The Justice, September 27, 2016

ARTS Page 19

FORUM Value first responders in Syria 12

AT HOME AT THE ZOO

SPORTS Womens tennis struggles in opener 16 The Independent Student Newspaper

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of

B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9

Justice

Volume LXIX, Number 5

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

DIE-IN

Administration

Current Univ. spending is unsustainable ■ In a meeting on Thursday,

administrators said the University has unsustainable spending habits.

By Carmi rothberg JUSTICE editor

The University’s current financial state is unsustainable, University President Ronald Liebowitz announced at an open meeting last Thursday. Despite an reported budget surplus over the past two years, the University’s actual finances have been declining and in need of attention for several years. “The status quo,” said Liebowitz, “cannot persist.”

As a result of a relatively high annual draw from the University’s endowment, deferral of necessary maintenance to campus infrastruc-

ture and extremely high standards for a university of its size, the University has, over the past several years, been running at a slight deficit.

The Thursday meeting was intended to increase transparency and give the University’s constituents an idea of where the University stands financially.

The meeting began with a presentation from Kermit Daniel, an economist and a consultant for the firm Incandescent, and a question-andanswer session with Liebowitz, Daniel, Provost Lisa Lynch and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Stewart Uretsky.

Financial Imbalance Daniel began the presentation by laying out the core issues at hand.

“Brandeis has a structural imbal-

See BUDGET, 7 ☛

MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice

ANCESTORS WATCHING: Community members ended yesterday's march with a die-in in the Shapiro Campus Center.

Demonstrators host march to protest racial injustice

■ Following Terence

LAW

'John Doe' drops lawsuit against Univ.

■ A former student has

withdrawn his lawsuit against Brandeis, which he alleges mishandled a 2014 sexual assault case.

By max moran JUSTICE editor

A former student referred to only as “John Doe” in court proceedings withdrew his lawsuit against the University on Sept. 13. Doe had accused the University of mishandling a 2014 sexual assault investigation in which he was accused. He filed the initial suit in April 2015.

The withdrawn lawsuit does not affect the Title IX Complaint Doe lodged against the University through the U.S. Department of

Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

The agency is continuing to investigate the University over the matter.

In April, Judge Frank Dennis Saylor dismissed some parts of Doe’s case but kept these core accusations intact. In an 89-page memorandum, Saylor called the 2013 to 2014 Special Examiner’s Process “secret and inquisitorial” and said it lacked the “basic fairness” which private universities that receive federal funding must legally have in their sexual misconduct investigations.

In a press release distributed through his attorneys, Doe said that he withdrew the lawsuit because he felt “vindicated” by Saylor’s memorandum in April. Moreover, Doe was concerned about the ongoing cost of continuing the suit and wanted “to get on with his profes-

See DOE, 7 ☛

Crutcher's shooting death on Friday, students hosted a march against racial injustice.

By abby patkin JUSTICE editor

Silence blanketed the crowd of over 100 people on the Rabb steps yesterday as Nyah Macklin ’16 began to sing. “Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root, black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze, strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees,” she sang.

The crowd gathered yesterday afternoon to protest the recent police shooting death of Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man who was killed by an officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday. According to a Facebook event made for the march, the call to action was also to stand against racial injustice, both on campus and around the country.

Several student organizers held signs with phrases like, “I am black Brandeis. I am #Ford Hall.” In her remarks, former Student Union President and Ford Hall 2015 negotiator Macklin described the many

ways in which black bodies are policed, whether that be through colorism or criticism of traditionally black hairstyles.

Those who support black lives and who seek to fight racial injustice should also step up to the plate, Macklin argued. She asked attendees to dedicate more to the cause than just a hashtag or a social media status. “The riot is the language of the unheard, and we are all comrades in this war. So mourn, … and let this move you,” she said.

As the circle opened up and attendees were invited forward to share their thoughts, several students and community members took the chance to give advice to other attendees, express their frustrations with racial injustice and tell their stories. As he addressed the crowd, Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Will Jones ’18 split his remarks into two messages: one for people of color and one for people “not of color.”

“I want you to think. I want you to reflect; I want you to understand the differences in our positionality,” Jones said as he addressed people “not of color.” He emphasized the need to protect vulnerable people of color, including transgen-

der people of color.

To people of color, Jones emphasized, “Educating people is not your duty,” he said. “We already have enough to focus on with survival.”

Alex Montgomery HS ’17 spoke about how higher education has treated the black community as if they must constantly feel thankful that they are able to go to college at all. “We’re supposed to feel blessed,” Montgomery said. “We didn’t expect to graduate with an additional degree in trauma.”

Another student stepped forward, asking attendees to close their eyes and reflect back on being five years old and wanting a toy doll. “Was it white?” she asked, going on to ask the crowd if they had ever been followed around a store or whether they had been expected to give an expert’s opinion on slavery. “If you see someone hurting, help them.

Just help them,” she urged.

Following several student testimonies and reflections, the event organizers announced that the group would be walking across campus to the Shapiro Campus Center to hold a die-in.

As they marched across campus, the crowd chanted, “No justice, no

See MARCH, 7 ☛

‘Denial’

Jump Contest

Indigenous Peoples

 The 2016 presentation of the Alumni Acheivement Award followed by a screening of the film 'Denial.'

 The men's soccer team fell 1-0 to Tufts University in their third double overtime game in three matches.

The UAC voted to send the "Indigenous Peoples Day" resolution to the faculty senate.

FEATURES 9

For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

Waltham, Mass.

Let your voice be heard!

Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org

INDEX

SPORTS 16

ARTS SPORTS

17 13

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG

10 2

News 3 COPYRIGHT 2016 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

2

TUESDAY, September 27, 2016

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news

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the justice

NEWS SENATE LOG

Senators clarify support for black community and stance on BLM The Senate convened on Sunday to discuss a variety of issues, including chartering and recognizing clubs, planning upcoming outreach efforts and addressing how best to handle the latest developments in race relations on campus.

The Senate first heard a chartering request from One International, a club dedicated to advocating for the ending of extreme poverty. The Senate voted unanimously to grant One International chartering. Next came the Vietnamese Students’ Association, which laid out plans for a variety of programming it could run if chartered. The club was chartered by unanimous vote.

Your Story International then approached the Senate for chartering. The Senate voted unanimously to charter the group.

The Brandeis Society of Asian Students and Engineers then asked the Senate for chartering. Student representatives from SASE cited the University’s low engineering presence on campus, and the Senate voted to charter SASE with a vote of nineteen to one. Finally, the Brandeis Superfan Club approached the Senate for recognition. The club proposed a series of events wherein the Superfan Club would work with other clubs to incentivize home game attendance by providing food, organizing tailgating events and helping ensure that the community knows that games are occurring. The Senate voted unanimously to recognize the club.

Next, Student Union President David Herbstritt ’17 took the podium to speak on behalf of the Executive Board and address the concern that in a recent email, the sentence “We, the Brandeis Undergraduate Student Union” might have implied that they spoke for the entire Union without the consent of the Senate. Herbstritt told the Senate that the email was the result of a long discussion and was not made lightly.

After Herbstritt left, the Senate further addressed mandatory bystander training for all Student Union personnel and discussed expanding this policy to include club leaders, as well. In committee chair reports, the Service and Outreach Committee chair, Executive Senator Hannah Brown ’19 reported that her committee had discussed expanding BranVan service to Waltham on the weekends. The Club Support Committee chair, Class of 2017 Senator Ryan Tracy, proposed a system wherein clubs would be required to submit monthly reports on what they have planned or accomplished, in an attempt to ensure that clubs are not receiving undeserved funding.

The Senate then confirmed the chairs of the newly-established Health and Safety Committee, appointing Senator at Large Nathan Grees ’19 and Foster Mods Senator Ari Matz ’17 unanimously to the position. Following the confirmation, the Senate considered a motion to issue a statement in solidarity and support with black students at the University. This motion was written to specify the Senate’s stance that while the senators agree that black lives matter, they have some reservations about openly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Class of 2020 Senator Tal Richtman disagreed with phrasing that directly supports BLM because of the movement’s anti-Israel stance. He added that some of his Israeli constituents had come to him to voice their dissatisfaction with the Union’s prior statement.

The long deliberation that followed included a discussion about the broadness of the language that BLM has used, which many senators argued can contribute to these types of conflicts. The Senate moved to change the wording of the statement to highlight their support of the University’s black community without aligning itself to any one political group or movement.

In addition, a few other minor changes were made to the statement, amending awkwardly worded sentences and unforeseen implications. After the discussion, Brown emphasized to the Senate that the deliberation was “very important.” She made it clear to the Senate how proud she was that student government leaders were willing to voice their opinions, adding, “It’s important that if you have a dissenting opinion from the majority that you are not afraid to speak up.”

POLICE LOG Medical Emergency

Sept. 19—A party in Reitman hall reported that they had gotten dental floss stuck in their teeth and retainer. The party was treated by BEMCo staff with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 20—A party in Usdan Student Center requested BEMCo assistance for a Sodexo worker who was feeling ill. BEMCo treated the worker with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 22—A party in the Charles River Apartments reported that they were experiencing stomach pains. BEMCo staff treated the party on scene, and Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

Sept. 22—A party in Ziv Quad reported that they had injured their shoulder. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 23—University Police received a report that a party in Sachar International Center was experiencing shortness of breath.

Cataldo Ambulance transported

the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

Sept. 23—A party in Shapiro Hall reported that they were feeling ill. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

Sept. 23—University Police received a call that a party in Village Quad was experiencing a fever and general weakness.

The party was treated by BEMCo staff, and University Police transported the party to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care.

Sept. 24—The manager of the Stein reported that there was a sick party in the restaurant. BEMCo responded and treated the party with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 24—A party in Ziv reported that they were experiencing chest pains. The party was treated by BEMCo staff and was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

Sept. 24—A party in Village Quad requested BEMCo assistance. BEMCo staff treated the

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

Sept. 24—University Police received a call that a party in East Quad had a foot injury. BEMCo staff treated the party with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 25—University Police received a report of an intoxicated party on the steps of the Department of Public Safety building.

BEMCo staff treated the party, who was then transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

Larceny

Sept. 21—A student in Usdan Student Center reported that their wallet was missing after it was left unattended. University Police compiled a report.

Drugs

Sept. 21—A party in the Charles River Apartments reported the smell of marijuana coming from the apartment next to hers. University Police and the

HARVEST FEAST

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n There were no corrections to report this week.

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

Justice

the

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The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods.

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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.

Disturbance

Sept. 24—University Police were called in to help staff at the Stein deal with an unruly, intoxicated party. The party was placed in protective custody by University Police and was transported to the Waltham Police Department, where they remained until sober. The ACOC was notified.

Harassment

Sept. 19—A party reported that they had been harassed via email. University Police compiled a report.

Sept. 22—A party in Goldfarb Library reported that an unknown male had made a lewd gesture within the area.

University Police compiled a report on the incident and will review the closed-circuit footage of the library entrance for possible identification.

— Compiled by Abby Patkin.

BRIEF Squirrel causes power outage in Waltham

—Spencer Taft

The Justice will not print during the week of Oct. 3. Our next issue will be on Oct. 10.

area coordinator on call responded to the scene.

YASHASPRIYA RATHI/the Justice

Students sampled Korean dishes during a Chuseok party on Friday evening. The event, which celebrated a traditional Korean autumn festival, also featured games, traditional plays and dancing.

Waltham and Watertown faced widespread power outages on Thursday when a squirrel came in contact with Eversource Energy electrical equipment.

Eversource Massachusetts spokesperson Rhiannon D’Angelo told the Waltham Patch that that the outage affected more than 4,000 customers, although much of the power was restored within an hour of the outage.

“In May alone, squirrels were responsible for nearly forty separate outages in Western Mass,” Eversource MA wrote on Facebook on June 23. “This issue isn’t new to utilities by any means, and we employ a number of techniques and deterrents from squirrel guards to automated switching to combat these constantly climbing creatures.”

A Jan. 12 blog post from the Washington Post said that the American Public Power Association, a group that represents municipal electric utilities, told the Post that squirrels are the most frequent cause of power outages in the U.S., although it also noted that squirrel-induced outages typically affect fewer people than outages caused by storms.

Meanwhile, the Brookings Institution, a think tank, wrote on its website that “squirrels have taken down the power grid more times than the zero times that hackers have.”

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek website with the domain name “CyberSquirel1. com” keeps a detailed list of all electrical outages caused by squirrels since 1987. However, the map describes these incidents as “unclassified Cyber Squirrel Operations that have been released to the public that we have been able to confirm” and refers to the cause of these outages as “cyber war operatives.”

For the record, squirrels outnumber other countries in causing successful United States electrical outages 785 to zero, according to CyberSquirel1.

—Abby Patkin

ANNOUNCEMENTS Wide Exposure: Illuminating Diversity

Lou Jones, an established, internationally renowned photojournalist, will discuss his recent photography project that aims to exploit issues of race and culture in Egypt, Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Namibia.

PanAFRICA project attempts to redefine preconceived notions and encourage insight into the unique bearing of diverse cultures and individual lives. The presentation and discussion will highlight the different ways that artists address African identity and the complexities surrounding assumptions and false perceptions of people of color.

Today from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Epstein.

“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”

This lecture will provide the behind-thescenes story — a love story — of the creation of one of the nation’s most beloved songs.

This song shaped an important era in

American history and influenced an election.

Tomorrow from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Epstein.

Brandeis Community Open Meeting

University President Ron Liebowitz, Provost Lisa Lynch and Executive Vice President Stew Uretsky will present and discuss Kermit Daniel’s findings regarding the financial health and structure of the University.

These are very important campus discussions, and all members of the Brandeis community are encouraged to attend.

Tomorrow from 8 to 9:30 p.m. in Sherman Function Hall.

