The Justice, November 21, 2017

ARTS Page 19

FORUM Change blood donation policies 12 SPORTS Men’s basketball drops first two games 16

‘MATTRESS’ NATALIA WIATER /the Justice

The Independent Student Newspaper

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Volume LXX, Number 11

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Tuesday, November 21, 2017

DIVESTMENT RALLY

Waltham, Mass.

BRIEF Armed robbery prompts lock-down The University went on lockdown for just over two hours shortly before midnight on Monday following a report of an armed suspect on campus.

The initial alert, sent out at 11:54 p.m. via the Brandeis University Emergency Notification System, told students to “take shelter in the nearest room, lock doors and windows, silence your cell phone, and remain quiet. Do not let anyone into the room until area is deemed clear by authorities.”

A phone alert sent out via BENS added that University Police has received a report of

an armed robbery in one of the residence halls and that there were two suspects and a “possible firearm shown.”

The Justice has received multiple unconfirmed reports that the residence hall in question was East Quad. This story will be updated online as more information is substantiated.

University Police Patrolman Dustin Botelho told the Boston Globe that there was no active shooter on campus, according to a Nov. 21 Globe article.

The shelter in place was lifted at 2:09 a.m. on Tuesday.

—Abby Patkin

COMMUNITY

Play cancellation about protection, says Bruce

NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

RALLY: Students rallied for divestment and marched from Rabb Steps to the administration buildings on Wednesday afternoon.

Students rally for divestment ■ Brandeis Climate Justice

organized the rally on the day President Liebowitz met with the Board of Trustees.

By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR

In a call to action, students marched from the Rabb Steps to the administration buildings last Wednesday, the same day the Board of Trustees was meeting, and urged University President Ron Liebowitz to engage with the Board and

discuss fossil fuel divestment.

Organized by Brandeis Climate Justice, a group of about 40 students and faculty members held up signs that read “Climate Justice = Social Justice,” “Don’t invest in death” and “‘There is no such thing as an innocent purchaser of stock’ — Louis Brandeis.” Making their way to lower campus, they chanted “UMass did it, so can we, let’s make Brandeis fossil-free!” and “Hey, Brandeis, step off it! There’s poison in your profit!”

General guidelines for managing the University’s endowment, adopted by the Board of Trustees in

1973, recognize that while it is not the University’s primary mission to “influence the conduct of business corporations with regard to the social consequences of their activities,” the University also should not ignore the ethical implications of investing funds in certain corporations.

A university’s ability to influence corporate actions is limited, the guidelines state, because the amount of funds the University invests is too small to result in any economic detriment to a corporation, and every corporation will

See DIVESTMENT, 7 ☛

■ In an interview with the

Justice, Kitty Bruce rescinded her support of the FIRE open letter on censorship.

By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR

Michael Weller’s ’65 controversial play “Buyer Beware” uses comic Lenny Bruce’s legacy and routines out of context, and the play’s cancellation was not a matter of censorship, but of “protection,” according to Kitty Bruce, the comedian’s daughter.

Three days after co-signing an open

letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education that criticized the University for “censoring” the play, Bruce has changed her opinion on the matter, she said in a phone interview with the Justice.

The decision came after Bruce spoke with a student involved in ongoing dialogue about the play. It was in this conversation that she realized the controversy was a matter of students protecting themselves and their peers from potential harm, she explained.

Letters to Letters

The Nov. 13 letter, addressed to

See BRUCE, 7 ☛

COMMUNITY

Provost notes tax bill reform will affect graduate students ■ Provost Lisa Lynch sent

an email to the community regarding student concerns about the federal tax reform.

By DANIELA MICHANIE JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Provost Lisa Lynch discussed the potential impact of a major Republican tax bill on the affordability of higher education in an email sent to the University community on Friday evening.

The email was sent in response to

student concerns about the bill’s impact on the tax's treatment of loans and tuition waivers.

“Most of the emails that Deans, the President and I have received have come from concerned graduate students,” said Lynch in an interview with the Justice. “But we also heard from faculty and staff who are worried about the ramifications of the tax legislation.”

The 440-page legislation to overhaul the current U.S. Tax Code is the biggest rewrite of the code since 1986 and could dramatically impact undergraduate and graduate students’ ability to afford the costs of higher

income tax, the treatment of tuition waivers as taxable income and the elimination of the tax deductibility of student loan interest.

The house bill also eliminates the Lifetime Learning Credit and reduces the American Opportunity Tax Credit. The Lifetime Learning Credit offers up to $2,000 per year to cover tuition costs for individuals with a modified adjusted gross income of $65,000 or $130,000 or less for a married couple who files jointly.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit offers a slightly higher credit of $2,500 per child enrolled in college per year, which is available to indi-

viduals who earn $80,000 or less or married couples who earn $160,000 or less. The House bill would allow individuals to claim the credit for five years instead of four but at a reduced amount. The Senate bill would leave the tax credit untouched.

Patience Misner, a graduate student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and an executive board member of the Graduate Student Association, spoke about how the passage of the bill in its current form could reduce the affordability of higher education in an interview with the Justice.

See TAX BILL, 7 ☛

Opioid Crisis

Judges Reign Supreme

Global Bazaar

 A panel of experts discuss how to solved the Opioid abuse epidemic.

 The women’s basketball team started its season strong by winning the Brandeis Invitational tournament.

The community celebrated its annual I Am Global Week festival.

MICHELLE BANAYAN /theJustice

For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

education.

The new tax code, which is being referred to by Republicans as a “middle-class tax cut,” would add an estimated $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the course of the decade.

The bill roughly doubles the standard deduction, or the dollar amount that reduces the amount of income on which individuals are taxed.

Yet in order to cover this cost, certain deductions, including some tax benefits for those with college costs, are eliminated or reduced.

Lynch detailed what the effects of the bill would be on students, including increases in individual student’s

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FEATURES 8

INDEX

SPORTS 16

TALYA GUENZBURGER /the Justice

ARTS SPORTS

17 13

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG

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News 3 COPYRIGHT 2017 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017

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the justice

NEWS SENATE LOG Senate discusses its television purchase and committee updates Student Union President Jacob Edelman ’18 came to the Senate’s weekly meeting to discuss the reasoning behind the purchase of a television in the Student Union conference room. The purchase was previously met with mixed reception in the Nov. 12 Senate meeting, with multiple senators expressing concerns that the television was an unnecessary expenditure.

Edelman stated that he “should have consulted the Senate first” before going forward with the purchase of the television.

Charles River Senator Oliver Price ’20 added that “the purchase of the TV made sense … the majority would have agreed [to the purchase] in a vote.”

Union Communications Director Callahan Cox ’18 announced that the Union will be partnering with the University administration to hold a viewing party of the Nobel Prize ceremony for winners Profs. Michael Rosbash (BIO) and Jeffrey Hall (BIO) on Dec. 10.

Student Union Vice President Hannah Brown ’19 reported that she heard back from Board of Trustees representatives about the Board’s recent meeting. The Board discussed fossil fuel divestment, mental health and how to increase the University’s prestige.

Dining Committee chair and Class of 2020 Senator Jonathan Chen reported that the committee discussed creating a subcommittee in charge of kosher food. Price met with Vice President of Campus Operations Jim Gray about meal plan requirements for students in offcampus housing.

Club Support Committee chair and Class of 2020 Senator Tal Richtman reported that the committee had reflected on its recent club support workshop and how it could be improved. Richtman stated that the committee will be holding another workshop at the beginning of next semester. The committee had a discussion regarding probationary clubs and miscommunication with the Allocations Board on when the clubs are allowed full access to funding.

Price, also a member of the Sustainability Committee, stated that the committee is considering creating a student EcoRep position. The EcoRep would educate students about better eating habits and more sustainable living practices.

Class of 2018 Senator Abhishek Kulkarni suggested that the Union provide funding for student-made apps which have an aim of helping the Brandeis community.

Richtman announced that the deadline for the Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund has been pushed back to after Thanksgiving break so that the community could submit more proposals.

International Senator Linfei Yang ’20 stated that he will be beta-testing a system for international students who are staying on campus over winter break to be aware of special dining hours.

Brown added that there will be elections for vacant seats in the student Judiciary and Allocation Board, as well as the Midyear Senator.

Racial Minority Senator Hangil Ryu ’20 reported that he met with a candidate for the position of director of Diversity, Education and Training. During their meeting, the candidate put forth an idea for an umbrella organization for clubs representing people of color.

Village Quad Senator Richard Kisack Jr. ’19 reminded the Union of the “Giving Tuesday” event on Nov. 28.

POLICE LOG Medical Emergency Nov. 15—BEMCo staff treated a party in Usdan Student Center who had an injured ankle.

Nov. 16—A party fell and injured their leg at Rappaport Treasure Hall. The party was treated on the scene by BEMCo with a signed refusal for further care.

Nov. 16—A party in Sachar International Center reported that they were feeling dizzy.

BEMCo staff treated the party, who was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital by University Police.

Nov. 17—University Police received a report of a party in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management who was feeling ill.

BEMCo staff treated the

party, who was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital by University Police.

Drugs

Nov. 16—The area coordinator in Rosenthal Quad reported that they confiscated a small amount of a Class D substance. University Police took possession of the contraband, and the Department of Community Living will compile a Community Standards Report on the incident.

Disturbance

Nov. 14—University Police received a noise complaint regarding loud talking in Gordon Hall. University Police spoke to a few residents, and the residents agreed to lower their voices.

Nov. 18—A party in the

Charles River Apartments reported that the room above them was being extremely loud. University Police checked the area and found it quiet upon arrival.

Nov. 19—University Police received several complaints regarding noise coming from Charles River Apartments 113 and 114.

University Police on the scene spoke to a group of people talking outside, and the individuals agreed that they would continue their conversation indoors.

Larcency Nov. 14—A party in Sherman Dining Hall reported that their cell phone had been lost, misplaced or taken. University Police compiled a report on

I AM GLOBAL WEEK

the incident.

Other

Nov. 15—University Police compiled a report on a student project in Deroy Hall that a party was uncomfortable with.

Nov. 17—A staff member reported that they were approached by a suspicious male in Hassenfeld Lot. The staff member reported that the male was driving an unknown vehicle and yelled at them and followed them into the loading dock area before departing.

University Police checked the closed circuit television footage of the area but could not identify the vehicle or the male party.

—Compiled by Abby Patkin

BRIEF Massachusetts residents elect wave of women politicians to office in the November election cycle A year after President Donald Trump’s election, women are turning the tide through the ballot box, according to a Wicked Local report from Nov. 17.

“This is a movement. A lot of us were jolted out of our excuses and into action.

Those who have jumped in saw the opportunity to get involved in all levels of government,” said Manisha Bewtra, who was recently elected to the Melrose Board of Aldermen on Nov. 7, as quoted by Wicked Local.

Bewtra had previously considered running for local office, according to WickedLocal, but “Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton last year gave her the push she needed to actually file papers to run,” according to the article.

This new wave of female leaders is being pushed by organizations like the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus and Emerge Massachusetts, which hold programs to find and train women to run for office. The organizations have been successful, with 29 of 36 of MWPC’s candidates and 42 of 60 of Emerge Massachusett’s candidates winning their elections, reported Wicked Local.

This round of elections has not only brought more women into office but also more religious diversity as well. For example, Sumbal Siddiqui became the first female Muslim member of the Cambridge City Council. Before these elections, Siddiqui stated, “Our council had two women and was mostly white men.” Now, according to Wicked Local, there will be four women on the Cambridge City Council, including Siddiqui.

The report also quoted Executive Director of Emerge Massachusetts Ryanne Olsen, who added, “I think we are right at the turning point of turning a blip to a surge.

I think we are really on the precipice of making strong gains toward more representative government.”

—Emily Blumenthal

The Justice will not print on Nov. 28 due to the holiday. Our next issue will be Dec. 5.

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n An Arts article about Night for Africa was updated to clarify that performer Bethlehem the Producer is student Bethel Adekogbe ’20 (Nov. 14, page 19).

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.

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

As a part of I Am Global Week, students of the Russian Club hosted Peroshki Making Night at Ridgewood Commons on Friday evening.

—Emily Blumenthal

ANNOUNCEMENTS Eisenbud Lecture Series

Models of systems biology, climate change, ecosystems and macroeconomics have parameters that are hard or impossible to measure directly. If we fit these unknown parameters, fiddling with them until they agree with past experiments, how much can we trust their predictions? We will use ideas and methods from differential geometry to explain what sloppiness is and why it happens so often. We show that physics theories are also sloppy — that sloppiness may be the underlying reason why the world is comprehensible.

Monday, Nov. 27 from 4 to 5 p.m. in Room 121, Gerstenzang.

World Cultures Study Group: Finding Lina

Women’s Studies Research Center World Cultures Study Group will reflect on the humanitarian crisis in Syria through the experiences shared by guest speaker Lina Hussein. WSRC Scholars Rajashree Ghosh, Linda Bond, Karen Frostig and Pnina G. Abir-Am

will share their learning experiences of engaging with Lina, also touching upon personal stories regarding immigration, loss and ideas of belonging.

Tuesday Nov. 28 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Liberman-Miller Lecture Hall, Epstein.

Jonathan Sarna Lecture

Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History Jonathan Sarna, (NEJS) will give a talk to celebrate his appointment as University Professor. Sarna’s address, “Jews and American Politics: Historical Ideals and Contemporary Realities,” will consider a wide scope of material, including a newly discovered 1864 document he will share with the lecture audience.

Tuesday, Nov. 28 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Springold Theater Center.

Brandeis Finance and Administration

A transparent, substantive and necessary conversation about our University’s financ-

es. The Finance and Administration senior leadership team is holding open meetings to discuss our key goals for the academic year, and our long-term plans regarding financial sustainability, staff engagement and campus modernization.

We will provide useful background on our major revenue sources and their trends, explain University expenditures, share best practices among peer institutions, identify financial pressure points for Brandeis and, hopefully, create a common understanding of the opportunities and constraints we face.

Wednesday, Nov. 29 from noon to 2 p.m. in the Zinner Forum, Heller School.

“All the Rivers” Author Talk

How is Brandeis changing the world? Discover the many innovative and entrepreneurial ways the Brandeis community is making an impact.

Thursday, Nov. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Atrium, Shapiro Science Center.

the justice

news

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017

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GLOBAL BAZAAR

OBITUARY

Graduate student passes away Chuanchuan “Kurtis” Zhang, a graduate student at the Brandeis International Business School, has passed away, according to a Nov. 20 email from University President Ron Liebowitz and Interim Dean of IBS Peter Petri. He was 23 years old.

At Brandeis Zhang was a candidate for a Master of Arts in International Economics and Finance. He was a part of the Leadership Fellows Program where he was chosen for his “dedication to the community” as an advisor to first-year graduate students at IBS, according to the email.

He was a part of the Global Markets and Investment Club, the Association of Latino Professionals for America IBS Chapter and the Private Equity and Venture Capital Club, where he served as a vice president, according to his LinkedIn. Zhang also worked as a teaching assistant for his favorite class, Prof.

Michael McKay’s (IBS) Private

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Equity course.

Zhang came to Brandeis from Chongqing, China. As an undergraduate student he attended Zhejiang University where he received his Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Engineering.

He also completed an exchange program at the University of California-Davis in Fall 2015.

“Losing a fellow student is incredibly difficult. In the days ahead, we must look out for one another, and give heartfelt compassion and support to all who need it,” Liebowitz wrote in the email.

He also included a list of resources in his email which include Mandarin-speaking counselors who will be available through the weekend.

There will be a community gathering on Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. in Lee Hall for those who wish to come together and remember Zhang.

—Kirby Kochanowski

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Prof. encourages science students to educate public ■ Prof. James Haber (BIOL)

spoke to science students about educating the public and influencing policymakers.

By MICHELLE DANG JUSTICE EDITOR

In light of potential federal funding cuts to science research and the public’s mistrust of science in climate change, disease and energy issues, the Brandeis Science Policy Initiative had Prof. James Haber (BIOL) hold a discussion on Thursday about how scientists can help inform the public and encourage policy makers to support research funding.

Haber, director of the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, advised the audience of graduate and postdoctoral students to get involved not only with their respective scientific societies but also with their local politicians.

“There are all sorts of issues about public trust in science, and one whole area of activity is on the part of scientists to explain themselves to nonscientists,” said Haber, “which of course you can start doing to people over Thanksgiving dinner.”

He first advised science students to join their respective scientific societies under student memberships, to both stay up to date through newsletters and to get involved with policy subcommittees trying to demonstrate to Congress the value of research and science.

Overarching societies Haber mentioned include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a leader in science policy which publishes the magazine Science, and Science News, a bi-weekly magazine devoted to short articles about new scientific and technical developments.

For more advocacy-oriented groups, Haber recommended the Cambridge-based Union of Concerned Scientists and the March on Science, an organization Haber said is fascinating for the fact that “there are almost no people with gray hair running it.”

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology provides an advocacy toolkit online and also runs Capitol Hill Day, a day in which scientists are funded to meet with their congresspeople. During these Capitol Hill Days, individuals or a “group of Brandeis students” could organize to visit local offices, said Haber.

Other organizations with policy subgroups, such as Research America, the American Society for Cell Biol-

ogy, the Genetic Society of America, the Society of Neuroscience and the Coalition for the Life Sciences were also mentioned. These societies are important, Haber said, to network with people who have the connections and resources to best influence policy makers.

