ARTS Page 14
FORUM Resist environmental deregulation 8
NEW YEAR
SPORTS Swimming and diving teams set records 12 The Independent Student Newspaper
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Justice
Volume LXIX, Number 18
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
faculty
ACTIVIST ALUM
Physics Dept. narrows down search for prof. ■ The Physics Department
has narrowed down its search for a new tenuretrack assistant professor. By MICHELLE DANG JUSTICE EDITORial ASSISTANT
MICHELLE BANAYAN/the Justice
PROTEST: Roy DeBerry ’70 M.A. ’78 Ph.D ’79 spoke on his activism in the keynote of Deisversity's second annual conference.
DeBerry urges students to fight for freedom ■ At the Deisversity
Conference keynote, Roy DeBerry ’70 M.A. ’78 Ph.D ’79 spoke about activism. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR
Step up, protest and work with your neighbors — this is the advice Civil Rights activist Roy DeBerry gave students at the second annual diversity conference on Saturday. Stepping up to the podium, DeBerry donned a red cap modeled after the “Make America Great Again” hats utilized by the Trump campaign in the 2016 Presidential election. DeBerry’s hat, however, said “Make America White Again.” He recounted a recent story about traveling through the South after the election and overhearing a man say, “‘It is so great to have America controlled by whites again.’” “I confess, it is not so much about the politician as it is about us, the people who elect the politician,” he said. “This is our collective fault,”
he later added. Trump peddled “snake oil” in the election, and "Americans decided to drink it with the hope of relieving their pain,” he said. “[Trump supporters] are scared, and some of them will hurt you because they’re scared,” he added. “This is a call for your generation to step up,” he said, recalling his own involvement in the 1960s Civil Rights movement. “Young people, you can affirm and reaffirm the best in America,” he added. Though he is somewhat optimistic that movements like Black Lives Matter and the Women’s March can effect change, they will only do so if they keep their efforts up, he said. “We have seen this evolution, but the evolution has only been made possible … because of struggle,” he said, later adding, “Freedom is not free.” DeBerry spoke about being arrested for picketing in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s, saying, “My mother and father had always told me that ‘if you go to jail for something, it better be something great, good.’ And I think it was.”
The University’s Physics Department has nearly concluded its search for a new tenure-track assistant professor of astrophysics. The search committee, consisting of seven faculty members, five from the physics department, one from the math department, and a diversity representative, started the search in late fall. “There were lots of things that we were looking for — not just their science but also their teaching,
mentoring of undergraduate research, graduate student research and classroom teaching,” said Prof. John F.C. Wardle (PHYS), the chairperson of the search committee and the head of the division of science at the University in an interview with The Justice. Prior to opening the application, the search committee constructed a grading rubric to fairly assess applicants. The rubric's grading criteria included past and current research, potential as a leader and educator, potential for funding and supervision of research and also their contribution to diversity. Of an initial pool of 149 applicants, 31 dossiers were selected for deep reading by every member of the committee. In the end, “We picked out six people we thought were re-
See PHYSICS, 5 ☛
Student Union
He also reflected on his own student protest involvement. As one of the leaders of the original Ford Hall takeover in 1969, DeBerry credited the University with not bringing in Waltham or state police. “If they had,” he said, “I might not be standing here today.” DeBerry concluded his remarks by encouraging students to stand up for their beliefs and work together to effect change. “When you intentionally see the other, and the other is not a stranger but a neighbor and an empowered citizen, you will make America a diverse place,” he said, adding, “[America] is a work in progress guided by a flexible constitution.” “The extreme and the reactionary [in this election] … have given many progressives a gift,” he said. “The question is, ‘How will you organize, and where?’” Dean of Students Jamele Adams also spoke at the opening event, touching on the conference’s theme of “come as you are, leave as you become.” He presented slam poetry about activism and inclusion.
See DC, 5 ☛
Recently-elected Student Union members take office
■ Seven Student Union
seats were filled in the first round of spring elections, which took place on Feb. 2. By peri meyers JUSTICE senior writer
Students voted to fill up remaining seats in the Undergraduate Student Union Winter 2017 Election on Feb. 2. Alex Feldman ’19 and Winnie Zhao ’20 won the available two-semester positions on the Allocations Board. Feldman received 245 votes of the 560 that were cast, while Zhao won 159 votes. An additional threesemester seat went to Yaoyao Gao ’20, who received 159 votes out of a total of 481. Feldman was previously chair of
the Allocations Board, having been replaced by Emma Russell ’19. In an interview with the Justice, he spoke about ongoing Allocations Board projects like the Brandeis Experimental Event Programming grant, which would promote large-scale club events on campus. Feldman also talked about working with Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas to analyze trends in club funding and allocations. Alex Xu ’19 won the two-semester racial minority seat on the Allocations Board with 84 votes out of the 249 total. Xu narrowly defeated La’Dericka Hall ’19 by a margin of two votes. As members of the Allocations Board, they will meet on a weekly basis to determine the use of the Student Activities Fund for secured
See SU, 5 ☛
Married Magic
Searching for Wins
Website Redesign
This week justFeatures interviewed couples working on campus.
The men’s basketball team dropped both games this week to fall into another skid.
The University has unrolled the first phase of its website redesign project, according to an email alert yesterday.
FEATURES 6 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
Waltham, Mass.
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INDEX
SPORTS 12 ARTS SPORTS
13 12
EDITORIAL FEATURES
7 OPINION 6 POLICE LOG
8 2
News 3
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