The PP Factor

The lecture will discuss the continued impact of persisting perceptions, the unseen and implicit nature of gender bias that supports the perception and the agentic need for awareness to enhance the navigational strategies of women leaders.

Thursday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Epstein.

Hamilton: The Panel

Please join the History and Politics departments for “Hamilton, the Panel: The Politics of Default, Bailouts, and the Power of the Purse in the Aftermath of the American Revolution.” This forum features Profs. George Hall (ECON), David Hackett Fischer (HIST), Paul Jankowski (HIST) and Steve Burg (POL).

Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. in Olin-Sang 207.

Hispanic Heritage Month: Poetry & Trivia

Join the Intercultural Center and Department of Student Activities staff at the Stein for a night of prizes and learning. They will have trivia night, a featured spoken word artist, music and more.

There will be prizes, so make sure to catch up on your knowledge of facts about Latin America.

Friday from 9:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the Stein.

the justice

administration

emphasized a wish to promote transparency around diversity efforts on campus.

By RACHEL SHARER JUSTICE EDITOR

The final Chief Diversity Officer candidate to speak on campus addressed students on Wednesday, touching on his goals for the University and his ideas on improving campus diversity.

This candidate, who serves as CDO and associate provost at a similar university, was the fourth finalist in consideration to visit campus. The University has held open forums for each of the four candidates and is gathering student feedback on each.

To protect the candidate’s current employment and respect the integrity of the search process, the Justice is not publishing the candidate’s name or identifying information.

The candidate opened by discussing his prior experience working on diversity issues on college campuses and his personal connection to these problems. As someone who identifies as part of the LGBTQ community and whose family is originally from Peru, he noted that issues related to diversity are very important and personal to him. He added that he began his career focusing on public policy issues before realizing he wanted to focus on diversity, specifically in higher education. “Higher education is one of the best places to think about creating a more just society,” he said. After working for many years as deputy chief diversity officer at a larger university, he now works as the CDO at a nearby university.

While he stated that he is happy with his current job, he told students that he thinks that Brandeis is a place where much more needs to be done to make the campus more inclusive and diverse. After following the Ford Hall movement last year, he is curious to know how students feel in the

aftermath and whether they feel their needs are being met, he said.

The candidate also said that the numbers in the campus climate survey from last year were “very troubling” to him, as they indicated students of color were having many uncomfortable experiences on campus. He stated that in times of trouble, students need the administration to reach out to them, not push them away. He added that he believes he inherently has the inclination to reach out to students in need and can bring this quality to the University.

When asked about what his main priorities as CDO would be, he said his first priority is to get to know the students and fully understand their concerns and needs. He said he wants to address the problems related to microaggressions on campus and make sure that staff and international students are two groups who also feel welcome and included on campus, as these groups can often get overlooked. He also touched on the importance of changing the curriculum and diversifying syllabi so all students feel welcome and included in the classroom. He noted that while the process of changing the curriculum can take years to fully implement, it can be done, and the culture of what becomes expected in a classroom will shift.

Finally, he mentioned that he will seek to increase transparency around diversity efforts and data collection on campus, continue the diversity training programs that are being conducted and promote relationship building on campus. The candidate said that while he admires the work students at Brandeis have done to create change, “diversity work should not largely be undertaken by students.” His goal is to take on this position and be “receptive to whatever comes forward.” This, he stated, comes first from understanding students and what they need, then creating structures, policies and systems that address these needs as deeply as possible.

BRIEF

UAC sends Indigenous People’s Day motion to Faculty Senate The University faculty will vote on whether to change Columbus Day to “Indigenous People’s Day” at the upcoming Oct. 7 faculty meeting. The motion was sent initially to the University Advisory Council, a board of faculty and administrators who advise the Provost, but the UAC chose on Thursday to send the motion to a full faculty vote.

The UAC unanimously approved forwarding the vote to the full faculty and will approve the change for this year if the vote is affirmative, according to an email to the Justice from Provost Lisa Lynch. Should the faculty vote against the change, the issue will return to the UAC for further discussion.

A coalition of student activists and Student Union representatives have campaigned for it since last Monday. Provost Lisa Lynch received a Student Union resolution last Monday urging the administration to change the holiday’s name ahead of Oct. 10, when it is celebrated. A petition in support of the change at Brandeis had 590 signatories by last night.

“I would not like to speculate but I would expect a careful discussion in the Faculty Senate and the full Faculty meeting,” Lynch wrote.

In an email to the Justice, activist Sophie Warren ’17 — who worked with the Union to write

their resolution and initially proposed the change — said that her fellow supporters “are understanding of the decision” to move for a full faculty vote. “Just as we want as many students to know about this change and amplify voices communicating the importance of this change, we too see a benefit to allowing our faculty to help us shift further towards justice in designating Indigenous People’s Day an institutionalized part of this calendar and our community,” Warren wrote.

Lynch wrote to the Justice for a Sept. 20 article that she had anticipated the faculty at large would want to weigh in on the change, even though the UAC approves changes to the academic calendar. The Anthropology department and Social Justice and Social Policy program have both explicitly endorsed the movement, as have the Justice and Brandeis Hoot editorial boards.

Warren wrote in her email that the community response has been “incredibly positive,” and that she’s heard of professors discussing the motion in classes.

She urged supporters to connect this movement with the Standing Rock Reservation protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Black Lives Matter movement.

—Max Moran

news

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TUESDAY, September 27, 2016

3

DEAD HEAT

Last CDO finalist speaks to students ■ The final candidate

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SAMUEL SANO/the Justice

Students in the Shapiro Campus Center last night watched the first presidential debate between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Prof. considers responsibility in Israeli-Palestinian conflict

■ David Myers examined

the conflict through a threedimensional lens to determine the parties responsible.

By ABby patkin JUSTICE editor

For professor of Jewish history David Myers, the ongoing IsraeliPalestinian conflict is just as much about the past as it is about the present. In a lecture on Tuesday, Myers discussed where the responsibility in the conflict lies, drawing upon Jewish, Arab and European historical context to illustrate his point.

While he noted that assigning blame in such a tense conflict is an “ambitious” undertaking, he said that using historical examples to do so “very much comports to my own sense … that history, my discipline, can and must serve the present.”

To utilize historical context to its fullest, one must adopt a threedimensional approach to the conflict, he said. A one-dimensional approach would involve total attribution of blame to one party, while a two-dimensional view would split the blame between two parties — in this case, Israel and Palestine. Neither approach considers outside influences, which could hold the key to a peaceful resolution, Myers argued.

Key moments from the conflict place blame on both Jews and Ar-

abs, said Myers, who teaches at UCLA. In 1967’s Six Day War, for example, Arab states instigated violent conflict with Israel. On the other hand, in continuing to occupy territory conquered in the war, Israel has deliberately ignored international law, he argued.

In 1947, Palestinians also denied a two-state partition plan, which might have avoided the conflict entirely. However, Myers claimed, the Palestinians were somewhat justified, as Zionists had displaced thousands of Palestinians in their attempt to settle a Jewish state.

Yet the Zionist movement would not be what it was if not for European anti-Semitism and colonialism, Myers pointed out.

Notably, Theodor Herzl, a founder of modern Zionism, was compelled to establish the first Zionist Congress in 1897 because of the fear he felt for his surroundings, he said.

Moreover, the 1919 Little Treaty of Versailles, which protected the status of minorities in Poland but fell short of giving them full agency, told the Jews that they needed to become a national majority group, he said. Additionally, the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which promoted the establishment of a Jewish state, conveyed to the Jews a need for an independent state.

In other words, the Jews were placed in a situation that made their search for national sovereignty appear to be a necessary act of survival, Myers argued. “I think

we must consider adding a new link to the causal chain of the Israel-Palestine conflict,” he said. “That new link helps us understand the Jews’ transformation from a disliked, at times oppressed and often beleaguered minority into a dominant … and oppressive majority.”

As a result of this three-dimensional scope, an ideal reconciliation would require nations whose actions contributed to the rise of Zionism to acknowledge their part in the conflict, Myers theorized.

These nations must make financial and political commitments to ensure the Jews’ place in Israel and to alleviate the Palestinian refugee problem, he said.

Palestinians should also acknowledge their violent actions in the conflict, in addition to recognizing Jews’ rights to reside in their homeland, he added. Israel, meanwhile, should acknowledge its role in the refugee crisis and should end its occupation, granting Palestinians full citizenship or their own state.

Ultimately, Myers concluded before fielding questions, the goal of this three-dimensional approach was not to shift blame or to absolve it. Rather, the intention was to push conversation to a position “between the poles of absolute virtue and absolute evil,” he said. “Between the pole of sole culpability on one hand and no culpability on the other, to which far too many succumb in sizing up the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

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News

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TUESDAY, September 27, 2016

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Campus speaker

Scholar looks at lack of female composers in major symphony main season lineups ■ WSRC scholar Liane Curtis

examined the history of female composers to suggest why sexism still exists in orchestral lineups.

By MAX MORAN JUSTICE editor

Comedian John Oliver rhetorically asks why American culture still permits norms like Columbus Day, Ayn Rand and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition in “How Is This Still A Thing,” a recurring segment on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight.” On Thursday, Women’s Studies Research Center scholar Liane Curtis borrowed the segment’s title to question another part of American culture: why major symphony orchestras almost never play music composed by women, especially music from the 19th century.

Curtis pointed out that of the top 21 major symphony orchestras in the United States by budget, 14 aren’t playing any pieces by women at all this season, and five are only playing one female-composed piece each. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, for instance, is playing one piece by a woman out of the 87 it has lined up for its main season shows this year. According to the Baltimore Philharmonic Orchestra — one of the two major orchestras playing four female-composed pieces — women composers only accounted for 1.8 percent of the total pieces performed in the 2014 to 2015 concert season.

When many symphony orchestras are asked about this disparity, they will point to female composers in their pops concerts or special programming, according to Curtis. However, female composers are often passed up in an orchestra’s mainstream subscription programming in favor of classical male composers like Bach, Beethoven or Brahms.

To explain why orchestras still give male composers so much representation, Curtis considered the history of orchestral music in the United States.

In the 1800s, cities began to establish formalized symphony orchestras that were entirely male, mainly performing famous European male composers.

Only in the 1950s did women begin to enter orchestras as performers, in part thanks to musicians’ unions fighting for gender-blind audition processes.

In the 1800s, even male American composers had trouble getting their work played, since the American orchestral scene venerated Europe.

Some European women had their works performed in Europe during the 1800s, but most were forgotten after their deaths.

In the 1970s, music historians began discovering and talking about female classical composers from the 1800s.

However, since orchestral decisionmakers and audiences mostly associate symphony orchestras with classic European pieces — and due to sexism and patriarchy — these rediscovered pieces mostly went unplayed. As a result, even though orchestras have almost equal gender representation in their performers today, their repertoires remain widely male.

It is difficult to determine exactly how many female composers wrote during the 1800s, and because only male composers were being commissioned, female composers wrote solely out of love for music, and their works were not performed as frequently. “It will never be as large as what the men had, because the men had jobs,” Curtis said. “The men were being paid, and the women were outside that whole economic transaction. But women were still, nonetheless, doing it.”

Among their numbers were Fanny Hensel, Emilie Mayer, Augusta Holmes and Amy Beach. Curtis is currently campaigning for the Boston Symphony Orchestra to play Beach’s works next year, in honor of both her 150th birthday and the symphony she premiered through the BSO in 1896.

“She made her mark in Boston,” Curtis said.

However, many continue to argue that gender bias does not exist in symphony orchestras, citing pops

CANDICE JIANG/the Justice

HOW IS THIS STILL A THING?: Liane Curtis addressed the lack of female-composed music in orchestras in a talk on Thursday. and children’s shows. Curtis said that these shows don’t carry the same professional cachet as a main-season performance, adding that the argument doesn’t address the deficit in main-season shows in the first place. “They’re not composers the same way classical composers are; it’s sort of pay-forhire,” she explained.

The argument that quality alone determines what is chosen for a concert series also holds no water, Curtis emphasized. “We all know that there’s no formula for determining what is quality. … So often in the classical music world, familiarity takes the place of quality. It’s what they know, it’s what they learned in music school.”

Mozart’s Symphony No. 1 is performed frequently, usually as a contrast to his later work, when it’s often considered forgettable on its own merits, she pointed out. “Is there anything really that distinctive about Mozart’s Symphony No. 1, which he wrote at the age of eight with help from his father?”

Curtis quipped. “But people program it because we’re interested in Mozart.”

The notion that someone can objectively determine quality assumes that they are “living in some patriarchyfree universe somewhere,” Curtis added.

“We all know that gender bias exists, and even those of us who work every day against it can never be free

of it,” she said, sharing an anecdote about seeing conductor Susanna Malkki walk on stage and thinking, “Who’s the soloist?”

Yet the labels “women composers” and “men composers” still have a place in this discussion, Curtis concluded.

“We need these labels to point out the presence of men without women and the lack of women and the lack of inclusion,” she said. “We both need special events that celebrate women, and we also need more women in the mainstream.” She added that orchestras are making some progress, especially smaller orchestras playing women composers, but that there is still more progress to be made.

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BUDGET: Deficit underlies past revenue surplus CONTINUED FROM 1 ance … in its financial situation,” Daniel said. He explained that although the University has, for many years, been taking measures and engaging in practices to stretch its budget as far as possible, “these practices aren’t all really sustainable.”

For several decades, Daniel said, the University has been taking a relatively high amount of money from its endowment on a yearly basis. While the University’s goal for an endowment draw rate is 5 percent, the actual draw rate reached a high of 11 percent in 1990, with a current draw rate hovering around 6 percent.

If draw rates had been limited to 5 percent instead of 5.9 percent since 1997, Daniel estimated, the endowment today would be up to $180 million above its actual current value.

Endowment needs to offset inflation, he explained. In other words, even if money is added to the endowment, its actual value might still drop.

