ARTS Page 19
FORUM Support divestment efforts 12 SPORTS Men’s basketball team falls to 4-10 16
‘YEAR IN REVIEW’ CREATIVE COMMONS
The Independent Student Newspaper
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Justice
Volume LXX, Number 13
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
ADMINISTRATION
Univ. expands ombuds service ■ The University's Ombuds
Office now includes faculty, staff and alumni in their services to the community. By KIRBY KOCHANOWSKI JUSTICE EDITOR
The University announced an expansion of its Ombuds Office and introduced three staff members that will facilitate ombuds services to community members, undergraduate and graduate students. Prior, these services were not provided to community members beyond students. The Ombuds Office “will make it possible for all members of the Brandeis community — students, faculty, staff, alumni and others — to access conflict-resolution assistance for situations they might encounter at the university,” wrote Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion Mark Brimhall-Vargas in a Jan. 10 email to the community. The new members of the office include Don Greenstein, Cathy Burack and Elena Lewis. Burack and Lewis both come from within the Brandeis community. Lewis has been at Brandeis for 14 years. She earned her master’s degree in sociology at Brandeis and works as the director of the Student Support Services Program. She has also served as a student ombudsman at Brandeis for the past two years. Lewis was unavailable for comment. Burack works as a senior fellow for higher education at the Center for Youth and Communities in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. At Heller she has also served as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee, as a member of the Master of Public Policy program’s Diversity Committee, and
See OMBUDS, 7 ☛
STUDENT LIFE
Commuters request return of lounge space ■ Commuter students wrote
a letter to administrators following partial restriction of commuter lounge hours. By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR
The expansion of the ombuds office has reignited a longstanding debate over campus space allocation, with several commuter students releasing a statement of objection regarding the decision to house the Ombuds Office in the Commuter Lounge. In a Nov. 10 email to students with access to the lounge, Operations Specialist JV Souffrant, who manages the Shapiro Campus Center, notified commuters that the Ombuds Office would be sharing the lounge, located on the third floor of the SCC. Students would not have
access to the lounge during the ombuds’ hours of operation, he added. In response to Souffrant’s email, Fox Aguirre ’19 emailed fellow commuter students asking their thoughts on the restricted lounge access. This conversation resulted in a statement of objection to the decision to “annex” the lounge. Of the 24 commuters with access to the lounge at the time of the Nov. 10 announcement, 12 signed on to the statement. The students delivered a copy of the statement to Souffrant and Vice President for Campus Operations Jim Gray on Dec. 20 and posted a copy outside the lounge. Gray and Souffrant could not immediately be reached for comment. According to the Student Activities website, the Commuter Lounge is accessible 24/7 and is an “exclusive” campus resource for students who live off campus.
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
LOVE: Rebelle dance team performed for the University's annual MLK Jr. Day Memorial in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater.
Student leaders proclaim a ‘Love that Hate Can’t Stop’ ■ Student scholars and
community performers came together for celebration and reflection on MLK Jr. day. By JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
“Do they know about the Love that Hate Can’t Stop?” the members of Platinum, the Brandeis Step Team, shouted at the beginning of the University’s 13th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Monday night’s event, themed “The Love That h8 Can’t Stop,” was a celebration of love and unity, centered around the memory of King and his legacy. After Platinum opened the memorial, Justin Cox, a soloist from Nichols College, sang and Dean of Students Jamele Adams spoke, opening the night with the powerful declaration, “Dr. King is not dead.” “He led to our genius, our creativity, our love and our resilience,” Adams said, elaborating on King’s immorality. He is “present on a regular basis with us. We represent that love.” Speaking of the present political and social situation, Adams said, “We live in a time that we never
thought that we would live again.” He turned to the story of Quincy Merlin, an 8-year-old boy from Claremont, New Hampshire, who was hanged when the young white boys he was playing with turned violent, but Merlin freed himself and survived. Adams said this tragedy is not “how life is supposed to be.” Adams continued, “We need to be the folks that make that change. I know that the students here at Brandeis do that on a regular basis, and I ask you to continue to push us, and not take it easy on us. Make us hold ourselves accountable for what we do.” After Adams’ speech, producer and rapper Bethel Adekogbe ’20 layered musical rhythms with facts about King’s life. He concluded his performance with King’s own voice, reciting the famous declaration, “I have a dream.” Drawing on the night’s theme, Interim Program Manager at the Office of Prevention Services Elba Valerio recited a poem she wrote about the meaning of love, highlighting the different types of affection and passion a person can experience. Her poem, recited first in Spanish and then paraphrased in English, was paired with photos from her life, echoing her message.
The dance groups TOXIC and Rebelle performed between speakers. Michelle Dennis ’18 performed a solo interpretive dance while children’s voices recited the names of men and women immortalized by the Black Lives Matter movement. Wil Jones ’18 delivered the night’s keynote speech, grappling with the difficult relationship he has had throughout his life with King’s legacy and the imperfect reality of his life. “It was not until I was in college that I was first able to begin to grapple with what his legacy … meant to me,” Jones said. “How do I make sense of the parts of his legacy that weren’t present in the sanitized version that I was force fed as a child?” he asked, drawing particular attention to King’s conflicted relationship with Black feminism. “How can I celebrate him in the name of equality when women within the civil rights movement received little recognition in public, in private?” Jones asked. He went on to examine King’s adultery: “As a public figure, a reverend, a leader of civil movement, does his marital discretion not deserve scrutiny?” Jones warned about modern society falling into “traps of celebra-
See MLK, 7 ☛
Midyear Orientation
Keeping it competitive
Hill to Hollywood
The incoming Midyear class was welcomed onto campus last week.
The women’s basketball team has remained successful despite a tough conference.
Prof. Anita Hill was selected to lead a Hollywood commission on sexual harassment in the industry.
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
See COMMUTER, 7 ☛
Waltham, Mass.
Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org
FEATURES 8
INDEX
SPORTS 16
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
ARTS SPORTS
17 13
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3
COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
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NEWS SENATE LOG Senate discusses semester goals and working project commitments The Union Senate convened on Sunday for its first meeting of the spring semester. During the meeting, the senators reviewed committee structures and spoke with the new Allocations Board chair. Student Union Vice President Hannah Brown ’19 reported that Executive Vice President of Communications and External Relations Ira Jackson reached out to her and Student Union President Jacob Edelman ’18 to propose a video interview with University President Ron Liebowitz. The video, Brown explained, would improve transparency and access to the University Administration. Brown also reported that the Brandeis Counseling Center is looking for students for its Student Health Advisory Board, which will allow students to have input in the decisions of the Counseling Center. Brown reminded the Senate that the first round of Spring elections is soon, and that the informational meeting will take place on Tuesday. Racial Minority Senator Hangil Ryu ’20 asked incoming Allocations Board Chair Aseem Kumar ’20 to explain the duties of his position. Kumar replied that he oversees the budget and acts as the liaison between clubs on campus and the entities which fund them. Rosenthal Quad Senator Elizabeth Dabanka ’20 asked about Kumar’s previous accomplishments on the Allocations Board. Kumar replied that he worked to allow need-based aid for students on community service trips and to ensure that contractors employed by clubs are properly paid. Bylaws Committee Chair Abhishek Kulkarni ’18 asked the Senate’s committee chairs to look through the bylaws for their respective committees to find ways to improve the committee structures. He suggested having cross-committee meetings so the committee chairs could work with the Bylaws Committee to improve their committees. Dabanka, also the chair of the Social Justice and Diversity Committee, stated that her goals for the committee are to be more involved with cultural clubs and to make them more involved with one another to facilitate intersectionality. Charles River Senator Oliver Price ’20, standing in for Sustainability Committee Chair Benedikt Reynolds ’19, stated that the midyear students seemed to have learned a lot from the new Environmental Ambassadors during Orientation. Chen, also the chair of the Dining Committee, stated that the Dining Committee is looking for new members. The Senate then voted to re-confirm Executive Senator Aaron Finkel ’20. International Senator Linfei Yang ’20 presented a Senate Money Resolution for the upcoming Club Support Workshop, which would teach club leaders about graphic design. Yang stated that there would be a raffle for a year of free Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for an attendee of the workshop. Senatorat-Large Shaquan McDowell ’18 countered that giving Photoshop to one person would only be beneficial for that person and not for their club. Ryu responded, saying that the person’s attendance at the workshop was a show of their dedication to their club and that the Photoshop would therefore benefit the club. Dabanka suggested that a club win the raffle rather than an individual. The Senate voted to approve the SMR for the workshop. Health and Safety Committee Chair Samantha Barrett ’20 stated that her goals for the semester are “to get the student body more involved in Health and Safety” and to meet more with administrators. Ryu stated that he wishes to create an organization for club leaders of color to discuss issues pertaining to their clubs. Meanwhile, Yang stated that he wishes to create a hotline for commuting international students arriving to campus late at night from the airport. North Quad Senator Josh Hoffman ’21 stated that he is working to make thank-you cards for Sodexo workers.
POLICE LOG Medical Emergency Dec. 4—University Police received a report of a party who was having chest pains. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 5—The Brandeis Counseling Center requested aid in a psychiatric transport. University Police assisted Cataldo Ambulance staff. Dec. 6—BEMCo staff treated a party who was experiencing numbness in their legs. Dec. 6—BEMCo staff treated a dining staff member in Usdan Student Center who had cut their hand with a knife. Dec. 6—University Police received a report that a party in Deroy Hall had tried to dislodge a window frame and jump out the window. University Police
and Department of Community Living staff transported the party to the BCC for a psychiatric evaluation. Dec. 6—BCC staff requested Cataldo Ambulance for a psychiatric transport to NewtonWellesley Hospital. The party was transported without incident. Dec. 7—BCC staff requested an ambulance for a psychiatric transport to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. University Police assisted Cataldo Ambulance staff. Dec. 8—BEMCo staff treated an intoxicated party in Ziv Quad. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 9—University Police received a report of an intoxicated party on the Rabb steps. The party, a non-student, was trans-
ported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 9—University Police received a report of an intoxicated party in the women’s restroom in Renfield Hall. The party, a non-student, was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 9—A party in Village Quad called BEMCo asking to discuss their general health. BEMCo responded and left the scene after speaking with the individual. Dec. 10—A community advisor in Village Quad reported an intoxicated student who was in their own bed. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Dec. 11—BEMCo assisted a party with a lacerated finger at Usen Castle. University Po-
TASTE OF BRANDEIS
See POLICE LOG, 5 ☛
BRIEF Cold weather and old infrastructure challenges Boston area public transporation services The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail services fell behind schedule on Jan. 4 as the MBTA struggled to perform in the first heavy snowfall of the year. While 73 percent of the MBTA’s subway services and 64 percent of buses arrived on time, the commuter rail was down to 37 percent, according to a Jan. 8 Wicked Local report. “The next day, people should be able to commute. We were able to do that on the Red and the Orange and the Blue and the Green lines,” said Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, according to the Wicked Local report. “The commuter rail was not, so next time we have to do better on that.” The commuter rail’s poor performance adds to citizen concerns about MBTA commutes for the remainder of the winter season. Governor Charlie Baker’s administration has invested heavily in the MBTA’s infrastructure, with the repair budget to reach $800 million this fiscal year. However, constituents are challenging the long 15-year repair timeline following an increase in delays and congestion of subway lines in the past month. Jamaica Plain resident Brendan Halpin created a campaign and website called “Take The T Pledge,” calling for MBTA users to contact their elected officials and ask them to pledge to take any MBTA transportation service for five consecutive work days before the end of May 2018, according to a Jan. 2 Boston Globe article. “If the people who control the T’s budget had to suffer through what the rest of us suffer through, they would not let it continue in this way,” Halpin told the Boston Globe.
—Emily Blumenthal
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
lice transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 11—University Police transported an ill student to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Dec. 11—University Police transported an ill student to an urgent care facility. Dec. 11—BEMCo treated a party with an ankle injury in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 12—A party in Gosman reported that they had suffered an ankle injury. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 12—A party in the Foster Mods reported that they had gotten food poisoning. The par-
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
—Michelle Dang
New spring semester midyear and transfer students enjoyed a meal with their families during orientation’s “Taste of Brandeis.”
n The Justice has no corrections or clarifications to report this week.
ANNOUNCEMENTS The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.
Justice
the
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The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Editor News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing Copy Layout
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The Justice Brandeis University Mailstop 214 P.O. Box 549110 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 Phone: (781) 736-3750 The Managing Editor holds office hours on Mondays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: “Who’s at the table,” is a conversation to discuss the following: what it means to have an inclusive and diverse mission, ways in which organizations are responsible in ensuring their impact meets their mission(s) and ways to identify who needs to be at the decision-making table. The audience will also have the chance to create their own personal mission statement and think about who should be at their table. Lastly, because the event will be held two days after Martin Luther King Day, we will also pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission-driven work. Tomorrow from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Zinner Forum, Heller-Brown Buildng.
Indigenous and Environmental Rights
Kalani Souza is a gifted storyteller, singer, songwriter, musician, film director and producer, poet, philosopher, priest, political
satirist, peacemaker, facilitator, mediator, educator, friend, human. A Hawaiian Practitioner and Cross-Cultural Facilitator, he has experience in promoting social justice through conflict resolution. His workshops and lectures inspire, challenge and entertain. Thursdsay from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Swig Lounge, Intercultural Center.
how to get involved with the largest student organization at Brandeis. Whether you’d like to volunteer with children, the elderly, individuals who are experiencing homelessness, or the environment, the Waltham Group offers a program that caters to your interest. Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Atrium, Shapiro Campus Center.
Graphic Content
“Stand Up Magician” Derek Hughes
What happens when you combine a passion for embroidery, Jewish text, math and graph paper? Rachel Braun is a math teacher, embroidery artist, Torah chanter and Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of graph paper. Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in LibermanMiller Lecture Hall, Epstein.
