on Oct 7. Adding insult to injury, anti-Israel protestors falsely accuse Israel of genocide and, often without taking a breath breath, participate in protests chants with antisemitic, genocidal implications.

This irony might have been humorous if it wasn’t so dangerous. It is thus my view that to accuse Israel of genocide ignores the facts on the ground, provides Hamas with blanket immunity to continue their crimes against humanity, and serves as a pernicious and offensive blood libel against the Jewish people.

Because I am a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I am committed to the cause of genocide prevention. When an actual genocide occurs it is our duty to speak out and fulfill the collective promise made after the Holocaust that never again would we allow it to repeat. Unfortunately, today, while the world is distracted by false accusations levied against Israel, leaders and activists sit idly by as the Chinese Communist Party perpetrates one of the largest and most brutal sets of systematic crimes against humanity since the Holocaust. In China’s Xinjiang province, millions of Uyghurs sit in de facto concentration camps, having been sent there by the CCP. There, they are “re-educated” in the form of forced renunciation of their faith, forced sterilization, slave labor, torture, rape, and murder, for the sole “crime” of their ethnicity and Islamic faith. Uyghurs outside of the CCP’s concentration camps are prohibited from praying, adhering to Muslim dietary restrictions, or even speaking their native tongue. The CCP claims that they are acting in response to terrorist incidents in recent decades, but history shows that the Party is using this as a mere excuse for their long standing genocidal intent.

In fact, the CCP’s oppression of the Uyghurs dates back at least as far as Mao’s brutal Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. This oppression, unlike Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, constitutes a genocide and it is incumbent upon all people of good conscience, elected leaders, and citizens alike to condemn it and do all they can to fight it. In January 2021, as one of his last acts as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo officially recognized the CCP’s persecution for what it is — a genocide. This was not a partisan recognition. Secretary Antony Blinken made the same determination soon after President Biden’s inauguration, as have several other democratic countries.

In recent weeks, there has been an outpouring of marches, rallies, social media posts, violence, and vandalism ostensibly in support of the Palestinian people. These demonstrations suggest that the Western Left has no dearth of voices, no hesitation to speak up when they desire to be heard. Peculiarly, however, I have not seen anywhere near the level of protest against China’s genocide as I have in response to the false accusation of the same against Israel. One would expect that Western progressive movements — the

same ones which mobilize daily in opposition to Israel — would be tirelessly and endlessly marching in the streets for the Uyghurs.

But while activists from one such group, CODEPINK, interrupted a Senate hearing recently to urge a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza (ceasefire being a euphemism for allowing Hamas to get away with and continue murdering Jews), the organization has not only remained silent about China’s genocide but have actually defended it. Make no mistake, when the Chinese Communist Party forces millions of Muslims into concentration camps to be tortured, raped, and killed.

When mosques are intentionally destroyed, when China attempts to wipe out the entire Uyghur ethnicity, these activists say nothing because they want to say nothing.

What is the source of this selective outrage? Why do the aforementioned protestors remain silent when the CCP perpetrates an actual genocide but activate their anger only when the world’s sole Jewish nation seeks to rescue its hostages and prevent further mur-

der, kidnapping, rape, and torture of Jews?

The reason, in my view, is clear. Those that accuse Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing are not speaking out for anything or anyone. Their ultimate aim is not to protect or save civilians, nor to actually prevent genocide, but instead to tarnish the reputation of Israel. Israel was founded in large part to give the Jewish people the power to ensure their own security and survival after their near destruction in the Holocaust. Evidently, the survival of the Jewish people makes certain students, academics, elected leaders, and protestors very uncomfortable. Some people, as author Dara Horn wrote, seem to love dead Jews. Those who do not must reject attempts to hijack the word “genocide” as it is being used in an ongoing quest to demonize the State of Israel, demand the unconditional release of the hostages held by Hamas, and must stand boldly and forcefully against China’s genocide of the Uyghurs. Anything less would be a failure to uphold the promise of “Never Again.”

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

I’m an Israeli-American who attended Brandeis: The censorship of Palestinian students betrays everything I was taught

By DANIEL ORTNER

JUSTICE CONTRIBITING WRITER

As an alumnus of Brandeis, I am heartbroken over the recent announcement that the school will be the first private university in America to ban its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. And I say this as an Israeli-American descendant of Holocaust survivors.

I can’t say, however, that I am shocked.

When I was a student, Brandeis was on the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s “worst of the worst” list for its anti-free speech actions. Brandeis also routinely ranks near the bottom of FIRE’s student surveys for having a climate that is hostile to diverse viewpoints — especially conservative ones. I’ve long been disappointed that a school whose motto is “Truth even unto to its innermost parts” has become so focused on ideological conformity.

But this latest act of censorship hits close to home. The most remarkable and extraordinary part of my time at Brandeis was the vigorous, robust, and open debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In many respects, Brandeis is a typical university filled with students who hold left-of-center and progressive views on most topics. When I was the opinion section editor

of this very paper, I routinely had to reach out to the same handful of conservative students to ensure that there was a diversity of views in its pages.

There was one big exception. Because of the school’s strong Jewish identity and ties to the Jewish community, there was a much stronger pro-Israel contingent than you would expect to find at an ideologically comparable university. This meant that vigorous debate about the conflict was the norm.

This was exemplified when former President Jimmy Carter came and gave a speech promoting his book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” There were protests and calls to cancel President Carter for his choice to use the term “apartheid” to refer to Israel.

Fortunately, the University did not cave to calls to disinvite Carter, and he delivered a speech to a packed crowd of about 1,700 students, myself included.

A few minutes after his remarks, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz delivered a rebuttal. The remarks from Carter and Dershowitz sparked months of campus events, debates, art exhibits, plays, protests, and demonstrations on the conflict, many hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine.

A few years later, South African judge Richard Goldstone, the author of a

controversial report on Israel’s use of force in conflict with Gaza, debated former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold. Students on both sides protested the event and called for its cancellation. But those who attended witnessed a robust and enlightening discussion.

Attending Brandeis showed me what unencumbered free speech on campus looks like on a topic as tense as the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. At times it was messy and chaotic and raw. Other times, it was personally painful and emotional. It was hard to hear people say that my nation didn’t have a right to exist.