In addition to limiting annual draw, Daniel said, the University needs to allocate a certain amount of money each year to growing the endowment. To illustrate this point, he showed a graph comparing Brandeis to five other research-intensive universities which, in 1990, had similar endowment sizes.

Now, 25 years later, Brandeis' endowment has fallen some hundreds of thousands of dollars behind those of four of the five other universities, in large part because of its very slow growth rate, Daniel explained. If the University had contributed 40 to 50 percent of cash gifts received to the endowment, it would currently have an endowment worth between $1.2 and $1.8 billion, about twice what it is right now. That would mean that tens of millions of additional dollars would go to the annual operating budget.

Decaying Infrastructure The campus’s decaying infrastructure also contributes to the financial burden on the University.

“It’s been a very long time since anything was done about the infrastructure here, and … it’s beginning to show,” Daniel said in his presentation.

Essential repairs to the Science Complex would likely cost between $80 and $100 million dollars, and the library could end up costing the University an additional $10 to $15 million. Various other campus needs could cost between $92 and $119 million more.

In addition to physical infrastructure, Daniel said, information infrastructure requires serious attention. PeopleSoft (now Oracle), the company that provides various management systems to the University, needs to be updated, as do various other information systems.

The University would likely need to spend between $1 and $7 million annually to maintain competitive enough salaries to attract and retain quality faculty in the future, he said. Although salary is only one of a number of factors that play into professors’ decisions to teach at the University, Daniel said, it is still a crucial one. Retaining high-retention-risk faculty and those with lagging salaries would conservatively cost $1 to $2 million dollars. Additionally, bringing salaries across the board closer to the Association of American Universities average would likely cost between $5 and $7 million.

Projected Surplus While the various structural imbalances Brandeis is facing are the result of years of what Daniel called “unsustainable practices,” the University’s long-term budget deficit may still come as a surprise to many.

According to a September 2014 BrandeisNow article, former University President Frederick Lawrence announced in a staff town hall meeting that the University was “moving closer to its goals for financial stability and sustainability” and was “very close to eliminating the budget deficits that have persisted for many years.” At a faculty meeting two months later, Lawrence called the University's financial position “a position of stability” and Lynch projected the surplus to hold until 2024, according to a Justice article from the same time.

However, Lynch said at the open meeting, this estimate failed to address “deeper structural conditions, things that we are not investing in.

So we could do that [run at a surplus], but then we would lose faculty. We would have buildings crumbling. We would have programs not at the level or the standards that we expect at a university."

While “Brandeis has had a balanced budget on the books for auditors to see,” Liebowitz added, “underneath that came practices that … are not sustainable.”

According to Daniel, the $2.6 million surplus that the University reported in 2015 (its “biggest plus year”) reflects a much higher figure than the University actually has to spend. If all unsustainable practices had been addressed in that year — if endowment draw rate had been reduced, more gifts directed to endowment, faculty and staff shortfalls addressed, deferred maintenance attended to and essential IT infrastructure upgrades addressed — the University’s net assets from operations would fall from $2.6 million to -$29.3 million, Daniel explained.

Looking Forward The panel agreed that the University will have to make considerable changes to its structure and governance. “There are a number of institutional decisions ahead of us,” Liebowitz said. However, he noted, the University has not yet developed a plan to address its long-term deficit. “While we’re not in a position to articulate specific changes now, we do know that change is inevitable.”

What is important now, Liebowitz said, is to “recognize and identify what it is that makes Brandeis Brandeis, what is core to our existence and our mission, and how to prioritize things moving forward.”

One method that the University has promised it will not use to deal with financial imbalances is the raising of tuition. In an emailed statement provided to the Justice, Liebowitz wrote that there was “little more we could do to generate more revenue from tuition. Our annual increases need to be reduced over time, lest we price out too many excellent students from applying to Brandeis. Ideally, we need to reduce our dependency on tuition and reduce annual increases. That's a goal.”

Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Emily Conrad ’17 said in an interview with the Justice that this level of transparency around the University’s financial situation is important, as even administrators struggled with getting this information in the past. “We need to know why the Board is making [the decisions they make],” she said. “We want to understand why they’re being made and what is the evidence behind that. And I think that this kind of transparency allows us to start seeing some of that evidence, seeing that the reason we have to cut X, Y, or Z program is because we don’t have the money right now.”

A second meeting with the same presentation took place yesterday in Levin Ballroom, and a third will occur on Wednesday in Sherman Function Hall.

●

NEWS

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TUESDAY, September 27, 2016

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BLOOD ON THE LEAVES

MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice

SHUT IT DOWN: Nyah Macklin '16 sang to a group of demonstrators at the top of Rabb steps before yesterday's march.

MARCH: Students finish march with die-in at SCC CONTINUED FROM 1

peace, no racist police” and “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now. If we don’t get it, shut it down,” among other chants.

Once the crowd had filed into the SCC atrium, the organizers asked

them to lie down on the ground to simulate the black lives lost to racial violence across the country. As the attendees lay in silence, several organizers read the names of recent lives lost to police shootings and racially motivated crime in the

United States.

Before the crowd dispersed, Macklin asked those present to hold hands and form a circle for a brief hymn. “Ancestors watching, I know they’re watching. Ancestors watching, I know. I know,” they chanted.

DOE: Title IX complaint investigation ongoing following suit withdrawal CONTINUED FROM 1 sional and private life,” according to the statement.

In a statement emailed to the Justice, Senior Vice President for Communications Judy Glasser wrote that “Brandeis agreed to the dismissal of this case at the plaintiff’s request. There was no settlement involved. We remain confident that we have the policies and procedures in place to enable us to promptly and appropriately investigate and adjudicate allegations of sexual misconduct affecting the Brandeis community.”

The case centered on Doe’s relationship with a boyfriend — referred to as “J.C.” in court documents — who accused Doe of sexual assault and harassment several months after their relationship ended. The alleged sexual misconduct included waking his boyfriend with a kiss and sexual overture and touching his groin while watching a film.

Doe was found guilty under the 2013 to 2014 version of the Special Examiner’s process and received sexual assault training and a disciplinary warning. Doe claimed in his suit that the University also pro-

vided the documents to an employer, causing him to lose a prestigious internship.

Doe sued the University over issues with both the Special Examiner’s process itself and with its execution in his particular case. Doe did not know what he was being accused of when he was interviewed by the Special Examiner and lacked the right to counsel.

The current Special Examiner’s Process permits advisers and provides the accused with more detailed information about the case prior to a decision.

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Write for Arts!

Contact Lizzie Grossman at arts@thejustice.org

8

features

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 ● Features ● The Justice

just

VERBATIM | GEORGE WASHINGTON Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1968, the musical “Hair” premiered in London.

To qualify as a “Broadway theater,” a theater must seat at least 500 people.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATRIN ANDRZEJEWSKI

DEDICATED PHILOSOPHER: Prof. Berislav Maruši’s (PHIL) book considers the role of

evidence when making choices.

‘Evidence and Agency’ Prof. Berislav Maruši (PHIL) discussed his book and winning the 2016 Sanders Book Prize

By LEAH SCHER

JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Human beings have dignity; they don’t have a price. That’s why human beings can’t be bought or sold,” said Prof. Berislav Marušić (PHIL) in an interview with the Justice, paraphrasing a conversation he had once had with his son. “What’s dignity?” his son prompted.

Marušić replied, “Dignity is the idea that every person gets to make decisions for themselves” — to which his son artfully responded, “Well then, why can’t I watch TV whenever I decide?”

And so his young, amusingly ruminative son rendered the 2016 recipient of the American Philosophical Association Sanders Book Prize speechless.

Professor Marušić is originally from Croatia. He started working at Brandeis in 2007 as an assistant professor, making this his tenth academic year here.

When asked why he chose Brandeis, he explained that he didn’t really choose it but that, rather, the University chose him.

That is to say, he was offered the position, and Brandeis’ dynamic and intellectual ambiance, in addition to its refreshing and staunch devotion to social justice, was reason to look no further.

Though the subject always fascinated him, it was only in the spring semester of his

undergraduate sophomore year at Harvard University that Marušić wholeheartedly committed to philosophy as his field of study.

“For me, the main challenge … was realizing that philosophy is enough, that there was enough substance there and I didn’t need something else.”

Marušić began his own freshman year, as an ambitious undergraduate is wont to do, with a medley of courses - math, history, physics, linguistics and literature.

“I tried to do philosophy and something else. I started out in philosophy and physics, then the physics was hard and I wasn’t really interested in the physics part of it, so I did philosophy and literature, and literature was good, but I was really always interested in the philosophy part,” which is how his sophomore year ended with a schedule consisting of five philosophy classes.

The motivation for his book was the question of how we, as agents, should consider evidence when deciding what to do or how to do something, both before and as we make the decision.

His book, “Evidence and Agency: Norms of Belief for Promising and Resolving” (Oxford University Press), is about “the difference between deciding what to do and predicting what we will do,” as the opening sentence of the book reads.

Marušić defines the distinction between the two by the grounds on which each is made: “When we’re making a decision, we decide

based on what the philosophers say are ‘practical reasons’ — based on what we want, what we value, or what we ought to do, whereas when we make predictions, the grounds for the prediction consist in evidence of what will likely happen.”

To expound, Marušić gave an example of someone trying to quit smoking, a venture at which many, based on widespread testimony, tend to fail.

And perhaps the hypothetical motivated individual has the added drawback of a bad track record. This is ample temptation to not follow through. “How should I think about that — that evidence that I might fail — as I make a decision? That’s what the book is about. The book is called ‘Evidence and Agency’ because it’s about how you take into account evidence when you are the agent and when you think about your own agency.”

To make a good decision, then, explains Marušić, or to make a good promise, you have to predict that you will succeed.

In his book, Marušić defends the idea that we do still make decisions, even in the face of evidence that we may flounder, because “the grounds for our decision or promise are not somehow evidence-based but are rooted in what we value.” The important thing, he says, is that we are shrewd about our decisions, taking into account the difficulty in keeping our promises and

subsequently taking the proper steps to make sure we follow through. He further emphasizes, “This does not mean making predictions about your success.

“As an agent, you are not in the business of making predictions about yourself. To the extent that you do, you treat what you do as something that merely happens. As an agent, you have to be mindful of the difficulty but still make decisions.”

Marušić admitted, “Now, is that good life advice? I have no idea. I’m not in the business of life advice. I’m in the business of trying to understand what would be rational.”

He shared his approach to philosophy: keep it fairly close to life experience. This, he explained, is a less conventional method, as philosophy tends to be rather abstract, entailing the sort of terms that don’t always translate directly into life.

It may be this very methodology that produces pensive, witty children like Marušić’s, as he relayed an anecdote about his daughter: “There was a place she really didn’t want to go, and we were telling her, ‘Listen, you really gotta go.’ And she was saying, ‘But I have my dignity!’ And she’s four.”

And even though the existence of her dignity means she gets to make her own decisions, explained Marušić, when the family is going to see friends who want to see everyone, certainly she has to come along.

These opposing observations are another example of puzzling philosophical dissonance in life that demands our reconciliation.

Marušić’s philosophy is that philosophy plays out every day in nearly every part of life, and seldom do we take the time to sit down, undo ourselves from the cacophonous masses of evidence being constantly thrust in our direction and really consider that we are the agents of the decisions we make and, as such, have the ability to look at the same considerations in a distinctly practical way.

Marušić is currently working on a second book that explores the concept of emotions as a response.

Oftentimes, when we experience emotions in this way, after some time, the feeling diminishes fairly quickly, even though the stimulus to which we responded remains the same.

The book, he says, is “an effort to understand my own emotional response. … My mother died some years ago, and I was very sad, but then fairly quickly I stopped being sad. But what my sadness was a response to — her death — that remains the same to this day.”

He specifies that his books are not an effort to understand his own life as his own but rather an effort to understand life as lived by us in this time period.

When he writes about grief, love, or evidence and agency, “It’s not about me — it’s supposed to speak to others, as well.”

the justice ● Features ● TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

KIRBY KOCHANOWSKI/the Justice

DENIAL DISCUSSION: Deborah Lipstadt ’72 Ph.D. ’76 (right) discussed what motivates people to “deny” with filmmaker Errol Morris H ’11.

A Discourse on ‘Denial’ Deborah Lipstadt ’72 Ph.D. ’76 was awarded the 2016 Alumni Achievement Award

By KiRBY KOCHANOWSKI JUSTICE EDITOR

“I always tell my students to think about the etymology of the word prejudice. Pre - judge. [Essentially this says,] ‘I’ve made up my mind; don’t confuse me with the facts,’” Deborah Lipstadt ’72 Ph.D. ’76 explained to the crowded Wasserman Cinematheque.

Prejudice is something that Lipstadt, a Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University and the author of several books including “Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust,” “Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory,” and “The Eichmann Trial,” is all too familiar with.

In 1996, a lawsuit was brought against Lipstadt by the historian David Irving, who claimed that she had used defamatory language in one of her books in reference to him.

Irving is most known for his denial of the systematic gassing of Jews in Auschwitz and his belief that Hitler was minimally, if at all, responsible for the ordered killing of Jews. In her book “Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory,” Lipstadt, among other statements, called Irving “a dangerous spokesperson” for deniers.

Rather than choosing to settle the case, Lipstadt chose to go to court and challenge Irving directly.

In April 2000, after three months of trial, Judge Charles Gray ruled in favor of Lipstadt.

In 2005, Lipstadt went on to publish the book “History on Trial:

KIRBY KOCHANOWSKI/the Justice

HONORED ALUMNA: Lipstadt (left) was presented with the Alumni Achievement Award by University President Ronald Liebowitz (right).

