the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 20
of
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Waltham, Mass.
STUDENT UNION DEBATE
BRIEF VP of campus operations to leave for Smith College finance and admin. dept. Jim Gray, the vice president of campus operations, will leave Brandeis for Smith College on April 19, according to an allcampus email on March 14 from Stew Uretsky, the executive vice president for finance and administration. Uretsky said that Gray will serve as Smith’s associate vice president for facilities and operations. Throughout his tenure, Gray spearheaded “a critical portfolio” of major projects to serve the Brandeis community, including renovating the campus infrastructure, rekindling a culture of sustainability and ensuring a safe campus environment, Uretsky wrote. Skyline Residence Hall, which opened last September, combined Gray’s mission to reinforce sustainability on campus with University President Ron Liebowitz’s “vision” to revitalize students’ social experience. The new building includes various sustainable features such as geothermal heating and solar panels. As the co-chair of the President’s Task Force on Campus Sustainability during the 2015/2016 academic year, Gray has taken strides to reduce Brandeis’ carbon footprint by 12.6 percent, exceeding the University’s goal of 10 percent by fiscal year 2018 outlined in Brandeis’ Climate Action Plan. Brandeis will continue to reinforce sustainability “not just for the benefit of our campus but the benefit of our world” and aims to cut carbon emissions by 15 percent in 2020, Gray explained
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
SUSTAINABILITY: Isaiah Freedman ’20 (left) and Zhengmao Sheng ’22 are running for the position of representative to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund. Ben Silver '20 is also running but was unable to attend the debate.
Student union candidates debate campus issues ■ Candidates debated
issues involving accessibility, transparency, sustainability and more. By JEN GELLER AND JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITORS
At 11:59 p.m. Tuesday March 19, polls will open for the first round of spring Student Union elections. Positions up for vote will be president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, junior representative to the Board of Trustees, representative to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund and junior representative to the Alumni Board. Last night, the candidates shared their perspectives on a variety of Brandeis-related subjects at the candidate debate led by current president Hannah Brown ’19. In addition to those who attended the debate in person, over 140 people watched the live stream, hosted on the Union’s Facebook page.
President
Simran Tatuskar ’21, Lizy Dabanka ’20, David Hui ’22 and Oliver Price ’20 are competing for the position of President of the Student Union. Tatuskar was the only candidate who attended the debate in person, but Price and Dabanka, who are currently abroad, video called in. Hui did not participate. In their opening statements, candidates expressed their vision of what they want the Union to look like. Despite the fact that Tatuskar was feeling unwell, according to a statement from Brown, Tatuskar empha-
sized that “there is no clear way to say how much I care.” She detailed her experience on the Brandeis campus, and she said that she does so much for Brandeis because of how much she cares. Dabanka opened by stating that she values the voice of the community more than she does a “top-down approach.” She seeks to foster a diverse campus with inclusivity, and has three main aspects to her platform — “advocacy, accessibility and accountability.” Price seeks to focus on sustainability during his campaign. He hopes to improve community engagement on the subject and says that he hopes to bring his experiences from abroad to the table. Each candidate had a unique perspective on how they would deal with conflict within the Union, an especially relevant topic after a year of contentious interactions. Price stressed the importance of encouraging communication and uniting people behind a collective goal — for him, sustainability. Communication is also important to Dabanka, who said it is important that people quickly address problems that arise instead of letting problems “stew” and then erupt. For Tatuskar, making sure that people take responsibility when problems arise is especially important. The candidates also discussed how they plan to build connections at Brandeis to achieve their goals. Price said he works with Sustainability Manager Mary Fischer and wants to discuss his initiatives with DCL to achieve long-term goals. He also hopes to collaborate with University President Ron Liebowitz and work with the treasury to bring the Union
branches together. Tatuskar told the audience that she already has a good relationship with administration and faculty and “[doesn’t] need to start from scratch.” Dabanka said that she is open to feedback from the Brandeis community and wants to foster communication between clubs and the Union. Candidates were also asked how they would respond to a situation in which they were asked to support an initiative with which they did not personally agree. Although Price said he would provide the group with resources, he said he would also explain his reasons for personally disagreeing with the cause. Tatuskar differentiated between proposals that have constitutional flaws and those that she has personal disagreements with, explaining that she would not allow personal beliefs to have a place in her decision-making process as president. “Disagreement is really good way to not only learn stuff about yourself, but also to improve upon the work that is already being done,” Dabanka said, adding, “Solutions aren’t necessarily easy or simple.” She stressed the importance of being part of a team and making sure that she hears many different perspectives on issues before making decisions, because the Union is a collective effort, not an individual one. In response to a question about how their presidency would work with the accessibility movement on campus, the candidates took a variety of positions. For the past two months, Tatuskar has served as a liaison between the accessibility movement and the administration, and has worked with
—Nancy Zhai
CAMPUS EVENT
Panel discusses Irish-Israeli diplomatic relations ■ Panelists talked
about historical political connections between Israel and Ireland. By ELLA RUSSELL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and the Center for German and European Studies sponsored a panel discussion on Monday about the development of Irish-Israeli relations. University Provost Lisa Lynch moderated the panel composed of former Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Zeev Boker, Brandeis Prof. Alexander Kaye (NEJS), and Wellesley Professor Emerita of Jewish studies Frances Malino.
See DEBATE, 7 ☛
Kaye began by explaining that “for any people who don’t know the history in tremendous depth, it’s a surprise to think that … there are historical overlaps” between Ireland and Israel. Kaye said that the overlaps between Irish nationalists and Jewish nationalists include a deep religious tradition, a complicated relationship with the British empire “ranging from acquiescence and diplomacy to violence and terrorism” and extreme inner tensions that resulted in the partition of Ireland and threatened partition in Israel. Malino expanded on the connections between Israel and Ireland, describing political leaders on both sides who had strong relations with the other. For example, Irish political leader Daniel O’Connell was
See IRELAND AND ISRAEL, 7 ☛
Creating space
Love, Formosa
Empowered women discuss politics
The process of revitalizing the Berlin Chapel.
The Brandeis Undergraduate Taiwanese Student Association hosted “Love, Formosa.”
By MAYA RUBIN-WISH
By STEPHANIE ORLIC
By LUKE LIU CLARA ALEXANDER/the Justice
in an Oct. 17, 2018 BrandeisNOW article. In addition to his environmentalist endeavors, Gray was also integral in maintaining campus infrastructure and safety by “developing emergency management plans, leading drills and modernizing equipment,” according to Uretsky’s email. Last November, Gray oversaw the replacement of the steam and telecommunication line outside the Shapiro Campus Center after an internet disruption in August caused by “melt[ed] telecommunication wires” followed by a week-long excavation to investigate the eroded insulation. In addition, Gray held an active shooter drill with Waltham Police and BEMCo last March to ensure students’ and the University's preparedness in a potential situation involving gun violence. In closing, Uretsky applauded Gray’s “focus[,] dedication and driving effort” to better the Brandeis Community. An announcement from Smith College regarding his inauguration echoed Uretsky’s concluding statement, commending Gray’s “strategic leadership” and ability to integrate sustainability into every critical campus project. Prior to Gray’s departure, a celebration will be held to commemorate his tenure, according to Uretsky’s email, though a date has not yet been set.
FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
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NEWS 3
Ilhan Omar's comments should not be isolated By LEON KRAIEM
FORUM 11
Is LeBron James fit for the Lakers?
ARTS 18
By BRIAN INKER
COPYRIGHT 2019 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 16
2
TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
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NEWS
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS WELLNESS DRIVE
POLICE LOG
WALTHAM BRIEF Waltham students ‘shelter in place’ as manhunt ensues
MEDICAL EMERGENCY March 12 –– A student in Skyline Residence Hall was reported having a seizure and was transported via Cataldo Ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital. March 13 –– An onlooker reported an unresponsive party in Feldberg Communication Center “grabbing his chest.” The party received onsite treatment from BEMCo and was subsequently transported via Cataldo Ambulance to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. March 13 –– After a report from a Brandeis Counseling Center member, a student was transported from the Mailman House to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital without incident. March 14 –– A student in Scheffres Hall with a laceration was treated by BEMCo and transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital in a Cataldo Ambulance. March 14 –– BEMCo responded to a report of a party with a laceration on their back in the Shapiro Campus Center. BEMCo treated the party, who subsequently refused further care. March 16 –– BEMCo treated an intoxicated party in Ziv Quad with a laceration on his knee. The party refused further care. March 16 –– BEMCo treated an intoxicated party in Cable Hall. The party signed a refusal for further treatment. March 17 –– BEMCo received a report of an intoxicated party in Ziv Quad. The party was transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital via Cataldo Ambulance. HARASSMENT March 12 –– Brandeis Police composed a report of the harassment of a Sodexo worker. VANDALISM March 13 –– Brandeis Police compiled a report of vandalism of a door in Ziv Quad. SARAH KATZ/the Justice
LARCENY/THEFT March 13 –– A staff member in Slosberg Music Center reported a hacker attempting to transfer funds from the staff member’s direct deposit account into another account. The attempt was futile due to the staff member’s safe guards. Brandeis Police nonetheless compiled a report of the incident. March 16 –– Brandeis Police compiled a report of a stolen speaker from an unlocked room in the Village. DISTURBANCE/NOISE COMPLAINT March 13 –– An area resident telephoned Brandeis Police to complain about noise in the woods between her home and the University. Upon checking, the police found the site quiet and empty. March 17 –– University Police received a noise complaint about a party at the Charles River Apartments. MISCELLANEOUS SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES March 14 –– University Police compiled a report of suspicious behavior of a staff member towards another community member. —Compiled by Mia Rubinstein
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Volunteers collected donations of hygiene and wellness products from Waltham residents to be given to the Middlesex Human Services Agency.
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n A Forum editorial incorrectly referred to an infrastructure task force, that, at the time of writing, had not yet been created. It was clarified in a subsequent edit of the article as it appeared online. (March 12, page 10) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.
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SENATE LOG Senators proposed and voted on another batch of amendments at Sunday’s meeting. Vice President Aaron Finkel ’19 began the meeting by leading the Senate in “a few moments of silence” for the victims of the shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. Finkel announced that OffCampus Senator Jacob Diaz ’20 would serve as Interim Rules Committee Chair, replacing Jake Rong ’21. He also announced that East Quad Senator Taylor Fu ’21 would replace Senator-AtLarge Richard Kisack Jr. ’19 as the chair of the Campus Operations Working Group Committee. Finkel said that he made the decision to remove Kisack as Campus Operations Committee Chair “after seeing the meetings [him]self,” but emphasized that the change was not personal.
Executive Officer Reports
Contact Sam Stockbridge at news@thejustice.org
An assault and battery occurred on Fourth Avenue early on Monday morning, according to the Waltham Police Department. Pursuit of and subsequent search for the suspect, whom the police have identified as Darren Dyette, began at around 6 a.m. near Main Street and Bear Hill Road, according to a March 18 Waltham Patch article. Area residents received calls around 7:30 a.m. alerting them of the unusual police presence. At 9:30 a.m., residents received a second call saying that the main search was over, but warning them to be on the lookout for a man matching the description of the suspect, who police said had dreadlocks and was wearing a black sweatshirt. Both State and Waltham Police participated, with the State Police even sending in helicopters to aid in the search, per the same Patch article. Waltham High School operated under a “shelter-in-place” procedure this morning due to the assault, per the Waltham Patch article. The article explained that shelter-in-place is not the same as a lockdown. During a shelterin-place, school operations carry on as normal inside the building. Unlike during a lockdown, however, students and staff are not permitted to leave the building, and visitors are heavily screened. The shelter-in-place lasted until around noon and Waltham schools proceeded with a normal dismissal, according to the article. Waltham Police asked locals to report any sightings of Dyette to 911, warning, “Do not approach this person. He should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Student Union President Hannah Brown ’19 said she was interested in subsidizing the cost of commuter rail tickets for students who commute regularly, and is exploring implementing that next year. The E-Board also discussed Presence, a new website that will consolidate information regarding student life. The E-board also briefly discussed Vice President for Campus Operations Jim Gray’s departure.
Senate Committee Chair Reports
Former Rules Committee Chair Rong noted that past committee chairs felt like they had to truncate chair reports, and reminded senators to be thorough with their chair reports. Sustainability Committee Chair Kent Dinlenc ’19 announced that the committee would spend the rest of the sustainability fund on a project
focused on water consumption on campus. The money will be allocated to install more water fountains in East Quad and to re-outfit the water fountains in Massell Quad with water bottle nozzles. It will also go towards the purchase of water bottles for the Class of 2023 as well as funds for an associated water bottle refill rewards program the University will implement. Dinlenc also spoke on behalf of Services and Outreach Committee Chair Kendal Chapman ’22, announcing that the Midnight Buffet will be held on May 2 on the Great Lawn and in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium.
Old Business
Three amendments presented at the last Senate meeting passed by acclamation with no opposition. The first, “Amendment to Specify Excused Absences,” codifies the distinction between excused absences and unexcused absences. Three unexcused absences is grounds for removal as a senator, but excused absences do not count toward that total. The second, “Amendment Updating Name and Goal of Senate Dining Services Committee,” would change the name of the Dining Services Committee to the Dining Committee. It would also specify in writing that the committee must make an effort to communicate with students and dining staff, something the committee has already been doing, Zhai explained. The third, “Amendment Adjusting Reporting Requirements for Senate Committees,” would remove redundant language from the Bylaws regarding the weekly Senate chair reports.
New Business
The Senate introduced an “Amendment to Clarify Sen-
ate Meeting Procedure,” which changed references to a “chair” of the Senate in the Bylaws to “vice president,” since the Senate does not have a chair. The amendment passed in a vote of acclamation with no opposition. Next, senators discussed the “Amendment to Ensure Senator Awareness of Amendments.” The proposed amendment would require senators to put away “personal devices” during presentations to the Senate by clubs and other entities. Class of 2022 Senator Nancy Zhai spoke in favor of the amendment, saying it would hold senators accountable. Fu said enforcement would happen at the discretion of the presenter. Other senators were skeptical. Class of 2020 Senator Trevor Filseth said he supported the intent of the amendment, but said that it wouldn’t be a good idea for senators to put laptops away. He suggested the amendment be modified to define “personal devices” and to put special emphasis on phones. Senators voted on the amendment by roll call. The proposal did not pass. Next, the Senate briefly discussed an amendment to clarify Allocations Board policy which would add the following clause to the Bylaws: “The Allocations Board’s Funding Scope shall include the criteria for the rejection of Marathon appeals.” Dinlenc objected to a motion to vote on the amendment, postponing the vote until next week’s meeting. The final amendment senators discussed was the “Amendment Regarding Student Union Committee Outreach,” which would require Senate committee chairs to spend time each week on social media outreach. Zhai spoke in its favor, saying it is impor-
tant for senators to “market ourselves to the community.” Fu criticized the “weekly” requirement specified in the amendment, saying monthly reports would be less “redundant.” Filseth agreed, saying he was “nervous” about making the outreach mandatory with a weekly deadline. Class of 2021 Senator Nakul Srinivas also expressed reservations, arguing it wouldn’t be a productive use of time for committee chairs. Additionally, he worried that it could lead to miscommunication. Dinlenc objected to the motion to suspend the rules to vote on the amendment, moving a vote to next week’s meeting.