But through my time at Brandeis, I was exposed to ideas and perspectives that I never would have heard otherwise. Taking a class on the conflict and listening to the stories of Israelis and Palestinians devastated by decades of fighting softened my heart and changed me forever.

Even when my views did not change, I left the discussions feeling more empathetic and charitable. Seeing this debate unfold also made me a lifelong convert to the power of freedom of thought and the open marketplace of ideas. Brandeis’s commitment to these ideals on this topic was what made it such a special place for me as a student. I mourn the fact that today’s students may not have that

kind of experience.

Not every campus has Brandeis’ unique composition and history.

But every campus is facing similar questions about whether to allow speech that is unsettling and challenges our most deeply held values and convictions. When we hear speech that strikes us as hateful or unenlightened, let us remember Justice Louis Brandeis, who correctly explained that “safety lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and proposed remedies.” The proper response to speech that we find hateful or intolerant, according to Brandeis, “is more speech, not enforced silence.”

The University’s decision to ban Students for Justice in Palestine suggests a dramatic restriction of debate on the topic. And it couldn’t come at a worse moment. When emotions are high on all sides, it is more important than ever to remain committed to open-ended debate and dialogue in all of its messiness.

That’s the only path toward peace and progress.

Daniel Ortner is a member of the class of 2010 and a civil rights attorney at FIRE

The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.

Write to us

The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www. thejustice.org.

Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted.

Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice. Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and op-ed submissions that have been submitted to other publications. Op-ed submissions of general interest to the University community­— that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice — are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words. All submissions are due Friday at noon.

Fine Print

The opinions stated in the editorial(s) under the masthead on the opposing page represent the opinion of a majority of the voting members of the editorial board; all other articles, columns, comics and advertisements do not necessarily.

The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. Operated, written, produced and published entirely by students, the Justice includes news, features, arts, opinion and sports articles of interest to approximately 3,600 undergraduates, 2,000 graduate students, 565 faculty and 1,300 administrative staff.

The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.

Advertising deadlines: All insertion orders and advertising copy must be received by the Justice no later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of publication. All advertising copy is subject to approval of the editor in chief and the managing and advertising editors.

The Staff

Editorial Assistants

Sports: Josh Gans*, Zachary Goldstein, Prateek Kanmadikar,

Forum: Cindy Nie

Jackson Wu*, Aki Yamaguchi

Arts: Nemma Kalra

Arts and Culture: Elijah Chen, Craig Disken, Ethan Gerstman

Production Assistants

Photography: Natalie Bracken, Owen Chan*, Smiley Huynh*,

Forum: Xavier Wilson

Jonas Kaplin, Gianna Morales, Daniel Oren

Staff News: Maria Antonio, Amanda Chen*, Grace Doh, Sydney

For information on Duncan, Max Feigelson*, Lin Lin Hutchinson, Anna Martin, joining the Justice, River Simard, Sophia Stewart, Hedy Yang, Lea Zaharoni write to editor@ Features: Zev Carlyle, Ria Escamilla-Gil, Jessie Gabel, thejustice.org.

Meshulam Ungar, Lea Zaharoni Forum: Jack Granahan*, Stephen Gaughan*, Mirabell Rowland*, Lauryn Williams

Copy: Wenli Cai, Brynn Domsky, Sydney Duncan, Alyssa Golden, Ava Privratsky, Sara Samuel, Zoe Zachary, Daniela Zavlun, Nataniela Zavlun Layout: Emily Hou, Hedy Yang Ads: Sophia Stewart Online: Amanda Chen, Sabrina Waddell * denotes a senior staff member.

12 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

SMILEY HUYN/the Justice

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor:

Dear President Liebowitz,

This past week, rather than deescalating the tensions which have arisen on the Brandeis University campus in reaction to the Hamas attack on Israel and the Israeli war on Gaza, University President Ron Liebowitz further enflamed the situation by calling the Waltham city police to the Brandeis campus, where they ordered students to end a peaceful protest rally, and then arrested seven people.

As members of the Brandeis faculty and staff, we are writing to express our strong commitment to Brandeis’ principles of free expression as a university founded on principles of inclusiveness.

Appalled that the President of a university named for Justice Louis Brandeis — the great advocate of free speech — would ban free speech on campus, Brandeis alumni have sent President Liebowitz the following letter: To: Ronald Liebowitz, President, Brandeis University; Board of Trustees; Andrea Dine, Vice-President of Student Affairs; Faculty Representatives to the Board We, the undersigned alumni of Brandeis University, are writing to express our dismay at your recent action in de-recognizing the Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

The recent Hamas attack on Israeli citizens and the ongoing attack on Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces have shaken us to the core, as has the growing repression of free expression inside Israel. (See Michael Sfard’s Op-Ed in the NYT Times, “Israel is Silencing Internal Critics.”). But we are appalled that the president of a University named for Justice Louis Brandeis would also inhibit free speech.

Justice Brandeis famously said that: “To justify suppression of free speech there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced. There must be reasonable ground to believe that the danger apprehended is imminent.” (Whitney v. California 274 U.S. 357 (1927)) One does not have to agree with the statements of the Brandeis SJP as reported in The Boston Globe, to conclude that their declarations presented no reasonable ground to fear that “serious evil [would] result if [their] free speech [was] practiced,” or that any danger was so “imminent” that it might justify de-recognition.

Your letter of Nov 8 seeks to rationalize your actions by implying that statements by the Brandeis SJP were “a genuine threat or harassment.” The letter then concludes: “A commitment to openness is one of Brandeis’ founding values, but that openness is challenged when speech is used to intimidate and silence others.” But that is exactly what your de-recognition of the SJP has done. Your actions are inimical to the central tenet of Justice Brandeis’ views: “If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.”

We are ashamed that the president of our alma mater has trampled upon the most precious legacy of Brandeis — both the man and the University.

We are concerned that you have not provided evidence to the community that Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine members have engaged in “expression . . . that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, . . . or that is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning of the university” (Nov 6, 2023 letter from the Division of Student Affairs). If the University accuses the students of actions that represent a “threat or harassment,” then it must offer them a fair hearing through the process on “Group Sanctioning” (as outlined in Rights and Responsibilities 2023–-24, Section 20).