Waltham Recruitment Night
Interested in volunteering in the local community? If so, come to Waltham Group Recruitment Night and learn more about
The live performances of celebrated conjurer, “Stand Up Magician” Derek Hughes, have been lauded by audiences and critics alike, with the New York Times calling him “thoroughly entertaining.” Hughes has performed his magic on MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and the CW’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us. He’s a consulting producer on TRUtv’s hit magic series, The Carbonaro Effect and was a finalist on Season 10 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Saturday from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Theater, Shapiro Campus Center.
the justice
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MIDYEAR CONVOCATION
BRIEF
Prof. Anita Hill selected to chair Hollywood commission on sexual harassment in the entertainment industry University Prof. Anita Hill (Heller) was selected in December to lead a commission focused on combating sexual harassment and misconduct in the entertainment industry, according to a Dec. 16, 2017 Washington Post article. The Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace was organized by a group of business and entertainment professionals that includes American film producer Kathleen Kennedy, attorney Nina Shaw, venture capitalist Freada Kapor Klein and Nike Foundation founder Maria Eitel, according to a Dec. 15, 2017 New York Times article. Hill, who is known for her sexual harassment case against U.S. Supreme Court Nominee and future Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991, called the group’s work a “long overdue journey to adopt best practices and create institutional change that fosters a culture of respect and human dignity throughout the industry,” according to the same New York Times article. The new Hollywood initiative’s goal is to “lead the entertainment industry toward alignment in achieving safer, fairer, more equitable and accountable workplaces — particularly for women and marginalized people,” according to a Dec. 15 statement, as quoted in the same New York Times article.
The creation of Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace comes two months after the Weinstein Company fired American film producer Harvey Weinstein in early October 2017 in response to multiple allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, according to an Oct. 5, 2017 New York Times article. Following Weinstein’s firing, similar allegations were raised against other public figures in the entertainment industry, media and political arena, such as actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C.K. and NBC host Matt Lauer. Between Oct. 5, 2017 and Jan. 10, 2018, at least 51 men in the public eye resigned, were fired or otherwise experienced professional fallout due to allegations of sexual misconduct, the New York Times reported in a periodically updated list. During the same time period, at least 27 men were suspended or faced similar disciplinary action due to similar allegations, according to the same New York Times piece. “It is time to end the culture of silence,” Hill said, according to the Washington Post article. Hill had not responded to the Justice’s request for comment as of press time. —Amber Miles Editor’s note: Michelle Dang ’18 contributed reporting.
MEET AND GREET
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
CONVOCATION: University President Ron Liebowitz and the CORE Committee welcomed incoming students to the community.
Midyear orientation welcomes new students ■ Student leaders and staff
welcomed midyear and transfer students to the University with Midyear Orientation. By MICHELLE DANG Justice EDITOR
This year’s Midyear Orientation Program welcomed 105 Class of 2021 students and 23 transfer students to the University community. After three days of training, orientation activities kicked off on Jan. 7 as pairs of Orientation Leaders led midyears and transfer students through a wintry move-in and a series of hands-on community learning experiences and fun activities. “We had a really great batch of Orientation Leaders,” said Sharon Cai ’18, who led Orientation training and programming alongside fellow Midyear Orientation CORE Committee Student Leaders Izzy Stork ’18 and Heather DeNoble ’18. After four months of planning, all three CORE members agreed on the success of Orientation from start to finish. This year’s 20 OLs featured “a good mix of experienced people and people who have never been Orientation Leaders before,” added Cai. “And half of the group were midyears themselves, so they were able to relate really well to incoming students.” During the week, incoming students got a chance to preview Brandeis’ social justice character through diversity programming and a volunteering event.
The diversity program was a three-part event that challenged new students to look at their own identities and those of their classmates. OLs encouraged students to compare and contrast identities to one another and participate in a “privilege beads” exercise. Cai, who organized the event, sought to “challenge students in ways they may have never thought about,” and help students explore the available student clubs and scholarship opportunities. New students also participated in Volunteerfest, an annual event cosponsored by Orientation and the Department of Community Service. At this year’s Volunteerfest, OLs and midyear students put together an inclusive carnival for children and adults with and without disabilities from the Greater Waltham area. “We had a great turnout, especially for a cold and snowy Monday night, and everyone I talked to seemed to be having a lot of fun,” wrote DeNoble, the organizer of Volunteerfest, in an interview with The Justice. “Though it was a lot of work to coordinate the carnival, I think it was absolutely worth it to see our guests enjoying themselves. We kept some of the classic carnival games and events, like the parachute and bowling, while adding in some new elements like a make-your-own-slime station and an entire room devoted to bubbles.” Incoming students also got the opportunity to express themselves and show off their skills in Brandeis Got Talent, a talent show featuring
impromptu performances. Midyear students showed off singing performances, B-Boy dancing, rapping in German and acrobatic arts, said Cai. A grouplet paired off against their Orientation Leader in a celery eating contest and won. Students also had fun in Glo Up, a library dance party with backlight and body paint. “It was fun to transform upper Farber into a completely different space,” said Stork, who organized the event. Of the transfer program, Stork added that they were successful in giving new students a glimpse of how they could get involved on campus and learn about resources that may be useful to them as transfer students, including the Care Team, Campus Activities Board and the Waltham Group. OL Helena Voltmer ’18 told the Justice in an interview, “As a Midyear and a senior, it was great to be able to get to know the incoming Midyear class and see what types of students will take over Brandeis. Midyear Orientation is by far my favorite, [because] of how intimate it is and how unique the students are, especially when you find out what they did during their semester off.” “I was happy with how four months of hard work and planning manifested itself in some really great events, and I hope that the midyear and transfer students enjoyed themselves as much as I did,” concluded DeNoble. When asked if anything could have gone better, Cai only commented, “The cold — the weather could have been better.”
Celebrities and authors and celebrities — oh my!
Join
Features! Contact Victor Feldman
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
Incoming midyear students and their parents met one another during midyear orientation’s “Taste of Brandeis” food event in Usdan’s Levin Ballroom.
at features@thejustice.org
Your backstage pass is waiting. Email Yvette Sei and Natalia Wiater at photos@thejustice.org
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p m a C e k Tripp La Welcome to
mnastics, y g , e o n a c re is, swim, to and mo o h Teach tenn p i, k s r e kayak, wat
Tripp Lake Camp is looking for males and females who like to travel, meet new people, and teach activites to children. If you’re interested in spending your summer in MAINE, give us a call or stop by our website for more information. 1-800-997-4347 www.tripplakecamp.com TRIPP LAKE CAMP for Girls
Do you live for game day? Write for Sports!
Email Ben Katcher at sports@thejustice.org
Northeast Mental Health Announces New Waltham Office! Northeast Mental Health is pleased to announce the opening of our Waltham office on November 1, 2017. We will provide diagnostic and treatment services for children, adolescents, teens, adults, and beyond. Location: 11 Spring St. in downtown Waltham. From Brandeis Campus we are 11 to 12-minutes by bicycle or bus. Parking is also available nearby. Students who lack insurance coverage receive an initial session at no cost. Eric Ranvig, BA. MA. Psychologist
C.Davenport Hanson, MD. JD Board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology
*Applications- We are also accepting applications for office staff positions and undergraduate paid internship positions.
Contact information 11 Spring Street Waltham MA, 02451 978-968-5633 Charleshansonmd.wordpress.com Ne_mh@yahoo.com
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
THE JUSTICE
POLICE LOG CONTINUED FROM 2 -ty was transported to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 15—University Police received a report that a party had fallen down near 60 Turner St. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Dec. 16—A party in Shapiro Hall reported an elbow injury. University Police transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Dec. 20—University Police received a report that a party had fallen near 60 Turner St. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Jan. 4—A pregnant party in the Faculty Center reported that they were suffering from back pains and were feeling ill. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Jan. 9—University Police received a report of a party in Gosman who had injured their knee. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Jan. 10—BEMCo staff treated a party who fell near Schwartz Hall. Jan. 11—A party reported that they fell off their bicycle. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Jan. 11—A party in Olin-Sang American Civilization Center reported that they were feeling ill. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Jan. 11—A party in the Charles River Apartments reported that they cut their hand. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Jan. 11—University Police received a report of a party who fell outside the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Jan. 12—A party twisted their ankle outside Sherman Dining Hall. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was transported to an urgent care facility for further care. Jan. 12—University Police received a report of an ill party in Spingold Theater. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Jan. 12—A party in Deroy Hall suffered from a finger laceration. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Jan. 13—A caller requested BEMCo assistance for an intoxicated party who was unconscious and unresponsive. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. Jan. 13—BEMCo assistance was requested for an intoxicated party in Rosenthal Quad who was conscious and alert. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care. Jan. 13—A caller requested BEMCo assistance for a party in Reitman Hall who had consumed too much marijuana and was vomiting. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.
Larcency Dec. 18—A staff member reported fraud via credit card. University Police compiled a report on the incident, and the parties affected by the identity fraud are not part of the Brandeis community. Jan. 3—A staff member reported a theft from within the computer repair room area in Goldfarb Library. The item was listed as a “crampon” for winter walking boots. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Jan. 5—A staff member in Kutz Hall reported the possible misplacement or theft of a refrigerator. University Police compiled a report on the incident.
Drugs Dec. 12—A staff member in Goldfarb Library reported that there were individuals smoking marijuana in the library. Library staff also reported a possible fire in a
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MIDYEAR WELCOME trash can within the library. University Police found no marijuana upon arrival but saw five students with a vape pen. The students were permitted to remain in the area and University Police took no further action. Dec. 20—DCL staff found drug paraphernalia in a room in Cable Hall while performing Health and Safety checks. The item was confiscated and DCL staff will compile a community standards report. Dec. 20—DCL staff found drug paraphernalia during room checks in Cable Hall. The item was confiscated and DCL staff will compile a CSR. Dec. 20—DCL staff found drug paraphernalia in Ziv Quad during room checks. The item was confiscated and a CSR will follow. Dec. 20—DCL staff found drug paraphernalia in Rosenthal Quad during room checks. The item was confiscated and a CSR will follow. Dec. 20—DCL staff found drug paraphernalia during room checks in the Foster Mods. The items were confiscated and DCL staff will compile a CSR.
Disturbance
Dec. 6—University Police received a report of a possible domestic dispute in progress at the Shapiro Campus Center. University Police identified the two parties and found that the yelling was just a verbal disagreement. University Police took no further action. Dec. 7—A party in Renfield Hall reported that there was a group on Chapel’s Field who was yelling. The group departed before University Police arrived on the scene. Dec. 15—A party complained about loud music in the Charles River Apartments. University Police checked the area and found it quiet upon arrival. Dec. 15—University Police received a noise complaint at 567 South St. University Police checked the area and found it quiet upon arrival. Jan. 12—University Police received a complaint of a loud party coming from an apartment in the Charles River Apartments. University Police checked the area and found it quiet upon arrival. Jan. 13—University Police received a complaint of loud music coming from the Foster Mods. Upon arrival, University Police found an unregistered party and dispersed it without incident.
Harassment
Dec. 12—A staff member reported that they were called names from a passing vehicle on Loop Road. The party was identified and DCL staff has filed a CSR against them. Dec. 19—International Business School staff received a harassing email from an unknown sender with a blocked IP address. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Dec. 27—A contributor for a student publication reported that they received threatening phone calls due to an article that had been published. University Police compiled a report on the incident.
Assault
Jan. 11—University Police responded to a domestic violence incident at the Charles River Apartments. University Police arrested Trevon Walker, a nonstudent. Walker was transported to the Waltham Police station for booking and was then transported to the Waltham District Court.
Other
Dec. 7—The area coordinator for the Charles River Apartments reported that someone had broken a window at one of the quad’s entrances. University Police compiled a report on the incident and the Facilities Department was notified. Dec. 20—DCL staff conducting room checks in the Charles River Apartments discovered a possible firearm. University Police confiscated the item, which appeared to be an airsoft pellet gun. DCL staff will follow up with a CSR. —Compiled by Abby Patkin
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
Incoming midyear and transfer students moved onto campus and enjoyed a last meal with their familes and new friends during Midyear Orientation’s “Taste of Brandeis.”
Community
Community discusses campus safety in forum ■ A student safety forum
discussed the armed robbery and public safety incidents that occurred last year. By ABBY PATKIN Justice EDITOR
After the November 2017 armed robbery incident on campus, attendees at the Dec. 7, 2017 student safety forum discussed how to maintain campus safety and improve relations between students and University Police. Featuring a panel of administrators and Student Union President Jacob Edelman ’18, the forum gave students the opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns about campus safety. The University’s leadership is “spending a great deal of time thinking about safety and security on campus these days,” Vice President for Campus Operations Jim Gray told attendees. “We are reviewing all of our policies and procedures, we’re trying to improve our ability to respond and respond properly.” In that effort, he said, the University is considering engaging a college campus security expert to consult at Brandeis. Statistically, Gray added, “ours is really a very safe campus,” when compared with similarly sized campuses in major metropolitan areas. However, “any breach of that that makes people uncomfortable is unacceptable to us,” he said. The University also tries to maintain student safety while keeping its campus open, Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said, adding that he is often asked why there are no cameras in residence halls or armed guards at the University’s main gate. While Public Safety is looking
into ways to improve campus security, “we don’t like to implement any changes that impact you as community members,” without first gauging student interest, he said. In regards to the armed robbery in particular, several students described what they perceived to be a breakdown in communication between the University and East Quad residents. Office of Student Rights and Advocacy Director Zosia Busé ’20 explained that the incident was stressful for East residents, a situation that could have been mitigated with more communication — namely consolation and reassurance — from the Department of Community Living. “It’s been radio silence, which has been concerning to a lot of students,” she said. Director of Community Living Tim Touchette replied that “there was a lot of intentionality about not sending out another message,” and there was no new information to add to Callahan’s and University President Ron Liebowitz’s emails on the incident. Additionally, Touchette said, DCL was concerned that another email could be retriggering for students still working through the trauma. While Busé noted that the informational emails sent to the community were helpful, she asserted that it would have been beneficial to have received an email from someone more directly linked to the East Quad community than Liebowitz. “When was the last time he’s been in East Quad, you know?” she joked. From there, the conversation shifted away from the specific incident to the general state of student-University Police relations. Specifically, some students described tensions between University Police and students of color. Senior Representative to the Board
of Trustees Wil Jones ’18 cited an unofficial poll conducted by a faculty member and presented at a Trustees meeting which showed that students of color, especially Black women, felt unsafe and overly surveilled in their interactions with University Police officers. To address these concerns, Jones called for a conversation between students and the police officers they interact with. Callahan explained that students who have had substandard interactions with University Police officers are encouraged to reach out to the Department, adding that the number of complaints filed against officers has been low. Jones countered that students of color may not feel comfortable going through formal channels, adding, “you can’t dismantle the master’s house with the master’s tools.” Gray emphasized the importance of improving relations between students and University Police, adding that the University’s police force is “a hardworking, well-trained, caring police force dedicated to the safety of all students on this campus, without regard to their color or without regard to anything else.” “If we have inadequately … intercepted the students of color with our police force, then that’s something we need to work on, and I’ll talk to Ed [Callahan] about working on that,” Gray said. “But we have a great force here. They care about our students. It’s a tough time to be a cop. … It’s a tough time to be a person of color interacting with a cop.” Asserting that more conversations are needed on the subject, Dean of Students Jamele Adams added that there used to be diversity training for University Police officers, and it may be beneficial to reintroduce it — “it’s not foreign to have it happen,” he said.