My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier” about her experience fighting Irving in court. The book has now been turned into the film “Denial,” directed by Primetime Emmy-winner Mick Jackson and starring Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz, who portrays Lipstadt. On Thursday, the Brandeis Alumni

Association and the Film, Television and Interactive Media department at the University hosted a film screening of “Denial.” Prior to the start of the film, Lipstadt was presented with the 2016 Alumni Achievement Award by University President Ronald Liebowitz.

Each year, the award is pre-

sented to an alum who “has made distinguished contributions to their professions or chosen fields of endeavor,” according to the Brandeis website.

At the film’s end, Lipstadt was invited back onto the stage alongside Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris.

Morris, who was awarded an honorary degree by the University in 2011, released the documentary “Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.” in 1999, which also focuses on Holocaust denial.

In the course of discussion, the two grappled with the idea of deniers and what specifically causes people to deny the Holocaust. “Irving and many other deniers, certainly those at the heart of the denial movement, are motivated by anti-Semitism, an adjulation of Hitler, Nazism, and, in many cases — certainly in Irving’s case — a racism that makes them see the world in a very different way,” Lipstadt said.

Yet despite her interactions with adamant deniers, people like David Irving aren’t who Lipstadt worries about.

She instead is concerned about “the people who listen and say, ‘Hm, maybe there’s something to [what Irving says].’”

In fact, Lipstadt even warned Morris about these listeners before he began making the film “Mr. Death” Morris explained that Lipstadt approached him with “her not unreasonable fear that by giving attention to a Holocaust denier, I was aiding and abetting the denial of history.”

Yet he still felt the film was important to make.

In the course of his research, Morris visited the archives at

Auschwitz; he reflected on this experience, recalling, “feeling ‘oh my God,’ all of this is real. Unimaginable, but real. So, for me, history is becoming reconnected in some way with the past.”

In the course of making “Mr. Death” Morris showed an unfinished version of the film to a class at Harvard University.

By the end, many students were confused and were either considering the possibility that the Holocaust didn’t happen or thought that Morris himself was a denier.

“Now, both of these results were intolerable to me; totally unacceptable. So I had to completely modify the movie,” Morris explained.

But Morris’ struggles again posed an interesting question: “How do you fight the David Irvings … without building them up? How do you expose [deniers] without giving [them] the oxygen of PR?” Lipstadt asked.

While preparing for trial, Lipstadt recalled speaking with her solicitor, Anthony Julius, regarding her desire to win against Irving. Yet Julius replied that Irving wasn’t important. Instead, he claimed that Irving was “like the shit you step in on the street — it has no intrinsic importance unless you fail to clean it off your feet.”

Even so, to Lipstadt there is no question that deniers must be fought. “At this point, I think the job is to expose the lies and to call people on their lies and when they make things up, to challenge them,” Lipstadt said. And although Lipstadt successfully fought Irving in court, exposing his historical lies and anti-Semitic motives, she asserts that the trial was never something she expected.

“It wasn’t what I did. It was what was done to me,” she concluded.

9

10 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

the

Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

Carmi Rothberg, Editor in Chief Mihir Khanna, Managing Editor Max Moran, Senior Editor Morgan Brill, Deputy Editor Jessica Goldstein and Noah Hessdorf, Associate Editors Abby Patkin, News Editor, Kirby Kochanowski, Features Editor Amber Miles, Forum Editor, Jerry Miller, Sports Editor Lizzie Grossman, Arts Editor Morgan Brill, Acting Photography Editor Mira Mellman, Layout Editor, Pamela Klahr and Robbie Lurie, Ads Editors

EDITORIALS Prioritize faculty budget and tuition control On Thursday, Sept. 22, President Ron Liebowitz, along with Provost Lisa Lynch and Executive Vice President Stew Uretsky, held an open meeting — the first of three — in which they discussed the discoveries of an outside consultant, Dr. Kermit Daniel of New York consulting firm Incandescent, on the financial health of the University.

The key takeaway from the presentation was that the University is currently running at a deficit and that this deficit is unsustainable.

Liebowitz stressed that it remains his goal to be transparent with those outside of the administration and that the administration is open to listening to others.

This board encourages the University to follow through on this commitment and strive to be open and honest with students, faculty and staff in this manner, and we call upon the campus community to fulfill Liebowitz’s request for dialogue on this issue by attending open meetings and making their goals clear to the administration.

Liebowitz acknowledged that the status quo cannot survive and that the University will have to “prioritize things moving forward.”

This board acknowledges that there will be many cuts to the budget, and we encourage the student body to work toward accepting this hard truth in order to achieve a productive solution. However, there are a couple of critical areas that must be avoided in any of these upcoming changes to the University budget, and we urge students to help protect these areas.

This board believes that as students advocate for their own goals, they should keep in mind faculty and tuition as two key priorities.

The foundation to any educational institution is most certainly its educators, and this University is no different. Brandeis should focus on retaining top professors by maintaining competitive salaries.

In order to retain the highest quality faculty, as outlined in the presentation, it will take between $1 and $7 million per year from the University to be competitive in faculty salary. Regardless, this issue has to be one of top priority for the University as it addresses how and where to cut the budget as well as how to best put Brandeis money to good use.

In addition to prioritizing faculty during a period of refining the University’s finances, most members of the student body can also rally behind another issue of great concern: tuition hikes. At Brandeis, tuition increases between 3 and 4 percent every year, and these increases do not seem to have an end in sight.

During the presentation, the University reported that adding enrollment would provide only a slight increase to its revenue.

This board is concerned that instead of increasing enrollment or acquiring more donations, the University will turn to raising tuition as one of the only means available to increasing its revenue. Tuition is already at a price

Communicate changes openly that makes it impossible for most students to afford it without some sort of financial aid.

This board understands that the University must increase tuition every year, as comparable to the national average among universities, but it is imperative to recognize that any attempt to supplement the budget with additional increments of tuition hikes beyond 4 percent is infeasible and unfair.

On Sept. 26, Liebowitz reaffirmed this, telling the Justice in an email, “There is little more we could do to generate more revenue from tuition.

Our annual increases need to be reduced over time, lest we price out too many excellent students from applying to Brandeis. Ideally, we need to reduce our dependency on tuition and reduce annual increases. That’s a goal.”

This board acknowledges that the University is in a difficult financial situation and therefore must make tough — and likely unpopular — decisions as it seeks to remedy its money problems.

“

Careful prioritization, collaboration and transparency are crucial to making this bad situation manageable.

However, we urge administrators and other decision makers in this process to keep in mind the needs of the University’s main responsibility: its students.

Tuition hikes higher than the national average and the loss of great faculty would be deeply counterproductive to students’ needs and higher-education goals.

Consequently, as the University makes plans to improve its financial health, it must prioritize these two things. In order to ensure this, students should seek to hold the University accountable.

Additionally, the University must carry out Liebowitz’s stated goal of transparency.

No matter what, the University will have to make some difficult decisions in order to handle the deficit, but these decisions will become even more difficult if students, faculty and staff are not on the same page with administrators.

Facing this tough situation as a united front will make solving the problem easier for all involved. In order to create this united front, the University must provide the greater community with proper notice and explanation of any major changes in the budget.

Careful prioritization, collaboration and transparency are crucial to making this bad situation manageable.

JULIANNA SCIONTI/the Justice

Views the News on

At the University of Ghana this month, activists have called for the removal of a recently installed statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. According to a Sept.

20 Washington Post article, an online petition written by five faculty members cites Gandhi’s alleged racist views about Africans as the primary reason for this movement, and in less than a week, approximately 1,000 people signed the petition. Do you believe that the University of Ghana should remove Gandhi’s statue, and do you think society should re-examine its praise of Gandhi in light of racist remarks in his writings?

Prof. Rajesh Sampath (Heller) When exploring two different Global Southern contexts, the matter is not so clear cut when discussing issues of institutional racism and oppression in higher education. Take for example the petition signed by 1,000 people at the University of Ghana to remove Gandhi’s statue, seeing that greater awareness of his racist views about Africans is coming to light. How do we reconcile this justice and injustice in the same individual? One could argue that the Ghanaians have every right to remove a symbol that they find is a direct affront to their moral sensibility on what constitutes harm to their pride in identity and heritage. And in that regard, their right to self-determination should outweigh an international demand that Gandhi’s legacy be respected. If one still admires Gandhi’s revolutionary movement that freed India from British rule, then fine. But if others condemn his racist views, particularly those directly affected by them, such as African people, then their desire to thwart past effects of oppression on the present should by duly respected.

Rajesh Sampath (Heller) is an Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Justice, Rights, and Social Change.

Prof. Carina Ray (AAAS) What’s happening at the University of Ghana (Legon) is part of a global movement in which people, many of them university students, are critically interrogating the racial politics of memorialization. From the “Rhodes Must Fall” movement in South Africa to the call to drop Woodrow Wilson’s name from Princeton’s public policy school, students are demanding their schools stop honoring figures who held racist beliefs and who often put those beliefs into practice in ways that continue to produce racial inequality in society and in our educational institutions. Unfortunately, Gandhi’s anti-African racism is no longer alleged; it is something that has been definitively documented by Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed in their new book “The South African Gandhi: Stretch-Bearer of Empire.” Why should students and faculty have to walk by a statue of Gandhi on the Legon campus only to be reminded of his disdain for them? Whether in Ghana, South Africa or the US, we need to (re)create university environments that nurture our souls and intellects, not chip away at them by honoring those who wouldn’t have honored us.

Carina Ray (AAAS) is an Associate Professor of African and Afro-American Studies.

Henry Snow ’17 It is not for me to say what Ghanaian students and faculty believe best represents the values of their institution. Mohandas Gandhi was inarguably a complicated figure with a complicated legacy in multiple areas. Beyond his writings, Gandhi’s legacy of action was mixed — in the words of one of his contemporaries, the Dalit politician B.R. Ambedkar, concerning Gandhi’s actions on Dalit rights, he was “devious and untrustworthy.” Through analysis of historical figures we can interrogate nuance and contradiction in history and society, and the discourse the students and faculty of the University of Ghana have created is doing just that, whatever they may decide the implications of his racist remarks should be in this instance. America has its own complicated heroes — many of them actually unambiguously awful — and could do with such interrogation.

Henry Snow ’17 is a History major. He is also the vice president of operations for the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society.

Max Moran ’17 The University of Ghana has as much right to take down a statue of Mohandas Gandhi as Brandeis University had to disinvite Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Three years ago, a movement within this University’s community rose to object to an administrative action which activists found contrary to the values of the University. Then, as now, the University’s administrators can expect plenty of negative headlines headed their way if they “kowtow” to activist voices on campus. But schools in democracies — like the United States and Ghana — should reflect the ideals of their government, and there is plenty to criticize about Gandhi when one looks past the myth-making. If a large voice on campus wants this change, and no credible voice emerges in opposition, it’s perfectly fair to take down the statue. The point is that there’s more to this story than us Westerners and non-University of Ghana students can glean from reading a few articles. Like all college campuses, I’m sure the University of Ghana has its own culture and history which influences the actions of its student body, and as onlookers, I’m not sure it’s appropriate for us to judge them until they’ve stated their case more fully.

Max Moran’17 is an International and Global Studies major. He is also a senior editor for the Justice.

THE JUSTICE ● fORUM ● TUESDAY, September 27, 2016

11

Demonstrate commitment to ending the conflict in Syria By nicole mazurova JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Syrian civil war is the most prominent humanitarian crisis of the year. Yet this fact alone will never mobilize the West to resolve the crisis, and neither will the incentive of increasing refugee flows, the threat of radicalization — which often pairs with destabilization of certain regions — or the marring of Western global conscience. What will make United States and European Union leaders take the need for crisis resolution seriously? What will inspire them to commit the resources, including the most coveted — soldiers — to this war? Could it be another threat looming on the Continent?

The West has expressed suspicion of Russian intentions from the beginning, when Russia announced military buildup in Latakia and began flying equipment into Syria. Initially, however, most states, including the U.S., were willing to pass the buck. The appeal of avoiding another entanglement in the Middle East, while allowing Russia — whose president has remained in Western leadership’s bad graces since the Russian annexation of Crimea — to take a crack at it seemed too good to pass up.

Nonetheless, it became clear early on that Russia was not exactly playing on the West’s side.

According to a Sept. 30, 2015 New York Times article, Russia’s stated goal for intervention was to fight the Islamic State, arguing that to do so, Bashar al-Assad could not be ousted like Hussein in Iraq because the resulting chaos would result in a breeding ground for terrorism. Russia’s military campaign has allowed Assad to regain lost territory, reversing most of the headway the opposition had achieved with the support of the West. However, in the process, it also became clear that eradicating the Islamic State does not actually figure into Putin’s agenda. Nor does ending the crisis, it seems.

On June 30, the Obama administration proposed a new military partnership with Russia in Syria, according to a July 1 United Press International article. The U.S. and Russia agreed to engage in joint operations if Russia would encourage Assad to stop bombing U.S.-backed rebel groups. Though this seemed a little too ambitious, this was a signal from the U.S. that it was willing to explore collaboration with Russia.

This culminated in peace talks in Geneva earlier this September during which Russia and the U.S. appeared to make headway. A ceasefire was put into place, giving the world community hope that joint operations against the Islamic State and plans for reparations would follow. However, after a mere week, the ceasefire has fallen apart,

PERI MEYERS/the Justice

and hostilities between Russia and the U.S. are at a new high.

On Sept. 17, the U.S. breached the agreedupon ceasefire after carrying out air-strikes in northern Syria, alleging that it had mistaken the Syrian government troops for those of the Islamic State, according to a Sept. 17 CNBC article. The Pentagon issued an apology, but Russia denounced it as insincere; the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova, went so far as to say that “after today’s attack on the Syrian army, we come to the terrible conclusion that the White House is defending the Islamic State,” according to a Sept. 17 Los Angeles Times article.

