the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 24
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B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
KENNEDY ON ISRAEL
Waltham, Mass.
JUSTICE ANALYSIS
Dinlenc withdraws Hoot proposal ■ Senator Kent Dinlenc
'19 withdrew a proposal to decharter The Hoot after a wave of backlash. By EMILY BLUMENTHAL and CHAIEL SCHAFFEL JUSTICE EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER
Background
THU LE/the Justice
DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES: Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th district, spoke to attendees about the implications of United States attitudes about Israel on democracy in the Middle East.
Congressman discusses U.S.-Israel relationship ■ Congressman Joe Kennedy
III spoke about Israel's democratic principles and their impacts on U.S. policy. By EMILY BLUMENTHAL JUSTICE EDITOR
Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III spoke to Brandeis students about the complex relationship between the United States and Israel and discussed the countries’ shared governmental principles. The event, which took place Friday, was sponsored by the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee and was moderated by Prof. Yehudah Mirsky (NEJS). BIPAC President Isaac Graber ’19 began the event by introducing the speakers. Mirsky, a graduate of Yale Law School, teaches at the Schusterman Center for Israeli Studies and previously served as a special advisor to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor under the Clinton administration. Kennedy is the House Representative for Massachusetts’ 4th district. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law, Kennedy served in the Peace Corps for two years before becoming a prosecutor. In 2012, after three years, he resigned from his prosecutorial job to run for political office. Mirsky first asked Kennedy how he reconciles the legacy of his family’s influence in politics with his
own role in office. “I am very proud of what my family has accomplished … and the contributions they have made to our country,” Kennedy replied, acknowledging that he attained his status “in no small part because of the work and contributions” of his predecessors in politics. He said that while his family is powerful, he “throw[s] everything that [he’s] got into this job.” Mirsky then moved to Kennedy’s support of Israel, stating that while Kennedy is “fundamentally supportive of the state of Israel,” he is also a “full-throated supporter of liberal and democratic values.” Mirsky viewed this as “striking,” asking how he came to bear his current foreign policy stances on the Middle East. In his response, Kennedy said he had originally kept himself informed by reading newspapers, but became more educated when he first traveled to Israel. The trip was especially meaningful to him because of his Catholic faith, and he emphasized the impact of seeing biblical sites in person. When he went to Israel, he felt “the sense of not only thousands of years of history, but the vulnerability, the reality … and the challenge of trying to implement democracy in a very tough neighborhood in the midst of extreme differences.” He said that from its founding, Israel has demonstrated “a commitment to those underlying fundamental principles” which constitute democracy and are important to the United States. The debate over Middle East geopolitics is one
Sustainability Committee Chair Kent Dinlenc ’19 rescinded his April 7 proposal to decharter The Brandeis Hoot on Thursday night. A petition opposing the proposal had gathered 518 individual and 65 club signatures over the course of the week. In a letter posted in the MyDeis Facebook groups, Dinlenc maintained that the Justice and The Hoot should be merged, but acknowledged the backlash his proposal had generated. Dinlenc had cited duality of purpose as the justification for removing The Hoot’s chartered club status. Duality of purpose, a concept that appears in Section 2 of Article VIII of the
Pushback
The Hoot editorial board began circulating a petition in response to the proposal on April 8. Addressing “members of the Brandeis Community,” the petition told all interested parties to sign their names, wear maroon or red on Friday, April 12, and attend the Senate meeting on April 14. The Hoot editorial board called the paper
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CAMPUS EVENT
which involves “passionate opinions across the spectrum,” but also “a willingness to hear people out,” he said, noting that people can come at the issue in legitimate ways from progressive and conservative standpoints. Mirsky moved the discussion to the recent Israeli election, which saw incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu win a fifth term over opponent Benny Gantz. He asked how Netanyahu’s victory could shift U.S.-Israeli relations, given that the United States is ruled by “an administration that loves the Jewish state and despises most liberal American Jews.” Kennedy re-emphasized that the fundamental values of Israel are the same as the United States’, adding that the two are committed to empowering the individual. Though he believes that a strong U.S.-Israel relationship is very important, he does not believe that “that means I can shy away from criticizing policies from any government, including Israel.” He said he believes that he can still criticize politicians while “staying true to the underlying principles” that are the foundation of the countries’ relationship. In an interview with the Justice, Kennedy discussed the current stance of the Democratic Party on the Israel-Palestine conflict. “I don’t think supporting Palestinian rights … should … come at the cost of the right to exist for the state of Israel. I don’t think those two things are antithetical,” he said, stating that he is a “strong supporter of a two-state
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Students march to ‘take back the night’ ■ Students marched from
the Rabb Steps to the Light of Reason in a show of solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR
Members of the Brandeis community gathered at the bottom of the Rabb Steps on Thursday to raise awareness of sexual violence on campus in the annual Take Back the Night march. Over 60 members of the Brandeis community marched through the center of campus to the Light of Reason as organizers called out statistics from the 2015 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Misconduct. “The work of dismantling rape culture and ending sexual violence is fundamentally tied to the dismantling of racism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and all systems of oppression,” Becky Schwartz ’20, one of the event’s organizers, told the march’s participants at the introduction of the event. All quotes attributed to those who spoke at the march are from a copy of the remarks that organizers provided to the Justice. The march was held “to critically reflect on sexual violence, empower one another, and show solidarity with, or as, survivors,” Schwartz said. Before the march started, TBTN organizer Chila Haber ’19 announced that the press would not
photograph or record the event, and asked participants to refrain from photographing and recording the event themselves without explicit permission from the participants themselves to respect the identities of the people who attended. Take Back the Night originated in the 1960s when women across the globe protested sexual violence as part of the feminist movement. The event has provided survivors a “powerful space … to share their stories and reclaim areas on campus where they experienced harm,” Haber said. Like last year, the organizers marched through the center of campus but did not stop at individual dorms, respecting the students who did not want to participate. “As we gather and march tonight, we walk in solidarity with survivors and, for many of us, as survivors,” Haber told the crowd. They finished their march at the Light of Reason, where participants chanted, “Shatter the silence, stop the violence. Ignite the light, take back the night.” There, Schwartz repeated a quote from former University President Frederick Lawrence, who said, “We’re not here to protect you, we’re here to prepare you for the real world” to a group of students who protested sexual violence on campus five years ago. Schwartz said Lawrence failed to recognize “that sexual violence does not HAVE to happen everywhere,” and that this kind of rhetoric “actively
Waltham Wonders
Bacchae
Re-imagining New Indias
Exploring the town is easy via BranVan and by foot.
The department of Theater Arts presents its interpretation of Greek mythology.
By ELLA RUSSELL
By SAMMY PARK
By NIA LYN SAMMY PARK/the Justice
Union Bylaws, stipulates that a proposed club must not “duplicate the purpose or goals of an existing club,” and must not have a “substantively” similar “impact and student appeal” as an existing club. But Dinlenc said his real motivation was sustainability. Per the proposal, Dinlenc believes having two newspapers is “unnecessary and unsustainable,” adding that “we are essentially the 0.1% who can afford to waste resources.” In the proposal, Dinlenc also claimed The Hoot is a waste of Allocations Board funding, noting that their funding has remained steady as the Justice’s decreased steadily since 2014.
FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
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Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org
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NEWS 3
Campus smoking rules are in need of an update By MADDOX KAY
FORUM 12
Brandeis Quidditch competes at national competition
ARTS 24
By MEGAN GELLER
COPYRIGHT 2019 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 16
2
TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
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NEWS
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS WELCOMING THE CLASS OF 2023
POLICE LOG MEDICAL EMERGENCY April 6—BEMCo treated a party in the Foster Mods who was not feeling well, who was then transported by Cataldo Ambulance to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care. The area coordinator on call was notified. April 7—The community advisor on duty in Village B reported an intoxicated party requesting BEMCo. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital via Cataldo Ambulance for further care. April 7—University Police respond to a party on South Street, just outside the Linsey Pool who was reported to be driving while intoxicated after the Department of Community Living called in the report. BEMCo was on scene to help evaluate. One party signed a refusal for further care and the other was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. The area coordinator on call was notified. April 7—BEMCo and University Police responded to Rosenthal Quad to an intoxicated party. Party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care and the area coordinator on call was notified. April 7—On Chapel’s Field, BEMCo responded to a party with abrasions on their leg, but the party signed a refusal for further care. April 7—BEMCo responded to Chapel’s Field to assist an intoxicated party who, upon evaluation, became combative and fled the area. No refusal for further medical treatment was signed and University Police were unable to locate the party. April 7—An intoxicated party on Chapels Field was assisted by BEMCo and then transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. April 7—BEMCo responded to Massel Quad to assist a party with a rash. The party signed a refusal for further care. April 7—University Police and BEMCo responded to Scheffres Hall to a party feeling ill and dehydrated with a headache. University Police transported the Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. April 7—In Ziv 128, a party with a sprained ankle was treated by University Police and BEMCo before signing a refusal for further care. April 9—BEMCo responded to Pollack where there was a party not feeling well and treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. April 9—A party reported chest pains and difficulty breathing in Ridgewood B. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. April 9—At the University Police station, a party was reported feeling ill. BEMCo treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. April 10—University Police and BEMCo re-
sponded to the Gosman Athletic Field to assist a party who was struck in the face with a soccer ball. Cataldo Ambulance and the Waltham Fire Department responded as well, and the party was transported via Cataldo to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. April 11—A party in Rosenthal East had pain in their ribs and was treated by BEMCo staff who requested an ambulance. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care and the area coordinator on call was notified. DRUG VIOLATIONS April 7—The Department of Community Living requested the assistance of University Police with a confiscation of contraband that was discovered in Shapiro Residence Hall. DCL filed a Student Rights and Community Standards report, and the police took the contrabands from DCL before compiling a report in the incident. April 10—On the first floor of Renfield Hall, University Police and Department of Community Living staff responded to investigate the small of marijuana, but the area was checked and the cause of the odor was not found. LARCENY April 8—A party in the Mandel Center for the Humanities reported their laptop computer was taken from a common room while unattended. University Police compiled a reported on the incident and intended to notify the LTS Department. BURGLARY, ATTEMPTED FORCIBLE ENTRY April 8—University Police compiled a report at the Golding Health Center of an attempted forced entry. VANDALISM April 9—The telescope hatch on the roof of the Physics building was found to be spray painted with the words “Suffolk” and a frown face. University Police checked out the area and compiled a report. No further damage was observed in this area, and Facilities staff removed the paint without incident. MISCELLANEOUS April 6—University Police compiled a report at the Hiatt career fair where a party reported a company promoting an internet scam. April 7—A report was compiled by University Police on two individuals on the roof of Abelson. Although the parties stated that they had permission to be there, they were asked to leave.
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n A Sports baseball article originally incorrectly reported the author. The article has been updated online to reflect that the author is Noah Gans (April 9, Page 16). n Views on the News incorrectly reported Haley Director ’20 as a member of the Genetic Counceling Program. She is an undergraduate interested in pursuing genetic counseling (April 9, Page 10). n An arts preview on Culture X has been corrected to better reflect the performances at Saturday’s show and to reflect that Culture X chair team members are Gabi Rivero, Maurice Windley ’19, Brianna Brown ’19, Connie Kai ’22, Imani Islam ’20 and Gabriela Macedo Telles ’20 (April 9, Page 19). n A news ad incorrectly labeled the designer. It should have credited Morgan Mayback (April 9, Page 3). The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.
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Prospective students and their families gathered in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center on Sunday for Admitted Students Day to learn about assorted clubs, departments and opportunities available to them on the Brandeis campus.
SENATE LOG Senate hears from new clubs, votes on amendment to subpoena club leaders CLUB CHARTERING Linzy Rosen ’22 and Cassady Adams ’22, the president and vice president of the new club PERIOD @ Brandeis, presented to the Senate in hopes of gaining probationary status. Rosen explained that PERIOD is a “global youth-run organization” dedicated to “addressing the issue of menstrual inequity,” a problem exacerbated by the inaccessibility of menstrual products to low-income people. Rosen said that the club aims to increase the inclusivity of policy conversations surrounding menstruation, as “not all women menstruate, and not all menstruators are women.” The Senate voted by acclamation to grant the club probationary status. Outgoing Music And Dance Band Director Steven Tarr ’19 proposed merging the University’s four instrumental clubs — MAD Band, Top Score, Guitar Club and Brandeis Traditional Music Club — under the umbrella organization MARIMBA, the Mutual Alliance for Recognizing Instrumental Music in Brandeis Activities. Off-Campus Senator Jacob Diaz ’20 asked if the Executive Boards of the clubs approved of the plan, to which Tarr replied that the boards had written the new constitution together. The Senate voted by acclamation to allow the merger. Chief Justice of the Union Judiciary Morris Nadjar ’19 asked the Senate to impeach Associate Justices Abdul Rehman ’19 and Shangyuan Xu ’21, who Nadjar said have never attended Judiciary meetings. In addition, he said, the two have not responded to
“correspondence” regarding their impeachment proceedings. The Senate voted by acclamation to impeach Rehman and Xu. EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPORTS Student Union President Hannah Brown ’19 presented to the Senate a proposal to bring the MyDeis class Facebook pages under the control of the University’s Department of Communications. Under the new system, class senators, rather than admissions employees, would moderate the content of the pages. The Senate voted on the proposal by roll call. It passed 13–2, with Salomon and Rong in opposition. Executive Senator Kent Dinlenc ’19 announced that the upcoming Ollie Awards are fully funded. Finkel announced that Class of 2021 Senator Zach Kern had messaged him with his resignation. Multiple senators suggested impeachment rather than allowing Finkel to accept the resignation. Finkel elected to accept Kern’s resignation rather than move to impeach him, as he did not want to end the year with feelings of ill will. COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORTS Rosenthal and Skyline Senator Josh Hoffman ’21, the chair of the Health and Safety Committee, looked back on the committee’s often contentious relationship with the Brandeis Counseling Center and announced a meeting had been held between the two organizations. One issue brought up was that some therapists were referring their patients to their private practices, which
Hoffman said is problematic because it is prohibited and because the treatments are not covered under University insurance. Hoffman also announced that two new elevators would be installed in the Olin-Sang American Civilization Center and the Mandel Center for the Humanities to improve accessibility. Dinlenc, the chair of the Sustainability Committee, announced that there would be solar panels installed on the roofs of East Quad and the Village. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chapman reintroduced a Student Money Resolution for a senior flea market, which would “give students a platform to sell their goods.” The Senate voted to pass the SMR by acclamation. Senator at Large Richard Kisack ’19 objected to Rong’s “Amendment to Subpoena a Club Leader,” which would grant the Senate the power to subpoena club leaders. He suggested that the Allocations Board should hold this power instead, since it funds clubs. Rong and Diaz responded that the Senate is the only branch of the Union that holds public meetings, and Diaz added that if a club “alienates someone on campus,” the club leaders should be held accountable to discover the root of the problem. The Senate voted by rollcall to pass the amendment. Racial Minority Senator Denezia Fahie ’22 introduced a bylaw amendment to require sensitivity training for clubs putting on “controversial” events, which led the Senate into a contentious discussion about the definition of the word “controversial” and the
technicalities of the training being required. This amendment was based on a “sensitive and racially inappropriate” DEIS Impact event from last year, Fahie said, and the training would be conducted by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Finkel expressed reservations about making the training a requirement because of the need to define the word “controversial,” to which Fahie and Class of 2022 Senator Nancy Zhai replied that it should be required to ensure that clubs understand the topics they discuss are “conscious.” Chapman agreed with Fahie and Zhai that the training should be required, but was concerned that there would be no system in place to define “controversial” and to ensure that the training “can’t be abused.” The amendment was voted on by roll call. Five senators voted against the proposal: Dinlenc, Filseth, Fu, Rong and Salomon. The vote passed 10–5, by the two-thirds majority required for bylaws amendments. Dinlenc told the Justice that during the Senate’s Executive Session, Rong was unanimously elected Executive Senator for the 2019-2020 academic year. Rong ran unopposed. Senate meetings are held Sundays at 7 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center, room 313. They are open to the public. —Emily Blumenthal and Sam Stockbridge —Editor’s Note: Jake Rong ’21, Trevor Filseth ’20 andNancy Zhai ’22 are Justice staff members.
THE JUSTICE
RE-IMAGINING NEW INDIAS
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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
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BRIEF Prof. Anita Hill to speak at Wellesley College commencement
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
Prof. Anita Hill (AAAS, Heller, LGLS, WGS) will impart her valediction to members of the class of 2019 at Wellesley College’s commencement on May 31, according to an April 12 PR Newswire article. Hill is known for her 1997 memoir “Speaking Truth to Power,” in which she recounted her 1991 Congressional testimony where she accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. It has since amplified discussions on “civil and women’s rights,” according to an April 11 article in The Swellesley Report. Her recent book Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race and Finding Home was published in 2011, for which she received the Courage Award
from PEN America, a literary and human-rights organization that champions free expression in the United States, according to the award description from The Swellesley Report. She was re-nominated this year for her action in the ongoing #MeToo movement, according to the Washington Post. In light of the #MeToo movement and the hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Wellesley students wanted a speaker that inspired them to “transcend expectations, carve out [their] own paths, and speak [their] truths even in the face of adversity,” Wellesley Class Council co-presidents Alex Kew and Dominique Huang said in a statement to the Wellesley class of 2019. —Nancy Zhai
CULTURAL EDUCATION: Parmesh Shahani, founder of the Godrej India Culture Lab, began his talk by sharing his experience coming out as gay. He went on to discuss the lab’s efforts to advocate for LGBT inclusion and cultural understanding.