Brandeis’ policy on free expression, which you yourself commissioned in 2018, reminds us: “The university has a responsibility to encourage the airing of the widest range of political and scholarly opinions and to prevent attempts to shut down conversations, no matter what their topic.” Our students from all backgrounds, religions, and perspectives, however unpalatable those perspectives may be to other members of our community, must be allowed to exercise their rights to free speech at Brandeis.

We mourn the deaths of all Israeli and Palestinian civilians, United Nations aid workers, and others in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. The vigil on campus to mourn the dead in Palestine went ahead on Monday with broad student support, even after SJP had to cancel it. Students who attended the event expressed fears of harassment and retaliation for their participation due to the recent incidents of doxxing and intimidation at Harvard University and other institutions. But among our students are those who themselves lost multiple family members in Gaza. Attempting to stop the vigil under SJP was interpreted by many students as a sign that Brandeis does not acknowledge that Palestinian lives are equally worthy of grief. This was the only event on campus after Oct 7 to mourn Palestinian deaths, to recognize and grieve loss, but it was organized by the students themselves.

Regarding your decision to de-recognize Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine, we are concerned about the implications of this decision for Brandeis’ standing as a nonsectarian university committed to inclusion, justice, and — most famously —” truth even unto its innermost parts.” The chilling of free speech, especially by a university founded on principles of inclusiveness, can only harm our ability to recruit a diverse body of students, faculty, staff, and outside speakers. And ironically, current students who are not members or supporters of SJP, including Jewish students, are also now concerned that there will be backlash against the University and themselves for this abrogation of the right to speak.

Please note also that several members of the Brandeis faculty who are untenured or otherwise in non-stable employment positions have expressed their support for the sentiments of the letter without feeling comfortable adding their signatures.

Signed, Prof. Sarah Lamb, ANTH and supported by over 100 faculty signatures

Signed, Emily Paradise Achtenberg ’65 Rawda Aljawhary, ’15 Judy Allen ’67 Jeanne Baker ’61-’63 Anne Bernstein ’65 Victoria Bonnell ’64 Tim G. Byrne ’81 Joseph W. Commit ’66 Eric Cooper ’84 Rachel Dale, MA ’20 Julia Davidovitz ’15 Sophie DeVito ’11 Cara DuBois, MA ’20 Sari Edelstein, Ph.D. ’09 Bruce Ehrlich ’81 Phyllis Ewen ’65 Marty Fassler ’65 Anne Marie Foley ’20 Laura Foner ’65

Becca Freifeld ’10 Elana Friedland ’11 Ethelyn Friend ’91 Robert Fromer ’62 Erica George ’00 Abbie Goldberg ’17 Ben Greenberg ’91 Larry Gross ’64 Noam Gundle ’98 Marina (Wangh) Gurman ’04 Barbara Haber ’60 Megan Healy Roger Herzog ’80 Lev Hirschhorn ’11 Amanda Jane Hoffman ’11 Ra Malika Imhotep ’15 Susie Rosenberg Kaufman ’66 Dominick Knowles, ’22

Rivka Maizlish ’10 Shayna Medley ’12 Andrew Moore ’80 Rebecca Olson ’08 Judith Perlman Merbaum ’65 Joel Plotkin ’64 Chris Rohmann ’64 Prudence Ross ’20 Rita Scheer ’20 Linda Schlossberg, ’91 Ellen Schwartz ’69 Molly Stone ’15 Riley Thomas, ’19 Lawrence Wangh ’68 Stephen Wangh ’64 Daniel Weinstein ’71 Michael Weller ’64 Rebecca Weiss-Horowitz ’12

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, As an aging alum who remembers the divisive impact on college campuses of the Vietnam War, I was heartened to read in Isabel Roseth’s recent piece (“Students for Justice in Palestine Hold a Gathering....”) that there are, indeed, Palestinian students enrolled at Brandeis.

I have often thought that Brandeis has a thing or two to teach the State of Israel about affirmations of those who do not identify as Jews.They are different entities of course, Brandeis and Israel, but the same age, and unique in their respective domains of universities and nation-states. It seems from Ms. Roseth’s article that the Palestinian students do find affirmation from fellow students on campus. I am grateful for that. Perhaps the joint Jewish and Palestinian/Arab faculty and staff of the Crown Center on campus could also weigh in helpfully for the Palestinian students.

Sincerely, Ernest Rubinstein, B.A. ’74

Graphic courtesy of CANVA. Graphics: ELIZABETH LIU/the Justice

14 THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Basketball scores big at invitational

Women’s Basketball beat Wellesley College 61-38 as a part of the Pancreatic Cancer awareness tournament.

Photos: DANIEL OREN/the Justice. Design: ANNA MARTIN/the Justice.

THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023

STUDENTS HOST SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER

JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS MEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS JUDGES Carnegie Case Chicago Emory NYU WashU Rochester

15

TEAM STATS

UAA Conf. Overall W L D W L D 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Pct. 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 0.500

UPCOMING GAMES:

Saturday at Rivier University Wednesday (11/22) at Babson College

Total Points Ryan Power ’24 leads the team with 17 total points.

Player PTS Ryan Power 17 Ethan Edwards 16 Jake Bender 12 Toby Harris 12

Total Rebounds Toby Harris ’25 leads the team with 7 total rebounds Player Toby Harris Ryan Power Aedan Using Quron Zene

REB 7 6 4 4

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

Total Points

Overall W L D 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0

UAA Conf.

W L D JUDGES 0 0 0 Carnegie 0 0 0 Case 0 0 0 Chicago 0 0 0 Emory 0 0 0 NYU 0 0 0 Rochester 0 0 0 WashU 0 0 0

Pct. 0.500 0.667 0.500 1.000 0.500 1.000 0.500 0.000

UPCOMING GAMES:

Today vs. Eastern Nazarene College Saturday at Tufts University Tuesday (11/21) at Babson College

Carlie Marrella ’27 leads the team with 19 total points.

Player Carlie Marrella Caitlin Gresko Brooke Reed

PTS 19 15 15

Total Rebounds Brooke Reed ’27 leads the team with 18 total rebounds.