However, even independently, “senators and your congresspeople are really worth communicating with even when you know that they are on your side, because numbers count,” he added. The ASCB has a website with letter templates to congresspeople in which “all you have to do is press a button.”

Haber spoke about his involvement in organizing the longest-running science cafe in the country, the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus.

Now in its 27th year, the caucus invites eight to 10 people a year to talk to Congress about their research work.

“We try to find subjects that are not only scientifically important, but also have some important to the concerns of congress — medical, behavioral, developmental, cognitive subjects,” the health issues that the public worry about most.

Particularly for biomedical research, Haber said it is important for a young generation of scientists to get involved in order to prevent the National Institutes of Health research funding from falling further. From 2003 to 2015, the NIH lost 22 percent of its capacity to fund research due to budget cuts, sequestration and inflationary losses, according to FASEB’s website.

It is important to become aware of movements of public mistrust in science, said Haber, who gave examples of the initiative against vaccines and the public’s slow acceptance of the issue of air pollution.

He recommended that students start a discussion with their neighbors with a jargon-free elevator speech about their work that is two minutes, one minute or even seven words long. “My seven word one is ‘How your cells fix their broken chromosomes,’” Haber said.

There’s a vacuum in how scientists get information to people who mistrust science and are in some cases being lobbied to mistrust this information, said Haber, adding, “That’s a big, hard issue.”

“All I can say is, in your own circle, start locally, and expand the circle of convinced people. … Tell them what you do. And tell them why you do it,” Haber said.

The BSPI is a graduate student organization providing on-campus opportunities for education in science policy through seminars and activities.

LUCY FRENKEL/the Justice

GLOBAL BAZAAR: The annual I Am Global Week festival took place in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium on Thursday afternoon.

Community celebrates diversity and culture

■ Students and staff brought

together the annual Global Bazaar with presentations, fun activities and visiting vendors.

By AMBER MILES Justice EDITOR

Thursday’s Global Bazaar brought vendors, clubs and University organizations together in the Shapiro Campus Center, where community members were invited to explore different cultures.

The event took place as part of the University’s annual I Am Global Week and included a DJ, food from all over the globe and interactive activities, such as the International Students and Scholars Office’s “people bingo.”

“People bingo” asked attendees to find people that matched certain descriptions — including “I speak more than one language” or “I have a passport” — and fill in all the boxes on the scoresheet with other attendees’ names. Once all the boxes were filled in, attendees could receive a prize from the ISSO table, according to the scoresheet.

International Student Advisor for Community Integration Jingwen Yan came up with “people bingo” after speaking with a student the night before the Global Bazaar. “A student was telling me that he’s been here for like three months, but he only knows one graduate student,” Yan explained.

“At Brandeis, we have a lot of

events, but a lot of them are targeting towards one single group of students,” Yan said. “I Am Global Week is for everyone, so I really want to create an opportunity to have people really get to know each other and talk to each other.”

Other interactive activities included a trivia wheel from the Office of Study Abroad. After spinning the wheel, students could answer a question about study abroad or travel in order to win a prize, according to Study Abroad Ambassador Danielle Gaskin ’18.

The Office of Study Abroad also organized the Global Photo Contest in collaboration with the ISSO. At the Global Bazaar, attendees had the opportunity to vote on one of the five finalists with paper slips handed out by Study Abroad Advisor Alisha Cardwell.

To create their own global photos, students at the Global Bazaar stood in front of a green screen and had their photos taken by Khuong Nguyen, Student and Exchange Visitor Information System administrator at the ISSO. “We just thought it’d be fun to have a green screen where people could just come together, take pictures, have fun and see the world even if they haven’t traveled there,” Nguyen said, adding that this was the first time the Global Bazaar had incorporated a green screen. Students could choose to be placed in front of locations in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia, and the crowd favorite seemed to be the pyramids in Egypt, according to Nguyen.

Follow

In addition to participating in these activities, attendees mingled and visited the tables of a variety of cultural organizations on campus, including the French and Francophone Club and the Russian Club.

“Everyone is kind of sharing food with each other and excited to learn about someone else’s culture,” said Kristen Keilty, a post-baccalaureate student with YourStory International.

The experience is a great way to make friends and connect with people through culture, Keilty added.

As Israel Mnyitafu ’19 from the Brandeis African Students Organization explained, the Global Bazaar is not only “a chance for us to share our culture with them” but also “a chance for us to learn and obtain new information” about other cultures.

Rai Terry, a student worker at the Gender and Sexuality Center, remarked on the intersectionality of the Global Bazaar. Brandeis has a “really big international community, and within that international community, there’s a lot of different queer identities, so it’s important for us to be here supporting those communities throughout the globe,” Terry said.

The evening concluded with performances from the Rebelle Dance Team, the Brandeis Music department’s Fafali and Vascrik.

—Editor’s note: Nia Lyn ’19, the Forum editor of the Justice, performed at the Global Bazaar with the Rebelle Dance Team.

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Northeast Mental Health Announces New Waltham Office!

Northeast Mental Health is pleased to announce the opening of our Waltham office on November 1, 2017.

We will provide diagnostic and treatment services for children, adolescents, teens, adults, and beyond.

Location: 11 Spring St. in downtown Waltham.

From Brandeis Campus we are 11 to 12-minutes by bicycle or bus. Parking is also available nearby.

Students who lack insurance coverage receive an initial session at no cost.

Eric Ranvig, BA. MA. Psychologist

C.Davenport Hanson, MD. JD Board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology

*Applications- We are also accepting applications for office staff positions and undergraduate paid internship positions.

Contact information 11 Spring Street Waltham MA, 02451 978-968-5633 Charleshansonmd.wordpress.com Ne_mh@yahoo.com

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

THE JUSTICE

CAMPUS SPEAKER

sought to break down barriers with her analysis of disability and gender in Judaic studies.

By ELIANA PADWA Justice EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

To Rabbi Dr. Julia Watts Belser, an expert in both Judaic studies and disability studies, being knowledgeable about multiple fields provides a unique opportunity to combine and compare disciplines; she analyzes each field in light of the other.

On Tuesday, the annual Jewish Studies Colloquium convened to hear Watts Belser, assistant professor of Jewish Studies at Georgetown University, and to discuss her ongoing work.

Introduced as someone whose scholarship “is a constant reminder of our intellectual, moral and emotional responsibility to break down barriers,” Watts Belser presented briefly on her new project, which attendees had read in advance. The project, an essay titled “Disciplining the Dissident Body: Disability, Gender, and State Violence in Rabbinic Literature,” discusses three “rabbinic stories” — Jewish theological tales — and their physical and symbolic portrayals of disability.

Watts Belser explained that she’s interested in bringing disability theory in conversation with rabbinic text because they don’t always mesh seamlessly; theory can help her understand a story, but can also show her “a rocky spot,” something to grapple with in a source text.

Watts Belser added that “Dissident Body” is an effort to think about disability studies in conjunction with activist questions about state violence.

She credited ideas emerging from queer communities of color for shaping her work. Those ideas about state violence against disabled bodies have led her to ask about “ancient state violence on the ancient Jewish body.”

She told the story of Shimon bar Yochai, a rabbi who spent 13 years hiding in a cave after criticizing the Roman government. In “Dissident Body,” she analyzed the story through a disability studies framework; she uses disability theory as a tool to analyze power and deviance and “things that happen to our flesh,” and explained that disability as a concept is culturally shaped. Disability is real, but the way a culture conceptualizes it “tells us as much about those cultures” as it does about disability, she said.

Watts Belser also uses disability studies to look at how people marked as disabled are able to take back their own bodies and narratives.

Watts Belser said she thinks of bar Yochai’s body as disabled by Roman violence, despite its not being directly

harmed. That led her to think about God’s body, she said, and she did that through the other two texts mentioned in the paper.

One of the stories is a rabbinic tale about a Jewish boy arguing with Caesar. The boy quotes Psalms 115, saying of Caesar’s gods, “They have mouths but do not speak; they have eyes but cannot see.” The boy says that his own god does have the power to save him, but is choosing not to use it because he is insufficiently righteous.

Watts Belser pointed out that this story calls the other nations’ idols worthless “because they are disabled.” Watts Belser asked whether one is supposed to interpret the boy’s response as legitimate, or whether it’s an opening to discuss the fragility of the Jewish body.

Watts Belser went on to explain the other text she worked with, a discussion of why women die in childbirth.

A few rabbinic sources say it’s a punishment for a woman’s sins, but ask why that punishment is inflicted in childbirth.

The “classic rabbinic answer,” Watts Belser said, is that divine judgement is carried out during alreadydangerous situations. Watts Belser said that the Talmud, an ancient Jewish theological text, explains this through a proverb of a “lame shepherd.” That shepherd (God) can’t catch lambs (people) running free, so instead the shepherd closes them in once they’ve returned to the pen or are otherwise trapped. Watts Belser believes this text uses disability as a path to creativity, rather than an undesirable condition to struggle with.

During the post-presentation discussion, attendees and Watts Belser spoke about disability as a metaphor; she said disability language is now used “in ways … almost entirely separated from the physical body,” to the point where a blind Christian friend of hers often has to assert, “No, I actually am blind!”

The discussion continued, covering topics ranging from spiritual blindness to women’s vulnerability to use of space in disability studies. One attendee pointed out that pregnancy is often referred to through disability language, and another asked about women’s pain in the stories cited.

Watts Belser closed the discussion by asking what the texts say about divine capability, and whether “a willingness to imagine divine disability [is] reflective of, and expressive of, the world in which the late Antique sages were living.”

The colloquium, hosted by the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry, has been meeting since 2001, and Watts Belser’s talk was its third event this semester. Though Brandeis holds the meeting, faculty, graduate students and scholars from around the world are invited to attend.

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Contact Michelle Dang at news@thejustice.org

News

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017

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THE COLLAPSE

Rabbi highlights disability theory and symbolism in Rabbinic literature

■ Rabbi Julia Watts Belser

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LUCY FRENKEL/the Justice

1177 B.C.: Eric H. Cline spoke about the political and natural-disaster stressors on societies in the 15th to 13th centuries B.C.

Visiting scholar looks at the collapse of the Bronze Age civilizations ■ Eric H. Cline spoke about

the societal lessons to learn from the collapse of Bronze age polities.

By JOCELYN GOULD Justice STAFF WRITER

Granting modern relevance to the end of the Late Bronze Age in his lecture “1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed,” author and archaeologist Eric H. Cline explored on Wednesday the causes of the civilization collapses which defined that era and the lessons they hold for today.

Cline is a professor at George Washington University’s Department of Classics and Anthropology and acting director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute. The lecture was inspired by his book, published under the same name, in which he challenges the traditional explanation given for what he calls “the Collapse.”

From the 15th to 13th centuries B.C., the Hittites, Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Canaanites, Mycenaeans, Minoans and Cypriots all had flourishing, powerful civilizations in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, according to Cline. These cultures were extremely interconnected, linked by prosperous trade routes, which Cline described as a “globalized world system.”

To put it another way, he said, using the modern names for the regions, “People from Italy on the west to Afghanistan on the east are trading with each other … Turkey down to Egypt.”

Around 1177 B.C., however, this world order came to a disastrous end.

Every civilization collapsed, except for the Egyptians, who were so weakened they never recovered, according to Cline. This ended the Bronze Age,

but what is fascinating for Cline about this moment in history is that there is no definitive explanation for why the civilizations fell.

Cline stressed the rarity of globalized world systems like this one throughout history because they emphasize the link between “them and us.” The Late Bronze Age and the modern era are two of only a small number of similar moments in history, according to Cline. “What happened to them, I think, should be of interest to more than just ancient historians. It should be of interest to absolutely everybody,” Cline said.

Currently, the accepted explanation for the Collapse is the “Sea Peoples,” a group of different cultures who conquered civilizations as they migrated from west to east. The name comes from an inscription at Medinet Habu, Egypt, in Ramses III’s mortuary temple, in which the pharaoh describes the Sea Peoples’ movement across the region.

The common theory of why the Sea Peoples left their homeland and how their migration caused the Collapse is “a nice logical, linear explanation,” Cline said.

It says that a drought in the Sea Peoples’ homelands led to a famine, which pushed the Sea Peoples to migrate, which cut pre-existing trade routes, destabilizing the different cultures and causing the Collapse.

However, you “have to admit that life is never that simple,” Cline said.

Looking for causes other than the Sea Peoples, other scholars have suggested droughts and famines, invaders, internal rebellions or earthquakes.

“If I had to choose between them,” Cline said, reflecting on all five theories at once, “I would say, ‘Yes.’” According to Cline, each of these occurrences taken individually acts as a stressor on a civilization, but rarely

will any one of them lead to an entire civilization’s collapse. Instead, Cline argues it is when all of these stressors act in tandem that a “perfect storm” is created, one powerful enough to destroy civilization after civilization.

Drawing on research and excavations done by other archaeologists, Cline has found proof of the other stressors.

Researchers examining coring samples of the soil have found evidence that droughts took place across this region during this time period. Inscriptions found at archaeological sites speak of famine. Ruins of archaeological sites suggest invasions or rebellions occurred, and uniquely warped walls provide evidence for earthquake activity.

Finally, Cline reimagines the Sea Peoples as a migration rather than an invasion, because entire families, not just warriors, were moving across the world. In his lecture, he likened the stress these migrations put on existing cultures to the Dust Bowl or the Syrian refugee crisis.

For Cline, examination of the way all these causes coalesced together to create the Collapse has implications far beyond the end of the Bronze Age. Cline noted that each of the stressors he explored in the lecture — drought, famine, earthquakes, rebellions, invasions and migrations — can be seen today.

The difference, for Cline, between the past and the present is that modern scientists and scholars have the capability to recognize these stressors.

“We can do something about it,” Cline said.

The lecture was co-sponsored by the Brandeis Departments of Classical Studies, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and History, the M.A. Program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies and the Mandel Center for the Humanities.

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BRUCE: FIRE responds to new developments CONTINUED FROM 1 University President Ron Liebowitz, called upon Brandeis to “reaffirm the principles of freedom of expression, inquiry, and debate upon which any institution of higher education must be based, and to commit itself to engaging with the challenging material in the play by staging it as intended — not censoring it.”

The letter asked the University to either offer a better explanation for the cancellation or to put on the production as scheduled.

In his Nov. 14 response, a copy of which was provided to the Justice, Liebowitz wrote that the play “was not ‘cancelled’ and the material was neither ‘censored’ nor ‘abandoned’

by Brandeis University. This is a misrepresentation of facts.”

Following backlash from students regarding the play’s themes and use of racial slurs, Brandeis faculty postponed the campus production from the fall to the spring and intended to have the production go hand in hand with a semester-long course on controversial works of art.

Planning was underway when Weller decided in early October to take his play to a professional venue, according to Liebowitz. “Brandeis has not ‘defaulted,’ and is not avoiding or ducking ‘challenging issues,’” he wrote.

In a Nov. 15 open letter that has been circulating social media, Theater Arts Department Undergraduate Departmental Representative Andrew Child ’19, who led student dialogue on “Buyer Beware,” agreed that the FIRE letter contained “poorly-informed allegations” against the University’s decision.

Specifically, Child took issue with the letter’s claims that the students who called for the play’s cancellation had not read the play, and that Weller had not been made aware of student discomfort with the play’s themes and use of slurs.

Child also asserted that the play was not canceled due to its inclusion of Lenny Bruce’s material, contrary to FIRE’s claim that the play’s cancellation was “in part” due to its connection to Bruce.

Responding to Liebowitz’s letter, FIRE Director of Communications Nico Perrino wrote in a Nov. 20 post that the University’s response raised more questions than it answered.

The response did not explain what material Theater faculty found “challenging,” nor did it answer why the University did not stick to the original plan when a more “appropriate” production could not be agreed upon, according to Perrino.

The letter also raised questions about the play itself and the surrounding controversy, he wrote: “Is Weller’s art more nuanced than the student is letting on? Shouldn’t we let people judge for themselves? And even if Weller’s play is everything the protesting students say it is, why not engage with it instead of silence it? Why not have the discussion with him from an informed place?”

With so many narratives floating around, the true scope of the play’s cancellation may never be determined, Perrino concluded. “However,” he wrote, “what we do know is that there was an effort to prevent the play from being staged because some people found its content offensive. And what we also know is that for most of the Brandeis community, they won’t ever get a chance to decide for themselves whether those people were right.”

Out of Context

When the University originally gained the Lenny Bruce archives last year, a representative from Archives and Special Collections forwarded Kitty Bruce the playwright’s request for permission to use material from the archives.

“I said absolutely, as long as they’re not taking it off campus, because the author of that play does not have my permission to use my father’s work or anything else like that, or his routines without my express permission,” Bruce added.

However, when Kitty Bruce gave permission for her father’s archives to be used in a play, “Buyer Beware” was not necessarily what she had in mind.

“First of all, from what I under-

stand, this man’s play has nothing to do with my father’s routines, or he’ll take a word or a phrase totally out of context,” she said of Weller’s play.

She added that this applies especially to Lenny Bruce routines that deal with ethnicity, which were taken out of context in the play.

