FORUM

Established 1949 Sofia Gonzalez Rodriguez, Editor in Chief Cameron Cushing, Managing Editor

Gilda Geist, Senior Editor River Hayes, Deputy Editor Leeza Barstein, Jen Crystal, Jane Flautt, Gabriel Frank, Megan Geller, Hannah O’Koon, Noah Zeitlin, Associate Editors

Jacklyn Golobordsky, Hannah Taylor, News Editors

Natalie Kahn, Features Editor Lauryn Williams, Forum Editor Taku Hagiwara, Sports Editor

Megan liao, Acting Arts & Culture Editor Jack Yuanwei Cheng, Photography Editor Ariella Weiss, Lynn Han, Copy Editors Samantha Goldman, Online Editor

EDITORIALS

The importance of a wellness day for students and faculty after midterms

As students enter the 10th week of the semester, many are just coming out of the long and arduous midterm season. This board requests that the Brandeis administration require a wellness day in March and incorporate it within the academic calendar moving forward.

While the midterm season is not a specifically defined time frame like finals, it often takes place during the period between the February and April breaks. Although most midterms tend to be less weighted and contain less material than finals, unlike midterm exams, finals are preceded by study days where there are no classes in session. Students are thrust into midterms during a period where they are occupied with classes as well as extracurricular commitments.

Understandably, many students are feeling the pressure and stress that comes with midterms with many expressing feelings of being burnt out and lacking motivation. While having a spread out midterm period may seem like a good idea because it gives students time between big tests and assignments, having several weeks of midterms each semester is exhausting for students. Just as one finishes a midterm, another midterm rolls around and by the time the last midterm is finished, finals are already fast approaching.

The unrelenting nature of midterm season has severe consequences on student wellbeing by increasing anxiety, stress, and contributing to burnout. Even when caught up with all of their tasks and obligations,

there is always an impending feeling of needing to start on work ahead of time which prevents students from being able to decompress. While stress is not necessarily a negative thing on its own, constant weeks upon weeks of stress will undoubtedly lead to negative mental and physical effects. In light of these factors, this board advocates that the administration seriously consider a wellness day sometime before April break as was implemented in spring 2021. The board also suggests that the school consider the day that this wellness day is on. We are aware that the administration has emailed faculty asking them to cancel classes this coming Friday to give students a break as a part of a “Wellness Day” spearheaded by the Division of Student Affairs, the Student Union, and other student organizations. Several activities and resources, including free boba tea and ice cream and carnival games with dogs, will be featured. However, having a wellness day on Friday, when many students don’t have class anyway, will not have the desired effect that this board advocates for. Instead, a wellness day could be best used on a Monday or a Wednesday. In addition, professors are not required to cancel classes this Friday, which leaves many students out of luck. The alleviation of stress that a wellness day would bring to students would also be of benefit to faculty, who would be able to take a break from their hectic workload. University must be pro-active in its testing and contact tracing protocols

In a reversal of policy that was surprising to almost no one, on March 16 the University restored the 96hour testing window requirement that has been in place for much of the pandemic. This change came less than a week after a sternly worded email from the administration regarding a rise in positive cases and close contacts, and only 11 days after the testing window was reduced to 168 hours. This board had previously questioned the sensibility of reducing testing frequency at the same time as lifting the campus-wide mask mandate. While we appreciate that community members have been able to continue to test at any chosen frequency, we believe that this campus-wide requirement is best-suited to keep everyone safe.

Given the return to twice-a-week testing, this board calls for the reopening of a secondary testing site at the Mandel Center for the Humanities or elsewhere. While consolidation to a single, centrally-located testing site made a degree of sense alongside more infrequent testing, long lines are sure to await the community in the Shapiro Science Center given the return to twice-a-week testing. A secondary testing site also creates more opportunities for student employment, which was reduced with the closure of the Mandel Center testing site on March 4.