Speaker examines LGBT themes in Indian culture ■ Parmesh Shahani talked
about the Godrej India Culture Lab, which aims to foster diverse thinking. By ELLA RUSSELL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Parmesh Shahani spoke about his work as founder and head of the award-winning Godrej India Culture Lab on April 11 in the Mandel Atrium. As the lab’s home page explains, it was established in 2011 “as a space for cross-pollination of ideas” to “challenge existing notions of culture and encourage dialogue and experimentation through innovative programming.” Brandeis has connections with the lab — Assistant Prof. Brian Horton (ANTH) is a fellow there. Shahani invited Horton to speak later in the talk, along with DJ Rekha, who had given a talk in the culture lab in March 2014 about hip-hop appropriation in Bollywood. Although born in India, Shahani has connections with the Massachusetts area. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006 with a master’s degree in comparative media. Shahani said that he first came out as gay to close friends and family, but in MIT he “came out [as gay] very publicly” when the BBC decided to feature him in a 2004 article titled “South Asian gays find US voice.” This was due to his work on raising LGBT awareness at MIT, organizing events such as a South Asian LGBT film festival. At the time of the article’s publication,
Shahani said, he had many friends –– both those who already knew and those who had been unaware –– tell him that the “BBC says that you’re gay.” He said that since the article was before the era of fake news, he would respond with, “The BBC says that I’m gay … must be true.” Shahani began talking about the Culture Lab by showing a few Bollywood clips from the 2008 movie “Dostana.” In the movie, two men, Sameer Kapoor and Kunal Chopra, pretend to be gay to rent an apartment, but they fall in love with the same woman. Shahani admitted that ”it’s super problematic at the text level because it’s actually not an LGBT-friendly film in a large sense.” However, he “was more interested in the subtext of acceptance.” When Kapoor’s conservative mother finds out that her son is “gay,” she is shocked, but she accepts the relationship by “repurposing tradition,” using the same traditions to welcome Chauhan into the family as she would a daughter-inlaw. “Dostana” may have distorted LGBT representation, Shahani said, but it was one of the first Bollywood films to have any LGBT themes. “With ‘Dostana,’” Shahani remarked, “for the first time you had this … product that you could then use to have cultural discussions.” He explained that he had a similar goal in mind when creating the Culture Lab: he would host events that would serve as a reference point for difficult discussions. Shahani gave an overview of the topics the Culture Lab has addressed, including marginality, identity politics, urban and rural narratives and the future of the environment.
Shahani also provided examples of various events that the Culture Lab has organized, including “Queeristan: Caste and Queerness,” which was held in January. He showed a video from the event of poet and activist Dhiren Borisa talking about what it means to be both queer and Dalit, which is also known as “the untouchables.” Dalits are not even part of the caste system; they are said to be born below it. In the video, Borisa said that being Dalit and being queer are not two separate identities. Instead, “Dalit queerness is this threshold which is always slippery, always messy. Therefore [he] can’t give you a neat definition [of what it means to be Dalit queer] because there’s no neat definition.” The Culture Lab holds many other types of events beyond simply inviting guest speakers. They set up a pop-up museum about the bloody India-Pakistan partition, in honor of the 70th anniversary of Indian independence. They also screened a documentary about six public health activists to generate a discussion on public health that would coincide with the beginning of the 2019 Indian election cycle. Shahani spoke about why Culture Lab has been so successful. The lab receives funding from the Godrej Group, a massive Indian conglomerate making “everything from soaps to spaceship component[s],” Shahani said. He explained that despite being a very large, diversified company, it is firmly rooted in an idea of “Indianness.” If the culture lab was based in “Google or … another sexy cool international company, the [results] would be very
different.” However, Shahani explained that despite Godrej funding, “[the company] is completely arm’s length away,” letting the lab pursue its own course, in part because the culture lab deals with issues that Godrej might find uncomfortable. Another reason for the lab’s success, according to Shahani, is its constant evolution. He explained that the lab started as an “event space,” but now it is also used as a “catalyst.” The culture lab can use its influence to “empower other event spaces.” Shahani said that the culture lab has made a particular effort to focus on LGBT inclusion, partly due to the uncertain attitude of the Indian government towards LGBT rights. He explained that the Indian High Court, the supreme court of India, overturned section 377, a law banning homosexuality, in 2009. It reversed this decision in 2013, and in 2018 the High Court reversed its decision once more, taking away section 377 once more. The lab advocates for LGBT inclusion by using hard statistics and appealing to financial interest, Shahani explained, saying that “people understand the language of money more than they understand the language of human rights.” He said that 92 percent of transgender people who are able and willing to work cannot find jobs, and that this market is worth $200 million. “No one changes because you want them to change,” Shahani said. “[They] must recognize that change is good for them.” He remarked that the lab’s position within the Godrej group is very important for instigating change because “corporations have more and more influence. So
to be located within the corporation, to push [it] to act as an agent for good in whichever way you can [and] to use that to put pressure on other parts of society is a useful thing to do.” Shahani closed his lecture by imparting some last thoughts about how fundamental realities of society are changing. “The age of either/or binary thinking is over … more and more, where you are located matters less than what you do with that location ... it is important to recognize all the privileges you have,” he said. Shahani ended with a short film which showed an orphaned child talking about how she was taken in by a transgender woman. “My civics lesson says everyone is guaranteed basic rights. Then why is my mom denied them?” the child said in the documentary. Shahani explained that he showed this video to bookend the “Dostana” clips. In the beginning of the lecture, the audience saw a mother changing her perspective on the potential relationships her son might have, and in the end the audience was asked to change their own perspective on what they may view as unconventional motherhood. The lecture ended with a Q&A; Shahani gave out books to people who asked questions. One question was about the lab’s ability to form an alliance with corporate members, not necessarily the most naturally accepting members of society. Shahani responded that it “comes down to us being super transparent … telling [everyone] the same story.” He continued, “My commitment is to the issue.”
BRIEF University names John Paul Lederach 2019 Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize winner
BRIEF Brandeis professor served on working groups that investigated M87 galaxy black hole
The University named John Paul Lederach, a scholar of conflict transformation, the recipient of the 2019 Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize, according to an April 10 BrandeisNOW article. Lederach is an American professor emeritus of international peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame and is “widely known for his development of culturally appropriate approaches to conflict transformation.” Lederach is the author of 24 books and manuals and has applied his knowledge as a peacebuilding consultant to various areas of conflict around the world, per the same article. He currently works for Humanity United, an international philanthropic organization, as a “practitioner in conciliation processes in Latin America, Africa and Southeast and Central Asia,” according to BrandeisNOW. Over the course of his career, Lederach has lived through assassination plots, received threats and been beaten by “a rioting mob” in Nicaragua, an Oct. 24, 2003 BBC News article reported.
Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration took the first ever photo of a black hole on April 10. Prof. John Wardle (PHYS) at the University served on four of the EHT’s 23 working groups. The photo is a major development in science; it “shows a bright ring formed as light bends in the intense gravity around a black hole that is 6.5 billion times more massive than the Sun,” according to an April 10 article in BrandeisNOW, written by its science content editor Lawrence Goodman. The black hole is at the center of the M87 galaxy, which is located 55 million light years away from Earth. The image shows the “shadow” of the black hole, which allows researchers to determine its mass, per the same article. The image of the black hole was obtained by combining images from radio telescopes in six locations across the globe. According to the Event Horizon Telescope’s website, “The image provides the strongest evidence to date for the existence of supermassive black
“Peace studies,” he told the BBC, “can be very up in the clouds. “I’m an unusual academic because I spend six months out there practising what I say.” As the Gittler Prize recipient, Lederach will complete a three-day residency program at Brandeis from Oct. 29 to Oct. 31, which will include a lecture and award ceremony on Oct. 30. “Professor Lederach’s innovative scholarship and inspiring work in the field have provided clear pathways toward a more peaceful world,” University President Ron Liebowitz said, according to the BrandeisNOW article. The Gittler Prize was created in 2007 by the late Joseph Gittler and named after him and his mother, Toby Gittler, per the Prize’s website. It is awarded to a scholar who contributes “outstanding and lasting scholarly contributions to racial, ethnic and/or religious relations.” The scholar receives a $25,000 prize and a medal in recognition of this honor. —Natalia Wiater
holes and opens a new window onto the study of black holes, their event horizons, and gravity.” By analyzing the polarization of the M87 black hole’s radio emissions, Wardle helped other researchers to further investigate the magnetic field surrounding the black hole. In addition, he worked on the publication of papers related to the topic. According to Goodman’s interview with Wardle in the BrandeisNOW article, the image provides support for the applicability of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which explains the distorted relationship between time and space, outside of the solar system. “What is extraordinary is that GR, first published 100 years ago, appears to be an exactly correct description of the physical world we live in, whatever tests we subject it to. I can’t think of another physical theory that has lasted so long and so successfully,” said Walder. —Ece Esikara
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‘LOVE AND FURY: TRUMP TAKES ON NORTH KOREA AND IRAN’
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FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE: In a talk on Thursday, Robert Gallucci pulled from his own foreign policy and political academia career to discuss the United States’ diplomatic relations with Korea and Iran. Prof. Gary Samore (POL) moderated the event.
Expert shares his experience in U.S.-North Korea negotiations ■ Brandeis alum Robert
Gallucci also critiqued President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran negotiations. By MAYA RUBIN-WISH JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Robert Gallucci M.A. ’68, Ph.D. ’74 came to Brandeis on Thursday and gave a Q&A-style talk entitled “Love and Fury: Trump Takes on North Korea and Iran.” The event was moderated by Senior Executive Director of the Crown Center Prof. Gary Samore (POL). After getting both his master’s degree and doctorate from the Brandeis department of politics, Gallucci went on to become both an academic and a diplomat. He has served as dean of the Georgetown School of Service, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and as a career civil servant at the U.S. Department of State and the United Nations, among other governmental and international agencies. His many accomplishments include monitoring the ceasefire in Sinai between Egypt and Israel, working as the senior coordinator for the nonproliferation and nuclear safety initiative in the former Soviet Union and serving as the chief U.S. negotiator in the North Korean nuclear crisis of 1994. Gallucci explained that when he met with North Korean negotiators at the U.S. mission to the United Nations for the first time, he had no previous direct experience with the politics of the region. There were no success-
ful negotiations with North Korea to look toward for guidance, he said. On the first day, he had no idea that the meeting would lead to a year and a half of negotiations. “I am not an expert on Korea or Asia,” he said. “I had been to South Korea once in my life before heading these negotiations. I know you’re horrified to find out your government works that way.” While he had expected them to be unwilling to compromise, offering only a “political rant,” during the meeting, he was surprised to see that they were able to have a useful discussion. Gallucci said he felt that the meeting had gone well, and although other officials disagreed, he felt that what was important was that the nations were willing to engage in discussion with each other. He said the biggest lesson he learned from the entirety of the negotiations was that “these people had come to do business,” and that because of this, the two nations would be able to work together. Gallucci said he remains optimistic that negotiations are still possible with the North Korean government despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s failure at the 2019 Hanoi Summit in February. He said he disagrees with the approach Trump has taken with the negotiations. Trump, he explained, is heavily critical of the negotiation skills of others, and, because of this, has decided to handle issues with North Korea at the presidential level – a move which Gallucci deemed “truly nutty.” The president and the chairman need to wait to come together until after a deal has been outlined, Gallucci said. “Both sides needed to be brought down the road to reach
BRIEF Brandeis Climate Justice calls for University to divest from fossil fuels Brandeis Climate Justice called for the University to divest by circulating a script among the community and prospective students on Admitted Students Day, April 14. The script, to be used when for calling or emailing University President Liebowitz and the Board of Trustees, thanks the Board of Trustees for agreeing to “not invest in coal and to freeze other existing fossil fuel investments for the next three years,” but says it is “not enough.” It calls for immediate divestment from direct fossil fuel holdings, and within the next three years, divestment from indirect holdings. It also calls on the Board of Trustees to submit a written
the intersection of the Venn diagram. … This guy [Trump] wants to leap to it,” he continued, explaining that the current administration has taken a “we don’t do anything until they do everything” approach to negotiations. “I’m not relaxed about where we are right now,” Gallucci said. “Things will likely get dicey by the time we get to our election season.” With regards to Iran, Gallucci spoke about the dangers of Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear deal Iran and the P5+1 countries (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, United States and Germany) reached in 2015. “This may come back and bite us in the butt, to use a technical term,” he joked. There are very serious negative implications that arise when a president so enthusiastically undoes actions of their predecessor, Gallucci explained, saying that it is “somewhere between difficult and impossible to come back from that,” as it significantly diminishes U.S. negotiating currency. While the JCPOA did not completely satisfy U.S. demands, it did what it had set out to do — prevent the development of a nuclear weapons program in Iran. “My own judgement was that [the JCPOA] was much preferable to going to war,” Gallucci said. Responding to a question from an audience member about what the best course of action would be for the next president with regards to Iran, Gallucci said to “take the high road.” Honor the deal as a starting point, he suggested, while making it clear that the situation has not changed in the region.
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BRIEF Vending machine for health products, Plan B to be installed in SCC TV room Brandeis Pro-Choice will celebrate the opening of a Health and Wellness vending machine today in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium. The machine is located in the SCC TV Lounge next to the ATM and provides all-day access to Plan B One-Step emergency contraception as well as other wellness products, according to the event description. The club began the process of getting the machine in fall 2017 when they presented a letter of support to the University Services department to obtain approval, according to a Facebook Messenger correspondence with Susannah Miller ’19 , president of Brandeis Pro-Choice. Afterwards, the club secured grant funding from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and began installing a machine based on a model to accommodate Plan B and wellness products. She noted the challenge to find a willing pharmaceutical distributor to collaborate “without a pharmacy license,” Miller explained. Nevertheless, the club ensured the sustainability of the vending machine by orchestrat-
ing a long-term partnership with vendors that will be a good fit, Miller wrote. In addition, they are working with the University Services department to make sure a paid university employee is accountable for “oversee[ing] and manag[ing]” the machine, Miller said, and the department will now be responsible for funding the machine’s operations. Accounting for the long-term impacts of sexual health, Miller emphasized that it is “imperative” that students, especially survivors of sexual assault, have timely access to Plan B because they deserve the “agency over their sexual healthcare.” Miller said she hopes that the resource will benefit current Brandeis students in the long-run, as well as students of future generations. —Nancy Zhai —Editor’s Note: Emily Blumenthal is a News editor for the Justice and a member of Brandeis Pro-Choice. She did not assist in editing or reporting for this article.
WALTHAM BRIEF Congresswoman to speak at charity walk in support of sexual assault victims Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley will be speaking at the Walk for Change on Saturday, April 28 at 9:30 a.m. in a showing of support for survivors of sexual assault, harassment and abuse. The Walk for Change is an annual event run by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and is commencing with a kick-off rally followed by a 2.8mile loop at 10 a.m. at the Constitution Beach in East Boston. According to to the Walk for Change website, the goal of the walk is “raising awareness of sexual violence and showing visible community support for survivors.” It is the largest gathering in New England with this goal, the website said. In addition to the walk, the event will include other activities such as sign making, yoga and food trucks. According to the Walk for Change’s schedule of events, the Clothesline Project will be showing “t-shirts featuring personal stories of sexual violence.” The website included a content warning for the exhibit.
According to Kaitlyn Cooney, a representative for BARCC, through a press release sent to the Justice, this will be Walk for Change’s 13th anniversary, and the fundraising goal is set at $250,000. Cooney also mentioned that, “BARCC is the only comprehensive rape crisis center in the Greater Boston area and the oldest and largest center of its kind in New England.” After the walk, there will be games including badminton and beach volleyball, as well as live musical performances and continued food service. The event will conclude at 2 p.m. Last year there were approximately 1,900 participants who collectively raised $235,000 for BARCC services, according to the Walk for Change website. The money raised for BARCC goes toward funding free hotlines, medical and legal advocacy and support groups for survivors of sexual violence ages 12 and up, according to the BARCC website. —Jason Frank
‘CLIMATE JUSTICE IS SOCIAL JUSTICE’
statement prohibiting future investment in fossil fuels and for the University to create a committee by fall 2019 that would “investigate, pursue and achieve investment in socially responsible funds by 2020.” BCJ also dropped a banner on Squire Bridge to encourage participation in the and to “remind incoming students that they have a voice on this campus,” BCJ member Claudia Davis ’19 told the Justice in an April 15 email. “We find it irresponsible [that] an institution such as Brandeis … continues to profit from a destructive industry that threatens that … future,” Davis added. —Natalia Wiater NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
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THE JUSTICE
TBTN: Participants stand with, as sexual assault survivors CONTINUED FROM 1 harms survivors and places sexual violence services and prevention on the university’s back-burner.” 34 percent of undergraduate and graduate students responded to the 2015 Campus Climate Survey. Of those, 22 percent of undergraduate women had “been sexually assaulted, including inappropriate sexual touching, fondling, grabbing and groping,” per the survey results. Of those who reported experiencing sexual assault, 45 percent of students did not report or share their experiences with anyone. During the “Collective Reflection” portion of the event, participants were encouraged to write on the ground of the Light of Reason with chalk. They left messages such as “Allyship is a process, not an action,” “I am more than my story” and “Your voice matters.” After the public portion of the event, attendees moved to the Shapiro Admissions Center, where they shared stories and experiences in a confidential space mediated by Peer Advocacy and Resource Center Director Sarah Berg. Faculty, staff and the press were not permitted. TBTN was organized by PARC, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Jewish Feminist Association at Brandeis and Students Talking About Relationships, with help from Berg, Assistant Dean of Students Stephanie Grimes, Public Safety Officer Bette Reilly and the Student Union, according to the remarks provided. Schwartz pointed out the Peer Advocates from PARC who wore glow sticks around their necks to
identify themselves as resources for anyone who would need them. “Healing takes many forms. Each person knows themselves, and has the right to determine what feels most supportive to them,” Schwartz reminded participants. “Take Back the Night is a call for administrators to shift away from and transform their current practices which minimize and disappear the prevalence of sexual violence at this school,” Haber said. “[It] is a call to the entire Brandeis community, to commit collectively and intentionally to ending violence in all its forms.” This year, a new Campus Climate Survey was conducted from March 5 to 22, and sent out to all Brandeis undergraduate and graduate students. The anonymous survey will “gather students’ feedback regarding issues of sexual and relationship violence in our campus community,” per a March 4 email to the Brandeis community from University Provost Lisa Lynch. Over the summer, Lynch will work with Berg and other administrators in the department of Student Affairs to analyze the results of the survey and “discuss the findings and implications for our community,” Lynch told the Justice in an April 12 email. In addition, a website will be set up with the results of the findings, and forums will be held to discuss the survey’s findings. A number of other universities that are part of the Association of American Universities with Brandeis are also replicating this campus climate survey, and Brandeis will be able to compare its findings with them, according to Lynch. Image Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
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A HEALING COMMUNITY
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
UNITING AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE: The Brandeis community came together to show their support for survivors of sexual violence, as well as raise awareness about the issue. They marched together from the Rabb Steps to the Light of Reason.