Given today’s racial tensions and political climate, the intent behind Lenny Bruce’s routines does not come across when the words are taken out of context, she added.

“There’s a whole generation that doesn’t know about my father. And they need to know about him, but they don’t need to know about it from a playwright who is mixing things up and just spitting it out,” she said.

In his letter, Child wrote that “we can acknowledge that Bruce lived in a very different time than the one we live in now and that perhaps his tactics and his battles would have been different had he been alive in 2017, but we cannot diminish his importance.”

Due to the play’s portrayal of Lenny Bruce and his legacy, Kitty Bruce now says that she no longer wants any connection between her father and “Buyer Beware.”

“I do not condone Mr. Weller’s play. I do not give permission at all for him to put it on anywhere,” she said.

“It just doesn’t sit well. It’s not a good representation of Lenny Bruce.

And I feel that so strongly in my heart. I’m the gatekeeper. I feel it’s my responsibility to protect my father’s legacy and to stand up and to protect all the things that he had to pay so many dues for.”

Bruce also took issue with Weller’s alleged wishes to produce the play off-campus. “If he goes to use any of my father’s routines, then he’s going to have an issue for copyright infringement, at least. And I’m livid to begin with. But it was only supposed to be for the students to do the production. … I stand firm on that,” she said.

An Issue of Protection

Though she initially supported claims of censoring, Bruce now says that in light of new information she does not believe that the play and its surrounding controversy is a matter of censorship.

However, she added that the controversy does raise questions about how censorship is determined and who determines what material is deemed harmful.

The rules of engagement have changed in light of 2017 and its “horrific acts of violence” on campuses, she said.

“There is no evidence, according to the amount that I have checked into it. I spoke to students and I looked into things, and I do not believe censorship was involved here,” she said.

Bruce said she spoke about the play with Child, and it was in that conversation that she began to think about the canceled production as a matter of students aiming to protect themselves and their peers from potential harm.

“I’m totally behind free speech, I’m totally behind no censorship, but I’m also very aware that free speech — there is a point to where you can’t yell ‘fire’ in a theater. And if they would have put this production on, that would have been fire on Brandeis,” she said.

So with that being said, this does not sound like censorship, period. It sounds like, perhaps, that they were being protective of the staff and the students.”

In his post on FIRE’s website, Perrino challenged Bruce’s use of the “shouting fire in a crowded theater” trope, which he argued “has represented some of the worst apologia for censorship for nearly a century.”

While she admitted that she can’t say for certain what Weller’s intent was in writing the play, Bruce was adamant that her father’s name not be attached to something that could be a potential harm.

“I don’t want my father’s name attached to such sadness and such mean-spirited things,” she said.

“My father wanted a kinder, gentler world, and he had no tolerance for bullshit.”

—Editor’s note: this article was originally published online on Nov. 17.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017

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CULTURAL DINNER DIALOGUE

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

Community members ate togther at a dinner hosted by I Am Global Week on Friday.

TAX BILL: Republican reform affects students CONTINUED FROM 1

“If this bill is passed it’s going to increase already existing disparities in education,” said Misner. “Students are going to be taxed on money they’ll never see and it’s going to make attending graduate and undergraduate school more expensive.”

The GSA is brainstorming ways to promote awareness about the potential impacts of the legislation.

Misner and the rest of the executive board are planning a town hall in early December open to undergraduate and graduate students to discuss the tax bill.

Yet there are several obstacles that

the bill faces in order to reach President Donald Trump’s desk and to be signed into law, which Republican legislators are seeking to achieve before the end of the calendar year.

In its current form, the bill has only been voted on by the House. The Senate will vote on its own draft of the tax bill following the Thanksgiving recess.

If there are any differences between the Senate and House bills, a joint conference committee would have to be convened to resolve them.

Lynch also explained in the email that Brandeis is working with the Association of American Universities, an organization of 62 research univer-

sities across the U.S. that is speaking out about the potentially damaging effects of the proposed legislation. She also urged members of the Brandeis community to contact their representatives about the proposed legislation.

“We still do not know what terms will be included in any final legislation,” said Lynch in response to a question from the Justice about how the bill would affect low-income students and students who rely on financial aid.

“The most important thing at this stage is for people to weigh in with their views on the various proposals with their members of Congress,” she said.

DIVESTMENT: Students tell Liebowitz to engage Board CONTINUED FROM 1 at a certain point in time engage in activities that are offensive to some people.

“Only when the corporation is directly and substantially involved in activities clearly considered by the university community to be contrary to fundamental and widely shared ethical principles” should the portfolio managers refrain from purchasing stock from the corporation, according to the guidelines.

In order to determine whether the actions taken by a corporation are unethical, the guidelines say that the University's portfolio managers should look at environmental pollution, employment practices, relationships with oppressive governments and consumer health, among others.

Liebowitz joined other university presidents, governors and local officials on June 1 in signing a statement in support of the Paris Climate Agreement.

According to BCJ, in order to uphold the University’s commitment to the agreement, the Board of Trustees should vote to divest from fossil fuels.

On Nov. 9, BCJ gathered over 500 signatures on a petition that called for Liebowitz to discuss fossil fuel divestment in the upcoming Board

of Trustees meetings, delivering the petition to the Office of the President on the day of the march.

In 2013, a survey by the University’s Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment showed that 79 percent of students supported a petition to divest, and the University’s faculty passed a resolution on Oct. 20 that commended Liebowitz’s support of the climate agreement and called for a strategy that would end the University’s investments in fossil fuels.

BCJ argues that by investing in fossil fuels, the University is not only acting contrary to its general guidelines for managing its endowment, but that it is also in opposition of its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement.

The students and faculty marched to bring attention to what they consider the University’s hypocrisy and to remind Liebowitz of his promise to engage the Board of Trustees in a discussion about divestment.

Once they reached the administration buildings, Jordan Mudd ’20 delivered a speech that heavily criticized fossil fuel companies such as Exxon for perpetuating the myth that climate change is not real. “And here we are, Brandeis University, a ‘social justice institution,’ making money off of them,”

he said, asking if the University will continue to profit off the companies that are “destroying our planet and its communities.”

Mudd handed off the mic to Prof.

Sabine von Mering (GRALL), who started off her speech by saying, “We are here to demand that the Trustees of Brandeis University … end all investments in fossil fuels.

We ask them, and you can help me too, to take a stand and divest.”

In unison, the crowd responded, “Take a stand and divest.”

Von Mering continued on to say wealthy fossil fuel companies are holding the U.S. government hostage, and that the University must declare “unequivocally” that “we will stop profiting from the political shenanigans of the fossil fuel industry.”

The rally also included a musical performance by Otis Fuqua ’19, Ben Astrachan ’19 and Mudd, as well as a reading of a poem by Renata Leighton ’21, who urged the listeners to “not give in to the fear,” and instead “make it our mission to curb our emissions.”

Cassie Cain ’18 ended the rally by thanking everyone for their support, and asked the people gathered to continue attending BCJ meetings and events and to show their support for divestment, because “we’re not going to go away.”

8

features

TUESDAY, november 21, 2017 ● Features ● The Justice

just

VERBATIM | BOB DYLAN There is nothing so stable as change.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 2012, a ceasefire was negotiated between Israel and Hamas.

Ants can live up to 29 years.

‘Warning: This Drug May Kill You’ A panel of experts discuss how to solve the opioid crisis MICHELLE BANAYAN/the Justice

PILL POPPING: Dr. Andrew Kolodny believes this “epidemic is fueled by the overprescribing of drugs, not bad behavior.”

By MICHELLE SAYLOR JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

How serious is the opioid epidemic in America? On Nov. 16, Dean David Weil of the Heller School of Social Policy and Management and the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative co-hosted a film screening and panel discussion of the film “Warning: This Drug May Kill You” in the Wasserman Cinematheque. The HBO documentary takes a harsh look at the stunning effects of the opioid epidemic in America.

“Warning: This Drug May Kill You” opens with a list of facts about opioid addiction: physical addictions to opioids can occur within five days, more people die from opioid overdoses than from car crashes today, and the United States consumes 80 percent of the world’s oxycodone supply.

The story begins when Stephany Gay is prescribed oxycontin and vicodin for kidney-stone pain. She begins by taking them as prescribed, but when she runs out, she fakes her pain to get a higher quantity prescription.

Quickly, she finds herself going through an entire month’s prescription in two days. When she approaches her doctor seeking help, he continues prescrib-

ing her even stronger drugs. Finally, suspecting her of abusing the prescription, the doctor cuts Stephany Gay off completely.

Desperate, she starts buying oxycontin from her friends, but this proves too expensive. Seeking a cheaper option, she turns to heroin, which can get her ten times as high ten times as quickly.

In an on-camera interview, Gay says that she “felt like superwoman [when she was high on heroin] and it was a lot cheaper than buying 15 narcos a day.” She also admits that it “felt like it [heroin], loved me and I loved it back… It felt like we were in a relationship.” She soon got her younger sister, Ashley Gay, involved in taking prescription pills and shooting heroin. Ashley Gay’s addiction escalated quickly, as most addictions do. She switched from pills to cocaine and eventually to heroin. Both sisters shot up heroin every day for almost a year.

Before becoming addicted to heroine, Stephany Gay had a husband, a beautiful daughter named Audrey, a lovely home and two cars. A year later, she had been through a divorce, lost custody of her daughter, sold her cars and moved in with her mother. Worst of all, Ashley Gay ended up overdosing while

alone in a motel room. By the time she was discovered, she could not even be resuscitated.

Stephany Gay says that losing her sister was “the worst nightmare anybody can have.” After that, the family never recovered.

Sprinkled throughout the rest of the film are hopeful moments.

Stephany Gay tries to pull her life together by entering rehab clinics. But just as it appears that Gay is recovering, her attempts fall short and she relapses. Gay is far from alone in her continuous struggle. As the films shows in the end, the opioid crisis in America has claimed the lives of over 183,000 people between the years of 1999 and 2015.

So what can be done about this crisis? Following the screening, there was a panel discussion with Perri Peltz, director of “Warning: This Drug May Kill You,” Marylou Sudders, the Massachusetts secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School, the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative and medical consultant for “Warning: This Drug May Kill You,” and Myechia Minter-Jordan M.D., president and CEO of the Dimock Center. Senior legal

and investigative correspondent for NBC News Cynthia McFadden moderated the discussion.

Peltz began by saying that the primary objective of her movie was to dispel the misunderstanding that only “bad kids are using bad drugs — that’s not how it happens… Addiction is a brain disease.” She said that addiction is a lifelong struggle and going to a 30-day clinic once or twice will not cure a serious addiction.

Kolodny spoke about the physiological effects opioids can have.

He explained that this “epidemic is fueled by the overprescribing of drugs, not bad behavior.”

He also spoke of the “pill mill” doctor population, referring to the groups of doctors whom he believes are overprescribing opioids. Sudders, who works on the legislative side of opioid addiction, said that she drafted legislation to fund school nurses to screen for recreational prescription drug abuse, requiring that all prescribing schools (e.g. medical school, dental school, etc.) offer a class in the harmful effects of addiction to medication. Since this legislation passed, Massachusetts has seen a 29 percent decrease in opioid prescriptions in the past two years, making the state a leader in the

fight against the opioid epidemic.

Soon, the discussion turned toward the role of race in opioid addiction. The film only featured stories of white people because, as Peltz explained, “the vast majority of people we came across during our ‘casting’ were white.”

Kolodny added that the “new epidemic is disproportionately white.” He hypothesized that this may be because doctors prescribe narcotics more cautiously to their non-white patients.

In the end, each panelist gave their own ideas for how to solve the crisis. Peltz said that “treatment itself isn’t good enough anymore.” She suggested a full scale, multi-step treatment plan for those affected. Kolodny agreed with Peltz, stating that long-term out patient care has proven to be the most effective treatment method.

Sudders’ ideal treatment plan included strict legislative reform paired with making oxycontin illegal in America. Minter-Jordan said that the opioid issue needs to be talked about in schools. Ultimately, everyone on the panel agreed that, as Minter-Jordan put it, “having the conversation [about addiction and how to safely use prescription drugs] early and often” is the key to success.

the justice ● Features ● TUESDAY, november 21, 2017

High-Energy Startups

Brandeis students compete in the first round of the Hult Prize competition

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

THE ENERGY CRISIS: The Hult Prize competition is premised off the notion that the world faces a global energy crisis.

By hannah shumel JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

What do motorcycles, crickets and camel’s milk all have in common? All were presented as ideas for social enterprises at the Hult Prize competition @ Brandeis.

The Hult Prize consists of a $1 million award given to the team of entrepreneurial college students who come up with the best idea of a social enterprise that can improve the world. In this competition, each team is given four minutes to present their concept, and its potential both in terms of social impact

and viability in the marketplace.

The teams discuss how they would implement their ideas, eventually expand their businesses and stand apart from competing firms. After each presentation, a panel of judges asked questions and then deliberated on which team will proceed to the next round. The first round of the competition was held at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management.

This year, the theme of the competition is energy. As the pamphlet outlining the event states, “When you harness the power of energy creatively, you

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

BUILDING APPS: One startup called GreenChoice pitched an app that shows the nutrional and ethical stands of food products.

can change the world.” Each team came up its own way of innovating energy use, from electricity, to natural gas and food.

A company called “Samantha” won the first round. This startup proposed providing towns in rural Africa with a community biodigester. A biodigester is a machine that takes cow dung — a renewable resource — and turns it into natural gas, which can then be harnessed as energy.

Additionally, the process turns the cow waste into manure, which benefits agricultural production. While there have been attempts to introduce biodigest-

ers to Africa, they have failed because the machines were only implemented as household appliances, where there isn’t a sufficient amount of cow dung for fuel. In addition to solving this problem, the founders of Samantha hope that community biodigesters will serve as a means to bring people together.

Unsurprisingly, technology was in the spotlight at the competition. Because technology is capable of accomplishing a wide variety of actions, often without direct human involvement, it allows for the realization of ideas that would otherwise be considered impossible. One prominent example of this is telemedicine robots, as presented by Boston Medical Partners.

In rural parts of Nigeria, people struggle to get medical care. This is because medical centers are few and far between, and many people don’t have the resources to travel to hospitals or health clinics. The solution: Instead of sending the patients to doctors, Boston Medical Partners hopes to send the doctors to the patients. Instead of having doctors drive out themselves, which would require time and supplies, the startup has designed robots through which the doctors can remotely communicate with their patients and assess them. While designing and building robots also requires time and supplies, the robots give the doctors the ability to treat several patients in a much shorter timeframe, a key to improving medical care.

Technology comes in all forms.

Many teams presented apps as a means of sharing their ideas with the world. Apps allow people to

connect with each other and access certain information. For certain business models, apps are a necessity. GreenChoice, a startup focused on informing people about the ethical and nutritional standards food products meet, proposed a mobile app that could be used in the supermarket. In additiion to having the convenience of easy access on the go, the app would also allow users to choose which criteria are important to them, allowing for a personalized experience. SafeRide proposed an app akin to Uber that would allow users to reserve rides and assess the qualifications of each driver.

The twist is that, instead of being for cars, this app is for motorcycle taxis, which are much more common in Liberia, where the app would first be implemented.

One startup, Ubuntu, aims to bring two seemingly unrelated ideas together. The company aims to provide solar power to rural towns in India, where electricity isn’t common and the electrical services that do exist can be prohibitively expensive.

Ubuntu also wants to provide its users with additional services on their app, which would allow people track the cost of using solar panels for energy.

Underlying the spirit of the competition is the notion that the world faces a global energy crisis. Most countries still rely on fossil fuels that emit heat-trapping greenhouse gasses, while others simply don’t have the infrastructure to meet their energy needs. The Hult prize competition proves that students are thinking critically about how to solve this crisis. The question is, will their ideas come to fruition?

9

10 TUESDAY, November 21, 2017 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

the

Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

Abby Patkin, Editor in Chief Amber Miles, Managing Editor Carmi Rothberg, Senior Editor Kirby Kochanowski and Sabrina Sung, Deputy Editors Michelle Banayan, Abby Grinberg, Lizzie Grossman, Noah Hessdorf, Mihir Khanna, Mira Mellman and Jerry Miller, Associate Editors Michelle Dang, News Editor, Victor Feldman, Features Editor Nia Lyn, Forum Editor, Ben Katcher, Sports Editor Hannah Kressel, Arts Editor Yvette Sei and Natalia Wiater, Photography Editors Morgan Mayback, Layout Editor, Pamela Klahr and Robbie Lurie, Jen Geller and Avraham Penso, Copy Editors

AARON MARKS/the Justice

Ads Editors

EDITORIALS

Recognize implemented changes to increase school spirit Historically, Brandeis has not been known for its school spirit. Recently, the Brandeis Athletics Department has taken great strides toward encouraging and facilitating school spirit within the student body. This board commends the department for its efforts in bringing in new marketing techniques to incentivize attendance to sporting events. However, there are still underlying issues that prevent Brandeis school spirit from reaching its full potential.

At the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year, the Brandeis Athletics Department hired Andrew Vatistas as the assistant athletic director for Marketing, Promotions and Community Relations to oversee the implementation of new marketing campaigns for Brandeis Athletics. With the introduction of the “We the Jury” Student Rewards Program, students have new incentives to go to sporting events and demonstrate their school spirit.