Senator Impeached
Finkel announced the removal of Foster Mods Senator Matthew Reeves ’19 from his position due to consistent unexcused absences from Senate meetings. Finkel said he reached out to Reeves several times about his absences and gave him “plenty of warning” of his impending impeachment. He said Reeves responded “in a very not-serious way.”
Senator Reports
Racial Minority Senator Geraldine Bogard ’20 reminded senators to take the 2019 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Violence, which was sent to the Brandeis community in an email. Class of 2022 Senator Topaz Fernandez Fragoso appeared to have fallen asleep during senator reports and was awakened by Finkel. The Senate meeting ended in a closed-door executive session. — Editor’s Note: Nancy Zhai and Nakul Srinivas are News writers for the Justice. — Sam Stockbridge
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THE JUSTICE
EMPOWERED WOMEN IN POLITICS
THU LE/the Justice
Kristine Mackin PhD ’14, State Representative Tram Nguyen and State Senator Rebecca Rausch ’01 sat on a panel and discussed being a woman in politics.
Local politicians speak about experiences as women in office politicians shared their thoughts on gender and the political process. By MAYA RUBIN-WISH JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Brandeis Young Democrats board members Eliza Welty ’22 and Alison Hagani ’22 hosted a Women In Politics Panel—a panel of female politicians discussing the experiences, difficulties and importance of women in politics on Friday. The panel was moderated by Renee Korgood ’20. Four women politicians from the Boston area sat on the panel. Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards is the first woman of color to represent District One and has spent her time in office focusing on housing displacement and community development, according to the panel moderators. Waltham City Councilor Kristine Mackin PhD ’14 received her doctorate in biochemistry from Brandeis and focuses on environmentally sustainable development and building community among Waltham’s diverse residents. State Representative Tram Nguyen represents the 18th district and is the first Vietnamese American woman to serve in the Massachusetts legislature. Before being elected, Nguyen worked as a legal aid attorney representing domestic violence survivors, workers, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and children. State Senator Rebecca Rausch ’01 spent her time in office focusing on medical leave for parents, quality education and sustainability. The panel began with Edwards and Nguyen discussing their experience as women of color in politics. “Being a woman of color means you have to work so much harder to get your voice out there and run a campaign that’s authentic to you,” Nguyen explained. Both women stressed the importance of reaching out to friends and mentors who have had similar experiences and working together to amplify each others voices. Edwards explained that, as a woman of color running in a majority-white district, she had to work especially hard to get members of her district to see some of themselves in her. She said that local media refused to publish her ads becuase she was seen as the outsider running for a seat that had long been held by white men. Because of this, Edwards knocked on nearly 10,000 doors in Charlestown in order to meet her constituents face to face, working to break down the “you do not look like me so how can you understand me” mindset. Edwards said that as a woman of color in the political world, you have two main responsibilities. The first is to “always bring a folding chair wherever you’re not invited,”
making room for yourself and your voice in spaces from which you were excluded. The second responsibility, she explained, is to “build a pipeline — find the next in line, and prepare her. You must mentor, you must look and constantly be striving to pull the best out of other folks.” Nguyen and Edwards also addressed the complicated dynamic between white women and women of color in politics. A lot of feminist conversation and discourse on women’s equality does not account for those who are not white, middle class and straight, Edwards said. There is a mentality among some, she noted, that dictates that women of color should simply shut up and ignore the oppression still being perpetrated on them in order to get done what needs to get done for women as a whole. The Massachusetts State Senate is composed of 40 members, 11 of whom are women and/or people of color. Rausch explained that being a good ally to those who are subject to discrimination means being quiet and actively listening. She also noted that part of being a politician and an ally is using your voice to lift up other people who have less power than you and creating space for their voices. Mackin echoed Rausch’s sentiments, stating the importance of learning “when to shut up and listen and keep listening.” Mackin continued, “Sit silently through pauses … Leave that gap so that they are comfortable to keep going.” Mackin also emphasized the necessity of acknowledging one’s own bias, which she demonstrated by apologizing for having previously addressed Nguyen and Edwards by their first names, and Rausch by her full title, which she said was probably due to subconscious bias. Mackin and Edwards are both up for reelection in 2019. Mackin aims to knock on the door of every registered voter in her district. According to Mackin, standard campaign procedure for local elections is to only knock on doors of voters who have participated in the last two local elections, but Mackin plans to expand this pool to engage constituents who have previously been unengaged. She told a story of a man she met while canvassing who said he did not realize there were politicians who actually cared about him and his needs, and Mackin said she wants to make sure that everyone in her district knows that she is there for them. Edwards plans on becoming “more bold” as she approaches reelection. While many politicians stray away from controversial issues during election season for fear of losing their seat, Edwards said she is not backing down and will continue to advocate for what she believes in, saying, “I can’t be anything besides myself.” Rausch stressed the importance of running a “brutally authentic”
NEWS
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TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
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BRIEF University offers support following Christchurch shooting
WOMEN IN POLITICS: Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards (not pictured), (left to right) Waltham City Councilor
■ Four Boston-area
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campaign. “When you run … particularly as a woman with some intersectional identity, you have to be brutally authentic — frankly it’s too tiring to figure out how to be anything else,” she said. She continued that she hates the term “pink wave” — a term used to describe the recent rise in the number of women involved in politics. “Every one of us up here is a badass,” she explained. “We did not get elected because some magic happened, we got elected because we worked really hard, and we are not afraid once we are here to stand up and rock the boat.” Mackin spoke about how her experience at Brandeis guided her toward a career in politics. For instance, her labmates were all from very different backgrounds and had differing political views, but were not hesitant to discuss political issues. Also, her observation of the two female professors in the biochemistry department made her realize how hard they had had to work to be in their positions and how hard they were still fighting to be heard. Mackin said she thought that if she was going to fight a battle that difficult, she wanted it to be on a more public stage, where her success could have a broader impact on the people of her community. Rausch said that during her time at Brandeis, she was able to combine critical thinking and social justice for the first time. She credits the University with being the place where she learned that she wanted to make social change and where she learned how to use the law to make that change. “The foundation for this is up Rabb steps,” she said. Rausch, Nguyen and Edwards all got involved in politics through the Emerge Massachusetts program, and Mackin said that she hopes to someday be a graduate of the program as well. Emerge Massachusetts’ mission is to “increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training, and providing a powerful network,” according to the program’s website. All of the panelists stressed the importance of this network, explaining that mentorship between female politicians is crucial to getting more women involved in politics. “Lend your name, lend your time, lend your donor list,” Edwards said, adding that she believes women can form close and supportive connections faster than men can. All of the panelists stressed the importance of getting involved with local politics, which Rausch said has the most direct impact on the daily lives of citizens. Nguyen explained that women to decide to run for political office less frequently than men, saying most women have to be asked up to seven times before they consider it. Looking out over the crowd of mostly female students, Nguyen said, “Consider this your first invitation.”
In the wake of a massacre in New Zealand, President Ron Liebowitz and Rabbi Liza Stern, Director of Spiritual and Religious Life and Jewish Chaplain, sent an email to the Brandeis community calling for people to “find comfort and strength in coming together.” A lone gunman killed 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand during a violent rampage on Friday morning, according to a March 17 article in the Sydney Morning Herald. The 28-year-old gunman, Australian Brenton Tarrant, was inspired by white supremacist ideologies and streamed the shooting live on Facebook, according to the same article. Tarrant also distributed a manifesto to “dozens” of parties just minutes before the attack, including to the office of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Ardern’s response to the shooting was praised by leaders and advocates around the world. She described the massacre as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days” in a statement on Friday, per a March 17 NPR article. Ardern added that the victims, many of whom were refugees, chose “to make New Zealand their home,” and further condemned the shooter, saying that his actions had “absolutely no place in New Zealand,” according to a March 15 Sydney Morning Herald article. As she donned a black hijab in solidarity with the grieving Mus-
lim community and met with the victims’ families, Ardern vowed to strengthen the country’s gun laws, confirming that “there will be changes,” per a March 17 New York Times article. Under the current laws, “any person aged 16 or over with an entry-level firearm license can keep any number of common rifles and shotguns without an official record of those guns,” per a March 16 Sydney Morning Herald article. In Massachusetts, firearm owners must have a license to buy weapons, which is extremely difficult to obtain, but do not need to register their weapons, according to the Giffords Law Center. Unlike in New Zealand, licensed gun dealers in Massachusetts must keep records of firearm sales. Massachusetts also permits concealed carry, which is illegal in New Zealand, per a March 15 Slate article. Liebowitz and Stern wrote that they were “horrified” by the “violent act that was motivated by bigotry, anti-Muslim, and antiimmigrant sentiment[s],” emphasizing that the victims were in the midst of their religious services during the shooting. They invited community members to a vigil at the Peace Circle on Friday to “support our Muslim community,” and linked resources that students could use if they were “in need of additional support.” —Emily Blumenthal
‘BEST FRENEMIES FOREVER?’
YURAN SHI/the Justice
The Center for German and European Studies hosted a luncheon talk Monday featuring Karsten D. Voigt. Voigt, former Foreign Policy Speaker of the Social Democratic faction of the German Bundestag, discussed diplomatic relations between Germany and Russia.
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NEWS
■ The Brandeis community
gathered for a screening of Anna Deavere Smith’s film, “Notes From the Field.” SARAH KATZ/the Justice
DANGEROUS WATERS: Common loons, migratory waterbirds native to North America, face a number of threats, including lead poisoning, mercury poisoning, botulism and nest disturbance.
Expert explains impact of human activity and pollution on loons
■ Environmental history
professor Nancy Langston named the many threats to the common loon. By GILDA GEIST JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Environmental historian and author Nancy Langston spoke about the effects of human life on the habitat and well-being of the common loon as part of Brandeis’ annual Mandel Lectures in the Humanities on Thursday. Her presentation, “Climate Grief: Toxics, Global Warming and Loons,” explained the threats to loons as well as their cultural significance. The Mandel Lectures in the Humanities started in 2011 to push for the study of humanities at Brandeis, after the Mandel Center opened in 2010. Each year’s lectures are turned into a book at the end of the series. Langston, currently a professor of environmental history at Michigan Technological University, explained that the loons’ dense bones and the positioning of their feet allow them to swim very quickly and as deep as 250 feet under the water. In the summer, loons make their homes at ponds and lakes in the northern United States and Canada, and they migrate to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts in the winter. According to Langston, loons are “indicators of watershed health” and “give us a wake-up call to see what we could not see otherwise.” A thriving loon population would signal a robust ecosystem, but the loon population is currently decreasing across the United States and Canada. According to the National Audubon Society, the common loon population has been steadily declining over the past 20 years, and is “endangered in Vermont, threatened in New Hampshire and Michigan, and a species of special concern in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.” Langston described how human activities have diminished the loon population in North America. She explained that the rise of tourism in the northern United States that started in the 1930s disturbed the loons’ habitats,
especially with the spraying of the insecticide DDT, which, according to Langston, was used in this region primarily to curb the mosquito population. DDT is an insecticide that is toxic to wildlife and harmful to humans. It was used largely for pest control in the agricultural sector and by the military to control malaria and other diseases. The Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of the insecticide in the United States in 1972. Because loons migrate from the northern United States to the ocean, Langston explained, habitat destruction in the north in conjunction with environmental threats near the coast — such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill — has destroyed many of the birds’ potential homes. In addition to their shrinking habitats, loons face a number of other threats, including lead poisoning, Langston said. She explained that the ingestion of lead weights used on fishing lines are a major cause of death for loons in many northern states. In New Hampshire, for example, 49 percent of loon deaths between 1998 and 2012 were caused by lead poisoning, according to a 2017 Washington Post article. Mercury pollution is another threat to loons, Langston said. She explained how mercury accumulates through the food chain and becomes very concentrated in loons. First, algae and phytoplankton absorb small deposits of mercury from the water. Zooplankton and insects eat the algae, small fish eat the zooplankton and insects, and so on in the food chain until the mercury reaches the loons, when it is 10 million times more concentrated than it was in the water, according to a diagram in Langston’s presentation. The loons then pass this mercury poisoning down to their offspring. The presence of the mercury changes the loons’ behavior, Langston said. While loons usually carry their young offspring on their backs to conserve heat and keep them safe from predators, loons with mercury poisoning refrain from carrying their chicks on their backs. Loons with high levels of mercury in their blood spend less time sitting on their eggs, feed their offspring
TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
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Film screening explores schoolto-prison pipeline
SAVING THE LOONS
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less frequently and in general do not have the energy to properly care for their chicks. As a result, it is becoming increasingly common for young loons to die before reaching adulthood. When lakes and ponds are more acidic from acid rain, Langston said, it speeds up a chemical process, called methylation, that makes mercury more toxic. Acid rain is also toxic to fish, leaving less food for the loons. Loons are also killed by botulism, a type of bacteria poisoning. According to a 2014 study by the Biodiversity Research Institute, over 10,000 waterbirds on Lake Michigan, mostly common loons, were killed as a result of type E. botulism during the 2006 and 2007 fall migration periods. Langston emphasized that the environmental effects of human activity pose continuous problems for the loon population, saying, “They are profoundly entangled in our fossil fuelextracting economies … [so] no place is remote or distant any longer.” She pointed out that even humans who are nowhere near the loons’ habitat are a threat because they contribute to climate change. “These changing climates are creating these intensifying stressors that remobilize contaminants, that really affect the migration of these creatures,” she said. Not only are loons indicators of a healthy ecosystem, Langston said, but they also have cultural significance to many different nations. In Ojibwe culture, she said, the loon is symbolic of creation. In an Inuit folktale, a loon helps restore a blind boy’s vision. Canadian Cree folklore says that the loon’s birdcall represents the cries of those who died in battle. “Loons are part of our iconography, they’re part of our cultural histories and identities,” Langston said. Langston gave three other talks as part of this year’s Mandel Lectures: “Ghost Species: The Uncertain Future of Woodland Caribou in the Anthropocene” on March 11, “Environmental Humanities and the New Mobilities of the Anthropocene: Climate Change and Animal Migrations in the North” on March 13 and “Welcoming Back Namao: Indigenous Communities and Restoration of the Great Lakes Sturgeon” on March 13.