On Sept. 22, the U.S. issued a statement that it believed Russia was responsible for bombing a U.N. humanitarian aid convoy, which Russia has since denied, according to a Sept. 22 New York

Times article.

This follows the trend of the Russian Defense Ministry rejecting any accusations levied against Russia, contributing to U.S. distrust of Russian intentions. These include allegations against Russia that it bombed a hospital funded

by Doctors Without Borders in northern Syria in February 2016, conducted raids in Idlib in May 2016 and carried out airstrikes over a rebel base in southeast Syria used by U.S. and U.K. special forces in June 2016. The blame game between Russia and the U.S. culminated with Assad’s army declaring the ceasefire over and Russia and Syria beginning an operation to take back Aleppo, according to a Sept. 23 USA Today article.

It is time for the West to consider that Russia is intentionally prolonging the crisis; Syria has become one of Putin’s bargaining chips. He needs leverage in other crises, such as Ukraine.

Through low-level sabotage and intimidation,

Putin seeks to convince the West that giving in to Russian demands would make the peace process go more smoothly. For example, if the U.S. agrees to lift sanctions and stop NATO expansion in Europe, Russia will put more pressure on Assad to end resistance. U.S. options are limited: It must either compromise, most likely at winlose terms, to end the Syrian conflict, or it must impress upon Russia that the U.S. will pursue a solution that excludes the Kremlin. Either way, relations between the countries will continue to deteriorate. The Middle East is turning into a proxy war which will hopefully not result in a direct confrontation. The U.S. taking a harder line and demonstrating resolve in Syria is crucial. If not for the sake of humanitarian concern, the refugee crisis in Europe, terrorism or moral reputation, decisive action in Syria is needed to make clear that the West will rise above military extortion and propaganda manipulations.

Urge Apple to develop technology to reduce cellphone use while driving Amber

MILES ANONYMOUS KRAKEN

As smartphone popularity has increased, so have instances of and casualties from distracted driving; in 2015, distractionaffected fatalities rose by 8.8 percent from the previous year, according to an August 2016 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report.

This increase was the highest percent change of all measured fatalities in the report — even exceeding the 7.2 percent increase of total fatalities, which, itself, was the highest in five decades. At least 35,092 people were killed in car collisions in 2015, and one in every 10 of these fatalities involved distraction, according to the same NHTSA report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists three main types of driving distractions — visual, manual and cognitive — and reports that “texting while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction.”

Recently, according to a Sept. 24 New York Times article, families of the victims in a 2013 Texas collision have filed a lawsuit against Apple, arguing that Apple should have done something to prevent the culpable driver, Ashley Kubiak, from texting while driving.

The lawsuit has thus raised a question of whether cellphone companies have a responsibility to prevent people from using their technology while driving.

Legal experts doubt that the family’s

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lawsuit will succeed, and in August, a Texas magistrate recommended the case’s dismissal — but the issue still warrants discussion.

Although Apple has no solid legal obligation to prevent their customers from texting while driving, the company’s moral responsibility is more of a gray area.

To Apple’s credit, it does publicly discourage phone use while driving, and it has even developed hands-free technology called “CarPlay” — but that is not enough.

CarPlay only works with select cars, and it only eliminates the visual and manual distractions of phone use, leaving the dangers of cognitive distraction.

Still, CarPlay is a step in the right direction, and it shows a willingness on Apple’s part to help contribute to a solution to cellphonerelated distracted driving ―— so why has Apple not taken it further?

According to the same Sept. 24 NYT article, in 2008, Apple filed for a patent for technology designed to “lock out” a person’s phone if it determined that the person was driving.

Apple, itself, recognized the value of such preventative technology, writing in the patent, “Texting while driving has become so widespread that it is doubtful that law enforcement will have any significant effect on stopping the practice.” Apple lawyers report that the patent was granted in 2014, but since then, there have been no indications of further development.

Formerly of the National Safety Council, private consultant David Teater theorized that Apple’s hesitance to develop such technology may stem from corporate greed and the fear of driving away customers by blocking texting while driving first: “A customer might say, ‘If Apple does it, then my next phone is a Samsung,’” he said, according to the same Sept. 24 NYT article.

Assuming Teater’s theory holds weight,

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such reasoning would not justify failure to develop the technology. Benefit would far outweigh any potential harm; the matter boils down to a trade-off between saved lives or minimal lost profit for Apple, a company ranked the most profitable in the world, according to an Oct. 24, 2015 USA Today article.

That said, the likelihood of Apple’s sales decreasing significantly due to the deployment of such life-saving technology is slim. According to a Jan. 19, 2015 CNBC article, Barbara Findlay Schenck, author of “Branding for Dummies,” points out that the main reason people choose Android over Apple is affordability. Further, the CNBC article reports that a survey of 513 U.S. consumers found that nearly 94 percent of people felt “at least somewhat loyal to their [cellphone] brand.” Therefore, a new safety feature, if deployed by Apple, would be unlikely to sway large numbers of its consumers to Android.

In fact, such technology could even bolster Apple’s sales by boosting its reputation.

According to the same Jan. 19, 2015 CNBC article, vice president of marketing at Voices. com Carmi Levy said that Apple “sell[s] the emotional connection with consumers.” By launching a revolutionary technology that could save lives, Apple could strengthen this “emotional connection” and potentially gain customers.

Another possible reason Apple has not yet released its lockout technology is viability.

Developing a program that locks drivers out of their phones while allowing passengers to continue use likely poses many challenges, but similar technology is already available.

For example, the company Cellcontrol sells a device that detects the location of a phone and prohibits certain services if the phone is in the driver’s seat, according to the same

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For information on joining the Justice, write to editor@ thejustice.org.

Sept. 24 NYT article. Now, this technology does not come without flaws, but surely, Apple ―— arguably one of the most advanced technology companies in the world — could create something similar and work out most of the bugs.

Of course, the primary responsibility for distraction-related car collisions lies with the distracted drivers, who should be able to exhibit self-control — but clearly, that is not the case.

The next line of defense should then be law enforcement, and the government has attempted to curb distraction-related collisions through both federal and state action: For example, President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13513 prohibits federal employees texting and driving while on government business, and legislation in 46 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands bans all drivers from texting while driving at any point, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But this is not enough; instances of distraction-related car collisions continue to rise.

As such, something else must be done.

From its patent, Apple has demonstrated not only an understanding that law enforcement has a limited ability to remedy the situation on its own but also a willingness to help.

From its products, Apple has demonstrated a capability to create technology that may have previously seemed impossible — or, at the very least, implausible.

Legally, courts will decide Apple’s level of responsibility in the issue and likely rule in their favor — as they should — but morally, Apple and other cellphone companies stand on shakier ground. If companies like Apple can find a more effective way to help reduce the tragedies and they decide to do nothing, then they share part of the blame.

Editorial Assistants Arts: Audrey Fein, Hannah Kressel

Photography: Aaron Birnbaum, Ydalia Colon,

Photography: Natalia Wiater

Talya Guenzburger, Yashaspriya Rathi, Heather Schiller, Yue Shen, Joyce Yu

Staff

Copy: Jen Geller, Angela Li,

News: Tzlil Levy, Spencer Taft,

Avraham Penso, Nora Perlmutter, Billy Wilson

Arianna Unger

Layout: Morgan Mayback

Features: Rachel Lederer, Mira McMahon, Pichya Nimit

Illustrations: Ben Jarrett, Peri Meyers, Julianna Scionti

Forum: Aaron Dvorkin, Ben Feshbach, Mark Gimelstein, Andrew Jacobson, Nia Lyn, Nicole Mazurova, Kat Semerau, Ravi Simon Sports: Gabriel Goldstein Arts: Brooke Granovsky

12

TUESDAY, September 27, 2016 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Support efforts of first responders in the Syrian conflict Jessica

Goldstein ubuntu

Since 2011, the world has seen the brutality Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is capable of — a capacity for destruction unparalleled even by his father, Hafez Al-Assad. Last year, we saw the image of Alan Kurdi, a three-yearold Syrian boy, washed up on the banks of a Turkish beach. Just last month, we witnessed five-year-old Omran Daqneesh sitting in the back of a White Helmets ambulance sporting a bewildered look on his face. The group, also known as Syrian Civil Defense, works indiscriminately to save lives from the rubble.

If we were paying attention in July 2014, we could recall the images of a man by the pseudonym of Caesar, shrouded in a blue jacket, as he addressed a closed Congressional meeting. That man, a Syrian defector, released 55,000 images taken by Syrian police depicting the torture of prisoners.

Violence against civilians is not limited to Syrian prisons. Rather, there is startling evidence that the Syrian government is deliberately targeting civilians. On June 17, 2015, the House Foreign Affairs Committee convened a hearing titled “Assad’s Abhorrent Chemical Weapons Attacks.” The witnesses in the hearing included Dr. Mohamed Tennari, the Idlib Coordinator for the Syrian American Medical Society. During the hearing, he shared a video depicting the horrifying effects of the chlorine gas in Assad’s barrel bombs on children’s lungs. The video featured three children convulsing and foaming at the mouth. Following the video, he shared the story of one of his friend’s families. After an attack on Idlib, his friend’s home was hit with a barrel bomb. Normally, the family would travel to the bottom floor of the home to protect themselves from shrapnel. The attempt to protect themselves was futile — the bottom floor of their house could not protect them from a chlorine-filled barrel bomb. In fact, their home effectively turned into a gas chamber. While the chlorine gas attacks are nowhere near as deadly as other attacks — only 1,500 people have been killed by the crude attack of chemical weapons (mostly attributed to the sarin gas attacks in 2013) — they serve to drive civilians out of a rebel-controlled area merely due to the threat, according to a Sept.

7 CNN article.

Despite the overall lack of humanity presented thus far in Syria, there is another part of the picture that we may fail to see.

Beginning in 2013, the White Helmets — also known as the Syrian Civil Defense — began their rescue of Syrian civilians. So far, they

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

have saved 60,000 lives. The volunteer-based rescue force impartially rescues individuals from the rubble and provides individuals with medical transport. This year, they were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Another group working in Syria that provides life-saving medical treatment is known as SAMS. According to the website, the organization has established 106 facilities for some 1,709 medical workers. In 2015 alone, SAMS’ facilities treated around 2.6 million Syrians. According to a February 2015 Physicians for Human Rights report, data from December 2014 indicates that there have been 599 deaths of medical workers since the conflict commenced. In that year, “a medical worker was killed every other day on average,” according to the report.

While the work of these organizations must be applauded, forward steps must be taken to

protect the lives of those prioritizing civilian safety.

Recently, a new Syrian government offensive in Aleppo has begun targeting the White Helmets. According to a Sept. 23 NBC News article, the group reported that three of its medical facilities were targeted in Aleppo during the offensive. The attacks on the first responders’ group came immediately following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Among the individuals injured in the attacks was a Syrian first-responder with the group Shafak. According to the same Sept. 23 NBC News article, “the 25-year-old sustained injuries to his chest and eyes, as well as burns on 20 percent of his body, when a phosphorous bomb hit his building when he was leaving to go to work, He was hit from shrapnel from a bomb as he tried to put out the fire sparked by the strike.” In fact, according to a September

26 BBC article, Bebars Mishal, a member of the White Helmets, claimed government planes were “using all kind of weapons — phosphorus and napalm and cluster bombs.”

Amid all the horror that is the Syrian conflict, groups like the White Helmets and SAMS restore some hope and dignity to Syria. Their members are all medical volunteers who put their lives at risk for the greater good — acting impartially to protect human lives. This year, we should support groups like the White Helmets by allowing them further recognition in Stockholm come December. Watch their new documentary on Netflix. Support their petition for the Nobel Peace Prize. Well over 140,000 individuals have already already signed on. We have all witnessed what the Assad regime is capable of — now is the time for us to see what we are capable of.

Reject art’s and society’s disproportionate focus on the West By shubhan nagendra JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Museums are the pivot of a city; by attracting tourists and locals to their fine collections of art — ranging from Renaissance Europe to Medieval Asian art — they allow us a peek into the rich cultures of the East and the West.

On a recent visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I was struck by the vastness of European and American art displayed: From American painter John Singer Sargent’s epic depictions of American exceptionalism through his landscapes to the ostentatious collection of the kings and queens of the British Isles, there was a grandeur in the works. By contrast, the Eastern section housed a more limited collection of art.

Furthermore, the “East,” as it appeared, was art of Asia, Oceania and Africa grouped into one section. Each of these cultures is distinct, beautiful and vast. Yet it appeared that they were all viewed as one entity.

All this accentuated the divide between the East and the West that exists in other areas of life as well; indeed, even in art, Europe received more attention than Asia, Oceania and Africa.

If we observe the history of art, there is a movement known as “Orientalism.” This is a literary, artistic, musical and scholarly pursuit of the East. Quite often, it depicts the East through the West’s eyes. For instance, typical examples of such art include representations of kimono-clad European women.

One particular painting that generated controversy at the MFA is “La Japonaise” — also known as “Camille Monet in Japanese

Costume” — by the celebrated French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. This painting depicts Monet’s wife, Camille Monet, in a Japanese kimono and a blond wig, which, according to the MFA, emphasizes her “Western identity.”

In the summer of 2015, the MFA invited members of the public to don a kimono and stand in front of the painting. Protesters quickly reacted and claimed that the curators and staff received “no education on the painting” or Orientalism. They were upset with how the museum depicted the East.

“

Our society, unintentionally, is focused disproportionately on the West and how it perceives the world.

This is a lack of understanding about the East that is seen quite often. After all, what was the reason for such a public program?

The museum, in an attempt to engage with the public, failed to consider that it might upset certain individuals.

In all fairness, I am not solely targeting the MFA. We see this East-West argument in other platforms. One such is in the news. After all, why do Western news outlets provide only limited coverage of bombings in Eastern cities?