Player REB Brooke Reed 18 Molly James 14 Caitlin Gresko 11

SWIM AND DIVE Results from meet against Bentley University on Nov. 10.5.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

200-yard Freestyle

200-yard Freestyle

SWIMMER Ben Lee Sam Bundy

TIME 1:47.20 1:52.60

SWIMMER Sophia Pulaski Maya Haubrich

TIME 2:04.41 2:05.74

UPCOMING MEETS:

Nov. 18 at Coast Guard

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

UAA Conf. Overall W L W L Emory 7 0 24 2 NYU 5 2 29 4 WashU 5 2 23 9 Carnegie 4 3 23 8 Chicago 3 4 11 16 Case 3 4 22 8 JUDGES 1 6 10 18 Rochester 0 7 19 11

Kills

Pct. .923 .879 .719 .742 .407 .733 .357 .633

UPCOMING GAMES: The Volleyball team has concluded their season.

Lara Verstovek ’25 leads the team with 389 kills.

Player Kills Lara Verstovek 389 Anna Ertischek 340 Tatiana Wainer 128 Arianna Jackson 112

Digs Ella Pereira ’24 leads the team with 284 digs.

Player Digs Ella Pereira 284 Lara Verstovsek 239 Olivia Nirode 174 Ines Grom-Manseneca 169

CROSS COUNTRY Results from the NCAA Regional Championships on Nov. 11.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 8-Kilometer Run RUNNER TJ Carleo Lucas Dia Henry Nguyen Dashiell Janicki Willem Goff

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

TIME 26:05.4 26:36.0 26:40.7 26:54.2 27:15.0

6-Kilometer Run RUNNER Zada Forde Lizzy Reynolds Kyra Au Sadie Harrow Ella Warkentine

YOUNG TALENT: Freshman Carlie Marrella '27 prepares to shoot.

BRANDEIS: PanCan Tourney CONTINUED FROM 16

it may become an annual tradition.

The majority of the fundraiser was led and organized by student and everyone’s hard work came to fruition. The invitational tournament also allowed the student tables to engage with nonBrandeis community members.

Tables gave out purple ribbons to wear to raise overall awareness of

pancreatic cancer, and the game announcers raised awareness about the condition as well. The event was highly promoted and publicized, and the high attendance kept the tournament fast-paced and lively.

This tournament also included the Brandeis Women’s Basketball home opener on Friday, Nov. 10, and the

CONTINUED FROM 16

NBA’s developmental league where he gained some more experience, a major highlight being the 2023 GLeague Finals. Hwang also officiated one season in the Women's National Basketball Association. In 2023, the NBA announced that Hwang would serve as an official member of the staff. Hwang will alternate between Gleague and NBA games, as all referees with fewer than four years of experience are required to do so.

To Hwang, refereeing is more than just his job. He calls it an “addiction.”

Hwang’s constant hunger for knowledge motivated him to be better each game. “After every single game, you feel so bad. What I read in the rule book, I forgot during the game. It was terrible. I wanted to get better and better. I want to be perfect, but now I’ve learned from my classes that we cannot be perfect. We can only be excellent,” Hwang said, according to the

Washington Post.

Hwang’s precise hand signals on the courts is also a testament to his personality: Hwang refuses to answer questions such as his favorite basketball player of all time nor his favorite league in fear of sparking controversy amongst the players and coaches that he officiates.

Others have also noticed Hwang’s excellence. “Not everyone is willing to dream big. Hwang was willing to take a risk on officiating and on the collective happiness of his family. He had the courage to think he could accomplish big things,” said Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s head of referee development and training, as reported on by the Washington Post.

For many professions, standing out may be essential for people to showcase their excellence. But when it comes to referring, Hwang prefers to stay out of the spotlight. “I’m not the

the community feel more approachable. If you see a highlighted athlete around campus, maybe introduce yourself if you have the same taste in music! Or head to Gosman and cheer them on.

Maggie Shealy '23, M.A.'25

By RANI BALAKRISHNA

TIME 23:15.5 23:42.2 23:53.8 24:00.1 24:11.9

JUSTICE EDITOR

FENCING Results from Western Invitational at the US Air Force on Nov. 4

RECORD 14-4 14-3

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

L. 1-8 SABRE Maggie Shealy

RECORD 16-3

UPCOMING MEETS:

Beanpot Tournament on Nov. 15 at Boston College Northeast Fencing Conference on Nov. 19 Data courtesy of THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION and the BRANDEIS ATHLETICS WEBSITE; Graphics courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

main actor. I’m not that special. After watching a game, I hope the spectators talk about the plays, the dunks and the three-pointers. My goal is that they don’t mention the referee. I feel good when we finish a game without any yelling.”

According to the NBA website, one of its missions is “recruit referees from around the globe to become part of our team.” While Hwang may be the first person to embody that spirit, one can only imagine the potential for others to follow in his footsteps after seeing Hwang’s success.

“I think [Hwang] will inspire others,” Gi-rok, now an internationally recognized referee, said. “There are few new referees at the Korea Basketball Association right now saying that their goal is to become an NBA referee.”

section of the Justice is starting a new column called "Jury Duty" that hopes JURY Theto Sports spotlight different athletes every week. Please email sports@thejustice.org if you would like to nominate someone. My hope and aim for is to bridge the gap between DUTY student athletes and non student athletes by highlighting relatable content to make

The Cross Country Team has concluded their season.

L. 3-5 SABRE Tony Escueta Lev BenAvram

Judges had a strong first showing.

Younger players posted strong numbers, with freshman Carlie Marrella posting a total of 19 points, and her classmate Brooke Reed ’27 posted a strong 14 rebounds in the team's first outing.

NBA: International referees

UPCOMING MEETS:

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

DANIEL OREN/the Justice

Photo courtesy of BRANDEIS ATHLETICS

Want to nominate someone? Send them this form!

Maggie Shealy ’23, M.A. ’24, is a standout saberist from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on the Brandeis Women’s Fencing team. Shealy has accumulated numerous accolades, including receiving University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week 14 times throughout her career, earning several All-American recognitions, receiving the prestigious Max I. Silber Award in 2023, two time National Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year, and maintaining a rigorous course load, earning honors with her senior thesis. An employee at Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, a Summa Cum Laude graduate, and four year Dean’s List recipient, Shealy’s incredible resume speaks for itself both on and off the fencing strip.