By ECE ESIKARA JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life held a screening of “Notes From the Field” on Thursday. Written and played by Anna Deavere Smith as a one-woman show, the film depicts “the American school-to-prison pipeline that pushes underprivileged, minority youth out of the classroom and into incarceration,” according to the event description. In the film, Smith critiques the American education and prison system by performing the lives of 18 minority students, activists, politicians and current and former inmates. The event was organized as a precursor to the Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life award ceremony and presentation, “Snapshots: Portraits of a World in Transition,” which will be held this Thursday. Smith, the recipient of the Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life, is a playwright, actor and educator. She uses “her singular brand of theatre to explore issues of community, character, and diversity in America,” according to the Brandeis University website. In order to explain complex American identities and controversial issues in “Notes From the Field,” Smith performs roles that depict the people she has interviewed. Prior to the screening, Prof. Rosalind Kabrhel (LGLS) spoke to the audience about the opportunities the Legal Studies program affords to fight injustices in the world. Kabrhel talked about the experiential classes offered by the University that require students to do an internship in the criminal justice field. She talked about the class Investigating Justice, which examines the intersection of journalism
and the justice system. She also introduced LGLS 89A: Law and Society Internship and Seminar, which places students into internships relating to social justice and law, such as government law offices and nonprofit organizations. Kabrhel said this year they were fortunate they could place students in various internships including the ones in the division of the Department of Youth Services, the Department of Children and Families Services and the juvenile probation departments. “I’ve had students placed at the Boston public schools and also three students who are working with the Petey Greene program, and they are being trained to tutor individuals who are incarcerated.” For Kabrhel these two classes were “awesome opportunities for students and, in some cases faculty as well, to get involved with individuals who are incarcerated in the hopes of providing them with better opportunities when they are released from prison.” She emphasized that students do not have to take these courses in order to get involved with these organizations; they can also volunteer. Kabrhel later introduced Stefanie Grossano, regional manager of the Petey Green Program in Massachusetts. The program “supplements education in jails, prisons, and detention centers, by preparing volunteers to provide free, quality tutoring and related programming to support the academic achievement of incarcerated people,” according to its website. Grossano explained, “We do that by trading folks like yourself to act as tutors or teaching assistants. In Massachusetts, we work in 10 different facilities. We work in two youth centers. We work in four county jails, three state prisons, and pre-release centers. We send about 120 volunteers in each of those facilities.” Grossano also said that college students can volunteer for a semester, during which they would be trained to be effective tutors for prisoners as well as ethical volunteers.
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
BRIEF Pre-college program focuses on queer identity and history This summer, Brandeis University will offer a new, “first-inthe-nation” pre-college seminar focusing on queer scholarship and civic engagement, according to the program’s webpage. The six-day offering, Queer Academics & Activism: A Seminar on LGBTQIA+ Histories & Futures, will be held from June 23 to June 28, 2019. High schoolers who attend will pay $1,800 in tuition to reside on campus and participate in events for “a thought-provoking examination of the American queer experience” with their peers. The difference between Brandeis’ pre-college program and other queer youth educational programs is its focus on “the history of struggles around LGBTQIA+ rights and
access to community supports,” per the website. “While other queer youth programs are adept at providing a focus on identity formation and social development, we believe that LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies need to apply a scholarly lens to better know their histories and consider their futures,” the website continued. C.J. Pascoe, a member of the QAA advisory board and an associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, explained the importance of the program in a March 13 BrandeisNOW article, saying, “We know that young people often do not have the opportunity to learn about queer people, queer history, or queer cultures
in traditional high school environments. This program will allow young people to explore these topics, as well as to meet other young people with similar interests.” Students who participate will examine case studies, embark on field trips, hear keynote speakers and engage in small-group faculty lectures, among many “other experiential learning opportunities” offered by the program. Rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors are encouraged to apply to the program. Candidates will be chosen according to “demonstrated commitment to and interest in queer issues and academic achievement.” —Sam Stockbridge
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
INMATE JUSTICE: Scholars from the Legal Studies Department encouraged students to pursue volunteer opportunities in the criminal justice system.
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IRELAND AND ISRAEL: Panel speaks about political relations CONTINUED FROM 1 influential in passing the Ireland Act of the 1949, granting the Irish the right to vote in the United Kingdom’s elections. After this act, he turned to calling for Jewish suffrage. According to Malino, O’Connell was a “huge inspiration for Jewish leaders” such as American Zionist Abba Silver, who, in a speech advocating for Jewish resettlement in Palestine, quoted O’Connell’s slogan, “Agitate, agitate, agitate.” In addition, she said that Louis Brandeis in his pamphlet “The Jewish Problem: How to Solve it” ended with a slogan in the spirit of O’Connell, saying, “Organize, organize, organize.” Malino compared Irish nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell and Jewish nationalist Theodor Herzl. In Britain’s 1885 hung parliament, Parnell’s party held the balance of power, allowing him to obtain the promise of Irish self-governance from Prime Minister William Gladstone. Malino said that Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, wrote in his diary, “I shall be the Parnell of the Jews.” According to Malino, the leaders were very similar. They both were aristocratic, educated outsiders in the movements they led, seen as a modern-day Moses for their cause and eventually became martyrs. The conversation then turned to the present relationship between Ireland and Israel. Boker said that when he visited Trinity College in Dublin, he was blocked from giving a lecture by the college’s Students for Justice in Palestine group. He argued, however, that the tense rela-
tions between Ireland and Israel is often a result of exaggeration from media and political rhetoric and that there should be a clearer distinction between Israel-Palestine relations and Israel-Ireland relations. Malino agreed with Boker that the relationship between Ireland and Israel is often misunderstood. For example, she noted the false comparisons made between the “role of Great Britain in both the Irish historical experience and the experience of the Jews.” When the U.N. voted on the question of Israel partition, the Irish position was to vote against it because they saw Israel’s partition through the lens of the partition England imposed on Ireland a few decades earlier. Therefore, even at Israel’s inception, “There was already a difference in understanding what partition might mean for the Jewish state, and what it meant in the historical narrative of the Irish-catholic people,” Malino said. Kaye took a different viewpoint, saying that what united Israel and Ireland in the past was their shared antagonism toward British colonialism. However, with Israel now expanding settlements into Palestine, it is unsurprising that the Irish should feel more affinity with the Palestinians, Kaye said. According to Kaye, Ireland and Israel “have moved in opposite directions” in the relationship of their governments to Catholicism and Judaism, respectively. Ireland has moved away somewhat from traditional Catholic thought, such as by legalizing same-sex marriage and abortion. By contrast, the authority of Israel’s chief rabbi over the years “has become only stronger and stronger,” Kaye said.
LIZY DABANKA '20
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
SIMRAN TATUSKAR '21
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tatuskar said that her already well-established relationship with the administration and faculty would help her as president.
NEWS
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TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
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GUILLE CABALLERO ’20 AND TREVOR FILSETH ’20
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: Both Caballero (left) and Filseth said that if elected, they would increase Union visibility and address sustainability issues on campus.
DEBATE: Student Union candidates discuss platforms CONTINUED FROM 1 the Brandeis Counseling Center, the BranVan and Dean of Arts and Sciences Dorothy Hodgson to work on improving various aspects of accessibility on campus. A core part of Dabanka’s platform is accessibility, by which she means allowing students access to the Union and to the administration. Dabanka explained that she has not been personally involved in the disability accessibility movement and that she does not want to speak for anyone, but that as president, she would use her position to “support the people who are doing really good work” and to ensure that the movement isn’t forgotten as time passes. In contrast, Price’s plan to address accessibility focuses on improving students’ awareness of and access to the resources that already exist on campus. “I think that we actually have a pretty accessible campus,” Price said.
Vice President
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Dabanka's platform involves three main policies: "advocacy, accessibility and accountability."
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Guille Caballero ’20 and Trevor Filseth ’20 are vying for the vice presidency. Having run for the position in the last set of Union elections and falling to current Union Vice President Aaron Finkel ’20, Caballero seeks to rally for causes that students care about in his second campaign. He said he wants to “work with sustainability, work with projects like food, divestment and things like that” because he “didn’t realize how much people rally behind these kinds of things until after the results. So I was like, next time I have the chance, I will reconsider it, and here I am.” As a candidate who favors keeping Union members focused on getting things done instead of wasting time with people talking endlessly, Caballero said he prefers discipline and alertness for staying on task in meetings. If elected, he would use time limits to make sure everyone has a chance to speak. To do so, Union members would keep talking points brief and all members would have the same amount of time. Caballero believes the Student Union is already pretty visible, but would share more posts online and put up posters so people can actually “see” the Union. Caballero also said that he wants to maintain connections with those who lose elections as backup in case elected members are not fulfilling their responsibilities. Filseth touched on the idea that nationally, vice presidents are seen as useless and the perception is that they do not do any work. He emphasized that this job is in reality difficult, and praised Finkel for the job he has done. Filseth also said that sustainability is an important issue for him and that he wants to make Brandeis a safe and respectful environment. He added that he wants to keep those who lose elections involved, as not enough people pay attention to the Union at all, to minimize future issues with finding candidates. Filseth also said that elections would be more competitive if more people paid attention. In his closing remarks, Filseth said
that Caballero is a serious candidate and committed to social justice, but claimed that he has not been involved in the Union very much.
Secretary
The only candidate for the secretary position, Taylor Fu ’21, focused on her experience in the Union. According to her candidate biography, this past semester she “was elected as the East Quad Senator and joined three different Senate Committees.” She elaborated during the debate that she is on the Health and Safety Committee and currently works with the Brandeis Counselling Center to bridge the gap between students and the BCC. As Campus Operations Chair, Fu has worked with facilities and DCL to clean and organize the East storage unit and has also worked to redo and redecorate the Airplane Lounge in East Quad. She collaborated with facilities “to work on an appreciation day for facilities and Sodexo workers,” as well. Fu also serves the Union in other ways, such as on the Rules Committee. She said that as secretary, she wants to go “above and beyond” by continuing to serve on committees. Fu acknowledged that the most challenging part of her role would be holding Union members accountable for their attendance at meetings and for holding office hours. Finally, she said she aims to foster better communication between the Union and the student body.
Treasurer
Yona Steinman ’20 is the only candidate for treasurer and is currently abroad, so he was unable to attend the debate in person. In a prepared video, he said that after having served on the treasury for three semesters, he wants to follow the leadership of previous treasurers and make the processes of the treasury easier for all.
Junior Rep. to the Board of Trustees
Zoë Fort ’21 and Jake Rong ’21 are competing to become the junior representative to the Board of Trustees. Fort did not attend the debate, but her candidate bio details her involvement in Liebowitz’s Task Force for Honoring Our Founding Values and her experience on the Union’s Executive Board, part of what she describes as the “journey of coming to understanding the needs of all students within our beloved community.” Rong currently serves as the Village and 567 Senator and chair of the Rules Committee, and he has initiated partnerships between the Union and the Residence Hall Association and the Undergraduate Library Council, among other projects, during his time on the Union. Currently, the student body does not have a good understanding of the position, according to Rong, which is something he said he hopes to change if elected. He also said wants to improve communication between the Board and the student body by holding office hours with himself and Trustees, as well as improve transparency by attempting to change the Board’s privacy agreement, which
currently involves a non-disclosure agreement. The Board also has a wealth of institutional knowledge about the University's past that Rong believes could help groups on campus if the student body and the Trustees were better connected.
Rep. to the BSF
Isaiah Freedman ’20, Zhengmao Sheng ’22 and Ben Silver ’20 are competing to become the representative to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund. Silver was unable to attend the debate, but he submitted a recorded opening statement in which he described his desire to act as a liaison between the administration and the student body and to build on recent sustainability improvements on campus. Freedman emphasized his expertise with sustainability subjects, sharing his recent involvement in the SaveOHNO initiative — funded by the BSF — as well as how he has taken Environmental Studies coursework as he works toward a major in the subject. He also described completing a capstone project at his high school that negotiated the school’s contract with their food provider that removed all styrofoam from the campus. Sheng said he wants to work with the entire student body to improve sustainability and to address social justice issues, explaining that he believes “social justice cannot be taken apart from the environment.” He said he would bring the experience he has gained from being involved with Mock Trial, the Right to Immigration Institute and the Union’s Committee on Service and Outreach, as well as his self-described efficiency, responsibility and responsiveness to the position. During the question portion of the debate, both Freedman and Sheng stressed the importance of raising awareness about the BSF on campus. Sheng shared his idea to place whiteboards around campus on which students could write their opinions about sustainability, which would also help students learn about the BSF’s existence.
Junior Rep. to the Alumni Board
Gabi Burkholz ’21, who is running unopposed to be the junior representative to the Alumni Board, stressed her prior experience working with alumni and her plans for connecting current and former students. She is currently the director of the Brandeis National Committee Student Ambassador Program, and as a member of Brandeis Beacons and the Undergraduate Theater Collective, she has helped host events that connect alumni and students. She said she plans to hold office hours that would allow students to meet with her and rotating members of the alumni board, as well as interested alumni, and increase opportunities for students to attend lunches and networking opportunities with former students. —Editor’s Note: Jocelyn Gould and Jen Geller moderated the debate. —Trevor Filseth is a staff writer for the Justice.
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features
TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019● FEATURES ● THE JUSTICE
just
VERBATIM | MOTHER TERESA I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.
ON THIS DAY…
FUN FACT
In 1628, England granted land to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
According to Adherents, a non-religiously affiliated organization, there are around 4,300 religions in the world.
Creating space The process of revitalizing the Berlin Chapel
Photos by CLARA ALEXANDER/the Justice
THE PROCESS: From start to finish, the journey to remodel the Berlin Chapel took two years.
By STEPHANIE ORLIC JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Upon entering the doors of the Berlin Chapel, one is immediately met with warm light emanating from the enormous abstract windows in the front of the building. The ambience of harmony, peace and faithfulness can be felt almost immediately. This past Thursday, March 14, the Berlin Chapel held an open house for the newly renovated structure. Established in 1955, the chapel was named after Dr. David Berlin in remembrance of his mother. The Berlin Chapel was renovated by a group of students including Alex Friedman ’19, Marissa Farkas ’20 and Max Silverstone ’19, over the past couple of years. At the event, Friedman spoke about the efforts the group had put in to clean up the chapel and keep it maintained for futurue classes to enjoy and hold as a sacred space of worship and camaraderie for their peers. There were only a couple rows of people in attendance at the beginning of the event, but soon more students started to show up, as well as rabbis who came to pay respects and put up the mezuzah (a piece of parchment enscribed with Torah verses) at the front of the chapel. It was a very intimate gathering and reflected a lot of the core values explained during Friedman’s speech. He talked about how the structure of the building itself, with its intricate structure, was representative of the Ark of Holiness, which is where Torahs are kept. Additionally, the menorah held in the middle of the synagogue has “Truth” inscribed in it, reflecting Brandeis’ motto: “Truth unto its innermost parts.” The Cohen Study, a mini library and seminar room down the stairs of the main sanctuary, has a plethora of different books that have been donated over time and is a quiet space where students are welcome to study for any type of work. It is also the home to Response and Focus, the University’s Jewish design unit. Before the renovation, Friedman said that “The Cohen Study simply wasn’t being utilized, and I realized that we had the ability to, in a way, create space without building a new building. I think
it has the potential to recommit Brandeis students to each other and to their shared community.” In December 2018, the Berlin Chapel revitalization project received funding from the Student Union’s Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund. “CEEF was actually the end of a process, not the process itself. When the CEEF idea first came along, I wasn’t completely aware of how many administrators it would take being on-board before I could begin to get to work,” Friedman said. “The Chapel, because of its history and unique position in our administration’s constellation, required a lot more buy-in from a wider group of people than almost any other building would have.” The team ended up writing a 1,500word proposal on top of what CEEF wanted just to get the idea across to as many people as they could. As a result, they missed the 2017 deadline. Friedman said that missing last year’s deadline was a “blessing in disguise, as it gave me more time to develop the soul of the project, grow it in scope, and build up the relationships with administrators and students I would need to make the project happen. Without people like Marissa, who is working on the Berlin Reading Nook library that CEEF cannot cover and has been my partner for this whole chapter of the project, Max, who was instrumental in cleaning out the basement, and Anthony Mantia of Facilities, who has gone above and beyond for me and the project at every opportunity, this project wouldn’t be happening.” Even though the CEEF grant enabled the team to transform the Chapel, they originally sought to only bring in a few items: a coat rack, a whiteboard, a wheelchair ramp and new blinds. But, as Friedman came into conversation with more students, he said he, “realized there was a lot more to be done to fundamentally change how the Chapel is used and thought of by the student body. That’s how the project grew.” Overall, the experience at this event was calming, eye-opening and reassuring that there is a community for everyone, and that the Brandeis community is willing to give everyone a chance to be heard and loved.