Other efforts of the Brandeis Athletics Department include giving free tickets to games for all Brandeis students, providing free food at games and gifting apparel to the first 50 students who arrive at a game.

While acknowledging these efforts to increase student engagement and attendance at sporting events, this board urges the Athletics Department to continue to fostering an environment that attracts all of the student body and not just athletes.

As a Division III University, athletics are not the main priority for many students at Brandeis. That being said, there is an overall lack of school spirit, since sports are not a large part of the Brandeis culture.

It is difficult to foster spirit when students do not choose to come to Brandeis for the sports teams. Additionally, the athletics

Foster University pride community can often feel isolated from the rest of Brandeis.

This board advises the University to make more of an effort in incorporating athletes as a bigger part of the Brandeis culture and to avoid treating them like a niche community. Orientation coordinators and the Athletics Department should work together to accommodate scheduling conflicts due to preseason training so that everyone can participate and athletes can meet other students outside of their respective sports teams.

If all students are able to interact with one another during their first weeks at Brandeis, there will be a better sense of community. Moreover, it’s more likely that students will attend sporting events that their friends are participating in.

School pride can also be shown by Brandeis apparel, and continuing to offer free merchandise at games and through the rewards system is a step in the right direction. However, the University must also keep in mind that on top of the many other expenses students have to take care of, Brandeis apparel is not a main priority.

On the bookstore website, for example, sweatshirts can cost as much as $65 each, and T-shirts can range as high as $34. If apparel is discounted, students would be more inclined to make purchases to show off their school spirit.

Overall, this board commends the Brandeis Athletics Department on its efforts to promote campus unity and school pride through sporting events. In time, Brandeis has the potential to change its reputation and become a more spirited university.

Views the News on

According to a Nov. 13 New York Times article, Japanese-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company recently received Food and Drug Administration approval for a psychiatric drug featuring a digital tracking device. The pill is designed with a sensor that is activated upon contact with stomach fluids. A signal is then sent to a patch on the skin that records the time before it is transferred to a mobile application that allows users to enter mood, amount of sleep and other data. Some have already expressed concern about this technology, calling it a “Biomedical Big Brother.” What do you think of this invention and does it seem beneficial?

Prof. Cindy Thomas (Heller) Poor adherence to prescriptions is a major healthcare concern. For years, providers, insurers and health systems have worked on methods to encourage patients to take their medications as directed, with varying degrees of success — patient and provider education and support, lower outof-pocket costs, improved medications with fewer side effects, reminder calls, apps, and financial and other incentives. So this new technology addresses an important gap. However, like all new technologies, digital abilify raises concerns: foremost, patients should be fully informed of all potential implications, and have the ability to opt in and opt out. Also, ongoing evaluation is necessary, because pre-market testing is always limited, and new problems often emerge once technologies are used more widely. Nevertheless, while we should be vigilant and ask many questions, it is important to encourage development and acceptance of novel technological approaches to treatment challenges such as this while ensuring patient autonomy and protections from adverse impact.

Prof. Cindy Thomas (Heller) is an associate dean of research.

Sabrina Carrero ’19 To begin with, this drug can be seen as a stepping stone in furthering medical technology and can provide answers potentially to mental health issues. Also, by connecting to an application, it allows the user to access their records at their convenience and perhaps give the option to track their progress since taking the pill. The user’s psychiatrist can also track the patient’s statistics and adjust their treatment plan if needed. Nonetheless, a breach of privacy can occur depending on who is able to have access to the information. Rules should be in place between the user, pharmaceutical and insurance companies about who is able to acquire this confidential data and how often are they able to view it. Also, it’s possible that an outsider can hack into the application and steal patient information. Additionally, I don’t know how many people are comfortable with having private information on a device they use on a daily basis. Overall, I think this drug definitely moves the field of science in the right direction but there need to be guidelines regarding data access.

Encourage the University to improve BranVan efficiency

Recently, BranVans and Boston/ Cambridge shuttles alike have been experiencing an increase in demand, which has resulted in overcrowding and, in some cases, students being stranded because of the lack of space. This board urges the University to continue putting more shuttles and Waltham BranVans into rotation to alleviate the overcrowding issue.

The University recently added a second Boston/Cambridge shuttle Saturday at 12:30 p.m., the first shuttle of the day, increasing the number of students who can travel to their destination in a more efficient and timely manner. Before this, many students were not able to get on the shuttle, which could have led to some missing an appointment or a job interview, for example. Many students opt to take this shuttle in order to spend as much time in Boston or Cambridge as possible, but this practice resulted in a high demand that one shuttle could not meet. This board commends this effort, but urges the University to continue this practice during other times of peak demand.

Currently, only one BranVan runs the route into Waltham. According to the Public Safety website, the evening Waltham shuttle makes a full route every 30 minutes and the daytime Waltham shuttle makes a full route every 40 minutes. There is also no 5:30 p.m. Waltham BranVan, leaving students to wait a full hour before the next one and inconveniencing many students who get out of work at 5 p.m. Increasing

Recognize student need the number of shuttles and adding a 5:30 p.m. run would cut the amount of waiting time in between shuttles, improving transportation efficiency.

Additionally, only having one shuttle running the route at a time limits the number of students who are able to fit on the vehicle per trip. Although reservations for the BranVan are available and students are encouraged to complete reservations either online or over the phone, this board finds it concerning that a student may not be permitted on the BranVan due to a lack of space. Some BranVan drivers do not check reservations, thereby allowing students who have not made previous reservations to get on the van and disadvantaging those who did complete one in advance. Those students are then forced to wait for the next van — potentially a 40-minute wait.

This becomes even more concerning in a case where an unexpected situation requires students to travel to another part of Waltham or even back to campus.

Emergencies happen and having to wait another 40 minutes for another method of transportation might highly inconvenience a student.

For these reasons, this board finds it imperative to introduce more Waltham BranVans, increasing transportation efficiency for students and ensuring they are not denied the means to get where they need to be, especially when unexpected occurrences arise.

Sabrina Carrero ’19 is president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

R Matthews ’19 Biomedical ethics is a very interesting but delicate field. What is body autonomy? Of course biomedical ethics is a very important and delicate field, but I’m more interested in this technology as a whole. It absolutely blows my mind that we are able to even do something like this, and I wonder how we can use this technological/medical breakthrough and apply it elsewhere? I think this is the true beginning of connection between humans and technology. I completely understand why some people feel as though this is some sort of “Biomedical Big Brother” because you have to consider the data and information being captured and stored by this product. Who controls that? Because as far as I know, it’s not the individual user and I’m sure that’s written somewhere in the fine print. I also question the advantages over taking this pill as opposed to existing health trackers that are less invasive. If the trade-off here is having more accurate data, then we certainly need to consider that as well R Matthews ’19 is a Computer Science and African and Afro-American Studies double major.

Abraham Cheloff ’18

As with every new innovation, there are going to be concerns as to whether it will be used for good, or used for evil. I’m sure many of us walk around with our iPhones, Apple Watches and Fitbits which casually track our steps, heart rate and more, and then transfer it to our smartphone for our viewing pleasure. We coney some level of trust that this is all the app is doing. That Apple isn’t secretly tracking GPS data along with heart rate to find out where we exercise, for instance. The same guidelines follow here. Giving healthcare professionals an inside look into medication compliance will help them make smarter and more accurate medical decisions, but before this can be done we need to get to the point where we can trust that this is all the information will be used for. The medication itself could help doctors tremendously, but just as we see breaches of health related data increasing every year, we need to be sure that our information technology systems have the security to handle this feat.

Abraham Cheloff ’18 is a Biology Undergraduate Departmental Representative.

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THE JUSTICE ● fORUM ● TUESDAY, November 21, 2017

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Criticize oversimplification of campus free speech issues By rAVI SIMON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Donald Trump recently visited Saudi Arabia, an oppressive regime with little respect for human rights. In Saudi Arabia, an activist blogger was sentenced to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes for establishing an online forum with the purpose of creating debate on religious and political matters, according to an Oct. 19, 2016 BBC article. Yet, the Google search “where is free speech under attack?” yields a page where virtually every article is about college campuses. Spurred by firebrands such as Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos, the right wing has converged on academia with indignation and ire. Their claim is that the liberal consensus at most universities is stifling and victimizing to conservative students. Not since the ‘War on Christmas’ has an ideological crusade been so pointless.

Conservative speech is actually quite loud on campuses; students voice their anger for being denied spaces to talk through editorial columns, speaker events and campus events. For all the conservative media frenzy surrounding Middlebury and Berkeley, riots and protests at a couple schools do not make some sort of uniquely liberal trend. Take Brigham Young University and Liberty University, for example, which have consistently infringed upon the free speech rights of their students, shut down protests and refused to recognize political groups on campus. According to Inside Higher Ed, a Liberty University student was even directly prevented from publishing an anti-Trump article by the school’s administration.

What makes the current state of discourse so tragic is that conservatives throw away their abilities to have meaningful impacts. To Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter, “provoke campus, get response, blame liberal oppression” is just a rinse-and-repeat cycle; right-wing media gets a talking point, their ratings go up and they move on to a new college. Everyone wins, except for the students.

When Ann Coulter’s speech at Berkeley was canceled due to threats of violence on campus,

the administration offered to reschedule her talk for another date at a secure venue, according to an April 21 Washington Post article. Rather than reschedule, Coulter chose to walk away and blamed Berkeley for censoring her. This is provocation, not legitimate conservatism, and media coverage that obsesses over violent confrontation and ignores peaceful discourse only hardens minds. As the conservative minority gets ever more strident, ever more insistent on the counterattack and ever more unlikely to interact with the liberals who they are told, time and again, they will reject any attempts at dialogue.

Liberal students lose out too. Instead of principled or eloquent conservatism, left-of-center students are wading through a sea of speakers determined to either belittle or insult them.

Listening to these sorts of thinly veiled partisan attacks will never “expand the minds” of liberal students nor open them to conservative thought.

Speakers such as Coulter and Yiannopoulos are coming to campus for the entertainment of the right, not to educate or discuss real issues. Saying “the left is against speech” tells you nothing about what the right is for.

When Dinesh D’Souza came to speak at Brandeis University this spring, he decried the supposed deafness of the left to other viewpoints.

He claimed that none of the speakers who are coming to campuses “are here to engage in yelling racial epithets or in any way violate the normal civility of the campus” and that protesting them was therefore wrong, according to a May 2 article from the Justice.

Yet students are not protesting legitimate conservatives from coming to campus, only ones such as Milo Yiannopoulos, because he harassed a trans student in his audience at University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, according to a Dec. 16, 2016 article in the Cut. The riots at Berkeley, justified or not, were a result of the fact that Milo Yiannopoulos, according to a Feb. 3 article in the Independent, intended to publicly list the names of undocumented students on the campus. In fact, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, over 25 percent of all college dis-invitations for speakers in 2016 were directed

MARA KHAYTER/the Justice

at one man: Milo Yiannopoulos.

Speaking one’s mind and facing disagreement are integral to the college experience, and these values can absolutely be promoted without relentlessly insulting liberals or conservatives.

Get rid of legacy admissions, for a start. The same families, generation after generation, march into elite schools like Princeton or Villanova, certain that the same views, the same pastimes, the same beliefs will circulate. Let’s shake up that certainty. Add in class-based affirmative action.

According to Jan. 18 New York Times article,

more students enrolled at Tufts University belong to the top 1 percent of the income scale than the bottom 60 percent. Conservatives want “the out-of-touch coastal elite” to stop dominating these schools? Invite poorer students in. Yale University will have a more robust debate on “clean coal” if more students are the sons and daughters of coal-miners. Discourse and debate will come when conservatives drop the pretense that what matters in the student body is not diversity of race, class, or gender, only how they react to Milo Yiannopoulos.

Urge Trump administration to reconsider harmful DACA decision

By ELIAS ROSENFELD JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

It’s been nearly 80 days since the Trump administration created chaos for over 800,000 lives by revoking the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. The Trump administration put at risk the imminent future of thousands of young and hard-working students, nurses, business owners, scientists, soldiers and fellow neighbors that benefit from this program. In revoking the program by creating an artificial deadline of Sept. 5, the Trump administration created this chaos and looming deadline that is threatening to shut down the government. The administration should have waited until a legislative solution was passed in Congress before recklessly ending one of the nation’s most successful immigration programs that presented crucial moral and fiscal benefits.

The momentum for a DREAM Act, or other legislative solutions for Dreamers, has been rapidly increasing since the rescindment of the program. Multiple organizations, such as FWD. us, United We Dream and Fair Immigration Reform Movement, have arranged a wide array of trips in Washington D.C. for DACA recipients to directly advocate their members of Congress on the urgency for such a legislative solution.

The most recent of advocacy movements, which I had the privilege of attending, resulted in one of the largest protests inside the Senate Hart Building, where over 1,000 Dreamers and allies flooded the Senate building demanding that Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) put legislation for a vote before December. There is no time to wait for this legislation. According to FWD.us, beginning in March, every day, 1,400 DACA recipients will lose their status, work authorization and become eligible for deportation. This cruel moral and economic injustice can simply be avoided by passing the bipartisan and massively popular, DREAM ACT that includes a pathway to citizenship with strict educational requirements and background checks. The bill also does not grant citizenship instantly, it is a long-term process with several checkpoints that

are used as evidence to analyze the merit of a Dreamer for citizenship. This is a tough process for any to pass, further evident of the beneficial records of Dreamers in the nation. Democratic Party leaders have already stated that they are willing to negotiate on sensible border security enhancements that reflect the status-quo necessity for the region. However, these 800,000 lives are not political jargon, and the poison pill of demands created by the radical side of the West Wing, White House Policy Advisor Stephen Miller and Attorney General Jeff Sessions is aimed at preventing any deal from protecting these young American Dreamers.

This direct advocacy is not just isolated to DACA recipients, but to the many sectors that depend on DACA recipients for success. On Nov. 15, FWD.us organized a Congressional advocacy event where the United States Chamber of Commerce, IBM and various other business and tech organizations held a press conference that called upon the immediate action of Congress to pass a legislative fix before Congress enters for recess. This support has extended into major business companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, IBM, Dell and others that have funded organizations to pressure Congress and mobilize support for the DREAM Act. This support reflects the crucial contributions of DACA recipients to our American economy.

This grassroots momentum has translated into legislative action across party lines. On Nov. 9, over two dozen GOP House Members rebuked their own speaker, Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), by holding a press conference where they demanded and called upon their colleagues to pass a legislative solution before 2017 ends. The group is also reflective of the GOP constituency support on the issue, with conservatives such as Rep Joe Barton (R-Texas) and moderates such as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) coming together to demand urgent action before the year ends.

According to a Nov. 9 article in the Miami Herald, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Was.) stated, “The reality is that these young people with DACA status are already being harmed today, everyday that Congress fails to act, every time that Congress kicks this can down the road, people, real people, are hurt.” This reflects the

growing legislative momentum surrounding a solution for Dreamers before or on the funding deadline. While the political pressure has been effective, we must keep going. In a tax reform Fox News Town Hall with Bret Baier, Ryan conceded that he would like to pursue the DACA legislation separate from funding and that we should not create “artificial deadlines.” However, there is nothing artificial here, as stated by members of his own party, procrastinating this issue will only hurt in the end hardworking people. If he would like to pursue separate legislation, he should pass a legislative solution such as the DREAM ACT before the budget. The Democratic Party cannot vote for a budget that does not include a DACA solution as that would mean voting for the funding of the deportation of Dreamers. As a party we must stand strong and united and use this political leverage to actualize some true bipartisan and positive reform. Leaders such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) have already vowed to not support the budget until a legislative solution for Dreamers is passed.

The statements by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Nov. 9 highlight the growing tension that is looming a government shutdown that will harm Americans as a result of reckless GOP obstruction by a minority and fringe wing of the party. As quoted in a Nov. 9 article in the Hill, Pelosi said, “I’ll have to see what the spending bill is,” adding, “But I fully intend that we will — we will not leave here without the DREAM Act passing with a DACA fix. I’ve made that very clear.” This position further foreshadows the potential shutdown if Republican leaders refuse to put legislation on the floor for a vote before the funding deadline.

No party would like to see the government shutdown, but the Democratic Party must demand that the president and Congress are accountable to their constituents and past remarks that have all shown support for DACA recipients. Rhetoric is easy, but action shows true intentions. We must continue to put pressure on all levels of our communities, whether it be local, state, or federal. Students

interested in this crucial and urgent advocacy on a local and campus level can contact the Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative.

BIEI has been a crucial leader in on-campus advocacy efforts as a leading organization behind the FWD.us University Program, the leading college campus program for DACA advocacy. In our efforts, we have advocated and successfully received a wide-array of resources by Brandeis that are crucial to DACA students on issues such as legal aid, financial aid and security. Just recently, BIEI organized in partnership with FWD.us, an on-campus roundtable with our own representative, Katherine Clark (D-MA) where she expressed her direct commitment to protecting our Dreamers this upcoming budget deadline. On a statewide level, the MIRA Coalition is leading tremendous advocacy for Massachusetts DACA recipients in our state legislature and governor’s office, and finally, if you would like to advocate on the DREAM ACT at the federal level, please visit FWD.us to take immediate action and join the FWD.us College and University Immigration Coalition for more detailed and daily advocacy tools towards passing a DREAM Act before winter recess.