Last but most certainly not least, Shealy was selected to train with the U.S. Olympic Fencing Team in Colorado earlier this fall. She

is the first active Brandeis athlete to receive this invitation, and in addition to all of this, Shealy is currently teaching fencing at the Boston Fencing Club and a research assistant to the Dean’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. At the last NCAA Fencing Championships, Shealy tied for third, and with these new titles, Shealy continues to grow.

Shealy’s hard work ethic is contagious, and when she is not lifting or working out in Gosman or practicing her saber skills, she can be found at the Heller Zinner Forum. If you see Shealy around campus, there are a variety of different artists she could be listening to, but her go-to is always ABBA! Once the warmer weather rolls around, Shealy will most likely be eating mint chip ice cream, and a fun fact about this fencer is that she can ride a unicycle. Go support Shealy and the Women’s Fencing team this upcoming winter season, and roll deis!

just Sports Page 16

BRANDEIS BASKETBALL PHOTO STORY The Brandeis Women's Basketball team won against Wellesley College, p.

14.

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

NBA

First international referee in the NBA is announced ■ Hwang In-Tae, a native of South Korea is the first nonAmerican referee within the National Basketball Association.

By JEFFREY WANG

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On Oct. 24, the NBA released its Official Guide for the 2023-2024 season. Among the 82 officials listed, one man stands out in particular: Hwang In-Tae. This would be Hwang’s first ever season as an NBA referee. But this personal milestone is something much greater. This season would be the first time the NBA had a referee from outside of the US. Hwang’s roots can be traced back to South Korea, where he had already developed a strong passion for playing basketball. Hwang had always dreamt of playing professionally, yet his parents disapproved, saying that he simply “wasn’t an elite player.”

That didn’t deter him from playing at college. At Busan University, Hwang would play for his club team, often attempting flashy dunks that would spark the crowd into a frenzy. His style of play would catch the eye of one spectator, Shin Gi-rok. Unlike the others in the crowd, Gi-rok wasn’t as fazed by Hwang’s style of play. In fact, one could say he was a little annoyed.

“A player needs to focus on the game, not how he looks. You need to

play humble, but he was doing dunks to show off,” Gi-rok told CNN. According to CNN, after scolding Hwang personally, Gi-rok quizzed Hwang on the more intricate details of basketball such as the length of the court and the circumference of the ball. Although Hwang had failed this impromptu quiz, he was determined to know more. This hunger for knowledge became a stepping stone on his journey as a professional referee.

Gi-rok, who happened to be a local basketball referee, would be the mentor who Hwang would learn from.

Hwang started training as a referee for the Korean Basketball Association in 2004. Later, he played in the Korean Basketball League from 2008 to 2019, which included over 496 league games, 22 KBL playoff games, eight KBL Finals games and the 2019 KBL All-Star Game.

Hwang’s officiating had also gained the attention of the International Basketball Federation. He was selected to referee some international games, one of which was the women’s tournament of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Hwang’s success on the international stage impressed NBA scouts. In 2020, Hwang received an invitation to participate in the NBA’s Referee Development Program. Despite not being guaranteed a full time job, Hwang bet on himself, and moved him and his family to the United States without any hesitation.

From that point on, Hwang started to referee games in the G-league the

DIENSTAG NAMED UAA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Photo courtesy of BRANDEIS ATHLETICS

MID STROKE: Dienstag pushes through the water.

UAA Athlete of the Week: Sam Dienstag '24 Pancreatic Cancer See NBA, 15☛

BASKETBALL

awareness tournament ■ Women's Basketball hosted three teams and student organizations held a successful fundraiser at Gosman.

By SMILEY HUYNH

JUSTICE MANAGING EDITOR

On Friday, Nov. 10, Brandeis Women’s Basketball kicked off the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness tournament with a decisive 61-38 victory over Wellesley College. Brandeis hosted Oberlin College, Kean University, and Wellesley College in a four-game invitational tournament. The excitement in the air from players was accompanied by tabling from several student-athlete organizations.

The Brandeis Student Athlete Advisory Council, led by President Tristan Boyer ’25, organized a donation table, used plenty of purple decorations, and partnered with Brandeis Athletics as well as Athletes Without Borders, the Hidden Opponent, and the Student-Athletes of Color. According to an email from Boyer, the fundraiser raised just under $1000 for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

■ The University Athletic Assocation selected the Brandeis senior swimmer as the Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 23.

By SMILEY HUYNH

JUSTICE MANAGING EDITOR

Athletes without Borders, the affinity group for international student-athletes, held a bake sale; the Student Athletes of Color organized a waffle station; and the Hidden Opponent, a mental health advocacy group for student-athletes, coordinated a knockout game at halftime of the 2 p.m. game on Saturday. SAAC also hosted a popular “pie a coach” event. These collective efforts engaged parents, students, and spectators of the four games played over the course of the weekend.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month, and as pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, the fundraiser was timely.

Oberlin College took home the invitational championship title, as Oberlin beat Kean on the evening of Friday, Nov. 10, and on Saturday, Nov. 11, the Judges lost to Oberlin.

All four teams played competitive basketball, and they brought in a large number of fans that were buzzing all throughout the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.

This was the first Pancreatic Cancer Awareness tournament held at Gosman for women’s basketball, but given its success, it is safe to say that

See BRANDEIS, 15 ☛

Due to his performance in the 1000yard freestyle and 500 yard freestyle as well as his lead leg on the winning 400 yard freestyle relay on the week of Oct. 23, Sam Dienstag '24 has earned UAA “Athlete of the Week” for the second time.

Dienstag ’earned his second UAA “Athlete of the Week” award during the week of Oct. 23 due to his outstanding performance in individual and relay events.

Growing up in California, Dienstag ’was surrounded by a culture and peers that embraced aquatic sports.

Because of this, he started swimming at a young age. Though he tried many other sports, Dienstag stood out most as a swimmer. By age 13, he decided that he wasn’t good enough at any other sport and pursued swimming competitively. His go-with-the-flow nature and previous success in distance swimming influenced his decision to choose long-distance swimming. He grew to like distance swimming better than sprints, saying “it's nice to just give my brain a break and just kind of go down and back a lot and that's all distance swimming really is.” His favorite thing about swimming is seeing the hard work put into training direct-

ly translate into the tangible results of better times. This Is not always possible in other sports, where outcomes are contingent on the entire team and singular mistakes can change the course of a game.