BUILDING A COMMUNITY: Students were granted money through the Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund.
STUDENT LEADERS: Alex Friedman ’19 was one of the three students who spearheaded the movement to raise funds for the Berlin Chapel to be remodelled.
THE JUSTICE ● FEATURES ● TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
RELIGION ON CAMPUS Building religious communities in a multifaith context
By SAMMY PARK JUSTICE EDITOR
Photos Courtesy of Brandeis University Department of Spiritual and Relgious Life
On Friday nights, the Shapiro Campus Center loses its classic busyness. The chattering study groups have dissipated, along with the sprawling line at Einstein’s Bagels. But two floors up from the sleepy study space, one room is alive with laughter and music. Asian Baptist Student Koinonia, or ABSK, is Brandeis’ campus fellowship group that, according to its Facebook page, is “concerned with the religious, social, and cultural issues regarding Christianity and Asians today.” Despite its name, the group welcomes non-Asians and non-Christians alike. ABSK also has chapters at nearby colleges: Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University. Because of the organization’s chapters at nearby colleges and universities, the club is able to have intercollegiate events. However, even with the group’s extensive reach across the Boston area, many of the organization’s leaders are Brandeis graduates.
A typical Friday evening starts with a few contemporary Christian songs accompanied by acoustic guitar. Then non-student leaders start their weekly informal lesson on a verse or chapter in the Bible. ABSK is just one of the many religious groups on campus. Through the University’s Department of Spiritual and Religious Life, students have access to Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim Chaplains. The extensive religious support demonstrates the spiritual diversity among Brandeis students, despite the University’s strong association with Judaism. River Jade Heisler ’19, a member of both Hillel and Brandeis University Conservative Organization, said, “I do feel like religious organizations on campus are important; they are a great source of community and connection to tradition. There definitely is the association with Judaism at Brandeis, but it seems to me that there are a lot of multicultural organizations on campus now and I think there’s starting to be a lot of dialogue about religion, so it feels like things are going in the right direction.”
Photo Courtesy of ABSK
INTERCOLLEGIATE: Brandeis is just one of the Boston-area colleges with an ABSK chapter.
Photo Courtesy of Brandeis Hillel
Shrestha Singh
Rabbi Elisabeth Stern Jewish Chaplain
Hindu Chaplain
Muhammad Xhemali Muslim Chaplain
RETREAT: Brandeis Hillel’s Shabbat Retreat for first-years is just one example of the organization’s effort to build a community.
Allison Cornelisse Catholic Chaplain
Rev. Matt Carriker Protestant Chaplain
An interfaith dinner: By KRISTINA FRICKER Photo by NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
A THEME OF LOVE: Dean Jamele Adams talked about how his aspiration to spread love has shaped his spiritual journey.
Photo by NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
SPOKEN WORD: Brandeis students’ first interaction with the dean is often at an orientation event where he performs spoken word poetry.
JUSTICE CONTRIBUTOR
This past Wednesday, Brandeis’ Department of Spiritual and Religious Life held the last of this semester’s Multifaith Dinners. The guest speaker was Brandeis’ Dean of Students Jamele Adams, who chose to diverge from the typical model of a 20-minute speech followed by dinner and questions in favor of holding a round table discussion in which attendees were all invited to ask him any question they wanted. Questions ranged from “What is your favorite sport?” to “What was the most transformative moment in your life?” All of the responses from Adams were thought-provoking and intensely personal, and as a result, attendees were enraptured. The room was silent and contemplative throughout the event, yet there was an atmosphere of interest, respect and introspection. A common theme that Adams returned to was the concept of love, and how his aspiration to spread love has shaped his personal and spiritual journey. He discussed how he had, at times in his life, struggled with his faith, and what eventually brought him back to the spirituality he holds today. Adams was also open about his decision to come to Brandeis, revealing
it was the student body that drew him in and that he feels most passionate about. He shared a powerful anecdote: after accepting his first position at Brandeis, Adams was invited to read a poem during the annual Culture X show. His performance was met with thunderous applause, as well as students chanting “That’s our Dean!” In that moment, he said, he knew that he had made the right decision to come to Brandeis. Adams moved into a story about his first few months at Brandeis, when he, his wife, and their (at the time) two young children lived in Ziv Quad on campus. It was clear that from the beginning of his tenure at Brandeis, Adams intended to be an integral part of campus, a goal that he has very much achieved. Brandeis students’ first interaction with the Dean is often during the orientation event This is Our House. Adams performs spoken word poetry. and the event is centered around the themes of inclusivity and community-building. Overall, the dinner promoted community, sharing, the pursuit of ambitions, dedication to loving each other and ways to navigate life while staying true to oneself. Attendees left with a much deeper understanding of who their dean of students was and what he stood for, as well as a sense of camaraderie.
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10 TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE
Justice
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Established 1949
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Avraham Penso, Editor in Chief Natalia Wiater, Managing Editor Amber Miles, Senior Editor Jen Geller, Jocelyn Gould, Deputy Editors Nia Lyn, Eliana Padwa, Associate Editors Sam Stockbridge, News Editor Sammy Park, Features Editor Gabriel Frank, Forum Editor, Megan Geller, Sports Editor Maya Zanger-Nadis, Arts Editor Andrew Baxter, Photography Editor Morgan Mayback, Interim Layout Editor Liat Fischer and Devo Meyers, Ads Editors River Hayes, Mia Rubinstein, Acting Copy Editors
EDITORIALS Vote Simran Tatuskar ’21 for Student Union President The 2019 Student Union presidential election has several well-qualified candidates, each of whom has a vision for creating a better Brandeis. Candidates Lizy Dabanka ’20, Oliver Price ’20 and Simran Tatuskar ’21 have similar ideas on how to improve campus life, such as working to improve the relationships between students and the University and ensuring that student needs are met. However, the candidate with the most concrete vision of how to improve the Union is Tatuskar. As such, this board endorses Simran Tatuskar for 20192020 Student Union president. Of the candidates, we consider Tatuskar to be the best-prepared for the presidency. Among other accomplishments, she has served as secretary of the Union Executive Board, co-chair of the Health and Safety Committee and member of the Dining and Rules Committees. These experiences have provided her the necessary knowledge of how the Union can and should be improved, what is running successfully and what is not. Tatuskar told the Justice that she has spoken with every member of the E-Board and has numerous plans for ensuring that their accomplishments continue under the next administration. For example, she wants to implement the online platform Presence for use by all student clubs. Presence is expensive, but it would streamline club processes. With Presence, clubs could post announcements viewable by everyone — thus eliminating inconvenient or numerous emails as well as listservs — and post their events to a shared calendar accessible to all clubs and students. Tatuskar also hopes to continue implementing the commuter rail subsidy supported by the administration of Union President Hannah Brown ’19, which would allow some students free access to Boston for off-campus therapy or internships. Tatuskar has plans to improve a few other spheres of University life. She anticipates improving communication between the student body and the University’s administration. She sees the Union as an intermediary between the two, and hopes to increase transparency regarding the issues members of the Union are tackling and what exactly they are getting done. She also wants to ensure that cultural clubs feel they have a voice in the Union and can air grievances and collaborate on solutions. Similarly, Tatuskar hopes to open a direct line of communication between the Union and the Brandeis Counseling Center as well as implement an online BCC booking system and create an STI clinic through the Health Center. Like Price, Tatuskar believes in increasing campus sustainability. She admits that she is not an expert on the subject but says that she is willing to reach out to more experienced members of the Union. Demonstrating her knowledge of the Union, she said she defers to Kent Dinlenc ’19, the head of the Senate Sustainability Committee, on the subject. Price had
Most experienced candidate several sustainability goals which Tatuskar should take note of, including the addition of a presentation on sustainability during first-year orientation. He also suggested the implementation of sustainability ambassadors in each residence hall. In addition, Tatuskar can speak extensively on Union initiatives she wants to continue — from conversations with administrators regarding Title IX procedures, getting members of Greek life involved, bringing graduate students closer to the undergraduate counterparts, advocating for meal plan options at the SSC cafe and creating better opportunities for student activists to voice their concerns in the most productive manner possible. In the same vein, Tatuskar makes every effort to meet with not only Union members from various branches, but also many club leaders as well, seeking to hear their concerns. This effort to establish clear lines of communication between students and their representatives epitomizes what this board respects about Tatuskar — her time is devoted to speaking to the people whose experiences she seeks to improve. While this board believes that Tatuskar is most ready for the presidency, we acknowledge the value of other candidates’ ideas, especially those of Dabanka. In an interview with the Justice, Dabanka discussed community members’ discomfort with calling BEMCo, saying that some students feel judged and punished for needing the potentially life-saving service. Social justice is another key part of her platform: “I … want to really work to push this administration and remind it that there are students from all over the world, all over the country, coming from racial, ethnic, national backgrounds that want to be here.” Dabanka wants each member of the community to be heard and feel welcome, explaining, “A lot of people just transfer because they just don’t feel like they fit in here, because they are not the ‘typical Brandeisian.’ But there isn’t a ‘typical Brandeisian.’ We’re not a monolith. Brandeis is super diverse, even amongst people who consider themselves monolithic.” Dabanka has a great vision of the Union’s future and regardless of who wins this election, her ideas deserve recognition and incorporation into the Union. Despite some room for growth, Tatuskar has the most far-reaching and well-developed plan for her administration of the four candidates. She will benefit by working closely with both the current administration and with her current opponents, and this board appreciates that she acknowledges this. Overall, Tatuskar is an extremely qualified candidate for Student Union President and this board endorses her campaign. — Jocelyn Gould and Jen Geller did not contribute to this editorial.
MARA KHAYTER/the Justice
Views the News on
In a March 11 interview with the Washington Post, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — currently the most powerful Democrat in office — stated that she would not support the impeachment of President Trump because it would be “too divisive” for the country,” while adding that she believes Trump is not “fit to be President of the United States.” Do you agree or disagree with Pelosi’s opposition to impeachment, and why? What effect do you think impeaching Trump would have on the country?
Prof. Daniel Breen (LGLS) At this point, opting not to pursue impeachment proceedings because they would be “too divisive” is akin to opting not to pour water into the Atlantic Ocean for fear that this would make the ocean “too wet.” It is the President’s demagoguery that plays to and widens our divisions. In 1787, the drafters of the Constitution provided a remedy for presidents who violate the public trust and bring disgrace to the office, and given the strength of the case that President Trump is guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” it is the plain duty of the House to deploy that remedy now, regardless of the present prospects of conviction in the Senate (a calculus that may change over the coming year). It is understandable that the Speaker would weigh the politics of impeachment with care. But this is the time, of all times, when expediency has to be put aside in favor of honor and the Constitution. Daniel Breen is a lecturer in the Legal Studies department specializing in American Law and the History of the Early American Republic.
Prof. Sabine von Mering (GER) President Trump is digging himself into an ever-deeper hole of self-incrimination. No help from Democrats needed. With over thirty people, including six of Trump’s close associates, under indictment and several of them going to prison, I don’t think the Democrats will have to do much more to hurt his presidency. You would need the Senate’s cooperation for impeachment, and the Republican party is clearly not willing to drop this president, no matter how stunning his level of incompetence. Democrats should focus on building broad support for a Green New Deal, which is the only chance we have of addressing global climate change and turning things around once the mess and chaos of the Trump administration are behind us. People get it. They are already discovering that the tax break they were promised actually raised their taxes and did what everyone worried it would do, i.e. make the richest even richer. Sabine von Mering is a professor of German and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies and serves as the director of the Center for German and European Studies.
Prof. Kerry Chase (POL)
Speaker Pelosi is wise to try to tamp down impeachment talk. The House is in an investigative phase—and it has much work to do after two years of House Republicans running interference for the White House. If Democrats rush too quickly into impeachment, the oversight the country sorely needs can be more effectively attacked as a partisan exercise. And a premature, party-line vote on impeachment would only feed the “witch hunt” narrative. During Watergate, it was almost a full year from the start of Congressional hearings until the House initiated impeachment proceedings. In that year, as the public got to know the major players, heard the facts of the scandal and saw the White House’s resistance and obstruction in real time, Nixon’s approval ratings sank, leading many Republicans in Congress to jump ship. Likewise, more hearings like Michael Cohen’s will get the facts of the president’s conduct out to the world, turning up the heat on his defenders on Capitol Hill. Democrats should be patient and let oversight work. Kerry Chase is an associate professor of Politics specializing in International Relations and U.S. Foreign Economic Policy.