KENNEDY: Congressman discusses Israeli democracy CONTINUED FROM 1 solution.” Kennedy added in the interview that he does not believe “a progressive movement is antithetical to a strong support for Israel,” and noted that “the Democratic Party at large still stands very strongly with the state of Israel.” In the future, he said, he does not see “the party ever moving away from strong support for the state of Israel.” During the talk, Mirsky asked Kennedy, who sponsored legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, how he reconciled his position with the principle of free speech. “I think the point of BDS is to isolate and undermine the state of Israel,” Kennedy said. He continued that the BDS movement is “not for a two-state solution, which I think is really quite necessary in the Middle East,” Kennedy said. Elaborating on his idea of peace, Kennedy stressed that there needs to be a plan in which “the structures
of Israeli society are strong enough to support.” The “international focus,” he said, should be to “build up Palestinian structures” to support a long-term, successful peace plan. He emphasized that working with all involved parties is crucial to creating a successful peace plan. “Given that the Palestinian authorities have not been consulted at all, I don’t possibly understand how a plan is going to be successful when it is dropped down from above,” he said. During the Q&A, Brandeis alumnus Julian Cardillo ’14 asked about how Kennedy views the belief that extremism conflates moderation with apathy. Kennedy stated that progressives on Twitter are “a slice of a larger whole” of the electorate and stressed that all voices are “legitimate” and must be considered when making campaign policies. “There’s a way to be both pretty darn progressive, and pretty pragmatic about the way in which you are going to implement those values.” he said.
Going back to the Israeli election, Ellie Eiger ’20 cited an article from Haaretz which reported on a “historically low” voter turnout among Arab-Israelis, and mentioned that Gazans are ineligible to vote. Eiger wondered how, in light of this, Israeli elections were truly democratic. Kennedy replied by returning to his comparison between Israel and the United States, noting that “this is not only an issue that takes place in Israel,” referencing U.S. voter suppression of minorities. Kennedy concluded his talk by emphasizing the importance of the upcoming 2020 election in the United States. He called upon attendees to “understand that there is a massive choice that will have huge ramifications on the future of our country [and on] the future of relations with a whole bunch of different issues around the world. … You all have this extraordinary opportunity to actually influence it … do not think that someone else will have this one covered. The stakes are just too big,” he stressed.
HOOT: Duality of purpose, sustainability discussed CONTINUED FROM 1 its “livelihood, [its] pride and joy and a family of dozens — if not hundreds — of current students and alumni.” The clubs that signed the petition were varied; sports teams, media organizations, cultural clubs and Greek life chapters filled out the list. Multiple student clubs, such as Brandeis Liquid Latex and the Brandeis Bagel, expressed their support with statements on Facebook. In addition to the current student response, Hoot alumni circulated an open letter urging the Senate to vote down the motion to de-charter. The alumni argued that de-chartering the paper would harm Brandeis students’ chances of entering the journalism industry and suppress campus free speech. “Not only would decommissioning The Hoot stifle freedom of speech and much-needed transparency on campus, but it would actively discourage new students from pursuing this important and necessary tradition of civic activism,” the Hoot alumni letter said. The open letter was signed by 61 alumni of The Hoot, ranging from class years ’05 to ’18. The signers included Hoot founders Igor Pedan ’05 and Leslie (Pazan) Libra ’05. 93 non-Hoot alumni signed the letter, including former
Justice editors, spanning from class years ’98 to ’18. In an interview with the Justice on April 11, Celia Young ’21, The Hoot’s news editor, expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support. “I’ve been close to tears this entire week with the amount of people who had been signing. … I almost broke down. For a long time, I assumed no one really cared about what I did, even though I cared about it so much. It’s been one of the best, most inspiring moments of my entire Brandeis career,” she said. She noted that at least one Hoot alumnus from out of state had offered to travel to the University for the sole purpose of attending the April 14 Senate meeting. “I have met people here at The Hoot that I would take a bullet for,” Young asserted. “I would take a bullet for this club.” Young later clarified that she meant a non-lethal bullet. Young also pushed back against Dinlenc’s key legal argument for the proposal — duality of purpose. Young said in the same interview that Dinlenc’s grounds for invoking duality of purpose were moot, as “generations of Union members have been okay with us existing, even with that clause on the books … [they] have either agreed that we do not violate duality of purpose or if we do, we’re important enough that we need to stay.” By the evening of April 10, Dinlenc
was expressing doubt about his proposal due to the backlash he had received. “I’m not an idiot,” he said. “If 14 percent of the student body is like, “No!”, okay, I’m not going to pursue it any longer,” he told the Justice. “If they’re rallying this hard against it, am I really that dumb, guys?” Dinlenc noted that although a de-chartering motion can be voted on the day it is brought to the floor of the Senate, he “wanted to give people a week to digest and propose counter-arguments and show opposition to this. … I’m trying to be as diplomatic as possible,” he said.
Duality of Purpose
Dinlenc argued that the existence of The Hoot violates the duality of purpose clause. Rules Committee Chair Jake Rong ’21 said in an interview with the Justice that he gauges “how serious a club is” when determining if it violates duality of purpose. Rong stated that The Hoot is a serious club because it “has shown that it has a real base of members who do really commit to what the club does.” Furthermore, he said, “the fact that it’s been able to continue putting out consistent weekly issues for almost 15 years is something that we should all recognize.” The response from alumni and current students generated by the proposal is “something that ev-
ery senator, including myself, should definitely acknowledge and factor into consideration when we make our final decisions on whether Senator Dinlenc’s proposal has legitimacy,” Rong asserted. When assessing whether a duality of purpose exists between the two campus newspapers, Rong said, he looks at them side by side. “Even if the news articles are often covering the same news,” Rong stated, he does not see “that same level of repetition necessarily from the opinion or forum writers.” “We can’t deny that [the Justice] and The Hoot definitely published different articles that contributed to the community in different ways. There’s definitely a lot of similarity … but I also think that there are definitely things that fall outside that category,” he said. The Hoot compiled a summary of both papers’ news coverage this semester; they concluded that more than two-thirds of the papers’ coverage did not overlap. Rong told the Justice that Dinlenc’s assessment of the two papers relied mainly on his comparison of the clubs’ constitutions. Rong saw a “degree of validity” in Dinlenc’s argument of duality of purpose from “comparing the constitutions of the papers.” But while the constitutions may be similar, Rong noted, that does not mean that the two papers violate the duality of purpose
clause. “I’m sure there are a lot of parts of the different club constitutions that … do appear to be similar. But I also think, from my perspective on Club Support, that there is more to duality of purpose than just the constitutions.” Normally, the Senate will de-charter clubs for infractions like “not submit[ting] … [anti-hazing] renewal forms,” or will deny them probationary status because of duality of purpose, according to Rong. To his knowledge, he said, the Senate has “never brought a club back that was already approved just to de-charter it or even put its accreditation in question just because of … violating duality of purpose.” Whether or not the bylaws support Dinlenc’s argument is “open for debate,” Rong said. “If any club violates any of the bylaws, the Senate has authority to revoke its accreditation. … It is permitted later on in the language for the Senate to do what [Dinlenc] is proposing to do.” Thus, he asserted, “in theory, revoking the Hoot’s accreditation is certainly within the Senate’s authority.” Rong believes that “the notion of a club to be eligible for accreditation not replicating an existing club applies during both the prospective stage and the existing stage.” None of the language in Article VIII, however, mentions duality of purpose
See HOOT, 7 ☛
THE JUSTICE
STUDENT UNION
27 students announce candidacy for Union elections ■ There are 16 seats up for
election for seven different types of positions in the Student Union. Voting will take place on Thursday. By GILDA GEIST and SAM STOCKBRIDGE JUSTICE EDITORS
Senator to Class of 2022 (2 seats)
Joseph Coles ’22 told the Justice in an email that he is running with a desire to support new clubs and improve the overall “student experience.” He added that one of his priorities, if elected, would be to add air conditioning to all residence halls. Coles wrote in his email that he is qualified to be on the Senate because he is a Posse Scholar, which is a “prominent leadership scholarship.” Topaz Fragoso ’22 is running for reelection with the intent of continuing to “work with the Brandeis community,” according to her candidate biography. She is currently working on an “exciting project” for the Senate that she wants to continue throughout the next year. Although she is still “learning how to represent everyone equally and make the best decisions,” she is excited to continue her work with the Senate.
Senator to Class of 2021 (2 seats)
Jake Rong ’21 said in his candidate biography that he wants to continue serving the Senate as Class of 2021 senator. As the current Village and 567 Quad senator and chair of the Rules committee, he expressed pride in his “perfect attendance” at Senate meetings and his “quadrupling” of the Rules committee’s productivity. He also initiated partnerships with the Residence Hall Association and the Undergraduate Library Council. Sissel Tan ’21 wants to make the Brandeis community “more active and energetic” by helping with Union legislation and problem-solving, according to her candidate biography. She believes her leadership as vice president of Global China Connection and as the undergraduate departmental representative of the International Global Studies department has prepared her for the role, instilling in her a desire to make an impact on campus.
Senator to Class of 2020 (2 seats)
Jacob Diaz ’20 is interested in representing the views of his class in the Senate next year. Since being elected this semester, he said in his candidate bio, he has focused on holding senators accountable for their responsibilities. He has “worked tirelessly to keep the free press [on campus] free” and says that his experience in the Senate has helped prepare him for this role. Trevor Filseth ’20 is running for reelection and wants to focus on improving transportation accessibility, improving communication between the Union and students and “streamlining funding for clubs,” according to his candidate biography. During his time on the Union, he has helped to organize the Sustainability Student Leadership Symposium, Brandeis SaveOhno and Facilities Appreciation Day. He has also worked on the Meatless Monday initiative in Usdan dining hall and on the ban on the sale of plastic water bottles on campus. Scott Halper ’20 is running in pursuit of “a more civil and democratic union that represents the interests of the people,” he said in his candidate biography. He feels his leadership on the Mock Trial Association and his time serving as Vice President for an off-campus Greek organization have prepared him for this position. He wants to work closely with Prevention and Advocacy Resource Center to strengthen sexual assault prevention, “especially offcampus.” Dane Leoniak ’20 wrote in an email to the Justice that he is run-
ning for the Senate because “the past year of Student Union antics has frankly been embarrassing, and the de-fund the Hoot debacle was just the icing on the cake.” His priorities if elected, he wrote, would be to help students and clubs, such as by repealing or “at least fix[ing]” the club consultant bylaw and increasing campus accessibility. Leoniak said he was qualified for the position because of his involvement in campus politics “from the outside” during his time at Brandeis.
Senator-at-Large (2 seats)
Josh Hoffman ’21 cited his previous two years of experience on the Student Union as qualifying him for the position, according to his candidate biography. He mentioned his role in getting free menstrual products placed in campus restrooms and his position as chair of the Health and Safety Committee. Hoffman emphasized his focus on continuing to promote sexual health on campus. Nancy Zhai ’22 wrote in an email to the Justice that during her time as Class of 2022 Senator, she has “built a proven track record of enacting improvements that will benefit the community in the long run,” making her a qualified candidate for Senator-at-Large. Zhai wrote that, if elected, she will prioritize “improving the dining experience.”
Senator to International Students (1 seat)
Leah Fernandez ’22 is running because she wants to “make the campus more accessible,” according to her candidate biography. She intends to work with the administration to help international students better understand the accommodations available to them, and acknowledged the importance of recognizing the differing educational backgrounds of international students. Shuorui Wang ’22 said in his candidate biography that, if elected, he would work on improving dining as well as international students’ accessibility to news and activity information. Wang wrote that he wants to make sure international students can be involved in campus life.
Racial Minority Senator (1 seat)
Rajan Vohra ’21 wants to bring together students through “more inclusive social events” to “show them how to celebrate a wide variety of cultures,” he wrote in his candidate biography. He said that he was taught traditional Hindu beliefs and raised to “embrace the opportunity to learn about different cultures.” He and his family went to India “often … so as not to lose the long established roots which I come from.”
Associate Justice to the Judiciary (5 seats)
Maxwell Hunsinger ’20 said in his candidate biography that his “pursuit of perfecting and enforcing” the Brandeis Rowing Team constitution makes him qualified to serve on the Judiciary. If elected, he wrote, his “passion for interpreting Constitutional issues could be better appreciated with respect to the Student Union Constitution.” Ruth Itzkowitz ’22 is an art history and prospective business major who wants to “ensure the Student Union is run fairly and justly,” according to her candidate bio. She has read through the bylaws and constitution to better understand the workings of the Student Union. In addition, she works as a tour guide for the Brandeis Admissions Office and is a member of the Waltham Group. Junhan Lee ’20 and Yehoshua Rubin ’20 did not submit candidate biographies. Jack Ranucci ’22 is running for reelection because he wants to “create an environment where students can responsibly, within the limits of the constitution, by-laws, and general spirit of the university, pursue fully their innovative ideas,” according to an email to the Justice.
He said his previous experience on the Student Union makes him wellequipped to serve on the Judiciary. Mack Schoenfeld ’21 wrote in an email to the Justice that he is running for office because he wants to be more engaged with the campus community and help run campus affairs efficiently. He cited his work experience both on and off campus as a reason he is qualified, as well as his problem-solving skills and connections to club leaders. Schoenfeld wrote that his priorities, if elected, would be to work with Allocations Board to make sure “their resources are going to the best possible sources and in fair quantities.” Rachel Sterling ’21 is running for reelection. She wants to “foster an environment that is built upon a foundation of trust and honesty within our community,” according to her candidate biography. She believes “every student deserves the opportunity to be recognized and fully contribute to our school.” Shania Thomas ’21 is majoring in Health, Science, Society and Policy and Politics with a minor in Legal Studies. She is interested in “not only upholding existing precedents but setting new precedents that reflect the values and needs of Brandeis,” she said in her candidate biography. She added that she would like to bring forward legislation that “expands the fruitfulness of our time at Brandeis to better not only ourselves, but the greater community as well.” Maya Walborsky ’22 said that she is qualified to serve on the Judiciary Board because of her wide involvement in extracurriculars on campus, she wrote in an email to the Justice. She is on the board of Sigma Delta Tau, HerCampus and more. Walborsky said that, if elected, she “will work with the judiciary board to improve legislation and make student union as efficient as possible.”
Representative to Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund (2 seats)
Mike Bender ’22 hopes to serve another year as the representative to CEEF. He cited in his candidate biography the renovation of the Berlin Chapel and creation of Branda as initiatives he is proud to have worked on. He would like to continue supporting projects like this if he is elected. Anthony Cai ’22 wrote in an email to the Justice that he is running for CEEF representative because he is “responsive to people’s ideas” and “good at making decisions.” If elected, Cai wrote, he will make decisions that “benefit Brandeis as a whole rather than a specific group of people.” Jiale Hao ’22 has seen the positive impact of student proposals to CEEF and wants to “help facilitate” that process, according to his candidate biography. He says his experience with education and start-ups will allow him to better evaluate the “practicality” of proposals.
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HOOT: Decharter motion retracted CONTINUED FROM 6
between two established clubs. The language of this article is meant to stop duality of purpose from occurring by assessing prospective clubs, which is why Rong said this case was “difficult.” Because The Hoot “already exists,” he said, “the questions that we would usually use to evaluate a club’s eligibility for accreditation have to be completely retailored.” Duality of purpose was a subject of contentious debate within last year’s Senate, particularly in regard to the Jewish Feminist Association of Brandeis. In a message to the Justice, former Club Support Committee Chair Tal Richtman ’19 wrote that the previous discussion surrounding duality of purpose was “regarding duality of purpose with other department[s] and services on campus.” In Section 4 of the same article, the bylaws state that “any club which duplicates the purpose or goals of an existing academic department or other campus resource in terms of operations, impact, and student appeal is ineligible to become or remain a chartered club; otherwise, clubs shall have the right to become or remain chartered clubs, so long as they remain accredited.”