BRIEF
Sodexo offers mobile applications for diners and new green catering options for campus events Sodexo has recently revamped its app, “Bite by Sodexo,” allowing dining hall-goers to view daily menus, as well as nutritional and allergen information, according to a Jan. 10 email to students. According to the Sodexo website, the application — which is available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store — allows students to check dining hall menus, view news and events, and acquire nutritional information for every item served, including each entrée’s calories and allergens. Users may apply filters based on personal diet preferences, including allergens and mindful, vegetarian or vegan options, to view entrees available to them each day. The app also provides contact forms that allow diners to give feedback to Sodexo.
Brandeis Sodexo’s website notes that meal nutrition is also accessible through the mobile application MyFitnessPal, searchable through the code “sodexo campus.” However, despite recent updates to the app, “Bite by Sodexo” has a rating of 2 out of 5 stars on both the Google Play and Apple stores, with many users complaining that the app shut down unexpectedly and featured out-of-date menus. “The app is about as good as their food is....so pretty terrible,” one user wrote in the Google Play reviews. “You can do better,” another wrote. In collaboration with the University’s Staff Action Team on Climate Change, Sodexo has also created a special catering menu with “environmentally conscious catering options,” according to an email from
Sustainable Brandeis on Nov. 17, 2017. The meal and food selections from this catering menu focus on reducing waste and the University’s carbon footprint, and each event which uses the service will be provided green bags for compost disposal of food waste. Sustainable Brandeis, Facilities Services and Conference and Events Services have also worked with Sodexo to provide a “Guide for Green Events on Campus,” with a comprehensive outline of green options from Sodexo and services from the University that can help create zero-waste events. The guide may be found online, posted on the Sustainable Brandeis website. —Michelle Dang
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COMMUTER: Letter asks administration to return shared space to commuting students CONTINUED FROM 1 While campus residents “may have the luxury of having their own space which they are free to use,” the commuters’ statement read, “We have no such privilege. This decision displaces students so that we now have access to one less space to feel safe, store food, congregate, and study.” “For me, the lounge was a place to find respite between classes in the morning and to study during the afternoon,” Aguirre explained in an interview with the Justice’s editorial board. In the statement, the students expressed frustration that they were not consulted before the decision was made. “This is an act of profound disregard on your part and the part of Campus Operations,” they wrote, adding that they “wholeheartedly reject” the lounge’s rebranding as a shared space. In his original email, Souffrant wrote that the lounge would be inaccessible for 18 hours each week, spread across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. However, when the official list of office hours was posted outside the lounge, the times
NEWS
spanned across all five weekdays and made the lounge inaccessible to commuters for up to 29 hours each week. The increase in hours has a prohibitive effect on students who would otherwise use the lounge throughout the week, the students wrote in the statement. “This constitutes a completely unwarranted imposition that negatively impacts commuter students’ ability to use the resources of the University and dampens our capacity to integrate with campus life,” they wrote, urging University administrators to reverse the decision. “Any Ombudsperson office adherent to its purpose is deserving of its own independent space that is accessible during all working hours of the week,” the students wrote in the statement. However, Aguirre explained, “Commuter students are no less deserving of a space in which to congregate and feel safe.” —Editor’s note: Michelle Dang ’18, the Justice’s News editor, co-signed the commuter students’ statement of objection. She did not take part in writing or editing this article.
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
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FIGURES ARE MULTIFACETED
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Wil Jones ’18 told community members to take into consideration the good and bad of historical figures.
MLK: Community gathers to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. CONTINUED FROM 1
Contact Hannah Kressel at arts@thejustice.org
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tion,” which perpetuate “the same basic polarized conversation of ‘good’ and ‘bad’” when discussing leaders’ legacies. “I think my point here is that our figures are multifaceted. They’re not just good, they’re not just bad. They’re not figures and people who can just be sanitized for public consumption and left aboard this pedestal. … As a country we have to start looking holistically at our leaders … we have to add nuance to the conversation.” Capturing the energy and spirit
of the night, the DMJ United Voices of Praise Choir performed songs from Christianity and Black history. In the middle of the performance, musicians moved down from the stage to connect and pray with students. Reflecting on the powerful expression of passion and faith, Elder Terrence Haynes, the leader of the choir, told the Justice, “I think tonight was a great night of unity, love … I think it represented everything that Dr. King was fighting for, which was everyone coming together.” As the choir left the stage, Kwe-
si Jones ’21 put King’s spirit into words by reciting King’s “Our God is Marching On!” speech. The speech confronts the question of how much longer it will take to reach the peaceful, egalitarian society envisioned by the Civil Rights Movement. “How long?” Jones asked, speaking King’s words. “Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The memorial event was hosted in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater and was sponsored by the Men of Color Alliance and the Dean of Students Office.
OMBUDS: Services for conflict resolution now go beyond students CONTINUED FROM 1 as an advisor to the student LGBTQ Workgroup. In an email to the Justice, Burack wrote, “I am excited that the Ombuds office is now a regular part of Brandeis because it is an important way that the university can ensure that it is living its social justice mission.” She also shared her gratitude to the students involved in Ford Hall 2015 who pushed for the expansion of the Ombuds Office and to her Brandeis colleagues who helped make it a reality.
Greenstein, who leads the team, comes to Brandeis with over 29 years of experience in conflict resolution. He stressed the all encompassing nature of the new Ombuds Office in an interview with the Justice. “Conflict resolution and ombudry is most effective when an ombuds office can respond to an entire community and not just to some individuals on campus,” he said. The Ombuds Office is not meant to act just as a center of mediation but rather as an informal, neutral and confidential resource. “We can
help [an individual] figure out how to respond as well as figure out other resources within the Brandeis community or even outside the Brandeis community for support,” Greenstein explained. For students to whom mediation is already available on campus, Greenstein suggested that the Ombuds Office “conflict coaching” could even be used in conjunction with this service. The expanded office plans on immediately starting campus outreach so community members are aware of all services available.
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features
TUESDAY, january 16, 2018 ● Features ● The Justice
just
VERBATIM | OSCAR WILDE This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.
ON THIS DAY…
FUN FACT
In 1980, Paul McCartney was jailed in Tokyo for 10 days due to marijuana posession.
In the 1940s, shoe shops used X-Ray machines to measure shoe sizes.
Photos Courtesy of BRANDEIS MEN’S RUGBY
MORE THAN A TEAM: The Men’s Rugby Club is held together by a strong sense of “camaraderie.”
’Tis the Season, Rugby Season The Brandeis Men’s Rugby Football Club is searching for new players for the upcoming season
By Kirby KOCHANOWSKI JUSTICE EDITOR
RAW PASSION: The Men’s Rugby Club is hoping to win big in the upcoming season.
RAIN OR SHINE: Last season the Men’s Rugby Club practiced pushups in the snow.
Most would agree there are few places as overwhelming as the Shapiro Campus Center on the day of the Winter Involvement Fair. This Sunday, hundreds of students wandered through the atrium, some looking to join a new club and others passionately promoting their own. Curt Lieber ’19 was one of the latter. He stood in the crowd with his teammates, looking for potential recruits for the Brandeis Men’s Rugby Football Club. This past year, valuable players have graduated or gone abroad, leaving the team looking for new members. While the remaining players are passionate about the sport, they need more teammates as they move into their competitive season. Of recruitment Lieber said, “That’s the only challenge we face. … Once people actually show up and have some fun, they tend to stick around.” Lieber got involved in his first semester at Brandeis after he and a few friends signed up at the Winter Involvement Fair. “I had never played rugby before coming to Brandeis and they teach you everything,” he said. “We make it work; it’s always good people who want to come out.” This semester the team has joined the New England Rugby Football Union’s NERFU inaugural College 7s series. Rugby games can be played with teams of either seven or 15 players. Each team tries to pass, carry or kick the ball to the other team’s “ingoal” area. Doing this successfully
awards the team points. This new 7s series requires only seven players, whereas other tournaments may require 15. The Brandeis Men’s Rugby Football Club is joining NERFU’s Metropolis Conference, where they will face teams from Salem State University, Curry College, Babson College and Lasell College. They will play a total of three games as part of this conference, though they may take part in other tournaments and games throughout the spring. “If we can have people to have fun this semester [in 7s season] it’s easy to carry over that momentum into the fall. After this activities fair, it seems like a lot of people are interested,” Lieber said. He also mentioned the team is working on coordinating more with the Brandeis Women’s Rugby Football Club for recruiting and social events. “I think a lot of people look for that camaraderie. That’s what really resonated with me,” Lieber said. He thought back to a practice last year in the early spring, which was his first full-contact practice. It had snowed several days earlier and low temperatures caused the ground to be icy and hard. “About halfway through [practice] it starts snowing. … We’re doing pushups on our hands in the snow, and as awful as it sounds, that’s where you see who your true teammates are,” Lieber said. “If you can laugh about that and smile while you’re doing it, that’s pretty fun.” —The Justice’s Sports editor, Ben Katcher ’20, is the president of Brandeis Men’s Rugby Football Club.
the justice ● Features ● TUESDAY, january 16, 2018 ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
GOOD SPIRITS: Orientation leaders hosted a “Spirit Rally” to welcome the incoming students and teach them about the Brandeis school spirit.
Getting Oriented
Orientation leaders welcome incoming Midyear class onto campus By leigh salomon JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
How do you stump a couple of Orientation Leaders? Try asking them to pick their favorite part of Orientation. From discovering all the resources Brandeis offers, to facilitating social and informational events to integrating their grouplets (Brandeis slang for new students at Orientation) into the Brandeisian way of life, Maya Fields ’19 and Ben Korman ’19 revealed in an interview with the Justice what it’s like to be an OL, and why picking their favorite part is such a delightful dilemma. This year, it all began about 10 days before the new semester started, when roughly 100 returning students arrived on campus to train as OLs. Their job is to be a guide, resource and mentor to new students during their first days on campus and beyond. As Korman puts it, “We are not there to just move people from place to place, and tell them information and then leave. … We want to be there when they’re stressed out over classes and having trouble with friends.” After a week of team-building exercises, meeting with all the different organizations on campus and learning as much as they can about Brandeis, the OLs officially began Midyear Orientation with the welcoming of new students to campus on the evening of Jan. 6. The next two and a half days were jampacked with OL-hosted events, from informational sessions on diversity, health and safety to social gatherings such as casino- or beach-themed parties. Fields and Korman believe that part of the appeal of Orientation is that the student perspective is taken into consideration every step of the way, from the three to four student CORE Committee that plans Orientation to the OLs themselves who run it. “We’re
not these, like, really old adults. We’re students, just like them,” explained Fields. “So, they can see us as someone who literally just went through this one, or two, or three years ago,” she said. Korman added that they tailor
come with challenges, but Fields and Korman assured that it is “a hundred percent worth it,” and that overcoming the challenges is part of what makes the experience so rewarding. Fields recalled, for example,
OL is because I had some really awesome OLs, and I was like, I want to follow in their footsteps and give back to the new first-years coming in,” she said. Korman agreed, admitting that he relied heavily on his
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
MOVING IN: Orientation leaders help incoming Midyear students move into their new dorms and show them around the Brandeis
Orientation from semester to semester to meet the needs of students at different times. So in the fall, the events are bigger and louder because that Orientation involves many more students, while orientation in the spring and summer tends to be more introspective since it involves fewer students. As one might expect, entertaining and informing hundreds of students in only a few days can
that she had a stomachache on the first night of her very first orientation and wondered how she would get through the rest of the week. It was then that she realized not only how fortunate she was to have all the other OLs around to lift her spirits but also how inspiring the new students could be. “You realize that you really want to make the experience great for them. I know, for me, one reason I wanted to be an
OLs during his first year and now enjoys giving back to new students by lending them the same opportunity that he had to lean on someone for support. He has also realized that Orientation is often his favorite week of the semester because of — rather than in spite of — how busy it keeps him. “I think balance implies that it’s two opposite things — being an OL and being a student — and I don’t
really think it is,” he explained, recognizing that he would act no differently if he wasn’t an OL. The only difference he sees is in his ability to undertake even more responsibility as an OL, and to have a platform on which to access the resources he would already be sharing if he wasn’t an OL. Fields added that, given it is a volunteer position, she doesn’t think any OL would be doing what they do if they didn’t enjoy it. She went on to dispel the myth that OLs have to be extroverts, admitting that she can be a little shy at first in some situations. “I think OLs are … seen as these really enthusiastic, outgoing people, and some people are kind of afraid of applying for that reason, because they don’t think they have that kind of energy; and I really think that’s not always the case, as much as we might come off as that,” she said. Korman, meanwhile, takes pride in his loudness and “resident yeller” status, having lost his voice in every Orientation he has attended so far. “I mean, you can hear now,” he joked, “I still don’t really have my voice back, and it’s so worth it.” Reflecting on how being an OL has changed their outlook on life, Fields and Korman both acknowledge the close friends they’ve made and the personal growth they’ve experienced. “This is going to be, like, the most OL answer ever but … one of the things which I think, as an OL, I’ve learned is just how many resources this school has for, like, so many situations,” said Korman. Fields agreed, explaning why some OLs actually enjoy Orientation more than the students, reflecting that “you’re seeing your grouplets go off on their first day, and you’re like, ‘look at how far we’ve come with them from, like, three days ago.’ It’s so worth it. It’s really an amazing experience.”