Testing changes aside, this board continues to take issue with the Brandeis Community Tracing Program, particularly as the number of students being identified as close contacts has increased in recent weeks. While it is a responsibility that we must all be willing to bear, quarantining is undoubtedly a burden.Consistency, clear communication, and easy access to informed staff would all be features of a successful program, but time-after-time, community members have had lessthan-satisfactory experiences. or example, in a March 17 email to the Justice, leadership of Banshee — the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team — explained that the entire team was contacted via email by the contact tracing team and told to enter close-contact quarantine. The initial email from the BCTP made no reference to the team and was received by both students abroad and those who had not attended a Banshee event since the beginning of the semester. Banshee leadership explained that “BCTP seems to have gotten access to the email list via Presence,” the campus involvement management system used by the University, on which all students are required to register for the individual club sports that they participate in.

Students who received the email in error were instructed to contact the team’s coach who would provide clarification to the BCTP, but leadership pointed out that the students who had left the club were “least likely to know how to reach coaches.”

After much back and forth — including leadership sending the BCTP attendance records of multiple recent events — another email was sent to the entire email list clarifying the specific event that necessitated quarantining and restoring the green campus passports of those not in attendance at that event. Meanwhile, this board is and has been aware of several students who satisfy the BCTP’s definition of a close contact who have not yet been contact traced.

While we understand the necessity of acting quickly to move students into quarantine to slow spread, this board criticizes the carelessness of the BCTP in this situation.

Rather than blanketly placing an email list into quarantine, they should have reached out to either the leadership email or the team’s coach to obtain attendance records for the event in question and proceeded from there.

Given the difficulty in reaching the contact tracing team — they have no publicly listed phone number — students contacted both the Health Center and Dean of Students office, which each had only limited information.

Considering the importance of the BCTP’s work, we call for improvements to their processes to reduce confusion and anxiety among the student body and increase efficiency in fighting COVID-19.

Views News on the

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., has stated his intention to sign the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which has been named by those in opposition as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill because it seeks to ban instruction of gender and sexuality issues in the classroom. How does this bill negatively impact those who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community? To what extent does banning or mitigating conversation surrounding gender and sexuality harm students? What can student organizers do to promote more inclusive legislation in conservative states to promote inclusivity?

Prof. Levenson (ED)

Because so many LGBTQIA students continue to be bullied and harassed, it has been very important for schools to acknowledge and discuss gender and sexuality as part of normal development. The recent legislative bills (such as the one in Florida) [that] criminalizes such instruction are part of Republican initiatives to prevent discussions about sexuality and/or race. Such punitive legislation has made teachers very anxious about such instruction. What can students do? They can speak out respectfully against such ill advised legislation or policies. Students can also move instruction and discussions about gender and/or race to social media or community forums which are accessible to students —they also need to make sure that this info is correct!— Sometimes outlawing information is a great way to make it more interesting.

Marya R. Levenson is a retired Univ. emerita professor in the Education Department

Photo: Prof. Levenson

Prof. Hassenfeld (ED)

There’s nothing new about political groups trying to control curricula and educational material. In the last year we’ve seen political groups targeting “critical race theory” and banning various books from school libraries. This bill, titled “Parental Rights in Education,” states that lessons about sexual orientation are banned outright in kindergarten through third grade. It also prohibits lessons in other grades unless they are “age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate.” Besides harming students, families, and communities, this bill once again casts teachers in a sinister light, suggesting that they need to be censored because their speech can’t be trusted. This bill undermines human dignity, learning, and — our favorite punching bag — teachers.

Dr. Ziva Hassenfeld is a Jack, Joseph and Morton and Mandel assistant professor of Jewish education.