Despite coming into Brandeis during the fall of 2020 and being unable to compete with other teams due to COVID-19, Dienstag made an immediate impact on the swim team, earning All-American honors based on times during 2020 and qualifying for the national championship every year he has competed so far. Last year he was the highest-ever finisher in Brandeis history at nationals, finishing fourth and earning two All-American honors for earning second-team honors in the 500 yard freestyle and first-team honors in the 1650 yard freestyle. Outside of nationals, he received UAA “Athlete of the Week” honors last year during the week of Oct. 18. He also holds four individual school records in freestyle events ranging from 200 to 1650 yards, and holds a relay record for the 200 yard medley.

Dienstag cites his team culture as part of his success, saying that in the “smaller team that we weren't in years past, everyone is pretty close … everyone is working together to support each other during [midterms].” He also provided insight on his approach to swimming, saying he “approaches every day with [the] best effort I can.”

He also believes in a growth mindset, which helps him recover from bad meets by asking himself, “What went well, what went wrong, what can [be] improved upon?” This helps him to focus on areas of improvement rather than dwelling on setbacks. This

growth mindset reflects in his performances from year to year, in which there is a consistent upward trajectory of faster times.

His contributions to the team are not limited to his personal achievements. As the only senior captain on the swim team, he has an important role on the team — especially as the most experienced member on the team, with his multiple trips to nationals. He believes in leading by example saying “I feel like it wouldn't be fair for me to tell people, ‘work hard in practice’ or something like that if I'm just slacking off.” He hopes to “inspire some of the younger guys” on the team with his work ethic and performance both athletically and academically.

His presence on the team is influenced

by Brendan Lou, a captain during his sophomore year, whom he deeply connected with due to their shared double major. Brendan gave him an example of how to balance life in and out of the water, which Dienstag says he’s “gotten better at … as [he’s] gotten older and gone through [more years of] college.”

As Dienstag nears the end of his collegiate swimming career, he emphasizes a shift away from the competitive setting. Though he plans to continue swimming for exercise, he plans to move to the Midwest and work in finance after graduation. As he swims the final laps of his collegiate swimming career, Dienstag has left an indelible mark on the Brandeis swim team — not only as an accomplished athlete in the form of multiple records and achievements but also as a leader and inspiration to his teammates.

Vol. LXXVI #8

Waltham, Mass.

November 14, 2023

Photos: Ceci Xilei Chen/the Justice. Design: Ceci Xilei Chen/the Justice.

18

THE JUSTICE | ARTS | TUESDAY, 2017 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 I ARTS &JANUARY CULTURE 31, I THE JUSTICE

CAMPUS ART

Brandeis CAST presents ‘Walls of Hope’: A reflection on painting for progress

BY NEMMA KALRA EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

“There is nothing more efficient for changing people’s perspectives than a good story, and I think murals are great stories.”

During the first week of November, you may have noticed a vibrant and lively mural making its way onto the Create@Brandeis wall of Upper Usdan. Unlike many of the other artworks we have seen as we pass through Usdan, “Walls of Hope: Brandeis” is not the work of a singular student or club of artists — it is instead a rather unconventional project assigned to the 18 students of Prof. Toni Shapiro-Phim’s (CAST) “Introduction to Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation” class. Students were tasked with working together to create a dynamic mural commenting on the politics, beauty, and perception of water as seen by various members of our community. Prior to painting the mural, the CAST students interviewed other Brandeis students in order to understand their relationship to water. The students of Shapiro-Phim’s class then attempted to translate these interviews into physical art.

Along with Prof. Shapiro-Phim, Claudia Bernardi, a human rights advocate and community artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina, facilitated the mural’s creation. On Nov. 9, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bernardi and learning about how she uses art to give a voice to many forgotten communities.

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

COLLABORATIVE ART: Students work together to paint the mural.

Although she has done a lot of incredible work, one of Bernardi’s most significant projects is the “Walls of Hope School of Art and Open Studio” of Perquin, El Salvador.

Bernardi founded this school in 2005 after she worked as a cartographer with the Argentine Forensic Psychology Team exhuming the bones of those who lost their lives in massacres in El Mozote, El Salvador. During this project, they exhumed the bones of 143 people, 136 of whom were children under the age of 12. According to Bernardi, this experience “changed [her] life.” As she continued her work, she questioned “what it would be like to come here and to work in projects of art with children of the same age of the ones we are exhuming today.” From this one ques-

— Argentinian artist and activist Claudia Bernardi

tion, the “Walls of Hope” school was born just miles away from the original site of the El Mozote murders. Through the Perquin school, Bernardi brought the art of muralmaking to young students, thus formulating the connection between community, art, and education.

The mission of “Walls of Hope” continued beyond Perquin. Over the next 18 years, Bernardi and her team brought the Perquin model of using collaborative art to share the community’s truths and inspire people to listen to everyone’s voice. In light of “Walls of Hope’s” work with survivors of immense trauma and violence, I began to question the place such a project has in a private liberal arts University. What community truth was there for our student body to share?

Before speaking with Bernardi, I was admittedly cynical about a community mural’s impact on an insular college campus — an environment in which many students benefit from some degree of privilege. However, Bernardi reminded me of how the artistic process alone is a much-needed exercise in communication and compassion. According to Bernardi, the way she facilitates the mural-making process requires students to trust, listen, and honor the ideas of their classmates and the people they interviewed. She said, “what makes the mural a good idea for a university is to bring a different kind of learning together, without any competition, with collaboration.”

I find the beauty of this project to lie in the fact that the artistic process transcends the usual boundaries we face in an academic environment. A collective mural almost alleviates the stress of individual achievement, inspiring students to invest in the success of their peers. As such, the mural in Upper Usdan reflects the perspectives of so many Brandeis students.

“Walls of Hope: Brandeis” depicts the stories and hopes of both international and domestic students regarding their relationship to water. On the left side of the mural, students painted a whimsical scene illustrating a past in which humans had access to clean water and were more connected to our natural environment. People are fishing in sailboats. There are lush green fields, clear skies, and individuals ambling along the riverbanks. However, as one moves toward the right, the bright green turns to a cloudy orange, the sky darkens, and the green fields transition to an urbanized world. This section of the painting represents students’ present understanding of water in this world. They highlight the perils of water pollution, climate change, and the role of unbridled industrialization in destroying the environment.