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10 TUESDAY, january 16, 2018 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE
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Abby Patkin, Editor in Chief Amber Miles, Managing Editor Carmi Rothberg, Senior Editor Kirby Kochanowski and Sabrina Sung, Deputy Editors Michelle Banayan, Abby Grinberg, Lizzie Grossman, Noah Hessdorf, Mihir Khanna and Mira Mellman Associate Editors Michelle Dang, News Editor, Victor Feldman, Features Editor Nia Lyn, Forum Editor, Ben Katcher, Sports Editor Hannah Kressel, Arts Editor Yvette Sei and Natalia Wiater, Photography Editors Morgan Mayback, Layout Editor, Pamela Klahr and Robbie Lurie, Jen Geller and Avraham Penso, Copy Editors
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Criticize University’s treatment of commuter students On Jan. 10, Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas sent an email regarding the formalization of the Brandeis Ombuds Office. This will provide a useful means to achieve conflict resolution between students or staff with other members of the University, a long-awaited result of the list of demands created by students of color during the 2015 Ford Hall protest. In the email, Brimhall-Vargas described the ombuds as experienced individuals that “provide alternatives to adversarial dispute resolution not available elsewhere.” This board commends the University for taking the steps needed to foster a sense of security, wellbeing and cooperation on campus, but we urge the University to correct a major oversight in the designation and appointment of the Ombuds Office. The Ombuds Office is located in Shapiro Campus Center Room 316, which is also the Commuter Lounge. On Nov. 10, 2017, commuter students received an email from Operations Specialist JV Souffrant informing them of the change and listing the tentative hours allocated to ombuds meetings: Tuesday from noon to 5 p.m, Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. While inconvenient, there were still weekdays that commuter students could have unrestricted access to the lounge. Soon after, an official list of hours was posted outside the lounge door. The current hours of operation for the ombuds are Monday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m., Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. This leaves little time for commuter students to utilize the lounge as a space to congregate and study
Acknowledge student needs in between classes. Undergraduate student Fox Aguirre ’19 was one of many students to object to the change. In an interview with the Justice, he said, “For me, the lounge was a place to find respite between classes in the morning and to study during the afternoon.” Aguirre wrote a letter of opposition to Vice President for Campus Operations Jim Gray which was signed by 11 other commuter students. According to the International Ombuds Association, the general purpose of an ombuds office is to provide confidential and impartial assistance to individuals and groups. Given this, there are criteria to be met when designating a space as an ombuds office; it is suggested that an ombuds office be located in a building accessible by all members of the community, and in order to protect anonymity, the office should be designed so parties cannot be seen entering or exiting. It is also suggested that the office have a waiting room and soundproof walls to maintain confidentiality. It is understandable why the Commuter Lounge was chosen, since it is connected to the Dharmic prayer space which might be used as an alternate means of exiting. This board acknowledges these constraints but urges the University to designate a new space for commuter students. As Aguirre said, “Commuter students are no less deserving of a space in which to congregate and feel safe.” There are several meeting spaces in the SCC that could be used until a more suitable permanent location is assigned, or the commuter lounge could be relocated to the former Dunkin Donuts location in Village Quad.
Urge the University to improve current Brandeis app On Wednesday, Sodexo’s new app, “Bite,” was launched on the Brandeis campus, according to an email sent by Andy Allen, Brandeis dining service manager. The app has been designed to allow students and users to “view daily menus in the dining halls on campus at any given time” as well as “nutritional and allergen information for each dish, rate dishes, and provide valuable feedback to [Sodexo].” With a rating of 2.1 stars out of 5 on the Apple App Store and 2.0 on the Google Play store, public opinion appears to reflect the sentiment of this board: The Bite app is abysmal. If the app succeeds in opening without crashing within seconds, the user is prompted to choose a dining location within their proximity. The app is seemingly designed for various Sodexo locations, not just Brandeis, so ideally the user would be prompted to select Brandeis University as their location and then a dining hall from a sublist. Instead, the user is presented a list of all the dining locations on campus as though they are independent entities. The consequence of this is that, if a user wanted to compare Usdan Dining Hall’s menu to that of Sherman Dining Hall, that user would have to repeat the process of searching for locations close to them — an activity that apparently puts too much strain on the app and often causes it to crash. Once the user has successfully navigated to their dining hall of choice, they are able
Improve the user interface to see the day’s menu. Clicking on items on the menu provides the user with detailed nutritional information, with even the option to “Log to Fitbit.” Unfortunately, this feature fails to work, as the mere act of clicking on the dish to see its information freezes the app, forcing the user to quit it and start all over again. While the Bite app is conceptually great and has many useful features, it fails to function satisfactorily — or at all, most of the time. This board encourages Sodexo and its technology partners to rapidly repair the app and enable students to avail of its features as soon as possible. For a product as aggressively advertised as Bite, it is embarrassing how poorly it performs. Ideally, the one active “Brandeis” app should be revamped and relaunched with a link to Sodexo’s app in conjunction with “What’s Open.” This app would also act as a single sign in access to all of Brandeis’s technology services, including LATTE and Sage. Such a project could either be outsourced or could be made inhouse by Brandeis computer science students looking to get experience in the field of app development. In an age of smartphones, such an app would be invaluable, and this board hopes to see a successful manifestation of Sodexo’s attempts to reach students in the near future.
MARA KHAYTER/the Justice
Views the News on
On Jan. 10, Florida Gulf Coast University introduced a class titled “White Racism,” with the goal to “interrogate the concept of race” by examining racist ideologies. However, according to a Jan. 10 CNN article, the class was met with so much opposition — including a series of threatening emails sent to the professor — that campus police officers were posted outside of the class. What do you think of this type of class, and how do you think the university should proceed?
Prof. Theodore Johnson (Heller) Florida Gulf Coast University recently offered a class entitled “White Racism” aiming to examine racist ideology and how it manifests itself. National news outlets quickly reported on this class as it sparked protests on campus, and police officers were sent to the opening session as a precaution in the event of difficult reactions. Should Universities offer classes on “White Racism”? In a word, absolutely! The Oxford English Living Dictionary defines white racism as a “belief in the superiority of white people, leading to prejudicial treatment of people of other races.” While some may deny this definition, it is worth noting that Ibram X. Kendi of American University has recently written: “The heartbeat of racism is denial” (New York Times, Jan. 13, 2018). As students, scholars and peace-building practitioners, denial is not an appropriate option. The possibility of a post-racial world based on inclusivity, mutual respect, coexistence and intersectionality, will occur only as we learn to penetrate the social and structural barriers that keep us isolated in tribal enclaves that define anyone outside our bubble as “the other.” An inquiry into racism — of all stripes — is an essential first step. Prof. Theodore Johnson (Heller) is an associate professor of the Practice at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
Prof. Carina Ray (AAAS) The unambiguously racist remarks by President Trump yesterday (1/11) which disparaged African countries, Haiti and El Salvador, and in turn demeaned Africans, Haitians and Salvadorians, offer clear proof of why Professor Ted Thornhill’s course “White Racism” is urgently needed. Listening to pundits debate whether Trump’s remarks were racist or just crude indicates the need for courses like Thornhill’s that afford students the opportunity to unpack the concept of race and identify the myriad practices of racism, including the institutional racism, that pervade American life. The irony of those who have attacked Thornhill for offering this course is that their threats and condemnations have been delivered in unabashedly racist language. While their vitriol is intended to pressure Thornhill and Florida Gulf Coast University to cancel the course, what it has succeeded in doing is demonstrating why it must be taught. Carina Ray (AAAS) is an associate professor of African and AfroAmerican Studies.
Prof. Abigail Cooper (HIST) A class probing “White Racism” is core to a rigorous and responsible education. If you leave college without probing the history and structures of race and racism, what kind of education did you just get? The kind that gets you a “good job” but fails to challenge you to be an intellectual leader? If the title is provocative, then good. You have something urgent to discuss from day one. I teach “American Slavery.” The danger of conceiving of “American Slavery” as an elective on the margins, studying people distant from you safely cloistered in the past, is that students and University alike will avoid the uncomfortable. “American Slavery” is relevant right now. Embrace discomfort and educate yourself in the toughest stuff, and that is what makes society healthy and the individuals within it resilient. To me, the controversy is not in the title of the course but that the course is not required for every student. Prof. Abigail Cooper (HIST) is a professor of History.
Shaquan McDowell ’18 The Department of Social Sciences of Florida Gulf Coast University, in which the course is offered, specifically lists its intention as connecting “students to important facets of the human experience.” No matter the personal sentiments of students, the existence of racism is indisputable and discussing how it has affected the lives of people of color is pertinent in understanding their experiences. To insist otherwise would be choosing to exist in intentional ignorance. Thus, the existence of a course regarding racism is beneficial for all students. The University should keep the course. It’s suggested that the focus on “white racism” specifically is inherently prejudiced against white students. This is not the case — the fact is the current incarnation of the institution known as “racism” was organized and developed to be advantageous for white people, oppressing minority communities. Failure to recognize such removes what lies at the core of racism, thus making it impossible to understand, and therefore harder to deconstruct. The course should be left as is by the University. Shaquan McDowell ’18 is the co-president and co-founder of the Purple Party.
Images: Theodore Johnson, Abigail Cooper, the Justice
THE JUSTICE ● fORUM ● TUESDAY, january 16, 2018
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Reconsider attitudes surrounding meat consumption By tafara gava justice staff writer
In the light of the ongoing dialogue about climate change, the United States’ rate of meat consumption has been a point of contention. According to a Dec. 1, 2016 MarketWatch article, research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests that Americans are among the highest consumers of meat per capita in the world, consuming, on average, 193 pounds of beef, pork, chicken and lamb a year. For a decade or so, scientists have studied the effects of meat production and consumption on things ranging from climate change to human health. Regarding climate change, a July 2009 study by Dutch scientists concluded that the meat production industry accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gases and 80 percent of total anthropogenic land use. Research from Harvard Medical School regarding the health benefits of reduced meat consumption shows that vegetarians tend to consume less saturated fats and cholesterol and consume more beneficial nutrients like vitamins C and E, dietary fiber, folic acid and magnesium. Thus, the findings of such research tend to indicate that a general reduction in red meat consumption is better for not only the environment but for personal health as well. Certain entities like the media, animal-rights activists and climate activists passionately encourage citizens to decrease meat consumption. In many of their campaigns, responsible consumers are urged to decrease meat consumption or lead entirely meatless diets. With endorsement from celebrities like Beyoncé, plant based eating has experienced a surge in popularity. According to Top Trends in Prepared Foods 2017, six percent of the U.S. now identifies as vegan, as opposed to one percent in 2014. However, these campaigns often use shaming tactics to try to change people’s minds. A result of the popularity of “veganism” is the phenomenon where its practitioners shame the diets of non-practitioners. A July 14, 2017 Huffington Post article related an incident in which a group of vegan activists confronted a family fishing for tilapia, exclaiming, “Fish feel pain, just like us.” In another 2016 incident, protesters stormed into a Berkeley, California restaurant and disrupted a dinner service. The restaurant was chosen as part of the protestors’ campaign “to peacefully speak out in stores and restaurants that serve products from animals killed for food about violence against animals on farms across the United States,” according to a Sept. 11, 2016 Berkeleyside article. Perhaps an even more psychologically problematic approach to inspire avoidance of meat-heavy diets is the production of very harrowing
documentaries that depict the ill treatment of animals in various meat and dairy industries, such as “Food Inc.” and “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.” These documentaries do indeed depict the truth behind the production of meat. However, in convincing audiences to take action against ill treatment of animals, their main mechanism is to shock and burden viewers with guilt. The problem with these approaches to reducing meat consumption is that they ignore a number of nuances, from the results we’re trying to achieve with eventual meatconsumption reduction to the different relationships that individuals have with meat. As it stands, this broad and vaguely shaming clarion call by animal-rights activists and climate activists alike may risk retrograding what should be a noble, global effort. The main problem with the arguments of animal-rights activists is that rarely do they provide sustainable solutions to what exactly should happen to animals domesticated and/ or slaughtered for meat or dairy. As is, most chickens and turkeys in the production cycle have been genetically modified so that their bodies cannot live very long, according to the Aussie Farms Repository. Furthermore, it is important to understand that they live only to satisfy the market demand for meat. This means that if there were to be a sudden decline in the need for meat — because, say, a significant number of individuals turned vegan — the animals that exist today would simply be killed, as they can’t sustain themselves without human aid. On a larger timescale, it is important to consider the idea of artificial selection. Charles Darwin, widely known for his contributions to the theory of evolution, touches on the effect of artificial selection on animals in his landmark book, “On the Origin of Species.” What Darwin illuminated almost two centuries ago was that humans have modified domestic animals so much that it is virtually impossible for them to return to the wild. The genes of these animals code for domestication. This means that if one were to walk into a chicken factory and free all the chickens, they would simply waddle and cluck their way back to the factory. Given such a predicament, what are we going to do with species of domesticated animals if we do reduce meat consumption? Does it mean that species of animals that are the most environmentally taxing will eventually become extinct? Another starting point for discussion is that, in the United States, there could never be a 100-percent reduction in meat consumption. Culturally speaking, this country is too varied to make a decision like this; ever since the U.S.’s inception, many nationalities, religions
JULIANNA SCIONTI/the Justice
and cultures have immigrated here, and in doing so, they have brought with them different attitudes toward meat consumption. It can be argued that such attitudes toward meat are so ingrained in their lives that they are inherently part of their cultures. Similarly, some could argue that they rear and slaughter their own animals, and hence do not contribute to the industrialization of meat production. Such a practice is common in places like rural Zimbabwe, in Sub-Saharan Africa. The animals there have expansive pastures where they feed, ruminate and interact the whole year. They are only kept in pens at night to protect them from carnivores like hyenas and leopards. Moreover, slaughtering them for meat is a luxury: Cows are slaughtered for beef only at events like funerals and weddings. What arguments, then, can convince an individual who knows no other life?
Intrinsically, there is nothing wrong with consuming meat. Humans — despite being vastly more intelligent — are animals, and hence part of any ecosystem, too. Killing between different species is a natural aspect of the natural world. This is what has helped our ancestors evolve for us to become as complex and well-adapted to our world as we are. That said, there is indeed a gross problem with our meat consumption today. The industrialization of food production engenders many ethical and environmental concerns. Therein lie all the problems that contribute to ill treatment of animals, poor human health and, indeed, capitalism. We are killing more animals than we need and we are growing rather unnecessary tastes, and this ends up in a cycle where industries manipulate that demand as they emit vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and keep animals in cages.