Prof. Michael Strand (SOC)
Any other sitting president would have already faced impeachment by this point. Two factors prevent this in Trump’s case: first, Mitch McConnell; second, the populist mobilization that put Trump in the White House. McConnell reverse engineered Senate rules to stoke hyperpoliticization when he made it his mission to make the Obama presidency as dysfunctional and paralyzed as he could. This now works to prevent impeachment from being entertained by the Senate, despite the mounting House resistance. I think Trump’s populist base is a more effective block on impeachment. A populist mobilization, to quote my sociology friend, “means a sustained, large-scale political project that mobilizes ordinarily marginalized social sectors into publicly visible and contentious political action, while articulating an anti-elite, nationalist rhetoric that valorizes ordinary people.” To me, this definition captures much of the novelty of the Trump presidency. With the exception of the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, no other comparable figure in modern political history has been catapulted to power through populist mobilization aside from Trump. His celebrity undoubtedly helps. This extra-constitutional power gives Trump an extraordinary lever to pull, which he does and will, including against impeachment. Michael Strand is an assistant professor of Sociology specializing in social theory, the philosophy of social science, and economic sociology. Photos: Brandeis University; the Justice
THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, MARCH 19 , 2019
Students: get involved Trevor FILSETH
SANITY
“How does the residential life system foster a feeling of belonging at Brandeis?” If your gut reaction to hearing this question was to burst into uncontrollable laughter — or uncontrollable tears — you’re probably not alone. The Department of Community Living is the least popular branch of the Brandeis administration; its name is often thrown around as shorthand for how out of touch the Brandeis administration is with the community. Of all the comments on Brandeis Confessions, usually a pretty good barometer of public opinion, I don’t think I’ve seen a single positive one about the job that DCL has been doing. Instead, there is a litany of complaints ranging from loud noise late at night and students smoking in residence halls to nonfunctioning showers and expensive laundry cycles, most of which fall under DCL’s authority. In short, it’s very easy to complain about DCL, and there’s a fair amount to complain about. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the administration regularly does reach out to try and do better. If the question I posed earlier seems hilarious to you, Assistant Dean of Students Stephanie Grimes asked it last Monday at a community meeting. Apparently, she wants to help us! Who could have possibly seen this coming? A lot of people should have, because the Student Union advertised the meeting pretty heavily through Facebook and sent out emails well in advance. Despite this, only a dozen or so students showed up. The ones who did had issues they cared about, which translated to things to talk about, and the conversation that followed was lively and interesting. As it was happening, though, I couldn’t take my mind off the small number of people that came. In this, we see the problem. There’s a lot that various groups — administrators, DCL, the Student Union — can do to improve students’ lives. But, because they can’t hear people who don’t speak up, they don’t enact the change that most people would like, and there develops a reputation that they don’t do anything useful. I don’t think there exists a better microcosm for this than the Student Union itself. The Senate has a benchmark budget of $50,000 per semester, the overwhelming majority of which is spent in ways that directly benefit students. One of the most popular events every semester, the Midnight Buffet, is paid for by those
funds. Midnight Buffet is a little crowded, and sometimes the food runs out too quickly, but it’s something that makes life at Brandeis better. So do Turkey Shuttles. Hell, so do Alex Chang’s pianos. For all this, though, the Student Union gets very little attention from the student body at large. Senate meetings are open to everyone, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone from the general public at one. I’m sure part of that is because they’re on Sunday evenings, but I think it’s more that we don’t do a good enough job of convincing people they should care. The end result of this is that people don’t. The vice-presidential election between Aaron Finkel and Guillermo Caballero, the most heated election we’re ever likely to see at Brandeis, only had around 1000 votes cast in total. Most of our contests are much, much less interesting, including mine; in my election, 37 people out of a class of 900 voted for me. (For reference, more people signed Alex Chang’s piano petition last fall.) My “opponent,” Tom Alger, did slightly better at 49 votes cast, but it’s hard to argue that either of us elicited much of a reaction from anyone. To be frank, I’m a Class of 2020 Senator now because I was one of two people interested in the two-position job. If I had not run, there would probably be an empty seat on the Union right now. On the topic of Alex Chang, he’s actually a good example for people to emulate. I criticized him last year for diverting Student Union funds for what I saw as a vanity project, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for him in this context. He’s a highly motivated individual who wanted to accomplish something that would benefit his base, and he was willing and able to use the University’s resources to do it. If there’s any good lesson to take away from the piano debacle last year, it’s that you, too, can get something real done if you’re willing to speak up about it. Keep that in mind as you go through your college career. For the short term, get involved! If you have things you want to be addressed, make them known. If you want new couches in your residence hall, make some noise. If you’re disappointed that your club didn’t get funding, make even more noise. If you want the Branvan to run on time, make a whole lot of noise. And when an election rolls around, find a candidate that’s promising to do things that you want to accomplish. Or find a candidate that doesn’t and cajole them into doing so. Or, if you can’t do either, run for the position yourself. But if you sit back and don’t do anything, you shouldn’t be surprised when the Union reflects your apathy. Get involved. For instance, there’s a perfectly good election happening today. Why not go out and vote?
HARRISON PAEK/the Justice
LETTER TO THE EDITOR In response to “Task force should prioritize laundry room issues” (Tuesday, March 12): The problem of consistently out-of-order machines due to the practice of unplugging the card reader was recognized mid-fall semester. The most problematic locations were addressed over the Thanksgiving break and all remaining locations were corrected during the winter break. This was accomplished by preventing access to the card reader outlets. As a general rule, reports of out-of-order machines are addressed same day or within 24 business hours. Equipment concerns may be reported to the Campus Card Office. Beginning with the fall 2019 semester, the University will introduce an Included Laundry Program where access to residential laundry facilities will be included as part of the resident student’s housing package for all students living on campus. This means that use of laundry machines will no longer require campus card (WhoCash) or quarters to activate the machines – the card swipes and readers will be eliminated. It is the University’s hope that this program improvement will create value and enhance the on-campus community living experience. — Jeffrey Hershberger is the director of University Services.
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STATE OF THE UNION By KENT DINLENC SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE
The Union has been improving, slowly but surely. A-board processes are being streamlined through new servers in the fall, the Treasury is deftly handling the budget and the Senate is reevaluating the way it conducts itself through bylaw reforms. Simply put, the Union is headed in the right direction. The members of the E-board and A-board are working their hardest to think about long-term progress, a state of mind that Brandeis has not really embraced. However, nobody in the Union is perfect. People still butt heads, disparate ambitions conflict with each other, and despite the departure of a couple of notorious senators from last semester, pettiness still lingers. Though these are not problems uncommon to most organizations or businesses, this tells us that incompetence within the Union is not a major issue. The passion with which officers express and carry out their projects is what hold them back. From what I’ve observed during my time as Executive Senator, liaison between the Senate and E-board, I’m updated on efforts to improve communication with administrators, to foster a more caring community and to ensure that students make the best of their academics as well as their free time. From afar, one may not know what these branch heads do, but they have longterm goals to be achieved by their successors. These include the University’s website/software updates, providing valuable insight and advice to visiting task forces and administrators in meetings and improving transportation to Boston with airport shuttles and commuter rail subsidies. The Senate has stepped up its game, as well. Though the meetings are reserved mostly for updating the bylaws, at least this means people are actually reading them and taking them seriously. It’s tedious at times, but weeding through ambiguity and clarifying some of the bylaws is necessary. Senate committees are performing efficiently. Events are being put on that students attend, and the dining experience has improved (no matter what your Sodexo baseline was in the past). The Senate Sustainability Committee, which I chair, has been hard at work. Though last semester seemed a little directionless, this semester we’ve set our sights on major projects. By frequently collaborating with Brandeis Sustainability Manager Mary Fischer and the Brandeis Sustainability Fund, more than $98,000 worth of projects are being implemented during the summer in time for the arrival of the class of 2023. A significant majority of this money is going toward the installation of solar panels and water refill stations. With the renovation of all fountains on campus and the bulk purchase of many reusable water bottles, we intend to cease the sale of disposable water bottles (Dasani, SmartWater, etc.) by the fall semester. This is a big step toward reducing the University’s carbon footprint and improving its water usage. You might not see it, you might not agree with it, but the Union is still working. You might see us as “those people who run the Turkey Shuttle and Midnight Buffet,” but we’re still fulfilling our duties while maintaining part-time jobs and studying full-time. We are not infallible, but we are still dedicated to improving student life. And if you don’t like how we’re doing, run for a position in April in the sixth election cycle this year.
Parkland response is long overdue By JULIANNA SCIONTI JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Early in the afternoon of Feb. 14, 2018, Jennifer Moll was running errands at the Walmart located behind Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where her son, Jake, was a senior. She picked up a call from him. “There’s an alarm going off, but I know it can’t be a fire drill because there is only five minutes left in school. They wouldn’t do that,” he whispered. He was confused, surrounded by chaos, and he was right; the information didn’t add up. A fire drill didn’t make sense so close to the end of the day. Students wouldn’t make it to their buses on time. Listening to her son, Moll abandoned her cart in the aisle and ran to her car. “Jake don’t hang up. If you can’t talk, don’t talk, but don’t hang up,” she implored him. They didn’t know what was happening, but the connection meant neither of them would be alone. Moll drove toward the school, toward her child and likely towards danger. She was nearly run off the road by emergency vehicles. A helicopter was whirring overhead. The call dropped, the connection was lost. We all know what happened next. There were 17 casualties that day, 14 of whom were students. In the year since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 1,200 American kids have been killed by gun violence. They were killed in school shootings as well as murders, suicides, gang violence, domestic violence, gun-related accidents and more. The magnitude of these fatalities is staggering, but the number does not begin to capture those affected, but not killed, by gun violence in this country. With each of the 1,200 fatalities documented there are the survivors — friends and families who are forever impacted and traumatized. Jennifer Moll’s son, Jake, survived the shooting at his high school, but he will never be the same. Every time he and his mother enter a public space, she watches his eyes scan the room, noting all the exits and identifying places to hide. Jennifer Moll hopes the world will be better by the time she has grandchildren. She already sees a guard up in her son.
In the year since Parkland, legislators have made progress on gun violence prevention measures. The Giffords Law Center found that in 2018, 26 states and the District of Columbia enacted 67 new gun safety laws. Seven states passed laws to enact or strengthen background checks. Nine states and the District of Columbia passed legislation to strengthen bans on bump stocks and trigger activators. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have passed “Red Flag Laws” that allow family members, law enforcement and other members of the community to petition the court to temporarily confiscate the firearm of someone who is at risk of hurting themselves or others. Eleven states passed legislation to make it more difficult for known domestic abusers to possess firearms. New Jersey, Vermont and Washington D.C. banned large capacity magazines or further restricted access to high capacity ammunition. All the changes to gun laws have happened on the state level. The federal government has not passed major gun violence prevention legislation in a quarter of a century. In 1994, Congress passed an assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. That same year, Congress also passed the “Brady Act,” which requires background checks on most, but not all gun sales. In 2013, following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut, Senate Democrats reintroduced a version of the Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004. The bill did not pass. The issue of gun violence prevention has continued to be so fraught at the Congressional level that we applaud our federal officials for even talking about it. The “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019” passed the House of Representatives on Feb. 27 of this year 240 to 190. It received the blessing of eight House Republicans. The bill, if ratified by the Senate, would require background checks for all gun sales including private sales and purchases made at gun shows or online. The Senate may never call it to a vote. If they do, it could suffer the same fate as the 2013 Assault Weapons Ban. If it does, can we even consider this progress? At what point do the 1,200 kids killed since Parkland become casualties of Congress’ inaction?
The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.
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Editorial Assistants
Forum: Ben Feshbach*, Tafara Gava, Violet Fearon, Trevor
News: Emily Blumenthal, Gilda Geist
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TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Impact investing for dual financial and social returns Andrew
JACOBSON REALITY CHECK For more than two centuries, capital markets have provided a place for companies and governments to raise money to finance activities. It’s the largest game in the world: part strategy, part luck. Companies issue debt or equity to expand operations by opening new business lines, executing mergers or acquisitions, etc. Investors, in turn, pour their capital into businesses with attractive financial prospects based on the security’s price and risk. If the price is good, the risk is acceptable and the firm’s earnings are expected to increase at a rate higher than the rest of the market, then the company is a buy. Until recently, investors’ due diligence generally consisted of either fundamental or technical analysis. A fundamental strategy seeks to determine a firm’s intrinsic value based on a financial, economic and qualitative data, while technical analysis examines trends in price or volume. From the investor standpoint, the sole objective of the undertaking of this risk was to reap financial returns and outpace inflation. But in the 1970s, a form of investing called socially responsible investing began to take root among Catholic organizations in the United States. They began to screen out “sin stocks” — or companies engaged in the perceivedto-be-immoral practices of gambling, guns, tobacco and more. Since then, the popularity of SRI has skyrocketed. According to the US SIF Foundation, by the end of 2017 more than one of every four dollars under professional management in the United States was invested according to SRI strategies, an amount totaling more than $12 trillion. The diversity of SRI options has also grown. Investors now have access to more socially responsible investment vehicles than ever before. Many institutional money managers, Vanguard and Blackrock included, offer mutual and exchange-traded funds which include special environmental, social or governance screens as a core part of the fund’s overall strategy. Vanguard’s ESG US Stock ETF, for instance, screens out companies engaged in fossil fuels, nuclear power, weapons, and other supposedly unethical industries. According to its prospectus, the fund also excludes “companies that do not meet the labor, human rights, environmental and anti-corruption standards as defined by the U.N. global compact principles, as well as companies that do not meet appropriate diversity criteria.” Other specialized funds (ticker symbols: PRID, HONR) screen companies exclusively according to their level of inclusion of members of the LGBT community or veterans. “Historically, the majority of positive social and environmental impact has been driven through volunteerism, charity and policy making,” says Derek DeAndrade, co-president of MIT Sloan’s Impact Investing Initiative club. Prior to the revolution in impact investing, investors traditionally had two options for their money: invest for market-rate returns or donate
GABRIEL FRANK/ the Justice
to philanthropic causes. Now that is changing; no longer are the two worlds siloed as they once were. Now investors are beginning to “do well by doing good” — to use the Benjamin Franklin line oft-quoted in the industry — by parking their investable assets in companies with positive impact. Of course, this model is far more sustainable. By investing rather than donating, investors generally receive back their principle plus interest for debt, or capital gains and dividends for equity, enabling these individuals to plow back their returns into a company aligned with their values. It also helps non-profits by incentivizing small ones to become selfsustaining rather than remaining dependent on their fundraising department. On campus, Professor Michael Appell of the Heller School for Social Policy teaches a course on the “triple bottom line,” an approach to business value-creation that expands the definition of company success from just the financial to social and environmental as well. “Little by little,” he says, “more and more companies are associating excellence with activities that promote healthy products and lifestyles, establish alliances with key NGOs, respect human rights, reduce waste, and protect the planet.” And with the intergenerational transfer of wealth, there’s increasing demand to invest in these kinds of companies. According to a 2015 Nielsen report, 73 percent of millennials are willing to pay more for goods and services from sustainable companies, up from 55 percent in 2014. Given that money talks, this could tip the scales. If consumers and investors continue to emphasize their concerns on sustainability, companies will adapt accordingly. To amplify their voices even more, many socially-responsible fund companies engage in shareholder advocacy to further their interests. In early March, for instance, Boston Common Asset Management reached a significant
agreement with Home Depot for the company to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2035. Green Century, which offers several fossilfuel-free investment products, also engages in proxy voting to encourage companies to pursue positive environmental impact. Their currently featured campaign is tropical forest protection, which seeks to prevent the loss of animal habitats and halt climate change. With rigorous shareholder advocacy, Green Century in 2012 “helped secure a zero-deforestation commitment from Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil trader, that will avoid 1.5 gigatons of carbon pollution between 2015 and 2020. Marion Rockwood, Associate Portfolio Manager at The de Burlo Group, believes that companies who incorporate the triple-bottom line approach will perform better financially in the long-term. “Those firms that take a wider view of their stakeholders to include employees, customers, and community will also have the most benefit to shareholders,” she says. The question of whether ESG-screened funds perform better than their more traditional counterparts is difficult to answer. “From a financial return perspective, impact investing is still seen as inferior to traditional investing,” says Derek DeAndrade. But several studies have shown otherwise. More than 90 percent of studies have shown a nonnegative correlation between ESG-screened funds and long-term performance, according to Gerold Koch of Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management. In 2015, the firm conducted a meta-study alongside Hamburg University that aggregated evidence from over 2000 empirical studies. They discovered that ESG and financial performance were positively correlated in the vast majority of cases. “ESG can uncover non-financial risks that may become costly for companies in the future, in effect turning them into financial risks – for example, a firm can experience an unforeseen environmental crisis caused by poor production processes and magnified by weak disaster
management procedures,” Koch says. Professor Appell agrees with this sentiment and predicts that “ESG investing will become so refined that it becomes the default approach - simply the best practice integrated into all major investment systems.” Investors seeking a financial return alongside a social or environmental one have can invest not only in public equity, but also fixed income and alternative asset classes such as private equity, venture capital, property funds such as real estate investment trusts and hedge funds. The Boston Impact Initiative, for instance, is a $10 million place-based social venture fund that invests in companies pursuing racial and economic justice. One of their portfolio companies, for instance, is CERO, the Cooperative Energy Recycling and Organics, which is “a worker-owned cooperative that collects waste from local businesses.” Root Capital also has a fascinating model — investing in the growth of agricultural enterprises across the rural developing world. And Accion, based in Cambridge, offers fintech startups and microfinance institutions small loans with reduced interest rates, amongst other products, to expand traditional access to the financial markets. Social-impact bonds have also become popular in recent years, pioneered by organizations such as Social Finance and Third Sector Capital Partners. Through this model, investors pay for the up-front provision of social services with the promise of principal reimbursement — plus interest — from the government, should certain pre-set outcomes be achieved as determined by a third party. As you can tell, impact investing is an exciting and growing field, changing the way companies do business and investors decide where to put their capital. With more sustainable investment options than ever before, we can use the capital markets not only to achieve financial returns but effect social and environmental change as well.