However, the story the CAST students choose to tell is not one of despair. The far right of the painting demonstrates their collective vision for the future. The stormy skies give way to warm sunshine, and people are once again seen enjoying the beauty of the world and water.

This mural is an amalgamation of the hopes and views of various students worldwide, formed by an effort to listen and connect with each other.

CECI XILEI CHEN/the Justice

HAPPY PAINTING: Students Bella Cameron ’24 and Maytal Storm

’24 laugh while painting grass.

This mural ultimately tells a tale of Brandeis students’ past, present, and hopefully future with water — provided we choose to buy into the story told and act to create such a future. As Bernardi explained, murals tell stories that can inform perspectives. The implications of this artwork extend well beyond the bonding of a group of students. It rather serves as a literal backdrop for us to have and instigate broader conversations around people’s experiences with climate change and water pollution. An interesting thing about “Walls of Hope: Brandeis” is that it was painted on a flexible canvas, meaning it can be transported to various locations on campus and in our community. Bernardi hopes that we “make the borders of the University more permeable and make the mural transit outside of the safety of Brandeis.” After bearing witness to the work and efforts of the CAST students to honor the stories of those around them, we can join the communal effort to continue necessary conversations about our histories and futures.

My conversation with Bernardi felt incredibly relevant to the current climate at Brandeis. I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to say that it has been incredibly stressful to exist on campus right now. However, her words and the work of the CAST students present a possible way forward.

This is not to say that a mere mural and a conversation will solve everything, but perhaps attempting to listen to each other is a place to start.

— Editor’s Note: Justice Photo editor Eliza Bier’ 26 and Justice Layout editor Anna Martin ’26 are students in the CAST class and did not contribute to or edit this story.

NEMMA KALRA/the Justice

MURAL: The completed “Walls of Hope: Brandeis” mural can be found on the Create@Brandeis wall in Upper Usdan.

Design: NEMMA KALRA/the Justice

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE I THE JUSTICE

THE JUSTICE | ARTS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

19

CANDY LAND CAMPUS EVENT

By MINA ROWLAND JUSTICE EDITOR

On Sunday, Nov. 12, Brandeis’ very own Adagio Dance Company presented their annual fall showcase. Filled with dances of all styles and skill levels, the showcase dazzled the audience, leaving them with a childlike wonder akin to what one would have meandering around a “Candy Land.”

The showcase began with an exciting, jazzy arrangement by Hannah Pearlman ’24 to Britney Spears’ “Gimme More.” The dance exuded confidence and energy, making it a fantastic way to kick off the showcase.

The next two performances, “Opaline” and “More,” used dance to navigate the complex journey of grieving and healing. “Opaline,” choreographed by Adagio CoPresident,Christina Lin ’25 explored the process of learning how to find oneself after getting lost in heartbreak and adversity. “More” by Kaila Silbert ’25 beautifully illustrated what it means to fully embrace one’s emotions following profound loss.

These dances were immediately followed by “Human Behavior,” choreographed by Fiona Ripp ’25, which explored the primitive and animalistic

side we all have. The next piece was titled “Happy,” presented by Hooked on Tap and directed by Lyla Chereau ’25, which emphasized happiness as an emotion which students always strive to achieve. Choreographed by Eliza Bier ’26 and Anna Martin ’26, “All’s well that ends” highlights the importance of mental health, the beauty of coming together, and finding balance in life.

Bloom, Brandeis’ Asian pop jazz dance group, created “La Vie en Rose” as an iteration and rendition of “La Vie en Rose” by IZ*ONE, which was also the culmination of various cultural dances.

Brandeis’ Hip-Hop dance group KAOS Kids showcased their performance “Superheroes,” inspired by modern, well known heroes and villains. Adagio then had two more performances before their intermission.

Created by Nataly Dubovskaya ’26, “The night we met” examined movement in space through the theme of love and nostalgia. Athena Lams’ ’25 “Whispering” was an exploration of being able to face challenges through self-reliance juxtaposed with togetherness and solidarity.

Upon returning from intermission,

“MORE”: Kaila Silbert ’25 and her fellow dancers perform a moving and self-reflective piece about processing grief and trauma.

“Grief,” choreographed by Destiny Kluck ’25, is a dance about processing emotions such as grief and pain, but also relief and peace. “The view between Villages,” created by Jessica Freeberg ’24, looks at coming of age through childhood and home as one grows up. Choreographed by Aurora Soriano, “Movement” is a performance about relationships between people and the diversity in all forms of love.

The Ballet Club performed “Act II: Divertissement, Coffee” which was helmed by Liliana Aspromonte ’25 and was a sneak peek into the Nutcracker performance that will be showing this winter.

Co-choreographed by Hannah Pearlman ’24 and Sophia Lombardi ’26, “Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie” was a lighthearted dance that warmed the audencences hearts. Brandeis welcomed University of Massachusetts, Lowells’ dance team ProtoHype to share the stage. The last few performances were inspired by love and passion.

“In the morning,” choreographed

by ITZY, was a debut performance about obsessive love by Brandeis’ dance group WASYTER. “Wild Love,”

“COFFEE”: Brynn Domsky ’27 and Grace Liebowitz ’26 provide a preview of the “Nutcracker.”

KAOS “SUPERHEROES”: Brandeis’ Hip-Hop dance troop shows off their fantastic moves while depicting the complex battle between “heroes” and “villains.”

“ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS”: Eliza Bier ’26, Grace Delaney ’26, Anna Martin ’24, and Fionna Ripp ’25 navigate the complex relationship between societal expectations and one’s own well-being.

“LA VIE EN ROSE”: Brandeis’ Bloom performs an energetic dance originally choreographed by South Korean-Japanese girl group, IZ*ONE.

choreographed by Eilenne Grossman ’26, looked at the expression of feelings and the idea of just living in the moment.

“Francesca,” choreographed by Sophia Lombardi ’26, is a special piece, as it was about loss and love but specifically created for her parents Ernesto and Michele, and in memory of Francesca, someone who the choreographer knew closely. Lastly, desgined by Irina Znamirowski ’24, “InAeternum Incertum” is a piece that looks at all the uncertainty of life and allows the audience to grapple with their own unknowns.