Condemn President Trump’s recent remarks about immigrants Judah
weinerman chatterbox
It was the middle-school level insult heard around the world: According to a Jan. 12 Washington Post article, last Thursday, President Donald Trump reportedly asked several lawmakers, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” after they suggested protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, and several African countries. Managing to pour more gasoline on the fire, Trump then suggestED that the United States should instead bring in more immigrants from countries like Norway and proceeded to question why certain people were even allowed in the country to begin with. Trump reportedly asked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “Why do we need more Haitians?” and claimed that “they all have AIDS.” According to a Dec. 23, 2017 New York Times article he then claimed that the nearly 40,000 Nigerians issued visas in 2017 would never want to “go back to their huts” in Africa. Although several Republicans in attendance claimed not to remember Trump using any profanity or say anything demeaning,
Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) confirmed that his profane rant went exactly as reported. Anyone can clearly see that the president of the United States did indeed call these non-white countries “shitholes” and all but implied that he fundamentally disagreed with the very idea of American immigration. The implications of this are beyond terrifying. From day one, Trump’s only real coherent political position has been hardline opposition to immigration, drawn on starkly racial lines. “Make America Great Again” was, and will always be, a dog-whistle proclamation that America should return to the days of unspoken white supremacy. In the minds of Trump and his rabid supporters, America was great when discrimination was the law of the land and an unquestioned cultural maxim. Non-white people were expected to be complacent in their role as second-class citizens, and their participation in politics was to be made completely nonexistent. Many of Trump’s supporters seem to pine for this era or, at least, the gross caricature created by their hateful nostalgia. However, what Trump’s recent comments suggest is that he holds an even bleaker vision of the ideal America. By claiming that immigrants who are looking for a better life come from “shitholes” and that the only immigrants worth taking in are those from equally developed — and predominantly white — countries, Trump seemingly has given up on the very idea of the American experiment. From its very outset, the United States has
prided itself as a shining city on a hill, a country for the world to look up to and for those seeking a better life. Whether it be Jews fleeing anti-Semitism, Germans reeling from political violence, Irish seeking a way out from the Great Famine, or Koreans escaping their divided peninsula, America managed to keep its doors open to new arrivals. In fact, Trump’s own grandfather Frederick Trump was an immigrant himself, having moved from his native Bavaria to seek his fortune in the New World, according to an Oct. 26, 2016 article in the Huffington Post. Undoubtedly, he faced the same discrimination as immigrants do now, yet he fought through it all and secured a future for his family in the United States. Even as nativists attempted to keep their fragile notions of American exclusivity alive, the American dream never died. There was always a chance, always a way for those ill at ease in their home countries to look to America. Trump seems to fundamentally disagree with this model in its entirety. Trump’s flawed logic suggests that anyone from a “shithole” non-white country can never become an American. Even those who have already integrated in American society are suspect, their nationality and ethnicity an insurmountable barrier to acceptability. Every action Trump takes on immigration is through this central idea that whiteness is the paramount signifier of the American spirit. While he may futilely claim that he is the “least racist person” — as he recently did, according to a Jan. 14 New York Times article — every single action and suggestion the
president has taken on immigration suggests otherwise. While Republicans are often quick to accuse Democrats of attempting to make the United States more like Europe, Trump’s vision of immigration is, in fact, much more in line with the extremely restrictive practices European countries have adopted. Take for example Norway, the country he so desperately would prefer immigrants originate from. In an attempt to keep the country’s ethnostate nature intact, Norway has adopted extremely strict immigration laws specifically to keep the tide of refugees from North Africa and the Middle East out of the country, according to a Dec. 30, 2015 Sputnik News article. Despite Trump’s wishes, the United States has never been, nor will it be, a white ethnostate. While the media has obviously focused on the crass and immature nature of Trump’s comments, particularly coming off the unflattering portrait painted of him in Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury,” Trump’s complete disbelief in non-white immigrants is far more troubling. Trump’s logic dangerously borders on outright white nationalism, a similarity not helped by his insistence that the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville included some “very fine people” among their ranks. Sadly, the presidency is no stranger to racism. After all, the position has included several slaveholders and one outright Confederate in John Tyler among its ranks. If Trump continues down his current path, he casts his lot with them and not with the American ideals he swore to uphold and protect.
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12
TUESDAY, january 16, 2018 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Consider possible options for the future of health care By James porkola special to the justice
The health care debate is not a new one for Americans. This perennial thorn in the nation’s political side has been around since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration in the 1960s. While Medicare and Medicaid have done a lot of work in ensuring access to health coverage for many of the most vulnerable Americans, they have not gone far enough toward giving every American access to health insurance. The modern health care debate began when former President Bill Clinton attempted to implement compulsory insurance-based universal health care, which, according to an Oct. 28, 1993 New York Times article, would have mandated companies to pay for insurance for their workers and required individuals to be covered through one of these plans. It also included subsidies for individuals who could not afford a coverage plan and mandates for which benefits insurers must provide. However, opposition from Republicans in Congress prevented the bill from being implemented. While the Clinton health care plan had flaws, it laid the groundwork for future advances in health care legislation. This established the current party stances on the issue, with Democrats seeking to expand access to health care and Republicans opposing the proposed expansions. In 2010, former President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed into law, marking the United States’ largest expansion of health coverage since the 1960s. By 2016, the ACA reduced the uninsured rate by nearly half, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. This was primarily achieved through an expansion of Medicaid in all but 17 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Also contributing to the increase in Americans covered were the implementation of changes to individual insurance markets, which allowed those with pre-existing conditions to be covered, mandating that individuals buy insurance and providing insurance premium subsidies to low income individuals. While the ACA is not perfect, it has managed to bring insurance to approximately 22.8 million Americans, many of whom had never had insurance before, according to a May 14, 2015 Forbes article. The ACA, since its initial conception, has been met with near-constant opposition from the Republican Party. Since the end of Obama’s administration, Republicans in Congress have failed in several attempts to “repeal and replace” the ACA. Republican replacement plans have been rated by the Congressional Budget Office and would have reduced the number of people with insurance by approximately 22 million over the following 10 years if they had been implemented, according to a June 26, 2017 CNBC report. A September repeal attempt, the so-called “skinny repeal,” which would have repealed the ACA without replacing it,
marked the end of Republican efforts to the repeal the bill for the time being. However, the passage of the December Republican tax bill eliminated the tax mandate of the ACA. Republican proclamations of the ACA’s failure have the potential to become a selffulfilling prophecy, as their destabilizing of the insurance market through constant repeal efforts has created turmoil and jeopardized millions of Americans’ health coverage, all in the pursuit of partisan politicking over the wellbeing of the American people. While Republicans made their repeal efforts, public support for the ACA grew, with a June 23, 2017 NBC/WSJ poll showing that a majority of Americans now supported the law. Despite Republican efforts to smear the ACA and a lack of support and information about enrollment, approximately nine million Americans signed up for an ACA health plan for 2018, according to a Dec. 9, 2017 Washington Post article. This leaves the nation in a precarious position, as Republicans have no viable plan to replace the ACA, but their fearmongering and elimination of the ACA tax mandate could potentially destabilize the future of the insurance and health care industries. Attempts to reverse the ACA’s expansion of health care lack support from the public and would leave millions of Americans uninsured, so there are two main options for health care to move forward. The first is to maintain the ACA as it exists, as a compulsory insurance based universal health care plan. This solution is simplest, as it involves little overhaul of the existing health care industry, and there exist multiple examples for the U.S. to follow moving forward to stabilize the ACA’s individual markets. One method would be to follow the example of Germany’s national health care service by creating risk compensation pools to offset the adverse selection issue. Adverse selection is a term used in economics to describe a situation where buyers and sellers do not have the same information. In insurance, adverse selection describes a situation where an individual’s demand for insurance is positively correlated with their risk of loss. For example, an elderly or chronically ill individual is more likely to have a higher demand for insurance than a young, healthy individual. This creates an issue for insurance companies, as well as individuals, as it is more expensive to cover the elderly and sick than the young and healthy, leading plans for the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions to be more expensive. A risk compensation pool compensates for this issue by attempting to equalize the risk between two separate funds, one for the young and healthy, another for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions. This works by having a fund where predominantly young and healthy clients pay into a compensation pool with funds that elderly or sick patients can withdraw from, to offset the risk taken on by the latter fund and eliminate incentive to drop elderly clients or those with preexisting conditions. By disallowing funds to select their policyholders or deny coverage,
PERI MEYERS/the Justice
more people are able to be insured — and at a lower cost to themselves and the insurance companies. Another potential solution would be to move the U.S. onto a single-payer health care system, like the one used in Canada. In a singlepayer system, essential health care costs for all citizens are financed through taxes and are covered by a single public system. In singlepayer systems, there may be private health care organizations contracted by the system, or the government may own and employ health care resources and personnel. This type of system establishes a single health risk pool for the entire population, with a single set of rules for services offered, reimbursement rates, drug fees and minimum standards of service, and it is typically extended to all citizens and legal residents. According to a June 23, 2017 Pew Research Center poll, support for a single-payer system is growing, but many Americans still have concerns about the implications of such a move. A primary concern would be increases in individual taxes to pay for the program. While the details would need to be worked out by policymakers, in most countries with single-payer systems the increase in an individual’s taxes is far lower than the medical bills and insurance premiums they
would have paid otherwise, according to a Aug. 9, 2017 Business Insider article. Another concern is the potential increase in the deficit from such a plan. However, any single-payer system would likely be replacing the existing health care structure of Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA, so it would not be adding on top of existing entitlements but rather replacing them, and a single-payer system fully funded through taxation would not increase the deficit. In addition, providing health care to more people at a lower cost can keep individuals from going into debt due to unexpected medical bills or the inability to get insurance, allowing for more individual consumption spending. While the health care debate will presumably continue for many years to come, there are paths forward that would give more coverage to individuals and eventually achieve the goal of universal health care. Since Republican efforts to repeal and replace the ACA have been put to rest for the present and massive public support for the ACA has shown a public acceptance of governmentfunded health care , the dream of a singlepayer system — and the U.S. catching up to the majority of the Western world in terms of providing basic medical needs to its citizens — is hopefully within reach.
Encourage University to recognize importance of divestment By Brandeis climate justice special to the justice
Divestment is the act of selling company shares, bonds or investment funds for a political or social reason. An investor may publicly and intentionally divest — rather than sell a stock because it is not performing well — in order to reprimand unethical or morally ambiguous corporations. Divestment movements are not only effective in ending fossil fuel sponsorship, but also for generating awareness for social issues at large. In the past, divestment movements have successfully publicized crises like the apartheid in South Africa, genocide in Sudan and repression in Burma. Removing investments from firms that do business with oppressive or apartheid regimes does not eradicate these regimes. However, it sends a strong message to companies that it is unacceptable to enable governments to infringe on human rights. Divestment is an especially important stance to take at Brandeis, considering that the University was founded on principles of social justice — climate justice is a social justice issue. As we have seen this year, climate change is happening now and affecting the most vulnerable communities most intensely, exacerbating pre-existing intersections of oppression. Examples include the California wildfires and recent hurricanes’ impacts on low-lying islands. The fossil fuel industry continues to deny climate change and delay action against climate change. The industry
creates uncertainty about climate change by funding skewed research that disputes already existing climate science and explores the extraction of more fossil fuels despite the threat of climate change. According to Brandeis’ Final Report and Recommendations on divestment, “Scholars of public policy, environmental activists, and political leaders eager to rein in carbon emissions have pointed with dismay to the role played by a number of anti-regulatory industry groups, including the American Petroleum Institute, among many others, in cultivating doubt, impugning the motives of climate scientists, and delaying regulatory action.” For example, aerospace engineer Wei-Hock “Willie” Soon wrote multiple papers claiming the sun, rather than human activities, caused climate change, and his work was funded by major players in the fossil fuel industry, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Charles Koch, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Brandeis, by investing in the fossil fuel industry, supports these actions that contribute to climate-change denial and climate change itself. However, Brandeis is an institution dedicated to social justice, and its investment policy states, “Only when the corporation is directly and substantially involved in activities clearly considered by the university community to be contrary to fundamental and widely shared ethical principles should the portfolio managers be instructed to avoid purchase of its securities.” Therefore, Brandeis should prioritize divestment to uphold its reputation
of social justice, stand up to the fossil fuel industry and be a leader in an important political movement. Other universities and institutions have supported various forms of fossil fuel divestment; divestment organization Fossil Free reports that there are 813 institutions divesting. Some examples include Stanford University divesting from coal, and the University of Massachusetts Foundation fully divesting.
“
Divestment is an especially important stance to take at Brandeis ... Climate justice is a social justice issue. Brandeis Climate Justice works with the group Faculty Against the Climate Threat to advocate for fossil fuel divestment at Brandeis. BCJ originally started as a branch of Students For Environmental Action in 2012. Originally just called “divestment” or “divestment movement,” this student group rallied other students to call for a student referendum. This referendum revealed that approximately 79 percent of students wanted Brandeis University to take its money out of fossil fuels. Eventually, the administration formed an exploratory committee of students,
The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.
professors and members from the Board of Trustees to discuss fossil fuel divestment. The committee presented in spring 2015 in favor of fossil fuel divestment. In April 2016, students from BCJ and members of Faculty Against the Climate Threat presented before the Board of Trustees with a strong show of support from other students outside. BCJ took the next school year to regroup, discuss goals and work on material solidarity for and education about communities most affected by climate change, including the people at Standing Rock Indian Reservation. This year, BCJ has renewed its campaign for fossil fuel divestment, with a petition and call in to the Senate Sustainability Committee last semester and a meeting with University President Ron Liebowitz in early January. This semester, students and faculty members will meet with the Board of Trustees to present about divestment. Becoming informed is an important step in combating climate change, and Go Fossil Free and the Brandeis University’s Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment Final Report and Recommendations are useful resources. Other major ways to support movements like these are by attending general events like rallies or doing small things like signing petitions. Events and actions like these are posted on social media by groups all over the Boston area. Raising awareness on this issue and attending events like rallies show administrations and Board of Trustee members that the student body is informed and supports divestment, bringing these campaigns closer to reaching divestment.