Sustainability
Increasing sustainability was part of Dinlenc’s original motivation in proposing the decharter motion. In a document that laid out his main points, titled “Hoot De-Chartering Proposal TL;DR,” Dinlenc said continuing to print both The Hoot and the Justice was “costly financially and environmentally.” Graphic Developments, a printing company in Hanover, Massachusetts, prints both campus newspapers, according to Justice Editor-in-Chief Avraham Penso ’20 and Hoot Editorin-Chief Sarah Terrazzano ’19. Mike Sullivan, a manager at the company, told the Justice in an April 9 phone interview that Graphic Developments prints exclusively with recycled paper. Dinlenc said in an April 10 interview with the Justice that he did not think The Hoot using recycled paper altered the sustainability argument significantly. “It’s still paper being used; that recycled paper could be
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used for something else,” he said. Roland Blanding ’21, a representative to the A-Board who spoke to the Justice on its behalf, was critical of Dinlenc’s proposal from a sustainability and financial perspective. Blanding explained that the print circulation of the campus papers is determined by mandatory reporting to A-Board. Both the Justice and The Hoot must report trends in the number of papers taken from each location, he said. “A-Board is actively seeking to make sure that we’re not doing things like wasting money on newspapers that no one picks up. Every single newspaper that people see on campus has been justified in its presence,” Blanding said. Blanding noted that he thought dechartering The Hoot and splitting the paper’s money among the other clubs would have a “diminished return.” He said based on the dedication of The Hoot’s staff, defunding the newspaper would mean significantly more to those students than “even the aggregate of having four hundred extra dollars to have cupcakes at an event that already has food.” Hoot editors also disputed Dinlenc’s argument on sustainability on factual grounds. Hoot News Editor Celia Young ‘21 said the paper had conducted its own research online on the issue. Citing a 2008 Slate article, Young and Terrazzano argued that reading a small circulation newspaper online is less sustainable than reading it in print, due to the power consumption of the computers used. Terrazzano said the paper was willing to cut their print copies by 25 percent (from 1000 copies to 750 copies) but only if the Justice was willing to do by the same percentage. In his letter withdrawing the proposal, Dinlenc wrote, “My objective was never to intentionally upset people — especially this much. To rally a usually-apathetic student body at this capacity is impressive and clearly indicative of something. It’s my job as a senator to listen to my constituents. You have been heard.” —Editor’s Note: Jake Rong ’21 is a Copy staff member for the Justice.
—Eliana Padwa contributed reporting.
EMPOWERING SURVIVORS
Representative to Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (1 seat)
Lyle James ’21 is “deeply interested in all aspects of the undergraduate education experience,” according to his candidate bio. He wants to help make Brandeis’s undergraduate education even better by tailoring programs to the needs of the community, an end he would pursue by listening to students and conveying their experiences to the UCC. Although Steven Luo ’21 mostly studies math and science, he has always been “passionate about exploring other disciplines and each of its pedagogies,” he wrote in his candidate biography. He would like to focus on skills that undergraduate students want to acquire at Brandeis, “whether it’s for graduate/professional school or employment.” He also intends to make sure tuition is used as effectively as possible for each student’s education. —Editor’s Note: Jake Rong ’21, Trevor Filseth ’20 and Nancy Zhai ’22 are Justice staff members.
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
The Brandeis chapter of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance hung up shirts gathered through their Clothesline Project on the second floor of the Shapiro Campus Center yesterday. The idea behind the project was “awareness of statistics around sexual violence,” FMLA event chair Becky Schwartz ’20 said in an interview with the Justice. As part of Sexual Violence Awareness Week — April 8–12 — students were encouraged to decorate white shirts “in honor of those who have experienced sexual violence,” per the Facebook event description. “It keeps the campus thinking about [the statistics around sexiual violence] and thinking about what we can do in response,” Schwartz said, explaining that the shirt designs often drew on these ideas.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019 | THE JUSTICE
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374 Moody St. Pho 1 Waltham Despite its name, Pho 1 Waltham serves more than just pho. Its colorful interior, diverse menu and affordable items make it one of Waltham’s best restaurants for Brandeis students. Serving Vietnamese pho, Korean soondubu and Thai pad kee mao, among other dishes, Pho 1 Waltham is able to have an extensive menu while maintaining the quality of its dishes. The restaurant is directly adjacent to the Lizzy’s Ice Cream BranVan stop and in the heart of Downtown Waltham. “I believe their pho is one of the things closest to [my] home, New York. I wouldn’t say it’s like New York’s quality because nothing beats New York, but it came close considering [where] we are,” Kelly Zheng ‘22 said.
322 Moody St. Global Thrift Whether customers have a particular item in mind or are just browsing, Global Thrift’s vast inventory provides the ultimate retail therapy. From figurines to fur coats, the thrift store offers something for everyone. “I love that Global Thrift,” Jay Schwartz ’21 said, adding that “by making their prices accessible, [they] really invite not only their college student neighbors but local Waltham residents into their store.” By having affordable prices, many items are under $5, and playing surprisingly good music, going to Global Thrift is a fun activity to do alone or with a group of friends.
329 Moody St. Bonchon After nearly two years of anticipation, the Korean fried chicken franchise, Bonchon, finally opened in Waltham. Even though Bonchon is currently only in its ‘soft’ opening, with limited hours, the international popularity of the franchise bolsters Waltham’s Asian food offerings. Bonchon’s uber-casual ambiance is perfect for a night out in town with friends while its Moody Street location makes it accessible to Brandeis students. “I’m really excited about Bonchon opening because it’s a really good Korean restaurant, and usually I’d have to go all the way to Allston to get it but now it’s ... really close to school!” Annie Nguyen ’20 said. “It’s really great to have more and more Asian restaurants close to school and me and my friends can’t wait for Bonchon’s official opening.”
Text: Sammy Park; Design: Sammy Park/the Justice; Photos by Sammy Park
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
LT H A M W O N D E R S
E x p l o r i n g t h e t o w n i s e a s y v i a B r a n Va n a n d w a l k i n g .
Charles River Reservation There’s something innately soothing about bodies of water. Come to the Charles River Reservation to see ducks, hear the sound of rushing water or to just study outdoors.
735 Main St. Waltham Public Library From the moment of entering the Waltham Public Library, one is greeted with a domed, iridescent, mauve and blue stained-glass ceiling. While certainly less convenient than Farber or Goldfarb for students that live on campus, the public library offers a calming reprieve from collegiate life. And unlike the Brandeis libraries, the Waltham library always has ample seating. Even though the public library is not affiliated with the University, it frequently hosts events with Brandeis faculty and staff. In December, it hosted an author talk with Prof. Eileen McNamara (JOUR) about her book “Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World.”
Waltham Common For a relaxing afternoon reading, studying or having a picnic, the Waltham Common’s grassy landscape with plenty of benches provides the ideal environment for a trip off campus. As the weather warms, foot traffic to the park is increasing. Because of this, the idyllic community space also provides a multitude of dog petting opportunities. The city also holds public events here. For instance, on May 12, Downtown Waltham Partnership is hosting the day-long Watch City Steampunk Festival in the Common.
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10 TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE
Justice
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Avraham Penso, Editor in Chief Jen Geller, Managing Editor Amber Miles and Natalia Wiater, Senior Editor Jocelyn Gould, Deputy Editor Nia Lyn, Morgan Mayback, Eliana Padwa, Sam Stockbridge and Maya Zanger-Nadis, Associate Editors Emily Blumenthal and Gilda Geist, Acting News Editors Sammy Park, Features Editor Gabriel Frank, Forum Editor, Megan Geller, Sports Editor Luke Liu, Acting Arts Editor, Andrew Baxter, Photography Editor Yael Hanadari-Levy, Acting Layout Editor Liat Fischer and Devo Meyers, Ads Editors River Hayes and Mia Rubinstein, Copy Editors
EDITORIALS
Union should re-evaluate duties and values Last week, Executive Senator Kent Dinlenc ’19 introduced a proposal to de-charter The Brandeis Hoot, a campus newspaper established in 2005. The Senate waited a week between the proposal introducing to the Senate members and voting on it. This break allowed time for students to rally in support for The Brandeis Hoot, which circulated a petition asking students and clubs to “stand in solidarity with us and support that The Hoot should not be de-chartered as a club on campus.” This board is deeply concerned about a f lawed system that the Senate uses when making major campus decisions such as de-chartering a club. The current system would have allowed for the proposal to have been put to a vote the same night it was introduced instead of waiting a week, according to Dinlenc’s statement rescinding the proposal on Thursday. This f law may allow an unfair vote in the future to take place immediately following a proposal. One suggestion is presenting proposals such as this one to the student body before formally presenting them to the Senate in order to gather a general consensus as to whether they would be favored by the students as a whole. In this case, Dinlenc attempted to do this by surveying students about the newspapers, but it unclear what the survey’s goals were. It was first sent out only to midyear students and was only sent out to the rest of the student body after the proposal was introduced. This survey cannot be seen as a representation of what the majority of the school believes due to undercoverage, a type of surveying bias where some members of the population are inadequately represented, and due to the survey’s small sample size. From the response to the proposal, it is clear the survey did not accurately gauge student opinions on the subject. According to last week’s Senate Log of the April 7 meeting, Dinlenc “referenced a survey he had sent to the Brandeis community inquiring about their interest in reading the newspapers on campus. Dinlenc said only 51 ‘valid responses’ were submitted, however, and stated that he will seek additional responses before revealing the results of the survey to the Senate.” Such a proposal should have been based on the opinions of a larger sample size of the Brandeis community, and should not have been presented to the Senate until it was an accurate representation of the student body’s wishes. The purpose of the Student Union is to represent the student body. According to its Constitution, it aims to “provide for meaningful address of student concerns through the principle of democratic representation,” among other objectives. Unfortunately, this board feels that the processes by which recent proposals — including the club consultant bylaw and the Hoot
Broken rule-making process decharting proposal — were introduced, debated upon and communicated to the student body do not align with the goals that the Union claims to strive toward. One of the most important roles of the representatives is to communicate with their constituents and do all they can to gather opinions and thoughts from the student body. However, this often does not seem to be a high priority for Union members. In the week leading up to the club consultant proposal’s passage on March 31, students from media organizations who would be greatly impacted by the bylaw — such as members of the Justice — struggled to have their voices heard. As per our April 9 editorial, senators repeatedly did not attend their posted office hours, and when media representatives were finally given a chance to speak at the March 31 Senate meeting, their speaking times were limited to three minutes each. During the April 7 Senate meeting, in which Dinlenc introduced the proposal to de-charter The Hoot, Hoot News Editor Celia Young ’21 began her speech in support of the newspaper by saying that they had not been “formally notified” of the proposal until 2 p.m. that day, giving them only a few hours to prepare to defend themselves that evening. If Dinlenc had not called for a week between the proposal and the vote, the proposal could have been voted on that evening as well. Later in this meeting, several senators reportedly began showing signs of disinterest in the discussions once the clock hit 9 p.m., some shutting their laptops, even though everyone was not officially dismissed until closer to 9:30 p.m. These instances are just some examples of the Union putting inadequate effort into hearing from its constituents. Representatives have been elected to their positions in order to serve the undergraduate students of Brandeis by representing their wants, needs and ideas. To accomplish this, they need to inform constituents about widely impactful proposals and give them time to express their opinions, advertise and attend office hours to hear from those who wish to meet with them and be fully engaged during meetings in which ideas and issues are being discussed. If this last expectation is not being met, perhaps meeting times need to be reevaluated in order to ensure that Union members can exhibit full interest during their entirety. The recent and upcoming elections offer the Union a chance to pause and reevaluate their processes and values to ensure that students are having their voices heard. The Student Union is meant to act as a liaison between the student body and the administration, but lately it seems as if we are in need of a liaison between the student body and the Student Union.
MARA KHAYTER/the Justice
Views the News on
This coming Friday, the United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union, with or without trade and economic deals, unless an extension is agreed upon by the Union. The International Monetary Fund has stated that the U.K. leaving the EU abruptly would shrink the country’s Gross Domestic Product and could trigger a recession and a deterioration of the world economy. Do you agree with the IMF’s analysis? How do you think the U.K. leaving without a deal will impact the U.K.’s and the EU’s economies in the immediate aftermath, and the world economy in the long term?
Hannah Cook ’20 One cannot analyze global issues without looking at the vital role of trade in shaping international relations. The reason being that trading goods between countries typically has positive effects for parties involved: allowing for specialization, strengthening their economy and promoting peaceful relations, to name a few. Whereas I don’t think the world economy as a whole will be too drastically impacted by the UK’s decision to leave the EU, I agree with the IMF’s analysis that this decision will be highly detrimental to the UK and EU. This is because other European countries will be less likely to trade with them in the future and the UK will appear as anti-EU. This, in turn, will not only negatively affect the UK economy, but also, geopolitical ties will be severed and many European countries that were once allies with the UK will begin to distance themselves both economically and politically. Hannah Cook ’20 is an International and Global Studies and Anthropology double major.
Prof. Lucy Goodhart (IGS) Brexit is setting a bad example for deadlines. Last Friday, April 12, was the day by which my country, the United Kingdom, was meant to have agreed a plan for leaving the EU. But Theresa May has been granted another extension, this time for six months. With this pause to reflect, it’s worth considering the economic consequences of the exercise. One interesting analysis comes from an English economist, John van Reenen, of MIT. His work indicates a permanent loss in income of 1-2.3 percent, looking at either “Soft” or “Hard” Brexit. Moreover, if we factor in the dynamic effects on productivity that come with a country’s deep integration in a market, and specialization in areas of expertise, the costs mount to 6.3-9.6 percent. That’s large enough to chew on. And helps to remind us that Brexit isn’t just an endless drama, it’s also important. Lucy Goodhart is a lecturer in the International and Global Studies and Politics departments, specializing in the global economy and elections.
Prof. Jytte Klausen (POL)
The resolution of the Brexit debacle has enormous consequences for the United Kingdom and for Europe’s future. The economic impact is already felt in London and in manufacturing, health care, and the financial industry. Car manufacturers have withdrawn, and the unacknowledged fact is that BREXIT will hurt the economy of the Midlands and northern England where voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Leave. BREXIT may cause Northern Ireland to effectively secede from the union. I am here referring to the union of England, Wales and Northern Ireland rather than the European Union, causing further self-harm to the region. The loss of the UK as balancing agent in the EU leaves Germany and France in charge. Unsurprisingly, voices in Brussels are getting louder that it may be a good thing to get the UK out. The federalization of Europe may then proceed apace. “Federal Europe” is unappealing to the smaller member states and voters who already vote for xenophobic parties, blaming “Brussels” everything going wrong. The prospects are terrifying. Jytte Klausen is the Lawrence A. Wien Professor of International Cooperation, specializing in domestic and international terrorism, Islam in the West and immigration and social cohesion.