From 2015 to 2016, Turkey witnessed

horrific bombings. Just in August, more than 50 people, mostly children, were killed in Turkey’s city of Gaziantep because of a suicide attack. Later, there was outrage on social media about the “hypocrisy” of the media, and social media users questioned why the Western media did not cover the news as extensively as Paris and Brussels.

Even Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to the Western media’s lack of coverage by saying, “The bombs that went off in Istanbul could have gone off in any city in the world, in any airport. I want everyone to understand that, to the terrorists, there is no difference between Istanbul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago,” according to an Aug. 23 Independent article.

Prior to this, last year, a Russian civilian jet carrying 224 people was downed in Egypt by a potential bomb from the Islamic State group, according to a Nov. 17, 2015 BBC article. In this case, as well, the Western media failed to give proper attention, as voiced on social media.

Even Facebook, which allowed users to show solidarity with France during the Paris attacks last year, was criticized by its own users for not doing the same with Eastern countries.

More recently, we saw an increase in xenophobia heightened by the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. This is a time when developed countries should provide aid. Instead, there is a growing divide created by misunderstanding and confusion about the East within countries, leading to extremist political parties in Britain, France and Germany.

In Britain, one may argue that Brexit — the United Kingdom leaving the European Union — was because of the rise of the United

Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), who are intent on stopping immigration. In France, there is growing support for a right-wing extremist, Marine le Pen, in the upcoming elections. In Germany, a nation that has welcomed close to 600,000 refugees, Chancellor Angela Merkel lost in the recent Berlin election where an anti-immigrant party won seats for the first time in the parliament.

All this further contributes to the EastWest divide because of misconceptions and misinformation. Unfortunately, it is so ingrained that we fail to notice it in our own surroundings — including places of learning. It appears the art world — museums specifically — also engages in the East-West debate.

Yet it is important to point out that this debate is not new in art. Western art has been scrutinized for depicting the East as “exotic.”

Today, at museums, we see a more nuanced view of this argument. For instance, “Asian art” has come to define everything ranging from Islamic to Japanese to Chinese art, encompassing a time period from prior to 0 CE to the 19th century. In contrast, European art is well structured, ordered and dated from the Medieval to the 20th century.

Our society, unintentionally, is focused disproportionately on the West and how it perceives the world. This is not even a recent phenomenon. However, in a world that is attempting to embrace globalization and purports to consider “diversity” and “equality,” this is the stark reality.

Eastern cultures are rich in art. Even if museums, such as the MFA, do not deliberately try to offend groups, the divide is present.

Perhaps museums are just another player in this great big game.

THE JUSTICE

WSOCCER: Team gears up for uneasy schedule ahead CONTINUED FROM 16 were the game winners.

Overall for the game, Brandeis outshot Tufts 11 to 6 and attempted six corner kicks, compared to the Jumbos’ one. The win for the Judges edged them to a solid record of 21-17-3 all time against the competitors from Babson.

The defeat for Babson broke their record of a home-unbeaten streak of 13 games. The game was also an accomplishment for Grossman, who recorded her 25th collegiate victory, which lands her fifth on the career list.

While the undefeated season continues for the Judges, so too does another impressive streak: The team has not fallen in an incredible 32 games in a row against squads from the New England region. It has won 30 games, while recording two ties, since dropping the opener of the

2014 campaign.

The Judges will next be in action today on the road against Wellesley College at 4 p.m. They will continue their week away from home when they travel to Pittsburgh to compete against Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday morning.

The Judges’ were outplayed by Wellesley in their 2015 matchup, tying the team in a doubleovertime effort. The tie put an end to the Judges win streak, snapping it at a healthy nine games.

The Judges also fell to Carnegie Mellon 2-0 in their only matchup in the 2015 to 2016 campaign. The loss ended the Judges’ perfect season, marking their first game in which they allowed more than one goal.

The Judges will need to continue their incredible pace to counter Carngie Mellon’s tough offense.

Their season looks bright ahead but could be marred by an untimely loss against either team.

TENNIS: Pressure mounts for squad after harsh losses CONTINUED FROM 16 The Judges next play at the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Tennis tournament in South Hadley starting Oct. 14. The Judges will face off against similar opponents but will hopefully be better prepared and ready for

the competition. The Judges only competed in the doubles tournament last season, amassing multiple wins in the doubles portion. Leavitt and Cohen won both of their matches and will look to emulate their previous success. If the duo can handle their opponents, they can give the Judges a shot at a winning season.

●

Sports ● SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

13

MARCHING FORWARD

NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

EDGING THE DEFENDER: Midfielder Josh Ocel ’17 brushes past his defender in a 0-1 loss to Tufts University this past Saturday.

MSOCCER: Men look to

reverse course after losses CONTINUED FROM 16

his role as hero, Judges keeper Ben Woodhouse ’18 was able to get one hand on freshman midfielder Brett Rojas’ shot attempt, just barely keeping it out of the net.

Though playing in overtime is generally thrilling due to the inherently rare nature of battling for an extra period, the Judges have grown accustomed to extra play. That being said, the squad yet again failed to muster the final push they needed in order to finally snatch an overtime win on the season.

In the first overtime session, DiPietto played a beautiful through ball to set forward Mike Lynch ’17 up for a breakaway and potential gamewinner. Unfortunately, Greenwood came off the line to foil the Judges’ attack. The second overtime period proved relatively underwhelming until Tufts launched a decisive counterattack in the 109th minute that left the Judges crushed and deflated yet again. Jumbos freshman forward Joseph Braun dribbled down the left sideline, turning into the box to find a charging Woodhouse, at which point Braun crossed the ball to junior Christian Zazzali, who buried the game winner, his first goal of the

regular season.

The loss drops the Judges to 3-2-1 on the season. The victory brings the Jumbos to 3-2-1 on the year.

The Judges have been plagued by offensive struggles for the last several seasons, and it appears their inability to score goals consistently is catching up to them quickly. This marks three consecutive games without a goal for the squad. Though their defense is their bread-and-butter weapon, they must find a way to net more goals moving forward or risk missing the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament.

Looking ahead, the Judges host Wheaton College Tuesday at 7 p.m.

SOCCER VOLLEYBALL TENNIS TRACK Write for Sports!

Contact Jerry Miller at sports@thejustice.org

SOCCER VOLLEYBALL TENNIS TRACK

CALLING ALL ENTREPRENEURS! Announcing TWO programs designed to bring your innovative and entrepreneurial ambitions to life:

SPARK Awards

Lean LaunchPad IT’S BACK!

SPARK AWARDS

AND INTRODUCING FOR THE FIRST TIME:

LEAN LAUNCHPAD

Want to learn more? Information Sessions Scheduled for the Following Dates: 9/27: Shapiro Science Center, Level 1 Library, 11:00 – 12:00 PM 9/28: Volen Room 101, 5:00-6:00 9/29: Heller School , Altman Amphitheatre (G1), 5:00 – 6:00 PM Fill out the intent to apply to SPARK, Lean Launchpad or BOTH by October 5: https://www.brandeis.edu/global/innovation/lean-launchpad.html bit.ly/2cb3Pwl

THE JUSTICE

jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS

● Sports ●

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

15

VOLLEYBALL

Men’s Soccer TEAM STATS

UAA STANDINGS

Goals

Josh Ocel ’17 led the team with three goals.

UAA Conf. Overall

W L D W L D Pct. Player Goals Chicago 0 0 0 9 0 0 1.000 Josh Ocel 3 WashU 0 0 0 5 0 0 1.000 Patrick Flahive 1 Rochester 0 0 0 6 0 1 1.000 Brandon Miskin 1 Carnegie 0 0 0 6 0 0 1.000 Andrew Allen 1 Emory 0 0 0 5 2 0 .714 JUDGES 0 0 0 3 2 1 .600 Assists NYU 0 0 0 3 2 2 .600 Josh Ocel ’17 led the team with Case 0 0 0 3 4 1 .428 two assists.

Player Assists EDITOR’S NOTE: Josh Ocel 2 Andrew Allen 2 Today at Wheaton Zach Vieira 1 Saturday at Carnegie Mellon Patrick Flahive 0 Oct. 5 at MIT

WOMen’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Goals Overall W L D Pct. 8 0 0 1.000 8 0 1 1.000 6 1 1 .857 6 1 1 .857 5 2 1 .714 4 2 1 .667 4 3 0 .571 0 3 4 .000

UAA Conf.

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

EDITOR’S NOTE: Today at Wellesley Sat. at Carnegie Mellon Oct. 4 vs. Lesley

Lea McDaniel ’17 led the team with eight goals.

Player Goals Lea McDaniel 8 Samantha Schwartz 4 Hannah Maatallah 3 Jessica Morana 3

Assists Sam Volpe ’19 led the team with three assists.

Player Assists Sam Volpe 3 Haliana Burhans 3 Lea McDaniel 2

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Kills

Carnegie NYU Case Emory Rochester Chiacgo WashU JUDGES

UAA Conf.

W L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Overall W L 15 2 13 3 12 3 11 3 10 5 8 4 10 6 6 6

Pct. .882 .813 .800 .786 .667 .667 .625 .500

EDITOR’S NOTE: Sat. at Chicago Sat. at WashU Sun. at Carnegie Mellon

Emma Bartlett ’20 led the team with 92 kills.

Player Kills Emma Bartlett 92 Shea Decker-Jacoby 69 Grace Krumpack 55 Zara Platt 49

Digs Yvette Cho ’19 led the team with 124 digs.

Player Digs Yvette Cho 180 Grace Krumpack 121 Leah Pearlman 75 Marlee Nork 60

cross cOuntry Results from the Fens Classic hosted by Emmanuel University.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

8-Kilometer Run RUNNER TIME Liam Garvey 25:36.20 Quinton Hoey 26:16.80 Brian Sheppard 26:20.43

5-Kilometer Run RUNNER TIME Emily Bryson 17:50.83 Kate Farrell 18:28.66 Julia Bryson 18:30.74

EDITOR’S NOTE: Oct. 8 at James Early Invitational Oct. 15 at Connecticut College Invitational

SAMUEL SANO/the Justice

OVER THE TOP: Middle hitter Jessica Kaufman ’17 spikes the ball over the net in a well-fought loss to Emerson College.

Team surpasses win total from 2015 season ■ Outside hitter Grace Krumpack ’19 registered 14 kills and 13 digs in a win over Southern Maine.

By Ben Katcher Justice Contributing writer

The volleyball team had a successful week and evened their overall record to 6-6 for the season.

The Judges lost in an incredibly hard-fought match against Emerson College on Thursday but dominated on Saturday in Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine with two shutout victories against University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and University of Southern Maine.

Judges 3, Southern Maine 0 Brandeis carried their momentum from just a few hours prior into their second match of the day and defeated Southern Maine 3-0 in an exciting game by scores of 25-15, 27-25 and 2523. The Judges were underdogs in this one, as Southern Maine came into the match with a 10-3 record but showed just how good they could be by not dropping a set for the second consecutive match.

Outside hitter Grace Krumpack ’19 was a leader for the Judges,

registering an impressive doubledouble with 14 kills and 13 digs.

Setters Leah Pearlman ’19 and Marlee Nork ’19 had 22 and 14 assists, respectively. Nork added three more service aces to her already fantastic season at serving. Libero Yvette Cho ’19 led both teams by more than 10 digs with 23 for the match.

The Judges came out strong with a .379 kill percentage in the first set and never looked back. This match should serve as a huge confidence boost for the squad moving forward and is an excellent way to end their week of volleyball.

Judges 3, UMass-Dartmouth 0 Earlier that afternoon, Brandeis came out energetic and motivated, crushing UMass-Dartmouth 3-0 by scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-18. The squad refused to fall into another slump this season and, despite the close margins, did not drop a single set in this bounce-back performance.

Cho brought her remarkable season total of service aces up to 20 by registering four for the match.

Outside hitter Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19, middle hitter Emma Bartlett ’20 and outside hitter Jessie Moore ’18 led the way for the Judges with eight, seven and six kills respectively.

Nork was all over the volleyball court, registering 18 assists.

Judges 1, Emerson 3 Although they made up for it on Saturday with their pair of wins, Brandeis suffered a tough 3-1 loss against Emerson by scores of 20-25, 2523, 22-25 and 18-25. The powerhouse Emerson team picked up their 10th win of the season from this match, and although all of the sets were close for the Judges, the squad just did not have enough in the tank to come out on top.

Cho had yet another outstanding performance with two more service aces and 26 digs, once again proving why she is one of the captains of this squad. Fellow captain middle hitter Jessica Kaufman ’17 registered six kills with a notably high .417 kill percentage. Kaufman led either team with four block assists on the day. Pearlman also had a standout performance with 15 assists, 10 digs and four service aces.

In 20 fewer matches, the Judges already have more wins than they did in all of 2015. They have a remarkable amount of talent, and exciting possibilities lie ahead as the squad now has the opportunity to post a winning record by the end of the week.

Brandeis will look to pick up their seventh win of the season against the University of Chicago on Saturday.

PRO SPORTS BRIEF Statistical analysis explains dominant Red Sox pitching in race for the top spot in the division This was a big week for Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello, who collected his league-leading 21st and 22nd wins of the season, which included a complete game against division rival Baltimore Orioles.

With those 22 wins, along with a 3.11 ERA, 183 strikeouts and 5.0 wins above replacement (WAR), Porcello is having by far the best season of his career. He is putting himself in Cy Young contention a year after having perhaps the worst season year of his career.

For Red Sox fans and those who have followed his career since his debut with Detroit in 2009, this leap to seemingly ace status after a productive but by no means great first-seven years in the league is likely confounding. Through the aid of advanced stats, the answer

to this question becomes a bit more evident.

Porcello’s advanced batted ball and plate discipline stats per Fangraphs do not jump off the page as significantly different from those in other years of his career, but real differences do exist.