In reflecting on the way we achieved DACA, it is important to remember we confronted a president of our own party.

Throughout this entire process, we were told it was impossible. Our sharing of stories, intense advocacy and majority support from our fellow Americans allowed for what was perceived as politically impossible. Since the inception of the DREAM Act battle that began with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in the early 2000s, we have shown the American public our determination and commitment to our nation and communities.

This commitment actualized in DACA and the quantification of the benefit of our presence among the workforce and economy. We have been close in the past both in 2010 and 2012, and back then the congressional support paled relative to the status-quo. Let us not go off this holiday season forcing 800,000 Dreamers questioning if this is going to be their last holiday in the only nation they consider home, the United States.

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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TUESDAY, november 21, 2017 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Implement change in current blood donation policies By santiago montoya JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Early in the 1980s, the United States faced an HIV/AIDS epidemic. Not much was known about the emergent virus, except the misconception that it was a “gay plague.”

The original disease was called Gay-Related Immune Deficiency, but soon, as cases outside of the gay community started to sprout, the disease was referred to as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration issued the first blood donor deferral policy, which prohibited men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood if they have had a single sexual encounter with another man any time since 1977. According to the American Red Cross, the U.S. is in a constant shortage of blood; with someone requiring a blood transfusion about every two seconds, the ban could pose an obstacle to saving more lives, not to mention that it is inherently prejudiced.

In 2014, the American Red Cross, American Association of Blood Banks and America’s Blood Centers issued a joint statement calling for modification of the lifetime deferral and further consideration of a twelve-month deferral for MSM. The statement claims that “AABB, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross believe the current lifetime deferral for men who have had sex with other men should be modified and that donor deferral criteria should be made comparable with criteria for other behaviors that pose an increased risk for transmission of transfusion-transmitted infections.”

In 2015, the FDA revised the long-lasting policy, placing MSM on a “deferral” period that now prevents male donors from giving blood for 12 months after their last sexual encounter with another man, instead of the permanent ban that was imposed previously, according to a Dec. 21, 2015 press statement.

While the policy certainly has allowed more men to donate blood, there are still many more who are not eligible simply because they are sexually active with other men.

Since the Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage has increased to 61 percent in the U.S., according to a Gallup poll.

Two years after the decision, more members of the LGBTQ community, including gay men, are living in monogamous relationships — a ten percent increase in the two years after the decision was made.

When the policy change was announced, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the first openly gay senator in the U.S., called the rules “a first step” but lamented that the “revision doesn’t go far enough,” in a Dec. 21, 2015 press release. Baldwin also stated that she will continue to push for the formation of a policy that will be based on individual risk factor and that will not unfairly single out one group of individuals.

Yet as of 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the most up to date collection of data — indicates that gay and

SABRINA SUNG/the Justice

bisexual men still account for 82 percent of HIV diagnoses among males aged 13 and older and 67 percent of total new diagnoses in the U.S. The FDA cites the high prevalence of HIV in the MSM population compared to the general population as support for the deferral policy.

It is true that HIV is identified more commonly in MSM than in other demographics; nonetheless, advanced research and modern technology have effectively minimized the risk of transmission. According to an Oct. 26 article in The Baltimore Sun, donated blood is shelved for nine days during the window of infection and “nucleic acid testing can determine with outstanding accuracy whether blood is infected.” In addition, if taken daily, FDA-approved pre-exposure prophylaxis can reduce risk of infection by 90 percent, a value that only increases when combined with condom use. Today, there is plenty of technology available to us, so HIV status is easier to detect. The MSM policy would make sense in the midst of worldwide hysteria, such as the one in the ’80s and the epidemic crisis, but the policy is unfit for our times. Now we know what HIV/AIDS is and have at our disposal a good amount of preventive tools.

At Brandeis, the Waltham Group Blood Drive organizes three blood drives throughout the academic year: one during the the fall semester and two during the spring semester.

The group’s main mission is to “collect as

many pints of blood as possible as each pint can save up to three lives, or five babies,” according to the group’s website.

When asked about the policy and whether it should be changed, Khushee Nanavati ’19, one of the coordinators of the blood drive, said, “One hundred and ten percent.

Everyone on our e-board always talks about it.” Nanavati added that, in the past, the club has tried to protest against the MSM policy: “That’s basically why we had the [‘Love is Love’ themed] drive last time. We were really against it, and we we wanted to spread awareness about this cause.” The theme did not go unnoticed: “We did get in trouble with the Red Cross for having such a controversial theme, so we were red-listed for that,” said Nanavati. Being “red-listed” by the Red Cross, signifies that, from then on, the foundation will “have to approve all of our themes.”

Despite the fact that the American Red Cross signed the joint back in 2014 to fight the previous policy from 1977, they seem to be fine with the twelve-month deferral, or at least at the moment, they are not doing anything about it. Perhaps the Red Cross might be against the twelve-month policy, but they are still adhering to the current policy.

There is no fight back on their part.

Furthermore, the club did not feel impeded to try and come up with other alternatives in order to not depend so much on the American Red Cross to host the blood drives. They have sought to partner up with other humanitarian

organizations, but the search thus far has been futile.

“We did want to change it, but we weren’t able to find anyone who gave us the benefits that Red Cross did and did it for free. We otherwise would have to pay for it. Red Cross gives us posters, nurses, food, data, every single thing. The other organizations aren’t as big and as powerful to do that,” Nanavati said.

According to a study conducted by the Williams Institute — “UPDATE: Effects of Lifting Blood Donation Bans on Men who Have Sex with Men” by Ayako Miyashita and Gary J. Gates — lifting the ban would have a positive outcome by increasing the total of annual blood supply from 2 to 4 percent. The study also reveals that “if the current MSM ban were completely lifted an estimate of additional 360,000 men would likely donate 615,000 additional pints of blood each year.”

In the wake of an emergency like the Las Vegas massacre or a natural disaster such as Hurricane Harvey, blood donation is critical, according to the American Red Cross. The quotidian reality is that times are always uncertain, but at least in today’s times, we possess information that we did not have a few decades ago. As a result, it is the right time for the MSM policy to remain as part of the past, since it can only be the residue of an ignorant and prejudiced decade, and its prevalence is preventing lives from being fully lived.

Consider the negative consequences of China’s growing debt By xuanyu feng special to the justice

For the movie star Zhao Wei and her husband, the business magnate Huang You Long, it was not a nice day when they found out they were facing 1.2 million Yuan ($180,000) fines and a five-year market entry ban from the Chinese Securities Regulators.

According to a Nov. 10 Reuters article, regulators believe they were speculating with an undisclosed leverage in their astronomical amount of equity purchase attempt to buy a publicly traded company in late 2016. The securities regulator explained in its notice that Zhao and Huang planned to acquire over 29 percent of the shares of the public company, but they planned to pay only 60 million Yuan ($9 million) from their own pocket and borrow the rest: 3 trillion Yuan ($450 billion USD) — a leverage up to 51 times.

When the disgruntled couple travel to and from Beijing in bullet trains, they might not realize that while the state-owned China Railway Corporation is rapidly constructing high-speed railroads from the Gobi Desert to the tropical island Hainan and abroad, the debt of the giant corporation is growing at an equally rapid speed. It is rising from 4,100 trillion Yuan ($616 trillion) at the end of 2015 to 4,720 trillion Yuan ($708 trillion) at the end of 2016 — an increase of 620 trillion Yuan ($93 trillion), compared with 419.6 trillion Yuan ($63 trillion) in the previous fiscal year, according to the annual reports of the corporation.

They are not alone in this party. According to Financial Times estimates, the corporate debt in China has risen to over 160 percent

of its gross domestic product. Similarly, total debt — corporate debt included — has risen from 147 percent of GDP in 2007 to 279 percent in 2016. Actually, every one Yuan increase in China’s nominal GDP accumulates six Yuan new debt. Given that, it would be surprising if no one is concerned with the risk of debt default, and a following financial crisis like the one in 2008-09 after the collapse of the American housing market.

Actually, a 2017 International Monetary Fund report warns that “International experience suggests that China’s credit growth is on a dangerous trajectory, with increasing risks of a disruptive adjustment and/or a marked growth slowdown.”

So, how dangerous is the debt problem of China? I would cautiously say it is highly possible for China to successfully avoid a debt crisis in the near future, but without further economic structural reforms, some financial crisis or even economic recession is imminent.

Why? Well, when we talk about the debt of China, one point should always be in mind: characteristics of the Chinese economy.

Although China is now far from its centrally planned economy decades ago, the past still partly remains and influences its economy today.

If you break down China’s debt structure, the government and household debt is not large, and the main proportion is corporate debt. Most of the corporate debt is that of state-owned enterprises, like China Railway Corporation, while the major creditors are largely state-owned financial institutions, as the newest Macquarie’s Global Macro Outlook Report states. Compared with complete

market economies, China has a lot of room to maneuver between state-owned enterprises, state-owned financial institutions and the government. Actually, what China is doing right now is mediating between creditors and debtors, promoting a measure called “debtto-equity swap” for debt restructuring while maintaining financial stability.

Secondly, although there are more than 4,000 institutions in China’s banking sector, the five major state-owned banks account for about 40 percent of the total assets of the sector, according to a June 27 Financial Times article. Because the largest Chinese commercial banks are largely state-owned, they are endorsed by the government. Dating back to the 2000s, the overall bad debt rates of Chinese banks once exceeded 40 percent, but no bank runs happened at all. It shows the strong market confidence that these banks’ credit is equivalent to Chinese sovereign credit. In other words, these banks will never be bankrupt unless China goes bankrupt — “Confidence is the most important thing, more important than gold or currency,” said former Premier Wen Jiabao. The strong confidence ensures a low possibility of bank runs, and the sufficient liquidity needed in the banking system.

What’s more, notice that China’s debt is mainly domestic debt, while debt in foreign currencies accounts for less than five percent of total debt, and China also has fairly high foreign exchange reserves and trade surplus over all other major economies, all of which are essentially different from other emerging economies in Asia that have historically experienced debt crisis.

So these are China’s “buffers” — its strong

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

control over the market and the expectation that the government can and will promptly inject money into the market and stabilize the market sentiment. These characteristics buffer China from falling into a debt trap instantly. Nevertheless, despite the many “buffers” China has, it is still quite luxurious for policymakers to have sweet dreams.

There is a term called the “Minsky Moment,” named after the American economist Hyman Minsky, who predicted a sudden major collapse of asset values after long stretches of prosperity and high returns of investments which led to increasing speculation using borrowed money. If the income generated by the assets is no longer sufficient to pay off the debt, losses on such speculative assets prompt lenders to call in their loans. Suddenly the number of sellers dramatically exceeds the number of buyers as so many people want to sell their assets, triggering a plunge in asset prices and further sell-offs.

It is still debatable whether China’s buffers and measures are solving its debt problem or just delaying it. An already decreasing savings rate, the informal leverage and financial derivatives in shadow banks, and a one-fourth slump of foreign exchange reserves in 2016-17 are all worrying, not to mention the historic structural problems such as an aging population, and potential geopolitical conflicts in the region (e.g. North Korea).

At least one thing is certain; If a nationwide debt crisis, or the Minsky Moment, breaks out, the consequences will be much more catastrophic, and much more globally spread, given China’s $12 trillion economy and its trade and direct investment relations with the rest of the world.

2017

10 THE JUSTICE ● Sports ● Tuesday, NOVEMBER 21, 2017

MBBALL: Squad is still searching for its first win CONTINUED FROM 16 back into the game.

The squad was led in scoring

by D’Aguanno, who finished the game with 18 points — 10 of which came in the first half. D’Aguanno shot significantly better in this game, finishing 6-13 from the field and 4-9 from the 3-point line. The Judges were also led by Workman, who finished the contest with 16 points of his own. Meehan added 11 points, going a perfect 3-3 from distance. Despite shooting a solid 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from three, the Judges’ 19 turnovers proved critical in the

13

SPINNING IT

team’s inability to complete its comeback effort.

In addition to Duffy, Suffolk put two others in double-digits.

Junior guard Michael Hagopian finished the game with 14 points, going 4-5 from 3-point territory.

Sophomore guard George Grillakis added 13 points off the bench, single-handedly outscoring all of Brandeis’ bench. The Rams capitalized on the Judges’ miscues, scoring a total of 22 points off Brandeis turnovers.

The team will next play on Nov. 28 at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth as it looks to pick up its first win.

XC: Runners hope to build on the WBBALL: Club will look to success from this keep up its impressive start year next season

TALYA GUENZBURGER/the Justice

DISHING FOR DEIS: Guard Camila Casanueva ’21 dishes the ball off to guard Katherine Puda ’20 at home this past Friday.

CONTINUED FROM 16

CONTINUED FROM 16 Overall, this cross country season was a success. It started on Sept. 1 when the men's and women's teams both edged out Wellesley College and Regis College, respectively, at the Wellesley College Invitational, winning the meet.

Two weeks later, at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Invitational, the men’s and women’s teams finished in second place and third place, respectively, out of 40 teams that competed.

Next, both teams captured first place at the Keene State College Invitational, a nine-team meet.

Then, at the Connecticut College Invitational, the men finished fifth out of 20 teams while the women finished sixth out of 21. The UAA Conference Championships came next with both teams placing sixth.

Then came the NCAA New England Regional Championships, where the men’s team came in sixth, and the women's team finished eighth.

Fans will clearly have a lot to look forward to in the 2018 season as the Judges look to come back strong.

offense hits its stride and starts building some consistency.

Judges 67, Mitchell 46 The tournament’s opener was a lopsided victory for the Judges, who on Friday night defeated Mitchell by 21 points for their first win of the season. By forcing an incredible 28 turnovers and allowing only one second chance basket, the team pulled to a 38-20 lead at half and didn’t look back.

Despite shooting only 37 percent from the field, the Judges maintained their lead by dominating the boards

both offensively and defensively, led by Nicholson’s 11 rebounds and guard Camila Casanueva’s ’21 six.

Casanueva also added a team-high 12 points off the bench, knocking down two from the three-point line and making two steals. Fellow firstyear forward Jillian Petrie ’21 was the second-highest scorer, shooting 4-9 from the field for 10 points, while also making four steals of her own.

The final score was 67-46, and with the victory, the Judges earned themselves a spot in Saturday’s championship game against Eastern Nazarene College.

This was an amazing start for a team that hovered around the .500 mark last season.

The women’s basketball team has followed a trend that all other Brandeis sports have seemed to do this past season — recruit talented new players who are able to make an immediate impact.

This team is stacked with young prospects who prove that this type of success is something that fans can get used to for years to come. With stellar offseason recruitment tactics and a developing core of star players, Brandeis basketball is turning itself around in a hurry.

The team will look for its third win of the season today at Emmanuel College. The Judges will then play on Sunday against Tufts University as they come back from Thanksgiving.

SOCCER BASKETBALL SWIMMING TRACK

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● Sports ●

Tuesday, NOVEMBER 21, 2017

15

MEN’S SOCCER

jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS Men’s BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Points Per Game

UAA Conference

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

Overall W L Pct. 2 0 1.000 2 0 1.000 2 0 1.000 1 0 1.000 1 1 .500 0 1 .000 0 2 .000 0 2 .000

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nov. 28 at UMass-Dartmouth Dec. 2 at Babson College Dec. 3 at Tufts or Salem State

Eric D’Aguanno ’20 leads the team with 21.0 points per game.

Player PPG

Eric D’Aguanno 21.0 Latye Workman 12.5 Nate Meehan 12.0 Lawrence Sabir 9.0

Rebounds Per Game Latye Workman ’18 leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game.

Player RPG Latye Workman 8.0 Eric D’Aguanno 6.0 Akim Sanni 4.0 Collin Sawyer 3.0

WOMen’s basketball UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Points Per Game

UAA Conference

W L W Carnegie 0 0 2 Rochester 0 0 2 JUDGES 0 0 2 Chicago 0 0 2 Emory 0 0 2 NYU 0 0 2 Case 0 0 1 WashU 0 0 1

Overall L Pct. 0 1.000 0 1.000 1 .667 1 .667 1 .667 1 .667 1 .500 1 .500

EDITOR’S NOTE: Today at Emmanuel College Sunday vs. Tufts University Nov. 28 vs. Salem State University

Katie Goncalo ’20 leads the team with 10.7 points per game.

Player PPG Katie Goncalo 10.7 Hannah Nicholson 10.7 Camila Casanueva 9.0 Jillian Petrie 7.7

Rebounds Per Game Hannah Nicholson ’20 leads with 7.7 rebounds per game.

Player RPG Hannah Nicholson 7.7 Jillian Petrie 4.3 Camila Casanueva 4.0 Katie Goncalo 3.7

SWIMMING AND DIVING Results from Bentley University meet on Friday.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 1000-yard freestyle

SWIMMER TIME Richie Selznick 10:09.75 Zach Diamond 10:43.09 Sam Scudere-Weiss 12:21.12

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s) 1000-yard freestyle

SWIMMER TIME Kylie Herman 11:19.68 Leah Kuninis 12:14.71 Talia Bornstein 12:16.78

DILLON GARVEY/Justice File Photo

ROLL DEIS: Midfielder Dylan Hennessy ’20 gets ready to crush the ball across the pitch during a match on Nov. 12.

