The Justice, January 29, 2019

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Justice www.thejustice.org

The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 15

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

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

MLK JR: ‘THERE IS NO HIM WITHOUT US’

COMMUNITY

Accessibility forum fills up; students frustrated ■ Students, faculty and staff

joined to voice their struggles and discuss the University's plan to improve campus.

By SAM STOCKBRIDGE JUSTICE EDITOR

On Tuesday afternoon, Brandeis students, faculty and staff met in Levin Ballroom in Usdan Student Center and discussed their often-frustrating experiences with accessibility on campus.

University Provost Lisa M. Lynch began the forum by acknowledging the University’s accessibility shortcomings. “Historically colleges and universities, … including Brandeis University, have addressed issues of disability policy and accessibility on campus, and in particular accessibility for students, through a dedicated office of disability services.” This approach “tries to fit individuals into a system that was built without [accessibility] in mind,” Lynch said. “That has to change.”

“If you’re always asking for an accommodation, finding a way for you to fit in, it’s hard to see how that squares with feeling, ‘Yes, I belong here, yes I should be here, yes I’m coming into a campus that’s welcoming of me being here on this campus,’” she added.

Lynch emphasized the importance of embracing universal design on campus. Universal design is the principle that when communities are inclusive of all their members, it is beneficial for every member. Lynch explained that universal design “is going to help advance the University’s sense of community and inclusion.”

She also said she was proud that Brandeis will be “developing a set of accessibility indicators” to measure progress in achieving accessibility on campus. “If you don’t take the time to measure how you’re impacting your community, then it’s easier for that community to not be as visible on the campus.”

“Accessibility is a shared responsibility on this campus, but I hope you see by who is here of the senior leader-

See FORUM, 6 ☛

RESEARCH CENTER

Schuster to close, scale back research ■ Financial difficulties led

to the Institute’s closing, announced by provost Lisa Lynch in a Dec. 20 email.

By JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITOR

After struggling to find the necessary funding, the University made the decision to officially close the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism on Dec. 31, 2018. The Schuster Institute, the nation’s first investigative reporting center based at a university, made possible by a generous donation from Elaine and Gerald Schuster, opened 14 years ago at Brandeis. Since its founding in Sept. 2004, the Institute’s team of editors, reporters, fellows and student research assistants worked to preserve investigative journalism as media outlets cut back on that type of reporting.

In addition to the Schusters’ donation, the Institute received grants from foundations such as the Ford Foundation, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, Humanity United and the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, according to an email from Florence Graves. Graves, an award-winning investigative journalist and editor, was the founder of the Schuster Institute and directed it since its beginning. It was also supported by gifts of various sizes from individuals.

After the initial funding from the

Waltham, Mass.

Schusters ran out, however, the Institute struggled to find sufficient funding from other sources that would cover the cost of its work. For the last three years, the University had subsidized the Institute while working with Graves to try to find new grants or gifts, Lynch explained in an email provided by Julie Jette to the Justice.

In addition to helping cover facilities, utilities and administrative costs, the University also provided $450,000 for primary staff salaries.

Research centers like Schuster are supposed to be able to sustain themselves by getting money from external donors instead of being subsidized by the University, President Liebowitz explained in a Jan. 17 joint interview with the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot. As the University takes a new approach to its budget, the administration is trying to become “more conscious and aware of what [they] are subsidizing,” he explained, looking to the costs and contributions that different programs have for the University. “Many academic units and departments are never going to earn a direct dollar in any way, but they are vital to the mission of the institution, and we are going to support them,” he said. “Others however, might be too expensive to support.”

Due to the high cost of the Institute and the inability to find outside funding sources, operations have been winding down, and the University ultimately decided to close the Institute, Lynch explained.

Graves founded the Institute to

See CLOSING, 7 ☛

Thu Le/the Justice

‘THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED’: Brandeis students, faculty and alumni remembered the Civil Rights leader through song, dance, spoken word and more. A local choir, The DMJ United Voices of Praise, also contributed to the memorial.

Univ. remembers Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ■ The event also marked

the 50th anniversary of the African and Afro-American Studies Department.

By GILDA GEIST JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISSTANT

The Brandeis community gathered in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater on Jan. 21 for the thirteenth annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, this year titled “There Is No Him Without Us.” The event, sponsored by the Men of Color Alliance and the Dean of Students office, commemorated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and celebrated the 50th anniversary of the African and Afro-American Studies department.

After performing his own spoken word piece about police brutality and gun violence against Black people, Dean of Students Jamele Adams introduced the keynote speaker for the event, Alex Montgomery MA’17. Montgomery attended the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and received the Sylvia Rivera Graduate Award from the Intercultural Center.

After leading a moment of silence for indigenous victims of colonialism, Montgomery reminded the au-

dience to “tell the truth about Dr. King and all his complexity.” Montgomery read a few famous Dr. King quotes, and then explained how the context of his speeches changes the meaning of the phrases. “To limit his existence into romanticized nuggets of feel-good quotes is to erase the evolution of his politic in the midst of his unwavering love for mankind,” they said.

Montgomery also named a number of civil rights activists who have been left out of the mainstream historical narrative, including Bayard Rustin, a gay Black man, and Prof.

Emeritus Pauli Murray (AMST), a Black woman. They explained that “the civil rights movement is a lot more femme and a lot more queer” than how it is now portrayed.

Chari Calloway ’19 also spoke at the event, largely about intersectionality in the civil rights movement. “Let me remind you of the Black folk and queer folk who too dreamed,” she said. Calloway mentioned the legacies of several famous and influential black women, such as Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Toni Morrison. “We owe our lives … to the folk who stared down the barrel … and peeked over the mountaintops of hatred and saw a glorious day of dawn for freedom for Black folk,” she said.

Shaping Her Own

Composing Women

Professors launch open-access textbook

 Destiny Morton ’20 on her journey as a first-generation college student.

 WSRC showcases female composers throughout history.

By GILDA GEIST

By ELLA RUSSELL

By SAMMY PARK ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

In addition to speakers, there were a number of performers, including Nyah Macklin ’16, a Brandeis alum who sang the Black National Anthem; the Toxic Majorette Dance Line; the DMJ United Voices of Praise Choir and more.

One of the performers was Kwesi Jones ’21, who recited an original poem. Interspersed with lines from songs of iconic black musicians, his piece highlighted several important civil rights activists. “A single ray of light cast down from the sky and nurtured the earth with destiny, sprouting from the soil emerged none other than the good Reverend Dr. Martin,” Jones said, later adding, “Martin became the deep bellow on the soundtrack of freedom.”

Jones also talked about the true origins of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, pointing out that “before sister Rosa’s gracious act of nonaction, it was 15-year-old Claudette Colvin who first gave up her seat on the bus. … Claudette was pushed into the shadows of history and allowed Rosa to stand in the light that she cast on the grand stage of freedom.”

The event was followed by music from the Brandeis University MLK Sound Collection, which included an hour and a half of music through the decades in the SCC Atrium and was DJ’d by Brandeis alum DJ DCASO.

NEWS 3

Steel tariffs do more harm than good

By SOMAR HADID

FORUM 12

Gymnasts host Roll Deis Invitational

FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

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Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org

ARTS 18

By MEGAN GELLER

COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

SPORTS 16

2

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

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NEWS

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS POLICE LOG MEDICAL EMERGENCY January 23—BEMCo staff treated a party who had slipped on ice at the Epstein Building. The party signed a refusal for further care.

January 24—A party reported slipping on ice at Ziv Quad, injuring their knee and ankle. BEMCo staff treated the party and got a signed refusal for further care.

January 25—BEMCo staff treated an intoxicated party in Massell Quad. Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care, and the Area Coordinator on call was notified.

January 26—A party reported experiencing abdominal pain at the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center.

BEMCo staff treated the party, and University Police transported them to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

January 26—BEMCo staff treated an intoxicated party at Skyline Residence Hall and got a signed refusal for further care.

January 26—A party in East Quad reported injuring their wrist, so BEMCo staff treated them.

University Police transported the party to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care.

January 27—BEMCo staff treated a party who reported feeling ill in Cable Hall, before University Police transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

CELEBRATING DR. REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

LARCENY January 24—A party reported that their medication had gone missing from a common bathroom area in the Village. University Police compiled a report on the incident.

DISTURBANCE January 23—University Police received a report of an unknown party smoking marijuana inside a common stairwell in the Charles River Apartments.

When they arrived on the scene, the police smelled marijuana, but could not determine its source.

January 25—After receiving a noise complaint, University Police asked residents of Rosenthal Quad to lower their music volume. The residents complied without incident.

January 26—A party at the Foster Mods reported hearing loud music all throughout the day. University Police found the scene quiet when they arrived and referred the party to the Department of Community Living to help address the ongoing issue.

HARASSMENT January 21—A party reported a case of harassment. University Police compiled a report and an investigation will ensue.

—Compiled by Jocelyn Gould

THU LE/the Justice

Toxic Majorette Dance Line performed alongside fellow Brandeis students and alumni at the thirteenth annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial event.

BRIEF Board of Higher Education agrees to monitor private colleges’ finances The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education signed off on a new system under which Massachusetts will monitor the financial circumstances of private colleges in the state. The plan, which the BHE agreed to at Tuesday’s meeting, aims to ensure that students are aware in advance if their school is planning to close or merge with another institution, according to a Jan. 23 Boston Globe article.

Under the new plan, each year, state officials will examine publicly available data on private colleges’ finances to determine their financial stability. If a school is found not to have enough funding for the next year and a half of instruction, it will have to create a “teach-out plan” detailing “arrangements with other institutions that have agreed to accept their students, should the school close,” the same article explains. The school will also have to notify both current and accepted students about the situation, according to a Jan. 22 WBUR-FM radio broadcast.

In the last five years, 17 small colleges in Massachusetts have either closed or merged with other institutions, according to the WBUR-FM story.

The abrupt closure of Mount Ida College last April, which left students and professors stranded, showed that there are issues with the current regulatory system, the story reported.

There is worry about a “demographic cliff” approaching higher education, caused by a decreasing fertility rate and thus a shrinking college-age population. In New England, the shift is “pronounced,” there are a lot of small liberal arts colleges, explained David Chard, dean ad interim of Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, during the WBUR-FM report. According to Chard, this combination makes the region particularly susceptible to the financial pressures which force colleges to close or merge.

Forcing universities to disclose their financial peril, however, may scare away potential students and lead to closures that may not have been inevitable, argued Chard.

—Jocelyn Gould

SENATE LOG Amendments change bylaws, committee names during contentious Senate meeting

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Contact Jocelyn Gould and Sam Stockbridge at news@thejustice.org CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n The Justice has no corrections or clarifications to to report for this week.

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.

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The Senate renamed the Campus Operations Working Group and the Bylaws committees in addition to approving an amendment to the Bylaws concerning the impeachment or recall of a Senator.

Union Vice President Aaron Finkel ’20 began by announcing that Class of 2021 Senator George Li had resigned to focus on academics. Treasurer Adrian Ashley ’20 reported that the Union had spent as much money as expected last semester. Finkel also reminded the Senate of the mandatory postelection Union Retreat happening after elections.

Finkel shared that Union Diversity and Inclusion Officer Zoë Fort ’21 gave an update on Tuesday’s Accessibility Forum at the Executive Board’s meeting. Fort said she received complaints about the forum including its timing and President Liebowitz’s five minute speech.

International Senator Linfei Yang ’20 defended Liebowitz, saying the president wanted to “be like a sponge to soak up complaints” rather than take time away from participants with a long speech.

Hoffman added that a lawsuit could ensue, possibly leading to the University losing its Americans with Disabilities Act funding. Finkel concluded the Senate’s discussion about the forum by stating that a followup forum could be in the works to address issues not covered by the first.

Finkel announced that the Senate would undertake a new weekly initiative called “Senate Awards,” which would publicly acknowledge at least one student or club that has done something “exceptional or amazing.”

Moving to committee chair reports, Sustainability Committee Chair and Executive Senator Kent Dinlenc ’19 re-

ported that he would be meeting with the Department of Community Living about getting trash and recycling bins in all rooms in Ziv and Ridgewood Quads, as well as in the Charles River Apartments. Though he acknowledged he did not know the cost, he joked that it would be “probably cheaper than pianos.”

The Senate brought forth last week’s resolution to submit a public comment to the Department of Education opposing proposed changes to Title IX, which the Senate voted by acclamation to approve.

Next, the Senate debated the language of a proposed amendment regarding the rules for impeached and recalled senators. Class of 2022 Senator Alex Chang was concerned about compatibility with Judiciary policies and making sure “we’re not using Bylaws amendments to get constitutional amendments.” Finkel countered Chang’s comment by stating, “It is completely within our power to do this.”

Yang then voiced his concern about the clause which would forbid an impeached or recalled senator from running for office again for the next year. “Hypothetically,” he said, he would “understand if people didn’t want the Class of 2022 senator on the Senate anymore,” but wondered if the ban on running again would apply to every Union position. Ridgewood Senator Leigh Salomon ’19 replied that no one would want an impeached or recalled senator to represent them in any other way, and that running for another Union position would be “an abuse of the system.”

The resolution is timely, as international students will vote on Wednesday whether to recall Yang. The vote comes after a widely-circulated petition argued that Yang “exhibited a

carelessness and lack of respect for the rules of conduct and decorum of the Student Union, the Brandeis administration, and the university community as a whole,” and mentioned his role in the piano controversy and admin seizure of the Class of 2019 and 2020 Facebook groups. After the petition garnered signatures of 15 percent of international students, Dinlenc gave Yang the option of resigning rather than being recalled by his constituents, according to an email provided to the Justice.

Bylaws Committee Chair Jake Rong ’21 said it was acceptable under the Bylaws to pass this amendment.

As it became Chang’s turn to vote, he began a charged speech, stating, “If the students decide that they want someone to represent them, then in a democratic system they have the right to that.” Finkel tried to intervene, insisting that Chang not give a speech and instead only say “yes or no,” while Chang repeatedly yelled, “Excuse me!” resulting in a back and forth between the two.

The resolution passed.

Having decided to split the original amendment into two votes after dissent from Senators, the Senate addressed the amendments to rename COW-G to “Campus Operations Committee” and the Bylaws Committee to the “Rules Committee.” COW-G Chair Richard Kisack ’19 defended the tradition of the original name. Other senators disagreed, saying a name change would help the committee’s branding.