The Adagio fall showcase was a beautifully curated showcase of the talent Brandeis carries and the importance of artistic expression.

— Editor’s Note: Justice Photo editor Eliza Bier ’26, Justice Layout editorAnna Martin ’26, and Justice Ads editor Elizabeth Liu ’26 are members of Adagio Dance Company and did not contribute to this story.

“THE NIGHT WE MET”: Dancers use their art to depict the theme of a long forgotten love.

“GRIEF”: Choreographed by Destiny Kluck ’25, this dance illustrates the intense, painstaking, and messy process we all navigate when coping with grief.

“THE VIEW BETWEEN VILLAGES”: In a piece choreographed by Jessica Freedberg ’24, Adagio dancers emulate the complex and meloncholic feeling that comes revisting a place that is no longer truly yours.

“OPALINE”: Adagio’s Co-President Chistian Li created a dance highlighting the complex journey of self-disovery that ensures following heartbreak.

Photos: JUNJIE MA/the Justice, GIANNA MORALES/the Justice. Design: ANNA MARTIN/the Justice.

20

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023 I ARTS & CULTURE I THE JUSTICE

STUDENT ART SPOTLIGHT

STAFF’S Top Ten

ELIZA BIER/the Justice

By GRACE DOH JUSTICE EDITOR

Top 10 bangs As a veteran bangs-haver, I’ve given my two cents on the most iconic bangs ever worn.

1. Joan of Arc 2. René Descartes 3. Amelie 4. Sia 5. Charlie Brown 6. Angelina Jolie, “Girl Interrupted” 7. Junie B. Jones 8. Andy Warhol 9. Momo 10. John Travolta, “Hairspray”

Graphic courtesy of DAHLIA RAMIREZ

Dahlia Ramirez is an artist interested in many different creative mediums such as drawing, sculpting, fiber arts, fashion, theater, film, and jewelry making. Her goal is to create art that is colorful, fun, and collaborative.

This is her first published comic.

DIWALI RECIPE: MOHANTHAL

By NIYATI PATEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

For as long as I can remember, Diwali celebrations have been taken very seriously in my Gujarati family. Diwali is not just the festival of lights; it is the biggest and most important holiday for Hindus. The festival symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. This holiday also marks the beginning of a new year for us, and families often make homemade sweets to celebrate with their loved ones.

My family, like every other Indian family, loves to go overboard and makes a variety of sweets every year. However, Mohanthal is one sweet that has always been a staple in our Diwali celebrations.

Ever since I can remember, my grandma has always made it during Diwali and it has remained a constant favorite of mine and my dad’s. Mohanthal is a gram flour-based traditional Gujarati sweet that is often flavored with a variety of saffron and nuts. This sweet always reminds me of the chaotic but exciting days leading up to Diwali where my family

works together to bring our annual celebration to life.

Ingredients This recipe will have a preparation time of about 35 minutes and a cooking time of about 25 minutes. This recipe will make about 40 pieces of mohanthal.

For the flour mixture 2 cups of besan 3 tbsp of ghee 3 tbsp of milk For roasting the flour 1 cup of melted ghee 2 tsp of milk Other ingredients 1 ¼ cups of sugar ¼ tsp of cardamom powder ¼ tsp of saffron strands ½ tsp of ghee for greasing 1 tbsp of pistachio slivers for garnishing 1 tbsp of almond slivers for garnishing

Instructions To prepare the flour and saffron mixture:

In a small bowl, combine the saffron strands and ½ tsp of warm water in a bowl. Mix well and set it aside to use later.

Take a large bowl and combine the 2 cups of gram flour, 3 tbsp of melted ghee, and 3 tbsp of milk.

Use your hands (don’t be afraid!) and mix the flour mixture well. Use your fingertips to ensure there are lumps in this mixture. According to my grandma, this is a very important step to make sure that the sweet has a smooth texture but a grainy bite.

Gently press the mixture into the bowl and even it out. Cover the bowl with a lid and let it rest for 30 minutes.

30 minutes later...

Now, heat a wide but deep pan on the stove at high heat and add 1 cup of ghee.

Give the ghee a minute to melt in the pan and then add the flour mixture to the pan.

Bring the heat down to low, this is very important to ensure that we do not burn the flour mixture.

Gram flour can burn very easily so it is important to be present in the moment while you are cook-

ing and pay very close attention to the smell of the flour.

Stir the flour mixture continuously as it cooks and wait until the color of the mixture turns to a beautiful brown color.

Once the mixture turns a brown color, turn off the heat and set it aside to cool down for 15 minutes.

Sugar syrup Take a non-stick pan and turn the heat on high. Add 1 ¼ cup of sugar and 1 cup of water into the pan and mix well.

Cook the water and sugar mixture on high heat while stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Now, lower the heat to low and when the mixture boils, add 2 tsp of milk and mix well.

Keep cooking the mixture while stirring constantly for 10 to 11 minutes.

Turn the heat off once the sugar syrup has a thread consistency. To check for the consistency, get a butter knife and try putting it in the syrup and hold up the knife. If the mixture can form thin threads, then the syrup is ready to go.

Time to assemble!

Add the sugar syrup to the cooled flour mixture and then add the cardamom powder, saffron-water mixture, and the prepared sugar syrup.

Mix the ingredients well by continuously stirring the mixture for 3 to 4 minutes and then add the remaining 3 tbsp of milk and mix well.

Now, grease a pan with ghee to cool the sweets in and add the mixture into the pan and even it out.

Sprinkle the pistachio and almonds on top of the mohanthal and set it aside to cool for 1 to 2 hours.

Once cooled, cut the mohanthal into equal-sized pieces and store them in an airtight container.

This sweet has always been dear to my heart ever since I was a child and it is something I have bonded with my grandma over.

I hope that when you make this sweet, you feel the same excitement and adoration I have felt over the years from my family when we get together for Diwali.

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

Photo courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

FESTIVAL OF THE LIGHTS: Diwali is an Indian celebration of light, happiness, and prosperity.

LET’S FEAST!: Mohanthal is a classic sweet and nutty Indian treat. It is often enjoyed during Indian festivals.