Squad continues its amazing run at Tufts ■ Forward Patrick Flahive ’18 scored the game-winning goal against Tufts University in a thrilling 1-0 victory.

By NOAH HESSDORF JUSTICE EDITOR

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The men’s soccer team advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four this past Sunday afternoon, for the second straight year. On Sunday, the Judges defeated Tufts University 1-0, and on Saturday they defeated Drew University by the same score.

Dec. 1 at Gompei Invitational Dec. 2 at Gompei Invitational Dec. 3 at Gompei Invitational

CROSS COUNTRY Results from NCAA New England Regional Championships on Nov. 11.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

8-Kilometer run

6-Kilometer run

RUNNER TIME Ryan Stender 25:37.2 Mitchell Hutton 26:05.1 Liam Garvey 26:16.1

RUNNER TIME Emily Bryson 21:12.8 Julia Bryson 22:02.5 Niamh Kenney 22:41.7

EDITOR’S NOTE: The teams concluded their seasons on Nov. 11, with each team sending one runner to the NCAA Division III Championships on Saturday.

Judges 1, Tufts 0 On Sunday, it took the Judges two separate overtime periods to upset the defending champion Tufts Jumbos.

Tufts had all the momentum going into the matchup, having not only won the entire NCAA Tournament a season ago, but also having squashed Brandeis in an earlier matchup this season. Additionally, Tufts had the home field advantage in their favor as the contest was played on their home soil.

Even with all of the challenges, the Judges were not intimidated.

The club came out of the gate firing, with the squad putting four shots

on goal during the first half. The Jumbos were only able to muster one shot on goal for the half. With these shots came missed opportunities for Brandeis. Most notably, in the 33rd minute, midfielder Josh Ocel ’18 placed a shot toward the net that was saved in the last second by the hardworking Tufts goalkeeper.

The Judges’ keeper was also forced to make some impressive plays, including in the 42nd minute when goalie Ben Woodhouse ’18 came out of the net and broke up an advantage for Tufts. In the second half, Woodhouse would have to perform even tougher, as the Jumbos outshot the Judges six to one on shots on goals. Woodhouse saved all six shots, including a very difficult one in the 82nd minute when he thwarted a oneon-one opportunity.

The team would survive the Tufts’ onslaught as the game shifted to overtime. Things began to turn in the Judges’ favor when, with just six minutes left in the second overtime period, a Tufts player received his second yellow card of the contest.

This, of course, took him out of the game and gave Brandeis the one-man advantage. The club would capitalize on this golden opportunity five minutes later, when defender Josh Berg ’18 dribbled the ball with just over a minute to play.

Berg sent a through ball up to the top of the box that prompted the charging Tufts’ keeper out of the net.

Forward Patrick Flahive ’18 was able to collect the ball and calmly drill the 30-yarder into the back of the open net. With his 15th career goal, Flahive was able to send the Judges back to the Final Four.

Judges 1, Drew 0 In order to get to the pivotal matchup with Tufts, the squad had to go through the unbeaten Drew University Rangers.

As he has done throughout his storied career, Ocel would come through for the Judges off a set play in the second half. With a free kick opportunity, Ocel placed a deep ball into the box that forward Mike Lynch ’18 was able to get a head on as he spun it into the back of net for the 1-0 lead. It was the third game in a row, all in the NCAA tournament, that Lynch scored the game-winning goal for the squad.

Luckily for the team, its defense proved too formidable as it escaped with the one-goal victory.

The Final Four will take place on Dec. 1, with the Judges facing off against Messiah College in North Carolina. The team will look to cement its legacy and advance to the championship game.

FENCING Judges put their immense talent on display at Northeast Fencing Conference Meet 1 in Providence ■ The men’s and women’s fencing teams recorded 5-0 and 6-1 marks, respectively, this past Saturday.

By EVAN ROBINS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Brandeis University fencing teams continued their strong starts to the season with impressive showings at the first meet of the Northeast Fencing Conference.

Both the women’s and men’s teams dominated their competition, as the women came away with a 6-1 record and the men a 5-0 mark against other top college teams from the region.

The women’s team followed up strong individual performances at

the New England Fall Collegiate Championships two weeks ago, with tremendous team success in this weekend’s round robin competition.

Overall, the Judges defeated Smith College (19-8), Boston University (1512), Sacred Heart University (15-12), University of Massachusetts-Amherst (21-6), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (15-12) and University of New Hampshire (23-4) before dropping their final match of the tournament 13-14 to Wellesley College. On the heels of her gold medal in foil, Joanne Carminucci ’19 led women’s foil to victories against every team during the seven round tourney, highlighted by 9-0 shutouts against BU, UMass and UNH. Foils Jessica Gets ’20, Renee Pite ’19 and New England Fall Collegiate Championship semifinalist Hannah Mui ’20 also had big days,

contributing in every match to the foil squad’s commanding performance.

The epee fencers also put together a successful day, winning six of seven matches on the day. Epee Liz Feller ’18, who also reached the semifinals at the Championship earlier this month, led the charge for this group and continued her strong season as a dependable victory in nearly all of her bouts. The zenith of the squad’s day was an 8-1 victory over UNH, with its only loss coming against BU. Saber had a tough outing, dropping five of seven for the tourney. Many of these were close matches decided in the final bouts, including 4-5 losses to MIT, BU and Smith. The group competed hard, with impressive bout wins from first-year saber Devon Brown ’21. Led by senior saber Laura Broffman ’18, the group will look to

turn the tables on these teams when they meet again in January.

The men’s fencing team also continued its early season success with a similarly dominating performance on Saturday. The Judges ended the day without a blemish on their record, defeating BU (24-3), Sacred Heart (17-10), UMass (19-8), MIT (16-11) and UNH (26-1). Foil Ian Quin ’20 followed up his top finish at the Championships earlier this month by leading men’s foil to near perfection.

The squad dropped only five total bouts on the day, going a perfect 5-0 in matches. Foil Guillermo Narvaez ’18 had a big day for the Judges, helping them to a shutout of BU in their first match of the day. Men’s epee had a difficult day, ending the round robin with a 2-3 record. The group started strong by defeating BU 6-3 but then

dropped the majority of their bouts in their next three matches to Sacred Heart, UMass and MIT. They were able to end with a win however, ceding only one bout to UNH in an impressive 8-1 victory. Epee Hunter Stusnick ’18 had a number of strong showings, winning bouts in three of the four matches he participated in.

The men’s saber team ensured the five overall wins for the Judges, emerging victorious in all matches and besting their foil teammates by losing only four bouts on the day. With sabers Leon Rotenstein ’20 and Garrett Tordo ’21 fencing with the confidence from their semifinals appearances weeks ago, the team thoroughly rolled through its competition.

With this early season momentum, the Judges appear well on their way toward another successful year.

just

Sports

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THE FINAL COUNTDOWN The Brandeis men’s soccer team beat Tufts University in double overtime 1-0 to advance to the Final Four once again, p. 15.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

CHARITY STRIPE

Judges start their season off strong ■ The Judges dominated

the Brandeis Invitational tournament this past weekend with two victories.

By DONNIE WEISSE JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Led by tremendous defense and an MVP performance from guard Hannah Nicholson ’20, the Brandeis women’s basketball team swept the Brandeis Invitational this weekend, with two dominant wins over Mitchell College and Eastern Nazarene College.

Judges 63, Eastern Nazarene 51 After scoring a whopping 102 points in their first round matchup against Western Connecticut State, the Lions of Eastern Nazarene entered Saturday’s final at a confident 2-0. But as a smaller team with sloppy ball handling, the fastpaced Lions were vulnerable to the Judges’ defense and rebounding.

With nearly every player grabbing two or more rebounds, the Judges almost doubled Eastern Nazarene’s board count (42-23). Nicholson, who had nine, was one rebound shy of her

Waltham, Mass.

second straight double-double, but behind 16 points and a team-high 73 percent from the field she was still given the tournament’s MVP award.

The Judges’ defense continued to shine as they held the Lions to 51 points, exactly half the number they had put up the night before. Led by guard Katie Goncalo’s ’20 team-high 18 points, the team held a steady lead throughout the game and won both the game and tournament with a final score of 63-51.

After a disappointing loss to Westfield State in last year’s final, the win against Eastern Nazarene to secure the championship for the first time since the 2015 to 2016 season was a special moment for the team.

The underclassmen-heavy squad has shown tremendous potential in the season’s first three games, and if this weekend’s performance is any indication, the Judges could make some lengthy strides this year.

Still bogged down by subpar shooting, the team will have to improve offensively as it approaches league play. However, their defense and rebounding continues to prove itself in every game, and it’s only a matter of time before the streaky

See WBBALL, 13 ☛

Cross Country

Athletes show off their talent at NCAAs ■ The men’s and women’s

cross country teams ended their seasons by bringing home All-American honors.

By ZACH KAUFMAN JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

This past weekend was the conclusion of a fantastic cross country season. The men’s and women’s teams each sent their captain to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III National Cross Country Championships. While the teams were not among the 32 teams that qualified to run in the national championships, captains Ryan Stender ’18 and Emily Bryson ’19 were among the 56 individual runners who qualified based on their times at regionals.

Both runners returned as AllAmericans. Before yesterday, the men’s and women’s teams hadn’t both had an All-American in the same season since 1995.

Stender and Bryson were not presented with the best running conditions. It was raining off and on throughout the day, and wind gusts reached up to 20 miles per hour. This year’s Nationals course was known to be especially hilly with difficult maneuvers throughout. Nonetheless, both runners did extremely well.

Stender came home with his first All-American honor after being just two spots away at Nationals last year. He finished 37th in 2016 when the top 35 were given the distinction. For this year’s race, the NCAA expanded the field to include the top 40 runners, but Stender had no need for the new rules. He improved 8 places and finished 27th with a time of 24:49.33, the third best 8-kilometer race of his career. He also improved upon

his placing at both the conference and regional championships.

Stender finished fifth among New England runners after finishing sixth at regionals. He also finished third among University Athletic Association runners after placing fifth at the conference race.

Stender is the first All-American that the men's team has produced since 2011.

Darin Lau, a senior from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was the winner of the men’s race.

He finished with a time of 24:03.59.

North Central College repeated as men’s champions after beating out their runner-ups University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in second and Christopher Newport University in third. Washington University in St. Louis finished fifth.

Bryson ran hard as well and earned her third consecutive AllAmerican honor. She has shown improvement in almost every race this season, and nationals was no exception. After placing 31st her first year and 24th last year, Bryson jumped four more spots and finished 20th, the best for a Brandeis women’s runner since 2002. She also improved her placing among New England racers, finishing sixth, three spots up from her ninth place finish at regionals. She finished fourth among UAA runners, the same as her placing at regionals.

Junior Khia Kurtenbach, who hails from fellow UAA school University of Chicago, won the race in 20:39.2. Johns Hopkins University won their second consecutive women’s cross country national Division III championship. They edged out Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which finished as the runner ups along with UAA school Washington University in St. Louis in third.

See XC, 13 ☛

YURAN SHI/the Justice

AT THE LINE: Forward Chandler Jones ’21 collects himself for a free throw against Becker College this past Saturday.

Team opens the year with a pair of losses ■ Guard Eric D’Aguanno ’20 had 24 points in a onepoint loss against Becker College on Saturday.

By GABRIEL GOLDSTEIN JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

The men’s basketball team tipped off its 2017 to 2018 campaign this past week, opening the season with two consecutive losses. The squad dropped a close contest in its season opener at Suffolk University on Wednesday, its comeback bid falling short despite a stellar performance from star guard Eric D’Aguanno ’20. The team followed that loss with another close defeat, blowing a six-point halftime lead en route to a loss at the hands of Becker College on Saturday. The new-look Judges should expect early trials this season, as the squad strives to build chemistry on a team that features nine underclassmen.

Judges 83, Becker 84 The Judges ended their first week of play with a nail-biting home loss to Becker College.

Brandeis and Becker opened the game with exciting back-and-forth action, with the Judges creating some separation by the end of the first half. The Judges — leading by as many as nine points before the break — took a 42-36 lead into the half, carried by D’Aguanno’s eight first-half points. The squad was unable to capitalize on their half-time lead, however, losing momentum in the game’s waning minutes. Becker College reeled off 13 straight points to take an 84-80 lead in the game’s final seconds, ultimately staving off the Judges’ comeback bid for the road victory.

The Judges’ inability to preserve a big lead in crunch time is a result of the squad’s youth, as holding on in close games often comes with a calm and collected attitude developed through veteran experience.

D’Aguanno led the way for the Judges, finishing the game with 24 points on 6-16 shooting from the field. Each of D’Aguanno’s shot attempts came from beyond the arc. The sophomore star added six points from the free throw line, finishing the game shooting 6-7 from the stripe. Forward Latye Workman ’18 finished the

game with nine points and seven rebounds. Guard Nate Meehan ’18 contributed a solid 13 points for the team, nailing three 3-pointers by game’s end.

Becker was led by junior guard Kareem Davis, who led all scorers with 26 points. Davis also notched seven rebounds and dished out two assists. Senior forward Samuel Durodola packed a punch in the post, finishing the game with 24 points and four rebounds.

The loss dropped the Judges to 0-2 on the season. The victory brought the Hawks to 1-1.

Judges 67, Suffolk 75 The Judges kicked off their season with a road loss to crosstown foe Suffolk University. The Judges played catch-up from the start of play, as Suffolk sophomore guard Thomas Duffy broke out of the gates firing on all cylinders.

Duffy finished the contest with a game-high 25 points, including four big three-pointers. Though the final score indicates a degree of closeness in the match, the Judges were never able to generate enough stops on the defensive end to get

See MBBALL, 13 ☛

Vol. LXX #11 Vol. LXX #2

November 21, 2017 September 12, 2017

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Waltham, Mass.

Images: Natalia Wiater/the Justice. Design: Yvette Sei/the Justice.

18

THE TUESDAY, JUSTICE November | Arts | 21, TUESDAY, 2017 iJanuary Arts i THE 31,JUSTICE 2017

dance review

MIRRORED MAUVE: “One Week” choreographed by Lindsay Weiner ’18 perfectly fit the throwback theme.

Photos by CHELSEA MADERA/the Justice

Adagio reminds us of the power of art LIMBS OF LANGUAGE: “Human” choreographed by Julie Joseph ’18, was performed by the Dance Ensemble.

ICY ATTITUDE: The Ballet Club performed “Waltz of the Snowflakes” from “The Nutcracker.”

By Mariah Manter justice Staff writer

Last Thursday night was a busy one for the arts at Brandeis, with Adagio’s “Throwback Thursday DanceFest,” “Once Upon a Mattress” and “Turkapalooza” all taking place in one night. For those of us who chose to see Adagio, the evening was full of awkward but amusing emceeing, some throwback (and not so throwback) jams and dancing of all forms.

The show took place in Levin Ballroom and consisted of 25 performances with more than 60 dancers. Some members performed in multiple pieces, showing off their ability to transition between dance styles and suggesting a plethora of behind-the-scenes costume changes.

Many routines were blends of modern and hiphop, with a few more distinctive styles from the Ballet Club, Hooked on Tap and B’yachad, Brandeis’ Israeli folk dance group. Adagio is an all-inclusive group which holds placements rather than tryouts, so the performers ranged in skill from beginner to more experienced.

In some pieces, the beginners’ nerves were more obvious, evident in the dancers’ pensive faces, choppy motions and frequent glances at the members of the group who really had the steps down. Other dances, especially those of the exclusive, higher-level subgroup of Adagio called the “Dance Ensemble,” were quite impressive. Experienced dancers who trust their bodies to move seamlessly with music are some of the most beautiful sights, and the audience was definitely captivated by such confident dancers.

Although all of the dances, regardless of level, were entertaining, some performances stood out for more than just the moves. Many choreographers chose to use this platform to comment on some of the personal experiences, positive and negative, that reflect the human experience.

These performances were especially meaningful

and elicited a greater response from the audience.

“Love on the Brain,” performed by “Dance Ensemble,” started off the night with a stunning representation of the experience of love. This piece was choreographed by Emma Hanselman ’18 and Daniella Cohen ’18. The dancers wore tastefully revealing black silk nightgowns, adding to the allure and the allusion to love. Other pieces that continued the theme of love included “Gimme All Your Love” choreographed by Liv Molho ’20 and “Cosmic Love” choreographed by Samantha Jean ’19 and Haley Director ’20; however, neither were as powerful as the first performance.

“Carmen,” choreographed by Maura Koehler ’19 and Yvette Sei ’20 was an exceptionally fun, sassy piece that addressed the very common twenty first century issue of phone addiction.

Amanda Ehrmann ’18 choreographed “Still Roaming,” which spoke to the experience of losing touch with one’s youthful spirit during the transition into adulthood. The routine began with more regimented, lackluster moves until the dancers symbolically threw off their ties and then spun into youthful exuberant dancing.

Some of the pieces addressed the darker side of the human experience, covering emotional topics such as body image, depression, mental illness, domestic violence and the fear of life’s unknowns. Of these, “Human,” choreographed by Julie Joseph ’18, really stood out. Dancers in this piece wore either red or black shirts, setting up a visual of the abuser-abusee dynamic. This was also the only dance that made use of props. For each pair of dancers, a chair was used to emphasize the power struggle throughout the piece. The conclusion showed the abusee taking control and confidently marching off stage with their chair, leaving all of the batterers alone on the stage.