The vote was held twice, as many senators changed their votes and others made speeches in between. Though Finkel insisted he had informed Kisack of the proposed amendment in advance, Kisack maintained that he was unaware before it

was proposed at a previous EBoard meeting. Renaming the committee passed.

Next, the Senate discussed renaming the Bylaws Committee to the Rules Committee.

Finkel supported the measure.

Dinlenc agreed with Finkel, joking, “‘Bylaws’ isn’t sexy, ‘rules’ is sexy.” The amendment to rename the committee passed.

The Senate then moved to new business, discussing the proposed Student Union Code of Conduct. Finkel stated that he reviewed the document with E-Board and other senators, and also looked at other universities’ codes of conduct. He said it “clearly lays out” a code that “everyone … will be held to.”

Salomon added that the Student Union is “long overdue for a system of accountability.” The Senate postponed voting on the code until next week’s meeting.

Services and Outreach Chair Chapman reported that Shapiro Hall did not have hot water for a week, and residents were not informed by DCL about the problem until the end of that week. In her report, Senator-at-Large Noah Nguyen ’21 chastised Finkel for his alleged handling of the COW-G amendment, declaring that his role in Kisack’s lack of advance knowledge about the proposal was “unprofessional and rude.”

After Finkel apologized, Racial Minority Senator Geraldine Bogard ’20 said that Finkel’s apology “did not feel sincere,” and that she would have voted “no” on the amendment based on Finkel’s “respect toward the issue.” Finkel insisted once again that he thought he had given Kisack enough notice, but acknowledged that in his effort to get things done, he “moved a little too fast.”

—Emily Blumenthal

THE JUSTICE

‘THE INNER PEACE OUTER PEACE READER’

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NEWS

JUSTICE EDITOR ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

Professors launch free online PAX course textbook ■ Peace Studies professors

released their book compiled for the annual course “Inner Peace and Outer Peace.”

By GILDA GEIST JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Profs. Peter Gould PhD’02 (PAX) and John Ungerleider (PAX) held a launch for their free open-access textbook titled “The Inner Peace Outer Peace Reader” on Wednesday.

The textbook contains a majority of the readings for the course Inner Peace and Outer Peace, which Gould and Ungerleider have taught every spring semester since 2010 as part of Brandeis’ Peace, Conflict & Coexistence Studies Program.

“The Inner Peace Outer Peace Reader” is an open-educational resource, which is an online educational text that anyone can access for free. “It’s not just available to you, to this class,” Gould said. “Anybody anywhere in the world who hears about the class, who wants to delve a little more into the subjects of inner peace and outer peace … can find this book and go to it and use it for free.”

Gould explained that his daughter, a librarian at University of California, Berkeley, saw that the Brandeis Library was offering a grant for

University faculty to make an openaccess book, giving him the idea to compile “The Inner Peace Outer Peace Reader” with Ungerleider.

Gould emphasized the importance of his and Ungerleider’s textbook being free to access. “A lot of students decide not to take a class because the books are too expensive,” he said, later referring to textbooks as a “paywall” for students. He noted that he was “excited to get through the paywall that has been erected, making it hard for some students to take certain classes.”

Gould shared his own experience as a student at Brandeis, recalling the huge and expensive stacks of books he would accrue each semester.

Many times he did not know if the assigned books would even be read.

According to a Jan. 26 CBS News article, over the past 10 years, the price of college textbooks has risen four times faster than the inflation rate. As a result, 65 percent of students do not buy at least one required text during their time at college, Kristof wrote.

Associate University Librarian for Research and Instruction Laura Hibbler also spoke at the launch, explaining that students sometimes paid as much as $1,000 for books per year.

She also pointed out that professors want their published research to be more widely read, but the price of

journal articles discourages some of those outside the Brandeis community from reading their work.

Hibbler said that in addition to grants like the one Gould and Ungerleider took advantage of, the library has an open-access fund that allows professors to publish their work so that it is free for students, while avoiding a fee themselves. Hibbler encouraged students at the launch to think about using open-educational resources should they ever become teachers.

Gould also pointed out that because the reader was online, he or Ungerleider could include videos in the book and update the text at any time.

According to the textbook’s introduction, the course that the book is written for was conceived by Prof.

Gordie Fellman after the Dalai Lama came to Brandeis in 1998. The textbook describes the course as “an evolving exploration of the dynamic relationship between mindfulness practice and conflict transformation and peacebuilding.”

The cover art for the textbook, a painting of a foliage-filled landscape through an open-window, was made

by Gould’s wife.

Gould and Ungerleider’s book is available on Pressbooks, a website through which professors can make open-educational resources available to their students.

CAMPUS SPEAKERS

Student panelists talk about studying ‘Black and Abroad’ ■ Brandeis Black

Students Organization and the Office of Study Abroad host discussion panel.

By MAURICE WINDLEY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Traveling abroad presents a number of novel and challenging opportunities, and to the panel of students who spoke on Wednesday, studying abroad was both a learning experience and an opportunity to examine their own identities. Sponsored by the Brandeis Black Students Organization and in collaboration with the Office of Study Abroad, the “Black and Abroad” event centered around individuals’ experiences abroad as people of color. The seven panelists had each studied in different countries, ranging from England to Chile.

BBSO President Deborah Fataki ’19 initiated the discussions, noting that each of the perspectives presented were important not only because the panelists have their own experiences, but also because “relating these experiences to those of other students within a primarily white institution can be difficult to navigate on campus.”

Asked about what made the panelists choose their specific programs, Justus Davis ’19 responded that one of his motivations in participating in the Brandeis-affiliated Singapore study abroad program was the classes it offered. He explained that after creating his own major, Digital Art and Culture, at Brandeis, Davis was interested in taking classes that were also aligned with his major but taught from a different perspective.

Carmella Belizaire ’19 explained since her interest in public health relates to the “disparities in minority communities,” her program, an outgoing exchange program in Mexico and Cuba, focused on the aspect of public health that is centered around indigenous Latin American communities and medical Spanish. “[The] majority of our words in English come from Latin and Greek, whereas in Mexico, much of the word comes from the derivation itself,” Belizaire explained, highlighting one of the main communicational differences between English and Spanish medicinal practices.

As the conversation continued, Fataki asked the panelists that went abroad and were required to use a different language how it felt to be in a place that is different. Minnie Norgaise ’19, who attended the China

Educational Tours Beijing and Taipei program, responded that “understanding the language is like ‘pulling out a super power,’” which she says really impacted her experiences with the native community.

Davis said that while attending the outgoing exchange program at the National University of Singapore, he was “shocked by how well organized the location appeared,” taking notice of how impressively Singapore was marketed to travelers and tourists. However, Davis explained that while taking a class on critical race theory in Singapore, he noticed that, unlike at other universities such as Brandeis, the idea of challenging the education presented is typically not done.

Kareken Johnson ’19, who studied abroad at Oxford, discussed his experiences with navigating discussions about race on the campus. He explained that in terms of nationality and race, “there needs to be a discussion on mental health and navigating through universities that are primarily white as a minority or POC.” In closing, Fataki explained that as students of color, “there are many different things that we have to think about that other students may not have to,” and it’s important to continue these conversations across campus.

3

Univ. releases ‘springboard funding’ proposal

By NATALIA WIATER

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

ADMINISTRATION

■ The proposal is intended to fill in gaps in University operations funding.

PEACE-BUILDING: Professors Peter Gould and John Ungerleider used a Brandeis Library grant to write and publish a textbook. While the book was compiled for use in their class, it is available for free to anyone who wants to read it.

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The administration has put forth a $73 million proposal, termed “springboard funding,” that will address gaps in University operations that must be filled before pursuing a major capital campaign, University President Ron Liebowitz announced in a Jan. 11 email to the Brandeis community last week. The proposal is split into two parts and spreads spending over three years, allotting $47 million for incremental operations and $26 million for capital expenditures.

In a joint interview with the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot on Thursday, Liebowitz said that a gaps analysis found human, physical and financial gaps in the University’s current financial and structural models and that these shortcomings must be addressed as a first step toward the vision for the University’s future, which he laid out last semester. As the quality of University programs has gone up, funding increases have not followed, and Brandeis is now “doing more than we could afford,” Liebowitz explained.

Funding for incremental operations

The Board of Trustees has already approved the proposal “in principle,” as well as three sources of funding for operations: increasing endowment spending, utilizing annual savings from the new financial framework and expanding the Brandeis Annual Fund participation. In a meeting next week, the Board will vote to approve a fourth source: early philanthropic investments. These early donations would result in “gift credit” for the future capital campaign, an intense fundraising effort over a set period of time Liebowitz is planning to conduct, according to the email.

If the Board does not approve the last funding source, or if fundraising and savings do not meet expectations, the administration will triage the available funds to the departments that need it the most, such as those in academic and student affairs and the Office of Institutional Advancement, Liebowitz said in the interview.

IA, which will see an increase in staffing in an effort to return to 2006 staffing levels, will be one of the sources of funding, per the email.

“IA was one of the hardest hits after the [2008] recession,” Liebowitz explained in the interview. Tuition covers less than 75 percent of the University’s budget, so much of its success is based on fundraising, which is done through the Institutional Advancement Office.

“We need a really vibrant fundraising program,” Liebowitz said.

Currently, IA has three fundraisers dispatched on the road, but 15 to 18 are needed, he continued. If the springboard proposal is successful, that range will eventually be reached. According to the springboard proposal, building up Institutional Advancement will ideally result in more fundraising and therefore more money to fund the proposal itself.

Another key source of funds for the proposal will come from endowment spending, which would increase from its current rate of 5.7 percent to up to 6.2 percent for the next three years. Though this would result in a significant cost to the endowment, this choice is “basically investing in ourselves” and therefore “worth the risk,” Liebowitz said.

Gaps in incremental operations

Apart from sitions which retirement, 17 members will

the replacement pocome naturally with new full-time faculty be hired, the major-

ity of which will be in the College of Arts and Sciences, according to Liebowitz. Two or three of these positions will be created at the Brandeis International Business School, as a recent reaccreditation report required the University to employ more full-time faculty rather than adjuncts.

In addition, much of the funding will go to increased staffing in a variety of areas — Campus Operations, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Office of Communications, the Brandeis Counseling Center and the Division of Student Affairs. Among other positions, the administration has already hired four part-time therapists and is looking to hire four more public safety officers and another lawyer, as the University currently employs only one.

Due to the large incoming class of 2022, student life has already seen an increase in funding and resources, such as graduate student mentors and additional counselors. These are changes the University was “going to do anyway,” but were still included in the springboard proposal, Liebowitz said.

Brandeis, unlike many other universities, does not have a president’s discretionary fund, but this new proposal would establish one, Liebowitz said in the interview.

Using recommendations from task forces, this fund would pinpoint initiatives such as funding a new course dedicated to faculty-student research outside the University’s main budget. This would incentivize faculty members to spend time working together with students and on new projects, according to Liebowitz.

The Provost’s Research Fund is set to receive an additional $1 million in funding through this proposal. The Fund sponsors “innovative scholarly inquiry and creative activities that have the potential for significant, sustained impact,” per its website. It currently provides $250,000 to $300,000 in awards each year, all under $50,000 each, according to a Jan. 17 email from Director of Media Relations Julie Jette.

The administration also plans to revisit parts of their contract with Sodexo that is set to expire on June 30, 2023, per the same email. In the interview, Liebowitz referenced examining a component unpopular with students: requiring students to purchase a meal plan even if their housing arrangement contains a kitchen.

Capital expenditures

The University currently maintains a debt portfolio of about $270 million, and by refinancing a series of bonds that is nearing maturity, the University will save $26 million, which comes in a lump sum.

Refinancing the bonds extends the life of the bonds but at a lower interest rate. However, the University is limited in how it can spend the savings from refinancing these bonds, which means it can only be put toward capital expenditures, according to Liebowitz.

Though it will “take many years and a successful capital campaign to modernize our infrastructure,” the $26 million will allow the University to address the most pressing issues, Liebowitz wrote in the email. This part of the proposal targets physical and technological infrastructure and equipment; projects will be evaluated through a safety-andneeds perspective, and will not go toward “luxuries,” Liebowitz said in the joint interview. Changes includeremodeling buildings to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards as well as replacing the old heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in IBS. —Jen Geller contributed reporting.

—This article was published online on Jan. 22.

NATALIA WIATER/ the Justice

Want to write crosswords

Cybersecurity

Contact | yu.edu/CYB Stop the Bad GuysContact Kressel at MayaHannah Zanger-Nadis arts@thejustice.org at arts@thejustice.org

THE JUSTICE

AN INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE

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NEWS

By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE: Chuck Rosenberg was chief of staff and senior counsel at the FBI under James Comey, led the Drug Enforcement Administration and was a senior official at the Department of Justice.

Former DoJ official discusses ongoing Mueller investigation with the Dean’ explored issues of impeachment and obstruction of justice.

By NAKUL SRINIVAS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Former senior Federal Bureau of Investigation official Chuck Rosenberg provided a legal context of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into President Donald Trump during a visit to the Heller School for Social Policy and Management on Wednesday. He described the criteria for treason, impeachment and obstruction of justice.

Rosenberg has worked for several significant figures in the Mueller investigation, including James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, whom Trump fired in 2017, and Mueller himself.

Rosenberg served as the acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2015 to 2017, according to the New York Times. He said that he had “never seen a human being work harder than Bob Mueller,” and that Attorney General nominee

William Barr “strikes [him] as a man of integrity.”

He started by pointing to the incredible complexity of the Mueller investigation. First, the indictments themselves are complicated. Rosenberg explained that the Russian military intelligence agency GRU’s officials’ “attack on our election process” was “very, very technically sophisticated” in nature. The indictments also bring with them new legal questions.

“Obstruction of justice requires intent,” Rosenberg explained. “You have to show what someone intended” in order to prove they have obstructed justice, and this is especially pertinent to Trump’s firing of Comey, according to Rosenberg. He said that it is perfectly acceptable for a president to fire the director of the FBI unless it is done for “corrupt purposes,” such as firing him for investigating the president.