Photo: Prof. Hassenfeld

By LAURYN WILLIAMS

JUSTICE EDITOR

Violence has been on-going for over five years due to infighting among Anglophone separatist in Cameroon. This conflict all started in 2016, with peaceful protests initiated by lawyers and teachers demanding linguistic reform, which rapidly escalated into a war of secession. Protesters were assaulted, attacked with tear gas, imprisoned, and killed causing widespread destruction of homes and villages. This civil war is particularly calamitous, as the native-born citizens are often caught in the middle and experience the brunt of the violence. As a result of this political upheaval and humanitarian crises, over 1.8 million have been internally displaced, with many seeking refuge in other countries, including the United States, to avoid intercommunal violence. Although witness testimonies and satellite images validate the widespread devastation of this civil war, the catastrophic crisis continues to unfold. As Cameroonians flee their country and seek asylum in the U.S., their applications are denied. If they are fortunate to make it into the U.S. while seeking asylum, they are summarily deported back to their country to face persecution, torture, and other serious harm. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement choked, threatened, pepper-sprayed, and forced Cameroonian detainees to sign their deportation papers. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Lauren Seibert, refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch shared that under the Trump administration, ICE deported more than 90 Cameroonians on two deportation flights, failing to provide Cameroonians with due process. Experts say that this unsettling and outrageous management of immigration policies resulted in a fragmented and broken system. Seibert also indicated that the “U.S. government utterly failed Cameroonians with credible asylum claims by sending them back to harm in the country they fled, as well as mistreating already traumatized people before and during deportation.” The dysfunction of the immigration system is illustrated by the plummet in the number of Cameroonians seeking asylum and the number of overall asylum applications from fiscal year 2020 to 2021, a decrease by nearly 80% and 60% respectively. As a result, it is predicted that the decrease in asylum requests to the United States is likely to continue. The inept immigration and asylum process did not only occur under the Trump administration. It was drastically flawed when President Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.

This bill limited “cancellation of removal” to immigrants who had been in the United States for at least 10 years. The Clinton administration also set the stage for the criminalization of immigrants by imposing the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.

This law shifted the rhetoric that conflated improper entry with unauthorized presence while targeting and criminalizing immigrants.

For decades, countless studies have disproven former President Clinton’s and other policymakers’ unsupported claims that undocumented immigrants are somehow criminals. These studies have validated that immigrants—undocumented as well— were less likely to commit serious crimes or be behind bars than U.S.born citizens.

According to scholars who have followed the U.S.’s immigration policies for decades, like Prof. Alexandra PinerosShields (Heller), the system is alarmingly flawed. “At the end of the day this is about U.S, foreign interest. The immigration courts are in the executive branch, they are not guaranteed any of the Miranda Rights U.S. citizens have. There is no other example in this country where you go to jail for an administrative offense. Foreigners are seen as a vehicle of profit,” she said. The result of an administrative violation is a fine, not a detention center, so its a relatively new way of profiting. But myths about immigrants are nothing new, and years of research and debate have debunked that immigrants are a major source of crime. Pinero-Shields ended our interview by stating: “Crossing the border makes them vulnerable to rape, sexual assault, and torture. They do it because it is the only option, the last resort.” Yet, despite the findings of these innumerable studies, opportunistic politicians and media figures continue to create false narratives that immigrants are a threat to personal and national security.

False narratives about legal and unauthorized immigrants exploit the public’s anxieties and garner support for the drafting of policies that criminalize immigrants. The breakdown in immigration policies may be fueled by profit. For-profit companies like CoreCivic and Geo Group, two of the largest private prison companies in the United States, make billions in revenue from the incarceration of undocumented immigrants.

As the immigrant-detention industry grows, these private prison companies work actively to shape the federal and state laws governing corrections and law enforcement by making sizable campaign contributions to politicians, and lobby Congress and state legislatures on bills that affect their interests.

The American Legislative Exchange Council played a major role in drafting the legislation that would become Arizona’s infamous anti-immigrant law, SB 1070 whereby Arizona could make immigrants who cross over the borders criminals.

This scenario represented a conflict of interest in which a company that has a vested financial interest in the incarceration of as many people as possible influences legislation that would increase the flow of prisoners into that company’s prisons. According to the U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar from Arizona, ICE in 2016 was required by law “to maintain an average daily population of 34,000 detainees.” The cruel effects of the United States’ flawed immigration system have massive implications on Cameroonians who are essential members of communities across the United States and those who have demonstrated remarkable resilience in pursuit of safety. In light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis and armed conflicts in Cameroon, it is direly important that President Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas designate Cameroonians Temporary Protected Status.

TPS will ensure safety, security and that Cameroonian families are able to stay together and that those who seek asylum are able to do so without being further subjected to cruelty or harm from deportation forces such as ICE.

The Kiwibots on campus: friend or foe?