—Editor’s note: Yvette Sei ’20, one of the Photography editors of the Justice, and Lizzie Grossman ’18, an associate editor of the Justice, are both in Adagio.

a cappella review

Turkapalooza is stuffed with tasty tunes

By Maya ZAnger-Nadis justice Staff writer

Rather Be Giraffes hosted “Turkapalooza,” a Thanksgiving-themed a cappella show, last Thursday night. This was the third in a series of “Acapalooza” events at Brandeis, beginning with Acapalooza this past spring and continuing with Spookapalooza in October. Mandel G03, where Turkapalooza was held, was not only decked out in festive Thanksgiving decoration, but also completely packed with excited attendees eager to support their friends and classmates. RBG performed last, preceded by Starving Artists, Voices of Soul, Up the Octave and Company B. Eli Wasserman ’20, the business manager of RBG, kicked off the event by introducing the first a cappella group to perform, Starving Artists. Dressed in all black, Starving Artists performed “Nobody Love” by Tori Kelly, featuring soloist Hannah Weiss ’19, and the popular ballad “Love on the Brain”

by Rihanna, soloed by Briana Li ’20.

After Starving Artists, Voices of Soul sang a downtempo rendition of The Jackson 5’s hit “I Want You Back.” This was followed by an original arrangement of TLC’s “No Scrubs” by Minnie Norgaisse ’19. Next to perform was the all-female group Up The Octave. Jeongmi Seo ’18 displayed an impressive combination of skills by holding an adorable little black

dog while singing “Death of a Bachelor”

by Panic! At The Disco. UTO also sang a Kelly Clarkson medley before Company B took to the stage. Company B, wearing exclusively the color green, performed the classic “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper. The group proceeded to blow the audience away with their rendition of “Moondance” by Van Morrison.

RBG, in addition to hosting Turkapalooza and performing the last act, also initiated their newest singers into the group during their performance. Each new member was presented with a different novelty tie, the pattern of which was, in some way, representative of the new member’s personality. The entertaining tie presentation ceremony was sandwiched between Lizzie Koshelev ’18 singing “Feels Like Coming Home” by Jetta and Denise Nalibotsky ’20 closing the evening with “Greedy” by Ariana Grande.

After the show, Wasserman explained that he and the other business managers began organizing “Acapalooza” events as a way to showcase talent and create a space for everyone to perform together.

So far, Wasserman said, the series has done that and more, turning out to be a “super cute” way to support “your friendly neighborhood a cappella groups.” He also assured the Justice that the series is projected to continue into next semester: A cappella fans can look forward to a Valentine’s day show this February!

CHELSEA MADERA/the Justice

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Company B sang renditions of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” and Van Morrison’s “Moondance.”

19

THE iJUSTICE i arts i TUESDAY, January 31, 2017 THE JUSTICE arts i Tuesday, November 21, 2017

theater review

‘Once Upon a Mattress’ fails to a-Peas

By Mendel weintraub justice Staff writer

It is never a good sign when the opening lines of a theater review begin writing themselves in my head mere minutes after the rise of the curtain. The thing is that, at a truly good show, I am swept up into the action of the play and words evade me; I get invested and involved. At the opening night of the Undergraduate Theater Collective’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress,” a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea,” I had the former experience;

to find a bride. The problem is that the marriage prospects of Dauntless’ multiple contemporaries rely on him getting married first. Most affected by this marriage ban is Sir Harry (Nathan Schneider ’18), whose lover, Lady Larkin (Jacqie Wycoff ’21), is expecting a child out of wedlock. Motivated by his need to cover up his premarital affair, Sir Harry ventures out to find a suitable princess for Dauntless — one that the Queen will approve of.

He returns with Princess Winnifred (Rachel Greene ’20), who is, at the very least, off the beaten path.

As far as performance is con-

Photos by NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

BIG FINISH: Winnifred (Rachel Greene ’20) and Prince Dauntless (Zack Garrity ’20) stand together after an exhausting dance. the production failed to harness my full attention, and I was left with no choice but to conceive sentences in my head to describe what I was experiencing in front of me.

“Once Upon a Mattress” begins with a Minstrel (Kaitlin Cavallo ’21) introducing the conflict at hand: An awkward boy named Prince Dauntless (Zack Garrity ’20) is left insufferably single by a domineering mother (played with dedication by Lily Bickerstaff Richard ’20) who continuously thwarts his attempts

cerned, it was Bickerstaff Richard’s confident performance as the Queen that carried the show.

Greene demonstrated an affinity for whimsy with her interpretation of Winnifred, which was certainly enjoyable. In particular, Greene’s willingness to play Winnifred’s sloppiness to the utmost extent was a highlight. It was by virtue of these two strong performances that the show had a backbone.

On the technical side of things, standouts included Liora Lilien-

thal’s ’20 tastefully elaborate choreography and Melody Wilkenfeld’s ’18 costume design. The dance numbers were energetic and perfectly evocative of the chaotic storyline that evolved on stage.

Unfortunately, there were some rather glaring technical issues.

Particularly, the music direction at the opening night performance I attended was overpowering the voices of the actors who were singing on stage, sometimes to the point that I could not hear words clearly.

There is a certain sensation I experience during a good musical-dance number: chills. The hair rises on my arms, I may even get teary eyed and my ears feel all hot. This tends to occur in the moment that the music, dance and visuals of a production blend in perfect harmony. I had no such experience viewing “Mattress.” Additionally, scene transitions were handled rather inefficiently. I recall that after a few musical numbers, audience applause would be followed by awkward silences in which nothing happened on stage.

The biggest stumbling block in this production was that it failed to elevate its source material in any way. Now, not all shows must elevate their source material. However, in the case of “Once Upon a Mattress,” a show with an incredibly juvenile premise, one might have hoped that a university production team would have attempted to inject some relevance into the show for its target audience to respond to.

Most disappointing, though, is that my desire to enjoy this production was crushed so early on into the performance. It is not as if the cast and crew were not giving their all; they clearly worked very hard on their flawed finished product. The shame is that their efforts hardly bore fruit. The show was akin to a half-baked cake, containing all of the right ingredients, but ultimately lacking complete digestive appeal.

Here is a fact of life: there are hits, there are misses, and there

CHRONIC BACHELOR: Ladies in waiting beg Dauntless to find a wife so they can marry, as well. are things that fall somewhere in between. Here is another fact: just because somebody does something poorly one time, that does not mean that they are bad at what they were trying to do. For instance, Julie Taymor directed Broadway’s “The Lion King,” an absolute triumph, but she also directed “Spiderman:

Turn Off the Dark,” a musical that was born with no shortage of ambition, but managed to fall flat nonetheless. It is a bold thing for an artist to present their work. That act alone is commendable. With that in mind, I keep an open mind; I look forward to whatever the UTC offers us next.

MOMMA’S BOY: Queen Aggravain (Lily Bickerstaff Richard ’20) slips a pea under Winnifred’s mattresses.

culture

MELA highlights beauty of South Asian culture By emily blumenthal justice Staff writer

On Saturday night, the South Asian Students Association (SASA) hosted MELA, its annual culture and charity show, in Levin Ballroom. The curtains opened to reveal a beautiful, sparkling backdrop which revealed the theme of the night: “Masakali: Dare to Fly.” Masakali is a Hindi word that means to soar and fly without limitations. This overarching theme successfully encompassed the show; the performers dared to fly and they soared.

The show was hosted by three individuals: Taminder Singh ’20, Farzana Afreen ’19 and Rebecca Cohen ’19.

The three joked about competing with one another to be the best emcee, and staged a cookie competition in which the participants tried to keep a cookie on their faces for as long as possible. The emcees were entertaining, but their dialogue often got repetitive and dragged on too much.

Though MELA is a culture show, it is also a charity event; some of the ticket proceeds go to the club’s chosen organization of the year.

This year, the charity of choice was the Pro Bono Counseling Center, which gives pro bono mental health counseling to those in need.

The proceeds will be going to the center’s Chai program, which helps the South Asian community.

SASA Co-President Mrudula Gad-

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

CHAK DE: The dancers perform a narrative dance about a princess reluctant to accept her royal responsiblity.

gil ’18 completed a Sorensen Fellowship at the Center and stated that the purpose of the Chai program is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in South Asian culture.

One highlight of the performance was a singing act with Radhika Jangi ’18 on vocals and SASA Co-President Vineet Vishwanath ’18 on guitar. The duo performed the songs “Kehna Hi Kya” and “Jiya Jale,” which are from the Bollywood movies “Bombay” and “Dil Se,” respectively. Jangi’s voice was beautiful and Vishwanath’s subtle guitar plucking enhanced the performance.

The Bollywood fusion dance team Chak De’s act was also impressive. The dance followed the narrative of a princess who refused to accept her royal duties because she wants to party.

The queen becomes angry at the princess’ defiance, but when the kingdom is attacked, the princess saves it.

The queen hands the princess a crown, but the princess tosses it away, while saying that only a queen can wear a crown. As the narrative went on, the mood of the music changed. During the party scene, happier music played, whereas during the attack of the kingdom, the music was more heated. The team was in sync, and their emotive dancing effectively illustrated the narrative and made the audience feel closer to the performers.

The SASA fashion show showcased traditional South Asian clothing. The models strutted around Levin Ballroom with confidence and smiling faces, showcasing their stunning outfits.

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

BHANGRA: The penultimate dance, Bhangra, featured beautiful costumes and very intricate dancing.

SASA members of each class year did their own dances, each one better than the last, which was probably due to the increasing dance experience possessed by the upperclassmen.

The junior dance was marred by a technical difficulty, but the dancers handled it well and recovered quickly.

In the middle of the event, the SASA e-board gave speeches.

Vishwanath stated that he “never thought [he’d] find [his] second family so quickly…[and] an opportunity to discover [himself] and [his] culture.”

Other members thanked the presidents and added that they were grateful for the opportunity to be on e-board.

Brandeis Bhangra, another fu-

sion dance team, was a notable act as well. Bhangra, according to the program, “serves up a mix of western hip-hop beats and eastern dhol rhythms.” The dancers moved their prop poles gracefully as they danced around the stage. Their routine was not only well-done and coordinated, but also lively and probably my favorite act of the night.

In a speech during MELA, Singh said that the theme of Masakali made MELA “a night to love and be free without limitations.” The combination of charity and performance made MELA a night of seemingly limitless love and passion for helping the South Asian community as well as beautifully exhibiting South Asian art and culture.

20

TUESDAY, November 21, 2017 | Arts | THE JUSTIce

Brandeis TALKS

INTERVIEW

wf

Which professor are you most thankful for?

Talia Loeb ’20

Zenith Rai ’20

“The professor I’m most thankful for is Prof. Mascall (CHEM) ... ’cause she’s making organic chemistry really accessible.”

Photo Courtesy of Zenith Rai ’20

This week, justArts spoke with Zenith Rai ’20 who was the Intercultural Center Coordinator of the South Asian Student Association’s annual cutlure event, MELA. This year MELA’s theme was “Masakali: Dare to Fly.” justArts: How did you come up with the theme?

Amanda Kahn ’20 “I’m thankful for Dr. K-C (BIOL), because I think she always helps make us understand things in a way that is like different than the way that other professors I’ve had for bio have made us understand things.”

Jennie Yun ’20 “(Prof.) Mark Hulliung (HIST) … I think he’s a phenomenal teacher.

He knows the material well and he’s just a very funny person in general.”

Mathias Boyer ’20

“The professor that I am most thankful for is… Prof. McAneny (MUS). He has like, in a very kinda cool and open way, expanded my knowledge without it feeling too academic, like I feel like I’m better at something that I’m really interested at and not just better at something academic.”

--Compiled and photographed by Andrew Baxter/the Justice.

STAFF’S Top Ten

NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

Top 10 Pieces of Lab Equipment

By Jen Geller justice EDITOR

As a science student, I have used many different pieces of lab equipment throughout my life. Here are some of my favorites that I have used at Brandeis, thus far.

RACHEL KLINGENSTEIN/the Justice

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Efron of “Baywatch” 4 Something you might go for 9 “_____ Little Prayer” 14 German pronoun 15 Gross 16 Cousin of a hijab 17 It recounts Jesus Christ’s life 20 See 19-Down 21 One who cries out when touched 22 Group of orcas 24 Ranch closure?

26 Gaming convention 27 Reprimanded because of 30 Feather attacher 33 Handle 34 Director Anderson 35 Pay dirt 36 ____-de-sac 37 Like fish sticks 41 NYC-to-Providence dir.

42 Fuss 43 Not feeling well 44 Implored 46 Many a Twitter troll 47 Fight that may end a friendship 50 Command to a dog 51 Bit of legislation with over 50 unsuccessful repeal attempts 30 It’s used in a 52 All good French kiss 53 Combo 31 Batman’s voice in “The Lego 57 Spanish 101 word Batman Movie” 59 Mosquitos, often ... or 17-, 27- 32 Saxophone part and 47-Across 33 One who’s not out after a strike?

64 More parched 38 Cowboy gear 65 Enter one’s username and 39 It opens late? password 40 Was attracted to 66 Wine holder 45 Martini go-with?

67 One-time defense grp.

47 Character in a Mozart opera 68 Disgorges 48 2002 Ray Romano film 69 Steely Dan album 49 Very specific 50 Icy rain DOWN 53 Uses an abacus, say 1 Concern on School Picture 54 Swamp Day 55 Part of 67-Across 2 German cry of frustration 56 “Alice” diner 3 “Weekend Update” anchor 58 Coastal birds 4 Soon, to Shakespeare 60 Confess 5 Extremely drunk 61 One of the Gabors 6 Hope (to) 62 “The Big Bang Theory” 7 4G ____ character 8 Friend of Stan on “South 63 RR stop Park” 9 How one lives in a dystopia 10 Glassmaking ingredient 11 Spanish 101 word 12 Goes on and on 13 Help, as a criminal 18 Gal who acts 19 Be 20-Across 22 Prefix with science or intellectual 23 Big cat 25 “Strawberry C Monster” maker 28 Toss 29 G-Man, e.g.

Zenith Rai: The theme process is really just the e-board sitting for a couple meetings, putting out possible ideas and thinking about them. We wanted a theme that would be inspiring, and we finally ended up with “Masakali: Dare to Fly.” JA: What is the audition process like for the dances?

ZR: Well, each year, the performances can vary. There is not really an audition process for the dances to be in the show. The class dances are done by the people in each class. We bring in off campus performances as well, depending on what groups can be available for that night.

JA: How do you choose the dances?

CROSSWORD COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

ZR: This is only my second MELA, so I can only speak for the years I have seen, but as far as I know, there are always the class dances.

In addition to that, classical indian dance and bhangra (a north indian dance style) are always in it.

JA: How and why did you get involved with MELA? ZR: I was involved in MELA last year, even before being on the e-board, through helping with making music mixes, because it’s an event that’s especially important for SASA. I joined the SASA e-board, because I’m originally from Nepal, and I wanted to be part of a community where I could get in touch with those aspects of myself.

JA: What was the most rewarding part of coordinating MELA?

SOLUTION COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

ZR: I am so happy to have been part of the SASA e-board this year, because I get to see all the hard work and effort into putting on a show. The co-events coordinators were really invested in planning and organizing the whole show, but the entire e-board really works together to make the show a success, so it is a group effort.

JA: What was the most challenging element of putting together MELA?

SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

ZR: MELA is the largest student run event on campus, I believe, and we also have one of the smallest e-boards, so I guess it was one of the challenges to do all the work with a few number of people. However, I think it helps us be a stronger group, because the e-board is really invested in the planning. We also have extra helpers during MELA season.

JA: Is that the message you want the audience to take away?

1. Rotovap 2. Centrifuge 3. Micropipet 4. Erlenmeyer flask 5. Round bottom flask 6. Bunsen burner 7. Scoopula 8. Spatula 9. Volumetric flask 10. Watch glass

ZR: Well, SASA is always up for trying new events, and we will be having some events coming up.

—Hannah Kressel

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Puzzle courtesy of www.sudokuoftheday.com

BASKETBALL PREVIEW SPECIAL

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017

just Sports

Waltham, Mass.

Images: Creative Commons, Heather Schiller/the Justice and Yuran Shi/the Justice. Design: Natalia Wiater/the Justice.

22

November 21, 2017 ● Sports ● THE JUSTICE

STARTING O

MEN

Veteran players bring the heat ■ Returning players and

rookies alike are ready to usher in a new era of Brandeis basketball.

By Gabriel Goldstein JUSTICE Senior Writer

After a disappointing season, which ended with an 8-16 overall record and 4-10 mark in University Athletic Association play, the men’s basketball team looks to turn over a new leaf heading into the 201718 campaign.

Returning just two seniors, this Judges squad is full of fresh, raw talent from all over the country, and head coach Brian Meehan looks to turn his young gunners into gritty competitors early in the season.

Guard Nate Meehan ’18 and forward Latye Workman ’18 — two of the Judges’ three captains — provide the team with a much-needed veteran duo intent on im-

parting years’ worth of on-court experience to Brandeis’ six first-years.

The squad’s other captain, guard Eric D’Aguanno ’20, heads into this season after an impressive rookie campaign, looking to build on the momentum he built for himself in the hopes of becoming the focal point of Brandeis’ new offensive framework. With the loss of former standout forward Jordan Cooper ’18, the Judges will have to rely on other, less experienced players to step up to provide an offensive punch.