Prof. Peter Petri (ECON) As Donald Trump would say, nobody knew Brexit could be so complicated. A hard Brexit would cause economic losses and rekindle the Troubles in Northern Ireland by creating a border between the region and either Ireland or the UK. A soft Brexit, say a customs union, would leave the UK subject to EU trade rules and without a cherished US trade deal. A new referendum would send everyone back to GO. So uncertainty rages. UK growth is now below one percent, compared to much higher rates in the US, the UK earlier and most of Europe. Investment is falling and the City, London’s Wall Street, is leaving. The IMF worries about a deep recession. When in a hole, the first rule is to stop digging. A customs union is the best card in a very bad deck. The best hope for the UK is to move on. Peter Petri is Carl Shapiro Professor of International Finance in the Brandeis International Business School, specializing in international trade and investment. Photos: Jytte Klausen; Noah Zeitlin/the Justice
THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Brandeis Students, Climate change presents a massive and growing threat to all humans alive today, projected to impact human health, the economy and the environment. The efforts to mitigate the causes of climate change and adapt to its impacts do not approach the scales needed to solve the crisis. As Brandeis staff and faculty, we stand in support of all environmentally sustainable efforts at Brandeis and know we can all contribute. On Friday, March 15, a group of Brandeis students joined the Youth Climate Strike at the Boston Commons participating in the worldwide “Fridays For Future” climate strike movement. You might have seen Brandeis staff and faculty standing at the Brandeis Campus Peace Circle in support on the same day. We know that Brandeis students are concerned about climate change and are already taking action to make Brandeis a more sustainable University. We want to encourage all students, faculty and staff to keep the momentum going over the summer, whether you are at Brandeis or off campus! During the summer, we all can take the following individual actions to reduce our carbon footprint: 1. Choose to eat more vegetarian meals. 2. Sign up for green energy with your utility company (if offered). 3. Select the cold water setting when washing clothes and utilize a drying rack instead of a dryer. 4. Engage your friends and family in conversations about climate change and learn more about the movement and what you can do. 5. Register to vote and call your elected officials. Across the country and the world, many young people are getting together to address this issue, from the Sunrise Movement to 350 to Plant for the Planet. So let’s get together; Brandeis students, staff and faculty and work towards environmentally sustainable practices on campus and beyond! If you are interested in learning and doing more, please be in touch. We will reach out again in the fall. — Aina Lagor, Esther Brandon, Prof. Sabine von Mering (GER) and Tessa Venell
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Pete Buttigieg’s millennial good faith By LEON KRAIEM JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
“This is the future liberals want,” proclaims the cover photo of ‘Pete Buttigieg’s Dank Meme Stash.’ The image, bannering a Facebook group that’s reached about 1,000 members in just over two months, shows Mr. Buttigieg, the thirtyseven-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, sitting with his husband Chasten and their big brown dog on the porch of their house. The joke is, of course, that the ‘liberal future’ much maligned in scary right-wing media is really just a benign, if banal, rehashing of white picket fence America, differing only in its quiet inclusivity. In fact, the whole Buttigieg campaign is a sort of reclaiming by the millennial left of goofy American values like faith, family and freedom. Far from dismissing Buttigeig’s sincerity, young people — at least those represented on my social media feeds — have eaten it up and clamored for more. One of Mayor Pete’s many ‘breakout moments’ so far was when he was asked at a CNN town hall about his relationship with his former governor, Mike Pence. “His interpretation of scripture is pretty different from mine,” Pete said. “My understanding of scripture is that it’s about protecting the stranger, and the prisoner and the poor person. That’s what I get when I’m in church.” My anti-religious, anti-institutional, Berniecrat generation is suddenly falling for a freedom-loving, army-enlisted Jesus freak. Why? I think Buttigieg is showing that we (and I use the ‘we’ form here, despite personally being on that weird borderline between tail-end millennials and front-end Gen Zs) were never quite the rabble-rousers everyone made us out to be. In fact, it was often our conservative disposition that had cause for concern. The biggest gripe millennials are confronted with is that we’re “snowflakes,” destroying free speech with our political correctness. In other words, we’re puritans — our offensiveness lies in our offendedness. Is there anything less radical than that? And we don’t just talk like “holier-thanthou” prudes; studies show we act like them too. Millennials have been devastated, like the rest of America, by the opioid crisis, but when it comes to the ‘fun drugs’ that our parents did at our age, we’re much less interested; the same goes for alcohol. We have fewer sexual partners than previous generations, and we’re always accused of killing off industries with our antisocial thriftiness. This last one, it should be noted, probably has more to do with low wages and high student loans than with some natural disposition towards saving. But the overall picture is of a generation that, despite all its genderbending, socialist-voting antics actually looks at the world the way conservatives purport to: we keep our vices in check, but don’t judge others for indulging them. We live modest, committed lives, and we stick stubbornly to our cultural norms. Perhaps our prudishness has to do with a
HARRISON PAEK/the Justice
slightly different virtue-orientation than that of our parents. In the ‘60s, young people wanted to change the world. We, knowing the unintended consequences of that change, wish only not to destroy it. We were born on a rapidly warming planet that no one seems motivated to cool. We are hypersensitive to how language affects people because the people affected share spaces with us online, spaces that speak freely of the gravity and ubiquity of mental illness. Hyperaware of the footprint of carelessness, how could we not be a generation of neurotic vegetarians, literally boycotting plastic straws lest ours be the one to break the proverbial camel’s back? This, I think, is what we want out of government: invest in climate solutions so that we don’t have to crochet reusable bags out of single-use plastics in order to sleep at night. Fix our health care system, so that we don’t have to share yet another GoFundMe with our Facebook friends in a futile attempt to keep a loved one afloat. While you’re at it, reform institutions that act out of racial bias, so that our neighbors’ safety isn’t dependent on our personal projects of ‘un-learning.’ In short, take responsibility for the collective problems of our time so that every day isn’t some Zeno’s paradox of tiny battles and moral dilemmas presented to the individual by a society they have too much knowledge about to responsibly participate in, but not enough power to meaningfully change. This is what it means to be a public servant in the land of the free: not to rally troops for a grand revolution, just to to take some weight off our backs so we can live our lives without ruining others’. Part of the weight to be taken off Americans’ backs is that placed on them because of who they are: the weights of racism, sexism and all the other -isms that people under thirty so annoyingly bring up all the time. Mayor Pete knows that the ‘oppression olympics,’ so called, are divisive and unproductive. And it’s noteworthy that, despite the historic nature of his candidacy as an openly gay man, he rarely invokes his minority cred unless asked about it. Nevertheless, Pete is fluent in the real sort of
STATE OF THE STUDENT UNION
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees
By ZOSIA BUSE SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE
Since I assumed this position in September, my goal for this year has been to learn the inner workings and nuances of the Board of Trustees. This is why the role was created to have two representatives, a junior and a senior. It takes an entire year to figure out the role and most importantly, establish relationships and mutual respect with Board members. Christian Nunez and I, along with our graduate student counterpart, Dusan, have worked incredibly hard to maintain and strengthen the Board’s perception of the student representatives, which is an integral part of the success of the role. The majority of students are unaware what the Board is or what they do. The Board of Trustees are, in essence, the “powers that be” of the University, and they are responsible for being the final authority on all aspects of the University’s operations. The specific functions of the Board of Trustees are reflected by the standing committees of the Board: Coordination, Academy, Risk Management & Audit, Resources, Institutional Advancement, Investment Nominating and Governance. I currently sit on the Academy committee and my colleague, Christian, serves on the Resources
committee. Meyer Koplow ’72, the chair of the Board, has been an incredible resource to us so far and is dedicated to addressing the issues affecting students. Christian and Wil, my predecessor, worked with Meyer and other Board members to improve mental health services at Brandeis. One of Christian’s favorite anecdotes to tell is the story of when he first brought up mental health in a plenary session. A board member turned around in his seat, looked at Christian and said, “I had absolutely no idea mental health was an issue on campus, I haven’t been on campus in 25 years.” This is one of the most important aspects of the student representative role — to inform Trustees of what is happening on campus. Starting in September, Zoë Fort and I will be sending a monthly report to the Trustees on student life. Moreover, I am currently undertaking an initiative to reevaluate meal-plan pricing, as well as establish a TrusteeStudent engagement program that would bring Trustees to campus to audit classes, attend club meetings, have lunch with students and faculty and more. I am incredibly excited to have Zoë Fort joining the team as the incoming representative. I am excited and hopeful for all of the things we can accomplish next year. Learn more about the trustees here: brandeis.edu/trustees/.
identity politics that matter: not a checklist of demographic adjectives, but the very individual recognition of difference as a basis for political solidarity. “On my 33rd birthday,” Pete writes in his book, “I had absolutely no idea what it was like to be in love.” Rather than condemn homophobic America as evil and irredeemable, Pete chooses to write with vulnerability about how prejudice affected his life, in a passage characterized by that graceful embrace of awkwardness emblematic of people our age. We who grew up in that weird, identity-obsessed stew of intersectionality that is the millennial internet never bought the fantasy that underneath the labels, we’re all “just people.” Our zeal for inclusivity comes from the recognition of the fact that nobody really fits in; by sharing his own out-of-placeness, Buttigieg paradoxically makes himself relatable in a way no “normal person” ever could. But the “normal person” is a central figure in American ideology, which means that equality politics, when taken to their logical conclusion, necessarily target the source code of American narrative; this is disorienting for those who can’t adjust to the change. (As we saw in the backlash to identity politics by the ‘normal people’ caucus in 2016.) But once the necessary updates are made to the American operating system, what you’re left with is still clearly recognizable as the “American Dream 2.0.”The preliminary success of Buttigieg’s campaign among people of my generation shows that once our concerns are dealt with, our righteous cynicism melts away. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, after all; those of us who first got to vote in 2016 were so disenchanted by what happened, not least because our introduction to politics was the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Our Walter Cronkite was Jon Stewart, who mocked performative patriotism not because he didn’t believe in the real thing, but because of how much he did. We are Pete Buttigieg’s emerging constituency. What remains to be seen is whether, beyond our demographic, our vision is the future liberals want.
As a Brandeis alum whose career began in 2005 thanks to the rigorous journalism scene on campus, I was profoundly disappointed in the Justice’s lukewarm editorial regarding the Student Union’s recent proposal to decommission The Brandeis Hoot (Letter From the Editor: Proposal to de-charter The Hoot, April 8, 2019). While I recognize that it can be challenging to respond to such late-breaking developments in an accelerated time frame — and to the Justice’s credit, Emily Blumenthal’s news coverage of the proposal at the latest Senate meeting has been comprehensive — the lack of forcefulness behind the Justice’s complacent letter to the editor seems to speak volumes as to the executive board’s principles and priorities. Whatever happened to solidarity of the press? This should have been a golden opportunity to take a stand on a clearly unjust proposal and loudly speak truth to power — while I recognize that the Justice and The Hoot have been rivals for more than a decade, situations such as the Union’s proposal makes it incumbent for the Justice to stand up for its values, and for its editors to make an unambiguous statement for a freepress. — David Pepose’08 served as the News Editor for The Brandeis Hoot from 2007-2008.
The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.
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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.
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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. For the Brandeis Talks Back feature on the last page of the newspaper, staff interview four randomly selected students each week and print only those four answers. 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 3,500 undergraduates, 900 graduate students, 500 faculty and 1,000 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.
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Weintraub
Photography: Sarah Katz, Noah Zeitlin
Photography: Clara Alexander, Zoe Brodsky, Charlie Catino,
Production Assistant Features: Kirby Kochanowski Photography: Thu Le Staff News: Jiyin Chen, Ece Esikara, Jason Frank, Chaiel Schaffel,
Zach Katz, Yuran Shi Copy: Gabriel Freiman, Sara Fulton, Leon Kraiem, Rachel Moore, Peri Meyers*, Ora Rogovin, Emily Shen, Ellie Whisenant Layout: Leah Samantha Chanen, Shinji Rho Illustrations: Mara Khayter, Aaron Marks, Julianna Scionti
Maya Rubin-Wish, Nancy Zhai Features: Michelle Saylor, Hannah Shumel, Huining Xia Forum: Ben Feshbach*, Tafara Gava, Violet Fearon, Trevor Filseth*, Maddox Kay*, Renee Nakkab, Harrison Paek Sports: Albert Gutierrez, Brian Inker, Zach Kaufman*, Ellie Whisenant Arts: Addison Antonoff, Evan Mahnken*, Ella Russell, Mendel
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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Campus smoking policy poses a health risk for students Maddox
KAY
GLOBAL WARNING Spring is here, which means Brandesians are taking to the outdoors to … continue studying. Ever-industrious laptop and textbook-toters are settling in the two library-adjacent outdoor study spaces, as well as Mandel’s patios en masse. However, cigarette smoke dissuades many students from working outside. The two areas where tables are provided for students to gather outside are also popular spots for smokers, given Brandeis’ 30-foot rule regulating smoking on campus. As discussed in a 2014 Justice editorial, the rule prohibits smoking within 30 feet of a campus building entrance, but does little else. This rule is unfavorable to students and the University because it is difficult to enforce, poses a health hazard and disperses smoking-related garbage widely across campus. The Brandeis chapter of Colleges Against Cancer has advocated for changing this rule, but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. As suggested in 2014, Brandeis should adopt smoke-free policies for outdoor campus areas and establish designated smoking areas. This would promote the use of outdoor spaces, improving both student health and the student experience, as well as the school’s image. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that since 1964, 2.5 million people have died from secondhand smoke. However, the CDC also recognizes that since the late 1980s, measurable health effects from secondhand smoke exposure have decreased considerably. This has been a product of movements by many public and private spaces toward increased regulation on smoking. The latest of these movements is by universities that are banning tobacco smoking on campus. Temple University pledged to join the growing list of smoke-free campuses on April 2. Previously, Temple had a 25-foot policy similar to that which is currently in place at Brandeis. The Philadelphia university president cited health concerns and the students’ negative experiences as reasons for the change in his campus-wide e-mail. Brandeis’ existing 30-foot policy naturally clusters smokers by the two entrances to the library. This creates a public health issue in several ways. First, it does not address the issue of pathways which lead to the entrances. Anyone entering or leaving the library must walk directly through the smoke. Second,
JULIANNA SCIONTI/ the Justice
the policy doesn’t take into account other pedestrian routes that pass by the library. The walking path past the library towards Rabb and Upper Campus has the most foot traffic of any walking route on campus; any student walking from Lower Campus or the SCC to the Social Sciences and Humanities quads takes this path. This allows passive, unintentional exposure to secondhand smoke. Finally, the school’s outdoor study areas become de facto ashtrays rather than pleasant places to socialize or work. Brandeis’ campus layout exacerbates the need for a designated smoking area, since the library is located at the busiest area on campus in terms of pedestrian traffic. In addition to functionally clustering smoking zones on the most populated parts of campus, the 30-foot policy is difficult to enforce. Updated in 2018, the policy states that “Smokers should stay at least 30 feet away from buildings as measured from the outermost wall surfaces, doors, windows,” continuing that “where ventilation intake grates are present ... the 30 feet should be measured outwards from there.” 30 feet is not a convenient distance to measure, and despite placards stating the rule on nearly every building, smokers standing closer to doorways are rarely reprimanded. By establishing specific areas for smoking, the
University could make smoking rules easier to enforce, as well as clearer to everyone. An Admissions tour guide who asked to remain anonymous reported feeling selfconscious when pausing tours near the library and Usdan Student Center because cigarette butts frequently litter the ground in these places. Since these areas aren’t official smoking zones, there are few ashtrays, so smokers discard butts at random. Near outdoor tables, they pepper the Goldfarb Astroturf. Like other toxic trash left out in the open, crushed cigarette butts create environmental and health hazards, and additionally can discourage potential applicants. By creating and maintaining designated smoking areas, Brandeis would facilitate the proper disposal of smoking-related garbage. Facilities staff would have one place to collect trash from instead of having to pick up scattered litter, and the threat to birds and other animals from ingesting the butts would be mitigated. Ultimately, it would be up to the University to decide where new smoking areas should be established. By analyzing foot traffic on campus, Brandeis should aim to place designated smoking area(s) in places where they will be used, but where foot traffic is not extremely high. This would
maximize use of the areas and observance to the policy, while minimizing secondhand smoke exposure. The University should welcome student, faculty and staff feedback on this decision process, since they use and know the campus best. Two potential sites are the area between the Usdan Student Center and Skyline Residence Hall, behind (west) of Golding Judaica Center and north of Mandel. Obviously, more research needs to be conducted, but these sites have relatively little foot traffic compared to the currently used smoking areas outside the library, while being within walking distance to the people who may use them. Brandeis needs to take action and join the growing movement towards smoke free college campuses. Student health and experience are the main issues at stake here, and limiting smoking to designated areas also boosts campus image and cleanliness. According to a July 2018 CDC report, over 2,000 campuses in the United States that have taken this route or eliminated smoking completely have had positive results. Exposure to any level of secondhand smoke is not safe, so keeping this exposure to a minimum needs to be a priority. Let’s take back the outdoor tables.
Give those whose views you disagree with a chance to speak Trevor FILSETH
SANITY
At the invitation of the Brandeis Young Americans for Liberty, Fox News anchor John Stossel presented his lecture “Freedom and its Enemies” to a crowd of around two hundred people in Olin-Sang 101 two weeks ago. I was in the front row. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, I did not get it. Never once in Stossel’s hour-long talk did he say anything that struck me as remotely insightful. His basic claim — that the free market is more efficient at allocating resources appropriately than the government — is something that every economics student already knows. Stossel insisted that the success of the world’s trading hubs was solely due to government neglect, highlighting Hong Kong as an example, and ignoring a student from Hong Kong who pointed out that the government provides subsidized housing to half the population. Finally, he disavowed his decades of consumer reporting, pointing out that telling people about malfunctioning products would cause them to switch en masse to more dangerous alternatives. You have to admit that on some absurd level, this makes complete sense. Why tell anyone about the dangers of flight if more people die while driving? Quick, someone get on the phone with Ethiopian Airlines! After the talk was over, I approached Stossel and asked him about healthcare, an
area that many people perceive to be a failure of the free market. As a prosperous country, the United States is unwilling to allow people to die on the street, so healthcare providers can charge whatever they want. If the patient cannot cover his own bill, some other entity — insurance, the government, his children and their life savings — will step in and cover it for him. European single-payer systems have their own share of problems, but they manage to avert this somewhat. In a private system, the only way to decrease prices is to refuse to pay, which means letting Grandpa die.