Bigotry extends beyond those who use intolerant rhetoric By LEON KRAIEM JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
One of the most striking moments of the midterm campaign season last year was when Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor of Florida, said of his opponent, “I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I’m simply saying that the racists believe he’s a racist.” I think what Gillum was pointing to — what we could term the “DeSantis relation”— is a helpful addition to our discourse around prejudice. The DeSantis Relation is defined as follows: a person is DeSantis-related to some prejudice if, regardless of whether he or she personally harbors it, those who surely do harbor the prejudice believe that person to be on their side. Written symbolically: [x] may not be [y], but the [y]s think that [x] is a [y]. A person is DeSantis-unrelated if the latter part of the equation doesn’t hold. The advantages of the DeSantis Relation are twofold: first, it allows for a discourse about prejudice that is both serious and held in good-faith. We often fall into the trap when discussing prejudice of thinking that good people cannot possibly disagree on what is bigoted, because the intolerance is itself so bad that no good person could harbor it. But this is plainly false, an untruth which antiracists have sought to dispel by building a whole dialect of privilege and unlearning around. Nevertheless, a sincere person who aims for impartiality can limit the influence these internalized prejudices have on his
thought process by cutting off any support he might receive by indulging them, i.e., by making sure he is DeSantis-unrelated to those who would do people harm. This is, on the scale of party politics, a necessary norm. The second advantage of the DeSantis relation is that rather than discuss a person’s inner virtue or lack thereof, it deals with the material consequences of their behavior. Recall the most iconic example of the DeSantis relation in modern American history: the president’s outrageous “both-sides”ing after the 2017 Neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville. Is the president personally sympathetic to the white supremacists’ cause? Who knows, and, to a degree, who cares? The question of the president’s intentions is secondary to the fact that those whose motivations we do know, vicious racists who commit acts of violence against Jews and other minorities, are now emboldened to carry out these heinous deeds in the president’s name. In other words, regardless of whether the president is personally a white supremacist, he is clearly DeSantis-related to white supremacy, and his refusal to sever that relation is a threat to people’s safety. This is how we must learn to think about particular prejudices; not as personal character flaws, but as viruses that need to be diagnosed and treated before they become public health crises. Like those who carry viruses without experiencing symptoms, many people carry a given prejudice without ever knowing it, by transmitting ignorant rhetoric and voting for unjust policies. It is
not morally wrong to be sick. But if a doctor explains that you’re sick and contagious, you really ought to stay home, because other people are now at risk. In an age when people are radicalized online, when the oldest of hatreds sell themselves as ‘memes’ until trolls become terrorists, an idea ‘going viral’ can be just as deadly the spread of a literal disease. And if prejudice is to be looked at as a sort of epidemic, we must look at democracy as an exercise in herd immunity. We can start by the equivalent of vaccination — education. But how do we ensure, as individuals, that we aren’t part of the problem, when the problem exists on the level of collective assumptions that we don’t even know we’re making? The answer is to rephrase the DeSantis Relation: I don’t think I harbor this prejudice, but I know that I might. Therefore, I will make sure to keep an eye on those people who definitely do, to make sure that they’re not happy with what it is I’m saying and doing. Our discourse right now is awash in those who refuse to hold themselves to this standard: public faux-intellectuals who phrase their criticisms of the silly campus left in a way that they know will empower the violent bigot right. Congresspeople who pay lip service to American values — values that they probably believe in their hearts — but nevertheless belong to a party whose electoral strategy consists of riling up a racist base. When Middle Eastern politics come up, self-righteous activists make sloppy condemnations of an imperfect democracy,
The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.
while never bothering to disavow those people who target its innocent civilians. None of these people are equivalent to the people they empower; but by continuing to empower them, they bear some responsibility for the damage those people go out and do, in the same way those who “just ask questions” are partly responsible when other people come along to give predictable ignorant answers. Meanwhile, those who are committed to combating prejudice throw out accusations of racism, anti-semitism, homophobia or the like, which, while accurate, only cause the other side to dig in its heels, and serve as a propaganda coup for those who paint real concerns as disingenuous hysteria. To tell a swath of people that they harbor an idea which, from their perspective, is antithetical to everything they stand for, won’t win them over to your side. But you might make progress by showing them that their behavior is emboldening those ugly people that they obviously want nothing to do with. Good people are open to constructive criticism, so long as you acknowledge they’re good people. We live in a world that is soaked in bad ideas, ideas in which we all steep until someone explains us out of them. A national conversation about prejudice that is both honest and empathetic requires us to do all we can to prevent our words from being taken the wrong way. It also means being open to the possibility that, even taken the right way, there may still be something wrong with them.
THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
NICKNAMES: Top professional sports nicknames CONTINUED FROM 16
This elegant and delicate nickname is befitting for a true master of his craft. Number Two: David (The Admiral) Robinson (basketball) Robinson played college basketball at the United States Naval Academy, where he studied mathematics. After completing his service in the United States Navy, Robinson began a Hall of Fame career with the San Antonio Spurs, where he played from 1989 until 2003. Robinson is also known for his charitable works and outstanding citizenship and is highly respected both within and out of the NBA world. In his final season, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Championship. At the Championship Trophy presentation, following Robinson’s final game as a professional basketball player, NBA Commissioner David Stern said of Robinson, “One of the greats we get a chance to say goodbye to tonight, David Robinson. Thank you." It is safe to say the nickname “The Admiral” is self-explanatory. Number
One:
William
“The
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ANTICIPATION
Refrigerator” Perry (football) Perry, known as “The Refrigerator,” or simply “The Fridge” is a former much beloved defensive lineman who spent almost his entire career, from 1985 to 1994, with the Chicago Bears. He was, at the time, the largest player in the NFL at 6’2”, 335 lbs, as stated on pro-footballreference.com. His easy-going personality and friendly demeanor made him a favorite among fans and teammates.“If you didn’t like Fridge,” said Mike Ditka, his former NFL coach in Chicago, “you didn’t like anybody”, according to an article in Sports Illustrated. However, it was his gastronomic prowess that led to his nickname. Telander further says “He could eat like a shark, guzzle like a horse, take off like a rabbit, jump like a lion.” It appears that this all-ingood-fun nickname is spot on. In summary, nicknames help endear to us to our famous athletes by recognizing their outstanding abilities and sometimes eccentricities. They may also gently and “in-fun” mildly poke fun at the person, laughing with them but not at them. I believe that they tend to make more personal the relationship between our athletic heroes and us
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SCORE: LeBron James plays defence in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018– 2019 season.
PRO SPORTS: Team looks up to LeBron for guidance CONTINUED FROM 16 has caused by recruiting his friend and fellow All-Star, Anthony Davis, cannot be negated. His notso-subtle attempts to win over Davis and the Pelicans by trading away the Lakers' young core could not have helped the chemistry that the squad was still trying to form. In an effort to distance himself from the repercussions of his actions, LeBron pointed to a need to act professionally and not let the past dictate the team’s play in the future. He echoed this sentiment to Rachel Nichols of ESPN, stating, “At this point, if you are still allowing distractions to affect the way you play, then this is the wrong franchise to be a part
of … Just come and do your job,“ as quoted in a Feb. 26th Newsweek article. James has not shown a willingness to take ownership of his own faults of the Lakers' struggles and that may very well be what is hindering the team the most. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Lebron’s performance on the Lakers this season is the shift in perception of his abilities going forward. This shift in perception is displayed by long-time broadcaster and former head coach Jeff Van Gundy, suggesting the Lakers should trade James, a thought that would have sounded foolish to even the most casual of fans a season ago. In today’s NBA, where super teams are now commonplace, it is no longer enough to rely on
one superstar, even if his name is LeBron James, to lead a team to a championship."He's not good enough anymore to take four cadavers and get to the Finals” said one nameless Western Conference general manager in a Bleacher Report article. Plainly put, the King is not perceived to be as much of a force as he once was, which is almost a surprise for a player who has successfully fought Father Time for so long. Going forward, LeBron will be on a minutes restriction after having missed many games due to a groin injury to stay healthy and prepare for the seasons to come. It will be interesting to note how LeBron adapts to the latter stages of his career and perhaps even changes his approach on and off the court.
TENNIS: Team defeated this week after scoring zero points in either match CONTINUED FROM 16 and Dehtervich won their match with an impressive 8–5 win. He and Hatfield, the No. three doubles duo, also won their match, 8–5. The overall match between Colby and Brandeis was decided
in singles play. Khromchenko won 6–2 and 6–3, ending up number three in singles and number two in singles, while Leavitt was victorious 6–1 and 6–1. As a senior, Khromchenko has watched the team improve immensely over the past four years. She said in an interview
with the Justice, “With those values, we are able to create small goals. For example we have the motto FTG.” She elaborated that FTG stands for “Fearless,” “Together” and “Growth.” She said, “We can be fearless by making aggressive plays during practices or during matches.” In addition,
she said that the team breaks down the word “together” into “to get there.” Growth encompasses learning from mistakes and having a positive point of view on and off the court. Khromchenko said that the team is still in the beginning of the season but their hard work have
helped on the court in matches. She said, “We have been having workshops with a mental coach also, and she has been helping us realize how we can achieve these goals.” This helps the team have constant reminders to reach their maximum potential so they can continue to improve.
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THE JUSTICE
● SPORTS ●
TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
15
BASEBALL
JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS BASEBALL TEAM STATS
UAA STANDINGS
Runs Batted In
UAA Conference W L NYU 0 0 WashU 0 0 JUDGES 0 0 Case 0 0 Emory 0 0
W 6 9 6 8 6
Overall L Pct. 1 .875 2 .792 2 .750 6 .571 8 .429
UPCOMING GAMES: March 21 vs. Suffolk University March 23 at Salem State University March 25 at Springfield College
Dan Frey ’21 leads the team with 14 runs batted in. Player RBI Dan Frey 14 Mike Khoury 13 Alex Parrott 12 Luke Hall 10
Innings Pitched Greg Tobin ’21 leads all pitchers with 7.0 innings pitched. Player IP Greg Tobin 13.2 Mason Newman 10.2 Albert Gutierrez 9.1 Marc Maestri 4.2
SOFTBALL UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS Runs Batted In
UAA Conference W L W JUDGES 0 0 4 NYU 0 0 2 Emory 0 0 7 WashU 0 0 5 Case 0 0 4 Carnegie 0 0 4
Overall L Pct. 0 1.000 0 1.000 3 .700 3 .625 4 .500 6 .400
UPCOMING GAMES: March 20 at Eastern Nazaree College March 24 vs. Simmons College March 26 vs. Suffolk University
Marley Felder ’19 has a teamhigh 5 runs batted in. Player RBI Marley Felder 5 Keri Lehtonen 5 Scottie Todd 5 Brianna Urena 4
Innings Pitched Scottie Todd ’20 has a teamhigh nine innings pitched. Player Ks Sydney Goldman 12.0 Scottie Todd 9.0 Amidori Anderson 4.0
TRACK AND FIELD Results from the UAA championships on Feb. 23.
TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 200-meter dash
RUNNER Regan Charie Lorenzo Maddox Jamie O’Neil
TOP FINISHERS (Women’s) TIME 22.64 23.43 23.87
200-meter dash
RUNNER TIME Devin Hiltunen 26.33 Anna Touituo 27.43 Kanya Brown 27.76
UPCOMING MEETS:
ANDREW BAXTER/Justice File Photo
SERVES UP: Brandeis pitcher prepares to pitch the ball in a game against Case Western Reserve University on March 7, 2018
Brandeis’ baseball team continues strong season ■ The Judges meet up with Tufts University’s Jumbos and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Beavers. By MEGAN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
March 30 at Snowflake Classic April 6 at Amherst Invitational
TENNIS Results from the meet on Feb 23.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
MEN’S SINGLES David Aizenberg
RECORD 6–2, 6–1
WOMEN’S SINGLES RECORD Catherine Allen 6–0, 6–0
MEN’S DOUBLES RECORD Coramutla/Aizenberg 8–6
WOMEN’S DOUBLES RECORD Cox/Allen 8–4
UPCOMING MEETS:
Men: Friday at Rochester Polytechnic Institute Women: Saturday at Middlebury College
The Brandeis baseball team has continued their impressive season which started on March 4th. This week, the Judges defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology twice with scores of 13-1 and 15-2. This double header occurred at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough. These wins bring the team to a winning streak of three games in a row and a record of 7–2 overall. Currently the team has a batting average of 0.380, an onbase percentage of 0.457, a slugging percentage of 0.643 and has played in nine games. Judges 13, Leopards 1 The game started off with Victor Oppenheimer ’20, Mike Khoury ’21 and Isaac Fossas ’21 bringing the team to nine runs scored as well as three doubles, two home runs and
two stolen bases. Khoury made a two run blast, resulting in all the points the Judges needed for the whole match. Oppenheimer started a two-run job in the sixth inning, ending the game’s scoring. Fossas closed up with two doubles on the day. Sophomore Mason Newton ’21 threw his first collegiate complete game. He only allowed one run, a third inning home run to a Wentworth opponent. During the game, Newman threw 76 pitches, 51 of those were strikes. Judges 15, Leopards 2 In the second game against the Leopards, nine Brandeis players had hits as well as 10 players scored runs making it a complete sweep for the Judges. Additionally, Brandeis’s Dan Frey ’21 knocked a single and gave the Judges a score of 2–1. Catcher Luke Hall ’21 lined out to center, followed by a tag and score from third by Fossas. In the fourth inning, Nick Yanco ’21 made a three run home run for the Judges. Cam Roberts ’22 got the Judges on a strong start. Roberts received his first collegiate win. The Judges next face Suffolk University on Thursday followed
by Salem State University. As of this week, the Judges have had 300 at bats, 96 runs and 114 hits. Of the hits, 26 of those are doubles and four triples. In current University Athletic Association standings the Judges are ranked third behind New York University and Washington University in Saint Louis but above Case Western Reserve University and Emory University. The Judges are led by head coach Derek Carlson and assistant coaches Chris Morris and Peter Allain as well as captains Dan Schupper ’19, Oppenheimer, Dan O’Leary ’20. They are part of what has made the team successful so far this season. In an interview with the Justice, Alex Parrott ’21 stated, The sky’s the limit for this team. With that being said, we’re focused on winning one game at a time and hopefully earning a postseason berth.” Additionally, Parrott stated, “Be sure to come out and support us at all of our home games!” Additionally, Parrot is the first individual leader for batting averages in UAA with an average of 0.484, followed by teammate Hall in fourth with 0.455 and Oppenheimer with a 0.42 average.