In terms of the similarities, while Porcello has struck out a career-best number of batters, his strikeout rate is actually lower than it was last year (7.59 percent this year to 7.80 percent last year). However, it is more than a percentage point higher than it was for much of his time in Detroit.

In addition, his groundball rate is also lower than it was last year (43.8 percent to 45.7 percent) and significantly lower than earlier in his career. These stats are

particularly surprising given his current career year, as inducing strikeouts doesn’t require anything of the defense and, as such, doesn’t create the potential for a hit or homerun. Groundballs are also easier for the defense to convert into smooth outs and quick double plays relative to hard line drives and easy fly balls.

Expectedly, Porcello has incurred by far the highest fly ball ratio of his career, with it thus far at 37.4 percent relative to last year’s previous career high of 32.5 percent.

Essentially, Porcello is striking out batters at a lower rate, getting fewer groundballs and giving up more fly balls than his career-worst year last year, which on the surface seems like a recipe for disaster. So how is this his career best year?

One notable element of Porcello’s performance has been his walk rate. After last year’s 5.2 percent rate, which ranked him a morethan-respectable 15th in the majors, he has been able to cut that down to an elite 3.5 percent, ranked second in the major leagues.

In addition to not giving batters a free pass and putting them on, he’s also dropped his home run rate from 1.31, a lowly 69th in the league, to 0.91, good for 12th in the majors.

It’s possible that this has been the product of luck, particularly given his elevated fly ball rate and similar hard hit percentage (32.8 percent last year to 30.1 percent this year, ranking this season at an above average 25th), as he can’t control how far the ball goes when it is hit in the air.

While the difference between the walk rates only amounts to eight fewer batters, this is critical over the course of 45 more innings. This stat contributed to his significantly improved walks plus hits per inning pitched, which went from 64th to 3rd this season. Overall, Porcello has been able to keep people off the bases and avoid giving up homeruns in a way he wasn’t even close to last year, leading to the incredible success he’s had this regular season.

With the season coming to a close, the Red Sox will hope that Porcello can continue his dominant pitching. The Sox are looking at a division victory if they can stave off rivals Toronto Blue Jays.

—Evan Robins

just

Sports

Page 16

POWERFUL STRIDES The volleyball squad powered past their weekend opponents to even their season record, p. 15.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Men’S SOCCER

PUSHING AND SHOVING

Club crumbles in double overtime ■ Defender Stephen DiPietto ’19 fired a rocket on goal from 10 yards out in a loss to Tufts.

By GABRIEL GOLDSTIEN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Times keep getting tougher for the men’s soccer team. After two straight crushing double-overtime losses against Babson College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, respectively, the Judges were hoping to get back on track with a big win against longtime cross-town rival Tufts University. Unfortunately, the squad was unable to regain its footing at home, losing its third straight double-overtime contest and failing to net even a single goal.

The team is falling fast after a strong start to the season, and its chances of postseason play appear to be slowly slipping away.

Judges 0, Tufts 1 After defeating Tufts in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, it appeared the team had gained a leg up on its crosstown foes. However, the squad was yet again unable to generate offense

Waltham, Mass.

and ultimately fell to the Jumbos, despite home-field advantage.

As is characteristic of the BrandeisTufts matchup, the game was full of twists, turns and thrills, despite the relatively underwhelming 1-0 final. After a slow start to the match, the intensity picked up in the 36th minute, when Judges forward Evan Jastremski ’17 found himself with a solid opportunity following a cross from fellow forward Jake Warren ’20. Unfortunately for Jastremski, Jumbos senior defender Gaston Becherano was able to deflect the ball before it found the back of the net, narrowly avoiding what could have been a momentum-swinging goal.

The 81st minute brought more excitement, when Judges defender Stephen DiPietto ’19 fired a rocket on goal from 10 yards out, only to have it first deflected by Jumbos senior keeper Scott Greenwood and then cleared by sophomore defender Sterling Wetherbie.

Following a Judge’s turnover, Tufts embarked on an aggressive counterattack that nearly resulted in the game’s decisive goal. Reprising his role as hero, Judges keeper Ben

See MSOCCER, 13 ☛

TENNIS

Women struggle to find path to success ■ Haley Cohen ’18 was

able to power past the competition for a berth into the second round.

By JERRY MILLER JUSTICE EDITOR

The women’s tennis team kickstarted its season this weekend at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology International Tennis Association regional tournament.

The Judges were looking to improve from their mediocre 11-10 record from their 2015 campaign.

Last season, the Judges struggled in the tournament, with only one player advancing past the first round when Keren Khromchenko ’19 was able to double-bagel her Smith College opponent. Aside from Khromchenko, the Judges were unable to slide past their tough competition.

This year went the same way for the Judges, who were barely able to break through the first round of the invitational. On the singles side, Haley Cohen ’18, who filled the 12th seed, was able to power past her Wellesley College opponent in an impressive 6-3, 6-0 win. However, Cohen was unable to overpower Tufts freshman Mina Karamercan, who won the two sets 6-0, 6-2 in a crushing match.

Olivia Leavitt ’19 was up next in the 46th-seeded spot, facing off against a tough Wheaton College opponent. Leavitt was able to push the match to a tie-breaker after a well-fought 3-6 first-set win. After the first set, Leavitt lost her momentum, losing 6-4 and then falling 10-1 in a deflating tiebreaker loss. Leavitt looked to have the edge but was ultimately unable to follow through.

Sabrina Ross Neergaard ’20 fell

into the 51st slot, losing a tough matchup against junior Jackie Calla from Amherst College. The first set proved to be an exciting battle, with a back-and-forth war that ended in a 7-5 victory by Calla. Calla then went on the take the entire set, allowing Neergaard only one game in a 6-1 loss.

The Judges had a tough time in the singles bracket, due to their solid regional foes and lack of experience. The Judges have only one junior on the roster, with four sophomores and a lone first-year, in Neergaard.

The Judges fared similarly in the doubles bracket, with neither doubles team reaching the second round of the tournament.

Cohen and Sophia He ’19 matched up in the 11th slot against a formidable Middlebury College duo. Senior Kaysee Orozco and sophomore Christina Puccinelli faced off to begin the Judge’s doubles campaign. The Brandeis duo was able to scrape a few games away from Middlebury, but ultimately fell 8-3 in the final score.

Next to enter the court was Neergaard and Leavitt, set against Bowdoin College. Senior Joulia Likhanskaia and senior Samantha Stalder handed the Judges the second loss of the day in the doubles bracket, winning 8-2 as they advanced to the second round.

The Judges have had a difficult time coping with losing multiple seniors who graduated last year and, so far, have been unable to regroup. The team had a solid roster of 11 players, which was cut down by over 25 percent to an unsustainable seven players this season. As the burden of play begins to strengthen, the Judges will need to look for a way to alleviate the stress of constant competition.

See TENNIS, 13 ☛

NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo

BOXING OUT: Defender Hannah Maatallah ’17 tries to crowd out her opponent in a win over Wentworth College on Sept. 15.

Squad bulls forward in weekend battles ■ Defender Jessica Morana

’17 scored the lone goal for the Judges in an overtime tie against Tufts.

By NOAH HESSDORF JUSTICE EDITOR

The women’s soccer team barely kept its undefeated season alive this week, on the road, by defeating Babson College 1-0 on Tuesday and recording a close draw against rival school Tufts University on Saturday evening.

Judges 1, Tufts 1 Saturday’s contest against the Jumbos of Tufts was another highly competitive affair in a longstanding regional rivalry. The No. 9 Judges moved to 8-0-1 with the road tie.

The squad got on the board first with an impressive goal in the 11th minute. Defender Jessica Morana ’17 recorded the score after Tufts sophomore goalkeeper Emily Bowers proceeded to drop a saved shot into Morana’s lap. The goal

was the third of the regular season for Morana.

Neither team was able to do much on the offensive end for the rest of the first half.

Tufts senior forward Jess Capone was the one to net the equalizing goal. In the 55th minute, Capone was able to take the rebound off a deflected shot that goalkeeper Alexis Grossman ’17 was unable to scoop up. Capone took it cleanly and slid it into the back of the net for what was only the second goal Grossman has let in this entire regular season.

The contest would remain scoreless throughout the entire course of regulation and two subsequent overtime periods. On the game as a whole, the Judges outshot the Jumbos 18-11, with the squad particularly dominating in the first half with 12-2 shots.

Grossman was only forced to record two saves during the entire game.

The two Boston-area schools have had a recent history of close contests. Last season, the Judges were able to narrowly edge out a 1-0 victory at home in September against Tufts.

Judges 1, Babson 0 Tuesday’s game featured another hard-fought competition between two evenly matched opponents.

While neither team scored during regulation, the Judges were not without opportunities.

During the 29th minute of the first half, forward Lea McDaniel ’17 narrowly just missed a goal off a corner kick.

McDaniel also had a promising opportunity for the score in the 63rd minute, when she missed left of the post.

The goal for the squad finally arrived almost six minutes into the overtime period. It all began when, off a corner kick, Morana attempted a shot just outside of the six-yard box. The attempt was deflected, but the Judges retained possession. The ball found its way back to Morana who headed over to forward Cidney Moscovitch ’17, who pushed it past the defense for the game-winning goal. The dramatic score was Moscovitch’s third goal of the young season.

For her collegiate career, it was the 13th goal in an impressive three and a half seasons. Even more remarkable is that nine of those 13

See WSOCCER, 13 ☛

September 27, 2016

Vol. LXIX #5

just ARTS

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Images & Design: Natalia Wiater/the Justice.

18

THE JUSTICE | Arts i TUESDAY, September 27, 2016

Exhibition

‘New Work’ offers view into life abroad

By Hannah kressel justice Editorial assistant

Twisting Italian villages — red rooftops, azure skies and dusty balconies — are the architecture upon which summer fantasies are built.

Merely gazing at glossy photographs in books of northern Italy is enough to engender a piercing desire to book a plane ticket, quit your job and fail your classes in favor of the golden hills guaranteed to welcome you as a guest.

However, while photos can inspire desire, paintings allow the viewer to participate in a discussion with the scene and the painter’s own reaction to it. Gazing at a painting allows the viewer to see through someone else’s eyes, a more organic way of becoming ensconced in a place the way the painter did — the way the smells of freshly baked bread tickled the artist’s nose or how the golden sunshine shrouded her shoulders and soothed her soul.

This naturalistic way of viewing a place is the focus of the exhibition currently displayed in the GoldmanSchwartz Fine Arts Studios, entitled “New Work from Home and Abroad.”

The exhibition displays the varied work created over the summer by Brandeis students — the majority of which was made on the summer program Brandeis in Siena, a fiveweek art program at the Siena Art Institute in Tuscany.

Returning to school after a summer away is always a treat. Now equipped with stories of adventures from near and far, returning Brandeisians who visit the exhibit excitedly consume the tales of their peers over Einstein’s and the random free food — hopefully, cookies — constantly being given away across campus. While some only speak of their travels, others present artwork, giving their friends and the University’s faculty a chance to explore these places in a way so much more potent than, “I went to Italy this summer, it was so cool!” The paintings in the exhibit, however, do much more than answer a question — they allow for the viewer to participate in their own experience with Siena and its many winding passages.

While perusing the works from the exhibition, rather than having to ask questions — “What did you see?” “What was the weather like?”

“Did you like this or that?” — you can respond personally to how each person reflected on his or her own emotions and experiences while

viewing a work in a museum or taking in the gnarled streets of Siena, Italy.

For example, rather than simply seeing a photograph of a painting from a museum, in this exhibit, we can see how Eli Levy ’18 interpreted the painting from the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena, and his experience of the painting and moment as a whole.

This allows the viewer to react to not only the image but also the emotional intent behind it and create their own response to the place, the feelings of the artist and their visual product — a story all on its own, a much deeper connection than “I went to Italy; it was fun.”

Similarly, Tova Weinberger ’18 — one of the most prolific artists in the display — produced a number of cityscapes of Siena. Her works articulated the clouded sky and crowded buildings with an indulgent use of color and line, adding to the mystical, almost whimsical, feel of the city. Conversely, Orli Swergold’s ’18 work was more austere in its color, focusing on the structures of the buildings, creating a more narrative view. Her distinct shapes and dark mountains depicted a more domineering view of Siena — a stately city, complete with proud buildings and lush trees. Both artists expressed their own ideas on the same city — creating two different experiences, something that could not be cast as well in photograph.

Another standout artist in the exhibit, Sarah Chung ’18, employed a style of scraping away paint to create various skeletons throughout many of her pieces — a style both unexpected and surprisingly apt in expressing the bare bones.

The exhibit as a whole succeeded in creating an interactive experience of the tales of summer that all students crave in the weeks following break.

The artists in the exhibition all answered the question “What did you do this summer?” with a question for the inquirer: “I did this; this is how I felt; how does this experience affect you?” Overall, the varied works allowed for an uncut view of Siena as well as views of summers closer to home, like of bedroom still lives and piercing profiles. Painting is an introspective game, one that questions the artist and viewer alike, a task that was achieved gracefully in the “New Work from Home and Abroad” exhibit. By recreating a small summer adventure, the artists generated a welcome reprieve from the rapidly encroaching cold weather.

HANDS ON CANVAS: A series of three oil paintings

by Tova Weinberger ’18 done in Siena, Italy.

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

QUESTO SOLO DENTRO!: A painting of Siena on a collage of newspapers done by Tova Weinberger ’18.

film review

Tom Hanks soars in Oscar vehicle ‘Sully’

By KENT DINLENC

justice CONTRIBUTING writer

As autumn arrives, Oscar hopefuls will dominate theater space, leaving room for few comedies and action movies until the winter.

Starting off the season is “Sully,” the new Tom Hanks vehicle directed by acclaimed filmmaker Clint Eastwood. The story centers around the insurance dispute regarding whether or not Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger performed what was absolutely necessary without endangering the passengers’ lives on US Airways Flight 1549, where he famously landed the failing plane in the Hudson River.