“
I am able to tell you why he’s wrong because I sat through his talk and listened to his views. He shrugged and said, “Then we need to let Grandpa die.” Well, give him points for consistency at least. Still, if he had started with that, I would not have stuck around for the rest. If it isn’t abundantly clear by now, I did not want to write about Stossel. I do not have a problem with libertarianism, but by dismissing market failures seemingly out of hand, he takes libertarian ideas to their logical extreme. For those who share his views, the best form of government is no
government at all. For me, you could not find a better definition of anarchy in a dictionary. The reason I’m writing about Stossel is very different. I come to BYAL meetings fairly regularly. I’m not really a libertarian at heart, but I like discussing hot-button issues, and it’s the only place on campus where the prevailing view is not naturally that of a progressive Democrat. So I was at the meeting when, a week before the event, the first batch of fliers advertising Stossel’s presence was printed, and since I was there, I helped to put them up around campus. Not content with ignoring the fliers, a group of students went on a mission to tear them down, and they were all gone by the following afternoon. So BYAL’s president stoically printed up another batch and put them up again. These too, quickly disappeared. On the Monday of Stossel’s visit, he tried once more. That afternoon, I went up the Rabb steps at 3:20 p.m. to get to class. When I came to the flat areas between each flight of stairs, four Stossel fliers had been put up. When my class ended at 4:50 p.m. and I returned the same way, they were gone. Finally, after the event finished, I took one last tour of Olin-Sang and Mandel. Curiously, almost every bulletin board in the building had a single 8.5”x11” empty spot. It does not take a genius to figure out why. Taking down fliers is a pretty far cry from more aggressive means of expressing displeasure, such as starting a riot, as Berkeley and Middlebury students did in 2017. It’s also extremely unlikely that the people who took the fliers down will be caught. I don’t think that anyone is actively trying to catch them, and even if they were caught, I really doubt that BYAL is interested in
The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.
prosecuting them. In fact, I’m not even sure what rule these students were breaking, if any. But this action, against the rules or not, was done for the sole purpose of making sure as few people found out about Stossel’s views as possible. Most of you can probably see the ethical problem in doing this. For those that cannot, I would like to present a counterfactual. On the same day as the Stossel event, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and current Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Tom Perez came to speak about the future of progressive policy. Perez’s talk was well-advertised, and I saw many fliers put up around campus advertising the event. Suppose for a minute that a group of rightwing Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats had gone around campus tearing them down. If this had happened, would the reaction have been as calm and measured as the one we’re seeing here? To the contrary, I’m certain that it would have made national headlines almost immediately. As things are now though, it’s been two weeks and I’ve heard absolutely nothing. Ultimately, I think that John Stossel is astonishingly wrong. More importantly, though, I am able to tell you why he’s wrong because I sat through his talk and listened to his views. Even though I disagreed, I was freely exposed to his arguments and had a chance to examine them analytically and rebut them. Doing that is what a university is for. Denying others the ability to do the same by hiding the event from them is repugnant. As a student body dedicated to free expression and the open exchange of ideas, we should not let it happen again.
THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
PURE PATIENCE
TRACK: Judges show no signs of slowing down CONTINUED FROM 16 with a time of 12.04 seconds, but also added to his seeded time. In the field events, Corin also came in second place after vaulting a height of 4.25 meters. Grote took fourth in shot put with a distance of 12.55 meters. For the women, Julia Bryson scored five points in the 800-meter dash. She came in second place with a time of 2:20.36 seconds, only .15 seconds slower than first. The Judges also took all the spots from fifth to ninth place. Later on, rookie Erin Magill claimed third in the 5000-meter run after dropping just
13
under .8 secoonds from her seeded time, finishing in 18:42.88 seconds. Sonali Anderson '22 also began her outdoor career by coming in second place with a time of 15.74 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. The Judges are currently at the Silfen Invitational at Connecticut College, as we eagerly await the results. They will return next weekend on April 20 to compete in the Sean Collier Invitational at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Only one week later, the Judges will travel over a thousand miles to compete in the University Athletic Association Championship at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
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SWING: Brandeis' Marley Felder '22 is up at bat and ready to swing in a game against Case Western Reserve University on Friday.
SOFTBALL: Team wins three of four games CONTINUED FROM 16 of the year. Spartans 1, Judges 4 In the third game of the four-game series a dueled through pitchers were dueling as there were three scoreless innings until the Spartans got on the board in the top of the fourth. However, a one run lead would not be enough as the red hot Judges’ offense would answer back in the top of the fifth to score four runs. Marissa DeLaurentis ’19 tied the game at one with a leadoff homer. It was her first homer of the season. Keri Lehtonen ’19 then reached on a dropped infield popup. Marley Felder ’22 doubled to left center, plating Lehtonen to take the lead. Todd then came up to the plate and blasted her fifth homer of the season, giving herself some insurance on the bump. The Spartans threatened in the top half of the seventh, but Jolie Fujita ’21 threw out a Spartan base runner,
trying to score on a slow roller. Todd earned the win to improve to 9–1 on the year. She threw her eighth complete game and struck out two while just walking one. Spartans 2, Judges 3 In game two of the doubleheader and the last game of the four game matchup, the Judges earned their runs through aggressive baserunning and timely hitting. The Spartans scored early as they took a 1–0 lead in the second inning on a successful double steal attempt that allowed the first run of the game to cross. Brandeis responded in the third when DeLaurentis’ single sent a run home to tie the game at one. She then scored when she beat a throw home on a ground ball from the infield. In the fifth, the Spartans tied up the game, but the Judges responded inthe sixth as Fujita and Todd led off the inning with singles. After a passed ball that moved up the runners, Melissa Rothenberg ’21 squeezed in a run to tie
the game at two points. Fujita made two stellar plays in the seventh to lock down the Spartans in the top half. The Judges then started off the inning with three straight singles and loaded the bases, putting pressure on the Spartans. Fujita then knocked a fly ball deep enough to plate Cifuni and win the game in walk off fashion. Goldman earned her eighth win of the season by allowing two runs (one earned). She also struck out four batters and did not walk any in her outing. Brandeis continued their hot streak and are now ranked #21 in NCAA Division III. This is the first time the Judges have been nationally ranked since their 2011 season. We will just have to wait to see if their hot streak continues as they step out of conference play to take on Clark University on Tuesday and Worcester State on Wednesday before travelling to Carnegie Mellon University this weekend.
QUIDDITCH: Join the team for a funfilled, athletic way to make friends CONTINUED FROM 16 possible without teamwork. There are so many different aspects to the game that constant communication and a teamwork mentality are a must. From saying who you are passing the quaffle to, to letting the team know when you've been beat and need to tag back in at the hoops, we would fall apart if we could not work together as a team.”
In an interview with the Justice, Aaron Stone ’20 explained, “If the team isn't on the same page, productivity grinds to a stop. This year we've focused a lot on communication on and off the pitch as well as keeping our cool during games. Those have seen a ton of improvement this year which has led to better chemistry and better results.” This season, the team’s goal was to qualify for nationals, and having done that, their next
goal was to win two games at the competition and advance to the secondday bracket in the meet. The team welcomes all players of any skill-level, Stone explained, “You don't even need to have read Harry Potter! We welcome anyone to come to our practices and try out the sport!” The team practices two to three days a week with additional optional workouts on top of that. Additionally, once a month, the team
likes to get together, play games and eat food together from the C-store or the Stein. In an interview, Sanchez explained, “On Tuesdays and Thursdays (the days we practice right now) we do team dinner in Sherman. We also do team bonding nights (usually hosted by someone in suite style living) a couple times a semester. Team bonding is never required but we really enjoy getting to spend time together outside of practice because
when it comes down to it, we are all friends.” The hopes for next year is to have a roster of 20 students — or even above 25. Ideally, they will also qualify for nationals again. Stone finished saying, “I chose Quidditch on a whim. I saw the club at the activities fair, signed up because I was a Harry Potter nerd, and went to one of the first practices. I just absolutely fell in love with the sport and the team and it's been a part of my identity ever since.”
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Interested in music, theater, film, comedy or museums? Contact Luke Liu at arts@thejustice.org! Illustration by MORGAN MAYBACK/the Justice; Photos by YVETTE SEI/the Justice, CHELSEA MADERA/the Justice, NATALIA WIATER/the Justice, ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice, HEATHER SCHILLER/the Justice, SARAH KATZ/the Justice.
THE JUSTICE
JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS
● SPORTS ●
TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
15
BASEBALL
BASEBALL TEAM STATS
UAA STANDINGS
Runs Batted In
UAA Conference Emory WashU Case NYU JUDGES
W 7 8 5 2 0
L 1 2 5 6 8
Overall W L Pct. 18 12 .600 22 5 .804 18 11 .621 15 9 .625 11 9 .458
Mike Khoury ’21 leads the team with 28 runs batted in. Player RBI Mike Khoury 28 Dan Frey 27 Isaac Fossas 25 Luke Hall 22
Innings Pitched Greg Tobin ’21 leads all pitchers with 36.2 innings pitched. Player IP Greg Tobin 36.2 Mason Newman 28.1 Cam Roberts 25.2 Albert Gutierrez 19.0
UPCOMING GAMES: April 16 at Trinity College April 19 vs. New York University
SOFTBALL UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS Runs Batted In
UAA Conference W L W JUDGES 7 1 18 Emory 9 3 23 Case 5 5 16 WashU 4 4 12 NYU 3 7 15 Carnegie 2 10 9
Overall L Pct. 1 .925 9 .719 10 .615 11 .522 11 .577 17 .336
UPCOMING GAMES: April 17 vs. Worchester State University April 19 at Carnegie Mellon University
Scottie Todd ’20 has a team-high with 19 runs batted in. Player RBI Scottie Todd 19 Keri Lehtonen 18 Marley Felder 17 Jolie Fujita 16
Innings Pitched Sydney Goldman ’22 has a team-high with 49 innings . Player Ks Sydney Goldman 63.0 Scottie Todd 62.0 Amidori Anderson 10.0
TRACK AND FIELD Results from the UAA championships on April 6.
TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)
TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)
YURAN SHI/Justice File Photo
STRETCHING: Brandeis’ Greg Tobin ’20 pitches in an exceptional match against Suffolk College on March 21.
Team shows off young talent with three wins ■ The Judges are now 12–13 for the season and gaining momentum. By MEGAN GELLER
100-meter dash
RUNNER Regan Charie Jacob Ward Michael Leung
800-meter run
TIME 11.24 11.90 12.14
RUNNER TIME Julia Bryson 2:20.36 Leinni Valdez 2:22.82 Lizbeth Valdez 2:22.84
UPCOMING MEETS: April 20 at Gordon Kelly Invitational April 27 at UAA Championship
TENNIS Men: Results from the meet on April 12. Women: Results from the meet on April 11.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
MEN’S SINGLES Adam Tzeng
RECORD 6–3, 6–2
WOMEN’S SINGLES RECORD Sophia He 6–3, 7–5
MEN’S DOUBLES Tegtmeier/Tzeng
RECORD 8–3
WOMEN’S DOUBLES RECORD Dehterevich/Khromcheno 8–0
UPCOMING MEETS:
Men: April 26 UAA Tournament Women: April 25 UAA Tournament
JUSTICE EDITOR
The Brandeis baseball team inched even closer to a 0.500 overall win-loss record after earning three solid victories this week. The Judges are now 12–13 for the season and gaining momentum as they head into the final 13 games of this season. Among the final set of games, eight will be against University Athletic Conference foes New York University and Case Western Reserve University, when the Judges will have a great opportunity to improve their conference record, currently 0–8. Judges 19, Nighthawks 4 On Wednesday, the Judges trounced the visiting Newbury College Nighthawks, their bats exploding with multiple runs in each of the first five innings, according to the Brandeis Athletics website. From an offensive perspective, the games were a great team effort. Leadoff hitter and second baseman Victor Oppenheimer ’20 tied a Brandeis team record with a total of three hits in his seven at-bats and two runs batted in. Shortstop Mike Khoury ’21 went three hits in three times at-bat with three RBIs. Third and first baseman Isaac Fossas ’21 had two hits in his three times at-bat, four RBIs and a home run. Centerfieldman Dan Frey ’21 had two hits in his three times at-bat, five RBIs and a home run. Catcher Luke Hall ’21 had two hits in his three times at-bat and one RBI. Finally, designated hitter Liam
Kennedy ’22 had three hits in three atbats with one run batted in. Other Judges who collected hits were backup catcher Brian Shaw ’20, backup left fielder Scott Ziegler ’21, backup designated hitter Darren Bates ’21 and left fielder Donnie Weisse III ’20. Left fielder Tommy Sand ’21 had one hit and two RBIs. Starting pitcher Greg Tobin ’20 has a season record of three wins and two losses; he hurled a gem, striking out eight batters in six innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run. Relievers Daniel Schupper ’19, Jackson Carman ’20 and Tim Lopez ’20 each pitched one inning of relief to close out a satisfying thrashing of the Nighthawks. Nighthawk starter Joe Persichino took the brunt of the Judges’ hitting barrage, giving up eight earned runs in 2.1 innings. Judges 17, Hawks 13 The Judges’ bats stayed red hot overnight for the next game on Thursday as they served as inhospitable hosts against the Becker College Hawks in another slugfest. Coach Derek Carlson ’91 earned his 300th career win as a college baseball coach and his 39th as coach of his alma mater. This marathon contest lasted for a long three hours and 35 minutes, and the prolific hitting carried over from the day before: the Judges scored in all but one inning. Khoury had four hits in five at-bats, four runs batted in and a homerun. Frey had two hits in four at-bats; Hall had two hits in three at-bats with two runs batted in; Sand had two hits in five at-bats with three RBIs; Kennedy had three hits in six at-bats with one run batted in; and Aneesh Avancha ’22, first base, had two hits in four at-bats with one runs batted in. Got hits were Oppenheimer, Fossas
with two RBIs and right fielder Alex Parrott ’21 with two RBIs. Rik Jhamb ’21 earned the win,throwing one inning, comprising two hits and no earned runs. Mark Maestri ’22 earned the save, tossing three shutout innings and one hit ball. Other pitchers contributing to the victory were starter Cam Roberts ’22, Albert Gutierrez ’20 and Daniel Schupper ’19. For the Hawks, Jack Snyder (with a season record of one win and two losses) took the loss, giving up ten earned runs in 4.1 innings. Judges 4, Curry College 3 The Judges defeated the visiting Colonels as starting pitcher Mason Newman ‘21 was in control, pitching 5.1 innings, giving up only six hits one earned run and striking out four Colonels. Kyle Shedden ’20 provided 2.2 innings of a one-hit shutout relief. Greg Tobin ’20 allowed no hits, no earned runs and struck out two batters in the ninth to earn the save. The offensive output was just enough to edge-out the Colonels. Oppenheimer had one hit in four at-bats, Khoury had two hits in five at-bats, Frey had one hit in five at-bats with one run batted in, Sand had three hits in three at-bats with one run batted in, Avancha had one hit in three at-bats and Parrott contributed one run batted in. The Judges found different ways to win, first with an offensive deluge, and later in the week with pitching and defense. The week’s work put the Judges in striking distance of reaching the 0.500 mark overall for the season. Hopefully the momentum will carry over to the remaining conference games as well.
PRO SPORTS BRIEF
Tiger Woods wins Masters Tournament, completes legendary comeback Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Tiger Woods has returned to golfing preeminence by winning the 2019 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, as reported in an April 2019 CBS Sports article. Although this is the fifth Masters championship in Woods’s career, it is his first since 2005. Although Woods has won 15 major tournaments in his career, this is his first major tournament victory since just over ten years ago in 2008. With rounds of 70, 68, 67 and 70, Woods stayed in contention, and with a final round of two under par, he finished the tournament at 13 under par, narrowly defeating Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka, who all
tied for second place at twelve under par according to a Sports Illustrated article. Woods showed his resilience and summoned his experience to overcome a slow start, including two bogeys in his first five holes of the final round. Woods was three strokes off the lead on the sixth hole. He kept his nose to the grindstone and fought through to birdie the seventh and eighth holes and found himself one stroke off the lead. After a bogey on the tenth hole, Woods was two strokes back. Woods persevered and was tied for the lead after twelve holes. After a birdie on the fifteenth, Woods had sole possession of the lead and he did not relinquish the lead thereafter, despite a bogey on the eighteenth hole. The drama and tension
of this last round gave new meaning to the expression “nail-biter.” The rise and fall of Tiger Woods has been well-documented, as explained by Sporting News. Woods burst onto the scene when he turned professional in 1996 and earned the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour Rookie of the Year award. Woods earned the rank of number one player in the world his second year as a professional. Other achievements include becoming the youngest player ever to win fifty tournaments. By 2008, Woods had won fourteen major tournaments, just four fewer than the all-time leader, Jack Nicklaus. His professional exploits and hugely lucrative endorsement contracts had placed Woods on the top
of the golfing world. A series of personal challenges led to a dramatic fall for Woods. These included accusations of extramarital infidelity and a motor vehicle accident in 2009. In 2010, Woods withdrew from a tournament due to an injury, his coach resigned and he and his wife announced their divorce. Over the next few years, Woods required multiple surgeries on his back. In March 2015, Woods fell outside of the ranks of the top 100 golfers in the world for the first time since 1996, and in May 2016, he fell outside of the ranks of the top 500 golfers. In May 2017, Woods was arrested for driving under the influence. This dramatic victory in a highly prestigious, major golf tournament,
after a precipitous fall from grace has been lauded by people far and wide. As quoted in a BBC article, remarks about this feat include, “Tiger has shown us all that you can always come back, in sport and in life, if you put in the work,” said by former tennis star Chris Evert, and “To come back and win the Masters after all the highs and lows is a testament to excellence, grit and determination,” written by former United States President Barack Obama. This remarkable comeback story will be remembered for a very long time, and will provide inspiration for countless people and inspire them to persevere in the face of significant adversity. —Megan Geller
just Sports Page 16
THE LEGENDARY COMEBACK Tiger Woods has returned to golfing preeminence by winning the Masters Championship, p. 15.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
SOFTBALL
READY, SET, GO!