As far as the results of the Mueller investigation are concerned, Rosenberg warned audience members to “be patient” and “wait for Mueller to talk in court” before jumping to conclusions about impeachment. He specifically referenced a recent BuzzFeed article, which insinuated that Trump had specifically told his former law-

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Univ. responds to national changes to Title IX policies protect those accused of sexual harassment and assault.

■ Rosenberg’s ‘Conversation

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

ADMINISTRATION

■ These changes would

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yer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress.

Mueller has publicly denied this story, according to the New York Times.

However, Rosenberg did give some ideas about the charges Trump may or may not face. For example, he explained that Trump could not be tried for treason for helping Russian President Vladimir Putin because America wasn’t at war with Russia.

He cited 18 U.S. Code 2381, which defines treason only as “giving … aid” to an enemy against whom we have “levied war.”

Rosenberg was unable to offer a concrete answer as to whether or not impeachment would happen.

This is because presidents are not impeached solely on the basis of an “objective set of criteria,” Rosenberg said. Rather, “in the end, impeachment is really a political determination,” he added.

When asked about “the timeline” of the investigation, Rosenberg responded that the “Mueller investigation is moving very, very fast.” For context, he added, “If we were just investigating a hospital down the street for healthcare fraud … that would take four years. So I think the Mueller team is moving at the speed of light.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has prepared Title IX policies aimed at expanding the rights of students accused of assault, harassment or rape. According to an Aug. 29 New York Times article, these policies would “bolster the rights of students accused of assault, harassment or rape, reduce liability for institutions of higher education and encourage schools to provide more support for victims.” In a Jan. 24 email to the Brandeis community, University President Ron Liebowitz announced that Brandeis has joined 54 other Massachusetts colleges and universities to publicly comment on the Department of Education’s proposals.

Title IX is a part of the 1972 Education Amendments Act that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, specifically in federally funded education programs and activities such as colleges and universities, per the United States Department of Justice’s website.

According to the DOJ, “In addition to traditional educational institutions such as colleges, universities, and elementary and secondary schools, Title IX also applies to any education or training program operated by a recipient of federal financial assistance.”

According to the New York Times, DeVos’s policies propose a narrower definition of sexual harassment than the one currently in use. Additionally, they only hold colleges and universities accountable for complaints that are formally submitted through “proper authorities” and for conduct that occurs on their campuses. The policies would also provide a “higher legal standard to determine wheth-

er schools improperly addressed complaints.”

“I am concerned that the overly prescriptive model proposed by the Department of Education will not best serve our students or our community,” Liebowitz said in his email. “The comments submitted by [the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts] on behalf of Brandeis and other Massachusetts schools emphasize the importance of allowing colleges and universities to craft procedures that consider the unique characteristics of their own communities while ensuring equity, fairness, and respect for all.”

According to Liebowitz, the AICUM’s comments to the Department of Education reflect the University’s beliefs that the Title IX disciplinary process should be fair to all parties involved and should be conducted quickly and effectively, in a way that meets Brandeis’ needs.

The AICUM’s submission also argues that “many aspects of the proposed regulations may undermine rather than advance Title IX’s very purpose — to provide legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance.” Requiring complaints to be resolved through in-person hearings with cross-examinations might deter students from sharing their complaints with the University, the statement claimed. It added that respondents, witnesses and the institutions themselves would also face new challenges. For instance, privacy would be more difficult to maintain for complainants, and addressing complaints would be more expensive and time-consuming.

“Brandeis is firmly committed to ensuring that all members of our community can study and work in an environment free from sexual harassment and discrimination. I believe that these comments reflect that commitment,” Liebowitz concluded in his email.

CAMPUS EVENTS

Students volunteer, attend workshops during Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Interfaith Service ■ Participants packed meals

to donate and listened to speakers talk about prejudice and housing discrimination.

By EMILY BLUMENTHAL JUSTICE PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Since Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, millions have carried on his legacy through service and activism, as well as through Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday first observed in 1986. This year, the Department of Spiritual and Religious Life sought to invoke King’s legacy in its ninth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Interfaith Service, held on Jan. 21 in Levin Ballroom. As attendees flowed in, projectors played a compilation of King’s speeches, including “I Have a Dream” and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” as well as a clip of protesters singing “We Shall Overcome.”

The event, co-sponsored by Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries and the University, was split into two parts — packing meals with Outreach Inc., an organization that combats food insecurity, and attending various educational workshops.

One of the workshops was about

housing discrimination and insecurity and was led by Julia Haynes ’20 and Devon Crittenden ’20, coordinators of the University’s branch of Habitat for Humanity. Haynes stated that shelter is a “basic human right,” elaborating that “we only see the importance of housing when we see the lack of it.” Housing insecurity, Haynes explained, is defined as being “one paycheck away from missing your rent.”

Detailing the history of housing discrimination in the United States, Haynes described the Great Migration, a mass movement of Black people from the South to Northern cities which began during the 1910s.

Black people in search of jobs began to move into predominantly white neighborhoods in the North. This upset white residents, which led to the creation of housing segregation ordinances, a product of Plessy vs. Ferguson’s “separate but equal” ruling.

Starting in the 1950s, “white flight” led white city dwellers to move into new suburban neighborhoods that excluded Blacks and which further increased segregation. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, but Haynes said the law was “never consistently enforced.”

Haynes explained the effects of housing insecurity on individuals’ health. She said that housing insecurity can create “physiological anxiety,” as those who live in “better houses and better neighborhoods” live longer than “those who don’t.”

Haynes also described housing’s relationship with physical health, especially nutrition. In the suburbs, residents are “just a car ride away from the nearest grocery store,” whereas residents of poorer neighborhoods often live in food deserts, areas lacking grocery stores and affordable, nutritious food. People living in food deserts, Haynes said, are much more likely to eat fast food and rely entirely on convenience stores, which frequently do not carry fresh produce.

In recent years, housing insecurity has become increasingly related to class, caused by decades of racism in housing practices. The problem of gentrification, defined by Haynes as “renovating a house or district so it conforms to middle class tastes,” has brought housing insecurity to the forefront. White people are now buying and renting properties in neighborhoods that were once considered undesirable. As a result, landlords are raising prices and longtime resi-

dents who can no longer afford rent are forced to move elsewhere.

Another workshop, hosted by Harvard Divinity School graduate student Fatema Elbakoury and Shelton Oakley Hersey of Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries’ Interfaith Youth Initiative, was called “Identifying our Prejudices,” in which attendees “went beneath the surface of how prejudice and empathy are embedded in all of us,” and discussed how to unlearn these prejudices through “meaningful conversation and reflection exercises,” per the event’s pamphlet. Other workshops included discussions about homelessness and a youth workshop designed to “explore Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s views on creating a more just world,” according to the same pamphlet.

During the meal-packing segment of the event, participants packed 10,000 meals, according to an email to attendees from University Protestant Chaplain Rev. Matthew Carriker, in attempt to combat food insecurity in Middlesex County, where 8 percent of families are food insecure. The packages were intended for families, each serving four people and containing nutritious ingredients.

In a concluding speech, Kevin Peterson, founder and executive director of the New Democracy Coalition, drew on the interfaith aspect of the event, speaking of King’s friendship with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. According to Peterson, Heschel said that “Martin Luther King is a sign that God has not forsaken the United States of America,” and believed their friendship was part of “the divine connection between Black and Jewish communities” fighting for “social justice [and] hope.” Heschel believed that “King reminded us of the essential obligation of giving, so that we may also individually take up the endeavor of giving as God has given to us,” Peterson said.

Peterson asserted that many of the problems present in King’s day are still very much relevant, saying King “lived in a nation where Black people were judged primarily by the color of their skin. … That fact remains today.”

At the end of the event, projectors played an excerpt from one of King’s speeches which epitomized his approach to advocacy: “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.”

Image Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

Join ! m foru Send an email to Gabriel Frank at forum@thejustice.org

THE JUSTICE

FORUM: Accessibility plans outlined CONTINUED FROM 1 ship that there’s a recognition among the senior leadership here on campus that it’s a shared responsibility but it starts from the top,” she said. “It’s extremely important that our work is informed and guided by those with disabilities.”

Stewart Uretsky, executive vice president for Finance and Administration, took the microphone next to discuss the University’s plan to make its buildings more accessible. He said the University is conducting a “building condition assessment” to measure “all 97 buildings on campus” and figure out which would most benefit from renovations to increase accessibility.

The next half hour of the forum was designated for discussions at round tables with audience members about the accessibility problems on campus and the support that members of the audience have found with accessibility on campus.

This format was designed so that the audience could share their experiences with each other and “brainstorm” solutions together, Lynch explained. After the discussion period, members of the audience volunteered to tell the room about their discussions.

First to volunteer was LilyFish Gomberg ’20, who expressed her frustration that there are a lot of good measures in place for students that need academic accommodations but that those measures aren’t coming to fruition. She spoke specifically about the noise-cancelling headphones that the University provides for some students for exams, which in the past have not been charged. Without power, the headphones function as little more than earmuffs. She also said the University has a lot of excessive documentation that leads to assistance and aid being more complicated than they need to be.

Rachel Steinberg ’19 observed that the students at the forum were, for the most part, not sitting with faculty.

She said that without communication between those groups, it would be difficult to make any sort of progress.

Sasha Manus ’21 explained the numerous frustrations the members of her table had with campus accessibility. Describing BranVan accessibility, she said, “It’s unreliable, there’s false info about it, and there’s only one accessible BranVan, and I have cerebral palsy. I can’t use it. It’s not accessible enough.” She said the administration’s attitude toward students with

disabilities amounts to “‘You’re a casualty. So be it.’”

Manus continued, “It is my second year here. I have almost transferred six times. I chose Brandeis because I love the community, but every single time I am here, I feel like I am a second-class citizen.”

Manus also expressed frustration with food contamination in the dining halls, saying, “People should not have to eat with their EpiPens out. Think about the type of message that’s sending to students.”

Steve Gulley talked about his experience in higher education as a graduate student who has used a wheelchair since he was 16. Gulley said, “Instead of approaching disability from a medical standpoint, instead of approaching disability as a matter of accommodation, instead of approaching disability as a matter fundamentally of rights … We have understand that disability is fundamentally a part of human diversity.”

“I’m painfully aware of how ridiculously privileged I am [as a white man], and at the same time, aware of the fact that, yes, there are ways that I’m oppressed,” he said.

Gulley encouraged members of the audience to learn about the changes that are happening as accessibility improves. “There’s history here, folks, that I would hope that you could take some time to study,” he said. “And that won’t make this anger or this hurt go away, but it will keep us grounded in where we came from, and that might help us to know where we’re going.”

Chris Christian ’21 said she was disappointed that the accessibility transport doesn’t operate past 6 p.m. and asked how the University manages to have a non-accessible BranVan that operates until 2 a.m. every night of the week. She also expressed her frustration with trying to navigate the Carl J. Shapiro Science Complex without the ability to walk up and down stairs.

University President Ron Liebowitz concluded the forum. “I want to give you my commitment that we’re going to start seriously,” he said.

“We have several planning processes underway on this campus. … No one little [division of the administration] can address the magnitude of issues that all students, faculty and staff face here at Brandeis.”

He continued, “Our humanity is also important. That’s what underlies all of this, and the experiences that of course we want to guarantee for all our students, faculty and staff.”

‘I FEEL LIKE A SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN’

THU LE/the Justice

ACCESSIBILITY: Sasha Manus ’21 fiercely condemned the University's response to complaints about accessibility as administrators, faculty, staff and fellow students listened.

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A ‘NEWSROOM WITHOUT WALLS’

ANDREW BAXTER/Justice File Photo

IMPACT JOURNALISM: After 14 years of operation, the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism closed on Dec. 31, 2018. In recent years the Institute employed as many as 35 student research assistants annually.

CLOSING: Schuster to ‘wind down’ investigative projects CONTINUED FROM 1 “help fill the void in high-quality public interest and investigative journalism” by exploring “significant social and political problems,” according to the Institute’s website. The Institute used a “newsroom without walls” model which drew on the work of dozens of fellows, contributors, research assistants and scholars, according to a biography of herself that Graves provided to the Justice. Practicing “impact journalism,” the Institute investigated stories that received little coverage and had the potential to urge social and legal changes if uncovered, and then worked to disseminate their findings to the public and policymakers.

For example, a 2012 article by Schuster reporter E. Benjamin Skinner helped spur the New Zealand government to increase fishing regulations to counter a form of modern-day slavery that had developed in the region, according to a Schuster publication. The Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 worked to prevent corruption in international adoption, drawing on a multi-year Schuster investigation into adoption fraud.

The Institute was the nation’s only independent investigative reporting center that focused on social justice and human rights, according to its website. The Institute’s investigative work was broken into three “beats”: the Political & Social Justice Project, which included the Modern-Day Slavery & Human Trafficking Project, the Gender & Justice Project and the Justice Brandeis Law Project.

The JBLP investigated instances in which individuals were wrongfully convicted for crimes they did not commit, using the research techniques of investigative journalism to uncover the necessary information to exonerate the accused. This team’s work helped exonerate Angel Echavarria and George Perrot, who each spent decades in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder and rape, respectively.

Schuster was “a gathering of superb investigative journalists working across a breathtaking array of issues” in which everyone was “each others’ cheerleaders and vocational counselors,” wrote Madeline Drexler, who was a senior fellow from 2009 through the Institute’s closing, in an email to the Justice. For Drexler, the Institute was “the kind of support that every journalist craves.”

As one of the University’s research centers, the Institute was not an academic department, but it provided jobs and internships for University students to work as research assistants. In an email to the Justice, Graves explained that she had seen how “incredibly valuable” student researchers could be during a fellowship earlier in her career at the Radcliffe Public Policy Center. She helped implement a similar program at Brandeis’ Women’s Studies Research Center before founding Schuster, and she knew from the beginning of the In-

stitute that she wanted to employ paid student research assistants.

“Given our small staff and the complexity of our investigations, we could not have accomplished as much as we did without the exceptional students we hired and had the pleasure of working with,” Graves wrote in the same email. As the Institute developed, Graves was able to hire more student research assistants, and as recently as a year and a half ago, Schuster employed 35–40 students each year, she elaborated. The Institute had only three full-time employees and several part-time staff members besides their student assistants, per Lynch’s Dec. 20 email.

When asked to reflect on the Institute’s legacy, Graves highlighted how Schuster created “an atmosphere that encouraged our contributors no matter their roles or ages to help each other on the mission of our work.”