2017
10 THE JUSTICE ● Sports ● Tuesday, JANUARY 16, 2018
MBBALL: Players can still turn this season around CONTINUED FROM 16 In their closest loss of January, and their first University Athletic Association conference game of the season, the Judges were unable to fend off New York University on the road. In a very close match, that contained four lead changes, neither team was able to get ahead by a large margin. Again Brandeis had five players in double-digits, led by forward Chandler Jones ’21 and Sawyer, who both had 14 points. Additionally, the Judges had a season high of 12 threes made as a group. Despite a tough loss, NYU is now 8-5. By putting
13
STORMING AHEAD
up a strong fight against a talented squad, Brandeis was able to show their capacity to compete. Without a doubt, January has been a difficult month for the men’s basketball team, but there seems to be consistent patterns in the team’s play that ultimately prevent it from coming out on top. If the group can improve on the boards and its inside scoring, it will ultimately become a much larger threat to any team it may face and could try to turn their season around. On Friday, Brandeis will host the University of Rochester at 8 p.m. for its first conference home game of the season.
PRO SPORTS: LaVar continues to hold WBBALL: Club still playing the keys to his well in a tough conference children’s futures
NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo
LEADING THE PACK: Guard Eva Hart ’18 drives past the defense in a commanding 68-48 win against Salem State on Nov. 28.
CONTINUED FROM 16
CONTINUED FROM 16 brother LaMelo in signing with a professional team in Lithuania. LaVar is aware of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s distaste for one and done players, so using funding from Big Baller Brand, Lavar created the Junior Basketball Association. The league hopes to field 10 teams which will play in NBA arenas. While some may find LaVar’s antics entertaining, others do not share in that opinion. LiAngelo and LaMelo were on the
path to having NBA careers of their own. Even with the shoplifting incident, LiAngelo probably would’ve had a successful freshman season and would also been drafted to the league next year. LaMelo had just started his junior year in high school with a commitment made to UCLA when he was in 8th grade. But after signing an agent for his two children, LaVar destroyed his children’s chances to play basketball in college and by sending them to Lithuania, is gambling their dreams of playing in the NBA.
forward Jillian Petrie ’21 increased the lead to 15 points. Although the Bears scored the next of the game’s nine points, lessening the lead to 4539, the Judges were able to maintain their lead throughout the rest of the game. Judges 64, NYU 76 On Saturday, the Judges fell to 8-3 after a loss to NYU. Although the team was able to diminish a 20-point deficit to five points, this was not enough to pull ahead and come away with a victory. Although the Judges scored the first points of the game, NYU then scored the next 12
points, with NYU graduate student guard Kaitlyn Read scoring eight of these points in a row. The Violets’ momentum was halted in the quarter with a four-point play by Casanueva. Nicholson scored two free throws to narrow the score in the quarter to 1613, but Read would add more points to the scoreboard to end the first quarter with a 27-17 lead for NYU. In the second quarter, the Judges scored 14, however, the Violets closed the quarter strong and ended the half with a 44-31 lead. Opening the second half, the Violets scored the first seven points of the third quarter and as the rest of the half unfolded, were able to maintain a steady lead that resulted in a final score of 76-64.
Judges 60, Regis 50 On Tuesday, Jan. 2, the Judges improved to 8-2 with a successful fight against the Regis College Pride. The Judges proved victorious right out of the gate holding a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the remaining three quarters, the Judges would maintain their lead and prove an unstoppable force, situating themselves ahead at 25-19 at the half and 44-35 after the third quarter. Nicholson and Petrie were the top scorers in the game with a combined scoring total of 23 points. Additionally, Goncalo was a major contributor to the game defensively, posting six rebounds and playing a very impressive game.
TENNIS BASKETBALL SWIMMING TRACK
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TENNIS BASKETBALL SWIMMING TRACK
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THE JUSTICE
● Sports ●
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
15
TRACK AND FIELD
jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS Men’s BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS Points Per Game
UAA Conference W L Emory 3 0 WashU 3 0 Rochester 2 0 Carnegie 2 0 NYU 1 0 Case 1 0 JUDGES 0 3 Carnegie 0 3
W 12 12 11 6 8 7 4 4
Overall L Pct. 2 .857 2 .857 3 .786 8 .429 5 .615 7 .500 10 .286 10 .289
EDITOR’S NOTE: Friday vs. University of Rochester Sunday vs. Emory Jan. 26 vs. Case Western
Lawrence Sabir ’18 leads the team with 11.3 points per game. Player PPG Latye Workman 11.3 Lawrence Sabir 11.1 Colin Sawyer 9.6 Eric D’Aguanno 9.4
Rebounds Per Game Latye Workman ’18 leads the team with 8.9 rebounds per game. Player RPG Latye Workman 8.9 Chandler Jones 4.8 Lawrence Sabir 3.9 Eric D’Aguanno 3.7
WOMen’s basketball UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS Points Per Game
UAA Conference W L W Rochester 3 0 13 Carnegie 3 0 12 Emory 2 1 8 WashU 1 2 10 JUDGES 1 2 9 Carnegie 1 2 9 NYU 1 2 8 Case 0 3 3
Overall L Pct. 1 .929 1 .923 6 .571 4 .714 4 .692 5 .642 6 .571 10 .231
EDITOR’S NOTE: Friday vs. University of Rochester Sunday vs. Emory University Jan. 26 vs. Case Western
Katie Goncalo ’20 leads the team with 10.2 points per game. Player PPG Katie Goncalo 10.2 Hannah Nicholson 9.2 Sarah Jaromin 8.4 Camila Casanueva 7.5
Rebounds Per Game Hannah Nicholson ’20 leads with 9.0 rebounds per game. Player RPG Hannah Nicholson 9.0 Joelle MarkAnthony 4.5 Jillian Petrie 3.8 Camila Casanueva 3.5
SWIMMING AND DIVING Results from meet against Colby College on Dec. 9.
TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 100-yard Breaststroke
SWIMMER TIME Daniel Wohl 1:02.19 Rich Avrutsky 1:06.16 Lance Babcock 1:14.55
TOP FINISHERS (Women’s) 200-yard Freestyle
SWIMMER TIME Kylie Herman 2:03.68 Amy Sheinhait 2:09.08 Leah Kunins 2:22.44
NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo
ROUNDING THE CORNER: Sprinter Adam Beckwith ’18 runs hard at last year’s Reggie Poyau Invitational on Jan. 14, 2017.
Both teams place 2nd in first meet of 2018 ■ The track teams ran hard against local schools, as only Southern Maine bested the Judges overall. By BEN KATCHER JUSTICE Sports editor
EDITOR’S NOTE: Saturday vs. Colby College Jan. 13 vs. Boston College Jan. 20 at Keene State
Track and Field Results from Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational on Jan 13.
TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)
TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)
55-Meter Dash
200-Meter Dash
RUNNER TIME Jacob Ward 6.77 Regan Charlie 6.80 Matt Kimmelstiel 6.98
RUNNER TIME Kanya Brown 28.50 Jordan Brill-Cass 28.95 Tessa Holleran 30.55
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sunday at GBTC Invitational Jan. 26 at BU Terrier Classic Jan. 27 at Tufts Stampede
The Brandeis men’s and women’s track and field teams brought in the new year with second-place team finishes at the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational meet at home on Saturday. The University of Southern Maine narrowly defeated both squads after a full day of hardfought competition. This was the annual home meet for Brandeis track and field, and the athletes did not disappoint the home crowd. The men’s team took home five events, while the women’s team took home six events. For the women, no one could compete with the Judges distance runners in the mile run, as the squad took home the first five spots. Julia Bryson ’19 dominated in usual fashion with an outstanding firstplace time of 5:24.06. Andrea Bolduc ’21 came in second with a time of 5:33.68, just ahead of Kyra Shreeve ’18 at 5:33.75. Meaghan Barry ’19 came in fourth with a time of 5:38.96, and Rose
Monaghan ’19 rounded out the top five with a time of 5:43.90. This mile run was a statement victory for the Brandeis women’s distance runners. Additionally for the women, middle-distance runner Lisbeth Valdez ’21 blew past her competition in the 600-meter runner with a winning time of 1:41.77. The rookie beat her second-place competitor by more than 11 seconds. In the 800-meter run, distance runner Doyin Ogundiran ’19 won with the top-ranked time in all of Division III this season at 2:20.14. Distance runner Emily Bryson ’19 then added another win to her legendary career with a winning time of 10:09.71 in the 3000-meter run. In the field, thrower Jordin Carter ’18 brought home the gold with a 13.30-meter toss in the 20-pound weight throw. The men’s distance runners refused to be outshined by the women’s team, as they took home the top four spots in the mile run. Veterans led the way as Ryan Stender ’18 took home the top spot with a time of 4:26.69, followed by Mitchell Hutton ’18 at 4:29.05, Max Whitmore ’18 at 4:29.34 and Liam Garvey ’18 at a personal best time of 4:31.34. With the men’s and women’s distance squads dominating from the start, fans should be excited for what lies ahead this season.
The men’s sprinters helped steal the show for Brandeis as well with three wins on the day. Jack Allan ’20 took home the 55-meter hurdles with an impressive personal best time of 8.08. Furthermore, Churchill Perry ’20 recorded a first-place time of 23.04 in the 200-meter dash (also his personal best mark), and graduate student Irie Gourde ’17 brought home the gold with a time of 50.81 in the 400-meter dash. In the field, jumper Aaron Corin ’20 earned his first collegiate win in the pole vault after recording a personal best height of 4.25 meters. This was a fantastic start to the year for all of Brandeis track and field as both squads showed off their remarkable roster depths. With a plethora of talent in all event areas, the Judges are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon this season. With the wins spread out among the graduating classes, the Brandeis Track and Field program looks healthy and promises to be a contender for years to come. The Judges will next compete at the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational hosted by Harvard University on Sunday. After that, the Judges will travel downtown to Boston University for the Terrier Classic which will take place from Jan. 26 to Jan. 27.
Pro Sports brief The trade of Gerrit Cole capped an offseason that strengthened the defending champion Astros Just a few short months ago, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager grounded out to Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve to clinch the Astros’ first World Series title in franchise history. Yet the Astros continue to build up their stockpile, with the latest addition being Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole. On Saturday afternoon, the deal was announced with Houston sending over starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, third baseman Colin Moran, relief pitcher Michael Feliz and outfielder Jason Martin. For a seemingly lackluster Major League Baseball offseason, the trade offers some respite. Cole, a former number one overall pick in 2011, has seen his numbers decline recently. This past season, Cole finished 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA. While that statline is far from
remarkable, any durability concerns were answered through all 203 innings pitched in 2017. Additionally, Cole has two years of team control left, at a cap hit around $7 million. The Pirates receive four prospects who are all in the upper levels of the minor leagues. Joe Musgrove is a pitcher who started in the Astros rotation at the beginning of last season but compiled a bloated 6.12 ERA in 12 starts before transferring to the bullpen. In the bullpen, Musgrove found a groove to the tune of a 1.44 ERA in 23 appearances, but the Pirates will give him every chance to start. Colin Moran was the sixth overall pick back in 2013 out of the University of North Carolina, and most recently was listed as the No. 9 prospect in the Astros’ farm system by Baseball America. Moran most
recently played at Triple-A but is ready for an extended Major League appearance in Pittsburgh. Primarily a third baseman, Moran excelled at the plate last season, hitting .308 with 16 home runs. He is well in line to replace David Freese as Pittsburgh’s long-term answer at the hot corner. Feliz is a reliever who has electric stuff but struggles to command his pitches. He will slot into the Pirates bullpen immediately. Martin has hit with some gaudy numbers, but a perceived lack of athleticism and power by evaluators limits his potential. The Astros were able to win 101 games and the World Series with very limited time from starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Now with Gerrit Cole, they are the definition of reload and return. Elsewhere in Major League
Baseball, arbitration cases are now being finalized as players and teams passed the deadline for contract extensions. The most notable players who will have upcoming arbitration hearings are Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop, Astros right fielder George Springer and Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts. An impartial three-person arbitration panel will then consider both sides and decide whether the salary the player filed at or the salary the team filed at is most accurate to the players worth, with nothing in between. Stroman provides an interesting example, since the difference between the filed salaries is quite minute. For each player, it is worth noting that they have multiple years of
team control remaining, meaning that those players have little risk of being let go by their team. Do not fret if one of your team’s stars is on that arbitration list, as it simply decides upon a one-year salary for said player. Free agency has gotten off to a molasses slow start this offseason. The reigning American League Central champion Cleveland Indians have lost some significant pieces from their American League Championship Series team a year ago. First baseman Carlos Santana signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and right fielder Jay Bruce signed with the New York Mets. Top remaining players include starting pitchers Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish, first baseman Eric Hosmer and right fielder J.D. Martinez. —Cahler Fruchtman
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TEAMS STILL RUNNING HARD The Brandeis men’s and women’s track teams continued their strong seasons in last weekend’s meet, p. 15.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
HARD IN THE PAINT
Team looks to continue winning ■ The Judges look to
continue their strong season heading into conference play. By Jen Geller Justice Editor
The Judges have had mixed results in the past week of play, splitting the games 2-2. The Judges defeated Washington University in St. Louis and Regis College, but fell to the University of Chicago and New York University. The team looks ahead to their next game, a home game against University Athletic Association competitor University of Rochester on Friday. The rest of the season is conference play, which will determine playoff seeding. Judges 63, Chicago 72 A hard fought battle on Sunday left the Judges defeated by the University of Chicago, dropping Brandeis to a 9-4 overall record and a 1-2 mark in UAA play. Following the first quarter, Chicago claimed a 23-14 lead over the Judges. During the second quarter, the Judges outscored the Maroons 16-10, leaving
Waltham, Mass.