PRO SPORTS BRIEF
Basketball teams across the country have been anticipating this year’s March Madness Ancient history may have taught us to beware the ides of March, but more modern times point to an important and pivotal time in the third month of the calendar year — selection Sunday. Since November, the college basketball season has been raging on. Teams from around the country competed against each other both in and out of conference play. In the end, 68 teams were granted the honor of participating in the NCAA Division I college basketball tournament, better known as March Madness. Here is how the bracket breaks down this year.
East To no one’s surprise, Duke University secured the number one seed in the region as well as the number 1 seed in the tournament. Michigan State University came in at the second seed, but many expected them to land higher after defeating Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. They are definitely the best two seed in the tournament and should provide a formidable opponent for Duke in the elite eight if the two teams advance that far. Keep an eye on University of Maryland and Virginia Polytechnic Institute as potential upsets.
South In the south region, University of Virginia is hoping for a different result than last year. They became the first one seed to lose to a sixteen seed in tournament history after University of Maryland Baltimore County beat them in last year’s round of 64. This year, UVA is back and a one seed yet again, with 16 seed Garner-Webb looking to pull off the upset this year. Tennessee secured the two seed, but keep an eye on conference champion Cincinnati to pull out an upset win. Midwest Despite not finishing at the top
of their conference, University of North Carolina was skilled enough to eke out the third one seed of the tournament in the midwest region. The University of Kentucky takes the two seed, and despite losing some key players to injuries, they will definitely be a force to be reckoned with. Kansas comes in at the four, but they will be faced with a red-hot Northeastern offense who can light it up from three. West The west might be the most interesting division in the tournament this year. Two of the most fun players to watch in
the nation will go head to head in the first round. Marquette University’s Markus Howard will take on Murray State University’s Ja Morant. Gonzaga claims the one seed, but look to number two Michigan, number six Buffalo, and number seven Nevada to make some noise in the conference. There’s the breakdown of this year’s bracket. Check in for updates on your team and don’t forget to lock in your picks before Thursday’s games!
—Zach Kaufman
just Sports Page 16
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT The NCA Division I tournament, better known as March Maddness, is underway, p. 15. Waltham, Mass.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
PRO SPORTS
LEAPING INTO ACTION
LeBron is not the savior Lakers and their fans hoped for ■ LeBron James, recently
signed by the Lakers, has not proved to be the key to victory the team hoped for. By BRIAN INKER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Despite the enormous amount of hype after signing with Los Angeles, LeBron James has proven he is not the key to sucess the Lakers had hoped for. Coming into this season, the prevailing thought was that LeBron would be capable of leading the young, untested Laker squad from the cellar of the Western Conference to the playoff mix. However, those lofty goals have not come to fruition with Laker nation’s optimism quickly shifting to hopes for next year as their postseason aspirations have all but been squashed. The team’s performance this season has led to questions about Lebron’s positive effect, or lack thereof, on the team and how they should proceed moving forward. A common criticism of Lebron this season has been his negative
contribution to the chemistry of the Lakers roster. He has seemingly shifted his philosophy of being a team player and leaving his thoughts out of the press to openly rebuking his teammates to the media post game. With his team not having a winning record and losing games against teams with worse records than their own, James remarked in a Feb. 24th Washington Post article, “Basketball — is that the most important thing? Why we doing this? Is this the most important thing in your life at this time? . . . If you feel you gave it all [in that game], then you have nothing to look back on. You can go on and do other things. But if you feel like you’re not giving as much as you can, then you can’t focus on anything else.” James’ comments come as a diatribe of sorts to a team he seems to believe does not understand the amount of effort it takes to win consistently in the NBA. Although much of the blame can be attributed to the supporting cast and their lack of maturity and urgency, the distractions James
See PRO SPORTS, 13
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PRO SPORTS
Top five sport player nicknames ■ Many athletes in the
world of professional sports have humorous nicknames. By MEGAN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
To anyone who watches sports highlights on television, it is apparent that many professional athletes have clever nicknames. These nicknames are often a manifestation of some personal characteristic of the player, are catchy and add a personal insight into the player. A compilation of what are considered the top 100 nicknames in professional sports is readily available in a July 2011 Bleacher Report article. I reviewed this list and came up with my top five. My personal ranking is based not on the skill and prestige of the player, but rather on the humor and wit of the nickname. Number Five: Bill “The Spaceman” Lee (baseball) Lee had a successful 14-year pitching career that began in 1969, first with the Boston Red Sox and later with the Montreal Expos. However, it was his out-of-sight personality and non-conformist attitude that led to his nickname. As stated by John Prime in an Aug. 2014 Sabr article. “In fairness, Lee would have been an eccentric in almost any field he chose to pursue, but in baseball he was considered positively certifiable. His often outrageous statements and bizarre actions marked him as an oddity and ensured Lee a lasting reputation in the buttoneddown baseball world.” Comments attributed to Lee in an article from
the Baseball Almanac include “The more self-centered and egotistical a guy is, the better ballplayer he’s going to be,” and “I’m mad at Hank (Aaron) for deciding to play one more season. I threw him his last home run and thought I’d be remembered forever. Now, I’ll have to throw him another.” As a free spirit, “The Spaceman” has an appropriate nickname. Number Four: Calvin “Megatron” Johnson (football) Johnson had a stellar career, playing from 2007 to 2015 with the Detroit Lions. At 6’5” and 237 lbs. Johnson’s size and strength led to his clever nickname. According to James F. Puzzoli, “Wide receiver Roy Williams is responsible for Johnson’s larger-than-life nickname, “Megatron.” Williams gave Johnson the nickname during his 2007 rookie campaign. Megatron was meant to evoke the big strong robot of the 2007 “Transformers” live-action film, as per a July 2018 article from Sidelion Report. Recalling the intimidating “Transformer” action figures, this nickname was accurately cast. Number Three: Ted “Splendid Splinter” Williams (baseball) Brandeis students from the Boston area need only ask their grandparents about this super-star Red Sox player from 1939 through 1960. Though he missed the 1943-45 seasons serving in the Navy and Marine corps in WWII, he is recognized as the greatest hitter in baseball history, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Williams was 6’3” and lanky with a masterful swing, thus “The Splendid Splinter,” as stated on the Factmonster website.
See NICKNAMES, 13
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ZOE BRODSKY/Justice File Photo
FOCUS: Brandeis’ Lauren Bertsch ’21 leapes for the ball in a match against Massachusetts Institute of Technology on March 9.
Tennis team returns after two devastating defeats by Middlebury and Colby ■ Judges were crushed by
Middlebury College and Colby this week. By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
The women’s tennis team is now 4–4 for the season. Following recent wins against California Institute of Technology, Redlands Community College, Bates College and Colby College; and losses against Bryant University, Claremont-MuddScripps, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and MIddlebury College, the ladies have yet to face any University Athletic Association opponents. Their first UAA matchup will be against New York University on April 6, but for now, their next opponent
is Wheaton College on Saturday. Judges 0, Middlebury 9 This past Saturday, March 16, the Judges were defeated by Top 10 opponent Middlebury College, according to the Brandeis Athletics site. The team lost without being able to win a single match as the No.20-ranked Judges fell to the Panthers, who are No. 6. The Panthers remain undefeated this season with a 2–0 record. In singles, the Judges were close in some matches but failed to overtake their opponent. Diana Dehterevich ’20 fell to Panther opponent Katherine Hughes 6–3 and 6–4. Olivia Leavitt ’19 lost to the Panther’s Heather Boehm 0–6 and 3–6. Keren Khromchenko ’19 faced opponent Christina Puccinelli and was defeated 2–6 and 0–6. Lauren Bertsch ’21 lost
to Panther Skylar Schossberger 1–6 and 3–6, and Sophia He ’19 lost to Maddi Stow 1–6 and 3–6. Ana Hatfield ’22 was the closest the team got to any victories, with final scores of 6–7 and 2–6. In doubles, the team did not fare much better. Leavitt and Bertsch fell to Hughes and Schossberger 2–8, Dhterevich and Khromchenko fell to Boehm and Ann Martin Skelly 3–8, and He and Hatfield lost to Stow and Nora Dahl 1–8. Colby 0, Judges 5 The Judges conquered the Mules with an impressive 5–0 victory this past Sunday. Top team Leavitt and Bertsch opened up for the Judges, resulting in an incredible 8–1 victory, and the No. two team of Khromchenko
See TENNIS, 13
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Vol. LXXI #20
March 19, 2019
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AR TS Images: Clara Alexander/the Justice. Design: Clara Alexander/the Justice, Andrew Baxter/the Justice.
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TUESDAY, THE JUSTICE MARCH |19, ARTS 2019 | TUESDAY, I ARTS I JANUARY THE JUSTICE 31, 2017
CULTURE
performers ignite the night By ELLA RUSSELL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Vietnamese Student Association put on a excellent show last Thursday. The show was called “Brandeis by Night: 36 destinations,” because of the 36 guild locations in Hanoi, Vietnam. According to the event’s description, “the number 36 became iconic in representing the soul of the city. [Each guild is] famous for a different type of merchandise, such as gold, silver [and] cloth.” The event was held in Sherman Function Hall, which VSA lavishly decorated in the theme of Hanoi. The walls were decorated with lanterns and shrines as well as maps of the streets of Hanoi on the floor of the Hall, writing the street names on
long strings of multi-colored tape. Emcees Novia Wu ’22 and Linh Nguyen ’22 brought snarky, competitive humor to the event, with Nguyen introducing herself first, only to have Wu jump in to say that she was the “better emcee.” They declared that the theme of the event was home, explaining that “each one of us has a different definition of home, but no matter where you come from, your home depends on you.” The show began with an introductory video featuring Joon Cha ’20 breaking the fourth wall, interacting directly with the audience as if they were in some kind of video game. He peers into the camera, saying, “I know what you’re thinking… how can anyone be this good looking?” Cha tells us THU LE/the Justice
CHOCOLATE AND HIP HOP: 5Babies and JustA celebrate the festival with singing and dancing.
that he needs help for his wife Tam’s 30th birthday party and offers us a drink, which the camera looks suspiciously down at, wondering if it is poison. When he explains how he met his wife, the audience realizes that he is playing the prince in a Vietnamese version of Cinderella. The next few events before intermission were hip hop style dances from Brandeis groups 5Babies and JustA and quartet Linh Nguyen, Amy Nguyen ’20, Thu Le ’22, and emcee Linh Nguyen, singing about White Day, which happened to be the day of the concert. White Day, always celebrated exactly a month after Valentine’s Day, is a holiday mainly celebrated in East Asian countries. It is observed by people who received Valentine’s Day gifts who pay the gift-givers back with presents such as white chocolate or marshmallows. The singers traveled around the room, handing white paper hearts out to the audience. After Linh Nguyen performed with the rest of her quartet and came out again to emcee, she responded to Wu’s impressed compliments with a smug, “Yeah, I’m awesome.” Concluding the first half of the “Brandeis by Night” was the VSA fashion show, where models showcased various styles of áo dài, a traditional Vietnamese garment. After the intermission, the featured groups from outside of Brandeis preformed. Among these groups were the Worcester Youth Nian Dancers, who
performed several dances, including a hat dance and a lion dance. In the former, the performers each held two hats and twirled them around in intricate patterns. In the lion dance, there were two beautiful lion costumes, each containing two people crouched inside. This dance was truly impressive; the people at the back of the costumes lifted their partners at the front up again and again, giving the impression that the lion was standing on its hind legs all to the loud beat of drums, gongs and cymbals. The lions moved around the room, allowing the audience to pet them. The last performer of the night was Kayla, known for her YouTube channel Vietglish Fun. With boundless energy and enthusiasm, Kayla danced and sang along with several of her videos, including an on the spot singing translation of “Oops! … I did it again” by Britney Spears, a Vietnamese language lesson in fruits and a guide on how to host a Vietnamese party. During Kayla’s performance, she told the audience that her motivation for making YouTube videos came after watching Japanese, Korean and Chinese movies, and wishing Vietnam had the same quality of media to show their culture to the world. The VSA executive board closed the event by remarking on their definitions of home. Many VSA members came to Brandeis from Vietnam and understandably missed their families.
THU LE/the Justice
“BEAUTY NEVER FADES”: The fashion show was accompanied by a guitar solo.
However, a theme for several members was the feeling that the VSA had become an important aspect of their home, reaffirming the central message of this event that home is what you make of it.
— Thu Le is a Justice production assistant.
CULTURE
Audience loves ‘Formosa’ By LUKE LIU JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
When European sailors traveled thousands of miles and arrived at the island of Taiwan for the first time, they gave it the name “Formosa,” meaning “Beautiful Island” in Portuguese. Last Saturday, the Brandeis Undergraduate Taiwanese Student Association hosted “Love, Formosa,” a culture show that centered around the Taiwanese traditions of love and how they fit into the modern world. The show featured great performances, fun dating games and, of course, amazing food and Boba. Kicking off the show was a “speed dating” video made by the TSA Eboard. Following the theme of love and relationships, each member of the board was introduced as the
THU LE/the Justice
KNOW YOUR PARTNER: In between the performances, audience members were invited to play games and win prizes.
perfect date based on their living style and talents, whether it was their love for Uniqlo clothing, collection of stuffed animals or passion for naps. This parody of posts often seen on the popular Facebook group “Subtle Asian Dating” had everyone laughing out loud. The first act of the show was a band called Mismatch, consisting of five Chinese students from Brandeis. They performed a mashup of “Secrets I Can’t Tell” and “Tornado,” two popular songs by Jay Chou, one of the most successful Taiwanese musicians in the last two decades. Both songs are very vocally demanding for the singer but were well-delivered, thanks to the excellent vocal skills of Myles Gui ’21. Following Mismatch were two dancing sequences, performed by guest dancers from the acclaimed
Chu Ling Dance Academy. The first one was a fan dance: The dancers would switch between mirroring each other and dancing individually while not disrupting the coordination of the group. After this was a solo ribbon dance. Waving a colorful ribbon, the dancer moved elegantly while forming captivating patterns with the rhythm. Though it appeared to be slightly difficult for her to fully control the ribbon that was many times her height, the dancer’s effort still won waves of applause. In between the dance performances, three pairs of audience members were invited onto the stage to play a Brandeisian version of the newlywed game. All the questions were Brandeis-related, such as “what’s your go-to order at Einstein’s,” which had both the people onstage and offstage involved in the game. After a brief intermission, the second half of the show opened with Junshu and Company, a returning guest music group from Berklee College of Music. The musicians first performed two covers of songs from acclaimed Taiwanese-American singer Leehom Wang. A lot of people immediately recognized the music and started waving their flashlights to the rhythm. After that, the band performed an original, “Call Me Whatever,” which was a change of tone but still excellent. Following the guest musicians was the Brandeis hip-hop dance group XL Girls. Well-known in the Boston area, the group electrified the audience with their powerful moves, showing that there is more than just graceful traditional dances in Taiwanese culture. After that was the e-board dance in
THU LE/the Justice
RETURNING GUESTS: Junshu and Company from the Berklee College of Music was invited back to perform again this year. which all of the TSA board members performed their own original dance. Utilizing the advantage of its size, the group’s performance was not so complicated but extremely well-coordinated, which shows how much effort the board put in. Lastly, after a bit of adjustment of the sound system, the show brought out its final star, Nix Tan. An amazing singer who can switch between Mandarin and English freely, Nix shared the important moments of her life. Growing up as an Asian American in both Malaysia and the U.S., Nix uploaded her first singing video eight years ago. In 2012, she woke up one morning with tens of thousands of new followers, which jump-started her career as a YouTube artist. Even though she is now a prominent internet star with hundreds of
thousands of followers, Nix didn’t shy away from sharing her genuine feelings with Brandeis students. She opened herself up to the audience like she was talking to a group of friends. When she finished her last song, the audience showed their love with cheering and applause. While the quality of performances cannot be overstated, the TSA Eboard who hosted the show did a terrific job, not only connecting the sections of the show but also making it entertaining and fun with games and sketches. Being there for two and a half hours, I could hardly find the right time to take a break to go the restroom because everything was so well-connected. “Love, Formosa” was a tremendous success, and the credit goes to both the performers and the TSA board.
THE JUSTICE I ARTS I TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019
19
THEATER REVIEW
‘Arcadia’ exceeds expectations By KENT DINLENC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
“Our production highlights how women were and are treated in academia, and the footprint they leave behind for those you follow.” Sarah Salinger-Mullen’s ’19 director’s note rings true in her interpretation of Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.” The 1993 British play was produced by the Undergraduate Theater Collective March on 14-17 in the SCC Theater. The play takes place in one room of a country house, Sidley Park, during two different time periods separated by 200 years: the early 1800s and the present day. The older story revolves around precocious thirteen-year-old Thomasina Coverly. Her gifted comprehension of science, mathematics and nature allow her to have spirited conversations with her tutor, Septimus Hodge. The two discuss everything from determinism to entropy to “carnal embrace.” The two are interrupted now and again by house patrons such as Ezra Chater, a poet who catches his wife having an affair with Septimus, and Lord Byron, famed reallife British poet for his adventurous and bold lifestyle, who is never seen on stage. The present-day story follows the research of historians Bernard Nightingale and Hannah Jarvis. Bernard is investigating his theory that Lord Byron killed Chater in a duel while Hannah is studying the life and identity of the hermit of Sidley Park. The two argue over Bernard’s theory in the company of the current Coverly family, eighteen-year-old Chloe and mathematics graduate student Valentine. The script weaves in and out of themes such as the importance of one’s legacy, the paralleling movement of entropy and time and the connections between complex math-
ematic algorithms and nature. Stoppard’s dialogue incorporates ideas from such disparate sides of academia with a deft grasp of the scientific and philosophical theories discussed. This is probably one of the best scripts selected by the UTC. However, there were some long-winded monologues that made it feel like the play was also produced by Brandeis’ math department.
combines the past and present well with tall arches and a beautiful ceiling hovering above an old table. Noah Mark’s ’19 lighting perfected the tableau with vivid shades of orange to denote passion and blue whenever a Coverly monologued about the connection between nature and math. Now, we must not forget the ensemble cast. There isn’t really a single performance
logues and ideas were. Weiss was a compelling female academic to root for, Robinson was a charming sound board for her and Rubinstein was a curious rival to Bernard. That final performance could not be done without Jason Frank’s ’22 entertaining bout as Bernard. Though his portrayal was a bit uneven as times, he delivered some of the funniest scenes and interesting lines. The way he played off Rubinstein made for some engaging chemistry, but I Photos by CLARA ALEXCANDER/the Justice preferred the 1809 scenes more. Weiss and HEATED CONVERSATIONS: Arcadia highlights the role of Robinson were delightful in every scene, gender in academia, including some heated debates. whereas the present-day scenes dragged at times. When one of the opening lines by Weiss was “is love the same as sexual congress” and Robinson responded “no, it’s better than love,” the confidence between them immediately struck me — I noted that mostly adults laughed at that retort. Sheppard’s words about the universe being deterministic and time being irreversible played well with the subject matter. Salinger-Mullen portrayed that yearning for legacy through these ideas creatively by playing with the movement of the characters from both times while occupying one space. One could really understand the clash between the old and new in these scenes. Overall, I’d say it was a pleasure to catch this production. It gives me hope for the future, as theater season is coming up and the seats are getting filled. It’s a shame more people didn’t attend, but maybe the upcoming A play like this gives me hope that that dragged the others down. Some of the UTC projects will follow suit. Salinger-MulBrandeis’ theater community can create best performances were Eliana Weiss ’21 len, the cast and the crew gave it the aptly aptruly great work. After attending many as Thomasina, Peirce Robinson ’22 as Sep- propriate “college try” and came out on top. productions, “Arcadia” might be one of the timus and Mia Rubinstein ’22 as Hannah. best. Salinger-Mullen’s direction is smart These three offered the most consistent perand grabs your attention. Upon entering formance among the ensemble cast, deliverthe theater, her collaboration with Jacob ing their lines with passion and expertise, —Mia Rubinstein ’22 is an editor for the Bers ’20 resulted in a sleek set design that considering how multifaceted some the diaJustice.
COLORS AND SHADES: One of the outstanding aspects of this production is the use of lighting to indicate the mood in different scenes.
TIME AND LOCATION: The story features two sets of characters in different time periods, eventually arriving at the same time on the stage.
ART EXHIBITION
‘One Foot Planted’ pushes boundaries CLARA ALEXANDER/the Justice
HAMSTER WHEEL: The difficult relationship between women and the land of Israel is represented by orbs, wheels and stilts among many other things.
By MENDEL WEINTRAUB JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
“One Foot Planted,” a new installation by artists Ayelet Carmi and Meirav Heiman, explores the relationship between women, the land of Israel and the gender politics that bind the two. The work, which consists of a series of videos, envisions a post-apocalyptic version of the Holy Land, in which its female inhabitants are forced to traverse the terrain on various obstacles that keep their bodies from making contact with the earth. Some of these women walk on stilts, while others walk with orbs beneath their feet. One woman even walks on her hands — which are on stilts. The journey is painstaking. For a rough visual reference, think of it as a slowed down version of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Carmi and Heiman’s vision is beautifully realized. The piece, which required fifty onscreen performers — of all ages and abilities — also features extensive costuming and prop work; each actor is either carrying or pushing some kind of burden. They do this in three environments: a beach, a forest and a desert, all of which are beautifully captured on camera. The presentation of the footage with three parallel projections that create an ultra-wide, panoramic view conveys the vastness of the journey on screen. The quest of the women in Carmi and Heiman’s world is endless. As the characters of “One Foot Planted” try to make contact with Israel, they are always halted by some obstacle, which distances them from ever making contact with the ground. It is a striking visual metaphor. In a
country like Israel, where so much of the national identity is about literally working the land, its women in this piece of art are able to only approach the fulfillment of that national self-determination. The message this piece sends is all the more effective when one considers its apocalyptic setting; the videos are saying that an Israel that does not let its women fully interact with the politics of the land is essentially a world at its end. Aside from the main feature of the installation, there is a secondary screen that displays videos of women spinning on a wheel. With the camera in a stationary position looking at the wheel, the video creates the illusion of the world spinning around the trapped women, who are counting endlessly. It is another creative representation of a woman trapped, as the world spins around her. And she does not count down, as if to an end that is in sight, but up. This highlights the endless, spinning cycle that Israeli women face as they try to be fully recognized in their homeland. Overall, “One Foot Planted” is a nuanced exploration of Israeli women and their relationship to Israel. Carmi and Heiman succeed in conveying the bleakness they see in the situation, while simultaneously imbuing it with enough beauty to imply that there is indeed hope on the horizon behind the rough terrain that women face. While on the surface it seems hopeless, “One Foot Planted” is ultimately hopeful. “One Foot Planted” is currently in exhibition at the Kniznick Gallery at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. It will remain on display until June 28.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE
INTERVIEW
JUSTARTS SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROSE
By KENT DINLENC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Howardena Pindell’s “Nelson Mandela Parade” is a striking piece which conveys Pindell’s memory loss, the result of a car accident, extremely vividly. Through it, viewers understand how she sees the world — she experiences her life in fractured pieces. She created this work by taking photos of a parade celebrating Nelson Mandela in 1990 and cutting out stripes. Then, she aimed to fill the negative space that was left completely by memory. The work is dynamic, clearly forcing the audience to look through her perspective. Pindell challenged herself by cutting the stripes with bent shapes. Viewers can tell that she is really pushing herself out of her comfort zone, confronting her affliction head-on. This task she is allowing us to observe makes the experience all the more intimate and personal. You form a connection with her the more you look at her art. Most of Pindell’s work on display in the Rose Art Museum doesn’t really affect me, but her creativity and inspired vision for “Nelson Mandela Parade” stuck out. This work combined abstract and figurative art, in that what we are observing is an interpretation of a real event that she recalls in fragments. When I came across the work, I stared at it for longer than I care to admit. I was caught in the detail — or in this case lack thereof — of the inserted painting. If you give a stranger a quick glance, you pay no mind to the details of their face. This exposure to the outside world and how we remember it is deftly woven into the purpose of the work. The intentional reliance on her memory made for a risky endeavor, yet she was still able to create dimensionality with the pictures. It combines the detail of a photograph and the personal expression of a painting. I admire her attempt at this piece. When walking through the Rose Art Gallery, this stuck out to me and ended up being one of my favorites.
STAFF’S Top Ten
ANDREW BAXTER/ the Justice
Top 10 DVDs in the Justice Office By Maya Zanger-Nadis JUSTICE EDITOR
I do not know where any of these DVDs came from. They’re just in the office. In no particular order: 1. Bad Boys 2 (I love Will Smith) 2. Starsky & Hutch (Google it) 3. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (cover art looks #trendy) 4. National Treasure (Nicolas Cage jokes are still funny?) 5. Once Upon A Time in Mexico (sounds interesting) 6. Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation (it’s unrated!) 7. College Road Trip (There’s a cute pig on the cover) 8. The Game Plan (starring Rock “The Dwayne” Johnson) 9. Firehouse Dog (DOG!) 10. Step Up 2: The Streets
Ben Greene ’21
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice Last week, justArts spoke with Ben Greene ’21, who is the assisstant producer of Arcadia. ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
JustArts: Tell me a bit about yourself. Ben Greene: My name is Ben Green, I’m a sophomore. I’m studying elementary education and computer science, and in this show I am the assistant producer. Basically … the producer just kind of make[s] sure that everything happens. We were helping build the sets, do the marketing… We were involved in every part of the production, which has been very cool because usually I’m an actor, so this is my first time working behind the scene of a show. JA: How did you get involved with Arcadia? BG: I knew that I want to learn how to produce and how to direct, and this show seemed really cool and really interesting. I really liked the other people that were working on it, so I asked if I could help to assist produce so they would train me and teach me all the things I need to know… So it’s been a very cool like learning experience as well as… just getting to see the show coming together.
MEGAN GELLER/the Justice
BG: So it is definitely something the cast worked through. This script is pretty dense, but they put in a lot of work and figured out ways to kind of move around and get excited, so they make the conversations the characters have about math very dynamic. … Any conversation they’re having about math [is] very woven into the plot…. You know, it’s two casts, one cast set in the present and one cast set like a hundred years ago. And so therefore the present past is finding the math notes of this 13 year old girl from the past and finding out that she’s doing crazy advanced stuff that they only discovered 20 years ago. So it’s very cool, like they make it much more interesting than just math.
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Rescue org. with American and Royal variants 5 _______ Verde 9 Up 14 “______ oui!” 15 Famous cookie maker? 16 One to whom “ahoy!” might \ be addressed 17 Like mom jeans 19 Make amends (for) 20 Army greenhorn 21 They’re the opposite of greenhorns 22 What a talkative senator wants, with “the” 23 More rational 25 Ones taking the fall for celebrities? 31 Recede 34 Mocking smile 35 What a fortune teller says? 36 Smart fellow? 38 ______ de cœur (1966 French film) 40 Mythical Himalayan creature 41 Aired again 43 Start to worship 45 Man _____ (hairstyle) 46 Lifeguard application? 49 Twitter plans to discontinue them 50 Transformative author? 54 Experience for a second time 57 Indulge at a buffet, perhaps 59 Wear away 60 Planters product ... or a hint to the first 4 letters of 17-, 25and 46-Across 62 Bad _______ 63 Bad ______ 64 ______ fixe 65 Jet, as from a party 66 Refuses to 67 “The Thin Man” dog DOWN 1 Mushroom-dweller 2 Unit of judges 3 Ramon from “The Flash” 4 Houston team 5 West African nation 6 Discharge, as radiation 7 Cry for help 8 ______ Wednesday 9 Film narrated by Antonio Salieri 10 1998 Adam Sandler role 11 On 12 Superhero surname 13 Sizes up 18 Certain tents 21 A year in Spain 23 Best Buy purchases 24 Quick with one’s hands or one’s wits 26 N.C.A.A.’s Cornhuskers 27 Get under the skin of, literally or figuratively
JA: Different from many other plays, Arcadia use many scientific concepts as the core of its story, such as thermodynamics and chaos theory. Was it difficult to present all of those concepts on stage?
JA: What is the most rewarding aspect of producing this play?
Crossword Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN
28 Folk singer Lisa 29 Words to a double-crosser 30 Something to guard in soccer 31 “I’m all _____” 32 Couleur de la mer 33 Something felt by young voters? 37 Many a YouTube offering 39 “______ were a rich man...” (Fiddler on the Roof song) 42 Least jaded 44 Like 57-Down 47 Hanoi-to-Beijing dir. 48 Place to go after a wardrobe malfunction? 51 Long-standing grudges 52 Group in Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” 53 Completely lost 54 Guns 55 Comedian André of “Man Seeking Woman” 56 Wolf (Sp.) 57 Plowing pair 58 Let out your anger 60 Cut, as grass 61 Assertive letters
BG: I think it’s just been getting to see it come together from every angle. Because, you know, as an actor, it would be like, “OK, we’re working on the show. I see that part” and then we show up at the sets there and it’s awesome. And now I’ve kind of gotten to be a part of helping the actors get together… helping with props, helping with building the sets. I love getting to work on like building of sets and hanging the lights and doing so much cool designs that’s the behind the scenes stuff that I never really got to do. So it’s just awesome to see every side of it come together… People are also very excited to teach me about the jobs. Like, let’s learn how to hang lights, let’s get you saw-trained, like all that really cool stuff. So I just have learned a lot and seen a lot happen. JA: Is there anything else you want to add? A word to the audience? BG: I think just … to tell people to come see the show. It’s gonna be really awesome. And even if you are not interested in math or not interested in the classics, it’s much more just about like taking what you know and applying it to cool curiosity you have [sic] and exploring things that you’re interested in and curious about. So it’s more applicable than just a show about [math or classics].
Solution Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN
—Luke Liu