Most of the research assistants were majoring or minoring in disciplines outside the Journalism program, Graves explained. This allowed the Institute to hire students whose coursework aligned with the specific work that senior fellows were conducting.

Cecile Afable ’16 worked on the JBLP at Schuster both as an undergraduate research assistant and then remotely after graduation. Working at the Institute taught her to think critically about assumed facts, developed the research skills she would use in her thesis and showed her “the benefit of slow, deep work over time” to create a positive impact on the world, she explained in an email to the Justice, writing, “The fact that Schuster could help students learn how to do that kind of intensive research — on interesting topics — and PAID them for it … with relatively flexible scheduling … attests to its unique position as a provider of part-time student jobs,” she wrote.

Schuster Institute fellows mentored their research assistants and often worked to ensure the students were credited when the work was eventually published, Graves explained.

Journalism minors could also get internship credit toward the minor by working at the Institute.

The Journalism program at Brandeis, however, has seen a recent decline in enrollments, with the number of minors falling from 32 in 2014 to 16 three years later, according to the Provost’s Office in an email from Julie Jette. Dean of Arts and Sciences Dorothy L. Hodgson and Program Director Eileen McNamara have discussed ways to reverse this trend, including potentially hiring a new faculty member with digital media experience or broadening the program’s focus.

In her email announcing the Institute’s closure, Lynch wrote that the University hopes “... to find new ways to integrate such mentoring and practical experience with journalism” once provided by Schuster into other “academic programs and residential living communities.”

Despite Schuster’s closing, the In-

stitute’s work has not entirely ended.

Graves, along with her student research assistants, will continue to work on the JBLP at least until the end of the 2018-19 academic year.

The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life will provide space for the researchers, while the space that used to house the Institute will return to being Goldfarb Library space, according to Lynch’s statement courtesy of Jette.

The researchers are in the middle of investigating several wrongful convictions, and Graves was able to secure a donation to cover the costs of finishing those projects, she explained in an email to the Justice. She intends to continue working on those investigations even after the end of July if they are not yet complete by then, explaining that those whose convictions are in question see Schuster as a “last resort” and “are depending on us.”

In her email to the Justice, Lynch explained that the University plans “to continue investigative journalism through the Ethics Center, albeit at a much-reduced scale than what we were able to do in the past in the Schuster Institute.”

Lindsay Markel ’08 worked at Schuster for four years after graduation, eventually becoming associate director. In an email to the Justice, she reflected, “I started working at the Institute as an unsophisticated college graduate, and was lucky enough to meet incredible role models - exactly the kind I needed as a young woman - that helped me grow.

I didn't just learn how to do the painstaking, challenging, thrilling work of investigative journalism; I also learned to feel confidence in myself and my abilities, and to advocate for myself in the world.”

Graves described the work that the Institute did as investigating “institutional systems that had failed” and become “calcified and unwilling to change.” She reflected that she believed that many of their student research assistants would go on to join and gain power within these institutional systems.

“We wanted our incredibly bright, committed and idealistic students to see through their work that how systems that haven’t been willing to change or reassess can do serious harm to individuals, their families and ultimately society writ large,” she wrote, adding, “I let them know my hope was that when they are in positions of power one day, and things they are responsible for aren’t working well or are in crisis, they will remember and be emboldened to act.”

—Editor’s Note: Editors Amber Miles and Sam Stockbridge are research assistants at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism and did not contribute to this article..

—Jen Geller contributed reporting.

—This article was published online on Jan. 22.

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features

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019 ● FEATURES ● THE JUSTICE

just

VERBATIM | ARISTOTLE

Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1861, Kansas was admitted as the 34th state in the Union.

In January 2013, Seattle, Washington set a record for the largest snowball fight: 5,000 people participated.

SHAPING HER OWN

Destiny Morton ’20 discusses her journey as a first-generation college student.

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

A HEART FOR SERVICE: Along with being a Sodexo employee, Morton works as a caregiver for the elderly.

By SAMMY PARK JUSTICE EDITOR

Destiny Morton ’20 never expected to set foot on a college campus. Growing up in a family where no one was a college graduate and with multiple suspensions under her belt by the time she was a high school freshman, Morton did not see herself entering the world of higher education.

Against all odds, Morton matriculated at Brandeis through the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program in August 2016. “College wasn’t a topic of conversation in

Lawrence. It was a risk I took.

I didn’t have any friends going to college,” she said. “It was just me.”

A month after starting college, Morton was hired as a Sodexo employee and has since juggled working for on-campus establishments like Einstein’s and the Faculty Club with a college course load.

Her on-campus jobs quickly made her a familiar face on campus.

And while many students recognize her, very few know that she is also a Brandeis student. “People tend to assume that I am a regular employee; the majority of time people see me on campus, I have my blue

shirt and hat on. Some people are surprised when they see me walking on campus in regular clothes or in the same class as them,” she said.

A year after being hired as a Sodexo employee, the Sociology and Health: Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP) double major was promoted to student manager. As a manager, Morton feels she has cultivated a strong sense of community within her employees.

Even though Morton describes working in the dining hall as a “privilege,” she is quick to recognize the fact that for many students – including herself – working while in

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

STUDENT LEADER: Morton was promoted to student manager as a sophomore, a year after being hired.

college is necessary. “Some of us don’t have any other choice but to work while pursuing an education,” she said.

“

You feel like you have to prove yourself, as if your backgrounds are a shortfall rather than a strength.

In the past two years, Morton has had a set 25-hour work week, not including any extra shifts she would pick up. “I have so many stories of having to sacrifice sleep so that I could work and complete my academics,” she said. This year, Morton is also working as a caregiver for the elderly, making her average work week more than 30 hours.

“I’ve had to sacrifice things like hanging out with friends so many times, but I have learned so much in the process,” Morton explained.

“Working while being in college has taught me that every minute counts.”

At an institution like Brandeis, where first-generation students constitute less than a quarter of the student body, Morton has also had to face the fact that her experience is drastically different from that of most Brandeis students.

“There is a stigma that comes with being a first-generation student especially when you’re a low-income student or here on a scholarship. You feel like you have to prove yourself, as if your backgrounds are a shortfall rather than a strength,” she said.

Unlike the majority of students, Morton has navigated the entire process of college life without a substantial familial support network. “Being a firstgeneration student, I sometimes struggled with this idea of leaving my family behind or feeling the need to figure out how to help them,” she said. “It’s a challenge when you don’t have someone to turn to for guidance and when you do there’s a high chance of them not knowing how to help you since they haven’t experienced it themselves.”

Despite the struggles of balancing a substantial work schedule and double majoring, Morton views her very presence at Brandeis as representing more than just herself. “My hope, with completing my college journey, is to leave the paths for the little ones behind me to follow. I hope to learn from all my mistakes so I can be that person I didn’t have growing up.”

The idea that Morton’s college journey is larger than just herself is echoed in the story of how she came to Brandeis.

After her acceptance into the MKTYP, Morton was hesitant to matriculate because enrolling in college would mean sacrificing her ability to work full-time.

However, one of her classmates in high school told her that she needed to go to college for others.

“I spoke to a student who told me ‘Destiny, do it for those who can’t’ so I went for it,” Morton said.

The junior doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do post-graduation, but her dream is to work in the medical field.

Morton’s strong philanthropic values are encapsulated by her simple insistence that whatever she does post-graduation has “to help others out.”

THE JUSTICE ● FEATURES ● TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019 Images Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

More than our differences

Lynn-Tyia Porter ’22 reflects on the power of college friendships.

By LYNN-TYIA PORTER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Welcome to Brandeis!” Orientation Leaders said with huge smiles on their faces. I remember the first day I came onto campus as an official Brandeis student during movein day on a hot August afternoon.

Looking back, even though it was only a few months ago, it feels like years.

I remember being so nervous as I walked around because every building looked exactly the same.

All I saw were trees everywhere.

It seems funny now, but I only knew where I lived, Massell Quad, because there was a pond right in the center of it. With only three days to get familiar with the campus before classes started, saying I was feeling uneasy would be an understatement. I really wish I had paid attention during the campus tour I took in November of my senior year of high school. If we’re being honest, when I arrived to move into my dorm, it was only the second time I had been on campus.

Coming to Brandeis from a predominantly Black and Latinx high school, this campus was full of people with cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that I had never encountered before. So, along with having to adjust to the physical space of Brandeis, I also had to become familiar with the idea that college was going to be a journey marked by people that were different from me.

During the first week of classes, I decided that I had to overcome my slight fear of getting lost and leave my dorm room. I walked around campus with Kelly Zheng ’22, a girl I had just met the day before.

We talked about how confusing the campus map was and how huge the campus seemed to be at the time.

I didn’t know then that getting lost together and finding the gym all the way across campus would lead to us becoming close friends, but it did.

Identifying as someone with multiple ethnic backgrounds – Jamaican, Haitian, Irish, Italian, and more – having friends and interacting with people with different racial identities from me was always something that I considered important.

To me, my friendship with Kelly represents more than a casual camaraderie catalyzed by the need to bond with other first-years during orientation.

When I first arrived at Brandeis, I wondered if college was just going

to be like high school all over again.

My friendship with Kelly, a Chinese-American girl from New Jersey, meant that college, unlike high school, was going to be a time where I was going to be tasked with making connections with people that went beyond descriptive similarities.

Although different in racial background, Kelly and I have similar interests (one of them being taking five-hour naps).We regularly have long conversations about where we come from, how we were raised, and how we came to be the people that we are today.

Eventually, I also met Kelly’s roommate, Simarn Regmi ’22, who is Nepali-American. The first time I met her, she was only in her robe (I had come into her room, unannounced, with Kelly). I don’t think I’ll ever forget how friendly she was. From then, she, Kelly and I have grown closer. We all have different qualities, and when we’re together we act like fools, but what I value the most about our friendship is the encouragement.

The great Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Angelou’s wise words continue to guide me as I grow as an individual and make new friends along the way.

At Brandeis, I surround myself with people who accept me for who I am and encourage me to always persevere, even in situations that may seem never-ending. I know it’s not easy doing things that take you out of your comfort zone, but it makes the college experience worth it.

We are here to have conversations that can be uncomfortable.

Making college feel like “home” takes more than trying to recreate your hometown; it is about having connections with people that you would never have expected to bond with and realize that descriptive differences do not have to divide us.

I believe in the power of college campus friendships as a support network. Not only that, but having friends means that you’re not alone.

Our friends remind us of who we are when we lose hope in ourselves, and they make us feel like we are at home when we are in college. In my relatively short time as a college student, I think the most important thing that I can share is the idea that it is entirely up to you to shape your college experience.

9

10 TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

Justice

the

Established 1949

Brandeis University

Avraham Penso, Editor in Chief Natalia Wiater, Managing Editor Amber Miles, Senior Editor Jen Geller, Deputy Editor Zach Kaufman, Nia Lyn, Associate Editors Jocelyn Gould and Sam Stockbridge, News Editors Sammy Park, Features Editor Gabriel Frank, Acting Forum Editor, Megan Geller, Acting Sports Editor Maya Zanger-Nadis, Arts Editor Andrew Baxter, Photography Editor Morgan Mayback, Interim Layout Editor Liat Fischer and Devo Meyers, Ads Editors Eliana Padwa, Copy Editor

EDITORIALS Accessibility forum failed to address needs In response to an open letter addressed to President Ron Liebowitz concerning how Brandeis accommodates its students with disabilities, the University held a public forum with the intent of acknowledging, learning from and finding solutions to many of the struggles and inconveniences these community members face.

Tuesday’s forum began with Provost Lisa Lynch and Senior Vice President Stewart Uretsky addressing an audience seated at round tables, whereu smaller and more intimate discussions were held. This board commends the University for its willingness to respond to widespread criticism of the quality of life for students with disabilities. However, while planned with good intentions, this meeting did little to directly address many of the concerns of students with disabilities, which extend far beyond wheelchair access to certain buildings and will likely do little in the long term to address the well-being of students with disabilities.

By simply holding this forum, the administration has taken a step in the right direction to reassure students that the complaints of the students with disabilities, whose success at the University is being impeded by inaccessibility to many aspects of the University, are being heard. The University was quick to schedule a forum after President Liebowitz received a letter signed by 250 students and alumni concerned about the lack of accommodations for students with disabilities.

Indeed, in her opening statement, Provost Lynch announced the addition of a significant number of handicapped parking spaces, a new handicapped elevator at Pearlman Hall, elevators and numerous upgrades for the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center and, most importantly, a building condition assessment which will take into account of the accessibility of all of the University’s buildings.

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion should also be commended for ensuring that the auditorily impaired could follow along with closed captioning during the forum.

It is evident that in undertaking these tasks, the University wants to help students with disabilities. What is problematic, though, is not the idea of holding the forum — but the way the forum was conducted. It sought minimal input from the majority of students with disabilities and the Student Accessibility Service, the two biggest entities that would otherwise play the most active role in effectively addressing the needs of students with disabilities on campus.

Much to the dismay of many students with disabilities who had otherwise planned to attend the meeting, many parts of campus —

Format not effective

including major walkways near Usdan, where the forum was held — were covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice, rendering mobility difficult for all students, particularly those with disabilities. Navigating campus became even more difficult on Thursday, when large puddles forced students to seek roundabout routes around campus — including detouring through Upper Usdan. The first, basic step in addressing accessibility on campus might be a functioning drainage system. This board urges the University to hold another forum that will be more inclusive and give students another chance to provide their input.

The forum itself was held in the form of a round-table discussion, where participants were directed to ask questions regarding Brandeis’ awareness of the current predicaments of many students with disabilities, and where the administration should direct its focus to most effectively address these concerns. While many meaningful discussions took place, administrators were not present at many tables to take note of these conversations.

A commendable departure from this format was having several speakers with disabilities from numerous walks of the Brandeis community give powerful verbal testimonies of their experiences.

This board agrees with many of the students, some of whom chose to speak at the meeting, that the forum should have been held in the form of a town hall. This way, attendees could have asked members of the administration their pressing questions directly as opposed to discussing them with others who ultimately have no say in how the University tackles this pressing issue.