the Judges closer, but still behind a a 33-30 lead favoring the Maroons. In the second half, the Judges still failed to come back and capture a lead, but fought a strong fight as they outscored Chicago 12-2 in the last 4:32 of the third period. In fact, with 9:38 left in the game, Judges guard Noel Hodges ’18 tied the game at 52-52. However, the Maroons’ sophomore forward Taylor Lake scored the next seven points in the game, solidifying a victory for Chicago. Judges 92, WashU 84 On Friday, the Judges were victorious over UAA competitor Washington University in St. Louis, improving their record to 9-3 (1-1 in UAA play). The Judges ended the first quarter trailing behind the Bears with a score of 19-17; however, a strong second quarter helped give the Judges a victory. The second quarter success was sparked by consecutive three-pointers by Casanueva and guard Katie Goncalo ’20. Additionally, Goncalo scored 11 points in the second quarter alone, the same amount of points that the entire WashU team scored in that quarter. At the half, a layup by
See WBBALL, 13 ☛
Pro Sports Column
The Ball family could be legends or losers ■ With LiAngelo and LaMelo
now playing abroad, only time will tell how the NBA will remember this family. By Zach Kaufman JUSTICE Editorial Assistant
One of the more interesting stories to come out of the sports world this past year was the story of the Ball family. The family first gained notoriety when its oldest son, Lonzo, started gaining national attention as a high school prospect at Chino Hills High School, in California. He committed to the University of California, Los Angeles, and it was soon clear that he would be one of the top talents in his draft class. During Lonzo’s freshman year, his younger brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo made headlines of their own as they dominated opponents as a senior and sophomore at Chino Hills. As the word of the family’s talent spread, and Lonzo’s future in the National Basketball Association became more cemented, the patriarch of the family began to make his presence known. LaVar Ball has always had a brash personality, but as his children improved, his comments became more outrageous, leading LaVar to gain a national following as well. In March, LaVar stated that he could beat Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player in the history of the world, in a game of one-on-one. He soon after appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith to discuss his comments, and the rest is history. If basketball fans didn’t know LaVar before, they certainly knew him then. LaVar was seemingly always in the headlines in the months leading up to the
draft, saying Lonzo would only sign in LA, among other ridiculous statements. This caused some NBA players to build resentment towards Lonzo before he had even played an NBA game. LaVar has always acted on the behalf of his kids. When athletic companies such as Nike and Adidas wouldn’t offer his sons a lucrative enough shoe deal, LaVar decided to start his own line of sportswear that would sell under the Big Baller Brand. Lonzo’s debut sneaker, the ZO2, retails for almost $500, a higher price than any product offered by more established brands. At the shoe’s launch, Ball took to twitter to say “If you can’t afford the ZO2’s, you’re NOT a BIG BALLER.” The slides sell for a whopping $220, and a single pair of low cut big baller brand socks retails at an astounding $25. The Brand has sold a fair amount of merchandise, but is still working on getting off the ground. Lonzo has been having a solid rookie season, putting up respectable numbers. They’ve been nothing spectacular, but if you listen to LaVar, it’s due to Luke Walton’s coaching and not his son’s play. As the Lakers look to add top talent in the free agent market next offseason, many speculate whether LaVar’s antics will have any effect on whether people sign with LA. LiAngelo had a much more eventful freshman year at UCLA. On a team trip to China, LiAngelo and two teammates were detained in China for shoplifting and faced serious prison time. This made national headlines and eventually, President Donald Trump called Chinese officials to set the athletes free. Following these events, LaVar announced that LiAngelo would leave UCLA and join his younger
See PRO SPORTS, 13 ☛
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
DRIVING IN: Guard Latye Workman ’18 takes on the Amherst College defense head on during their game on Jan. 8.
Judges struggling as conference play begins ■ Team looks to erase first half disappointments and end the season on a high note with statement wins. By LEV BROWN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Midway through its season, the men’s basketball team lost four of its last five games. The squad has its work cut out for the remainder of the season, but there is still time for them to turn things around and end this year on a strong note, with decent positioning for the playoffs. There is still a lot of season left to play. Judges 67, Chicago 77 On Sunday, the Judges took a trip to the University of Chicago and gave the Maroons their sixth win of the season. The squad started strong out of the gate, even managing to lead by seven at one point in the first half. However, seven minutes into the game, the Maroons tied the game at 24 apiece. Continuing their run, the Maroons carried themselves to a 39-34 lead at
halftime. Despite a well-balanced offense by the Judges in the second half, they were unable to contain the Maroons’ explosive offense and strong rebounding efforts. Brandeis finished the game with 29 boards next to an impressive 45 by Chicago. However, despite the loss, all five of Brandeis’ starters, led by guard Lawrence Sabir ’21 with 13 points, were still able to score double-digits figures. Judges 56, WashU 84 Brandeis took another tough loss against the Washington University in St. Louis Bears on Friday, where they were blown out by the No. 6 ranked host. The Judges were again able to start the game strong in the opening minutes, taking a very early 7-4 lead, which included a three pointer by guard Collin Sawyer ’20, but the Bears responded with a strong sense of urgency, going on a monstrous 19-0 run. At halftime, Brandeis was down by twenty, 43-23. The second half started in the Judges’ favor, as they went on an early 14-3 run. However, the Bears responded with a 13-3 run of their own, silencing what may have been any hope of a comeback.
The Judges loss came down to two key performance categories. First, they were unable to slow down the Bears’ impressive 56.4 field goal percentage, and they struggled on the boards, losing 26-48. Judges 82, Amherst 102 Last Monday, the Judges hosted and lost to the Amherst College Mammoths. In seemingly recurring fashion, they managed to take an early lead, thanks to baskets scored by guard Latye Workman ’18. However, midway through the first half, Amherst’s freshman guard Garrett Day knocked down a three to give Amherst what would be their first and only lead of the game. Amherst went on a quick 15-2 run, giving them a solid cushion going into halftime. Brandeis trailed 5540 entering the second half, and it was unable to make a comeback for the rest of the game. Again, Brandeis lost the rebounding battle 40-27, and Amherst dominated in the paint, scoring 36 compared to Brandeis’ 22 points around the basket. Judges 82, NYU 90
See MBBALL, 13 ☛
Vol. LXX #13 Vol. LXX #2
January 16, 2018 September 12, 2017
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Waltham, Mass.
Artwork: Consuelo Pereira-Lazo, Justus Davis, Otis Fuqua, Joe Bradley, Tim Rollins, Joseph Cornell, Sivan Spector, Sachiko Akiyama, Quayshawn Owens-Figueroa, Christina He Images: Andrew Baxter, Natalia Wiater, Yvette Sei, Heather Schiller, Chelsea Madera, Lucy Frenkel, Ydalia Colon, Gwen Harris, Creative Commons. Design: Andrew Baxter/the Justice.
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THETUESDAY, JUSTICE january | Arts | 16, TUESDAY, 2018 iJanuary Arts i THE 31,JUSTICE 2017
pop culture column
Oprah strikes gold at the Golden Globes By Anna Rae Stern justice Staff writer
If you have read any of my columns from the past four years, you would know that I tend to talk about two things more often than not: Seth Meyers and feminism. On Sunday, Jan. 7, two of my favorite topics melded in perfect harmony: Seth Meyers hosted the 70th annual Golden Globes in Los Angeles. What distinguishes the Globes from other award shows is that they kick off the never-ending awards season, wherein Hollywood elites give themselves a pat on the back for all their hard work during the year. However, this year was more timely than all other award shows, because it was
held during the aftermath of many Hollywood sexual misconduct and assault allegations, which particularly marred the careers of mogul Harvey Weinstein and other former Hollywood royalty. Artists in movies, television and theater started the “TIME’S UP” campaign on Jan. 1 to kick off a year in which they hope sexual assault will no longer be tolerated in the workplace. According to their GoFundMe page, “TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund will provide subsidized legal support to women and men who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in the workplace and while in pursuit of their careers.” On the night of the Golden Globes, actors, actresses and their guests wore black to stand in solidarity with those who have en-
dured sexual assault in the workplace. Because of this underlying social current, there was a different vibe to the awards show than in others before it. Meyers opened up the Golden Globes with his signature jabs at our President and, of course, Weinstein. However, he also concluded with this provocative statement: “And I know if you’re watching at home and you see everyone in their tuxedos and gowns, this looks like a room of privileged Hollywood elite — and that’s fair. Everyone in this room knows that Hollywood is so much more than that. When you’re on a film set, you meet hairdressers and camera people and script supervisors; most of the jobs on film sets are jobs for
people who work long, hard hours. They are American dream jobs ... People in this room worked really hard to get here, but it’s clear now more than ever before that the women had to work even harder. So thank you for all the amazing work that you’ve all done and continue to do. I look forward to you leading us into whatever comes next.” That statement set the tone for the entire awards show. The audience knew that the public expected the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. However, Hollywood actors and actresses need to use their privilege in a way that can amplify the voices of those who are unable to speak up — during the awards season and beyond. This theme was present in most of the acceptance speeches.
Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
AWARENESS AND AWARDS: This year’s Golden Globes Awards were characterized by social awareness and activism.
The exceptions were Gary Oldman and James Franco, because frankly, I could not keep track of what Oldman was saying and Franco was overshadowed by the man whom he portrayed in his film “The Disaster Artist,” Tommy Wiseau, who was invited on stage with Franco and attempted to make his own acceptance speech. The piece de resistance of the evening can be summed up in one word: Oprah. Oprah Winfrey was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her achievements in the world of entertainment. Past award recipients include groundbreakers such as the first African-American recipient of an Oscar Sidney Poitier, Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock and, of course, Meryl Streep. However, Winfrey was the first African American female recipient and made that a point in her speech. Winfrey’s speech was nothing short of extraordinary as she discussed her awe in watching someone who looked like her, Poitier, receive his Academy Award and how she felt she had a duty to the little girls of America to let them know that someone who looked like them was able to achieve so much. Winfrey then discussed the movements for which she has been an outspoken advocate: “#MeToo” and “TIME’S UP!” Not only did she discuss the different types of women who are suffering today, but also brought up a lesser-known figure, Recy Taylor. Taylor was abducted, raped and left on the side of the road in 1944 on the way home from church. Her story was reported to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People when Rosa Parks took on the case. Taylor recently died at age 98. Winfrey highlighted two stories that showed how much needs to change in the world we currently live in. She concluded her speech with a powerful phrase with her signature intonation, “A new day is on the horizon!” A single article cannot do justice to the way Winfrey’s words made the entire room think and feel inspired. As a country, we have not collectively felt inspired in the year since we have gained a new president full of pessimistic and violent rhetoric. Winfrey’s speech caused many to speculate whether or not she would be a contender for the 2020 election! Whether Winfrey runs or not, she single-handedly changed the tone of a notoriously elitist event into something in which Hollywood can truly show to the foreign press that though our government has changed, our spirit has not.
film review
Anderson’s ‘Phantom Thread’ is seamless
By Mendel Weintraub justice Staff writer
Every year, with the arrival of the fall and winter months, we are blessed with a surplus of fantastic films which showcase directors, actors, cinematographers and composers at the height of their respective crafts. Last year gave us Guillermo del Toro’s monster masterpiece, “The Shape of Water,” Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread,” which features three-time Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis in what may very well be his final role; just a few months ago, the veteran thespian announced his retirement. “Phantom Thread,” set in 1950s London, is a tale of obsession that takes shape in the world of prestige fashion inhabited by an obsessive -compulsive designer, Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis). The character’s name was born after DayLewis jokingly suggested it to P.T. Anderson and was subsequently called on his bluff. So do not feel
badly if you laughed at the name; it is meant to be funny. The film opens with the shot of a woman named Alma (played by the brilliant Vicky Krieps) sitting by a fireplace, sharing a story about herself and Woodcock to an unknown listener. The circumstances behind her sharing her reflection are unknown. The moment serves as an instantly compelling introduction. Slowly, as the fabric of the film unfolds, Alma’s whole story is revealed to us. It would be wrong to reveal the plotline that ensues in the opening scene of “Phantom Thread,” which is most satisfyingly digested if you go into the film completely blind. Thus, the focus of this review from here on out will be on the technical achievements of the film, of which there are many. Firstly, there is the film’s costume design (the work of Mark Bridges), which to call jaw-dropping would be an understatement. It is a rare thing, when reflecting on a film’s costumes, that you are
unable to pinpoint one specific outfit that is singularly extraordinary, simply because every single one is just so indescribably stunning. For Bridges, work alone, “Phantom Thread” is worth a second viewing. The costumes of the film are more than just articles of clothing — they are characters. In reviewing a film that touts Daniel Day-Lewis as its star, it would be borderline sacrilegious not to laud his performance. Indeed, Day-Lewis outdoes himself once again with his portrayal of Reynolds Woodcock, bringing a nuance to the character which he had previously showcased in his more flashy roles, such as those in “Lincoln” and “Gangs of New York.” However, one could argue that while Day-Lewis’ performance is a grand feat in cinematic acting, being able to stand one’s own alongside him is one that is far greater. The aforementioned Krieps, who plays Woodcock’s lover, is absolutely astonishing in a performance that has been criminally overlooked this awards season.
Lesley Manville, who plays Woodcock’s methodical sister, Cyril, gives a humorous and heartwarming performance, which not only operates well alongside that of Day-Lewis, but also stands out. Perhaps one of “Phantom Thread’s” greatest mysteries lies in its credits: there is no credited cinematographer. As it turns out, the director of photography is Anderson himself, who — for some reason — decided he’d rather not be named. Anderson’s preference for anonymity does not make his achievement of lensing this film disappear. The film is stunning to look at. Shots of needles poking through fabric are seductive, Woodcock’s gaze is compelling, and one particular sequence, in which we see a showcase of Woodcock’s designs, is downright beautiful. Anderson’s direction is wonderfully paradoxical; the film’s first two acts are compellingly directionless. To anybody familiar with Anderson’s filmography, this should not be the least bit frustrating. He is a master of his craft, and
if the first two acts of his movie seem like they lack plot, that is because Anderson deliberately crafted the film that way. Sitting through the first 90 minutes of “Phantom Thread” is whimsically suspenseful, as you ponder what on earth Anderson’s endgame may be. And once the revelation is made, you could not be more satisfied. At the flick of a switch, the film delves into the realms of absurdist cinema with a grandiose combination of insight and devilishly dark humor. It is a moment that finally confirms the viewer’s suspicion that with “Phantom Thread,” you were supposed to be laughing the entire time. A film like “Phantom Thread” deserves to be seen in its intended presentation: in the theater, preferably at one that offers it in the 70mm film format. I would encourage anybody interested in seeing it to make the trip to the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline to see the film at one of these special engagements.