The team hopes that 6’6” forward Akim Sanni ’21 will prove himself capable of scoring on the low block and banging around for offensive and defensive rebounds, and is counting on smooth-shooting Semih Say ’21 for consistent offensive output.

Though the Judges have lost a considerable amount of game-time experience, this season ushers in an exciting new era of Brandeis basketball, as the team has the opportunity to create and maintain a winning culture that could return the squad to consistently competitive play.

YURAN SHI/the Justice

BASELINE ATTACK: Forward Latye Workman ’18 goes in for a layup in a home game against Becker College on Saturday.

YOUR GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION:

MEN’S BASKETBALL Brandeis University

2016-17 record: 8-16 (4-10 vs. University Athletic Association) What to watch for:

The Judges overhauled a large portion of their roster and are looking to start fresh this season.

With six incoming first-years, including the likes of 6’6” center Akim Sanni ’21, the Judges will have a lot more to work with this coming year.

Key statistic: The Judges won two of

their final 11 games last season, a trend they aim to overturn in 2018.

Washington University in St. Louis 2016-17 record: 21-6 (12-2 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The Bears put on

a show last season and show no sign of slowing down. With unrivaled depth at each position and a host of returning players, the team looks primed for showtime.

Key statistic: Senior forward Andrew

Sanders looks to repeat his 16.4 points per game from 2016 as he competes in his final collegiate season.

University of Rochester

2016-17 record: 24-5 (10-4 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The Yellowjack-

YURAN SHI/the Justice

STRATEGIZE: Guard Corey Sherman ’19 looks up the court at Saturday’s game.

ets are eyeing their first UAA matchup against rival Emory, which finished one place below in the UAA standings. Emory narrowly edged the Jackets in a 63-62 win to end the regular season, but the Yellow-

jackets are looking to take revenge with a heavy freshman class.

Key statistic: The Jackets attracted

an astounding 460 fans per home game for a total of 7,621 over the course of the season.

Emory University

2016-17 record: 19-8 (9-5 vs. UAA) What to watch for: Emory lost one

of its top scorers in forward Jim Gordon. The team will need to replace his combined 15.3 points per game off . 317 shooting from long range.

Key statistic: Senior forward Adam

Gigax averaged 18.3 points per game and led the team in treys with 80 from beyond the arc.

University of Chicago

2016-17 record: 16-9 (8-6 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The Maroons will

feel the heat after losing their top two scorers to graduation. Look for senior guard Jake Fenlon and junior guard Noah Karras to take over the court in the coming season.

Key statistic: Fenlon and Karras com-

bined for 25.1 points per game last season, taking the third and fourth scoring spots on the team.

Carnegie Mellon University

2016-17 record: 14-12 (8-6 vs. UAA)

What to watch for: The Tartans barely eked out a winning record last season and will look to junior guard Ryan Maha to do most of the heavy lifting. The team is in for a rough season after losing their top two scorers but can rely on a solid returning class of sophomores and juniors to help out.

Key statistic: The three-ball is not their

game; only two players shot more than 20 long balls.

Case Western Reserve University 2016-17 record: 8-17 (3-11 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The Spartans will

try to return to their 2014-15 form with the help of senior duo guard Colin Zucker and forward T.J. Duckett. With them spreading the court, the rest of the team will have to fill in the gaping holes.

Key statistic: The last time the Spartans

had a winning record was in 2014-15 when they went 15-10 overall.

New York University

2016-17 record: 7-18 (2-12 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The ripples from

the Violets’ epic collapse from their dominating 2015 team have yet to fade.

The Violets are looking at another rocky season after losing one of their top scorers to graduation.

Key statistic: The Violets allowed 1,207 points — more than any another other team in the conference scored.

THE JUSTICE

OFF STRONG

● Sports ●

TUESDAY, November 21, 2017

Women

Judges secure home opener ■ After a nailbiter loss last

week, the Judges bounced back in a home game against Mitchell College.

By Donnie weisse JUSTICE Staff writer

After a heartbreaking onepoint loss in its season opener on Wednesday, the Brandeis women’s basketball team bounced back this weekend at the Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament, kicking off with a Friday night matchup against Mitchell College.

The Judges are hoping to improve on last year’s 12-13 record,

and with the addition of several talented newcomers, the future looks bright. First-year forwards Katherine Puda ’21 and Jillian Petrie ’21 each had 10+ points in their debuts, with Petrie adding seven rebounds.

Despite graduating three of their top scorers, the team will rely on a strong senior class including guards Noel Hodges ’18 and Eva Hart ’18, who both averaged over 15 minutes per game last season.

An experienced sophomore class will contribute as well, namely three-point shooting guard Katie Goncalo ’20 and versatile guard Hannah Nicholson ’20, both of whom are transitioning into starting roles.

The Judges also have a deep bench, which was responsible

for over half the team’s points on Wednesday. Each player on the team had a least one basket, with Puda (11 points) and first year guard Camila Casanueva (eight points) adding the most out of the non-starters.

With a tough non-conference schedule, the Judges have their work cut out for them this winter.

With matchups against Tufts University, Salem State University and Emmanuel College all before the end of November, the Judges will gain plenty of experience against tough opponents as they head into league play.

The Judges won their season home opener against Mitchell College on Friday with a final score of 67-46.

TALYA GUENZBURGER/the Justice

YOUR GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION:

MOVING FORWARD: Guard Katie Goncalo ’20 blocks out and moves the ball down the court in Friday’s home opener against Mitchell College.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Brandeis University

2016-17 record: 12-13 (4-10 vs. Univer-

sity Athletic Association)

What to watch for: The Judges look to improve upon last season, when they finished in second to last place in the UAA conference. The team lost much of its core to graduation last year and will be forced to lean on senior captains Noel Hodges ’18 and Eve Hart ’18. Brandeis was picked by coaches of the conference to finish last this year, and the squad will have a tough task in order to overcome those low expectations.

Key statistic: The Judges averaged 14.3

offensive rebounds per game last season, second best in the conference.

Carnegie Mellon

University of Chicago

2016-17 record: 19-8 (11-3 vs. UAA) What to watch for: This season, Chicago

tries to do what it was ultimately unable to last year — take home the conference title.

The Maroons were picked to finish second yet again in the UAA this season. The one game specifically circled on Chicago’s schedule is its matchup with the Washington University in St. Louis, after it fell to WashU in a thriller in the regular season finale last year by a mere two points. The squad also looks to return to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament yet again.

Key statistic: Chicago possessed a swarming defense last year, forcing its opponents to turn the ball over at the highest rate in the conference at 22.2 per game.

2016-17 record: 21-7 (7-7 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The Tartans went .500

Emory University

Key statistic: Carnegie Mellon was

Ashley Oldshue returns for the team as she looks to lead them to the elite of the conference. Oldshue is coming off a 2016 to 2017 season in which she averaged 16.5 points per game, good for the team lead. Big things are expected from Oldshue this coming season as she was named to the preseason All-American fourth team. The Eagles were chosen by the coaches to finish second to last in the UAA this year.

in conference play a season ago, accounting for all of their losses on the season.

They will try to dominate the out of conference schedule yet again, but the team hopes it is able to translate that success to UAA play. The squad will have to figure out how to replace their leading scorer from last season, center Lisa Murphy, who recorded 24.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Makayla Filiere will have to improve upon her 10 PPG from last season.

second in the entire conference with a field goal percentage of 44.1.

Case Western Reserve University 2016-17 record: 13-12 (5-9 vs. UAA) What to watch for: Case Western strug-

gled last season in conference play and was picked by coaches to finish in the middle of the pack this season, in fifth place out of eight. Luckily for the Spartans, they are returning last season’s top two scorers in senior forward Kara Hageman and junior combo guard Hillary Hellmann. Hageman and Hellmann put up points of 20.1 and 17.5 last season, respectively.

Key statistic: Case Western managed the ball very effectively last season, as they were second in the league while committing only 14.2 turnovers per contest.

2016-17 record: 15-10 (6-8 vs. UAA) What to watch for: Junior six-foot center

Key statistic: Thanks to Oldshue and other strong paint players, Emory was dominant on the boards last season, giving up the second least in the conference at 35.6 per game.

New York University

2016-17 record: 14-13 (3-11 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The NYU Violets are

coming off a difficult season in which they finished dead last in the conference, even with an overall positive record. This year, however, the squad is projected to finish fourth in the conference, which would be a jump of four spots. The team will be relying on sophomore guard Shay McGoey, who averaged over 10 points per game in her first collegiate season. Senior leader Kayla Patterson will also be back after averaging 6.4 rebounds a season ago.

Key statistic: NYU excelled in defending

the perimeter last year, leading the league in holding opponents to only 27.6 percent shooting from behind the arc.

University of Rochester

2016-17 record: 18-9 (8-6 vs. UAA) What to watch for: After a solid season

in which Rochester finished third in the conference, big things are expected for the squad. In fact, Rochester was projected this year to finish as the overall first team in the conference. This is primarily due to the depth that the team brings back after losing only one player from last year’s roster. Included in the returning players is senior Alexandra Leslie, who was named to the preseason All-American first team. Even more, she was named the preseason player of the year in Division III, after averaging almost 22 points per game last season. With these numbers in mind, Leslie looks to be the best player in the UAA, if not the country.

Key statistic:

Led by Leslie, Rochester posted the second best rebounding numbers in the conference with 42.6 per game.

Washington University in St. Louis 2016-17 record: 26-3 (12-2 vs. UAA) What to watch for: The defending UAA

champions from a year ago look to defend their title this coming year. However, there are skeptics among the conference as the team is projected to finish in third place by the coaches. Junior forward Madeline Homoly will be expected to be the star for WashU after she was just named to the preseason All-American second team. Homoly was named as a fourth team All-American last season after posting impressive numbers of 14.4 PPG and 6.7 rebounds per game. WashU will also look to build upon its success in the postseason after making it to the fourth round of the NCAA tournament a year ago.

Key statistic:

WashU’s offense last year was marked by unselfishness, as the squad was second in the conference in assists, recording 17 per game.

TALYA GUENZBURGER/the Justice

SWISH: Forward Joelle MarkAnthony ’19 goes in for the shot at Friday’s game.

23

24

TUESDAY, November 21, 2017 ● sPORTS

● THE

JUSTICE Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

LAY UP: Legendary Boston Celtics guard K.C. Jones joined the University in 1966 as the Judges’ head coach, beginning a long-standing relationship between Brandeis and the NBA.

Judges have enduring NBA ties

By Evan Robins justice staff writer

GAME SCHEDULE

With the start of another Brandeis University basketball season, Brian Meehan enters his 14th season as the head coach of the Judges. Meehan’s time at the helm has brought some of the highest highs of the Brandeis men’s basketball program, highlighted by a run of four consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III tournament appearances from 2006 to 2010, including two electric runs to the Elite Eight.

Meehan is on pace to become both the longest-tenured and most winning men’s basketball coach in the University’s history. Given the accomplished lineage of men’s basketball head coaches, such records are distinctly impressive. Likely unbeknownst to many current students, this coaching history is dotted with a number of connections to the National Basketball Association and the Boston Celtics. Going all the way back to the 1960s and extending to the early 2000s, the NBA has found its way to the Brandeis sidelines time and again, endowing it with an unusual history for a Division III university.

This relationship between Brandeis and the NBA began in 1966, when Celtics legend guard K.C. Jones was hired as the Judges’ head basketball coach. Jones had just completed an illustrious nine-year career with the Celtics, winning eight championships as a key part of the legendary teams led by forward Bill Russell, guard Sam Jones and forward John Havlicek. Jones was a defensiveminded point-guard, known for playing both ends of the floor at a high

MEN

level. Like many professional athletes, Jones found the transition out of the NBA challenging, telling Jeff Twiss of Celtics.com in a retrospective interview that “it was very difficult. Because you ‘could’ play another three or four years but being at the age of 35 or 36, you ask ‘why do I want to go on like this?’ And, after you are done you say, ‘what am I going to do

a talented coach, and created, in the words of Brandeis University founding president Abram Sachar, a “new golden age” for the sport at Brandeis.

Overall, he coached the Judges for three seasons and amassed a 34-32 record. While those numbers might make the term ‘golden age’ seem excessively hyperbolic, the team had come off a combined 51 losses in the

Photo courtesy of ABBY PATKIN

HUDDLE UP: Head coach Brian Meehan gives his players a pep talk during a game last year. This will be Meehan’s 14th season leading the Judges. now.” The answer ended up being a drive down the Massachusetts Turnpike to Brandeis. Jones came on as the Judges’ head coach just months after his final Celtics season and immediately made an impact. He was a massive recruiting asset and

three seasons prior to his hiring.

Jones legitimized the program with the players he brought in and his on the floor game-management, and left the program in a position for sustained success.

This was the first coaching op-

portunity for Jones in a coaching career that would ultimately bring him even greater prominence than his playing years did. Following Brandeis, he took a head-coaching job at Harvard University, jumping from there back to the professional circuit, first as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers. After a number of opportunities with NBA and American Basketball Association teams, including an extremely successful stint as the head coach of the Washington Bullets, Jones was made head coach of the Boston Celtics. Over the course of his five years with the Celtics from 1983 to 1988 he won two championships, guiding the team’s core of forwards Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and guard Dennis Johnson to icon status.

With these championships, Jones became the first African-American head coach to win multiple NBA finals and is one of the most winning NBA figures of all time with a ring for every finger. He was enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame in 1989.

From Jones, the head coaching baton was immediately passed to another former Celtic, forward Bob Brannum. Brannum was a member of the mid-1950s Celtics and was known for his chemistry on the court with Hall of Famer Bob Cousy.

Unlike Jones, Brandeis was the final coaching stop for Brannum, where he coached for 16 years and racked up 204 wins. As the longesttenured and most winning coach in program history, his is the mark Meehan is approaching. Brannum’s team continued the record Jones built, continuing to hover around .500 for the first years after the coaching change until the team exploded

WOMEN

with consecutive 20-win campaigns in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, leading to an NCAA tournament quarterfinals appearance in 1975.

This success continued through the rest of the decade, culminating in a NCAA Division III Regional Championship in 1978, which remains the only team in Brandeis men’s basketball history to win this championship. Brannum retired in 1986 and was made a member of the Brandeis Hall of Fame in 2001.

Most recently, former Celtics forward and NBA head coach Chris Ford helmed the Judges from 2001 to 2003, immediately preceding Meehan. Ford played in the NBA from 1972 to 1982, splitting time between the Detroit Pistons and the Celtics.

The shooting guard’s best season came in his first with the Celtics, in which he averaged a career-high 15.6 points per game. Ford immediately joined the coaching staff after his retirement, serving as an assistant to K.C. Jones during the 1980s. After putting in his time as an assistant, Ford became the Celtics head coach, serving in this role from 1990 to 1995. Following his time with the Celtics, Ford had unsuccessful stints as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, and was brought in as an interim head coach for the Judges just prior to the 2001 to 2002 season. Ford coached at Brandeis for two seasons before making the jump back to the NBA as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers.

With this NBA pedigree in their history and Meehan’s experience on the bench, the Judges look to get the program back on track. Hopefully a successful season awaits.

Nov. 21 at Emmanuel 5 p.m.

Nov. 28 at UMass-Dartmouth 7 p.m.

Nov. 26 Tufts 1 p.m.

Dec. 2 vs. Babson (at Medford) 1 p.m.

Nov. 28 Salem St. 6 p.m.

Dec. 3 vs. Tufts or Salem St. (at Medford) TBA Dec.4 Babson 6 p.m.

Dec. 7 Newbury 6 p.m.

Dec. 9 Gordon 1 p.m.

Dec. 9 at Wesleyan 1 p.m.

Dec. 29 Endicott 1 p.m.

Dec. 31 at Bates 1 p.m.

Jan. 2 at Regis 6 p.m.

Jan. 3 Fitchburg St. 6 p.m.

Jan. 6 at NYU 1 p.m.

Jan. 6 at NYU 3 p.m.

Jan. 12 at WashU 7 p.m.

Jan. 8 Amherst 6 p.m.

Jan. 14 at Chicago 2 p.m.

Jan. 12 at WashU 9 p.m.

Jan. 19 Rochester 6 p.m.

Jan. 14 at Chicago Noon Jan. 21 Emory 2 p.m.

Jan. 19 Rochester 8 p.m.

Jan. 26 Case Western 6 p.m.

Jan. 21 Emory Noon

Jan. 28 Carnegie Mellon 2 p.m.

Jan. 26 Case Western 8 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Case Western 6 p.m.

Jan. 28 Carnegie Mellon Noon

Feb. 4 at Carnegie Mellon 2 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Case Western 8 p.m.

Feb. 9 WashU 6 p.m.

Feb. 4 at Carnegie Mellon Noon Feb. 11 Chicago 2 p.m.

Feb. 9 WashU 8 p.m.

Feb. 11 Chicago 8 p.m.

Feb. 16 at Rochester 6 p.m.

Feb. 16 at Rochester 8 p.m.

Feb. 18 at Emory 2 p.m.

Feb. 18 at Emory Noon Feb. 24 at NYU 1 p.m.

Feb. 24 NYU Noon