A town hall-style forum would have far more effectively addressed the pressing concerns of the student body, and would have helped the administration better understand the actual struggles of many Brandeis students with disabilities. With over 500 people in attendance and barely any of them afforded the opportunity to publicly provide input, the forum did little to understand the nuanced concerns of a great many students with disabilities. In fact, the configuration of the forum gave the unfortunate impression that the administration was deliberately trying to avoid any sort of public confrontation that could come about from a meeting with sensitive subject matter.

While this board offers high praise to those brave enough to speak in front of the crowd and make their struggles public, the ability to directly address the administration would have likely been far more helpful for those whose needs have not been met by the University — and for administrators who need to better understand those needs.

MARA KHAYTER/the Justice

Views the News on

This past weekend, the nominees for the 2019 Academy awards were revealed.

Traditionally, nominations and awards for coveted titles such as “Best Picture” and “Best Actor” have been given to more drama-oriented, realistic and predominantly white-casted films. This awards season, however, sees action blockbusters such as Black Panther — which is set in the fictional country of the popular Marvel superhero with a predominantly Black cast — and fanfavorite remake A Star is Born — a more musically oriented film with pop singer Lady Gaga in a lead role — with best picture nominations, two films that might have garnered little recognition in previous years. To many film critics, these nominations are seen as a step in the right direction for the Academy, which usually recognizes year-end drama releases instead. What are your thoughts on the state of the Academy, and how do you view these nominations in the context of previous awards shows?

Caren Irr (ENG)

The Academy Award’s Best Picture nominees for 2019 are a genuinely mixed bag. They include major commercial hits—Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody, and A Star is Born—as well as a smaller political film that has yet to turn a profit (Vice). The list also features some important familiar faces. At long last, director Spike Lee is up for the prize with his striking adaptation of Ron Stallworth’s memoir, BlacKkKlansman, but the nomination with the greatest potential to upset existing norms is the Netflix original, Roma. No foreign-language film to date has won Best Picture, and no Netflix production has either. From the opening credits forward, this gorgeous black-and-white film written and directed by the distinguished Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También, Gravity, Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Azkaban) and based on his childhood in Mexico City makes the case for the intensity of image and highimpact intimacy of the smaller screen. With the US-Mexico border zone at the center of serious political controversy this year, granting major recognition to this elegant film would be doubly significant.

That said, the timely costume drama, The Favorite, would be a safe choice for Best Picture, since it offers social commentary packaged in glorious and very white spectacle. The more conventional feelgood interracial buddy film, Green Book, would in a perfect world perhaps not be a major contender, despite impressive performances

by Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortenson, since we’ve seen this story before. No matter which film wins, though, it’s definitely clear that the stories that excite and excel in 2019 nare of a different hue and sound than those that dominated the screen a mere ten years ago.

Caren Irr is a professor of English specializing in Film Theory and Media Studies.

Stephen McCauley (ENG) I think the least interesting, least challenging, and most irrelevant films usually win Oscars. How else to explain why Get Out didn’t win last year? As a result, I never watch the excruciatingly boring show. It gives me a headache to even think about it. This year I only saw two of the nominated films and didn’t like either of them. If I was giving out Oscars, I’d give one to the person who designed the large, leather recliner that made it possible for me to sleep through the second half of A Star Is Born.

Stephen McCauley is professor of the Practice of English, Co-Director of the Creative Writing Program and a published novelist.

Michael Strand (SOC) The controversy around the Oscar nominations this year is not surprising and not different from similar controversies in years past.

The Academy was founded to promote the idea that movies can have a purely aesthetic worth, rather like painting had achieved. This standard is only about half a century old, and it is now embattled by competing ways of deciding the worth of movies: market share, political impact, community recognition, especially in the headlining best picture category. But this is also not an isolated controversy. The Oscar nominations reflect a larger controversy brewing within all institutions that perform selections, especially universities, and the recognition that these institutions “select” using criteria of worth that are unjustifiable. To believe that they transcend our drastically unequal world is increasingly impossible to maintain. The real controversy is whether these institutions will be merely a different enunciation of these many inequities or whether they will be transformative of them.

Michael Strand is an Assistant Professor of Sociology specializing in culture, morality, and knowledge.

Photos: Michael Strand; the Justice; Brandeis University

THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2019

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Media should own up to fumbling Covington story

By TREVOR FILSETH JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

For those of you living under a rock, let’s briefly go over what happened last week in Washington, D.C. After a pair of marches there, a group of students from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky were approached by a small number of Black Hebrew Israelites who proceeded to shout racial epithets and homophobic slurs at them.

To defuse this, a group of Native American marchers led by veteran Nathan Phillips stood between the Covington students and the Israelites, playing their drums and chanting.

By now, video footage of the entire incident is widely available online, but before it was, one moment was seized upon by the press — a moment during which a Covington student, Nick Sandmann, appeared to be smirking at Phillips. The incident, like countless other political confrontations across the United States, would have probably been ignored if that one moment had not gone viral.

Media outlets of all stripes, presented with the picture of a Native American drummer surrounded by white men in red “Make America Great Again” hats, were quick to condemn Sandmann, and, following their example, hundreds of celebrities did the same.

On some level, this is understandable. At that moment, frankly, Sandmann’s expression looked nasty. We’re all so accustomed by now to men in MAGA hats being obnoxious that we’re practically conditioned to see this as another part of that pattern. When the contents of the video became public knowledge, though, a more complete picture of the situation emerged — one that directly contradicted the narrative of the snippet that drew frenzied media outrage.

I watched that section of the video several times, and I recommend you all do the same.

What it shows is very different than what was, and continues to be, reported. The Covington students were not harassing the Black Israelites. Rather, the reverse was true.

They did not mob Phillips; instead, he and his fellow marchers walked slowly and calmly into their midst. Sandmann was not blocking Phillips’ retreat, as he initially stated. His “smirk” is a brief moment that has been taken out of context. If the video is moved forward or backward five or ten seconds beyond the controversial moment, it shows that he was not leering, but smiling uncomfortably.

The early reports that other students were chanting “build that wall!” and other racist slogans at the Native Americans were simply

false.

In short, as far as the video shows, Sandmann and his friends did nothing clearly wrong. In fact, considering the tense situation they were put in, their behavior could easily be described as exemplary. Continuing to insist otherwise is either dishonesty or willful ignorance.

The fact that national outrage was stoked over a misleading photograph is unquestionably the media’s fault, but to criticize the various news agencies for erroneous initial reporting is to miss the point of this whole story. The internet has made getting the “scoop” more difficult than ever before, and in the rush to break news, media outlets will make mistakes every now and then. To err is human, and this is a particularly understandable error; lord knows that I would have drawn the same conclusions they did from the photo alone. In fact, this controversy would have probably died down quickly if media outlets had simply corrected the story.

To their credit, many of the more responsible sites — and more responsible public figures — did this. Some, however, have doubled down on their initial reporting, continuing to insist that the Covington teens were the ones at fault, even as the evidence mounts to the contrary. Never mind what your ears tell you — just look at that creepy fascist smile! And those racist boys were mocking Mr. Phillips by clapping to the drumbeat! And their families hired a PR firm! And on, and on and on. Much of what was reported is true, but it’s fundamentally a distraction. To vindicate their earlier remarks, outlets that got the story wrong the first time have proceeded to madly search for evidence that Sandmann and his friends fit our profile of what a MAGA hat-wearer is supposed to look like.

This is not what a responsible journalist is supposed to do, and this kind of reporting has real-world consequences for those in its crosshairs. Since the initial story broke, the Covington students and their families have been subjected to an endless barrage of hate.

Their mugshots have circulated widely on the Internet, where they have been doxxed, harassed and sent death threats. Both their school and their church were temporarily shut down over bomb concerns, and before the video came out, Covington Catholic High School publicly contemplated expelling Sandmann and his friends. Even my most liberal friends will admit that all this is a pretty steep price to pay for wearing a red baseball cap. Yes, the MAGA hat is extremely

JULIANNA SCIONTI/the Justice

problematic, and there are many overt racists who wear it, but, in the video at least, Sandmann is not one of them.

Despite all this, I’m certain that months from now many progressives will continue to insist that Sandmann’s smile was somehow fascism on display. Some of them probably go to Brandeis, and what remains of this op-ed is directed at them.

There’s a recurring meme among farright internet dwellers: the idea that most progressives are “non-player characters,” soulless gray androids programmed to mindlessly regurgitate left-wing talking points. The memes usually depict an NPC being presented with a fact that doesn’t fit their worldview and “crashing” by getting angry and calling people names rather than attempting to refute it. The meme is amusing, in part because those who created it arguably fit the bill. It takes a lot of cognitive dissonance to continue to believe that Donald Trump has the best interests of America at heart, to say the least.

Obviously, I wouldn’t dream of calling

anyone at Brandeis an NPC. But in the sense that an NPC is a liberal who fails to think critically, they exist, as they do in any political movement. What ought to differentiate you from them is the ability to reject an idea, even if it aligns with your ideological framework, because it is either morally repugnant or obviously false. You can oppose the Bush administration without believing that it was responsible for 9/11. You can hope that a Democrat wins in 2020 without also hoping for a recession to help her poll numbers. And you can hate the MAGA hat and everything it stands for, but it shouldn’t blind you to the fact that the students wearing it simply did not do what the media has accused them of doing.

Please don’t continue to insist that the Covington teens were acting in a racist manner, because they weren’t. If you did before the full story came out, and this topic comes up again, bite the bullet and admit to the error. That’s a hell of a lot more than Trump is ever going to do.

Students with disabilities can speak for themselves Participation Restriction,” a tongue-incheek reference to language of disability policies.

By SHOSHANA FINKEL I don’t remember how early on it was JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER when the idea of a letter to President

Section 504 of the United States Liebowitz first arose in this online platform, Rehabilitation Act states, “No otherwise but it wasn’t long before drafts were being qualified individual with a disability in the sent around on Google Drive and Facebook, United States… shall, solely by reason of and students and alumni were messaging her or his disability, be excluded from the co-writers of the letter saying they wanted participation in, be denied the benefits of, to sign it. The document stated that we, as or be subjected to discrimination under any disabled students and allies, were not angry program or activity receiving federal with Brandeis, but frustrated with the financial assistance.” This law, passed in discriminatory policies and institutional 1973, forever changed how Americans with indifference to our needs and could not stay disabilities are treated. silent any longer.

This clause has always applied to universities that receive federal funding.

But unfortunately, in almost every institution of higher learning in this country, the vast majority of students with disabilities still face discrimination and inaccessibility all the time. Brandeis is, unfortunately, no exception.

A few days before school started last fall, I was added by a friend to a closed Facebook group titled “Addressing Accessibility at Brandeis.” Its membership was modest, and its posts were sparse. Today, the group has 90 members, both disabled and able-bodied, and conversations pop up many times a week on topics like self-advocacy, accessible transport and allergen warnings in the dining halls. A couple of Messenger group This past Tuesday, the goal of that chats have even started from the Facebook original call to action came into fruition, group, with titles like “Brandeis is a in the form of an open forum. Or at least,

“

If this issue were looked at in this way, then perhaps the students would be more included in the conversations that take place.

something like an open forum. A handful of students were frustrated with the setup of the event: round tables with chairs around them and discussion sheets for breakout sessions about accessibility on campus.

For many, this felt like a diversion from the original intentions of the event — for students to candidly share their frustrations with the administration about the access barriers they face around campus.

The reason for the change in event style was innocent in nature, likely because the administrative event planners did not want to create a space that was crowded and overwhelming. But this judgement call speaks to the uncomfortable truth that the University is making decisions for students with disabilities without consulting them first. We must push back against this.

President Liebowitz spoke at the end of the event, saying that he was both moved and angered by the students’ stories of isolation, discrimination and at times, the dangers to their lives at Brandeis. He repeatedly told us that he is committed to improving conditions for students with disabilities.

For this commitment to go somewhere though, it bears on students and administrators alike to make sure that this process continues in the form of partnership and open dialogue. I look forward to the further meetings on this topic that President Liebowitz, Provost Lynch and Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas promised at the forum.

But I worry that misconceptions about the needs and goals of students with disabilities will muddle whatever progress we could otherwise achieve.

There is an attitude in higher education and other aspects of public life that views people with disabilities as looking for accommodations in order to get a “leg up” in society. This comes from a lack of understanding of what it means to accommodate someone: to accommodate is to level the playing field, and give someone equal access to what others already have.

Making a classroom more accommodating to people with disabilities does not mean guaranteeing their success, but rather their access and their ability to succeed.

If this issue were looked at in this way, then perhaps the students would be more included in the conversations that take place. We are not trying to get any unfair advantage; rather we are just trying to be present and engaged in all aspects of university life. Our own personal success is dependent on our own will, but if we are not even included in the discussion, we will never be at the same starting line as other students.

I am so grateful to the offices of the President, Provost and Chief Diversity Officer for beginning this process of commitment to improved accessibility. But I call on you now to commit to something more. To borrow language from disability activist groups like ADAPT, “Nothing about us without us.”

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

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Trump’s steel tariffs do more harm than good to U.S. companies

By SOMAR HADID JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Trade and the economy were two of the major cornerstones of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. In an appeal to voters of the rust belt states, many of which also happen to be swing states, Trump asserted that he would fix the “disastrous” trade deals imposed by the previous administration in a bid to bring back manufacturing jobs that were outsourced overseas. The main way Trump plans to fix these trade deals is through tariffs.

A tariff is a tax on an imported good, and a 15-percent tariff, for example, would indicate that for every dollar of that good a company would buy, the company would have to pay the United States government 15 cents.

The effect of this tariff is a higher price for the good for both consumers and producers alike, as producers inexorably have to raise prices of what they produce due to an increase in manufacturing costs. After less than two years through his first term in office, one of the products that Trump has implemented tariffs on is steel. This has produced a wide range of reactions from across the political spectrum.

Unsurprisingly, Trump has doubled down and defended his policies even as some of his top economic advisors, such as Gary Cohn, former National Security Advisor, have resigned in opposition.

In reaction to these new tariffs, there have been those who argue that Trump’s policies hurt the economy more than they help it, but there have been others who have supported them, most notably the domestic manufacturers of these items. A survey of leading economists from the Initiative of Global Markets indicated that although the tariffs would benefit some companies, the net economic losses as a result would outweigh the net economic gains. The organizations who would benefit from these tariffs are the domestic producers of these products, while the companies that would be undermined are those that utilize these raw materials for their manufacturing plants that in turn would be hurt by the rising costs.