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THE JUSTICE i TUESDAY, January 31, 2017 THE JUSTICE i arts i arts Tuesday, January 16, 2018
music review
2017 holds many underrated albums By Isabelle truong justice Staff writer
Plenty of our favorite artists released instantly iconic albums in 2017. From Jay-Z’s “44:44” to Taylor Swift’s “Reputation,” we were blessed with new music. Most “Best of 2017” pieces released from music websites and blogs across the internet praise the big and obvious choices: Kendrick Lamar, Sza and Tyler the Creator. While those albums were certainly defining sounds of the past year, here are three underrated albums released in 2017 which deserve some attention and hype as well. The first album is BrooklynBased EDM artist Yaeji’s “EP2.” Yaeji breaks boundaries in music as a Korean-American female voice in the electronic music world. She blends Korean and American lyrics into her songs on this album as a nod to her strong cultural roots. Yaeji has a unique and intoxicatingly sweet voice — her songs on her second EP clearly set the scene for the unique type of sound and vibe she aims to concoct, showing the range EDM music can really span. Songs like “Raingurl” and “After That” showcase the electronic club music genre; however, the beat and haziness of her voice prevent the songs from being party jargon but rather ambient and chill sounds which still do not sacrifice intention for aesthetic. On the other hand, “Passionfruit” is a relaxed, smooth, and yet addictive interpretation of Drake’s “Passionfruit” and my favorite song on the album. Anyone who enjoyed Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN,” without a doubt one of the musical highlights of 2017 might be familiar with Steve Lacy. The grammy-nominated producer who produced “Pride” off of
“DAMN” has also worked behind the scenes with other big names in the rap and R&B industry, such as The Internet, Tyler the Creator, Kali Uchis and more. In early 2017, he released a solo project called “Steve Lacy’s Demos.” The album is rather short, consisting only of six songs, none lasting longer than 3 minutes each. However, it is obvious that the 18 year-old is still on the rise, not reaching his musical peak quite yet through this ex-
perimental album. Yet this album shows the talent and refreshing voice that Lacy brings to the industry. He combines R&B with lo-fi and long guitar instrumentals — his signature sound — for a interesting and wonderful experience on this project. Rap group Brockhampton’s recognition exponentially increased in 2017. Though they released two albums in 2017, their album Saturation II is perhaps their best, and
certainly most catchy, album so far. The songs on Brockhampton’s albums usually each have a different sound due to the fact that they have 15 different creative leads who each play individual roles and specialize in specific aesthetics from rappers to graphic designers. For example, “Gummy” is heavy and hard rap, whereas “Summer” is a sensitive 80s-esque love ballad. In this album. Brockhampton incorporates a lot of 90s rap and R&B influence
into their music, and the results are addictive hooks which get stuck in your head too easily. Last year brought some great new, timeless music to enjoy well into the new year. It taught its listeners that R&B can sound like rock guitar ballads, and that women can be in EDM, too. These artists are all one to watch for in the upcoming year, introducing new genres of music which haven’t been heard ever before.
Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
KENDRICK LAMAR: Kendrick Lamar’s album, “DAMN” was produced by Steve Lacy who released a solo project this year.
film review
The best of what I saw, and what is to come By Kent Dinlenc justice Staff writer
January is that time of the year when we reflect on the good that has happened in the past 12 months and anticipate the good that is on the horizon. Sure, this is a healthy attitude to approach in terms of life choices, but I’m here in the Arts section to talk about movies. So, as I always do, I’ve completed my top 10 list of 2017. All of the featured films are arranged based on five criteria: the cinematic experience, its re-watchability, its impact to the genre, the overall filmmaking quality and the presence of a unique perspective. All of these are graded as at least an A-. Before we begin, here are some honorable mentions: “Okja,” “The Big Sick,” “Norman,” “I, Tonya” and “Molly’s Game.” The list begins at number 10 with “Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton.” This Netflix exclusive documentary revolves around Jim Carrey’s behind-the-scenes transformation into legendary idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman for the film “Man on the Moon.” In the late ’90s during production, Carrey wanted to film his method transformation. After sitting on his desk for nearly 20 years, the tapes are combined with an in-depth interview of Carrey himself. The documentary dives into Carrey’s psyche for 90 minutes and is very touching, more than one would have expected. At number nine, we have “Blade Runner 2049,” and at number eight, we have “Get
Out.” While I have already previously reviewed both, I will simply remark that “2049” was an intriguing slow burn that superseded its 1982 original. I acknowledge that this definitely is not for everyone but should still be recognized as one of the most beautiful sci-fi movies ever and a true triumph. “Get Out,” on the other hand, was an incredibly strong directorial debut by Jordan Peele. A film this small that had this much staying power in our minds needs no further explanation was to why it was remarkably hypnotic and one of the best of the year. In the number seven slot, we have “Ingrid Goes West,” and at number six we have “Wind River.” Both of these were two of the best films of the summer, telling original stories with sympathetic characters. The former was a commentary on superficiality, and the distance created by social media, featuring a criminally underrated script performed stunningly and subtly by the entire cast; the latter was a murder and sexual assault investigation incorporating a commentary on the social standings of Native Americans in modern America. The Taylor Sheridan film is a strong terminus for his “Frontier Justice” trilogy (along with “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water”), one of the most consistent and one of my favorite trilogies of all time. We continue with “Logan” at number five and “Dunkirk” at number four. “Logan,” Hugh Jackman’s emotional final entry as Wolverine may have swayed me to praise this film initially, but I can safely say that the
film is so much more than that. It’s a road trip movie. It’s a redemption story. It’s a yearning for happiness in a society that shuns and fears you. It has easily pierced my list for favorite superhero films of all time, yet it doesn’t feel like one. “Dunkirk” was a feast for the senses, especially if you saw it in 70mm IMAX like I did. There’s nothing I need more to say that was not covered by my previous review. Simply mesmerizing. At number three we have “The Square,” a Swedish film that fascinates with its social commentary on the inherent goodness of people, satirizes the cultural elite and uncomfortably shows us the behavior of the primeval animals we used to be. This movie was extremely slow and quite thematically complex while making us laugh at the oddest moments. Essentially, this is a dark version of Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” It’s just as awkward and funny but in a dark shadow. The acting is fantastic, the script is air-tight and witty, and cinematography is stark, yet beautiful. The twohour twenty-two-minute runtime may be exhausting just to look at, but I assure you the film is worth your time. At number two we have “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” My previous review highlights my thoughts on this film, but to summarize: nail-biting, arm rest-clenching, heart-stopping. This tense masterpiece was yet another dark satire I could not stop thinking about after I left the theater. My number one, I feel, should be obvious to any regular readers by now. The film
by my favorite writer-director; the one with staggering performances by the entire cast, even including the smaller roles; the one with one of the best onscreen redemptive arcs; the one with dialogue that rings true; the one that’ll make you chuckle as you cry; the one with a great soundtrack as well as a playlist: “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Now that my top ten is out of the way, let’s look forward to 2018. Unfortunately, there will be very few indies on this list, as their existences aren’t acknowledged until film festivals early in the year. Chronologically, we begin with “Black Panther” in February. Marvel seems to be on an upswing with “Spiderman: Homecoming” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” so let’s hope that director Ryan Coogler succeeds with what looks like a fun and action-packed film. The following week, writer-director Alex Garland releases “Annihilation,” a gorgeous sci-fi movie based on its namesake book. Garland received a lot of praise for “Ex Machina,” one of the best movies of 2014. Wes Anderson’s second stopmotion animation effort, “Isle of Dogs,” comes out in March. It appears just as quirky as his previous films, and his perspective is always unique. After a successful year of horror movies in 2017 with “Get Out,” “Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “It Comes at Night,” I’m surprised to say that the John Krasinski-directed (yes, the guy from “The Office”) flick “A Quiet Place” is on my list. I guess horror movies and comedians may be a winning
combination (but not as a satire or spoof, I’m looking at you “Scary Movie” franchise). In May, unfortunately right on time for finals weeks, we have “Avengers: Infinity War.” At this point I don’t feel I have to justify why I’m looking forward to it. It’s the beginning of the end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the culmination of arguably a pretty consistent quality. As we head further into the summer, I’m very excited for “Sicario 2: Soldado” (or just “Soldado”). Just the way Benicio del Toro shoots a leader of the cartel in the trailer got me excited. As for “Deadpool 2” and “The Incredibles 2,” I’m cautiously optimistic. The former, I feel, won’t live up to the original I wasn’t even taken with in the first place; and the latter has come around way too late, but I still trust the meticulous storytelling of Brad Bird. The only two indies coming out in the fall that I have heard about and am also excited for are “A Star is Born” and “The Irishman.” “A Star is Born” is a remake directed by and starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga as an up-and-coming singer. The 1954 original is a classic, so I’m interested in this modern take. Finally, we have “The Irishman.” It’s an Italian mob film directed by Martin Scorsese, penned by the Oscar-winning screenwriter for “Schindler’s List,” and stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Romano (I know, but he’s actually a good dramatic actor) while simultaneously pulling Joe Pesci out of retirement. Need I say more?
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TUESDAY, January 16, 2018 | Arts | THE JUSTIce
Brandeis TALKS
INTERVIEW
wf
If you could be any building on campus, what building would you be?
Samantha Shepherd ’18 YVETTE SEI/the Justice
Madeline Bisgyer ’20
“Definitely the SCC. Unlike a lot of students here, I love the copper and the weirdness of this building. It’s very inspiring; you can go wherever you want to go.”
This week, justArts spoke with Samantha Shepherd ’18, who is a studio art major and is showing work in the Senior Midyear Exhibition at Dreitzer Gallery. justArts: Can you tell me a little bit about this showcase?
JEN GELLER/the Justice
Abby Turner ’21
“Maybe this building, it just has everything I guess. It is random; I love my coffee, so the SCC.”
Lily Bickerstaff-Richard ’20
“I think I would be Mandel, because it has so many windows, and up on the roof it has that area where you can sit, and, I don’t know, there is a lot of outdoor study spaces and it has a lot of natural light. It is so beautiful.”
Emily Arkin ’20
“I would want to be the astronomy tower. [I’m] not in the astronomy club, [but] I would want to be that building, because I would want to look at the stars every night.” --Compiled by Jen Geller/the Justice and photographed by Yvette Sei/ the Justice.
STAFF’S Top Ten
YVETTE SEI/the Justice
WORST QUESTIONS ASKED OVER BREAK By Judah Weinerman
justice EDITORial assistant
Like every college student, I was bombarded with dumb questions over break. Here are the 10 worst:
1. Isn’t Brandeis that crazy liberal school? 2. Do you have a girlfriend yet? 3. Why aren’t you a STEM major? 4. How do you feel about moving to Cleveland after graduation? 5. Why do all the teens want to eat Tide Pods? 6. Can you fix my iPad? 7. Is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson running for President? 8. Can you get me [his] phone number? It’s very important. 9. You look like my nephew. Do you know him? 10. Why do you write for a student newspaper?
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Condition treated by Ritalin 5 Twain contemporary 10 Like quiches 14 “Lightbulb” 15 8-Down length 16 Glutton’s request 17 Mick Jagger, for one 19 Bakery offerings 20 Daniel ___ Kim 21 Chess rating 22 Medium shoe size 23 Feature of a lithium ion 27 Places to put plunder 28 Financial page listings, for short 29 Sleazeball 33 [Leaky tire sound] 34 No spring chicken 35 ____ Newton 38 Non-contact sport 44 Seating option 45 He played the villain in “Iron Man 2” 46 Pitcher? 50 Service with a driver rating 51 Yale alum 52 “Paree” descriptor 53 Gillette razor variety 54 Penalty earned by 17-, 23-, 29-, 38- and 46-Across 58 En ____ 59 Gives off 60 Ash, e.g. 61 Poses 62 Like some shipping rates 63 Many a Tennyson work DOWN 1 Be laid up 2 Inits. behind the Interstate 3 Gear for telemarketers 4 Salvador Dali, e.g. 5 ____ Polloi 6 Famous Sports Illustrated model 7 French rule 8 Teen drama set in California 9 Blunder 10 Figure on tarot card IV 11 _____-on 12 One with a lot of loony relatives? 13 “Sure thing, boss!” 18 Scuffle 22 Word before “record” that is its synonym 23 Banned pollutants 24 “Well well well” cries 25 Ideology, for short 26 Kept out of sight 30 It may be as thick as pea soup 31 Keebler cookie maker 32 Former name of Tokyo 35 Cattle rustler’s target 36 Actress Chase 37 Secluded spot 38 Amount demanded “stat!” in medical dramas
Samantha Shepherd: This showcase is a representation of the work of seniors taking senior studio majoring or minoring in Fine Arts. Each of the members of the class has a couple pieces representing the best of their body of work produced during the fall semester. JA: Are your paintings revolved around a particular theme? SS: I feel like my paintings act more as explorations at this point and consequently aren’t focused on a particular theme. There are common threads throughout my work, asking questions about layers, depth and time. But I find my thinking of it in such a way is more representative of my curiosities than of an intent for a theme. JA: Which work are you most proud of?
CROSSWORD COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN
39 Lecherous look 40 The “A” of E.T.A. 41 Dwarf brother in “The Hobbit” 42 Larry refuses to use them in an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” 43 Luxury car maker 44 Boston Garden sponsor 46 Holy glows 47 Latin lover’s phrase 48 Bad, in rap slang 49 “Nature of a _____” (Queen Latifah album) 53 [This clue hasn’t been written yet] 54 Hat with a tassle 55 Prospective immigrant’s subj. 56 “The Last Jedi” character 57 ____ Aviv
SS: I’m most proud of my painting (“Half-double, Lily, Crochet, Rose”) inspired by John Singer Sargent’s “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose.” I think the final product hanging in the gallery is not its best iteration, but I’m proud of the work I put into it, the techniques it led me to explore, and recognizing, retrospectively, where I should have stopped working on it. JA: Which work was your favorite to make?
SOLUTION COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN
SS: Easily “Where is my Lovey.” It went through many stages and places. My mentality when working on it was regularly one of humor and playing where things should and should not be. It was the kind of work where I tried to keep myself from having any rules unless they were absolutely arbitrary. One time I put my pot of carnations on the stairs outside the studio and watered it until the water reached the bottom of the stairs, a little like a waterfall. The whole work was formed through processes like that. JA: What message(s) do you hope show-goers take away from your art?
SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
SS: I don’t know that any of my art in this show has a clear message for show goers to take away. I think instead they try to offer an experience of something being wrong or misplaced or a problem and ask people to question that. JA: What do you hope to accomplish with your art during your last semester? SS: I have two kind of mentalities and styles in the art I make. This semester I want to work towards separating those styles into distinct bodies of work. First by working outside of the tradition of painting and by creating layered paintings with sharp lines and uncomfortable transitions. —Lizzie Grossman
Solution to last issue’s sudoku
Puzzle courtesy of www.sudokuoftheday.com