By TASHA EPSTEIN

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

You’ve probably had an encounter with some of our new campus-mates by now. They’re hard to miss with their boxy shape, gentle rumbling wheels, and little waving flags. They’re … the Kiwibots.

They’ve been rolled out recently as a way for students to order food from on-campus restaurants to be delivered directly to the entrance of their dorm. The fleet seems to be growing, as I can’t seem to walk anywhere on campus without passing one of the little buggers. In theory, they seem like a great way for students to get food delivered, but in practice, a vocal portion of the student body has decided the Kiwibots are not welcome.

Students have put forth various rationales for their hatred of the Kiwibots, but the fact that they navigate via multiple cameras with human operators seems to have been an issue for many, and reasonably so.

When asked about his dislike of our new campus companions, Harrison Madnick ’25, said, “They potentially could pose a risk on the data aspect of things … I’d also appreciate open source info on data collecting to be aware of what they do with the information gathered.”

Even Grace Larence ’25, who explicitly specified that she likes the Kiwibots, said, “I do think that it’s a security risk to some extent, because the camera feeds on the bots will be actively monitored by a person and in residential areas that makes me feel a bit ehhh.”

In today’s technology obsessed society, worrying how one’s images and data will be used seems like a valid concern. Being on camera, often without their knowledge, is perhaps something students aren’t especially eager to consent to. However, in many respects, we’ve already handed in our privacy in that regard with things like security cameras and the ever present social media trends catching people in candid shots. On the other hand, those who enjoy the glitz and glam of new technology view the Kiwibots as a simple and fun addition to the campus atmosphere. Preston Merrill ’25 said, “If I were to tell my friends who are at different colleges that we have robot servants rolling around our college, they’d think we’d be living at the height of luxury.” I personally will admit that there’s something cool and futuristic about having little robots trundle by me as I stroll to class.

Granted, they’re only so mod and fascinating when they actually work. Some student complaints I’ve heard include the order process being down constantly, the lack of a queue when all the Kiwibots are in use, and even one report that a student saw a Kiwibot nearly get hit by a car while it was attempting to cross the road. Evidently, even if they’re here to stay, the Kiwibots need some basic maintenance here and there to help avoid incidents of vehicular botslaughter.

On their general appearance, students seem rather split. Some claim they find their light-up facial displays creepy and unsettling, while others find them cute and charming. The few eye expressions they can display seem to include angry eyebrows, heart eyes, plain, side glances, and a cheerful closed-eye look.

Students seem to be most perturbed by the Kiwibots angry face and their heart eye look, which, to be fair, are the same expressions we react to most in other people. Yet something in their cutesy appearance seems to upset some students. While we’re certainly not asking that they appear threatening or mean, maybe the Kiwibots could get a makeover so they don’t seem so … infantile.

You’d think their adorable appearance would have the opposite effect, but their small and anthropomorphized features seem to only encourage acts of hatred towards them.

I recently witnessed a Kiwibot switch to its heart-eye mode as a peer walked past it, only for said peer to briefly glance down at it and say, “Screw you, Kiwibot.” Let’s hope the same kind of response doesn’t hold true for students’ interactions with each other.

Also, their headlights can be quite an annoyance, speaking from experience. I occasionally like to take a late evening walk to clear my head, or simply because I’m feeling restless.

There’s no feeling quite like the bright light of a Kiwibot coming around the corner accompanied by its dogged trundling to take me out of a peaceful state.

Overall, a quick poll of my friends revealed that while most of us don’t like them and find them fairly annoying, we struggled to find a solid reason for this dislike besides the technological privacy aspect.

We do agree that the Kiwibots could be really helpful for students, and are likely a good addition to campus.