U.S. tariffs on steel and other goods are not without precedent. In 2002, then-President George W. Bush imposed a 30-percent tariff on steel imports in an attempt to protect the U.S. steel industry against rising imports.

When some of us think of steel, we may only see it in terms of its effects on major automobile and machinery manufacturers such as Ford, Caterpillar, Chrysler, Boeing or General Motors. However, steel is a crucial part of an eclectic range of business, ranging from tire manufacturers to petroleum refiners, and according to the U.S. tax foundation, 98 percent of all steel-consuming sectors in the U.S. employ less than 500 workers. This would mean that an increase in steel prices would have a deleterious effect on small firms that have very little market power to influence prices in the grand scheme of the economy.

HARRISON PAEK /the Justice

Because of this, the tax foundation claims that larger steel prices would lead to a loss of 200,000 jobs in the steel-consuming sector, compared to the 187,500 total employees in the steel-producing sector at the time. However, a March 2018 Bloomberg article points out that although GDP, or total national output, may have gone down during that period of time, U.S. steel prices have increased, helping

“

Therefore, one should not only look at the direct effects of these tariffs, but also at the cascading effects they would ultimately cause. domestic steel producers.

Conversely, a study byhe Peterson Institute of Economics points out that the tariffs increased employment in the steel sector by 3,500 workers, although this is small in comparison to the jobs that were lost.

In simpler terms, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) claimed that “there were 10 times as many people in steel-using industries as there were in steel-producing industries.” Threats of retaliatory tariffs and the lack of clear benefits forced the Bush administration to renounce the tariffs after 18 months, despite the fact that Bush himself originally planned to have them implemented for a period of at least three years.

Now, President Trump finds himself in a situation similar to that of Bush, but the overall economy and steel industry is very different today than it was in 2002. In 2002, China produced about 200 million tons of steel, but today that number sits at 800 million.

Simulations and predictions also reveal that the results of Trump’s tariffs would be similar to those in the past. The Trade Partnership, an international trade and consulting firm, predicted that the proposed 25-percent steel tariffs Trump would impose would increase U.S. iron and steel manufacturing employment by 33,000 jobs, but cost about 180,000 jobs throughout the whole sector, leading to a net loss of about 150,000 jobs. The Trade Partnership’s numbers do not take into account any potential retaliatory measures that may be imposed on the U.S. by other countries.

The study, however, does take into account

the jobs lost from consumer spending as the effects of price increases lower the monetary powers of consumers and reduce consumer spending in goods and appliances that are made out of steel, such as washing machines and cars.

Therefore, one should not only look at the direct effects of these tariffs, but also at the cascading effects they would ultimately cause.

The bottom line is that the effects of steel tariffs on the economy are pernicious and not beneficial. It is easy to point out the effects of a tariff when a major corporation shuts down a plant or announces layoffs. We saw this a few months ago when General Motors announced the removal of workers in its plants in the United States and Canada. It only took a couple of days for President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada to voice their displeasure on Twitter, and the incident became a major talking point for the major news outlets and economists.

Some supporters of the Tariffs may point to a new production plant opening up, or an increase in sales at one given site, and it can be an appeal to voters and to those in industry who have been affected by foreign competition. However, as was the case during the Bush administration, the net effect of these steel tariffs would do more harm than good to the economy.

Schuster Institute’s closing leaves behind experiental learning Maddox

KAY GLOBAL WARNING

Brandeis University’s closure of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism leaves a blind spot in the school’s commitment to social justice. For the past 14 years, the Institute has given students and professional researchers alike a structured avenue to practice what Brandeis preaches in terms of social change — allowing them to learn directly from professional researchers how to use their knowledge and skill sets for the good of others. According to its mission statement, Brandeis “affirms the importance of a broad and critical education in enriching the lives of students and preparing them for full participation in a changing society, capable of promoting their own welfare, yet remaining deeply concerned about the welfare of others.”

The Schuster Institute, and specifically the Justice Brandeis Law Project, embodied this philosophy better perhaps than any other university. In their absence, Brandeis must create new opportunities for students to apply the rule of law to real-world cases.

First, we must evaluate the projects Schuster will leave behind. Schuster employees and fellows felt that accomplishment in summer 2015 when their work in the Justice Brandeis Law Project helped free Angel Echavarria, who served 21 years after a wrongful murder conviction.

Schuster researchers took Echavarria out for dinner and bowling nights

to celebrate, according to a June 2015 Boston Globe article. While policy work is integral to the achievement of social justice, the direct case research Schuster sponsored with the JBLP showed students another, more human side of law. According to the JBLP’s website, it differs from most innocence projects in that it used time-consuming research methods to investigate cases where DNA wasn’t available, rather than focusing on DNA-based exonerations. With the Schuster Institute closing due to funding issues, the fate of the project hangs uncertain. As a uniquely focused program not only within the University but within the country and the world as a whole,

“

The Schuster Institute offered a unique opportunity for those undergrads to combine these pursuits and develop alongside researchers.

Brandeis should find a new home for the JBLP so that its work can continue.

Next, we should look to the other institutes and fellowships Brandeis houses. At latest count, the Heller School has 11 research institutes and centers, from the Institute for Behavioral Health to the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, all of which are policyfocused. Within the Lurie Institute, the Nathan and Toby Starr Center has a student fellowship

which involves undergraduates in the process of policy reform and advancement, on behalf of those with disabilities. Julia Brown ’19, a Starr fellow, says that opportunities to do research in the humanities and social sciences “haven’t been as plentiful or concrete as they are in the hard sciences,” and that “the creation of the Starr Fellowship has been an amazing start.”

Another group, the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, focuses on marketing and driving grants to social justicerelated causes and organizations. Sillerman offers Heller School students placement and stipends to work in philanthropy-related internships. These are unique Brandeis programs where undergrads and grad students can practice what they study.

Perhaps the most impactful program the Sillerman Center runs in terms of driving undergraduate engagement with public good is the sponsorship of a ociology course, Social Justice and Philanthropy. Students in this course learn about grantmaking and feel the weight of real-world decision-making as they distribute actual grant money to three organizations they choose at the end of the semester. This applied component of the course is essential because it forces students to weigh real-world consequences and experience the sense of accomplishment of making a decision that has a direct impact on others.

In the sciences, students have opportunities to work in labs, apply for summer research funding and research alongside professors and graduate students. Additionally, Brandeis was awarded a $1 million grant from The Howard Hughes Medical Institute in June 2018 that is aimed at providing resources and additional research opportunities to undergraduate students. The grant will fund smaller classes

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

and is intended to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to engage with STEM curriculum and research. Brandeis recognizes the need for undergraduate research in the sciences and is working to provide more opportunities to students wishing to pattake in independent scientific study.

While the Heller programs present opportunities for humanities students to engage practically with their coursework, the programs themselves are competitive to be accepted into and leave pre-law and journalism students looking for ways to get engaged. Hands-on, experiential learning is a great way to cultivate a skill set or discover a passion. The Schuster Institute offered a unique opportunity for those undergrads to combine these pursuits and develop alongside researchers. Associate Director Lindsay Markel ’08 commented to the Justice last week that she began her time at Schuster as “an unsophisticated college graduate” but soon met “incredible role models” who helped her grow. Encouraging undergrads to start the journey early and develop skills by working on real-world problems is one of the best things Brandeis can do to prepare them for life.

The Justice summarized President Ron Liebowitz’s statement last week, saying that “research centers like Schuster are supposed to be able to sustain themselves by getting money from external donors instead of being subsidized by the University.” While this is true, and the Schuster Institute was established by a generous donation to the school, Brandeis is now responsible for filling the hole left behind. Whether they do so through existing channels or by establishing new research projects aimed at law and journalism students, Brandeis must strengthen its commitment to impactful student research across academic disciplines.

THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

MBBALL: Men approach the end of the regular season CONTINUED FROM 16 Corey Sherman ’19 said “Everyone has contributed so far. In order for us to ultimately get where we want to be, we will need all 12 guys to be ready to go when called upon. Everyone comes into work everyday, and that is our mindset.”

In addition, Sherman explained where the men’s success comes from: “[The] team has taken a one practice at a time, one game at a time approach. In the end, we will

13

MAKE THAT BASKET

see where that takes us. We want to just get better every day and the coaching staff has really preached that to us.”

These three games moved the Judges from the fourth to the fifth position in the University Athletic Association’s standing.

Seven games remain in the season for them to improve. The next game will take place on Feb. 1 in another game against Emory University, this time at home. The team is led by captains Sherman and Latye Workman ’18.

Want to be more than just a spectator?

THU LE/the Justice File Photo

WE WANT A BASKET: Sarah Jaromin '21 Dribbles past her opponenet in the game against University of Chicago on Jan. 18.

Write for Sports!

Contact Megan Geller at sports@thejustice.org

WBBALL: Team continues to work hard this season CONTINUED FROM 16 end with a final score of 56–52 when Casanueva made two free throws.

Emory 70, Judges 57 The Judges lost their fourth game in a row against a UAA rival when they faced the Eagles. In the first quarter the Judges took a 14–8 lead after Kerry Tanke ’22 put the Judges ahead with a score of 10–8 with 3:35 left in the quarter. When the second quarter hit, both teams picked up the pace, yet the Judges still maintained a strong lead — in fact, they extended their lead to 35–28 with eleven seconds left in the half. The second half began with the Eagles making a layup, but the Judges responded as Puda made a three-point

jump shot, making the score 38–30.

However, Emory tightened the score and managed to tie the game at 40 with 4:47 left in the third quarter. It was at this point that the game became neckin-neck. However, Puda put the Judges within one point of their rivals after a free throw which only left the Eagles ahead 46–47. Emory pulled ahead and led for the remainder of the game.

Although Casanueva made a jump shot with zero seconds to go in the game, bringing the score to 57–70, the Eagles were still victorious.

The Judges have overcome many obstacles this season, including several injuries on the team. According to Amber Graves ’20, “Despite all that we’ve gone through, our team has

remained strong and continued to work hard. I think we’re all really proud of each other for stepping up and continuing to persevere through our non-conference games into our conference play.”

Graves elaborated that the biggest way that the team can improve as they continue to play their UAA rivals is to maintain their best possible performance throughout the entire game. However, the team has risen to the challenge in the UAA. Graves said, “So far, we’ve done a really good job challenging the top teams of our conference, and I think we’ve begun to believe in the fact that we truly have the potential to compete with all of the teams in the UAA.”

GYMNASTICS: Team flipped on Sunday at the first Roll Deis Invitational CONTINUED FROM 16 routine personalized to show off their particular strengths. At this event the scores went as follows: Ascherman 9.1, Olivia Wang ’22 9.3, Inlow 8.9, Baker 9.45, Botto 9.55, Hechtman 9.55, Bleicher 9.6, Petrillo 9.45 and Deroche 9.8.

Awards took place at around 9:15 p.m., and many amazing gymnasts were called up and awarded first-, second- and third-place medals.

For the Women’s Developmental

division, Inlow took first on vault followed by a Cambridge Community gymnast and Petrillo in third. On bars Freudberg took first followed by Inlow in second and Petrillo in third. On beam Hechtman took first, Freudberg took second, and Inlow took third.

On the last event in this division, floor, Bleicher took first, Hechtman took second, and Botto took third.

In this division in the all-around Petrillo took first, followed by Inlow then a woman from Cambridge Community Gymnastics. In the

level eight division, in which Deroche competed, Deroche took first in floor and second in the allaround category.

Other teams that competed at the invitational included Merrimack College, Northeastern University, Cambridge Community Gymnastics and Simmons College. The Judges competed in two different divisions at four different events. Not a single Judge scored below seven of ten points at any event, an impressive feat in gymnastics. The team hosted the invitational for the first time

ever, and Presidents Petrillo and Deroche kept everything organized and the events running smoothly.

In an email interview with The Justice, DeRochesaid, “This season, we want Brandeis' name to get out there for the NAIGC. We have done well at Nationals the last 3 years and taken home numerous medals (plus a level 6 team award!), and we want to keep up with this momentum and continue to improve. It’s also very important for us to continue providing the opportunity to anyone on campus to come learn

gymnastics, regardless of previous experience. We are one big family, and we love having people with a wide range of experience attend practice!”

Petrillo, stated, “This is a club made up of people who have been life-long competitive gymnasts as well as individuals who are new to the sport, so it's a great mix and we really learn from each other.

The team is relatively self-coached and self-sufficient as well which makes for a fun and collaborative atmosphere!”

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THE JUSTICE

JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS

● SPORTS ●

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

15

FENCING

MEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS

Emory Chicago WashU Rochester JUDGES Carnegie Case NYU

UAA Conf.

W L D 5 2 0 5 2 0 5 2 0 4 3 0 4 3 0 3 4 0 2 5 0 0 7 0

TEAM STATS

Points Per Game

Overall W L D Pct. 14 4 0 .778 12 6 0 .667 12 6 0 .667 14 4 0 .778 11 7 0 .625 8 10 0 .625 9 9 0 .375 6 12 0 .333

Corey Sherman ’19 leads the team with 14.2 points per game.

Player PPG Corey Sherman 14.2 Chandler Jones 12.1 Eric D’Aguanno 10.8 Collin Sawyer 10.8

Rebounds Per

Latye Workman ’18 leads the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.

Player REB/G Latye Workman 6.4 Chandler Jones 6.1 Lawrence Sabir 3.8 Eric D’Aguanno 3.6

EDITOR’S NOTE: Feb. 1 vs. Emory University Feb. 3 vs. University of Rochester Feb. 8 vs. Carnegie Mellon

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS UAA Conf.

W L D WashU 7 0 0 Chicago 5 2 0 Emory 4 3 0 Case 4 3 0 JUDGES 3 4 0 NYU 2 5 0 Rochester 2 5 0 Carnegie 1 6 0

TEAM STATS

Points Per Game

Overall W L D Pct. 13 5 0 .722 14 4 0 .778 13 5 0 .722 12 6 0 .667 7 10 0 .412 10 7 0 .588 8 10 0 .444 10 8 0 .556

EDITOR’S NOTE: Feb. 1 vs. Emory University Feb. 3 vs. University of Rochester Feb. 8 vs. Carnegie Mellon

Camila Casaneuva ’21 leads the team with 14.9 points per game.