Despite minor setback, team continues to thrive ■ Judges lost for the first time this season against Case Western Reserve University. By ALBERT GUTIERREZ JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The #21 nationally ranked Brandeis softball team continues their hot streak while improving their record to 18–1–1 over a successful conference weekend against the Case Western Reserve University Spartans. Spartans 4, Judges 2 The Judges suffered their first loss in the year when they fell to the Spartans 4–2. It happened when the Spartans jumped to a 1–0 lead in the third inning after a single knocked in the first run of the game. The Spartans extended their lead in the top of the sixth when a pinch hit drove in a single extending their lead to 2–0. However, this sent the Judges into action as they finally responded after being silent through the first five innings. Bridget Cifuni ’21 kicked off the inning with a bunt single. After a strikeout, Amidori Anderson ’22 doubled to right centerfield and drove in the Judges’ first run. Keri Lehtonen ’19 also doubled, making
Waltham, Mass.
it her eleventh double of the year. Unfortunately, in the top of the seventh inning, the Spartans scored two more runs to give the Judges their first loss on the year. Pitcher Scottie Todd ’20 suffered her first loss of the year (8–1) after giving up 11 hits and four runs, two earned. She also struckout two and walked four. Spartans 0, Judges 5 In the second game of the doubleheader, the Judges answered back with a 5–0 win on an outstanding pitching performance by Sydney Goldman ’22. The Spartans were not able to figure her out as she threw a complete one-hitter game. Goldman was one strike away from throwing her first career no-hitter, but a full count single spoiled it. She threw 94 pitches, 63 for strikes to improve to 7–0 on the year. Offensively, Prue Ross ’20 finished 2–4 with four runs batted in and two runs scored. She also hit a homerun in the third inning. The homerun was her first of the season and seventh of her career. Goldman closed the door in the seventh and earned Brandeis’ fifth University Athletic Association win
See SOFTBALL, 13
☛
TRACK AND FIELD
Outdoor season is in full swing ■ One third of the way through
the season, both teams show no chance of slowing down. By ELLIE WHISENANT JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Judges’ 2019 outdoor track and field season is in full swing. It has been an exciting few weeks for both the women’s and men’s track and field teams. Almost a third of the way through their season, the Judges show no chance of slowing down any time soon. Though the teams have only participated in a few meets, they have already begun to make strides in times. Beginning at the Tufts University Snowflake Classic, the seniors started out their closing season strong. Regan Charie ’19 claimed fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.16 seconds, dropping .08 seconds from his preliminary time. On the field, Scott Grote ’19 threw a distance of 44.14 meters in the discus throw, bringing him into a second-place finish. He then came in sixth place with a distance of 42.99 meters in the hammer throw. Also on the field, Aaron Corin ’20 took third place in the pole vault with a height of 4.10 meters. For the women, senior Doyin Ogundiran ’19 started her season off well by claiming the only win
for the Judges at the Snowflake Classic. With a time of 2:15.94 seconds, she took first in the 800-meter dash. Lisbeth Valdez ’21 also competed in this event. She claimed ninth place with a time of 2:21.64 seconds, only missing eighth place by .12 seconds. Meanwhile, the Judges sent seniors Emily Bryson and Julia Bryson to North Carolina to compete in the Raleigh Relays, both participating in the 1500-meter run. Julia Bryson ran a 4:45.49 seconds, claiming the 35th fastest Division III time. Indoor National Champion in the mile run, Emily Bryson, took first place in the event. With a personal record time, this was also the fastest time in Division III by 1.34 seconds. Next, the Judges continued the season with the Amherst Invitational. Compared to the previous meet, the teams had a harder time, as the women only came in fifth out of six teams. The men, however, did slightly better with their overall score, coming in third out of six. Again Charie started this meet off strong, coming in third place in the 200-meter dash. Lorenzo Maddox ’20 also came in third in the 100-meter dash, missing second by .03 seconds. In the 110-meter hurdles, Jack Allen ’20 took second
See TRACK AND FIELD, 13
☛
Photo Courtesy of REBECCA HYMAN
CHASE THAT SNITCH: Brandeis Quidditch chasers and beaters prepare to fly around the field at nationals this Sunday.
Brandeis soars into US Quidditch Cup 12 ■ Following a rocky start
to the season, the Brandeis Quidditch team attended nationals in Round Rock Texas. By MEGAN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
When thinking about Quidditch, many people think about Harry Potter. Originally based loosely off of the book and movie series, this game has become an intense sport on many college campuses. This past weekend, the Brandeis Quidditch team brought 15 players to attend the national US Quidditch Cup 12 in Texas. Quidditch is played with seven players on the field at a time, including three chasers, two beaters, one keeper and one seeker, as
explained in the rules of the sport. The chasers are players whose job is to keep possession of the quaffle, a ball similar to a volleyball. These players attempt to throw the quaffle through one of three hoops to obtain points for their team. If a player successfully throws the ball through the hoop, they obtain 10 points. The keeper, like the chaser, can also score points; however, their main job is to defend their team's hoops. The job of the beater is to knock out opponents with a bludger, a slightly deflated dodgeball. There are three bludgers in play at a time, and any player who is hit by a bludger must dismount their broom, drop any ball they are carrying and run back to touch one of the hoops to regain eligibility to play. In the 17th minute of play, an independent player, a snitch runner, is introduced in the game. Their job is to avoid capture as long
as possible. The seeker is a player who becomes active in the 18th minute of play. Their goal is to catch the snitch. Because a large portion of their team graduated in spring 2018, the team struggled in the fall. The team lost their first six games before finally coming out victorious. At the end of the semester, the team defeated Boston University for the first time in the program's history. This win was a much needed confidence boost, and allowed the team to come back in the spring semester stronger than before. With the addition of three midyears, the team felt prepared to take on any opponents. Teamwork is also a large contributor to the team’s success. In an interview with the Justice, Victoria Sanchez ’22 said, “Quidditch is not
See QUIDDITCH, 13
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Vol. LXIX #24
The Bacchae
April 16, 2019
>>Pg. 24
just
ARTS
Waltham, MA.
Images: Zach Katz/the Justice. Design: Noah Zeitlin/the Justice
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TUESDAY, THE JUSTICE APRIL 16 | ARTS 2019| ITUESDAY, ARTS I THE JANUARY JUSTICE31, 2017
ART
Party under the Light of Reason By VICENTE CAYUELA JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Dark clouds were not an impediment for the Light of Reason to shine over the Rose Art Museum last Friday evening. Unfortunately, this year’s SCRAM Jam — the annual party organized by the Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum — did not happen under the best meteorological conditions. Nevertheless, the event dedicated to community, self-expression and celebration of the arts gathered a considerable crowd that reminded us that art is not to be confined to the walls of a museum, but to be enjoyed as a dynamic rupture in public space. As a logistical decision, the Rose kept its doors open late as part of the event, allowing many of the attendees to experience the intense exhibition of multidisciplinary artist Howardena Pindell, “What Remains To Be Seen.”
However, all of the performances took place outside of the building, something that was not arbitrary. Various artists, including Massachusetts native Cliff Notez, performed using Chris Burden’s permanent sculpture “Light of Reason” as a dynamic and visually engaging stage. The structure was commissioned in 2014 specifically for the Rose Art Museum and Brandeis University. As SCRAM Coordinator Courtney Gavey ’19 remarked to the Justice, “It’s incredible that it doubles as a functional space. The Light of Reason is a piece of art at the Rose, although absolutely a public one. Hosting cultural events in unexpected and innovative public locations really fosters opportunities for making art inclusive by removing traditional — and sometimes off-putting — senses of structure.” As a senior at Brandeis, Gavey is passionate about the arts and their presence at Brandeis. “There are a number of symbolic reasons why I love to host
art and performance events outside of the Rose,” she explained. “It’s important to me to recognize and treat art as something that can be dynamic and inclusive, rather than some intimidating, stagnant and removed concept.” As the night progressed, Gavey considered about the many reasons why some people might not venture inside art museums. She tackled the subject by remarking that SCRAM’s mission is to engage the Brandeis and greater Waltham communities with the arts and that “bringing art outside takes it off its pedestal (both literally and figuratively) and makes it accessible to a wider audience.” Slowly gathering around the lampposts, some students walked around inspecting the food trucks parked by the art studios as some raindrops threatened to cancel the cultural event. However, the colorful food trucks with their delicious free food brought back the colors that were missing in the sky. While Cupcake City and the Chubby
Chickpea were in charge of delighting us with their flavors, the Moody Street Circus amazed the audience with their adrenalinic sword dances and circus performances that included juggling, acrobatics and contortionism. The attendees were curious and receptive, joining the performers in a celebratory dance during the final act of the show. This semester’s SCRAM team includes students Lizzy Topper ’21, Alex Shoshani ’22, Qiang Hu ’21 and Gavey, who made sure that everything ran smoothly throughout the busy evening. As SCRAM, they design creative events to foster the role of the arts in the Brandeis community. This year’s annual museum party was a warm reminder that art should be within everyone’s reach. As Gavey reminded us last friday night: “Putting art in public spaces brings a little joy and wonder to those passing through, and sometimes art’s role doesn’t need to be anything more complex than that.”
Photos by NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
MOVING ART: The host of the event wanted to present art as something “dynamic and inclusive.”
OUTDOOR STAGE: The Light of Reason lit up, and the space between the lamps was used as the stage.
LIGHT OF THE NIGHT: While the weather was not ideal, performers managed to brighten up the night with their colorful customs.
RIGHT ON EDGE: The Moody Street Circus’ sword dance kept the audiance on-edge.
FUN FOOD: Besides the excellcent performances, the food trucks also keep everyone full and happy.
MUSIC
Students create interactive music By SHOSHANA FINKEL JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
One of my favorite things that happens during the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts each year is the transformation of mundane spaces on campus. This year, Slosberg Music Center became a museum of sound for a night. Six exhibits, each curated by a graduate student taking “MUS 196b: Sound in Space” with Assistant Professor of Music Dr. Erin Gee, filled the classrooms of Slosberg with new and exciting sound installments, most of which had
Design: Morgan Mayback/the Justice
interactive aspects for visitors to explore as they wandered about the building. In the main recital hall, the room was filled with the sounds of the “Moon Ball,” a 3D-printed orb set on a plinth in the center of the auditorium, which audience members could pick up and move between their hands. When the ball was moved around, it influenced the sounds echoing from the room’s speakers, changing it from ambient noise to beautiful recordings of lullabies from around the world, giving this exhibit its name, “Lullaby for the Earth.”
Another interactive exhibit, “Conducting Bernstein,” allowed visitors to wave their hands under a motion sensor, which caused the audio feedback to switch between a playlist of classical pieces and a recorded lecture given by Leonard Bernstein himself. Through this, one could feel themselves playing an active role in the influencing of Bernstein’s teaching by composers who inspired him. Two classrooms featured original compositions by students. one of them, “The Beach,” was set to a video filmed over the course of a day at the shore. Another, “Celia Thaxter’s Garden, Isle
of Shoals, Maine,” took its name from an impressionist painting which was on display while listeners heard the composition. In the lobby of the hall, large speakers played back snippets of conversation recorded on microphones as people milled about the space — as if we were all in conversation with the hall itself. One exhibit featured a brand new instrument built out of a steel block and piano strings, tuned to the resonant frequency of the block, which allowed its tones to eerily change over time. Some pieces elicited a much stronger reaction in me than oth-
ers. “Lullaby for the Earth,” featuring the motion-sensitive Moon Ball, was incredibly moving to me, and reminded me of a Plasma Ball, but with music shooting out of it instead of light. Other works, like the steel box and the track accompanying the painting, left me wanting more of an explanation; I wished the artists could have been nearby to discuss their works. Overall, I suggest members of the Brandeis community spend time with these kinds of exhibits to learn about the diversity of talent among the Music Department’s students.
THE JUSTICE I ARTS I TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
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CULTURE SHOW
Roots, Leaves, History, Culture X
Photos by CLARA ALEXANDER/the Justice
WORDS FROM THE DEAN: Dean of Students Jamele Adams graced the stage with his own performance.
5 TO 17: The Afro Diamonds dancers, ages five to seventeen years old, energized the stage with their moves.
ALL AROUND THE WORLD: Kaos Kids took the audiances around the world with their electrified movment.
MIX OF GENRES: Chak De! broke the boundry between genres, mixing classical and hip hop in their dancing.
By ELLA RUSSELL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Brandeis celebrated the 20th anniversary of Culture X in Levin Ballroom on Saturday, an event that featured a whirlwind of performers showcasing cultures from all over the world. Guiding the event was the overall theme of the show — “From Roots to Leaves, Grounded in our Histories.” In a March 11 interview with the Justice, Culture X chair team member Maurice Windley ’19 said that the theme is particularly meaningful in embodying the spirit of the show’s 20th anniversary. “This is the optimal time for us to go back into … the history of ICC and see the … impact the center had on the students at Brandeis University,” he said, adding that the organizers were trying to “give … back to the community in a display of ... cultural appreciation.” Starting off the show, the audience was engaged by the Fafali percussion ensemble, a Ghanaian style drumming and dancing group. After this spirited introduction, the projector screen rolled down to show the Culture X trailer video created by frequent culture show filmer Amanda Huang ’19. The trailer displayed short clips of the performers practicing in their various rehearsal rooms. The chairteam of Culture X — Connie Cai ’22, Gabi Rivero ’20, Imani Islam ’20, Windley and Brianna Brown ’19 — then came onstage to introduce themselves. “We really want to focus on bringing back history and making this 20th anniversary the biggest thing we could possibly make it,” Rivero said. They personally welcomed Dean of Students Jamele Adams onto the stage for a spoken word performance. Before starting his poetry, Adams congratulated Poetic Justice, the Brandeis poetry slam team, for ranking among the top 20 poetry clubs in America after a recent national competition. He also introduced Cary Weir Lytle ’98, one of the organizers of the first ever Culture X show, inviting him onstage to say a few words. Lytle explained that he and a group of fellow Brandeis students decided
to organize Culture X at a time of particularly acute racial tensions on campus to bring the Brandeis community together in recognition of their diversity. He left the stage to appreciative applause, and Adams began his performance, which explored the importance of immigrants in enriching cultures. Windley was the emcee for the rest of the event. However, because there were so many performances to the show, he stayed off stage and announced each performance in a disembodied but cheerful voice. Windley was particularly impressed with the dances, enthusing that “there are so many professional dance groups on Brandeis.” To that end, in his interview with the Justice, Windley shared that culture shows generally succeed at “displaying this particular aspect of ... culture: … dancing as well as music performances.” He said that Culture X “bring[s] all of that to the stage,” showing a diverse array of backgrounds, giving students “the opportunity to show [their culture] to ... individuals who may not be too familiar with it.” Following Adams, the Afro Diamonds came on stage for an energetic performance. These enthusiastic dancers come from the Waltham Africano Cultural Center and range in age from five to seventeen years old. They danced exuberantly in striking costumes of yellow and blue. Next came the Brandeis Ballet Company. Unlike the classical music one might expect from a ballet group, the dancers performed a piece called “Elephant.” As emcee, Windley explained that “Elephant … explores fluidity and sharpness inspired by animalistic movement.” This fluidity and sharpness could be seen in the steady beat and unconventional moves of the dancers. Pop-dance group XL performed after the Ballet Company. According to the event program, XL is a group of girls who share their love of pop dance “inside and outside of Brandeis.” XL emphasized their unity with identical black crop tops and jazzy pants. Next came guitar sensation Eli Kengmama ’19. Kengmama began with a simple melodic line that grew more complex as he began to alternate between playing and drumming his guitar –– a music style known as percussive
acoustic. Chak De amazed, as usual, displaying a mixture of Bollywood, classical Indian and hip hop style dance moves. The music reflected Chak De’s fusion nature, mixing Bollywood and Western pop music. The next performer, Zhen Quan ’22, was particularly impressive. Quan performed a solo dance piece that she choreographed herself, mixing elements of contemporary dance and traditional Chinese styles. Wearing a white, loose-fitting dress, she made creative use of the stage lighting and sang along to the music under her breath, making for a unique performance. Culture X organizer Islam performed an original solo piece: a poem revealed at the end to be an ode to the Brandeis Intercultural Center. Islam thanked the ICC for showing her that Brandeis understood she did not just have “some kind of identity only accepted in pamphlet photos.” Kaos Kids were the last to perform before the intermission. They performed under the conceit that they were taking the audience around the world, dancing to the music of the countries they stopped by. The Kaos Kids went to Mumbai, India, and Paris, France. Toxic Majorette were the first to perform after intermission. This group incorporated impressive gymnastic feats into their performance. Technical difficulties with the lighting led to a distracting initial performance, but the group was allowed to perform again, which they promptly did with increased gusto. The show offered a small window into classical music with Culture X chair team member Cai, who has been studying the violin since she was four years old, according to Windley. She performed the first adagio movement in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G Minor. Cai played beautifully, but the acoustics of the ballroom made her performance quieter than it could have been. Platinum Step Team followed Cai, a group who used their bodies as instruments in a complicated, fast-paced series of perfectly insync clapping and stomping. Wearing exaggeratedly tough expressions, the older mem-
bers of the group told the newer members to introduce themselves, which they each did in solo performances. The next performance was the last musical group of the show. A band composed of Japanese Student Association and Taiwanese Student Association members played the song “Lemon” by Yonezu Kenshi. The song is the opening theme for a 2018 Japanese TV drama called “Unnatural” about a government laboratory that solves murders arising from “unnatural” circumstances. Eurey Noguchi ‘20 provided the vocals for the song, singing with soft enthusiasm. WKD Dance group came next, a hip hopbased group that performed to a variety of well-known hits, from the children’s songs “Baby Shark” and “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” to Cardi B’s “Money.” At the end of their performance, they threw fake money into the crowd. Next to perform was the Sankofa dance ensemble, taking their name from a word in the Ghanain Afan language meaning “Go back and get it.” The performance began with a voiceover about the “fearlessness” of women throughout the African diaspora.” According to the voiceover, “these women sacrificed their lives to make sure Africa and her diaspora would be standing today,” but they are reincarnated in the Sankofa performers. The last group to perform was Rebelle, an Afro-Caribbean dance team. Windley explained that they “use the universal language of music and dance to share the flavors of the many cultures that make up the diaspora.” With their energetic dancing and glow-in-the-dark neon clothes, Rebelle was met with enthusiastic cheering from the audience. After Rebelle, the Culture X organizers came on stage once more for acknowledgements, thanking everyone who had helped make the event a reality and getting thanked in turn for their own hard work in putting on the show. Windley shared in his interview that the event was the product of half a year’s worth of effort. “Our hope is that students become more and more involved in ICC by seeing the beauty of various cultures on campus,” Windley said of the event.