JACK YUANWEI CHENG/the Justice

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News: Leah Breakstone, Dalya Koller Online: Devon Sandler Copy : Isabel Roseth

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News: Dalya Koller, Ella Russell, Gemma Sampas, Alexis Demicran, Isabel Roseth Features: Leah Breakstone, Cayenn Landau Isabel Roseth, Maddy Dulong Forum: Anastasia Owen, Abigail Cumberbatch, Samuel White, Vandita Malviya Wilson*, Reena Zuckerman, Tibria Brown, Tasha Epstein Sports: Emma Ghalili*, Aki Yamaguchi, Taku Hagiwara, Jackson Wu, Aiden Guthro Arts & Culture: Vicente Cayuela, Jason Frank, Amy Chen, Miranda Sullivan Photography: Owen Chan, Smiley Huynh, Athena Lam, Thomas Tiancheng Zheng Copy: Dina Gorelik, Rebekah Loeffer, Jennifer Reznik,

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F1: Ferrari wins under the lights

CONTINUED FROM 12

left the track, Sainz and Hamilton were able to easily overcome the Dutch driver. At that moment, it was clear that Verstappen was crawling back to the pits due to engine failure. After Verstappen's retirement, only Perez remained as he fought to maintain third position. The Mexican driver also began experiencing engine issues, which quickly caused him to spin out and retire as his engine locked up. The previous favorites going into this race were now retreating to the garage with no points earned. On a happier note, Ferrari was able to secure the win they had hoped for as they won for the first time since 2019. After almost 50 races and two years of hard work, Ferrari got another 1-2 finish, just as they did in their last win in the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix. Leclerc was able to secure first place, win a point for fastest lap, and become driver of the day, an exciting and well earned prize for the young driver. Hamilton, who drives for Mercedes, was able to slip into third place earning himself a spot on the podium. This change in luck shows that the Mercedes team is not completely out of contention for the World Championship. With such turns in team performances seen from Mclaren to Haas, this season is anticipated to be a very exciting one. Round two will be the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on March 27.

Volume LXXI, Number 12 T Justicethe www.thejustice.org Tuesday, December 4, 2018 he IndependenT STudenT newSpaper of BrandeIS unIverSITy SInce 1949 Waltham, Mass.

Student Fashion A Brandeis student transforms his love of fashion into a business. By SAMMY PARK MELA The South Asian Students Association celebrates “Our Shared Connection.” Photo Courtesy of IRA BORNSTEIN FEATURES 8 By ELLA RUSSELL YVETTE SEI/the Justice For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

Scholar reflects on U.S. curation of Chinese artBy GILDA GEIST School starting times make no senseBy VIOLET FEARON Women’s basketball plays hardBy JEN GELLER

Special election called to fill open positions STUDENT UNION The Student Union announced that Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19 and Treasurer Jerry Miller ’18 will resign at the end of the semester. Their seats will be flled in a special election to be held on Dec. 10. Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19 Reynolds announced his intent to resign during the Nov. 20 Union Senate meeting. He said in a Dec. 3 interview with the Justice that his personal heath was the reason for his resignation. An incident in November in which two senators publicly criticized Reynolds for his involvement in a resolution that would have purchased pianos for the frst-year residence quads affected his decision to step down but was not the driving factor, Reynolds said in the interview. Reynolds accepted the apologies of Class of 2022 Senator Alex Chang and International Student Senator Linfei Yang ’20 and said he was “thankful” that they apologized. “They have been open to communication with me as well as with the president and

NEWS 5 FORUM 11 ARTS 19

SPORTS 16

chief of staff,” he said, adding, “I don’t bear any ill will toward them. They’re both very passionate and very smart. … I’m really excited to see where things go.” “I understand [Chang] has been given a painted target on his back, and I don’t think any student should feel that way, especially as a fresh-man,” he said.

Reynolds said he would help his successor develop contacts with the administration, as well as catch them up on projects relevant to the vice presidency. He will also show his successor how to help student groups.

Looking back on his time in the Union, Reynolds said he thought his work with environmental groups at the University stood out the most. He also expressed concern about how the Senate weighs its constituents’ opinions. “Senators, and any elected positions, are expected to be liaisons and communicators for the student body,” he said. “Right now, it seems as if we’re decision makers for the student body. These [campus] news-papers probably talk to our constitu-encies [more] than we do.” Reynolds stressed that being a member of the Union is a strenuous undertaking for full-time students and suggested that the Union should See UNION, 6