Player Camila Casaneuva Sarah Jaromin Lauren Rubinstein Jillian Petrie

PPG 14.9 10.7 9.2 9.0

Rebounds Per Game Hannah Nicholson ’20 leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game.

Player REB/G Hannah Nicholson 7.3 Camila Casaneuva 6.2 Sarah Jaromin 5.5 Jillian Petrie 5.4

SWIMMING AND DIVING Results from the home meet on Jan 13.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 100-yard Freestyle

SWIMMER TIME Marcelo Ohno-Machado 49.70 Matthew Acremont 50.17 Chase Chen 50.77

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s) 200-yard Butterfly

SWIMMER TIME Gazelle Umbay 2:17.83 Kylie Herman 2:20.16 Adrienne Aponte 2:31.56

EDITOR’S NOTE: Feb. 2 vs. Clark College Feb. 13 at UAA Championship

TRACK AND FIELD Results from the Branween Smith-King Invitational on Jan. 26.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

60 Meter Dash

60 Meter Dash

RUNNER TIME Reese Farquhar 7.54 Leung Michael 7.62 Michael Kroker 7.71

RUNNER TIME Kanya Brown 8.39 Anna Touitou 8.45 Gabby Tercatin 9.10

EDITOR’S NOTE: Feb. 2 at Cupid Challenge Feb. 8 at Valentine Invitational

THU LE/Justice File Photo

ON POINT: Fencers compete in one of three divisions on in a meet against Bentley University on Dec. 2, 2018.

Fiery fencers get to the point this season

■ The Judges fence at the Northeast Fencing conference Meet #2 at Brown University.

By ZACH KAUFMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

In the first match of the day, both teams took on host school Brown.

The men’s team was led by their sabre squad in this match, who went 9–0, but losses by foil, 6–3, and epee, 8–1, meant the men dropped the match 14–13. The women’s foil also posted a dominant record versus Brown, 8–1, but 7–2 losses by the other weapons meant they were also defeated 15–12 by Brown.

In their second match of the day, both teams advanced to take on Boston College, and were dispatched 18–9. For the men’s team, Brandeis won in the sabre competition, 6–3, but lost in foil by the same 6–3 score.

A 9–0 epee sweep by the Boston College Eagles was the difference in this match. On the women’s side, it was the same situation: an 8–1 win for foil, an 8–1 loss for sabre and another 9–0 BC sweep of epee made the difference again.

It wasn’t until their third match that the day against Tufts University Jumbos for the Judges started stringing wins together. For

the

women’s team, the epee squad led the way, their 7–2 win offsetting pair 5–4 losses by the other two weapons, brought the final score to 15–12. The men made quick work of the Jumbos, a 9–0 foil sweep and 7–2 wins at sabre and epee making the final score 23–4.

Their fourth match of the day was the team’s final match against a varsity opponent, Vassar College.

The men defeated Vassar 19–8 behind wins for all three weapons: 8–1 for sabre, 6–3 for foil, and 5–4 at epee. The women were victorious as well, with wins at foil (7–2) and sabre (5–4) outweighing a 6–3 loss at epee.

The final two matches against the day were against University of Rhode Island and Dartmouth, who do not have varsity fencing teams.

The men defeated include Leon Rotenstein ’19, who went 11–1 in four matches, and Shawn Pyatetsky ’20, who himself was 9–1. Despite losing his first two matches, Trevor Filseth ’20 rallied to win his final eight and end with a record of 8–2 on the day. Garett Tordo ’21 and Harrison Kaisch ’22 each had 5 wins apiece.

For the women’s team, Joanne Carminucci ’19 and Jessica Gets ’20 went undefeated on the day, posting records of 12–0 and 10–0 respectively.

Jada Harrison ’22 earned a win in

all six matches for the women’s sabre squad, making her one of the day’s top performers. Hannah Mui ’20 impressed in her first meet with sabre after switching over from foil, posting eight wins of her own.

Dakota Levy ’20 also had eight wins of her own for epee.

When asked about what he looks forward to as the season progresses into its end stages, Rotenstein replied, “The season is more than halfway finished. The men have like 4 events left, and that’s not including NCAA Championships, if someone qualifies this year. Losing the conference championship title this past weekend was rough, but I am looking forward to New England Championships to try and regain some titles there like Best Squad Overall and such that Men’s saber won my freshman year. There will also be a meet this weekend where we get to fence the only other UAA fencing school: NYU. I’m also excited for the Beanpot where Brandeis will host BC, MIT, and Harvard, as we go head to head to win the title for Boston’s Fencing School. Lastly I’m hyped for Regionals at Vassar. It’s been a long season but it’s moved pretty quickly and I hope someone can break Brandeis’s streak of not qualifying someone for NCAA’s.”

PRO SPORTS BRIEF New England Patriots experiance déjà vu this season as Superbowl LIII quickly approaches The New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams will play Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019—seventeen years after the day when the same two teams played in Super Bowl XXXVI. It was an upand-coming Patriot team, with their rising star quarterback, 24-year-old Tom Brady. Brady faced the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, who have since moved to Los Angeles. The Rams featured a nearly unstoppable offense, nicknamed “the greatest show on turf,” featuring future Hall of Fame players quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk, as well as star wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. In a game that was the start of the 17-year Patriots dynasty, Brady and the Patriots defeated the Rams 20–17. Now, it is the upstart Rams, with their 24-year-old, thirdyear star quarterback Jared Goff, and head coach Sean McVay (youngest in

the National Football League), who seek to start their own dynasty by beating the 41-year-old Brady and his legendary head coach Bill Belichick.

Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady needs no introduction, especially here in New England. Brady methodically led the patriots downfield for the gamewinning drive in overtime against the Chiefs. His enthusiasm and exuberance are easy to see, as he jumped around after the win, demonstrating that winning never grows old for him.

His consistent excellence and achievements are documented in profootballreference.com, and include five Super Bowl wins, 14 Pro Bowl selections, four Super Bowl MVP awards and three NFL season MVP awards. He is widely considered among the best, if not the best quarterback of all time, and was ranked number one among the NFL

Top 100 Players in 2018 according to an article by NFL. Julian Edelman is the second-wide receiver in NFL history, after the great Jerry Rice, to catch more than one hundred passes in NFL postseason history according to a Jan. 28 article by NBC Sports. He is a relatively small wide receiver who plays his best in the clutch and does not fear contact.

He has been selected as an NFL Top 100 Player for three consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2017 according to an article by NFL. Rob Gronkowski—also known as The Gronk— was selected to five Pro Bowls in nine NFL seasons, has been named as an All-Pro four times and has been ranked in the NFL Top 100 Players for seven straight years from 2012-2018. His great ability as a receiver and his ability to block effectively on the line due to his great strength

make him a dominant player.

Rams Jared Goff, a graduate of the University of California, became a star in only his second season in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl in 2017 and in 2018. This season, he completed 64.9 % of his passes for 4688 yards and 32 touchdowns, with an overall passer rating of 101.1. He is ranked 32nd in the NFL Top 100 Players in 2018 and has what it takes to be a dominant player in the NFL for years to come.

Todd Gurley is a powerful 6-foot-1inch, 224-pound running back in his fourth season from the University of Georgia. He has made the Pro Bowl in three and selected as an All-Pro in two of his first four seasons in the NFL. This season, he ran for 1251 yards and 17 touchdowns, and had 580 receiving yards and 4 receiving touchdowns. In addition, he was selected as number

6 among the NFL Top 100 Players in 2018.

Aaron Donald, ranked number 7 among the top 100 players in 2018, is a 6-foot-1-inch 280-pound defensive tackle from the University of Pittsburg. In his five NFL seasons, he has been selected to five Pro Bowls. Donald led the NFL with 20.5 quarterback sacks this season.

Overall, there is an abundance of great players in this game and should be a “must see” Super Bowl on that basis alone. However, the underlying theme of the young star quarterback and young head coach trying to supplant the legendary Brady/Belichick dynasty will make this game “one for the ages,” and may be an example of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object.

– Megan Geller

just Sports Page 16

SUPERBOWL LIII APPROACHING The New England Patriots are set to face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Feb. 3, p. 15.

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

GIANTS IN THE GYM

Four-game losing streak ends Sunday ■ The woman's four-game

losing streak ends this week after the Judges defeat the University of Rochester.

By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR

The Brandeis women’s basketball team has persevered and impressively ended a four-game losing streak when they conquered the University of Rochester Yellowjackets. In an impressive matchup with a tight final score, the women have started to head in the right direction against their University Athletic Association rivals. Currently, the Judges are sitting at a 7–10 overall record, 3–4 in the UAA. Next, the team will face the Emory University Eagles at home on Friday to kick off February’s matchups.

Judges 56, Rochester 52 The Rochester Yellowjackets put up a fight but did not manage to overtake the Judges, who then won their first game in four games. At the beginning of the game when Camila Casanueva ’21 opened with a three-point jump shot, the Judges began their takeover, and it took another two minutes for either team to score. Although the

Yellowjackets scored the game’s next seven points, the Judges tied the score at seven, and then again at nine. Brandeis then pulled ahead and pressed on to lead at the end of the quarter by a score of 18–13 when Casanueva made a jump shot with five seconds left on the clock. The second quarter proved interesting as both teams would score several times, including another tied score at 24.

With 1:40 left in the quarter, the score remained at a standstill for the rest of the half. At the half, the Yellowjackets were up by two points.

However, the Judges would not go down easily. Although the first points of the second half were not until Maya Burris ’22 made a jump shot with 6:41 to go in the third quarter to tie the score and the score was tied again at 28 points, the Judges pulled ahead as Katherine Puda ’21 made a three-point jump shot to up the score in favor of the Judges at 31–28. The Judges held the lead the rest of the quarter as the final score at the end of the third was 40–37 after Puda made two free throws.

In the final quarter, the Judges never trailed. The Yellowjackets were close when Okoniewski made two free throws to make the score 50–49, but the Judges clung to their lead to

See WBBALL, 13

☛

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Judges’ three recent games result in one win and two losses ■ Judges defeat University

of Rochester after falling to Washington University and Emory University.

By ADDISON ANTONOFF JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Brandeis men’s basketball team ended the month of January in fifth place for this season’s University Athletic Association overall standing. There are seven games left to go in the 2018-19 schedule, and the last three games resulted in two losses and one win. With seven games left in the regular season, the Judges have fought hard to increase their standings. Currently the team is 11–7 overall.

Washington University in Saint Louis The first of these three matchups was a home game against the Washington University Bears on Sunday. The game started with a fast lead taken by the Bears.

Throughout the first half, the Judges fought hard to get back in the game. In the end, the game resulted in a loss for the Judges, 50–53.

Although Brandeis was in the lead at the end of the first half, the Bears were able to narrowly overtake the Judges by the end of the game. This game resulted in both teams being part of a four-way tie for second place in the conference. The game leaders consisted of Collin Sawyer ’20 leading the points tally at 17, Chandler Jones ’21 leading with 6 rebounds and Lawrence Sabir ’21 with 6 assists.

JEN GELLER/The Justice

FLIPTASTIC: Brandeis' Hannah Deroche '19 does giants around the bar at the Roll Deis Invitational at Excell Gymnastics on Sunday.

Emory University This past Friday, the Judges were off to Atlanta, Georgia to play the Emory University Eagles.

Brandeis lost to the host team by a score of 59–92. Although the game started with the teams neck and neck, Emory dominated the match by the end of the first half, 37–55.

The game leaders consisted of Eric D’Aguanno ’20 leading points at 17 and Jones leading with 6 rebounds. The second half of the game continued in much of the same way, the Judges scoring 22 points against Emory’s 37 points.

Therefore, the Eagles won by a very wide margin, resulting in the Judges falling to 10–7 in the season, and 3–3 in the UAA standings.

University of Rochester The team’s last game of January, however, ended on a more positive note for the Brandeis Judges, who won 75–69 against the University of Rochester Yellowjackets. In the beginning, Rochester was quick to score, resulting in a score of 15–3 in the first 5:45. The Judges fought back through the game and eventally tied the score at 26 points. When the first half ended, Rochester held a three-point lead, 36–39. Over the course of the second half, Brandeis scored another impressive 39 points. The game leaders consisted of Sawyer, leading with 23 points, D’Aguanno leading with 6 rebounds and Sabir leading with 8 assists. Rochester only managed to score 30. With the win, the Judges improved to 11–7 this season, and 4–3 in the UAA. In an interview with The Justice,

See MBBALL, 13

☛

Gymnastics hosts its first Roll Deis Invitational on Sunday in Newton ■ At 6 p.m. on Sunday the

Brandeis Gymnastics team hosted its first meet.

By MEGAN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR

The first ever Roll Deis Invitational took place on Sunday Jan. 27 starting at 6 p.m. at Exxcel Gymnastics in Newton, Massachusetts. At that time, the teams were warming up and preparing to compete. This was a co-ed competition. However, Brandeis’ team was all women.

Participants competed in four events: vault, bars, beam and floor.

The Brandeis gymnastics team, led by Gianna Petrillo ’19 and Hannah Deroche ’19, prepared for a full night of athleticism and fun.

The meet started with the singing of the national anthem, which was performed by Amber,

a gymnast from Cambridge Community Gymnastics.

Vault The first event in the Judges’ rotation was vault. After two warm up passes for each athlete, the team was ready to be judged.

Each competitor competed two passes followed by receiving their score.

Brandeis’ competitors’ scores went as follows: Koe Inlow (first-year PhD) 9.2, Emily Botto ’20 7.2, Becca Ascherman ’20 8.85, Zoe Bleicher ’19 8.0, Nell Baker ’19 8.65, Miriam Hechtman ’22 8.2, Petrillo 8.9 and Deroche 8.3.

Bars The next event the Judges competed for was the uneven parallel bars. The team was seen doing back-hip-circles, flyaways, kips and many more impressive skills. Each contestant was given a certain amount of time to warm up, after which the adjudication

started. The Judges’ scores went as follows: Julia Tartaglia ’19 7.4, Rose Freudberg ’20 9.3, Baker 8.5, Inlow 9.0, Petrillo 8.8, Ascherman: 8.0, Botto: 8.5, Hechtman 8.05 and Deroche 8.6.