Bureaucrats argue that he had enough thrust and time to return to LaGuardia or land in the nearby airports of Newark or Teterboro in New Jersey, while Sully claims his intuition to immediately land in the Hudson River was correct.

My initial concern was that I was already too familiar with the plot.

What caught me by surprise was how little I really knew about the event. The movie itself comments on the façade of being a hero in the eyes of the public while the insurance company aims to portray Sully as irresponsible. I found myself caught

in the suspense, regardless, and my previous knowledge of the event did not impede my experience in any significant way. The narrative itself is organized, if repetitive. Eastwood shows scenes multiple times and erratically disperses two-minute flashbacks, yet all of it felt necessary

centric performance. At this stage in his career it’s no surprise that Hanks once again delivers a genuine and accurate portrayal this time of the man responsible for the “Miracle on the Hudson.” He emanates strength with subtlety and authority with confidence. Eckhart, co-pilot in the

PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

SULLY IN TROUBLE: Tom Hanks (R) as Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger confers with an officer in Clint Eastwood’s film “Sully” in theaters now. to the story.

Despite co-starring Laura Linney and Aaron Eckhart of “The Dark Knight,” the film is less of an ensemble piece and more of a Hanks-

cockpit and in the movie, provides the occasional comic relief as well as the affirming voice of Sully’s decisions in action. Linney, however, felt out of place and unnecessary. While she

was the sole voice that humanized Sully and explained his motivation to maintain his reputation, most of it felt forced and occurred over the phone — and the lack of an on-screen partner made her speaking into a dead phone noticeable.

The scenes aboard the plane are magnificent. The CGI was unnoticeable, Sully’s horrific daydreams of crashing into the civilian population are well– realized and the landing itself was well-choreographed, well-directed and well-written, true to the real event. Every element blended the audience’s concern for the passengers with the rushed response to extract them from the river via rescue boats and helicopters. This was where the extras shined. Some having heartwarming moments while others were survivors of daring rescues, they added an authentic reaction to the crash as a unit. Overall, Clint Eastwood adds another successful biopic to his resume and gives us an informative, yet fun time at the theater. The high-caliber acting blends with the realistic behind-the-scenes look, and the star of the show was the retelling of the crash rather than Hanks, resulting in a solid B+.

Meanwhile, the inaptly named “Magnificent Seven” is anything

but. This poorly written remake of a remake of a superior Akira Kurosawa film does not do the original source material justice.

Other than Denzel Washington’s character, the remaining six are either racist caricatures of the time or silly beyond description. All of them lack motivation to fight an army of men hired by an antagonist who is evil for the sake of being evil.

This underdeveloped villain, played

by Peter Sarsgaard, exudes slime but not motivation.

The film seems to blend the character silliness of “The Ridiculous 6” with the unnecessary violence of “The Hateful 8.” The best aspect of the film is unfortunately an unintentional one, where Vincent D’Onofrio’s overthe-top performance is so hysterical that I ended up laughing in every scene he was in.

The choppy editing and the sloppy story-telling summated to a D+ experience, with D’Onofrio and the enjoyable yet excessive violence serving as the only saving graces.

If you see this movie, I highly recommend seeing it with friends as a “so bad it’s good” experience. All of the typical cheesy lines are somehow delivered even worse than I could have imagined. This offensive and ridiculous film should be avoided.

Please go see “Sully.”

THE JUSTICE i arts i TUESDAY, September 27, 2016

Theater

19

PHOTOS BY NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

SPINNING A YARN: Jerry (R, Dan Souza ’19) tells long stories about his life to Peter (L, Connor Wahrman ’17), eventually working toward a story about the zoo.

Two-person play brings laughs to audience By elana israel

justice contributing writer

Walking into the Merrick Theater reveals a patch of grass and a park bench in the center of the stage.

Connor Wahrman ’17 sits on the bench with his legs crossed reading a book and smoking a pipe. He is wearing a nice suit and looks calm.

It’s a peaceful scene, but the play that follows is anything but.

“At Home/At the Zoo” was written

by Edward Albee in 1959 and later updated in 2004. The original version of the play was performed from Thursday to Sunday at the Merrick Theater and was directed

by Raphael Stigliano ’18. It’s a normal day for Peter (Wahrman), a middle-class executive with a family, a cat and two parakeets.

Then Jerry (Dan Souza ’19), a poor and lonely stranger to Peter, walks up to him and announces that he’s been to the zoo and has a story to tell about it. Peter is uninterested but, not wanting to outwardly say so, he agrees to talk. Throughout the play, Jerry does most of the talking, going on seemingly unrelated rants while constantly announcing that he has a story to tell about the zoo.

Both Souza and Wahrman played their parts exceptionally well.

Jerry’s aggression and intensity played extremely well against

Peter’s quiet demeanor. This was evident not only in the tone of voice but down to the smallest things, such as Wahrman’s facial expressions and Souza’s fidgeting with the switches on the walls in the Merrick.

In Stigliano’s director’s note, he discusses the idea of looking at the text as “two conflicting worlds, the moment when the outsider meets the interior.” This show plays with the idea of the falseness of theater.

The blocking and set design (Riely Allen ’18) helped to characterize this contrast. The park bench, where Peter sits for most of the show, is set on a patch of fake grass. This is Peter’s area: serene and relaxed.

This area is the stage and the whole set. For most of the show, Jerry paces around this patch of grass but, until the end of the show, never sets foot on it. While Peter is lost in his world, in the interior, the setting of the show, Jerry is the outsider.

Jerry isn’t in the fantasy world. As he plays with the light switches and bangs against the walls, it’s almost as if he’s part of the real world rather than a character in the show. This makes it easy for the audience to see the difference between these two characters. Peter is a man who feels untroubled by his life, while Jerry is constantly wandering, unsure of who he is or where he belongs.

The moment Jerry finally walks onto the grass is when the tone of the

show begins to shift. Up until then, I felt like Peter: unsure of why we are listening to Jerry’s ramblings. But as soon as Jerry sits on the park bench, the themes of the show become clearer. When Jerry sits down, the pair begins to fight over who gets to sit on the bench, ultimately ending with Jerry charging into a knife he gave to Peter. As Jerry is dying, he tells Peter that Peter’s an animal too and, while gasping, tells Peter to run away. As Peter tries to get out, desperately banging on the doors and walls in the theatre, it is clear that this is not simply a park.

Stigliano ends his director’s note by telling us not to “forget where [we] really are.” Although the park is the meeting of Jerry’s world and Peter’s world, a place where men are animals and where a conversation between two strangers turns into something more, it’s still only a fake bench on a piece of astroturf.

Overall, this piece was put together extremely well. It was amazing how much was packed together in under an hour. Everything from the birds chirping in the background to the blood that splattered everywhere when Jerry was stabbed fit the mood of the play perfectly. “At Home/ At the Zoo” managed to make the audience laugh but also proved that everything, even something as simple as a Sunday afternoon in a park, isn’t always as it seems.

GROWING ANGER: Wahrman scowls at Souza as he encroaches more and more on the bench which Peter has sat on for the duration of the show thus far.

LISTEN TO ME: Jerry shouts at Peter in the middle of telling a story about his life. Souza stays outside of the minimalist set for most of the play.

GROWING TENSION: Peter gets angrier and angrier as Jerry demands more and more space on the park bench where Peter was reading peacefully.

20

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 | Arts | THE JUSTIce

Brandeis TALKS

INTERVIEW

What should not be pumpkin spice flavored?

Orli Swergold ’18

Katie Young ’19

“You know how they do those Lays chips every year? Do they do a pumpkin spice version of those? I feel like someone will.

So that would be gross.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ORLI SWERGOLD

This week, justArts spoke with Orli Swergold ’18, a participant from the Brandeis in Siena program this summer whose work is featured in the “New Work” exhibit. justArts: How long have you been doing art?

LIZZIE GROSSMAN/the Justice

Sam Ho ’20 “God, I don’t know. I don’t really like pumpkin spice stuff, so, nothing. Or, everything should not be. Nothing should be pumpkin spice flavored.”

Leana Silverberg ’18 “I would say cream cheese should not be pumpkin spice flavored, especially when they say that they’re going to offer it with a pumpkin spice bagel with a pumpkin spice latte with pumpkin spice syrup on it. It’s just too much.”

Ilana Krill ’20 “Cookies.”

—Compiled by Natalia Wiater/ the Justice and photographed by Morgan Brill/the Justice.

STAFF’S Top Ten

Serial Killers

By NATALIA WIATER

justice EDITORial assistant

There are many different career paths to choose from, but being a serial killer is often overlooked, thankfully.

In order to appreciate our lack thereof, here are the top ten serial killers you should never emulate: 1. Zodiac Killer (Ted Cruz) 2. Luis Garavito 3. Dr. Harold Shipman 4. Ted Bundy 5. H. H. Holmes 6. Jack the Ripper 7. Andrei Chikatilo 8. Pedro Alonso Lopez 9. Countess Elizabeth Bathory 10. Leonarda Cianculli

Orli Swergold: I started doing art seriously in high school; I’ve been taking classes at Brandeis since my first semester. I declared my sophomore year.

JA: Why did you decide to go on the Siena Program?

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Type of fabric 6 With 48-Down, “Lonely Boy” band ...

11 Medicine-regulating org.

14 Hill at Capitol Hill in 1991 15 Heart part 16 Something insomniacs saw none of?

17 Drink for getting blotto 19 Wool source 20 Subj. for many immigrants 21 Possible 17-Across ingredient 22 Hamlet, for one 23 Dynasty after Qin 24 Soothing substance 27 It may be indicated by a wine glass shattering 30 Window component 32 Vissi _____ (Tosca aria) 33 Words from some knights 36 Period 37 Most slippery 39 “_____ you ready?”

40 Word before Amy or Marilyn 41 Still kicking 23 Make haste 42 Through, as a relationship 24 Is consistent (with) 43 Pennsylvania’s moniker 25 A whole bunch 46 “_____ sucks” -Buzz Aldrin 26 Device in biodegradable 47 Causes of a number of electronics (abbr.) celebrity deaths, for short 27 Like mountain roads, often 48 Gene Simmons’ grp.

28 In traffic, perhaps 51 Mexican monster?

29 Like an ingénue 53 Sales person 30 College, as viewed by many 56 Freudian concept adults 57 Emmy-winning duo 31 British bum 59 Cartoonish cry of pain 33 Hamlet, for one 60 Overgrown, perhaps 34 Ireland, to the Irish 63 Practice one’s craft 35 Strategic WWI river 64 Those about to go to univ. 37 “______ Peach” (Allman Brothers 65 Forward alternative album) 66 Honda Accord, for example 38 Tesla CEO Musk 42 Tie deciders, for short DOWN 43 Elmo and Lucy, to name two 1 Unkempt person’s feature (abbr.)

2 Bones 44 Conveyed 3 An old one may be rotary 45 Makes the best of a bad 4 Co. that owns Cricket situation, say Wireless 48 ... or features found 4 times in 5 Antagonist of many a this puzzle Western 49 Character not in Mary Shelley’s 6 Something to post for a “Frankenstein” friend 50 Plants seeds 7 Series with a vexing finale 51 Scot, perhaps 8 What the dinosaurs missed, 52 _____ 500 in some comics 53 “This should be taken to mean”, 9 ______ Certification in an author’s note 10 Jewelers with a punny 54 “A Streetcar Named Desire” slogan director Kazan 11 _____ market 55 Teller’s partner 12 Up (for) 58 Before, to a poet 13 Essayist James 60 Cocktail with Crème de Cassis 18 Convene, informally 61 Day before 22 _____ Leppard 62 Chihuahua sound

OS: The requirements for painting are that you have to take four semesters of beginning and intermediate, but I skipped beginning, so I needed two more semesters of painting. [Brandeis] does not [offer] very many painting classes, and this counted as a credit for a painting class and an art history [class].

I needed both, and I had the time this summer. It also sounded like a really good opportunity.

JA: What was your favorite part?

CROSSWORD COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

OS: By far, my favorite part was [the social scene]. The program itself was really small — we were split up three and three to apartments. We ended up meeting a lot of local Italians and a lot of different people studying in Siena.

We met incredible people, like jazz musicians, and I really did not expect to become friends with locals, but we really did.

JA: What did you paint when you were there?

OS: So, we had units, sort of. The first thing we did was paint a still life which was focused on renaissance techniques, like layering paint and under-drawings and doing tonal paintings. After that, we did a project where we went to a museum right near the school where we had to choose a Renaissance work to do our own interpretation of. It was very free, ... and we really could do what we wanted with it. The teacher (a Sienese artist) really wanted us to make it our own. We also did a big cityscape painting.

JA: What is your favorite piece that you did? Do you have all of your pieces up in the exhibit?

SOLUTION COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

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.

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Sudoku Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service, Inc.

OS: No, we sort of chose the most finished ones. I really think each piece has its own merits; I’m not sure there is one I like more than the rest. The still life I didn’t really like because it was very technical, which is annoying to learn, but I think it came out very well; ... it looks beautiful. Then, the landscape was interesting, because it was way more difficult than I thought it would be. I think I learned a lot from doing it, but it was very frustrating. Then the one where we had to choose a piece to do our own interpretation of was also very interesting — I abstracted it a lot, and I do not usually work so abstractly.

JA: Do you have any last things you want to add?

OS: I would say it is a very underrated program — this year, there were only six of us. But it sort of changed my life. ... I know it sounds [weird], but there were so many people there who were really devoted to their craft and the arts and took it really seriously. I came back and realized I wanted that, and I wanted to take it more seriously for myself. So I actually ended up switching my majors this semester; I was studying business and art, and now I am studying art history and art. So, yeah, I really think it was kind of life-changing.

—Hannah Kressel