Trustees make long-awaited divestment choice BOARD OF TRUSTEES

After months of deliberation, the Board of Trustees adopted a set of policies regarding fossil fuel in-vestments at their November meeting, updating the 1973 guidelines that previously informed their investment decisions. Brandeis students have been pressing the administration to divest from fossil fuels for several years and have continued to do so in response to the recent policy announcement. In a Nov. 28 email to the Brandeis community, University President Ron Liebowitz outlined the new pol-icies that will guide future investment. From now on, the University’s endowment funds will not be invested directly in “public or private companies or partnerships whose ■ The Union's vice president and treasurer will step down and be replaced at the end of this semester. By CHAIEL SCHAFFEL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER principal business is the mining of coal for use in energy generation.” Investments that presently exist in “fossil fuel private limited partnerships (i.e., private limited partnership funds that make invest-ments, the focus of which is deriving proft from the exploration and production of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas) … will run off in accordance with the funds’ typical life cycles,” Chief Investment Offcer Nicholas Warren wrote in an email to the Justice. These funds have an average life cycle of 10 years. “The overall portfolio is mature, with many funds reaching the later stages of their life cycle. Therefore we expect it to slowly wind down over the next 5-7 years,” Warren wrote. This is specifc to private limited partnership funds that invest with a focus on gaining proft from exploiting and produc-ing oil, natural gas and other fossil fuel. As of Oct. 30, 2018, “fossil fuel private limited partnerships[’] [market value] [was] $63.3 million, See DIVESTMENT, 7

■ The University will change its investment strategies to decrease future investment in fossil fuel businesses. By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR University President Ron Liebowitz released the Campus Climate Report last Thursday, which detailed the “ex-ceedingly high standards” and broader shortcomings of the University, as well as the steps the administration is taking to address them. This second and fnal report, authored by independent investigators the University hired last spring, follows up on the initial fndings regarding the complaints lodged against former men’s basket-ball coach Brian Meehan. For the second half of the investigation, the Board of Trustees tasked the investigators — Walter Prince, Malcolm Graham and Daniel Tarlow — with examining the systems, climate and culture of University’s procedure for handling complaints related to bias or discrimination and to recommend corrective action accordingly. Throughout the report, the investigators stressed their role as “lawyers and investigators,” not experts in the educational feld, writing, “We will not substitute our judgement for [the administration’s].” They pointed to the steps the administration is already taking, and declined to give their own specifc recommendations, saying that doing so would be “presumptuous.” To understand the campus climate, investigators interviewed a number of faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni to examine concerns about the way the University handles complaints. They then placed their fndings in a larger context of how the Brandeis culture has contributed to problems such as Meehan’s behavior, and what steps are being taken to prevent such problems from arising in the future.

Brandeis’ climate and culture The University was founded on principles of “anti-discrimination, in-clusiveness, academic freedom, independence, and the highest standards of academic quality” in an era of segregation, discrimination and quotas, the investigators wrote. However, some community mem-bers brought up controversies surrounding the University’s Jewish identity, which many agreed is important to Brandeis. One faculty member explained that identity-based schools face additional pressure to maintain their reputations, which discourages individuals from raising issues with the institution. Others mentioned confusion about whether or not Brandeis markets itself as a Jewish institution, and noted that conversations about Israel have become “charged,” which in turn put “fundraisers on the defensive with Jewish donors,” according to the report. Many students spoke well of the University’s academic rigor and relationships they formed with faculty, and faculty praised the “niceness culture” that exists within the school. Others raised concerns about faculty members’ cultural sensitivity. One Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ex-pert said professors and staff are “illequipped to respect cultural differences,” according to the report. This issue of culturally insensitive “bullying” was prominent in Meehan’s behavior toward his players.The investigators also described “widespread anxiety about lodging complaints” among the Brandeis com-munity due to concerns about retali-ation, confusion surrounding procedures and a lack of belief that things will change. For example, student