Beam The third event at which the Judges showed off their skills was the balance beam. The women flipped and jumped across a 4-inchwide beam in a way that appeared effortless. The women were each given time to warm up specific difficult skills in their routine. The scores went as follows: Deroche 8.5, Ascherman 8.4, Bleicher 8.5, Baker 7.8, Freudberg 9.0, Tartaglia 8.1, Inlow 8.95, Hechtman 9.2 and Petrillo 8.9.

Floor The final event of the night for the Judges was floor. Each girl had their own music and

See GYMNASTICS, 13

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Vol. LXXI #15

January 29, 2019

just The Intercultural Center, the Office of the Arts and the Gender and Sexuality Center joined together to host a Create@Brandeis event last Thursday for students to de-stress with arts and crafts.

Waltham, Mass.

Arts Images: Andrew Baxter/the Justice. Design: Thu Le/the Justice.

18

TUESDAY, THE JUSTICE JANUARY | ARTS 29,| 2019 TUESDAY, I ARTS JANUARY I THE JUSTICE 31, 2017

FILM REVIEW

A personal angle on the moon landing

By LUKE LIU

JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Films involving space exploration missions have all traditionally taken very similar points of view, presenting grand interstellar spectacles using advanced special effects and often focusing on the individuals who carry out the missions to break new ground for their families, their nations and humanity.

In Damien Chazelle’s new film “First Man,” he takes a surprisingly personal angle on the story of Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), examining what motivated him to take on his incredibly difficult task and how much it takes to accomplish something extraordinary.

In a movie about space exploration, audiences expect to see 360-degree shots of the rockets, astronauts in zero-gravity and a flag on the moon. However, all of those were either skimmed over or not included in the film. Instead, it focused more on the perspectives of the men in the

space suits. When Armstrong and his colleague David Scott (Christopher Abbott) were preparing for takeoff, the whole scene was shot through Armstrong’s first-person point of view. It looked like they were locked into a metal box and surrounded by nothing but buttons and knobs. Instead of flying through infinite space, the audience was given an enormous sense of claustrophobia and stress.

It’s refreshing to see a gritty and realistic portrayal of space flight on the big screen.

Director Damien Chazelle’s previous works were known for their ability to achieve greatness. Instead of lauding Neil Armstrong conquering the impossible for his family and country, the film spent most of the time showing the sacrifices he and everyone else made for the project. From the very beginning of the film, Armstrong’s journey to the moon was accompanied by death and grief. From the very beginning, what motivated him to leave his family and participate in the project was grief from

Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

RED CARPET: The cast of “First Man” at the film’s premiere at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

the death of his daughter. However, as the journey progressed, the sacrifice made by his colleagues pushed him even further away from his family, his friends and the world. Under all the pressure and sorrow, he desperately desired an escape from a world that can no longer relate to him, and there is no better place than the soundless space.

After it came out, “First Man” received overwhelming critical acclaim, and it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. However, if there’s one thing I am not satisfied with, it would be the score choice in the second half of the film. In the first ten minutes, Neil Armstrong went through an extremely difficult landing during which the audience hears no noise except that of the aircraft and heavy breathing. It is one of the most realistic film scenes in recent decades, considering it’s often hard for the audiences to relate to the astronauts. However, in the second half of the film, especially during the Apollo 11 mission, louder scores were added as the ship is approaching the moon landing moment. Throughout the movie, the theme of grieving and escaping is carried out by this kind of realism. The sharp switch to the upbeat orchestral score contradicted the continuity of theme.

From “Whiplash” to” La La Land,” Damien Chazelle has proven himself a rising young director who both masters the technical of visual expression and has a unique vision of greatness and how it needs to be achieved. “First Man” was his first venture into non-fiction, yet he was able to discover a refreshing angle to present this event with extraordinary creativity and control. It strips away all the romanticism that may be associated with astronauts, and examines the mentality of the individuals who give up everything to fly away from Earth.

Photo Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS

FACE TO FACE: Recently returned astronaut Mark Vande Hei speaks with Director Damien Chazelle at the premiere of “First Man.”

CONCERT

WSRC showcases female composers

ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice

MAKING MUSIC: Musicians concentrate as they produce the works of female composers throughout history.

By ELLA RUSSELL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Women composers are notoriously little-known. Nevertheless, last Sunday the Women and Music Mix of the Women’s Studies Research Center sponsored a concert entirely of pieces composed by women. Appropriately titled “Composing Women,” this concert reflects the goal of the Women and Music Mix to study the contributions of women to music and bring knowledge of these contributions to a wider public. This concert was the fourth in a series dedicated to Alfredo and Demi-

tra DiLuzio, the aunt and uncle of WSRC co-chair Rosalie Ripaldi Shane. The past concerts of this series were also exhibitions of female composers, but this was the first concert whose name reflected this.

For those wishing to learn more about the composers and performers, the program was generously detailed, and the concert host Dana Maiben provided additional information before each piece was performed. Incidentally, Maiben also performed in and composed several pieces in this concert.

All of Maiben’s pieces had poetic vocals along with Baroque-style music. Her first

piece, “Fog Song,” was conceived when she was walking through the Schwarzwald, or the Black Forest of Germany, still thinking of herself as a “tunesmith” rather than a genuine composer. Her other pieces in this concert were musical interpretations of existing poems: “Canciones de Amor” by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and “The Green House” by Martha Collins.

The other composers of the event stretched across the ages. Isabella Leonarda was an Italian nun in the 17th century and one of the most prolific female composers of her time as well as the first to publish sonatas. Rebecca Clarke was

active during the early 20th century; she entered her music into a chamber music competition and tied for first place with Ernest Bloch, a well-known composer, shocking the audience. Unfortunately, her future compositions were sporadic due to lack of encouragement. Finally, Canary Burton, born during World War II, is an award-winning classical and jazz pianist and composer who is still active today.

Due to the lack of advertising and student performers, few students attended the event. Hopefully the Women and Music Mix will make a greater effort next year to attract a wider audience.

THE JUSTICE I ARTS I TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

FILM REVIEW

Snubs and Surprises: in which Kent compares Oscars to participation awards

By KENT DINLENC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Disappointment is inevitable when reading awards show nomination lists; it’s ridiculous to think that a film or a performance can win “best art.” These lists are less about honoring artistic achievements and more about recognizing valiant efforts. Ignoring for a moment the fact that these awards are determined by million-dollar campaigns and heavily biased against genre films, the nominations are still reliable indicators of quality — especially if they are determined by peers in their respective industries.

Observe the recognition given by guilds: Screen Actors, Directors, Editors, Producers, Production Designers, etc.

The Oscars ceremony is a culmination of these guild nominations, creating a compromise that mostly benefits the network by nominating and rewarding popular films in order to secure higher ratings.

Amid these compromises, filmmakers get

left out — not because they are less deserving, but because there is no room. Take the race for best director.

I would have liked to see the visionary behind “Leave No Trace,” Debra Granik ’85, nominated. The Brandeis alumna did a phenomenal job directing her poignant film. But none of the current nominees are worthy of being bumped. Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” is powerful, Pawel Pawlikoski’s “Cold War” is visually entrancing, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” has the best acting ensemble of the year, Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” is a technical masterpiece, and Adam McKay’s “Vice” is an entertaining voyage through modern history.

One of the more personal disappointments of the year is Ethan Hawke’s snub for his subtle performance in “First Reformed.” But once again, there isn’t an actor I’d remove from the category — maybe Bradley Cooper from “A Star is Born” since he’s only

there to make up for his snub from the race for director. Of course, the other acting categories have their own snubs, but the subjectivity of art makes each outrage unique to the reader. “First Reformed” is lucky to even get an original screenplay nomination for writer-director Paul Schrader. However, if “Roma” sweeps as much as I predict it will, Schrader won’t go home with the win.

The category that is truly a surprise is best documentary. Fan favorites like “RBG” and “Minding the Gap” are nominated alongside projected winner “Free Solo.” But where is the heartwarming peek at Fred Rogers in “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Or the summer hit “Three Identical Strangers”? What about Sandi Tan’s odyssey regarding her 25-year-old stolen film in “Shirkers”? These are impressive submissions that should have been nominated as well.

Among the “mainstream films,” you really don’t see much rec-

ognition. Sure, “Black Panther” is nominated for Best Picture, but none of the other main categories (writing, acting directing, editing) are included. This is obviously a move to pander to general audiences. If they actually took the film into genuine consideration, it would have garnered more recognition. Granted, “Black Panther” doesn’t deserve the nominations — “Infinity War” and “Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse” deserve the spot if it were reserved for comic book movies. Even the more modest popular films, like the charming “Paddington 2,” should have been nominated for visual effects, especially if “Christopher Robin” is included in the category.

These awards don’t mean anything in the grand scheme of the quality of art pumped out of Hollywood, let alone in our society. It’s an industry award used to increase box office and DVD sales. The ceremony is fun — just don’t take it too seriously.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE

INTERVIEW

Brandeis TALKS If animals could talk, which would be the nicest?

Emma Johnston ’22

NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

This week, justArts spoke with Emma Johnston ’22, the diversity coordinator of the Undergraduate Theater Collective.

Judith Sherbin ’21 “Elephants, because elephants are cute, and they cuddle and they’re friends.”

JustArts: What is your background in theater?

MARA KHAYTER/the Justice

Rick Tran ’22 “Dogs, because they’re always around us.”

Mira Israel ’21 “I think it’d probably be a dog because they’re always so happy and wanna play. Especially my dog who licks my face and kisses me all the time. She’d just have a lot of energy and want to be friends with me.”

Leah Sagan-Dworsky ’21 “I would say it would be cows because they just sit there and chill. I don’t think they’d have anything bad to say because they have a pretty chill life.”

—Compiled and photographed by THU LE/the Justice.

STAFF’S Top Ten

JEN GELLER/ the Justice

JA: What have you been working on this semester?

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Word on many a neon sign 5 Thing to pass in a race 10 Shallow, as an apology 14 Hot 15 Unhelpful response to “who’s there?”

16 Tabula _____ 17 Send a message 18 *Abandoned places 20 Chess rating 21 Vientiane native 22 Pushes aside 23 Kylo _____, “Star Wars” character 24 Ideology 25 Not of the church 26 *Undersea predator 32 Baby carrier 34 See 28-Down 35 “The Simpsons” bartender 36 Place for a piercing 37 Snacks for Eleven in “Stranger Things” 39 Advice columnist 40 Mentalist Geller 41 Sorority letter 42 _______-Steagall Act 43 *Contests on a rink 48 Big birds 49 High trains 50 Sch. yr. division 53 Commander at the Alamo 56 Shot ______ 57 Japanese PM 58 *Medium for Van Gogh 61 Smell 62 One put on a pedestal 63 Pirate’s shout to his “matey” 64 Descriptor for the first word of each starred clue 65 “Uncle ___ Cabin” 66 Neck parts 67 Like some exams DOWN 1 Blender brand 2 Jordan who directed “Get Out” 3 Major name in oil 4 Paper often accused of being “Fake News”, for short 5 No small favor

6 Not out 7 General who’s known for his chicken 8 Meditative words 9 Important business figure 10 Trashcan dweller 11 Croquet area 12 Ain’t right?

13 Type of guitar 19 “_____ stinks!”

21 Defeat easily 25 Jay with a large car collection 27 Exist 28 With 34-Across, “Star Wars” spinoff

EJ: I think the biggest thing for me, because I am a first year, has been learning about the history of the UTC and how I can incorporate that into what we’re doing now. I want our conversations to be very focused to what the UTC is doing, while still [making] progress within our community. And that requires knowing a little more than a first-year does.

JA: The UTC’s latest shows haven’t featured very many people of color. Is the UTC taking any steps to fix that?

Crossword Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN

29 One with diplomatic immunity, perhaps 30 Takes from 31 Things on a janitor’s belt 32 Offensive word 33 Matador’s opponent 37 Ancient Italian 38 Travels (about) 39 Pub quaff 42 Main idea 44 Video game sections 45 Arabian royal 46 Rest 47 Shouts (out) 51 Recent virus 52 Actress Streep 53 Ignoramus 54 Swiss watch company 55 ______ smasher 59 Eggs 60 Part of a race 61 “What have we here?”

By Luke Liu

Flavor is something I miss from home ever since I came to the US. Here’s some flavorings/sauces that I look for at the Asian market and some American ones that I actually enjoy a lot.

EJ: We’re hoping to start working a little more closely with other clubs.

We’re definitely encouraging support of other cultural performance groups.

This week we have diversity training ...and while we’ve done that in the past, we really want this one to be … very theater-focused. We are ever-evolving and because of that our conversations about diversity are ever-evolving. And while perhaps we may have had some issues in the past, we are really working to move forward and support everyone on campus. I know firsthand the UTC is one of the most open and accepting communities that I’ve ever encountered.

That’s why I love theater. And we’re really working to show that.

JA: What are your responsibilities as diversity coordinator?

Solution Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN

EJ: I am on the proposals board. Going into the semester, we take in proposals from anyone on campus for the Fall 2019 season, for both plays and musicals.

Our job is to read these plays and musicals and lead conversations about them, [determine] whether or not they’re feasible [and] what issues they may have.

I specifically an focusing on the conversations about diversity or lack thereof in these productions.

JA: Are you looking to change any aspect of the process in particular?

Top 10 Spices and Flavors JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSITANT

Emma Johnston: I’ve been doing theater since I was five, but I got really into it when I was in high school. I was the vice president of my theater company in high school, then the president. I’m not a theater major, I just really love the community.

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.

EJ: I’ve only been through the proposals process once ...so I wouldn’t say I have enough experience to answer the question. I think that this semester we really want our proposals to reflect what the Brandeis community wants-as we always do, but we’re always working on that. And in the conversation about diversity we want to get proposals from people from as many different backgrounds as possible in order to reflect the makeup of this campus.

JA: Your position is brand-new. Do you feel that your position it’s necessary to have a diversity coordinator on proposals board?

EJ: Again, I don’t have the experience of past proposal [processes]. Based on my knowledge of theater, I think that it’s definitely necessary to have these conversations. I’m happy that the UTC has made this decision and I think in making the position we’re really showing what we’re working towards.

1: Laoganma 2: Southwestern Mayonnaise 3: Sriracha 4: Sichuan pepper oil 5: pepper pepper pepper 6: sesame oil 7: Tartar sauce 8: Fermented bean curd 9: Oyster sauce 10: Tabsco sauce

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Puzzle courtesy of www.sudokuoftheday.com

—Maya Zanger-Nadis