Design: Shinji Rho/the Justice
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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE
INTERVIEW
JUSTARTS SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROSE
By ELLIE WHISENANT JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
In 1979, American artist Howardena Pindell was in an almost-fatal car accident. According to a plaque with a description of her art, as she laid there trapped in her car, “onlookers watched, too hesitant to help because the punctured gas tank might explode.” Just under ten years later, she produced “Autobiography: Earth (Eyes, Injuries)” based on the accident. Like many of her other works, this piece is a collage. However, unlike the others, she uses no words. The background is full of dark, greens, blues, purples and reds. On top, Pindell resemble images of dismembered body parts among other depictions reminiscent of a fiery car crash. The text next to the piece states that she created this by tracing her body onto a piece of canvas, cutting out the tracing, and then separately sewing the pieces onto a background. The tracings are placed sporadically, seemingly with no order, while the dark colors that fill the spaces make them stand out. The whole piece brings to mind images of what might have happened if Pindell’s car had actually exploded. Like the title indicates, most of the parts appear to be eyes. All of them are looking in different directions, as if they are searching for something. The darting eyes give of the impression of being nervous or scared, suggesting that Pindell is searching for somebody or something, but not knowing what is she looking for. This could be purposefully done since after the car accident, according to a Feb. 6, 2018 article in ARTnews, “she had trouble remembering people from her distant past and barely recognized the voices of her loved ones.” Time and time again, Howardena Pindell’s art surprises and draws audiences in through her ability to honestly present her version of reality. The way in which she depicts her emotions and successfully connects with viewers in “Autobiography: Earth (Eyes, Injuries),” makes it no exception.
STAFF’S Top Ten
Maurice Windley ’19 Photo Courtsey of MAURICE WINDLEY
This week, justArts spoke with Maurice Windley ’19, who is a member of the Culture X chair team. JustArts: Tell me a bit about yourself and your role in this event. Maurice Windley: I am on the board of the Culture X chair team. I’m one of the five members on the chair team. My particular job is to organize a lot of the volunteer work as well speaking to [Student Production Services] and [Media Technology Services] and keep that communication. And also outreach. I do a lot of outreach on to social media as well. NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
Howardena Pindell, “Autobiography: Earth (Eyes, Injuries),” 1987. 83 1/4 x 76 1/4 inches. Mixed media on canvas. Collection of George and Carmen
MW: Being able to be inside that position now as one of the organizers for Culture X this year, it’s now a position where I collaborate with four others and we try to bring as much culture diversity as possible onto the stage at once. So that translates to having various acts and various cultures as ... mostly for the benefit of [explaining] this diversity to the campus and showing that Brandies does have a very diverse group of individuals and a very diverse student base, who are willing to showcase their culture. JA: What is Culture X doing to fully embody its 20 years of performances?
VICENTE CAYUELA/the Justice
SUDOKU
MW: While it is the 20th anniversary, we do want this one to be the largest that we could possibly make it, ...[and] showcase that the diversity that we’ve been trying to continue to have in this University. Something that the ICC does really well is having an accumulation of various cultures in one particular spot. Our goal this year is to take that as inspiration and somewhat mirror that in our performances. ... With this in mind, our showcasing of the 20th anniversary also comes into our theme this year: “From Roots to Leaves: ground in our histories.” This is the optimal time for us to go back into a lot of the history of ICC and see the culture impact that center had on students at Brandeis University. JA: What is the significance of Culture X to the performers? MW: I can only speak for myself since I am not a performer, but in the years I have seen Culture X, I have been an audience member for Culture X for the last three years, and now I finally got to see the work that goes into what setting up an event like this looks like. And for the performances each year I would notice that they would be super excited to be on a stage to explain what it means to their livelihood for them to other individuals, other students who may not understand these background. So it’s an opportunity for students who are close to these other students, but also to faculty members and staff members, to show a part of themselves that otherwise they would not be as easily able to. JA: Anything else you would like to tell the readers?
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
Top 10 Birds on Campus By Sam Stockbridge JUSTICE EDITOR
Spring is here, and with it are the lovely creatures with whom we live. But you don’t need to leave campus to see beautiful wildlife. These are my 10 favorite birds to see around campus.
JA: What’s it like to organize an event with so many participants?
Sudoku Courtesy of OPENSKY SUDOKU GENERATOR
MW: Culture X is in general going to be a very large production that is something that we like to continue yearly on. In order to do that, it’s important for students who have seen Culture X for the first time, students who are on the fence about seeing Culture X, or even asking questions about like where to get involved on campus — The Campus Intercultural Center at Brandeis is kept alive through students support. The only way that it’s been here this long is because students and faculty members and staff who which are dedicated to preserving culture and dedicated to having a space where different cultures can feel comfortable enough to be themselves exists. With that in mind I would like to tell individuals who are looking forward to Culture X or are thinking about going to Culture X to know that, there are various cultures on Brandeis University campus that may not get the representation that they deserve to have, and something that Culture X can do is try to bring that to the forefront and even join hands on culture show as well. So our hope is that by doing Culture X, you get to see the variety cultures on campus and want to get involved in a lot of these events.
1. Northern Cardinal 2. White-Breasted Nuthatch 3. Tufted Titmouse 4. Red-Tailed Hawk 5. Great Blue Heron 6. American Robin 7. Wild Turkey 8. Black-capped Chickadee 9. Blue Jay 10. Canada Goose (the bird) 11. Canada Goose (the brand)
—Luke Liu Solution Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN
Vol. LXXI #24
t s u
April 16, 2019
LEONARD BERNSTEIN j Arts FESTIVAL OF THE CREATIVE ARTS
Waltham, MA.
Images: Zach Katz/the Justice, Natalia Wiater/the Justice, Andrew Baxter/the Justice, Creative Commons. Design: Noah Zeitlin/the Justice.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE
Talk with Sundeis By LUKE LIU JUSTICE EDITOR
Sundeis is the annual Brandeis student run-film festival hosted by Brandeis Television. The Justice interviewed the event coordinator Aviva Davis ’21. 1: Tell me a bit about yourself and your position in this event.
We don’t like to think of it as a competition, per se. … However, we do have a series of awards. We try to stray away from titles like “Best this” or “Most whatever.” It’s more of like a like an appreciation of the people that are submitting their works because it’s a big deal. There is a difference between making your film and keeping it for yourself and making your film and presenting it at a festival. The reason that we have these awards is to honor the amount of work and dedication and blood, sweat and tears that these students have put into their films and really taking the next step to show it to the rest of us.
I am on the E-board for Brandeis Television. I do events and manage the memberships… I started out with BTV as a first year, and I had no idea what it was 4: Filmmaking is complicated and required many dif.… From that moment [I had] a really special connec- ferent kinds of knowledge. Does BTV provide a sufficient tion with the club and the board. And now I am [on] amount of support to the filmmakers? E-board and it’s really amazing. So BTV has its own little vault of equipment but all of 2: I noticed that on the Sundeis Facebook page you us [also] have Getz training, or I suppose it’s SIMS now said you accept “almost anything.” What’s the selection [The Sound and Image Media Studios]. People who join process like? the club or who want to check out equipment can do so through us or they can just go to SIMS themselves of get So we, in the past years, have been a lot more strict the proper training, so they don’t have to ask us to check about time constraints. Most of the time we accept films out equipment for them. … But anybody who wants that are between 1 and 10 minutes. This year, we weren’t hands on experience can come to our meetings or they as strict in that area because there were a couple longer could just borrow our stuff, and we will just record it films that we just really wanted to include. … One of the and check in with them every couple of days or so, to films in this year’s festival is about 20 minutes, which is give us a timeline for how long till they will give them pretty long but we’re excited for people to see it. ... Re- back. And if the stuff BTV has doesn’t work for them, garding certain rules that we like to follow, profanity is then there are welcome to head up to SIMS and we are fine as long as it’s not extensive. We really don’t want to happy to walk them through, checking out equipment. have a lot of nudity in our films. We want to make sure that people are being respectful to the community. … 6: Anything else you want to say to the people? And our process regarding trimming down the length of the festival, we prioritize seniors, which can really Brandeis Television has a Facebook, Instagram and suck sometimes … but we really want to make sure that YouTube page. All the usernames are Brandeis Telethey’re getting their stuff out there before graduate. And vision. A lot of people don’t know where we are and if the people are submitting feel really passionate about where our media goes. Our office is in SCC 339 on the showing their staff, then we hope they will submit next top floor to the right. All the things we create end up year. … Additionally, if there are folks who are submit- on our YouTube page and our Facebook page. Just look ting multiple films, we will start with one and if we have up Brandeis Television. We will be happy to get your time to add more of their works then we will. clicks. Also... I cannot stress how much we want people to come to our meetings no matter how often they can 3: Sundeis also gives out a variety of awards to the par- make it… We are happy to have anyone and everyone ticipants’ films. Who will be judging the films? all the time. Wednesday, 8 p.m., SCC 339.
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
DREAM FACTORY: Brandeis Television is the place to go if you want to make creative content. They also have a cool office!
Design: Yael Hanadari-Levy/the Justice
Fun on the
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
FUN IN THE SPRING: The MAD band brought joy to the crowd with their music and lovely blue hats.
By ELIANA EL
JUSTICE CONTR
As part of the Festival of the Creative Arts, Brand on the Great Lawn behind the Shapiro Campus Ce a large crowd of students and families, who were d songs and the contagious and entertaining enthusi setting, sitting outside on the grass and enjoying th MAD Band’s concert was an excellent demonstra The performance involved both prepared arrangem ability to coordinate and communicate musically be worn by many of the members perfectly matched th seeing how much fun all of the performers appeare while watching them dance as they played and laug The show finished strong with a crowd-pleasin Band’s concert was a fun way to enjoy the warm spr Festival of the Creative Arts. MAD Band’s next show
THE JUSTICE I ARTS I TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019
Puppet show for grownups By SHOSHANA FINKEL JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Great Lawn
As many Brandeis students gathered on Chapels Field for Springfest, I decided to attend a different kind of rowdy performance: a puppet show full of slapstick for the kids and political jokes to get a few chuckles out of the parents. On Sunday, April 7, I sat down in the second row of the SCC Theater, surrounded by children with their parents and facing a classic boxy puppet theater alone on the stage. To American puppet theatergoers, the stock story of a Punch and Judy show is completely foreign. But these British archetypes of a dysfunctional puppet family — and perhaps an entire dysfunctional society — have been popping up at fairs and festivals in the English countryside for nearly 400 years. Puppeteer Sarah Nolen, with whom I spoke after the show, told me that she learned about Punch and Judy shows while studying for her masters in puppet arts (that’s a real degree you can get, folks). She was fascinated by the violence and audacity of a children’s story that follows the rascal Mr. Punch as he berates his wife, throws his baby across the stage and battles an alligator, a police officer, a doctor and the Devil himself. Nolen became interested in telling a different story: one focusing on Punch’s long-suffering wife, Judy. A “Judy and Punch Show,” as she calls it, shows the struggles of the modern feminist housewife. When her husband asks her to make him a sandwich, she produces giant pieces of bread and veggies and literally makes her husband into a sandwich. When her baby cries, she soothes him with a smartphone. When she is attacked by an alligator and reports it to the police, she is told that she must have been “asking for it” because alligators love bright colors and she was wearing a bright yellow dress. To update the story for modern audiences, Nolen replaced the character of a doctor with a health insurance salesman and the Devil with the “Perfect Judy” — a demonic, all-too-perfect alter ego who tortures Judy by telling her she’s not good enough. The children sitting around me, while smirking and skeptical of a puppet show at first, were howling with laughter and gasping in fear by the end. Parents told me they wished Brandeis had better publicity for the festival, since such clearly talented artists were being showcased. When I asked her what she thought of her audiences’ reactions, Nolen told me that she sometimes gets angry remarks from parents who say they don’t want to discuss such sensitive political topics with their kids, but she sees it as her responsibility as an artist to facilitate such important conversations. Sarah Nolen is a resident artist at Puppet Place Theater in Brookline. It was lovely to escape for an afternoon into the raucous world of an ancient British puppet family with fascinating modern twists.
Arts in Archives
LLENBERGER
RIBUTING WRITER
ndeis’s pep band, Music And Dance Band performed enter on April 7. The half hour-long show attracted drawn to the show because of its range of energizing iasm of its performances. They provided the perfect he warm and sunny spring weather. ation of musicians working well together as a group. ments and improvised solos, which showcased their etween group members. The light blue sequined hats he spirit of the group. The highlight of the show was ed to be having. It was easy to enjoy the performance ghed together between songs. ng rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.” MAD ring weather and to celebrate the Leonard Bernstein w will be at the Midnight Buffet on Thursday May, 2.
By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
Art & Text in the Archives, an event hosted at Brandeis University Archives & Special Collections as a part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts, showed many texts that ranged in design and age for all to enjoy.
JEN GELLER/the Justice
Some of the works included in the display were art deco journals, the books of artists, illustrations cut into wood, incunabula, fore-edge paintings and medieval manuscripts.
A part of the University’s Archives and Special Collections, Art & Text in the Archives showed both printed and manuscript texts.
As a part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts, this display was just a part of the talent seen all around campus, with more recent works and works from hundreds of years ago.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2019 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE
Greek Mythology with a modern taste Photos by ZACH KATZ/the Justice
GREEK MYTHOLOGY: The vertical set that actors climb on helped address the relationship between god and humans.
MIX OF TIME: Giving modern costumes to some of the actors gave a unique vibe to the production.
By NIA LYN JUSTICE EDITOR
This past Thursday, I attended the Department of Theater Arts’ production of “The Bacchae,” which tells the story of Dionysus, son of Zeus and Semele, and his revenge against Pentheus and all others who have slandered his name and denied his status as a god. As someone with very little knowledge of Greek mythology — I haven’t even seen the Percy Jackson films — the play was captivating. Before the show even started, the set design immediately stood out. Assistant Professor of Theater Arts Cameron Anderson (THA) and all those involved in creating the backdrop produced a remarkable work that alluded to what was to come from the performance. The remarkable nature of the set became more evident when Dionysus, played by Rose Archer ’20 and Dan Souza ’19 entered the stage and climbed on the crafted walls to proclaim their status as the god Dionysus. In addition to the
set design, the musical numbers were well executed, as the chorus took the stage and the aisles to serenade the crowd. Daniel Rodriguez, Stephanie Fleischmann and Daniel Kluger created melodic accompanying pieces that enhanced the theatrical experience. The band was also an integral part of the musical ensemble; from the conductor to the violin, each individual successfully generated the mood that aided in carrying the story along. The element of the play that I enjoyed the most was the decision to have two individuals playing Dionysus, a choice that added depth to the character as the play tackled the fluidity of gender as one of its many themes. While Archer and Souza complimented each other well and performed as one, they still retained their individuality — making Dionysus the complex character that he is. For example, during one scene Dionysus has women fawning over him and the differences in Archer and Souza’s actions demon-
strate the diversity of the god’s personality, one that embraces sexuality and is nurturing at the same time. Similarly, Ben Astrachan ’19 played the role of Pentheus and managed to embody the character’s strict and
dutiful nature to the citizens of Thebes. Norma Stobbe ’20, Alex Jacobs ’14 and Rachel Greene ’20 also brought life to their characters. Greene, especially, delivered a powerful performance as Agave upon the realization that she had slaughtered her son, Pentheus, and not a lion as she had assumed. Again, another nod to the multiple facets of the characters of “The Bacchae”. Just as the wrath of Dionysus saw no end, neither did the talent displayed on the stage. Another aspect that elevated the performance was the costume design. Renowned costume designer Olivera Gajic, assistant costume designer Tyffany English ’19 and all of the talented students involved in costume construction and dressing did a phenomenal job at incorporating modern aspects to the ancient Greek tragedy. One such example was the appearance of Pentheus and his soldiers, played by Otis Fuqua ’19 and Anderson Stinson III ’21. Juxtaposing Dionysus and the people of Thebes, Pentheus was dressed in a suit
and coat, and his soldiers were also dressed in more modern attire. This reinforced the strict nature of Pentheus’s character and his dedication to retaining law and order. Additionally, the gaudy attire worn by Dionysus when he revealed himself to Agave elucidated the god’s divinity and his desire for people to enjoy a more lavish lifestyle. The production of “The Bacchae” was extremely well done and all those that aided in bringing the work to the stage are worthy of all the praise and recognition for their hard work. It was the first production that I have seen during my time at Brandeis — and it surely was not one to miss. The renewal of the classic tragedy made the work of Euripides enjoyable for even those that are not as familiar with mythology. Director Prof. Dmitry Troyanovsky ’98 (THA) and Prof. Joel Christensen ’01, who translated the play from ancient Greek to English, produced a hit that is sure to have entertained all that had the pleasure of attending.
ONE GOD, TWO BODIES: A creative choice of the production was to have an actor and an actress to portray two sides of the character.
HARD WORK BACKSTAGE: The visual effect of the show is breathtaking, and the credit goes to the stage production team.
Design: Yael Hanadari-Levy/the Justice