athletes may fear being forced off the team or not being allowed to play, according to Liebowitz. However, over the course of their interviews, the in-vestigators found no evidence of retali-ation and determined there was simply a perception that it was occurring. To combat this perception, Liebowitz explained in an interview with the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot on Monday that the administration needs to build the community’s trust in the system, which will take time. Previous policies were unclear, he said, and made it diffcult to report issues. Liebowitz said he believes the University must ensure that the community is aware of resources that are available to them — such as the Reporting at Brandeis web page — and create alternate channels for reporting, along with educating them on why reporting is important. Report details campus shortcomings on diversity■ The report presented a comprehensive picture of how community members view the University's diversity, reporting policies. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR In addition, investigators learned that instead of reporting issues, many in the Brandeis community choose to speak about them among themselves — an example of what they call a “small town mentality.” Administrators admitted to investigators that they are “too quiet” about their progress in improving the campus culture, which further adds to the climate of poor communication. Diversity, equity and inclusion Brandeis has historically faced is-sues of race and segregation, the investigators noted, citing both the original 1969 Ford Hall protest, its 2015 counterpart and Meehan’s fring. From their interviews with the community, the investigators found that while there was “deep and wide acceptance of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion” among students, administrators and deans, there was “notably less consensus” among the faculty. Administrators tended to focus on the “business case” for increasing di-

‘BABY STEPS’ TOWARD DIVESTMENT

See CLIMATE, 7

The Brandeis Mountain Club hung a banner in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium on Monday to protest the Board of Trustees’ decision on fossil fuel divestment.ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice ADMINISTRATION

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UAA STANDINGS TEAM STATS

Runs Batted In

UAA Conference Overall W L W L Pct. NYU 0 0 9 0 1.000 JUDGES 0 0 5 2 .714 Emory 0 0 13 8 .619 WashU 0 0 6 7 .462 Case 0 0 6 9 .400 Mike Khoury M.S leads the team with 15 runs batted in. Player RBI Mike Khoury 15 Dan Frey 13 Brian King 7 Luke Hall 5 Innings Pitched

UPCOMING GAMES:

March 23 vs. Wentworth March 24 vs. Bates March 26 vs. Amherst Mason Newman M.S. leads all pitchers with 14.2 innings pitched. Player IP Mason Newman 14.2 Marc Maestri 10.1 Cam Roberts 7.0 Asher Kaplan 6.0

SOFTBALL

UAA STANDINGS TEAM STATS

Runs Batted In

UAA Conference Overall Melissa Rothenberg M.S. has a W L W L Pct. team-high 11 runs batted in. JUDGES 0 0 8 2 .800 Player RBI WashU 0 0 12 4 .750 Melissa Rothenberg 11 Emory 0 0 10 6 .625 Amidori Anderson 7 Carnegie 0 0 9 6 .600 Haley Nash 5 Case 0 0 7 6 .538 Alex Cohen 3 Case 0 0 5 8 .385 Innings Pitched

UPCOMING GAMES:

March 22 at WPI March 25 at WashU March 26 at WashU Alex Cohen ’24 has a team-high 22.2 innings pitched. Player Ks Alex Cohen 22.2 Sydney Goldman 16.1 Madeline Gorey 14.0

TRACK AND FIELD

Results from the Tufts Last Chance Meet on March 5

TOP FINISHERS (MEN’S) TOP FINISHERS (WOMEN’S)

200-meter dash RUNNER TIME Reese Farquhar 23.19

200-meter dash RUNNER TIME Devin Hiltunen 26.17

UPCOMING MEETS:

March 26 at Bridgewater State Invitational April 2 at Tufts Snowfake Classic

TENNIS

Results from the meet on March 19. TOP PERFORMERS (MEN’S)

MEN’S SINGLES RECORD Adam Tzeng 6-2, 6-2

TOP PERFORMERS (WOMEN’S)

WOMEN’S SINGLES RECORD Bhakti Parwani 4-6, 3-6

MEN’S DOUBLES RECORD Chen / Tzeng 8-4 UPCOMING MEETS:

Men: April 2 at Tufts Women: March 27 at Babson WOMEN’S DOUBLES RECORDParwani /Subramanian 8-7

Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS OLYMPIC CHAMP: Defending Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen won the British Open over the weekend.

Axelsen wins in Birmingham

■ The Badminton World Tour reached its most anticipated stop European leg — the All England 2022.

By MEGAN LIAO

JUSTICE EDITOR

The Yonex All England Open is the ffth tournament in the 2022 Badminton World Federation World Tour and the oldest badminton tournament. The champions of the tournament will earn 12,000 points counted towards World Rankings, as well as gain eligibility for the World Championship and the Paris Summer Olympics 2024.

As the badminton world bounces back from massive cancellations of tournaments due to COVID-19, the 2022 All England Open is the frst tournament that saw a full-roster draw in all events. In the men’s singles, current number two Kento Momota from Japan was placed in the bottom half with number three Anders Antonsen — Denmark — and number seven Lee Zii Jia— Malaysia. In the top half of the draw, number one Viktor Axelsen — Denmark — faces number 4 Chou Tien Chen — Chinese Taipei — and Indonesian player number nine Jonatan Christie.

Day one and day two of the tournament went without much surprise. That being said, the young players, facing the top ten world-ranked players in the preliminary rounds, put up a fght with threatening defense. On day two, Canadian 20-year-old Brian Yang, ranked 33 against Lee, and in particular stunned spectators with a frst set going into deuces, 26-24. While Lee ultimately took the set and eventually the game, it’s worth noting how Yang pushed back the Malaysian player’s delayed smashes and kept up with Lee’s sophisticated game plans. After consecutive straight-set defeats by Heo Kwang Hee in the preliminaries of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — where Momota was expected to claim the title — and quarterfnals of Thomas Cup 2021, the Japanese player fnally took down Heo 21-16, 21-12, avenging his losses from their past two encounters. The frst set was a tight head-tohead combat. Heo took the lead with his evidently faster recoveries, countering the alternating attacks of Momota’s well-known, hair-pin shots and clear cross-court shots; at 1110, however, Momota persisted and surpassed Heo, quickly widening the score gap.

Day three featured quarterfnals played between the top ten players, Momota — Lee; Axelsen — Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, and Chou — Christie, due to the forfeit of Chinese player Lu Guang Zu that allowed the walk-over of 20-year-old Indian player Lakshya Sen. Losing the frst set 7-21, Momota fnally found his ground and began to push back at 13-13 in the second set. In the game, Lee upset Momota by picking up speed, clearing the game with a fnal score of 21-11. Axelsen quickly shook off Ginting in two straight sets, 214, 21-9, adding the record of a ffth win out of their seven encounters. Having enjoyed a much easier frst set, Chou entered the second set struggling to widen the gap. It wasn’t until 11-11 when Chou switched to a more aggressive, smash-oriented attack that he fnally gained a solid advantage, taking the game 21-10, 2115.

Semi-fnals on day four featured the matches Sen – Lee and Axelsen – Chou. Before entering the “Big League” and claiming his frst BWF tour title, Sen was the number one ranked youth player in the world. The more experienced player, Lee, found his footing in the second set, but Sen’s threatening cross-court net shots trapped Lee from quickly recovering shots at the backcourt. Sen took the win 21-13, 12-21, 21-19. In the beginning of their second set, Axelsen trailed behind Chou 11-6, but he turned the match around playing miraculous defense and speeding up the game pace, eventually taking the win 21-13, 21-15.

In the championship game, however, Sen seemed to have lost his aggressive playing style from the previous day, which allowed Axelsen to advance to a six-love lead in the frst set. Having trained at Axelsen’s Dubai training camp after the Tokyo Olympics, Sen is familiar with Axelsen’s playing style, evident from his quick responses to Axelsen’s delayed shots. However, Axelsen’s intentional long rallies tired Sen, ending the game 21-10, 2115 in 53 minutes. This is Axelsen’s second All England title, and, while the 20-year-old Indian player had lost the game, this weekend showed him as a competent player that can be compared to the big names like Axelsen and Lee.

Regardless of the results of All England, both BWF World and World Tour Rankings will not change by much. Sen remains at number one after his championship title at the India Open- (Super 500)- and the German Open -(Super 300)- in the Race to Guangzhou BWF World Championship 2022. Both ranked at 26th place last week, Axelsen’s points will now surpass that of Lee after winning 12,000 points from the All England Open. While impossible to be challenged in the World Ranking, top ten players as Axelsen, Chou, Lee, and Momota need to play in more tournaments to qualify for the World Tour championship as the season progresses.

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Image Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS